Here we are on a Wednesday. We had a close double-up win last week and are now 1-1 on the season with our Razzball DFS articles in building winning lineups. I am writing the short schedule Wednesday evening article today so looking to find the guys that are going to be zeroes that turn into heroes from the bottom of the lineups in a couple of these games.
I’ll be bringing you my DFS picks for the main evening slate on Wednesday, April 19th, 2023. If you play on DraftKings, it is an 4-game slate starting at 6:05 Central time. This article will be primarily focused on the DraftKings slate, so if you play on Fanduel I encourage you to sign up for the DFS tools to help you make the best decisions for your lineups on FanDuel, DraftKings, and Yahoo.
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Joe Ryan, SP: $9,600. Joe Ryan has come out of the gates SMOKING in 2023. He is 3-0 with 26 Ks and only 3 BBs in 19.0 IP and a 2.84 ERA. His only real issue has been the long ball allowing 3 of them so far. It’s early, but Ryan looks like he is taking the next step toward becoming a top option across all of baseball. He’ll face the Red Sox in Fenway on Wednesday night. They are middle of the pack vs RHP so far in 2023 with a .709 OPS.
Kyle Bradish, SP: $6,600. Kyle Bradish will come off the IL Wednesday night to face the Nationals in Washington. After taking a liner off the foot in his first start he has been working on maintaining his arm strength while on the IL. He built up to 83 pitches in a rehab start Fridays so if he is throwing well he should be able to get close to 100 pitches. Bradish was one of the arms I thought could fulfill the vaunted sleeper label and significantly outperform his draft status this year in fantasy. With him facing the Nationals to start the year I also hope he outperforms his DFS cost tonight.
Alejandro Kirk, C: $3,700. Kirk hasn’t gotten off to a great start so far this season, but it’s depressed his value to the point where he is in play. Currently sitting at a .690 OPS. He’ll face Luis Garcia who hasn’t been sharp up to this point with a 7.71 ERA, 15 strikeouts and 7 walks in 14 Innings pitched. He’s also allowed 3 Home Runs in those 14 innings.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B: $5,600. Guerrero on the other hand gets the same match-up as Kirk, but is rolling so far on the young season hitting .357 with 3 Home Runs. He hasn’t cracked 20 Fantasy points since April 6th so he’s due for a big one.
Brandon Drury, 2B: $3,700. The big opportunity tonight is to bet against the Jhony Brito bounceback because I don’t think a light breeze blowing at Yankee stadium is going to do Brito any favors if he continues to struggle with leaving balls over the middle of the plate and not striking many batters out. Drury has struggled out of the gate and has been on the bench a few times, but appears to have become the preferred choice to get more ABs over Luis Renfrigo on the infield. If he is on the bench tonight you can pivot to Renfrigo.
Jose Miranda, 3B: $2,800. If you are going to win a Double-up on a short schedule you have to hit on the lower priced options as there really isn’t a lot of variance as almost everyone has the top options in their lineups. Miranda has yet to hit a long ball on the young season, but he will face Corey Kluber who has allowed 4 of them so far in 13 innings. Hopefully, Jose channels some inner Canseco tonight at Fenway.
CJ Abrams, SS: $2,300. Going against one of my pitchers, but I like the OF high-tier options instead of playing Mateo or Bichette here. Abrams has hit safely in the last 3 contests, but he is squarely on my prospect bust list after watching him last year. Nothing he has done so far makes me think I should change my mind. So, CJ….If you are listening….change my mind tonight.
Shohei Ohtani, OF: $6,200. Ohtani has struck out more than normal early this year, but he is still hitting .300 with 4 Home runs so far including one last night. The fade Brito train is chugging along.
Mike Trout, OF: $6,000. Ditto so far on the strikeouts for Trout so thinking it’s more of a function of some of the pitchers the Angels have faced early in the year. I’ve got Angels in my outfield!
Whit Merrifield, OF: $3,500. Old Whitney looking a lot less like Pink Whitney the last week. In his last 6 contests he has 9 hits and a pair of steals. He has yet to go yard on the season so maybe tonight is the night.
I’m Only Happy When It Rains
No weather issues on the horizon for rain for either the day games or night games unless storms fire up early near Kansas City. Winds will be blowing out at 15-20 in KC and St. Louis, and out at 10-15 in Denver.
Doing Lines In Vegas
I did mention I do a bit of Sports Handicapping. Follow me on Twitter @TheGreat Knoche for more info. I’ll give out a Free Play here every Tuesday, but you can find all my free and premium picks for MLB and a few other sports at The Odds Breakers
As showcased in the DFS I think the Angels are going to score some runs against the Yankees tonight. Griffin Canning goes for the Angels so I don’t think he’s going to keep them scoreless either. Play the over 9 in the NYY/LAA contest.
