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Often overlooked in favor of bigger bats at ironically deeper positions, the middle infield can actually be the “make or break” for your DFS offense many nights. How many times do you wish you can gotten just a few more points to hit that next pay line? Well, today we dive into the middle men and search for value using our Relative Position Value per Dollar (RPVPD) tool.
First let’s start with second basemen on FanDuel tonight:
Player | FPPG | Raw RPV | Salary | Pts per $ | RPV Per Dollar |
13.2 | 0.368 | 3100 | $235 | 0.282 | |
13.2 | 0.375 | 3500 | $264 | 0.193 | |
9.75 | 0.012 | 2700 | $277 | 0.155 | |
9.74 | 0.011 | 2700 | $277 | 0.154 | |
10.9 | 0.133 | 3100 | $284 | 0.134 | |
8.74 | -0.093 | 2500 | $286 | 0.127 | |
14.3 | 0.483 | 4300 | $301 | 0.082 | |
8.54 | -0.113 | 2600 | $304 | 0.071 | |
9.49 | -0.014 | 2900 | $306 | 0.068 | |
11.6 | 0.202 | 3800 | $328 | -0.002 | |
10 | 0.040 | 3300 | $330 | -0.006 | |
12.4 | 0.288 | 4100 | $331 | -0.009 | |
9.29 | -0.036 | 3100 | $334 | -0.018 | |
9.5 | -0.013 | 3200 | $337 | -0.027 | |
9.59 | -0.004 | 3300 | $344 | -0.050 | |
8.57 | -0.110 | 3000 | $350 | -0.068 | |
8.2 | -0.148 | 2900 | $354 | -0.079 | |
8.05 | -0.164 | 2900 | $360 | -0.099 | |
9.15 | -0.050 | 3300 | $361 | -0.100 | |
7.92 | -0.177 | 2900 | $366 | -0.117 | |
6.81 | -0.293 | 2600 | $382 | -0.164 | |
6.3 | -0.346 | 2500 | $397 | -0.211 | |
Howie Kendrick | 6.26 | -0.350 | 2700 | $432 | -0.317 |
Jose Altuve is unquestionably the best second baseman in fantasy, but in terms of pricing he’s not the most cost effective. The Texas twosome of Rougned Odor and former uber prospect Jurickson Profar have him beat. Actually, on FanDuel they’re bot priced at $3.1K but Profar’s recent hot hitting makes him almost 15 percent more efficient than Odor. Both are terrific options and as long as Profar keeps hitting the Rangers will find ways to keep him in the lineup.
Robinson Cano is actually a very strong cash game option despite facing Carlos Carrasco. His salary is sitting at 1A tier, but make no mistake he’s still a No. 1 talent. The speedy little Josh Harrison is a sneaky tournament play tonight. Not only is he cheap, but the Mets have a very hard time keeping base runners honest and Noah Syndergaard is one of the easiest pitchers to run on in baseball. Now conversely he’s also one of the toughest to reach base on as well. However, Harrison has at least alternate lineup appeal with likely a low ownership percentage based on matchup. DJ LeMahieu is the last of the top efficiency options, but his road splits are poor so he’s not worth an investment.
Now for the shortstops:
Player | FPPG | Raw RPV | Salary | Pts per $ | RPV Per Dollar |
12.7 | 0.317 | 3200 | $252 | 0.258 | |
13.1 | 0.358 | 3500 | $267 | 0.214 | |
12.1 | 0.256 | 3500 | $289 | 0.150 | |
8.77 | -0.092 | 2600 | $297 | 0.127 | |
13.2 | 0.368 | 4000 | $303 | 0.108 | |
12.4 | 0.283 | 3800 | $307 | 0.097 | |
11.5 | 0.195 | 3600 | $312 | 0.081 | |
8.24 | -0.146 | 2600 | $316 | 0.071 | |
10.6 | 0.100 | 3400 | $320 | 0.057 | |
11.7 | 0.209 | 3900 | $334 | 0.016 | |
10.2 | 0.059 | 3500 | $343 | -0.009 | |
9.2 | -0.047 | 3200 | $348 | -0.024 | |
7.44 | -0.229 | 2600 | $349 | -0.029 | |
8.78 | -0.090 | 3100 | $353 | -0.039 | |
8.1 | -0.161 | 2900 | $358 | -0.055 | |
6.57 | -0.319 | 2400 | $365 | -0.076 | |
8.46 | -0.123 | 3200 | $378 | -0.113 | |
6.86 | -0.289 | 2600 | $379 | -0.116 | |
10.9 | 0.128 | 4200 | $386 | -0.136 | |
Tyler Saladino | 6.9 | -0.285 | 2700 | $391 | -0.152 |
7.32 | -0.242 | 3000 | $410 | -0.207 | |
Angel Cabrera | 7.23 | -0.251 | 3000 | $415 | -0.222 |
Fantasy darling Carlos Correa may be at the top of the salary board, but in terms of cost efficiency he’s actually a -14 percent. That sort of negative influence can really handicap your roster. Trevor Story may be the most cost effective tonight, but he’s also extremely volatile. You have to be prepared for his boom or bust play and on the road I’d be less apt to tempt fate. But let’s not dwell on the negative. On the positive side, Corey Seager has dropped some huge production over his last 10 games and he’s been equally good against LHP and RHP this year so don’t be scared off by the southpaw matchup tonight.
Xander Bogaerts may be an even better cash game option than Seager. Madison Bumgarner is clearly a tough draw, but our AL batting leader is certainly up to the task. He’s hitting .464 with a 1.250 OPS against lefties this year and if the algorithm is going to discount his salary all the way to $3.5K (or “Zack Cozart range”) his talent makes him less of a risk than you may perceive on the surface.
The Twins’ Eduardo Nunez is averaging 18 points a game over his last 10 contests and he faces the lefty Wei-Yin Chen tonight. Nunez is hitting .359 with a 1.186 OPS versus southpaws this year so this may be a nice under the radar opportunity. Ketel Marte is another player who offers a nice ratio of price and production, but he was held out of last nights’ game with neck spasms. He could be a game time decision. If he does play last minute, Marte would be a nice last minute addition with very low ownership numbers.
Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the seven-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football. He hosts Fantasy Sports Tonight on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and the Dear Mr. Fantasy Podcast.