Sara Sanchez

Wednesday is a packed day of playoff baseball with three league division series games and two teams facing elimination.

The Orioles were eliminated Tuesday by a Rangers team that has been streaky all season and hit a hot streak at the right time. The Dodgers (down 2-0 to the Diamondbacks) and the Twins (down 1-2 to the Astros) could join the Orioles on the outside looking in. Let’s take a closer look at the Daily Fantasy options.

Pitcher Options

There aren’t that many options for stacking pitchers and the Braves are complicating that situation by not committing to who they’re starting. I’ll go with Aaron Nola ($9600/$10100), who has been up and down but brings the highest floor of any starter tonight.

Nola had a quality start in the Wild Card round with seven scoreless innings and, while the strikeouts weren’t there, they were in his last two starts of the regular season.

I’ll pair Nola with Brandon Pfaadt ($7500), who is a contrarian play. I’m looking for upside and value from Pfaadt, who has struggled at times in his rookie campaign and in his last time against the Brewers. But he’s got strikeout potential and did close the season with two of three strong starts, going five-plus scoreless innings against both the North and South side of Chicago.

Hitter Stacks

For batters, I expect big run totals in all of the games, so there are lots of options for good stacks.

My favorite option is the Philadelphia Phillies, who will be playing in front of their home crowd, and Citizens Bank Park should be rocking. J.T. Realmuto ($4200/$3300) has been hot this postseason with a wRC+ of 208 while slashing .333/.375/.800. Pair him with one of these hitters:

• Bryce Harper ($5200/$4100), who walked 29.4% this postseason while slashing .333/.529/.583
• Trea Turner ($5400/$3800), who is slashing .375/.412/.563 with a wRC+ of 164
• Bryson Stott ($3700/$3300), who has seven RBI this postseason while slashing .357/.375/.571

I’ll also try to build a lineup including Kyle Schwarber ($4400/$3700). Although the Phillies’ big leadoff man hasn’t gotten it going this October, he has walked in 11.8% of his plate appearances and it’s just a matter of time before he hits a bomb.

It should be a great evening of playoff baseball no matter who you are stacking. With all of the teams pretty deep into their rotations and a couple of teams in must-win situations it feels like a great day to bet the over.

*All dollar values are courtesy of DraftKings/FanDuel.

It’s a great day to build around an ace as you’re trying to decide who to stack in daily fantasy.

Gerrit Cole ($12000/11100) tries to put an exclamation point on his Cy Young candidacy against the Toronto Blue Jays. Rogers Centre will be rocking with the Blue Jays trying to hold off the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners in the AL Wild Card race.

Alternatively, Pablo López ($11400/11300) against the A’s offers a solid, but less likely to be rostered by the rest of your contest ace. Admittedly, he has more variance in his outcomes than Cole does, but at times he's been excellent, including a 14-strikeout effort against the Mets on Sept. 10.

If you roster López or Cole, you'll need to pair them with a much cheaper pitching option. I like Sean Manaea ($6000/6900) against the Padres. His role has been in flux much of the season, but he’s gone more than five innings in each of his last three starts, including a 7-inning, no-run gem against the Los Angeles Dodgers his last time through the rotation.

For stacks, you can't go wrong with the Dodgers at Coors Field. Mookie Betts ($6700/$4900) can play second or outfield, and he's is in the middle of an MVP caliber season. He has a .299/.364/.505 slashline over 121 plate appearances at Coors Field.

Pair him with JD Martinez ($5700/$4500), who has been red hot over the last two weeks with a .333/.367/.733 slashline and five home runs.

If you’re looking for a more cost-effective Dodger consider Jason Heyward ($3900/3100). The Dodgers have deployed JHey very effectively and over the last two weeks he’s slashing .324/.343/.559.

Double check the lineups before game time. Heyward doesn’t play every day and if he’s not in the lineup, you’ll need to pivot to another cheap outfield option like James Outman.

Those Dodgers stacks can be pricey so consider pairing the Dodgers with some players from the Minnesota Twins, who are facing off against right-hander Joey Estes in only his second start. His debut did not go well, with Estes throwing just 4.2 innings and giving up five earned runs to the Mariners.

I recommended Edouard Julien ($4000/2900) and Matt Wallner ($3400/2800) last week, and I recommend them again. Wallner is slashing .394/.512/.636 over the last two weeks.

Julien’s .154 batting average won't jump out at you, but his 23.5% walk rate in the last two weeks does. He’s getting on base at a .353 clip over the last two weeks which means he’s a guy who can be driven in by other bats in the lineup.

Finally, Kyle Farmer ($3000/2700) is a very cost-effective 3B/SS option and he’s getting on-base at a .340 clip over the last two weeks.

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There’s a full slate of baseball action Wednesday providing all sorts of fun options for stacking. Keep an eye on the weather in St. Louis, where there is a possibility of a rainout or delay later. I’d probably just avoid stacking either Brewers or Cardinals given the wealth of other options out there – let’s look at a couple of those more closely.

The Twins will face off against the Reds and Hunter Greene in Cincinnati, one of the best hitting environments in the majors. Quite a few Twins have been hot lately and I’ll be looking to stack Edouard Julien ($4100/3000) who’s had a .416 on base percentage with three home runs over the last two weeks while hitting leadoff along with at least one of Matt Wallner ($3700/2800) slashing .297/.395/.432 during that time period, Ryan Jeffers ($3600/2800) .280/.379/.440 (excellent offensive production at catcher), and/or Max Kepler ($4500/2900) .295/.367/.477.

Out west the Padres will look to put some runs on the board after a pretty anemic 2-run win against the Colorado Rockies last night resulted in a no-decision for Blake Snell despite his seven innings of no-hit work. Don’t let last night’s offensive doldrums fool you, quite a few Padres have been red hot lately including Luis Campusano ($3400/2900), who has been excellent at the plate slashing .302/.348/.465 with two home runs in the last two weeks – you could do a lot worse at catcher.

If you’ve built your stack correctly with some of those cost-effective Twins hitters, it gives you the opportunity to add Xander Bogaerts ($4700/3100) who has been excellent over the last two weeks slashing .370/.420/.717 with three home runs and a wRC+ of 208. Wildly, that isn’t even the best wRC+ during that time period on the Padres with his teammate Juan Soto ($5600/4000) slashing .364/.463/.705 with a wRC+ of 210 and four home runs during the same time period. It all makes Jurickson Profar’s ($3500/2800) .308/.400/.462 look positively pedestrian, but it definitely is not and you should see if you have room for Profar in your stack as well.

If you’re looking for another leadoff option that’s relatively cost-effective in your stacks, see if you have room for Steven Kwan ($/3100) who hit leadoff for the Guardians and is slashing .304/.419/.391 over the last two weeks. We all know Kwan is unlikely to hit a lot of home runs, he’s got four doubles and a triple during that stretch while scoring nine runs for the Guardians.

On the pitching side it’s hard to pass up George Kirby ($9700/10000) against the Oakland Athletics. Kirby has struggled in his last couple of starts but he’ll look to right the ship against an A’s lineup that is the only team in baseball to not put up at least 620 runs so far this season (at 547 runs this season with 12 games to go it’s unclear the As will clear 600 runs this season and they sport a league worst -326 run differential.

A bit of a contrarian pick from the optimizer, but I’m going to also build around Lucas Giolito ($7600/9600). Giolito’s struggles with multiple teams this year are well documented, but after a rough initial outing with the Guardians against the Minnesota Twins Giolito has quietly turned in exceptional back-to-back performances. On September 9 he threw seven innings with 2 earned runs and nine strikeouts against the Angels. His last time out on the 15th was even better with 7 innings of shutout baseball and 12 punchouts against the Rangers.

It’s an ideal day for stacking some baseball matchups out west whether you’re playing the early slate or the main one later tonight.

In the early contest, both sides of the Cubs and Rockies matchup are intriguing with the Rockies sending Ty Blach to the mound and the Cubs attempting to counter with Jameson Taillon.

Blach is coming off back-to-back starts where he’s struggled giving up five and four runs respectively. Jameson Taillon has been up and down all season. He’s coming off one of his best starts of the season against the Diamondbacks, but since Aug. 1 he has a 4.87 ERA and has been averaging 2.03 HR/9 innings. It could be a rough day for Taillon at Coors.

The Cubs have been slightly above average against left-handed pitchers this year with a team wRC+ of 103 and a few of their hitters have really done damage against southpaws at Coors.

Cody Bellinger ($6700/$4600)* is slashing .347/.396/.607 with nine home runs and 31 RBI against lefties. Christopher Morel ($5600/$3700) has a 466-foot home run in this series and six of his 22 bombs have been hit off lefties. He’s got a wRC+ of 120 against them.

Seiya Suzuki ($4600/$3500) has a wRC+ of 215 over the last two weeks, and even with his earlier struggles he’s above average against lefties (286/.345/.429) with a 110 wRC+.

If you’re looking for a cheap option at catcher, Yan Gomes ($3900/$3000) has been above average against lefties this season batting .281/.310/.488 with a wRC+ of 110 this season.

On the other side of that game, stacking Rockies against Taillon also makes a ton of sense. Kris Bryant ($4400/$2500) was the hero Tuesday with his ninth home run of the season to push the Rockies ahead of the Cubs.

At catcher, Elias Díaz ($4000/$3200) has been excellent at Coors at .282/.321/.454. Outfielder Nolan Jones ($4900/$4000) has been excellent since Aug. 1, slashing .279/.358/.529 with six home runs and Charlie Blackmon ($4500/$3400) is also an enticing outfield play. He’s batting leadoff and hitting .299/.390/.497 at home this season.

It’s worth staying out west for the main slate later. The Astros are a must stack against Paul Blackburn and the Oakland Athletics. José Altuve ($6400/$4200) has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball with six home runs and a wRC+ of 175 over the last two weeks.

Yordan Alvarez ($6100/$4100) has been even better – .342/.519/.605 with a wRC+ of 211 during that period. Add him to your outfield along with one of Kyle Tucker ($5700/$3800) or Chas McCormick ($4400/$3500).

You’ll want to balance out the pricey Astros stack with a more cost-effective option, and the Contrarian Edge Optimizer likes either side of the Royals lineup as an additional stack, Tim Anderson ($3300/$2400) at shortstop or Maikel Garcia ($3900/$2800) at third base both offer intriguing options there.

On the pitching side of the early matchups, Luis Castillo ($10800/$10800) has been excellent in a year where even the best starting pitchers have had struggles. He’s got 16 quality starts and faces a depleted Angels lineup that has been without Shohei Ohtani since Sept. 3. The Optimizer also likes Logan Allen ($8500/$8700) as a less expensive option. Allen will face a Giants lineup that has been slightly below average against lefties.

For the main slate take a look at Zac Gallen ($9800/$10600) against the Mets. He's coming off his best start of the season, throwing nine scoreless innings against the Cubs at Wrigley. Tonight, he’ll take those skills to a good pitching park at Citi Field against a young Mets team that is intriguing but has a lot of swing and miss amongst their rookies.

*Prices in parentheses are (Draft Kings/FanDuel) throughout.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, but I’m not sure Max Scherzer ($11000) and Justin Verlander ($10200) need the backdrop of the Lone Star State to hype up this matchup. The two-time former teammates will face off at 8:05 p.m. ET Wednesday as the Texas Rangers try to right the ship and the Houston Astros look to keep rolling.

If this battle seems too uncertain from a daily fantasy perspective, you can still roster an ace to build your stack. It’s worth noting that most rosters I built with the Contrarian Edge Optimizer today paired an ace with a cheaper option to lock in pitching value. The other ace taking the mound Wednesday is Spencer Strider ($12300) against St. Louis at Truist Park. Strider has at least 9 strikeouts each of his last three outings and will face a Cardinals team that is 4-6 in their last 10.

On the hitting side there are intriguing stacks to build around in a robust early slate or the main slate tonight. If you’re looking at the afternoon games, look no further than the Diamondbacks vs the Rockies' Chris Flexen at Chase Field. Flexen faced the D-Backs less than a month ago in Arizona and -- while he went six innings and struck out six -- he also gave up four earned runs including a home run to Christian Walker ($4600).

Walker will be leading my stacks today at 1B. He went 2 for 4 vs Flexen in August, but he’s been hot. Walker is slashing .319/.390/.593 with seven home runs over the last 30 days. Back him up with Geraldo Perdomo ($3400) for a cost-effective play at SS who has been on base at a .344 clip in the last month.

If you’re looking for a stack during the main slate on Draft Kings, check out Braves against the Cardinals. The Braves' Eddie Rosario ($4000) gives you a reasonably priced outfield option who has been slashing .308/.386/.522 with four home runs and two stolen bases over the last 30 days while hitting sixth in the best lineup in baseball. You can choose from a slew of elite options at the top of that lineup, but I like Ozzie Albies ($5700) at 2B. Albies has been excellent dating back to early August with a .333/.378/.507 slashline while hitting four home runs and stealing three bases.

Stacking Braves can be pricey, so pair that with a more cost-effective leadoff option from the Los Angeles Angels. Check the lineups before first pitch, as the Angels have played around with their lineups as of late. Nolan Schanuel ($3500) and Luis Regnifo ($4100) have been excellent at leadoff and could do damage against Kyle Gibson, who is gave up seven earned runs and struck out only two against the White Sox.

That outing was not an anomaly. Gibson has struggled in five games started dating back to August 5. He’s thrown 29⅔ innings with a whopping 7.89 ERA. While his 5.21 FIP indicates he’s been unlucky, that mark wouldn’t be a great month, either.

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The Houston Astros have terrorized the Boston Red Sox this week, putting up 19 runs over the last two games, both of which started by two of Boston’s best pitchers, Chris Sale and Brayan Bello.

Sale and Bello kept the games close, giving up three and two earned runs respectively, but the bullpen couldn’t contain Houston’s bats. Jose Altuve hit for the cycle in the first game, and Yordan Álvarez homered in both games, hitting seven for nine over the two nights.

Vlad Jr Could Go Off Wednesday

The Contrarian Edge Optimizer likes the idea of doubling down on the Astros stack -- a lineup that tied a franchise record 66 hits in the last four games -- but there are also alternatives to consider. Specifically, take a look at Toronto and Seattle. Both have excellent matchups today, so let’s take a closer look.

The Blue Jays face off against Patrick Corbin and the Nationals at the Rogers Centre this afternoon. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($5000) could be poised for a big day. He’s riding a 10-game hitting streak, during which time he's slashing .302/.333/.438 with two home runs.

If you’re looking for some cheaper options to round out your lineup, keep an eye on both Blue Jays catchers. Danny Jansen ($3600) and Alejandro Kirk ($3000) are each available for less than $4000 on Draft Kings and rostering them should allow you a few extra dollars to roster a top tier bat or one of the three best pitchers on today’s card.

Either Santiago Espinal ($2400) or Whit Merrifield ($4400) could offer hits and runs if the Blue Jays put it together. And don’t sleep on George Springer ($4700), who’s been back in the leadoff spot this series and has put together a really nice run with a five-game hitting streak.

No August swoon for Seattle bats

The Mariners bats were momentarily silenced at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night, but they’ve been red hot this month, leading the team to a 20-6 record in August. They should stack up nicely against Zach Neal, who’s starting for Oakland for the first time since 2016.

The Mariners have been excellent against right-handed pitchers this season, hitting .240/.323/.419 with a team wRC+ of 108 this season. During their hot streak this August, those numbers are even more impressive -- .279/.363/.486 and a wRC+ of 138 against right-handed pitching.

The Optimizer likes Seattle's Teoscar Hernandez ($4500) as one of your outfielders, and you could do worse than supplementing his production with leadoff man JP Crawford ($4300). Third baseman Eugenio Suarez ($4600) offers some nice pop and while you should avoid Julio Rodriguez, who is day-to-day after a late scratch on Tuesday night, Dominic Canzone ($3000) is a very cost-effective option who’s been on a nice run over the last 10 days, hitting .306/.306/.500.

Pitchers to consider

As for pitching, the wind is blowing in at Wrigley Field, and the Brewers' Brandon Woodruff ($10200) has looked every bit like the ace we know he can be since coming back from the injured list. He’s thrown 22.2 innings across four starts with 29 strikeouts, and only the Rangers scored more than two runs against Woodruff since his return.

Another pitcher to consider is the Giants' Logan Webb ($9500), who has gone five or more innings in 18 of 19 starts this season – including a seven-inning start with seven strikeouts against the Reds at Great American Ballpark in July.

Oracle is a much more pitcher-friendly environment, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Webb surpass that strikeout total from July with a free-swinging Reds team that ranks 25th in MLB with a 24.5 percent strikeout rate.

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