Wednesday brings a frontloaded split slate with a four-game featured slate this evening, first pitch of 7:05 p.m. ET on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo. Before you lock in lineups, several Stokastic tools can help identify daily MLB DFS Top Stacks, key pitchers and MLB DFS picks. Let’s dig into the player projections and popularity for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups, including RHP MacKenzie Gore in a home matchup against the Baltimore Orioles, along with the Angles in the Bronx taking on RHP Jhony Brito.
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers and Top Stacks
MLB DFS Picks: Spotlight Pitchers
Main Slate Primary Pitching Target: RHP MacKenzie Gore vs. Baltimore Orioles — 4.8 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $9,500 | FanDuel $9,500 | Yahoo $39
The four-game featured slate is lacking strong pitching options, so we are going to want to target the weaker offenses. Normally that would be the Nationals leading the way, but it looks like Baltimore may be rolling out a bullpen game. So that has us flipping the script and taking on the Batters of Birdland in the Beltway Series. RHP MacKenzie Gore was a prospect of note in the San Diego MiLB system and he had mixed results in his 70 big league innings. He does profile as a potential frontline starter with nearly a strikeout per inning in most projection systems, however, that holds a lot of guesswork as he has logged only 37 innings at Triple-A and 85 in The Show.
There is a lot of talent in the Baltimore lineup, however, several of the key youngsters are as inexperienced as Gore. Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle are the steadier options, with youngsters Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson the prized prospects who have about as many good and bad “Did you see that?!” moments. Pickings are slim, but it does look like Gore is the most appealing of the available options.
Afternoon Slate Pitching Target: LHP Justin Steele at Oakland Athletics — 3.4 implied runs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings $6,600 | FanDuel $8,800 | Yahoo $30
Last season LHP Justin Steele was a pleasant surprise for Cubs fans as he continued to show improvement on his solid rookie campaign. This season he is off to a hot start and while we should expect some regression back to a 3.70-3.99 ERA, he should continue to notch around one strikeout per inning and limit home runs with his 52% ground ball rate.
Oakland has been dreadful against right-handed pitching and almost passable against lefties. Unfortunately for the A’s faithful, there is a lack of any top-end hitting that puts fear into opposing pitchers. Most everyone with any trade value is long since gone, leaving a collection of fifth outfielders and backup utility players filling out the day-to-day lineup card. Aledmys Diaz, Brent Rooker, Esteury Ruiz and Tony Kemp are more like death by one-thousand cuts, than batsmen that bring the thunder and lightning with their lumber.
MLB DFS Picks: Top Stacks
Main Slate Target: Los Angeles Angels at RHP Jhony Brito — 4.9 implied runs
Los Angeles is an easy team to recommend, with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani leading the way as one of the best righty-lefty combos in all of baseball. Over the last two-plus seasons, they have both been phenomenal against right-handed pitching and while they strike out 25% or more of the time, they also each have a double-digit walk rate and seemingly limitless power potential.
Taylor Ward is in the midst of a “prove it” season, though he has shown upside with a .206 ISO and a 129 wRC+ in his last 616 same-handed matchups. Anthony Rendon, of course, is a wild card as the former All-Star has dealt with a variety of injuries have limited him to just 364 at bats since the start of the 2021 season. Though he has only one extra-base hit in his 31 at bats this season, he does have nine RBIs, courtesy of Trout and Ohtani always being on base.
The Angels will be popular on the abbreviated slate tonight, though some differentiation can be found at the bottom of the order. Jake Lamb will be swinging from his heels, but he does profile well against Brito, which is a bonus. Young catcher Logan O’Hoppe has been on a bit of a heater and rookie Zach Neto has been called up and he has been called up to play shortstop as the slumping David Fletcher was sent to the minors to “work on some things” this weekend. Neto is the first member of the 2022 MLB Draft to make his big league debut and the 13th overall selection made the leap from out of the Double-A frying pan and into the fire that is The Show. Last but not least, Hunter Renfroe has a big bat and he can collect fantasy points in a hurry when he makes contact.
This collection of batsmen will be facing RHP Jhony Brito in just his fourth appearance. Brito is a nondescript prospect in the Yankees system who did not get his first taste of major league action until this year. The 25-year-old has been knocking around the New York farm system since 2016 and he did not even make it to Triple-A until last year. He was unable to approach anything close to a strikeout per inning once he cleared Single-A, and he seems destined to be an anonymous reliever who fades away after a season or two.
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Afternoon Slate Target: New York Mets at RHP Noah Syndergaard — 4.5 implied runs
Despite breaking into the league as a full-time starter back in 2015, RHP Noah Syndergaard will be making only his 150th appearance in a major league game. Injuries have continually kept him from any sustained success, but he is still a decent starter. Of course, he will be saying hello to some familiar faces as he takes on one of his former teams in the Mets on Wednesday afternoon.
Sadly Syndergaard is no longer a strikeout artist and after missing the entire 2020 season, he has managed only 6.72 strikeouts per nine innings in his 30 subsequent appearances. To his credit, he does continue to limit home runs and walks, but that level of sustained contact will catch up with him sooner rather than later against the elite offenses in the league.
Cleanup hitter Pete Alonso is one of the best in the game when facing fellow righties and he has a .369 wOBA and a .258 ISO in his last 564 same-handed matchups. Brandon Nimmo looks good at the top of the order with the platoon advantage, and he is all but assured of seeing five plate appearances in Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. Switch-hitters Francisco Lindor and Eduardo Escobar give us options at the top and bottom of the order and potential differentiation if we want to make a wraparound stack from Escobar to Nimmo, Lindor and Alonso.
Final Thoughts for Wednesday, April 19 | MLB DFS Picks
Today the weather looks like it will cooperate, and everything is settling down to a normal Wednesday “getaway” day.
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