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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Reliever depth chart
Pitchers to stream Wednesday
Eury Perez was initially scheduled to take the hill Thursday, but the Miami Marlins decided to give their rotation an extra day, pushing the righty to Wednesday. He has struggled down the stretch with a high 8.53 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over his past five outings, spanning only 24 1/3 innings. He's been especially ineffective in his past two efforts, begging the question of whether he's healthy. His velocity, spin rate and pitch mix don't set off any alarms, but his command and control have wavered. He's also been victimized by a high BABIP and HR/FB% over his prior pair of starts. Assuming he's not hiding an injury, Perez is in a good spot to rebound when the Marlins host the Washington Nationals. He'll square off with a lineup vulnerable to strikeouts. Before his recent rough stretch, Perez was dominant.
Jose Soriano was enjoying a solid second half before being hit hard by the Athletics in his last outing. Before that, he posted a 3.17 ERA and 1.03 WHIP since the break, but he surrendered eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his last outing. Soriano is in a favorable spot to rebound when the Los Angeles Angels host the Minnesota Twins, sporting the lineup with the sixth-lowest wOBA and sixth-highest strikeout rate versus right-handers over the past month.
Michael Wacha is an under-the-radar streamer since his lack of dominance limits his fantasy potential. However, on Wednesday the Kansas City Royals visit the Cleveland Guardians, and he'll face the league's least productive offense for the past month. One of the reasons is the sixth-highest strikeout rate in this span, adding some rare strikeout upside to Wacha's allure.
Pitchers to avoid Wednesday
Jack Flaherty has been inconsistent of late. Over his past six outings, his ERA is 6.68 with a 1.48 WHIP, but he had two good starts in that stretch, including one with seven shutout innings on August 18. Hoping for the good version is defensible against lesser lineups, but with the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx against the potent New York Yankees, it's best to avoid the veteran righty.
Hitters to stream Wednesday
It's beginning to cool down in Sacramento, but Sutter Health Park remains one of the better hitting venues. It's not as favorable as Fenway Park, but the Boston Red Sox still line up for a productive evening against the Athletics and rookie Mason Barnett. New leadoff hitter Masataka Yoshida leads the way, along with Trevor Story, Nathaniel Lowe and Ceddanne Rafaela.
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.