MLB Wednesday: Fly with Blue Jays in your daily fantasy baseball plays
Wednesday's action brings a mix of day games and night games across baseball. Let's turn our focus to the evening slate and highlight some pitchers and hitters to target for your Yahoo lineups.
Pitchers
After allowing three unearned runs over six innings in his first start of the season, Kevin Gausman ($51) logged six shutout innings against the Royals in his second start. In total, he has recorded 14 strikeouts over 12 innings. Another favorable matchup awaits him, this one being against a Tigers team that scored the fewest runs in baseball last season.
Clayton Kershaw ($48) is a great option whenever he is on the slate. One of the main reasons for his success has been his ability to keep hitters off base. For his career, he has allowed a 1.00 WHIP. Wednesday brings a matchup against the Giants, who have a left-handed heavy lineup and are missing a key right-handed bat in Mitch Haniger (oblique), who is currently on the IL.
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The Rangers did some significant work on their starting rotation in the offseason, including bringing in Nathan Eovaldi ($39). He is coming off three straight seasons with an ERA of 3.87 or lower and a WHIP of 1.23 or lower. He recorded 12 strikeouts across 10.2 innings in his first two starts with the Rangers and his third outing will come against a Royals team that scored the seventh-fewest runs in baseball last year.
Top Targets
Talk about a rough way to begin the season. Through two starts, Ken Waldichuk ($25) has given up 14 runs and seven home runs over 8.2 innings. He has only made a total of nine starts in the majors after just reaching Triple-A in 2022. His inexperience and propensity for giving up home runs could be a problem against Ryan Mountcastle ($19), who has a career .223 ISO versus left-handed pitchers. Another appealing option on the Orioles is Adley Rutschman ($22), who has begun the season with a .479 wOBA.
Bargain Bats
Brad Keller ($27) is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he had a FIP of at least 4.50 and a WHIP of at least 1.50. Despite the Rangers losing Corey Seager to a hamstring injury Tuesday, they still have two hitters with cheaper salaries in Adolis Garcia ($14) and Josh Jung ($11) that have upside. Jung has worked his way into an everyday role at third base after posting back-to-back seasons with a wOBA of at least .356 at Triple-A.
Stacks to Consider
Blue Jays vs. Eduardo Rodriguez ($26), Tigers: Bo Bichette ($20), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($22), Matt Chapman ($24)
The Blue Jays have a lineup that is loaded with dangerous right-handed hitters, making this a difficult matchup for the lefty Rodriguez. One of their hottest hitters out of the gate is Chapman, who is batting .477 with three home runs. This could also be a great spot to deploy Bichette, who has four home runs of his own in the early going.
Rays vs. Chris Sale ($34), Red Sox: Wander Franco ($21), Randy Arozarena ($21), Isaac Paredes ($14)
It's been a rough beginning to the season for Sale, who has allowed 10 runs across eight innings. Injuries have derailed his career, limiting him to 48.1 total innings the last three seasons. He may never return to being the dominant pitcher that he was, and it could take him a while just to get comfortable on the mound again. With the Rays slugging their way to an 11-0 start, Sale presents an excellent stacking opportunity.
Dodgers vs. Alex Cobb ($35), Giants: Freddie Freeman ($22), Mookie Betts ($17), James Outman ($27)
Cobb took advantage of a favorable matchup versus the Royals in his last outing, giving up two runs over seven innings. Prior to that, he allowed two runs (one earned) while lasting just 3.2 innings against the Yankees. This will be a difficult matchup against the Dodgers, who he had a 4.98 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP against over four starts last season. Outman had a 1.017 OPS at Triple-A last season and has played his way into an everyday role this season, entering Tuesday with a 1.262 OPS.
