Josh Shepardson | Wed, Aug 19th 2026, 7:09am EDT

MLB DFS Picks & Underdog Player Props: Wednesday (8/19)

Wednesday’s MLB DFS main slate features nine games on DraftKings and FanDuel, starting at 6:35 p.m. ET. The Underdog player props are also from those nine games.

Wednesday’s Top MLB DFS Picks & Player Props

Wednesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings (8/19)

Drew Rasmussen (SP – TBR) vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Drew Rasmussen is having a sensational season. He’s also been out of this world lately and is the top pitcher today among three featured hurlers in pristine form. According to FanGraphs, in Rasmussen’s previous five starts spanning 30 innings, he’s recorded the following stats:

5 wins
3 quality starts
1.20 ERA
2.51 xERA
3.12 xFIP
2.93 SIERA
0.80 WHIP
5.3% walk rate
30.7% strikeout rate
14% SwStr%
29% CSW%
113 stuff+
99 location+
107 pitching+

Tampa Bay’s ace has a sweet matchup and sweeter betting info tonight. The Blue Jays are tied for 20th in wRC+ (96) with a 19% strikeout rate versus righties and 26th in wRC+ (86) with an 18.9% strikeout rate on the road in 2026.

Toronto is also tied for 27th in wRC+ (79) with a 19.2% strikeout rate in the previous 30 days and 23rd in wRC+ (81) with a 20.7% strikeout rate in the last 14 days. The Rays are -210 favorites, and the game’s total is a pitcher-friendly 7.5 runs.

Parker Messick (SP – CLE) vs. San Francisco Giants

Parker Messick has thrived this season, and he’s been dialed in lately. In his last five starts, totaling 30.1 innings, the lefty has logged the following numbers:

1 win
2 quality starts
2.08 ERA
2.33 xERA
3.02 xFIP
3.05 SIERA
0.89 WHIP
3.3% walk rate
26.7% strikeout rate
10.8% SwStr%
28% CSW%
100 stuff+
109 location+
109 pitching+

Messick has a tantalizing matchup and betting info. The Giants are 28th in wRC+ (86) with a 22.7% strikeout rate versus lefties and tied for 15th in wRC+ (98) with a 21% strikeout rate on the road this year.

San Francisco is also tied for 23rd in wRC+ (83) with a 21.2% strikeout rate in the previous 30 days and 28th in wRC+ (69) with a 21.2% strikeout rate in the last 14 days. The Guardians are -185 favorites, and the game’s total is 7.5 runs.

Cade Cavalli (SP – WSH) at Texas Rangers

Cade Cavalli‘s full-season numbers are rock-solid, but he’s been especially hot lately. In his last five starts spanning 32 innings, he’s whipped up the following numbers:

4 wins
5 quality starts
1.97 ERA
3.26 xERA
3.26 xFIP
3.44 SIERA
1.03 WHIP
7.3% walk rate
25.8% strikeout rate
11.6% SwStr%
29% CSW%
101 stuff+
98 location+
98 pitching+

Cavalli has a nice matchup and OK betting info. The Rangers are 19th in wRC+ (99) with a 22.2% strikeout rate versus righties and tied for 13th in wRC+ (105) with a 22.1% strikeout rate at home this season.

Texas is also 21st in wRC+ (90) with a 24.8% strikeout rate in the previous 30 days and 27th in wRC+ (76) with a 23.2% strikeout rate in the last 14 days. Sadly, the Nationals are slight underdogs (+110), but the game’s total is a pitcher-friendly 7.5 runs.

Suggested Lineup Stacks

Road (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Game Total/Moneyline: 9.0 Runs/NYY -125

Chris Bassitt has been crushed for a 5.11 ERA, 5.09 xERA, 5.02 xFIP and 4.99 SIERA in 11 starts and two relief appearances this season.

The 37-year-old righty has held right-handed batters to a .295 wOBA, but he’s coughed up an eye-popping .400 wOBA to left-handed batters in 2026. Seven of New York’s projected starters will bat left-handed against Bassitt.

Home (Progressive Field)
Game Total/Moneyline: 7.5 Runs/CLE -185

Southpaw Matt Wilkinson will make his MLB debut tonight. He was fantastic in Double-A, but he’s had a 5.15 ERA, 5.37 xERA and 5.08 xFIP in 10 Triple-A starts this year.

Wilkinson might stumble out of the blocks after failing to tally a sub-5.00 ERA in Triple-A. The Giants also have a lousy bullpen, ranking 23rd in ERA this season. The Guardians could light up the scoreboard tonight.

Core Studs

Luis Garcia Jr. has belted 24 bombs with 51 runs, 79 RBI, four stolen bases, a .307 on-base percentage (OBP), .261 ISO, .358 wOBA and 127 wRC+ in 424 plate appearances this year.
Mickey Moniak has ripped 27 round-trippers with a .343 OBP, .337 ISO, .411 wOBA and 138 wRC+ in 370 plate appearances at home since last year.
Jose Ramirez has mashed 25 taters with a .391 OBP, .259 ISO, .404 wOBA and 166 wRC+ in 489 plate appearances against lefties since 2024.

Value Plays/Punts

In 128 plate appearances from June 5th through August 16th, Spencer Jones hit five homers with 13 runs, 16 RBIs five stolen bases, a .305 OBP, .211 ISO, .318 wOBA, .316 expected wOBA (xwOBA) and 104 wRC+. He also had one hit and scored a run last night.
Cole Young has swatted 12 homers with a .326 OBP, .170 ISO, .334 wOBA and 121 wRC+ in 341 plate appearances against right-handed pitching this year.
Angel Genao is off to a fast start in the Majors after conquering the upper minors. In 42 plate appearances for the Guardians, Genao has hit one homer with seven runs, three RBI, one stolen base, a .405 OBP, .135 ISO, .383 wOBA and 150 wRC+.

Wednesday’s Top 3 Underdog Player Props

Check out our best picks on the MLB Underdog Cheat Sheet

Drew Rasmussen (SP – TBR): 4.5 Strikeouts — Higher

Drew Rasmussen had only three strikeouts against the Athletics at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park in his last start, but he logged at least five strikeouts in the four prior starts.

The Blue Jays are a challenging matchup for strikeouts, but Rasmussen has logged five, five and six strikeouts against them in three starts this season.

Jonathan Aranda (1B – TBR): 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs — Higher

Jonathan Aranda has been superb at home. In 258 plate appearances at home this year, he’s rattled off:

67 hits
9 homers
31 runs
43 RBIs
.299 batting average
.380 OBP
.179 ISO
.373 wOBA
140 wRC+

Conversely, Max Scherzer has yielded 30 hits, a .297 batting average, .385 OBP and .545 slugging rate to 117 left-handed batters this season.

Roki Sasaki (SP – LAD): 5.5 Strikeouts — Lower

Roki Sasaki has failed to reach six strikeouts in back-to-back starts. In addition, he’s fallen short of six strikeouts in eight out of 10 road starts.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.

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