Our daily fantasy baseball picks continue with starting pitcher rankings and advice for Wednesday's MLB slate.
It's getting a little trickier to pick a daily fantasy pitcher, especially in the early slate, but fortunately there are still some bona fide aces going. Jose Fernandez is the only true ace (or reliable option for that matter) in the afternoon slate, while Stephen Strasburg is pretty much a must-own in the evening slate at Atlanta.
MORE DAILY FANTASY: Optimal lineup (late) | Sporting News DFS
There are plenty of high-upside, albeit high-risk, pitchers if you want to gamble and save some cash, but that can be a minefield this early in the season. The safe play is paying up for Fernandez or Strasburg and finding your differentiation/values elsewhere.
Let's take a look at our starting pitcher rankings (for daily and seasonal leagues) and picks below. As usual, we'll also have the day's best daily fantasy hitter picks and Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS Playbook to help you find the best values on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck!
Daily fantasy baseball pitcher rankings
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | at Braves |
| 2 | Jose Fernandez | MIA | vs. Tigers |
| 3 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. Red Sox |
| 4 | Sonny Gray | OAK | vs. White Sox |
| 5 | Clay Buchholz | BOS | at Indians |
| 6 | Juan Nicasio | PIT | vs. Cardinals |
| 7 | Anibal Sanchez | DET | at Marlins |
| 8 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | at Brewers |
| 9 | Carlos Rodon | CHW | at A's |
| 10 | Mike Leake | STL | at Pirates |
| 11 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | at San Diego |
| 12 | Collin McHugh | HOU | at Yankees |
| 13 | Andrew Cashner | SD | vs. Dodgers |
| 14 | Michael Pineda | NYY | vs. Astros |
| 15 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at Reds |
| 16 | Brandon Finnegan | CIN | vs. Phillies |
| 17 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | at Orioles |
| 18 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. Rockies |
| 19 | Yovani Gallardo | BAL | vs. Twins |
| 20 | Wade Miley | SEA | at Rangers |
| 21 | J.A. Happ | TOR | at Rays |
| 22 | Matt Moore | TB | vs. Blue Jays |
| 23 | Colby Lewis | TEX | vs. Mariners |
| 24 | Taylor Jungmann | MIL | vs. Giants |
| 25 | Bud Norris | ATL | vs. Nationals |
| 26 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | at D-backs |
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Daily fantasy baseball picks
Splurge: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals at Braves. There's little debate that Strasburg ($11,300 on FD; $11,200 on DK) is the best pitcher Wednesday with the best matchup and the best chance to win, despite his previous struggles with Atlanta. With so few elite SP options on the board and so many risky ones, I feel like you have to build around Stras.
MORE: Sporting News DFS | Fantasy Alarm Playbook PRO
Sell: Sonny Gray, A's vs. White Sox. Gray was scratched Monday with food poisoning and I'm worried that he still might not be 100 percent. He's too risky at his high price ($10,400 on FD; $9,600 on DK) against a powerful lineup. I'm also avoiding Matt Moore ($6,000 on FD; $7,800 on DK) against the lefty-killing Blue Jays, I don't care how good he looked in spring training or how cheap he is now.
MORE DAILY FANTASY: Hitter picks | MLB DFS Playbook
Save: Juan Nicasio, Pirates vs. Cardinals. This may be reading too much into Nicasio's dominant spring stats, but I've been intrigued by him since he was a prospect with Colorado. I'll give him a shot to carry over that hot spring in cold conditions at Pittsburgh, especially at just $6,900 on FanDuel and the minimum $6K on DK. Other high-upside (read GPP) value SPs to consider are Carlos Rodon (at OAK), Kenta Maeda (at SD) and Aaron Nola vs. Brandon Finnegan in Cincinnati.