This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
It's the true blue home stretch of the MLB regular season. "Undecided" becomes a more popular starting pitcher, though the RotoWire pitching grid is usually dead on, if you want a reference point (it's mine, that's for sure). There are nine MLB games starts at 7:07 p.m. EDT or later. These are my DFS lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Pablo Lopez, MIN vs. OAK ($11,300): Lopez gets the start against the Athletics, he racks up some strikeouts, his offense supports him, and he exits after five innings with a win in tow, tuned up for the playoffs. That's what I envision, at least. Lopez has a 3.38 FIP and has struck out 10.82 batters per nine innings. The Athletics are last in runs scored and team OPS. It all tracks, does it not?
Framber Valdez, HOU at SEA ($10,600): This is the biggest series going, but I trust the 'Stros over the Mariners with the stakes at this level. Once again, Valdez is going to hold opponents to under one homer per nine innings, and he's held his fellow southpaws to a .213 average. Thinking of the Mariners lineup, there are a few key bats that are out of luck with a lefty on the mound.
Dane Dunning, TEX at LAA ($8,200): When you have a team with everything to play for against a team with nothing to play for, not to mention a litany of key injuries, that's a matchup to target. Dunning has been far from great, but he does have a 3.38 ERA on the road, plus a strong, healthy offense to support him. The Angels may be in the middle of the league in runs scored, but Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout aren't walking through that door.
Top Targets
There's not much left to motivate Matt Olson ($4,500) in terms of milestones, given that he's already locked in many personal bests. For example, he has hit three triples! Oh, and the 53 home runs, 43 of them coming off righties. Jameson Taillon, who is right-handed, has a 5.56 ERA on the road, partially because he has given up 1.8 homers per nine innings in those outings as well.
For the third year in a row, Yordan Alvarez ($3,900) has hit the 30-homer mark. Of course, he's done it in only 110 games, and he's slugged .587 on the season. The Cuban has an OPS over 1.000 against righties and on the road. Bryce Miller has some strong points as a rookie, such as his performance against righties. On the flip side, lefties have hit .298 against the right hander.
Bargain Bats
There are specific parameters to adhere to when you roster Edouard Julien ($2,900). Fortunately, those parameters are in place Wednesday. The rookie has an .885 OPS against righties and a .926 OPS at home. Minnesota is at home for this one, and Joey Estes is a righty who will be making his second MLB start. In his first start he allowed six runs, five of them earned, in 4.2 innings.
Second base isn't a high-level offensive position, and Brice Turang ($2,300) is locked in as the starter at that position for the Brewers. He has limited power, but at least he's slugged over .300 against righties and at home. Also, he has 26 stolen bases, which is not too shabby. Miles Mikolas is a highly hittable righty with a 4.95 ERA, and lefties are batting .285 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Dodgers at Rockies (Noah Davis): Freddie Freeman ($4,700), Max Muncy ($4,200), Jason Heyward ($3,100)
As if the Dodgers needed any help offensively, they get to play one of their final series at Coors Field. Oh, and see Davis on the mound. So far, he has a career ERA of 9.11, and even his 5.95 FIP is quite poor. Lefties have hit a whopping .362 against him in MLB as well, so I have three southpaws for this stack.
Freeman may be able to go over 100 RBI in this game, but really I am just hoping he gets to 60 doubles. He has an 1.052 OPS on the road this season, so that's an encouraging circumstance. Muncy is all about power, as he's hit .216 but tallied 36 home runs. While he's been better at home, he's at Coors, and he's also slugged .535 against righties. Never quite the hitter many envisioned when he was a young player, Heyward has hit .274 with a .489 slugging percentage in 2023. He has an .836 OPS against righties, and also an .859 OPS on the road.
Rangers at Angels (Griffin Canning): Marcus Semien ($3,600), Mitch Garver ($3,200), Leody Taveras ($2,900)
Well, Canning has managed to drop his ERA from 5.60 to 4.39, and dropped his HR/9 rate from 2.01 to 1.56, so at least that's… progress? Okay, so those are still bad numbers, and he has a 4.85 ERA at home for good measure. Now, Canning has been quite good against lefties, even though he is right handed, but righties have hit .264 against him. As such, I have three bats who hit right handed.
Marcus Semien has hit .277 with 28 homers and will finish with over 100 runs scored and RBI. He's also better against right handers, who he has an .838 OPS against. Garver has only played in 83 games, but he's still managed to hit 19 home runs to go with his .382 OBP. While he's better against lefties and at home, his .891 OPS against righties and .879 OPS on the road both more than suffice. Taveras has picked up 13 homers and 14 stolen bases. He's a switch hitter, but has a .774 OPS against righties.
Cubs at Atlanta (Darius Vines): Cody Bellinger ($3,800), Nico Hoerner ($3,400), Ian Happ ($3,200)
With little to play for until the postseason and a banged-up rotation, Atlanta's pitching situation is murky. Vines got called up from Triple-A, and RotoWire has him in line to start. Maybe it will be just a few innings before turning things over to the bullpen, but I have an assortment of options for this stack, and I will go with these three Cubs against what will likely be a manageable series of pitchers. Vines, for his part, has a 4.40 ERA.
Bellinger has hit .309 with 26 homers and 20 stolen bases. If he sees a lefty out of the bullpen, by the way, he has a .984 OPS in those matchups. Against lefties, Hoerner has hit .304 with and slugged .411. Against righties, he has a .352 OBP and has stolen 28 of his 43 bases. That's a very good profile for a possible bullpen game. Happ, as a switch hitter, is conducive to a bullpen game as well. Vines, though, provides a good starting point, as he has an .821 OPS against righties. He also has an .824 OPS on the road.
