Zach Thompson gives his top studs and value plays for today’s fantasy baseball slate on DraftKings, which starts at 7:05 p.m. ET.

As the last week of the Major League Baseball season continues with playoff races heating up and boiling over, the main DFS fantasy baseball slate has nine games on the board this Wednesday night, starting at 7:05 p.m. ET when the Yankees and White Sox get things started in the Bronx. With 18 teams in the player pool and plenty of storylines still being wrapped up over the next few days, many strong plays are worth considering for your fantasy baseball lineup this Wednesday night. Let’s dive in and break down the matchups to find the best MLB DFS picks from Wednesday’s juicy nine-game slate.

One thing to always double-check before the first pitch is the weather forecast. While no one wants a postponement this late in the season, there are a few places where a delay is possible. In New York, San Francisco and Sacramento, there is some precipitation in the forecast, and in Chicago, the wind is forecast to be blowing in from left field which could put a damper on the offenses. As always, it makes sense to set your roster and then check back to make sure the lineups and weather conditions have your team set up for success on this slate.

Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]!

PITCHERS

Stud

Hunter Brown, Houston Astros at Athletics, $9,200: If you don’t want to pay all the way up for Garrett Crochet ($10,700) in a less-than-ideal matchup against the Blue Jays in Toronto, Brown is a very solid alternative who leaves more salary available for other spots. Brown has posted an impressive seven straight quality starts and has not allowed more than two earned runs in 10 straight outings since the end of July. He has a 1.76 ERA and 3.42 FIP over that stretch, with 57 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings. He earned at least 15 fantasy points in each of those 10 starts, while averaging 20.0 fantasy points per start.

Brown will need to step up for the Astros on Wednesday, since they start the day one game back of the Tigers, who hold the third and final AL Wild Card spot. He’ll be facing the Athletics in Sacramento, who do have some exciting young bats and offensive upside. However, Brown has held them to two runs on 10 hits in 11 innings over two starts this season, racking up 13 strikeouts to help him earn 27.9 and 15.6 fantasy points in his two starts against them.

At this lower salary, Brown brings both a high ceiling and a high floor for the Astros on Wednesday night, so as long as the weather cooperates, he’d be my top spot to start my SP picks on this slate.

Value

Jonah Tong, New York Mets at Chicago Cubs, $6,700: The Mets are clinging to a one-game for the third and final NL Wild Card spot, and they’ll give the ball to rookie Jonah Tong on Wednesday night in Chicago against the Cubs. As long as the only weather to worry about is the wind, it should actually be a pitcher-friendly environment in Wrigley Field, and Tong has shown an impressive upside, despite some inconsistency.

Before his promotion, Tong went 10-5 in the minors with an excellent 1.43 ERA, 1.68 FIP, and 179 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings for an eye-popping 40.5% K%. He has made four starts since joining the Mets in the majors at the end of August and gone 2-2 with a 5.94 ERA and 4.23 FIP. However, that ERA reflects a bad outing against the Rangers, and he bounced back very nicely from that outing with a dominant showing against the Padres in his last start.

In that outing, Tong earned 28.8 fantasy points by going five innings and allowing just one unearned run on four hits and striking out eight. Since he had such a bad outing against Texas, it was an improvement of over 40 fantasy points from one start to the other, showing both his volatility and his upside as he takes the mound against the Cubs. Since the Mets are in such an important game, though, they will likely have a short leash with the 22-year-old, which does mitigate the risk to some degree. At under $7,000, I’m buying in on the upside he brings on Wednesday night.

INFIELD

Stud

Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, $5,600: Marte is a great option to pay up for in the infield as he helps the Dbacks try to keep pace with the Mets. He’ll be at home taking on lefty Blake Snell on Wednesday night, and he should be in a good spot to stay hot. In his career, Marte is 7-for-30 (.233), but five of those seven hits have been for extra bases, including a pair of home runs.

Marte has hit safely in eight of his last nine games with 11 hits, four doubles, a home run, and five RBI. He has hit .278 at home against lefties like Snell this season, with a .386 wOBA and 148 wRC+ in that split. He brings a high ceiling at a thin position on this slate, making him a key option to consider.

Stud

Eugenio Suarez, Seattle Mariners vs. Colorado Rockies, $3,900: Suarez and the Mariners clinched a postseason spot last night but still have plenty to play for in their remaining regular season games. They’re in a good spot at home against the Rockies, so as long as they go with their typical lineup, Suarez should be in a good spot to produce.

Since coming back to the Mariners at the trade deadline, Suarez has only hit .189, but he has 11 homers, 25 runs scored and 26 RBI in his 48 games, delivering the power in the middle of the order that Seattle was hoping for. He went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on Tuesday but should be set to bounce back since he is still 8-for-22 (.364) over his last six games, including a pair of home runs and a 75% hard-hit rate. Suarez seems to either be a strikeout or a hard-hit ball at this point of the season, and against Tanner Gordon ($5,500) and his 6.00 ERA, 4.45 FIP, and 18.6% K%, I’ll take Suarez to make some loud contact this Wednesday.

Value

Nolan Schanuel, Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals, $3,200: Schanuel just got back from the IL and is looking to put a strong finishing stroke to his second full season in the majors. He has hit safely in each of his four games back, going 5-for-15 (.333) with a double, a homer, and two walks for an average of 9.5 fantasy points per game.

For the season, the lefty is hitting .268 with 11 homers and a .330 wOBA. He’s still not hitting the ball hard with low exit velocity metrics, but he makes contact and puts the ball in play regularly enough to be a consistent value contributor, even though he doesn’t have the highest ceiling.

OUTFIELD

Stud

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, $6,400: After an effective Tuesday on the mound, Ohtani will look to produce at the plate on Wednesday night against Ryne Nelson ($6,900) and the Diamondbacks. While returning to the mound as well, Ohtani has had another great season at the plate, hitting .282 with 53 homers, 142 runs scored and 99 RBI.

In September, he’s hitting .320 with a .477 wOBA and 213 wRC+. He has seven doubles, eight homers and just nine singles with a 56.6% hard-hit rate and 28.3% barrel rate. Whether you slot him in at 1B or in the outfield, he’s a great bat to build around since he brings such a high ceiling to every matchup.

Stud

Heliot Ramos, San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals, $3,900: Ramos has hit home runs in back-to-back games for the Giants and is hitting .252 over his last 25 contests with five homers and a .326 wOBA. He has exactly a 50% hard-hit rate during that span and has established himself as a solid producer from the top of the order.

Ramos is 7-for-24 (.292) in his last five games, with three homers and 15.5 fantasy points per game. It’s a short span, but it shows his upside as the Giants keep pushing for a playoff spot.

Value

Jordan Beck, Colorado Rockies at Seattle Mariners, $3,100: Beck has been one of a few bright spots for the Rockies this season, playing 143 games and hitting .265 with 15 homers and 19 stolen bases to go with a .326 wOBA, 38.7% hard-hit rate and 9.2% barrel rate. He’s definitely gotten the Coors Field boost to his batting average and BABIP at home, but he has hit almost half his homers on the road as well, where he has a .294 wOBA.

Beck has run hot and cold throughout the season but is finishing strong with a home run, five stolen bases, and a .288 wOBA in his 20 games this month. With the extra aggressiveness on the bases, he brings multiple ways to post big games and typically hits in the heart of the order for the Rockies. He is a solid dual-threat option at just over $3,000 to round out your fantasy roster this Wednesday.