MLB DFS Value Vault: September 26

The main slates are a little jumbled today. FanDuel and DraftKings are both kicking off at 1:05 EST, whereas Yahoo wants us to examine the Kansas City-Detroit game at 12:10 EST. The more the merrier I guess! As the baseball season comes to a close, stay locked in and continue to put your best foot forward. Yes, football is exciting and the shiny new toy, but there is still money to be made in the baseball season, ladies and gentlemen! Keep on reading to find my favorite value plays for the day on Yahoo, FanDuel and DraftKings!

All Sites

Rafael Ortega, OF CHC ($2,600 FD/$3,000 DK/$13 Yahoo) - After a hot August, Ortega has cooled off a bit in September, but things are picking back up. He’s hitting .256 over the last two weeks, and now gets to face the Cardinals, a team that he’s hit at a .375 clip this year with a 1.007 OPS. Ortega has a .310 batting average against right-handers in 2021, while St. Louis’ Jake Woodford has surrendered a .318 batting average and .367 wOBA to left-handed hitters.

J.D Davis, 3B NYM ($2,500 FD/$2,400 DK/$7 Yahoo) - I don’t like attacking Peralta often, but for these price points, I’ll look at Davis and his .304 batting average against right-handers this season. He’s struggling of late, but he’s been better on the road this year than at home, and against righties than lefties. Well, the Mets are on the road, and a righty is on the bump, so why not take a shot on Davis? Alongside that .304 average against righties this year, he has a .302 batting average and .908 OPS on the road in 2021. UPDATE: Davis isn’t starting today for New York.

Yahoo!

Miguel Cabrera, 1B DET ($11) - Miguel Cabrera is 4-for-9 with a home run against Kansas City’s Kris Bubic, and the Kansas City southpaw has allowed a .262 batting average and .347 wOBA to right-handed hitters in 2021. Bubic has a 5.58 ERA in 14 road appearances this season, and while he has been good on multiple occasions against Detroit, just one start came in Detroit. Cabrera is hitting .344 in the month of September, and he has a .282 batting average and .736 OPS against southpaws this year.

Jonathan Schoop, 1B DET ($9) - For many of the reasons listed to like Cabrera today, the same can be said for Schoop. Schoop might only be 2-for-7 against Bubic in his career, but he’s sporting an excellent .331 batting average and .922 OPS against southpaws in 2021. Schoop is riding a six game hit streak and he has hit Kansas City pitching at a .304 clip this season.

DraftKings

Shane Baz, SP TB ($7,500) - I like Baz’s price point on FanDuel, but given questions about how deep Tampa Bay will let him go into the game, it’s hard to make him your only starter. On DraftKings, I’ll roll the dice, because he can make a strong fantasy impact on just 75 pitches against a reeling Miami offense. Alongside striking out at the seventh-highest clip (25.2%) over the last two weeks, here is where the Marlins rank in various offensive categories in that same stretch:

Baz could make a big impact quickly this afternoon.

Yoshi Tsutsugo, 3B/OF PIT ($3,400) - Tsutsugo has been excellent for Pittsburgh of late. In September, he’s hitting .299 with an .897 OPS and over the last two weeks, he’s hitting .308 (12-for-39) with a .400 on-base percentage! Fire him up today at this price point, given his recent production!

FanDuel

Didi Gregorius, SS PHI ($2,700) - Pittsburgh’s Max Kranick has allowed lefties to hit .349 with a .405 wOBA this season. Ouch. Gregorius might only have a .229 batting average against right-handers this year, but he does have 10 home runs and a .402 slugging percentage against them across 266 at-bats. So, why do we like Gregorius? Well, he has a .784 OPS at home this season, and against Pittsburgh pitching this year, he has two home runs in 21 at-bats, not to mention a .619 slugging percentage and 1.004 OPS.

Willson Contreras, C CHC ($3,000) - Jake Woodford’s struggles are skewed to lefties, but Contreras is a right-hander that has handled Woodford. In his career, Contreras is 3-for-6 with two home runs against Woodford, not to mention an .833 wOBA. The Chicago backstop is hitting .417 over the past week and has a 1.333 OPS during this stretch. The numbers say he’s a better play against southpaws, but this St. Louis right-hander hasn’t been a match for Contreras yet.