MLB Wednesday: Astros bats lead daily fantasy baseball plays

Wednesday brings a mix of day and night games across baseball. Let's turn our attention towards the main evening slate on Yahoo and highlight some pitchers and hitters to target.

Pitchers

Bryce Elder ($37) performed well over his 54 innings with the Braves last season, recording a 3.17 ERA and a 3.78 FIP. That has carried over into this season with his 1.14 ERA and 2.52 FIP over four starts. His strikeout rate has also improved to 24.0 percent, which is more than three percentage points higher than last season. Expect another valuable stat line in a matchup against the Marlins, who have scored the second-fewest runs in baseball.

Anthony DeSclafani ($29) had his first bad performance of the season in his last outing, allowing four runs over five innings to the Mets. Prior to that, he had three straight quality starts. What has been impressive about him out of the gate is that he has walked only two batters over 24 innings. Up next is a matchup with the Cardinals, who have just a .702 OPS on the road this year.

Steven Matz ($32) has not pitched well to begin the season. He has a 1.64 WHIP, allowing at least four runs in three of his four starts. However, he might be worth taking a chance on in tournament play. The Giants have struck out the most times in baseball and they have the worst OPS against left-handed pitchers.

Top Targets

MacKenzie Gore ($30) has had control issues. He recorded a 12.0 percent walk rate last season and has been even worse this year with a 16.3 percent walk rate. That makes Pete Alonso ($22) a great option for when Gore takes on the Mets. Not only does Alonso bring a ton of power to the plate, but he also has a good eye, posting a 9.9 percent walk rate for his career.

James Outman ($23) has provided a huge boost to a Dodgers' lineup that lost Trea Turner during the winter. He is hitting for a ton of power, generating a .392 ISO. He also hit for power in the minors, including last season when he had a .335 ISO at Triple-A. While strikeouts are a problem for him, they might not be in a matchup against Roansy Contreras ($31), who has just a 21.2 percent strikeout rate for his career.

Bargain Bats

Drew Smyly ($37) took a perfect game into the eighth inning in his last start, which came against the Dodgers. Since he pitched so well, hitters on the Padres might not be included in that many entries. However, Manny Machado ($10) and Nelson Cruz ($11) have salaries that are low enough to make them worth considering in tournament play. Machado has a career .359 wOBA versus lefties, while Cruz has a .391 wOBA against them.

Stacks to Consider

Angels vs. Luis Medina ($25), Athletics: Shohei Ohtani ($18), Mike Trout ($26), Hunter Renfroe ($19)

This will be a significant jump for Medina, who had not pitched above Double-A prior to this season. He has also had control issues, including walking 62 batters over 92.2 innings last season. This is not an easy lineup for him to navigate in his big-league debut. Trout and Ohtani have career 14.9 percent and 11.4 percent walk rates, respectively, and all three of these hitters bring plenty of power to the plate.

Cubs vs. Michael Wacha ($28), Padres: Patrick Wisdom ($24), Dansby Swanson ($20), Ian Happ ($21)

Wacha is not an overpowering force, posting a 20.8 percent strikeout rate for his career. That doesn't leave him with a significant margin for error. In one start against the Braves, he had 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings. In his other three starts, he had eight strikeout and allowed 16 runs over 14.1 innings. The Cubs have struck out the third-fewest times in baseball, making them a prime team to stack. Off to a terrific start is Wisdom, who has a .409 wOBA and has slugged nine home runs.

Astros vs. Calvin Faucher ($25), Rays: Alex Bregman ($18), Jose Abreu ($9), Jeremy Pena ($16)

Faucher is expected to serve as an opener for the Rays, with lefty Josh Fleming likely to follow and pitch multiple innings. Fleming doesn't miss a lot of bats, posting a career 16.1 percent strikeout rate that has contributed to his 1.42 WHIP. This right-handed trio is intriguing for an Astros stack, with Bregman standing out. For his career, he has a .225 ISO and a .382 wOBA against left-handed pitchers.