This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
What's up this Wednesday? How about eight MLB games starting at 7:07 p.m. EDT or later? Looking for some DFS recommendations? Here you go!
Pitching
Luis Castillo, SEA vs. MIN ($10,500): Castillo has delivered in his first full season with the Mariners, as he has a 2.96 ERA after having a 2.99 ERA last season. His homers are up, but mostly on the road. In Seattle's ballpark he has a 2.65 ERA. The Twins are at the edge of the bottom 10 in runs scored, but they are top 10 in home runs. Castillo at home can keep Minnesota in check.
Kyle Hendricks, CHC vs. WAS ($8,200): Hendricks' last couple of starts have been rough, but he still has a 3.57 ERA. This matchup should be beneficial to the veteran, though. The Nationals are bottom 10 in runs scored, and bottom four in home runs. Hendricks, as a soft-tossing righty, has an issue with homers.
Top Targets
The National League is being paced by Matt Olson ($4,300) when it comes to homers, as he has 30 of them. He's a lefty with an 1.017 OPS versus righties, and he has a .977 OPS at home as well. Ryne Nelson has a 4.98 ERA, and he's only struck out 6.16 batters per nine innings. Now his home ERA is 8.08 compared to a 2.68 ERA on the road, but that led to me going with just Olson instead of a stack.
Though Corbin Carroll ($4,000) has been struggling to get on track since the All-Star break, he's still the heavy favorite for Rookie of the Year with 18 homers and 28 stolen bases to his name. The southpaw has a .961 OPS versus righties, and also a .918 OPS on the road. Charlie Morton has a 3.20 ERA, but a 3.55 ERA at home. On top of that, he has a 3.70 FIP all in all.
Bargain Bats
Since 2021, J.D. Davis ($2,900) has an .802 OPS versus righties, even though he is right-handed. On top of that, in his first full season with the Giants he has an .841 OPS on the road. Graham Ashcraft's last few starts have gone well, but before that he was pitching brutally, leaving him with a 5.95 ERA on the campaign. In his career, righties have hit .314 against him as well.
Spencer Torkelson ($2,900) still hasn't lived up to being a first overall pick, but he does have 14 homers this year. He also has a .755 OPS versus lefties and a .743 OPS on the road. Ryan Yarbrough has a career 4.38 ERA, and since 2021 righties have hit .285 against the southpaw.
Stacks to Consider
Cubs vs. Nationals (Trevor Williams): Cody Bellinger ($3,900), Ian Happ ($2,900), Mike Tauchman ($2,800)
Williams is a full-time starter again, and he's gotten back to his old form, which is to say posting a FIP over 5.00. Specifically, he has a 5.44 FIP and has allowed 1.83 home runs per nine innings. Lefties have hit .296 against him, and since 2021 he has allowed lefties to hit .293 against him, so I have two southpaws in this stack.
Bellinger has surprisingly slashed .308/.365/.523 with 12 homers and 12 stolen bases. Even in his down 2022 campaign with the Dodgers, the lefty had 19 home runs and 14 swiped bags. Happ's power is down, but his .372 OBP certainly stands out. While he's a switch hitter, since 2021 he has a .783 OPS versus righties. Tauchman spent 2022 in Korea, and now he's back in MLB and DHing against righties for the Cubs. He has a .360 OBP with three homers and three stolen bases in 46 games, but he also has an .816 OPS at home.
Blue Jays vs. Padres (Yu Darvish): George Springer ($3,300), Brandon Belt ($2,800), Kevin Kiermaier ($2,500)
Since joining the Padres, Darvish has been decidedly better at home, posting a 3.18 ERA in San Diego but a 4.52 ERA elsewhere. This year, he's been worse in both scenarios, and that includes a 5.52 ERA on the road. Lefties have hit .262 against him, so I went with two southpaws from Toronto.
Springer is a righty, but he also has a .273 average with 13 homers and 13 stolen bases. He's been slightly better versus his fellow right-handers, but it's his .860 OPS at home that stands out to me. The Blue Jays are keeping Belt away from lefties, a wise move, but his .838 OPS against righties has justified the team bringing him in. It also helps he has an .877 OPS at home for good measure. Kiermaier is really showing off his speak with five triples and 10 stolen bases. Additionally his OPS in Toronto this year is .903.
