On this week's full 15-game Wednesday slate, the Diamondbacks (at Rays) and Reds (at Athletics) gain a designated hitter. The Rangers lose theirs in a trip to Pittsburgh for the first game on the schedule. (Set your lineups for 12:35 p.m. ET).
Let's start this latest party with a tongue twister.
Pitching
Pitchers to stream
Matt Strahm (L), 28.7 percent, San Diego Padres vs. New York Mets: After you say "Stream Strahm" several times in a row, I'll acknowledge the Mets are tied for third with a 124 wRC+ versus lefties but remind you they also have the fifth-highest strikeout rate against them (28 percent). Strahm's 3.03 ERA is backed up by his excellent 1.38 BB/9, but his 7.44 K/9 has lagged a bit. If you're chasing strikeouts, this could deliver as a treat that bolsters the talented lefty's dominance.
Sonny Gray (R), 27.7 percent, Cincinnati Reds at Oakland Athletics: The Reds' outfield defense feels like a concern in the expansive Oakland Coliseum, but Gray's groundball-centric tendency eases that concern. Despite their talented bats, Oakland sits in the bottom 10 in the wOBA rankings versus righties (.299). In Gray's three starts away from hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, he owns a 3.06 ERA with 21 strikeouts and four walks. Not to mention all those years he spent calling the Athletics' mausoleum home.
Brandon Woodruff (R), 16.5 percent, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals: Woodruff's 4.71 ERA is fueled by an inflated .396 BABIP - note his 3.33 FIP to see better fortunes may be ahead. The Miller Park setting shouldn't prevent desperate streamers from considering him: His 11.15 K/9 and 2.97 BB/9 in seven starts show more reasons for optimism. Even with Anthony Rendon back in the lineup, this isn't the Nationals lineup you're used to: They've held just an 87 wRC+ (20th) against righty pitchers.
Bullpen
The Brewers handed Junior Guerra the save opportunity Monday, and he converted with a 1-2-3 ninth. The righty appears to have leapfrogged Jeremy Jeffress, who pitched the eighth frame, as the top closer alternative to Josh Hader. His 2.21 ERA over 20.1 innings (15 appearances) looks shaky, considering his 7.52 K/9, 3.54 BB/9 and .102 BABIP, but he's cashing in on the "velocity jumps when you switch to the bullpen" axiom, pumping his four-seamer for 94.6 mph on average (93.3 in 2018). If the occasional save chance would help your roster, give him a try off the waiver wire.
Projected game scores
Hitting
Catcher
Francisco Cervelli (R), 29.7 percent, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Texas Rangers (RHP Shelby Miller): While this unfortunately takes place at pitcher-leaning PNC Park and not Globe Life Park in Arlington, Buccos bats should still feel comfortable facing Miller, whose .389 wOBA allowed while facing 71 righty batters this year should feel like batting practice. If Cervelli starts Tuesday night before the Wednesday matinee, pivot to Elias Diaz (less than 1 percent).
First base
Brandon Belt (L), 9.3 percent, San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray): Despite occupying a spot in an ignored offense, Belt quietly boasts a 0.67 BB/K, .359 wOBA and 126 wRC+ against righties, making him a near instant play in those matchups. Add the Coors Field locale and Gray's weakness against lefty sticks (.368 wOBA this year).
Second base
Michael Chavis (R), 46.8 percent, Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles (RHP Andrew Cashner): Boston's highly rated prospect surprisingly still qualifies for this article, considering how strongly he's pelted his first taste of major league pitching (.309/.433/.673 with six homers and a 16.4 BB%). Cashner, long starved for strikeout punch, has failed to contain righty bats (.382 wOBA, the ninth-highest among qualified starters).
Third base
Jeimer Candelario (B), 6.6 percent, Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels (LHP Tyler Skaggs): Take the flip side of the Skaggs recommendation and remind yourself that the 25-year-old can often be useful versus southpaws. Though the 2019 splits don't yet tell the story, Candelario slashed .291/.356/.486 with a .363 wOBA and a 131 wRC+ against them last season. He'll probably lead off, or at least slot into the lineup's top third.
Shortstop
Freddy Galvis (L), 17.2 percent, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins (RHP Kyle Gibson): Galvis hasn't cleared the fences since April 14 and has cooled substantially with a .215/.227/.246 stretch in those 66 plate appearances, but he continues to play solid defense that'll keep him in the lineup for the near future while the Jays wait for injured prospect Bo Bichette. All five of his homers have left the bat off right-handed pitchers, and Gibson has coughed up a .354 wOBA to lefty bats and a 5.31 ERA away from Target Field.
Corner infield
David Bote (R), 3.3 percent, Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins (RHP Jose Urena): Bote's reverse splits (.298/.379/.509 in 66 plate appearances versus righties) keep him in Joe Maddon's lineup plans most days, despite his tendency to tinker. Righty-hitting opponents have tagged Urena for the 10th-highest wOBA in the split (.379).
Middle infield
Marwin Gonzalez (B), 37.7 percent, Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays (RHP Trent Thornton): Though his roster percentage continues dipping while he hits like a shell of his 2017 self, Gonzalez has hit both of his homers this season against righties, and Thornton has allowed four of his five big flies in Rogers Centre and to lefty batters. You should be able to fit him in at one of his thousand positions.
Outfielders
Clint Frazier (R), 39.3 percent, New York Yankees at Seattle Mariners (LHP Yusei Kikuchi): While stepping up during the Yankees' injury-riddled April, Frazier often hit in the top third versus southpaws, and while the 24-year-old post-hype prospect has just one of his six homers against left-handers, Kikuchi has struggled to slow down righty batters, coughing up a .446 slugging percentage and all five of the homers he's allowed.
Alex Verdugo (L), 25.2 percent, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves (RHP Mike Foltynewicz): Long thought to become trade bait as a leftover fly-catcher for a contender stacked at the position, Verdugo, who turns 22 next Wednesday, will assume most of A.J. Pollock's duties for at least the next month. Three of Verdugo's four homers have come against righties, and Folty has struggled to regain his strikeout punch since returning from the IL and, before last year's breakthrough, had trouble with lefty bats, so perhaps that'll return to plague him until he figures things out.
Jake Bauers (L), 35.5 percent, Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox (RHP Reynaldo Lopez): Lopez has yielded the third-highest wOBA to lefty batters (.479) among qualified starters. Bauers has not taken a walk versus a lefty batter but exudes strength over the strike zone versus righties (13.3 BB%, 0.69 BB/K).