This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
After a Wednesday afternoon chock-a-block with MLB action, we still have several games left in the evening. In this case, seven games starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT or later. To make your Wednesday decisions easier on the DFS front, here are my lineup recommendations.
Pitching
Tanner Houck, BOS vs. TAM ($11,000): It's been a remarkable start to the season for Houck. Through eight games he has a 2.24 ERA. If you think that's pure luck, his FIP is actually 2.16, even better than his ERA. The Rays have been below average in terms of runs scored, so Houck's hot start could continue.
Framber Valdez, HOU vs. OAK ($9,200): Valdez's season has been limited by injury, but he remains excellent at keeping the ball in the park. A modern MLB pitcher who has only allowed 0.74 homers per nine innings in his career? That's impressive. The Athletics are surprisingly not in the bottom 10 in runs scored, but that's because they are in the top five in home runs. Obviously, Valdez is built to avoid that issue.
Griffin Canning, LAA vs. STL ($6,500): After a woeful start to the season, Canning has a 3.67 ERA over his last five starts. That's not great, I know, but it's viable, especially with this matchup on the docket. The Cardinals are 29th in runs scored.
Top Targets
True Yankee status has already been bestowed upon Juan Soto ($4,100) by… whoever does that. He's slashed .313/.413/.534 with nine homers and four swiped bags. Since 2022, the former National and Padre has a .966 OPS versus righties. Pablo Lopez is one of the few pitchers who has the command and control not to issue a walk to Soto, but since 2022 lefties have hit .257 against him, including .271 last year.
I'll admit I had a "wait, what?" moment when I saw that Jarren Duran ($3,100) already has six triples in only 42 games. His nine stolen bases? That tracked with me, but to have six triples a quarter of the way through the season is remarkable. The lefty (who has slugged .456 against righties since 2022) will face righty Taj Bradley on Wednesday. Look beyond his 1.50 ERA, because he has made one start this season. As a rookie, he posted a 5.59 ERA.
Bargain Bats
Having joined the Cubs and earned a spot at first base, Michael Busch ($2,800) has slugged .474 and his seven home runs. His OPS against righties is over .800, but so is his OPS on the road. Charlie Morton has a 3.14 ERA, but a 3.67 FIP. He has a career 3.62 FIP and is 40, so we pretty much know what to expect from him at this point.
Last year, Nolan Schanuel ($2,400) had a .402 OBP in 29 games. He serves as the leadoff hitter for the Angels frequently now thanks to that skill. Also, because there is an overall lack of talent on the team. Lance Lynn is back with the Cardinals, but he remains a righty with an issue against left-handed hitter. Over the last three seasons, southpaws like Schanuel have batted .273 against him.
Stacks to Consider
Rangers vs. Guardians (Carlos Carrasco): Adolis Garcia ($3,800), Nathaniel Lowe ($3,100), Josh Smith ($2,800)
After a tough three-season tenure with the Mets that saw him post an ERA over 6.00 twice, Carrasco has returned to Cleveland and… is still quite bad. He has a 5.36 ERA, and his strikeout rate has not bounced back. The righty has managed 6.92 strikeouts per nine innings. Lefties and righties have both hit Carrasco well in recent years, but this season lefties have hit .293 against him, so I have two southpaws in this stack.
Garcia hits right handed, but through he gets on base more against lefties, since 2020 he's actually slugged .480 versus righties, compared to .470 against left handers. His greater splits are of the home/road variety. Since 2022 he has an .863 OPS in Texas' ballpark. Lowe has suffered a power outage of sorts, but he's hit .310 and gotten on base at a .426 clip, so he's still contributing. He has an .833 OPS versus righties over the last three seasons, so hopefully matchups like this will help his power return. Smith is only getting regular playing time due to Josh Jung's injury, but he has responded with a .272/.372/.424 slash line. That's bolstered by an .833 OPS versus righties.
Astros vs. Athletics (Aaron Brooks): Kyle Tucker ($4,300), Yordan Alvarez ($3,700), Jon Singleton ($2,600)
The Athletics have called up Brooks from Triple-A due to injuries in the rotation, but he is no promising prospect. No, he's 34 and has a career 6.55 ERA at the MLB level. This is a desperation play from a franchise lacking in talent, and that is to the benefit of the Astros, and this stack of three lefties.
Even though Tucker is coming off back-to-back 25/25 seasons, he's in line for a career year at this rate. In addition to his 13 home runs and six swiped bags, his .401 OBP and .596 slugging percentage are both personal bests. Alvarez is not in line for a career year, though he still has eight home runs. The Cuban has struggled versus righties and at home, but in the prior two seasons had an OPS over 1.000 against right handers. Even with his issues this year, he still has a .914 OPS at home since 2022 as well. Due to the fiasco that signing Jose Abreu turned out to be, Singleton is now in MLB and serving as the first baseman when a righty is on the mound. He's hit four homers, and over the last three weeks has a .793 OPS.
