This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Are you ready for a busy Wednesday night of baseball? That's good, because there are 12 games in the evening slate. With the first pitch at 7 p.m. EDT, here are my lineup recommendations for DFS purposes.
Pitching
Clayton Kershaw, LAD vs. CWS ($11,100): Kershaw has remained a top pitcher in his age-35 season. He has a 2.95 ERA through 13 starts, and he's posted an 1.45 ERA on the road. The White Sox are one of a couple teams that have a sub-.300 OBP as a squad, so the veteran pitcher should keep up his impressive performance at home.
Luis Castillo, SEA vs. MIA ($10,800): Castillo has delivered exactly as hoped for since the Mariners traded for him. This year he has a 2.70 ERA, including an 1.89 ERA at home. The Marlins are fighting just to avoid being in the bottom five in runs scored again, and outside of Luis Arraez and possibly Jorge Soler don't provide too much threat.
Eury Perez, MIA at SEA ($9,200): Perhaps the exciting rookie has been lucky, as he has a 4.33 FIP to go with his 2.17 ERA. However, Perez has a 0.60 ERA over his last three starts, and the Mariners aren't too imposing themselves. Seattle is below average in runs scored, but with a bottom-eight team OPS that frankly makes it seem like it has been lucky on that front.
Top Targets
Leading off for a potent lineup and posting a .365 OBP definitely helps Mookie Betts ($4,200) rack up his counting stats. It also helps that he's hit 17 homers. Since 2021, Betts has a .925 OPS at home, and now he gets to face Mike Clevinger. Clevinger has kept lefties in check, but his fellow righties have hit .260 against him. On top of that, he has a 5.45 ERA on the road.
In addition to having slugged .488 and hitting 15 homers, Adolis Garcia ($3,800) is back to stealing bases as well. He's swiped six bags now after having 25 last year. While he's scuffled on the road in 2023, Garcia has an 1.008 OPS at home. In his career, Reid Detmers has a 5.09 ERA on the road, so the lefty could serve it up to Garcia on Wednesday.
Bargain Bats
Christian Walker ($3,300) has 12 homers this year after hitting 36 last season. Over the last two years his OPS against lefties is 35-percent better than his performance versus righties. Ranger Suarez is a southpaw who is getting lit up by righties. This year right-handed hitters have averaged .316 against him.
The all-or-nothing swing of Adam Duvall ($2,900) is back healthy. He may have a sub-.300 OBP in his career, but he's also slugged .471, and he hit 38 homers in his last full season in 2021. While he's struggled at home, unsurprising for a Colorado pitcher, Austin Gomber has also been brutal on the road. In his time with the Rockies, Gomber has a 5.88 ERA and has allowed 1.7 homers per nine innings.
Stacks to Consider
Rays at Athletics (Luis Medina): Randy Arozarena ($3,900), Yandy Diaz ($3,800), Josh Lowe ($3,700)
The rookie campaign of Medina has not yielded encouragement. He's posted a 6.64 FIP and has allowed 2.60 home runs per nine innings. Righties have hit .267 against him, while lefties have hit .271 against him, so I am good with having a couple righties in the mix with one southpaw.
Arozarena has slashed .286/.404/.485 this year. He's hit 12 homers and stolen nine bases, putting him on pace for his third 20/20 season in as many campaigns. Diaz has a career .375 OBP, but this year he's slashed .302/.396/.530 with 12 homers. That includes a .968 OPS versus his fellow righties. Lowe, meanwhile, has hit .295 with 11 home runs and 15 swiped bags. In his career he has an .826 OPS versus righties and an .833 OPS on the road as well.
Blue Jays at Orioles (Kyle Bradish): Bo Bichette ($3,600), Vladimir Guerrero ($3,400), Whit Merrifield ($3,000)
After having a 4.90 ERA as a rookie, Bradish has dropped his ERA to 4.25 in 2023, which is better, though not exactly good. He's allowed fewer home runs, but his line-drive percentage is up to 23.4, which doesn't bode well. In his career, Bradish has allowed his fellow righties to hit .278 against him, and fortunately the Blue Jays have a righty-heavy lineup.
Bichette has a career .300/.341/.494 slash line. He's already hit 14 home runs this year, and he has a .938 OPS on the road as well. Guerrero has struggled at home, which is unusual for him, but his performance on the road has been in line with his usual productivity. He has a .965 OPS in away games, and while Bradish doesn't allow a lot of homers, Vladito is a career .284 hitter. Merrifield is hitting for average and stealing bases with gusto. He has a .300 average and has swiped 17 bags.
Reds at Royals (Daniel Lynch): Matt McLain ($3,700), Spencer Steer ($3,400), TJ Friedl ($2,900)
Lynch has a career 5.23 ERA, which is probably why he started this season all the way down in Double-A to try and retool. His 4.41 ERA through three starts in 2023 is not encouraging, especially since he's faced the Rockies and Nationals at home among those outings. The Reds are riding a youth movement, and it has made them an intriguing option for DFS, including stacks.
McLain got called up after he managed an 1.184 OPS in Triple-A. He has slashed .322/.375/.492, including a .967 OPS against southpaws. Steer has posted a .278/.359/.465 slash line with eight homers and five stolen bases. In his career, he has an .864 OPS versus lefties as well. Friedl is a lefty, but I'm still including him. He actually has a .933 OPS versus lefties since 2021. Meanwhile, lefties have hit .284 against Lynch in his career.
