Check out all of our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. MLB betting tips for each day's slate of games will also be added in the morning. MLB game odds are provided by ESPN BET
, and all fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.
Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, including what you might have missed from last night, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball news.
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Pitchers to stream on Wednesday
Jose Soriano emerged from the break with two quality starts, albeit with just 10 strikeouts over those 13 frames. With the Los Angeles Angels hosting the Texas Rangers, the right-hander enjoys a favorable matchup to maintain his momentum. The Rangers' offense sports the sixth lowest wOBA with a righty on the hill.
Brayan Bello is credited with eight quality starts, though he deserves another for completing six innings while allowing just three runs after coming in to resume a suspended game last month. The Boston Red Sox wrap up a three-game road set with the Minnesota Twins, giving Bello a solid shot at another quality start as he'll square off with a below average offense that could be playing without Byron Buxton.
Zack Littell is No. 5 on Wednesday's starting pitcher rankings for the Tampa Bay Rays in their road date with the New York Yankees. Part of the favorable listing is due to the Yankees being without slugger Aaron Judge, but even without his power, the club still ranks sixth in the league in home run rate. The long ball is Littell's Achilles heel as he's surrendered a career-high 26 homers in only 128 1/3 innings, though only five have occurred over his last 41 2/3 frames.
Pitchers to avoid on Wednesday
Shohei Ohtani is getting closer, but he's still not ready to be deployed as a conventional starter, limiting his utility as a pitcher in most formats. He completed three frames in each of his prior two outings, logging 46 pitches in his most recent effort. He's likely going to add another inning (around 15 pitches), but that's still not enough to qualify for a possible win when the Los Angeles Dodgers wrap up a series in the Great American Ballpark against the Cincinnati Reds.
Hitters to stream on Wednesday
After correcting for park factors, Kyle Freeland has been almost as bad on the road as when the Colorado Rockies are home. The lefty faces the Cleveland Guardians in Progressive Field, so he'll take on a lineup filled with righties and switch-hitters. The main targets are David Fry, Carlos Santana and Angel Martinez with Johnathan Rodriguez, Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio also in the mix.
Betting tips
Best/worst pitcher/hitter matchups and betting projections are generated by THE BAT X, a system created by Derek Carty using advanced methods like those used in MLB front offices, accounting for a variety of factors including player talent, ballparks, bullpens, weather, umpires, defense, catcher pitch-framing, and lots more. Betting projections for every player, team, and game can be found at EV Analytics.
Note: Expected Value is a measure of how good a bet is, factoring the probability that it will win versus the odds the book is providing. If you were to wager $1.00 100 times on a bet with an Expected Value of $25, you would win some and you would lose some, but in the end you would expect to come away with $25 in profit on your $100 investment.
Because odds typically do not get set until the previous day's games are completed, betting tips will be added in the morning.