This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
It's home stretch time for MLB. Wednesday's schedule divvies the games up through the day, which leaves us with six on the slate starting at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are my DFS recommendations to try and give your lineups a leg up!
Pitching
Spencer Strider, ATL vs. STL ($12,300): Strider's 3.56 ERA isn't bad, but his 2.80 FIP shows that his performance has been quite good. The righty has also struck out a whopping 13.84 batters per nine innings. St. Louis is average in terms of runs scored, but that isn't a concern for me with Strider on the mound, and there's a good chance he picks up his 17th win on the season.
Matt Manning, DET at NYY ($6,700): Manning has been on a strong run, having posted a paltry 0.38 ERA over his last four starts. That includes blanking the Yankees over six innings in his last start. New York's lineup played a role in that, as it is in the bottom 10 in runs scored and have a .228 batting average as a team.
Top Target
The ball has been flying off the bat of Matt Olson ($6,200) this season, including 45 home runs. He has a .998 OPS at home, but the southpaw also has a .989 OPS versus righties. Dakota Hudson, meanwhile, has a 5.40 ERA on the road, where he's allowed 2.2 homers per nine innings.
Bargain Bat
In a cup of coffee in 2022, Kerry Carpenter ($4,700) showed power, and this year he's built on it. The southpaw has slugged .528 with 20 homers in 95 games. Now, the lefty has gotten the chance to enjoy a series at Yankee Stadium, which tends to play well for southpaws. Speaking of southpaws finding success, Clarke Schmidt has given up a .306 average to left-handed hitters in his career.
Stacks to Consider
Mets at Nationals (Joan Adon): Pete Alonso ($4,700), Brandon Nimmo ($4,200), Jeff McNeil ($3,700)
In his career, Adon has a 6.55 ERA. This year, his home ERA is all the way up to 9.60. Since lefties have hit. 280 against Adon in MLB, I have tilted toward lefties in this stack.
Alonso is a righty, but he's also one of baseball's elite power hitters. For the second season in a row he has hit the 40-homer mark. He also tends to prefer to be away from Citi Field, as he's slugged .574 on the road since 2021. His .360 OBP is actually low for him, but Nimmo has hit 22 homers for the first time in his career. Over the last three seasons he has an .826 OPS against righties and an .843 OPS on the road. McNeil has batted .268 with seven homers and eight stolen bases. The southpaw has an .846 OPS over the last three weeks as well.
Angels vs. Orioles (Kyle Gibson): Brandon Drury ($4,500), Mickey Moniak ($4,100), Nolan Schanuel ($3,500)
Mike Trout is on the IL, and Shohei Ohtani is dealing with a new injury on atop of his elbow issue, but there's still a reason for this stack. In his first season with the Orioles, Gibson has a 5.15 ERA, putting him on pace to finish with an ERA over 5.00 for the second year in a row. He's also on a brutal run wherein he's posted a 7.89 ERA over his last five starts. Since lefties have hit .304 against him in 2023, this is also a two-lefty stack.
In his first season with the Angels, Drury has slugged .484 and hit 20 homers in 103 games. He's taken to his new home park, as he has a .925 OPS at home. Moniak has become a viable MLB player this season, having hit .277 with 13 homers and six stolen bases in 83 games. Although, he's still more of a platoon guy, as he can't hit lefties but has an .879 OPS against righties. Schanuel marched through the minors, debuting in MLB in the same year he was drafted and grabbing a regular role at first base already. We haven't seen much from his yet, but so far, he's proven adept at facing righties and hitting at home.
