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MLB DFS: Roll with Rays in your lineup picks

mike barner
·5 min read

MLB Wednesday brings a lot of early baseball with six afternoon games. Among them is a matchup between the Marlins and Rockies at Coors Field, and Justin Verlander starting for the Astros against the Athletics. The night portion brings more excitement, including the Yankees hosting the Angels. Jose Quintana has been off to a surprisingly hot start for the Pirates, and he will be tested when he takes on the Dodgers in Los Angeles. As far as the main eight-game slate on Yahoo goes, here are some hitters and pitchers to consider while crafting your lineups.

Pitchers

Tarik Skubal ($41) has the makings of one of the leaders of the Tigers starting rotation for years to come. He has a 2.44 ERA and a 2.03 FIP through nine starts, with his most significant improvement coming in the home run department. After being taken deep 35 times across 149.1 innings last season, he's given up two home runs over 51.2 innings this season. He's a viable option for his start against the Twins, who will be without one of their better hitters in Carlos Correa (COVID-19).

The Rays seems to be masters at churning out young starting pitchers. Jeffrey Springs ($34) isn't that young anymore at 29 years old, but he may have found a home with Tampa Bay. He worked exclusively out of the bullpen last year, recording a 3.43 ERA and a 3.91 FIP across 44.2 innings. He also increased his strikeout rate to 35.2 percent. The Rays now need him to start, which he has done five times this season. He didn't allow more than three runs in any of those starts, and he held the Yankees to two runs over six innings in his last outing. More success could be coming against the Rangers, who rank inside the bottom-10 in baseball in OPS.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jeffrey Springs (59) delivers a pitch during the MLB regular season game
Consider Jeffrey Springs in your MLB DFS lineups today. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Athletics are the only team in baseball to have a worse OPS than the Tigers. Amazingly, the Tigers have hit only 29 home runs all season. To put that into perspective, Aaron Judge has gone deep 18 times by himself for the Yankees. Looking to take advantage of their struggling lineup will be Bailey Ober ($42), who has a 3.25 ERA that is supported by a 3.03 FIP.

Top Targets

The Yankees scored nine runs in the first game of their series with the Angels on Tuesday, so their best hitter, Judge ($27), must have had a big night at the plate, right? Well, while he did record a walk, RBI and a run scored, he was actually the only Yankees starter not to register a hit. With his 198 wRC+, don't expect him to be held down for too long. He's a great option against Reid Detmers ($32) since he has a career 172 wRC+ at Yankee Stadium.

Kyle Bradish ($27) has shown flashes of why he was so highly thought of while coming up through the minor leagues, but his first taste of the majors has not gone well, overall. Across six starts, he has a 7.31 ERA and a 5.57 FIP. This could be a great matchup to roll with Ty France ($20), who is 21-for-47 (.447) with two home runs and five doubles over his current 12 game hitting streak.

Bargain Bats

Miguel Andujar ($10) made this section Tuesday and finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. He has at least one hit in five of his last six games and has become an important member of the Yankees' injury-riddled lineup. His salary has increased by two dollars compared to Tuesday, but he could still provide value.

It's not often that a hitter as talented as Teoscar Hernandez ($7) has such a cheap salary. However, his 44 wRC+ is a big reason. The good news is, he's starting to show signs of bouncing back, hitting 6-for-18 with two doubles over his last five games. A matchup versus Michael Kopech ($47) isn't ideal, but Hernandez could still be worth the risk at such a cheap salary.

Stacks to Consider

Brewers vs. Kyle Hendricks ($29), Cubs: Christian Yelich ($17), Rowdy Tellez ($19), Andrew McCutchen ($13)

It's been a rough season for Hendricks, who had been one of the most reliable starters in baseball. As if his 5.20 ERA wasn't ugly enough, his FIP is even worse at 5.63. He's given up 1.8 HR/9, and his 7.8 percent walk rate is on pace to be the highest mark of his career. Two matchups against the Brewers this season have resulted in him allowing seven runs over 9.2 innings, so expect them to be a popular team to stack when he faces them for a third time.

Red Sox vs. Hunter Greene ($29), Reds: Rafael Devers ($27), J.D. Martinez ($25), Alex Verdugo ($12)

After three straight promising starts, Greene was roughed up for five runs over five innings by the Cubs in his last outing. He gave up three home runs and has now allowed 15 of them over 44.1 innings. His propensity for allowing the long ball could be a problem against Devers, who has launched 11 home runs this season.

Rays vs. Jon Gray ($34), Rangers: Randy Arozarena ($19), Ji-Man Choi ($15), Kevin Kiermaier ($16)

Gray couldn't take advantage of a favorable matchup versus the Athletics in his last start, giving up five runs over six innings. His ERA sits at 5.56 ERA, while his FIP is more respectable at 4.02. If he's going to get his ERA down, he'll need to improve on his 43.9 percent hard-hit rate allowed. It wouldn't be a surprise to see his struggles continue against the Rays, particularly Arozarena. He's rebounded from a slow start to record a .378 wOBA and a 158 wRC+ since May 1st.