Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top MLB DFS Value Plays – May 18th (Main)
Daily Fantasy Baseball is in full swing, 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 my top players to help you roster your stud bats and pitchers.
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While most of our 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.
So the plan of attack here 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 value plays that stand out across the industry, regardless of site.
Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – Yahoo!
1B – Howie Kendrick – Washington Nationals – $12
You got your Saturday coffee. You just read Picks and Pivots and FantasyCPR guru and site expert Brian Tulloch obviously just told you the Nationals are facing the everlasting overachiever Jon Lester today. Nats prices are absurd over there on Fantasy Draft and you will hear a little about that from me as well, but this one here in Howie Kendrick is actually a better value here on Yahoo, and over on FanDuel as well where he is $2,900.
Kendrick is hitting a very respectable .309 with a .378 wOBA in 108 plate appearances thus far this season. He has taken a reserve role at this point in career, and is an everyday fixture in the middle of this lineup since both Matt Adams and Ryan Zimmerman went down with injury. Speaking of injury, Trea Turner is also back with the Nationals as of yesterday, and his presence at the top of this lineup once again will no doubt help everyone else out along the line.
Kendrick has always hit lefties well, and in 25 at-bats this season he has two homers and carries a .320 batting average against them. In his career against Lester, the 35-year-old Kendrick is 7-for-34 with four doubles.
3B – Marwin Gonzalez – Minnesota Twins – $12
The Twins will face another lefty tonight, and Marwin Gonzalez is a guy who has been hitting the ball hard as of late. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 last night with two runs scored, as the Twins were able to get to the Mariners best lefty in Marco Gonzales last night for six earned runs. Tonight they face a much worse lefty in Wade LeBlanc, and Marwin should find himself somewhere in the middle of this lineup once again.
Third base is pretty deep everywhere today, and we do have a better power threat here on the same team in Miguel Sano for $1 more. For me in deciding between the two, it will likely come down to whether or not I have that $1 left obviously, or where I plan to attack LeBlanc. That will depend on the lineup. If Sano hits towards the bottom again it’s a tough call, but both are on my radar here as a one-off.
Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – FantasyDraft
OF – Juan Soto – Washington Nationals – $7,200
So I am guessing you heard this 1-6 stack here is pretty cheap by now. My favorite out of the bunch here is young OF Juan Soto, who has struggled a bit this season, and his salary is starting to reflect it. Well here and DraftKings we are too cheap, but FanDuel at $3,600 is way too steep.
Soto came into the league last year having established himself in the minors as a reverse splits hitter, and continued that trend as a pro after his call up. Lester is pretty good against lefties, and his advanced metrics that showed regression last season are not as strong as they were last year up to this point.
However, Lester still gives up hard contact often, and that will not change. Soto went 2-for-4 with a double last night bringing his batting average up to .236 on the season, and again I think this lineup will benefit big time with the return of the spark plug Trea Turner.
IF – Nicky Lopez – Kansas City Royals – $5,500
I was going to pass on Little Nicky today as I love me some Griffin Canning, but this price here on Fantasy Draft today is Free Square territory. Lopez is now four games into his big league career, and he has already done enough to get an absolutely absurd price bump on Yahoo where he is $21, and a very fair one on FanDuel where he is $3K. Meanwhile, DraftKings still has him at $3,100 making him a tough fade there as well as here.
Lopez has hit safely in each of his first four games, and had his second multi-hit game of his young career already Thursday night, finishing 2-for-2 with two walks and two doubles. He kept the hit streak alive last night with a single, but finished just 1-for-4 bringing his average down to .400 in four games. Lopez sits in a great spot in this lineup between Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi if he can keep it up.
Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – FanDuel
SP – Griffin Canning – Los Angeles Angels – $6,800
Strasburg against the red-hot Cubs offense? Berrios on the road against a tough Mariners lineup? Looking up-and-down this top group of pitchers tonight, I am not seeing a lock here. Not only do I like Angels rookie Griffin Canning here a whole lot for GPP’s tonight, I am actually considering going here for cash games tonight as well.
Canning is now three starts into his big league career, and while it has been a mixed bag for the most part, he is showing a ton of potential. He has good strikeout stuff, as he has struck out at least six in each of his starts, but he did have some control issues in his last start which lead to a short outing. Canning walked four Orioles in that one on the road, and he failed to make it to the fifth inning for the second time, which is about the only thing that worries me here.
The Royals don’t strike out a ton as they are in the bottom third of the league in that department, but as a whole this offense is struggling to score runs. The fact that they couldn’t hit Matt Harvey last night should say enough, but Kansas City has scored just four runs in their last three games.
OF – Josh Reddick – Houston Astros – $2,800
Reddick went 0-for-3 with an RBI last night, bringing his batting average down to .326. It has been an incredible rebound season for the 32-year-old to this point, as he hit just .242 last season. His price finally went up over $4K on DK, and it remains too low here on FanDuel. In fact, it is perfect for I want to do with my lineup tonight.
The Astros and Red Sox will likely be the popular targets tonight, as the run total currently sits at 11. It’s rookie Corbin Martin versus Hector Velasquez at Fenway Park, and I am leaning towards stacking up these Astros bats.
George Springer, Alex Bregman, and either Carlos Correa or Michael Brantley, along with Reddick, will likely complete my four-man GPP stack here, with Canning as my pitcher. Our final two value plays on the final page of this article will bring it all together, and make it all happen.
Daily Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Plays – DraftKings
OF – Austin Riley – Atlanta Braves – $3,900
I am not quitting Austin Riley yet, was just waiting for the right spot. Oh, Oh, Oh.. Oh Riley went 2-for-5 last night bringing his batting average down to .400 now through three games, and his fast start got him some quick price bumps elsewhere. He stayed cheap here on DK and over on Fantasy Draft, but FanDuel may have bumped him out of play of $3K.
The Braves will face Chase Anderson today after a 12 run outburst last night, and they are pounding the ball with 22 runs in their last two games. Anderson’s last start at the major league level was April 26th against the Mets, as he hit the injured list with a blister forcing him to miss a few starts. He was 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA, but he has not logged more than five innings in any start, and looks to be in a tough spot here. Look for Riley and company to stay hot.
C – Willians Astudillo – Minnesota Twins – $3,800
There are so many ways to go here, but I can’t quit my boy “La Tortuga” quite yet. “The Turtle” as he is affectionately known here in Minnesota by Twins fans, continues to amaze on the diamond as this guy just never takes a walk or strikes out. I was wrong about him leading off against the lefty last night, but he did hit fifth and drove in a run with a sac fly in the fourth, and added a base hit as well.
He won’t hit for power so a bomb is just a bonus if he happens to get a hold of one, but he has been consistent, as he carries a .279 batting average. If you want a cheaper option and I may as well for GPP’s give Yan Gomes a look against Lester if he cracks the lineup. However, I have a feeling the Twins are going to put up a bunch of crooked numbers once again here tonight against LeBlanc.
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.
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.
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2B – Brian Dozier – Washington Nationals – ($2,800 DK, $2,200 FD, $7 Y!, $5,700 FantasyDraft)
Let’s pick on Jon Lester one last time before we say goodbye today since he seems to always to dodge us with them early Wrigley Field games. We got some dirt cheap options today to help you stack up whatever you need, and don’t look now, but a 3-for-4 last night has finally brought Dozier’s batting average above the dreaded Mendoza line to .203.
Dozier was slumping again going 0-for-10 in his previous three games, but a day off before the offensive outburst last night may have been just what the doctor ordered. I have said before in this article and I will say it again. Dozier has been streaky his whole career, and a 3-for-4 game is usually followed with another good game or two. The hot streaks are not as hot as they used to be, and the cold streaks are God-awful, but if he can take Lester deep here or even have another multi-hit game, he will easily hit value here.
OF – Kyle Schwarber – Chicago Cubs – ($3,100 DK, $2,400 FD, $12 Y!, $5,700 FantasyDraft)
Welcome to day three of Schwarber chalk. I don’t know maybe some will be scared of Strasburg today, but after that huge bailout bomb last night I am all set to saddle up again here. I like the fact that the move to the top of the lineup seems to have pumped up not only Schwarber but the rest of this offense, and nobody seems to be benefiting more than Kris Bryant in the two-spot following him, after his monster three home run game last night.
Schwarber finished 1-for-3 with that homer and three walks last night, and that patience at the plate is likely what got him to the top of this lineup. He is getting ahead in counts and getting good pitches to hit, and if he can continue to do so and manipulate counts in his favor, he will get back to form. I will fade on Yahoo at $12 with the tough match-up, but this is lock-and-load again everywhere else.
That is all for today’s 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 value bats and pitchers to consider, no matter what site you play on.
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