Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top MLB DFS Value Plays – Opening Day!

Are you ready for Daily Fantasy Baseball? Opening day is here, and whether you play on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo, or Fantasy Draft, this article is designed to help you find the best value plays across the board for today’s slate. These low salary targets are players to help you roster your stud bats and pitchers.

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While most of our awesome content is site specific, whether it be for hitting or pitching, this article is going to be different. What I will do here, is evaluate potential value plays for that particular day, across the four major DFS sites.

Usually there is a ton of similarities, but as pricing comes out for opening day, there seems to be a lot of consistency. This is certain to change as the season goes on, as anyone who has played DFS for years will tell you the same.

So the plan of attack is, first I will highlight my top value plays for Yahoo and Fantasy Draft. I will dig up certain plays that I think fit their scoring systems, and possible flaws in pricing. I will then do the same for FanDuel, and then for DraftKings.

Finally after I break down my favorites from each site specifically, I will then finish up with top overall multi-site value plays. These are the top players viable across the industry, who are in line to out produce their respective salary, no matter what the site. All of these plays are just simply the best cheap plays that stand out, regardless of site.

If it does not make sense yet, it will. And it’s going to be unique, and I hope useful, as you start your Daily Fantasy Baseball research for today. Without further ado, let’s get into it. Click the bar below after each page to continue!

Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – Yahoo!

SP – Jose Urena – Miami Marlins – $29

Over on Yahoo! for opening day, we have a 10-game slate, which locks at 3:00 PM CST. My preferred method at this point looks to be like I will be paying up for pitcher, but one guy who stands out under $30 if you want to save up for some bats is Marlins right-hander Jose Urena.

Urena went 9-12 last season with a 3.98 ERA across 174 IP. He had an average swinging strike rate at right around 8%, but he does have some decent stuff, and taking on the Rockies at home and not at Coors Field is not as bad of a match-up as you might think. He will not rack up K’s, but he has a shot at a win here. Again, I will be paying up, but if you want some better bats, consider Urena.

C – Willson Contreras – Chicago Cubs – $13

As we go forward with this article, as we go from site-to-site, day-to-day, slate-to-slate, I will try to point out as many difference between the sites as possible for those that play all of the sites like I do, and for those who are maybe thinking of branching out. Here is one major difference we point out right away with Cubs catcher Willson Contreras.

Yahoo! along with DraftKings are mandatory catcher sites. FanDuel and FantasyDraft are not. FanDuel combined the catcher and first base positions before last season, and with FantasyDraft, they simply combine infielders, and outfielders for roster spots.

Since we have to roster a catcher on Yahoo and DK, I will likely give you a value option for those sites each and every day. It is my favorite position to “punt” when there are bats to spend up on. However, for opening day on Yahoo, Contreras at this price is too good to pass up on.

The Cubs will be in hitter friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington to face the Rangers, and left-hander Mike Minor. Contreras had a rough season at that plate last year, but is one of my favorite candidates to bounce back this year. He hits the ball hard, and this opening day match-up is as good as it gets.

Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – FantasyDraft

IF/OF – Brian Anderson – $6,500

The Marlins will start the season at home against young Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland. A lot of folks will likely be on Freeman in this spot rather than any Marlins hitters, but this is too cheap for a guy who is projected to hit third in the lineup, and is slowly becoming a better hitter as his career continues.

Anderson has actually been more of a reverse-splits guy over his brief career, and isn’t much of a power-hitter, but in just his third full season, I do not believe we have seen him play to his potential just yet. One final aspect of Anderson I like here on Fantasy Draft, is that you can play him in either spot, which can be a big difference when searching for value.

Fantasy Draft is a different animal as a whole in so many ways, two pitchers, three infielders, three outfielders, two utility spots. Just awesome to roster five outfielders if you want to, or play three power first baseman, or basically come up with whatever you can make work within the salary guidelines. As far as roster construction goes as a whole, Fantasy Draft is my favorite site with a bullet.

IF – Wilmer Flores – $6,500

Good old lefty bashing Wilmer Flores has a new home in Arizona with the Diamondbacks, and with all of the injuries to the Dodgers staff, it looks like oft-injured lefty Hin Jin Ryu will be on the bump for Los Angeles. We don’t know if he is starting quite yet so make sure to check lineups when available, but my guess he will be on the field against lefties this year.

Even though I am writing him up here for just Fantasy Draft, I also like Flores on Yahoo at minimum price.

He is a first baseman there, so no longer has third base eligibility, but with the way Yahoo’s slate works out with just the 10-games starting in the afternoon, He makes for a fantastic punt there at the rock bottom price of $7 with serious home run potential, which is very hard to find on opening day.

Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – FanDuel Only!

If you have played MLB DFS everywhere, or any sport for that matter, common theme is that pricing is “softer” at FanDuel. While I do agree with this statement, and agree that it is easier to make the team you want, it is still an entirely different animal.

Just the fact that you only get one pitcher on FanDuel makes finding the right one so much more important, and that usually means a good chunk of your salary. My FanDuel specific value plays will be two or three bats that stick out under $3K to help you pay up for your desired stud.

C/1B – Josh Bell – Pittsburgh Pirates – $2,700

For those of you who want to see my ugly mug and maybe ask me some MLB questions, my friend and fellow writer here at FantasyCPR Joe Metz and I will be doing a live stream tonight, so follow us on Twitter for more info on that, and one thing I will definitely be talking about is how much of a lock Josh Bell is on FanDuel tomorrow.

With just one pitcher spot on FanDuel, you absolutely need to get it right for cash games. 95% of the time, especially early in the season where Pitchers have the slight advantage, taking a shot on a lower end guy that maybe in a better spot is just not my strategy early.

I will likely be paying up for Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander in cash on FanDuel, so I need some guys down here, and with bell facing the Reds and Luis Castillo in Great American Small Park, I like his chances to get a couple hits and maybe pick up some RBI’s. As we proceed with this article, you will notice I am really liking Pittsburgh left-handed bats here on Opening Day, as the value is just too good to pass up.

OF – Daniel Palka – Chicago White Sox – $2,500

This is more of a GPP play, but if you need to save up some more cash, one guy I like down here at $2,500 is White Sox OF Daniel Palka. Palka swatted 27 homers last season, and makes for a solid one-two, righty-lefty, power threat in the middle of that lineup with Jose Abreu. The Sox will face the Royals who will send out right-hander Brad Keller on Opening Day,

Other than maybe Andrew Cashner who will start for the Orioles, there is really no other pitcher to target more than Keller. Most of these teams have a solid stud pitcher on the mound, so stacking up some Yankees against Cashner and even some value White Sox against Keller looks like a solid, and likely popular strategy for tournament play.

OF – Eloy Jimenez – Chicago White Sox – $2,800

So you like the idea of some White Sox hitters against this Brad Keller guy you say? Well I was just about to wrap up this article but I just got an email saying they added a bunch of guys to the player pool. Normally I would blow this off, but Jimenez is criminally under priced at $2,800. Best part about that price, is that the email I received said he was $3K, which makes me feel like I saved $200.

Jimenez projects to hit clean-up on opening day, after it was finally announced he did indeed make the opening day roster just a few days ago. The 22-year-old Dominican born top prospect is one of the bright young future superstars in the game, and it is good to see Chicago unleashing him right away to start the season.

This is just too cheap, so I guess I am locked in here. In comparison, Jimenez is $4,300 on DraftKings. That is another prime example of what I talked about in the introduction, and the type of plays I am focusing on here, finding these flaws in pricing amongst different sites is paramount.

Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – DraftKings Only!

In my opinion and I am sure I am not alone here. For those of us that play everywhere, it is usually a lot harder to make a lineup on DraftKings than it is on FanDuel. First question right away, if you play GPP’s do you want a viable low-priced SP2 to help you pay up for bats?

If you play cash games, how balanced do I need my pitchers and are there enough viable bats under $4K to roster two good ones? Again, whichever way you decide to go, here are a couple plays that stand out.

Main Slate:

SP – Brad Keller – Kansas City Royals – $4,800

So let me get this straight, I am saying target bats against him on FanDuel, but play him on DraftKings? Yes and no. Brad Keller is dirt cheap on DK, and even if he only gets you like 10-15 DK points that might be enough if you choose the correct bats.

That is the fun part. However, with the main slate being just the nine games starting with the afternoon and excluding the lone night game, the bats to pay up for just are not there in my opinion.

Disclaimer. I am not playing Keller, but I can’t say he won’t hit value. The White Sox strike out a ton, and the opportunity for points is there. But I am paying up for pitching. Guys like Jose Berrios, Blake Snell, and even Kyle Freeland are a little to cheap in that $9K range, and it is easy enough in my opinion to pay for one of those guys, and the top dog in Justin Verlander.

C – Martin Maldonado – Kansas City Royals – $2,700

As it sits right now, I am looking at biting the bullet, and paying up for Willson Contreras, but again, if you are looking for some GPP punts to pay up for bats in tournament play, Martin Maldonado is my best bet to put up a few points. Maldonado landed in Kansas City this offseason, and the injury to Salvador Perez makes him the opening day catcher for the Royals.

Just a .210 hitter in his career, he is basically a light-hitting catcher like most in the league, but he offers up some serious salary relief at probably the best position to punt at on the slate. But facing the wild lefty Carlos Rodon from Chicago, I think he has a shot at getting on base a couple of times.

Early Only Slate:

1B/OF – Billy McKinney – Toronto Blue Jays – $3,200

McKinney is slated to start the season as the Blue Jays primary leadoff hitter, and the Blue Jays will host the Detroit Tigers and veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmerman. At just $3,200 and that important first base eligibility, McKinney looks like a lock for me on this early slate at that position.

The best bats on this five-game slate are easily Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge, and I think you need to do what you can to get one if not both in your lineups. With McKinney leading off at this price and likely guaranteed four at-bats and very possibly five, he is going to popular, but this is chalk I am definitely eating.

OF – Brett Gardner – New York Yankees – $3,600

It was looking like Gardner would become mostly a back-up this season as his career winds down, but the injury to Aaron Hicks has opened some things out in the Yankees outfield, and Gardner is slated to lead off against Andrew Cashner and the Baltimore Orioles.

I will keep this simple. On this small slate, the Yankee bats are going to be popular. This match-up at this price is one I can definitely get behind. I don’t want to get too crazy with Yankee bats, but I am certainly leaning towards playing at least Gardner and Aaron Judge. I will be sticking to GPP’s for this particular slate, and this is some much-needed salary relief at this position.

Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – Across the Industry!

Welcome to the most important, and final page of the article. On most days, certain value plays will line up well on 2 or three, or even all of the sites covered in this article. I will likely shorten this up in the future, but for some reason on opening day here, there is some serious overlap.

From the looks of it, I have a piece of every player coming up here on at least two sites in my early lineups, so just because you did not see somebody yet on another site specific slide from earlier, he could be coming up right now.

2B – Adam Frazier – Pittsburgh Pirates – ($3,200 DK – $2,600 FD – $9 Y! – $6,600  FantasyDraft )

Well here we go with the most important plays of the slate in my opinion. The first player I am rostering everywhere on opening day, is Pirates projected lead off man Adam Frazier. The lefty was a much better hitter against right-handed match-up’s, and like Josh Bell on FanDuel, this is another Buc I am targeting.

The Pirates get the benefit of playing in one of the best hitting parks on the slate, and are facing a somewhat volatile Luis Castillo. This is great value on every site. Leadoff hitters are always good targets in spots like this, and Castillo also ranks much worse against lefites as well. I am pretty much all in on these Bucs lefties today, so we aren’t quite done yet.

SS – Elvis Andrus – Texas Rangers – ($3,300 DK – $2,800 FD – $14 Y! – $6,500 FantasyDraft)

I bet you thought I wasn’t going to mention this. Wrong. Of course I am attacking Jon Lester in Arlington without a doubt. The fact though is that I am doing it everywhere. However, I am skipping Andrus here on Yahoo!, and I will explain that a bit later.

DK, FanDuel, Fantasy Draft, I am locking this one in and moving on. On Yahoo however, we have a slight problem. My next target is on the same team, and still listed as a shortstop, when he is in fact now the Rangers starting third baseman. He also comes in a buck cheaper, and is a little more of a power threat. Let’s continue.

3B – Asdrubal Cabrera – Texas Rangers – ($3,300 DK – $2,900 FD – $13 Y! – $6,600 FantasyDraft)

Cabrera will make the slide from shortstop to third base, and he gets a favorable match-up along with Andrus as they face Lester at home. The only thing I am not liking about Cabrera at this point, as that he projects to hit a little lower in the linup in the six-hole. However, on the flip side of that, that may keep his ownership down a little.

I am locking in Andrus and Cabrera on DraftKings with both being $3,300, and to save the buck on Yahoo! I am picking Cabrera with the hopes he goes deep. I also have both locked in on Fantasy Draft, but at third base on FanDuel, there is another match-up in this game to exploit.

Spending down on Cabrera on FanDuel is not a bad play at all, but in looking at Kris Bryant versus Mike Minor at $3,800, that is the match-up to exploit. Bryant will start this season off a little cheaper than he should on FanDuel, as he struggles from last season are likely factored into this pricing for opening day. I love Asdrubal, but I don’t see myself fading Bryant on FanDuel at that price.

OF – Corey Dickerson – Pittsburgh Pirates – ($3,800 DK – $2,800 FD – $15 Y! – $7,400 FantasyDraft)

One more Pirate before I wrap things up. While you may get some argument that the price is a little up everywhere besides FanDuel, I still think this is too cheap for a team I am stacking everywhere. I may pass on Yahoo, but that is still up in the air for me.

Dickerson improved on his batting average last season, but the home run numbers were way down. He hit .300 on the season, but only hit 10 long balls. He is projected to hit third in this lineup, and is another guy who should produce.

That is all for this Opening day edition of MLB DFS Top Value Plays. I hope you like the format, as I think this is the best way to talk about which cheap bats to attack, no matter what site you play on.

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