It’s OK to leave some money on the board in MLB DraftKings contests on Wednesday.
The best players aren’t the most expensive ones on the schedule. In fact, there’s one game in particular that looks like a good bet to produce a fair number of offensive standouts from budget-friendly position players.
Stack the O’s and Yanks
The pitching matchup in this game features a pair of former All-Stars who have seen better days. The Baltimore Orioles’ Ubaldo Jimenez will face the New York Yankees’ C.C. Sabathia. Both men have been inconsistent all season and have ERAs up over four.
Historically, both opposing lineups have swung the bats well against the hurlers.
The current O’s lineup is hitting .284 against Sabathia, and the Yankees on the 2015 roster have hit .280 against Jimenez. Specifically, DK players should target the Yankees’ Jacoby Ellsbury ($4,200) and Dustin Ackley, ($2,000) and the Orioles’ Nolan Reimold ($2,000) and J.J. Hardy ($2,400).
Ellsbury and Ackley have done major damage to Jimenez in their careers. Combined, they are 13-for-22 against the 31-year-old Dominican. Ellsbury has hit .636 and slugged .909, while Ackley has an average of .545 and a slugging percentage of .818.
While Hardy and Reimold haven’t feasted on Sabathia quite as much as Ellsbury and Ackley have on Jimenez, there’s no question the duo has gotten the better of the Yanks’ big, 35-year-old veteran.
Hardy has hit .323 against Sabathia with a home run and five doubles in 31 at-bats. Reimold hasn’t had a great season in 2015, but that just means he hasn’t faced Sabathia enough. Reimold has hit .367 with two home runs, two doubles, a triple and five RBI in 30 at-bats against Sabathia in his career.
With so many players seemingly in line for big days at the dish, DK players would be wise to draft a lineup stacked with Orioles and Yankees on Wednesday. Check out the list of optimal picks:
Elsewhere
You have to love the Cincinnati Reds’ Brandon Phillips ($4,100) on Wednesday. Phillips has 12 hits in his last 25 at-bats, and he has hit Pittsburgh Pirates starter J.A. Happ very well.
In 14 career at-bats, Phillips is hitting .500 against Happ with three home runs, two doubles, seven RBI and three walks. As mentioned by Cincinnati Reds Zone, Phillips still has wheels to rack up fantasy points on the basepaths as well:
Unless Happ has somehow cracked the code against Phillips, the latter is poised to put up more solid numbers against the Pirates left-hander.
On the mound, there’s another low-cost, high-reward player to consider. The Boston Red Sox’s Joe Kelly ($6,300) has a tough assignment against the explosive Toronto Blue Jays, but Kelly has been awfully good of late.
He has won seven straight decisions and lowered his ERA in each of his last six starts. Per Boston Sports, the win streak matches a club record:
Don’t be scared off by Toronto in this one. Kelly is locked in and should provide six-plus innings of solid work with no more than two runs allowed.
The other pitching slot is one of the most expensive players available on the day. The Houston Astros’ Collin McHugh ($10,800) will take on the Oakland Athletics. He has pitched well against the A’s this season and in his career.
Current A’s hitters are batting just .188 against McHugh, and his ERA is 2.29 against Oakland in two starts so far this season. We didn’t go big in many spots of the lineup, but McHugh should prove to be worth the investment on Wednesday.
DraftKings salaries are listed in parentheses, and per DraftKings.com
Stats per ESPN.com
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com