This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Because of the way in which Wednesday's MLB games are laid out on the schedule, the evening slate is a bit light. Still, there are seven games on the docket starting at 6:35 p.m. EDT or later. That's not too shabby. I was still able to find some recommendations I like for your MLB DFS lineups, and here they are.
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Pitching
David Peterson, NYM vs. WAS ($9,600): It's not just that Peterson has a 2.80 ERA, but how he's gotten there. I would argue that the lefty hasn't had a single bad start this season. In his worst outing of the year, he only lasted 4.2 innings because he was a little wild and he only managed three strikeouts. However, he also only allowed a single run. If that's the basement, you've had a quality season. Washington is slightly below average in terms of runs scored, so I think Peterson won't end up with his first bad start of the year here, and probably will have a good outing.
Clarke Schmidt, NYY at KC ($8,800): This is an intriguing game. On the one side you find Kris Bubic, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, facing the Yankees' robust offense. On the other side you find Schmidt, who has a 4.04 ERA, taking on a bad offense. The Royals are in the bottom five in runs scored, but also last in home runs. As such, I'll go with Schmidt and bet on the matchup.
Top Targets
With two more hits Tuesday, one a homer, Juan Soto ($3,800) is really starting to look like Juan Soto. His OPS over the last two weeks is comfortably over 1.000, so let's not forget he came into this season with a career .953 OPS. Jake Irvin has only struck out 5.74 batters per nine innings, and he has a 4.66 ERA on the road.
While issues have abounded for the Astros offensively, Jeremy Pena ($3,200) has stepped up. In addition to his nine homers and 13 stolen bases, he's batting .319. What has been crucial for the shortstop's success is that, for the first time, he's hitting his fellow righties well. This year he has an .839 OPS in those matchups. Sean Burke has a 5.12 FIP for the White Sox, not to mention an 1.56 K/BB rate. Additionally, his fellow righties have hit .261 against him.
Bargain Bat
At least Jake Burger ($3,200) knows how to hit homers, and that obviously is beneficial for DFS purposes. He had 34 two seasons ago, 29 last year, and he has nine this season. Now, he's really struggled at his new home park, but Burger has slugged .505 on the road. This game is in Minnesota. David Festa had a 4.90 ERA last year, but after pitching well in Triple-A to start 2025 he has a 5.40 ERA through four big-league starts.
Stacks to Consider
Giants at Rockies (Kyle Freeland): Heliot Ramos ($4,400), Wilmer Flores ($3,500), Tyler Fitzgerald ($3,200)
It's time for the Giants to enjoy a trip to Coors Field. On Wednesday they see Freeland, who is on pace to have an ERA over 5.00 for the third season in a row. He's also on pace to have a K/9 rate below 7.00 for the fourth consecutive campaign. Since Freeland is a lefty, I do have three righties in this stack. Not included is Matt Chapman, who took a pitch to the hand Sunday. Even though X-rays were negative, I want to give his hand some space to heal.
Ramos erupted last season for 22 home runs in 121 games, and he has 11 homers through 65 games this season. Over the last three seasons he's slugged .507 on the road, but also slugged a robust .592 against lefties in that time. Flores has hit 11 homers, but he's also tallied 50 RBI. He's been decidedly better at home this year, but that's anomalous. Last season he really struggled at home but had a .720 OPS on the road, and the year prior when he hit well in general he had a .947 OPS in away games. Fitzgerald has really fallen off after having 15 homers and 17 swiped bags in only 96 games last year. What's really been clarified, though, is that he needs to face a lefty and to be away from San Fran's pitcher-friendly park to produce offensively. To that end, in his career he has an .830 OPS in away games, and a .909 OPS against southpaws.
Rays at Red Sox (Walker Buehler): Brandon Lowe ($3,300), Jonathan Aranda ($3,200), Josh Lowe ($3,100)
Unfortunately for Buehler, a change of scenery and further distance from from his 2022 Tommy John surgery hasn't helped him at all. Last year he had a 5.54 FIP in the regular season during his final campaign with the Dodgers. Now with Boston, Buehler has a 5.28 FIP. He remains quite homer prone, which was not the case prior to his injury. Given that, since his return, lefties have hit .305 against Buehler, I have three southpaws in this stack.
Lowe (Brandon, that is) has soared after a slow start. He has an 1.004 OPS over the last three weeks. Lowe has slugged .478 in his career, which is quite impressive for a second baseman. Though Aranda only has seven home runs, he's been hitting the ball really well. It's just that in addition to hitting the ball hard (only 13 percent of his hits have been classified as "soft"), Aranda hits ropes (21.9 line-drive percentage). Hey, line drives turn into hits at a higher clip than grounders or flies. While the other Lowe, Josh, only has three home runs and three stolen bases, he was injured for a while and has only played 24 games. Over the last three seasons he has a .785 OPS versus righties, and an .832 OPS on the road.
