(Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)
Leading off
Five afternoon games grace the 15-game Wednesday schedule. They start at 3:40 p.m. with the Baltimore Orioles at the Seattle Mariners.
Clayton Kershaw draws Jordan Zimmermann. Gerrit Cole faces Michael Wacha. These matchups of aces jeopardize the four-point win bonus for each of these usual lockdown arms, so their high-end FantasyScore prices could disappoint.
Jacob deGrom is a potential go-to at home against the Colorado Rockies, but it’s hard to think Colorado will be held scoreless again.
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Pitchers
Jason Hammel, Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers
$8,500 salary | 17.0% of cap
Here’s your top-end arm for Wednesday. Milwaukee has a .680 OPS on the road in 2015. While Hammel has come down a bit since July started, this should be a favorable matchup, especially if Ryan Braun has to sit again.
Jake Odorizzi, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Atlanta Braves
$6,400 salary | 12.8% of cap
The Freddie Freeman-less Bravos are a pleasant opponent for pitchers. The club already has the third-worst OPS in the bigs (.674), and Odorizzi (2.77 ERA this year) is priced for profit.
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Risk/reward
Chris Heston, San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros
$7,400 salary | 14.8% of cap (early game)
He’s slightly less of a bargain than in past weeks because of his rough start to August (8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 innings). But he still boasts a 2.57 ERA at home on the season, and the Astros, though potent, strike out a bunch.
Batters
OF Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers (Daniel Norris)
$5,800 salary | 11.6% of cap
Ride with the established lefty-killer: .362, 5 HR, 17 RBI in 130 AB against them this year.
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1B Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox (John Danks)
$5,700 salary | 7.2% of cap (early game)
The Machine has hit only .204 with a .663 OPS against lefties this year, but Danks has allowed the sixth-highest slugging percentage (.511) among qualified starters to righty bats. And Albert has hit five homers in just 98 at-bats against Danks’ ilk this season.
3B Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins vs. Texas Rangers (Nick Martinez)
$5,100 salary | 10.2% of cap
This pitching machine should do wonders for Sano, who carries a .311/.429/.608 slash line against righties and has smashed four of his five home runs at Target Field.
SS Adeiny Hechavarria, Miami Marlins vs. Boston Red Sox (Eduardo Rodriguez)
$3,600 salary | 7.2% of cap (early game)
Another standard-issue DFS play against southpaws, Hechavarria has torched them for a .382 clip with a .434 on-base percentage and .553 slugging percentage.
