Target these 5 hitters tonight in fantasy

May 12th, 2021

There is no shortage of quality pitching options on Wednesday's daily fantasy slate. In fact, there are four starters with a sub-2.00 ERA, and that list doesn't even include the likes of Zack Wheeler (2.83 ERA), Hyun Jin Ryu (3.31 ERA), Eduardo Rodriguez (5-0) or Julio Urías (2.99 ERA since 2019), among others.

Considering it'll be hard to go wrong with whomever you pick on the mound, we'll let you sort through that on your own. Instead, we're here to help you find some hitters who should have some success -- not an easy task on a night with such a stacked pitching lineup.

Here are five hitters from the set of night contests who are in a prime spot for a big game:

Marcus Semien, 2B, Blue Jays

Semien has seemingly put his slow start with Toronto behind him. After hitting .174 with a .595 OPS in his first 17 games with the Blue Jays, Semien has put up a .364 average with a 1.031 OPS in his 17 games since. That includes a 10-game hitting streak, during which he's 16-for-40 (.400) with three homers and four doubles. He's in a good spot to continue that torrid stretch on Wednesday when he faces struggling Braves left-hander Max Fried. Not only is Fried allowing a .380 opponents' average through four starts, but Semien has a .476 career slugging percentage and .810 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers (compared to a .408 SLG and .726 OPS vs. righties).

Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox

James Kaprielian will be making his first career MLB start after making his 2021 debut with Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday. The right-hander made a pair of relief appearances for the A's last season, during which he relied on his four-seamer for 63.4% of his pitches. If his approach is anything like that on Wednesday, it could be a good sign for Bogaerts, who's feasted on four-seamers this season. The Red Sox shortstop is hitting .410 (16-for-39) with four homers and a .795 slugging percentage against the pitch to this point.

Avisaíl García, OF, Brewers

The key will be making sure García is in the lineup. Despite being one of the hottest hitters in the Majors over the past two weeks, the outfielder has not been penciled into Milwaukee's starting nine in either of the last two games, instead giving way to Tyrone Taylor, Lorenzo Cain and Jackie Bradley Jr. in the outfield. It's hard to see him coming off the bench for a third straight game. García is hitting .483 (14-for-29) with a .531 OBP and a 1.152 OPS in May. Meanwhile, Cardinals starter John Gant relies primarily on his sinker (46.8% usage rate) and changeup (23.3%) -- two pitches that García has handled very well in a small sample this season. He's 8-for-26 (.308) vs. sinkers and 4-for-10 (.400) vs. changeups in 2021.

Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox

Chicago's success against left-handed starters has been well-documented, and Anderson is certainly a big reason for that. The White Sox shortstop has a .321/.347/.512 career slash line against southpaws, compared to a .267/.295/.419 line vs. right-handers. And Anderson isn't facing just any left-handed starter in this one. He's taking on veteran starter J.A. Happ, against whom Anderson is 9-for-16 (.563) with two home runs, a triple and a 1.625 OPS.

José Abreu, 1B, White Sox

Let's stick with the "White Sox vs. left-handers" theme for the final pick. That said, this is less about righty/lefty splits -- though Abreu does have a .924 career OPS vs. lefties compared to an .850 OPS vs. RHP -- and more about Abreu's strengths matching up well against Happ's approach. While Happ throws his four-seamer 50% of the time, his next-most-used pitch is his slider (20.3% usage rate). It's worked well for Happ this season, with opponents going just 3-for-21 against the pitch -- but Abreu is 12-for-36 (.333) with three homers and two doubles vs. sliders this season.