We got an eight game slate on our hands that’s loaded with great arms. Gerrit Cole , Yu Darvish and Walker Buehler will cost a pretty penny, and you’ll need some value bats in your lineups to be able to afford any of these stud right-handers. Fortunately, there’s a few value bats that can help achieve this, and if you don’t want to go with two of the aforementioned starters, there’s even a value arm for your second starter on DraftKings! Without further ado, let’s head into the Value Vault for tonight’s main slate!

Both Sites:

Andrew Vaughn, OF CWS ($2,300 FD/$2,400 DK) - He may have just one hit in his last four games, but at least that hit was a home run! Vaughn gets a lefty in this matchup, and he’s been far better against lefties. He’s hitting .304 with a whopping 1.093 OPS against southpaws this year and he’s homered off Happ this year already! He sees the ball far better against lefties, and his .484 on-base percentage against southpaws is aided by seven walks (just six walks against righties in three times the at-bats). I love Vaughn in GPPs tonight and he’s affordable on both sites.

Jarred Kelenic, OF SEA ($2,900 FD/$3,000 DK) - It’s been a bit of a slow start for Kelenic, but tonight his potential is massive. Casey Mize has served up an .827 OPS to left-handed hitters this year, not to mention a .359 wOBA. Mize is above average in terms of pitches in the strike zone, and Kelenic has an impressive 95.2 percent zone contact rate this year, per Baseball Savant. He’s chasing a bit more than what we’d like, but we’ll chalk that up to being antsy to perform as a big time prospect. Mize’s Statcast profile is underwhelming and lefties have given him fits, so tonight is a great opportunity to end his recent two game skid (0-for-10 with 3 Ks).


FanDuel:

Gary Sánchez , C NYY ($2,300) - Sanchez has hit safely in four of his last five contests, helping push his average up to .193 on the year. Yes, you read that right. He’s homered three times in the past 10 calendar days (seven games), and he’s notched double-digit FanDuel points in four of his last five! Jordan Lyles has served up a 2.13 HR/9 this year and a whopping 6.63 ERA. To righties specifically, Lyles has allowed a .928 OPS. New York should get to Lyles tonight, and Sanchez is very cheap on FanDuel.

Jake Cronenworth, 2B SDP ($2,400) - Cronenworth has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, hitting .349 (15-for-43) in that span with one home run, two doubles, 10 runs scored and four RBI. Colorado’s Jon Gray has served up a .700 OPS to left-handed hitters, while Cronenworth has an .823 OPS and .296 batting average against right-handed pitchers. Gray has amassed a 6.30 ERA in two road starts this year, so I’ll take a chance here with Cronenworth’s hot bat.

DraftKings:

Justin Upton , OF LAA ($2,800) - Cleveland’s Sam Hentges has served up four home runs in just 13.2 innings and Upton has three home runs in just 31 at-bats against southpaws this year. Hentges has struggled with right-handed hitters, to the tune of a .341 batting average against and a whopping 1.059 OPS. Upton has been better at home than on the road, and against southpaws than righties, and the Angels are at home against a lefty tonight. I like Upton tonight, and if you buy into the home/road splits, he has five home runs in just 48 home at-bats this season. UPDATE: Upton is not starting for Los Angeles

Yusei Kikuchi , SP SEA ($7,800) - On a slate with so many elite arms going, it might be tough to settle on Kikuchi on FanDuel, but on DraftKings, making him your second starter could pay dividends. In 2021, only the Cleveland Indians (.193) and Seattle Mariners (.181) have a lower batting average against southpaws than the Detroit Tigers (.204). Furthermore, Detroit’s 33.8 percent strikeout rate against lefties is the worst in baseball, and they are the only team with an ISO below .115. Oh, Detroit’s ISO against lefties is .067 this year. Ouch. Kikuchi has at least seven strikeouts in three straight outings, and a total of 25 punch outs over his last 20.1 innings of work. On DraftKings, there are six starters with a higher price tag than Kikuchi.