With seven games on the MLB DFS main slate on Saturday, April 22nd, we'll have many top options to pay up for offensively and on the mound. With Mike Trout, Julio Rodriguez, Marcus Semien, and Luis Castillo in such good spots, we're going to need to find some value plays to spend down on. Below are some of my favorite MLB DFS value plays for Saturday's slate. Much sure to check out the MLB DFS playbook and be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the daily MLB projections, MLB DFS Ownership projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator. Let's dive into today's MLB DFS value plays for the seven-game MLB DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel.
MLB DFS Value Pitchers
Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox
This isn’t the greatest match-up we’ve ever seen, but Garrett Whitlock is coming off a very good start in which he fired seven shutout innings against the Angels. Whitlock has struck out five batters in back-to-back games and the Brewers have shown the propensity to punch out. They’ve struck out 23.7% of the time this year against right-handed pitching thus far and despite having a lot of power in their lineup, Whitelock has done a good job at keeping the ball in the park for the majority of his short career thus far. He’s allowed just 1.04 HR/9 since he first appeared in 2021 and if he limits them here, he’ll have another strong outing.
MLB DFS Value Hitters
Manny Machado, San Diego Padres (FanDuel specific)
How in the world, despite how much he’s struggled, have we gotten to a point where Manny Machado is under $3,000? I’d play that every single day even if he’s 0-4 for a month straight. He’s not this bad of a player and he should never be this cheap, not even if there’s a fire. Machado crushed right-handed pitching last season to the tune of a .313 AVG, .538 SLG%, .226 ISO, and .390 wOBA. Other than the 2022 season, Merrill Kelly has been a reverse splits pitcher and this season is no different. Thus far, righties have a .400 OBP, .500 SLG%, and .395 wOBA against Kelly. This could be Machado’s breakout that gets his 2023 jump-started.
Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners
I’m not sure Jarred Kelenic could have gotten off to a better start this year to have his fantasy owners gushing over him like they were before he stepped onto a major league field. He’s hitting .311 with a .967 OPS to this point and over his last 10 games, he’s been even better posting a .333/.410/.758 slash with four home runs and nine runs batted in. He faces Miles Mikolas here, a pitcher allowing lefty bats a .375 AVG, 1.060 OPS, and .444 wOBA. Kelenic himself has a .395 wOBA against righties this year.
Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics
I know it’s hard to get behind much of Oakland, but Brent Rooker has been one of the team’s bright spots this year. Rooker is hitting .325 this season and over his last 10 games, he’s batting .394 with a 1.274 OPS, four home runs, and 11 runs batted in. He faces off against Andrew Heaney today and he’s a guy who allows home runs and a lot of fly balls. He’s allowed a 40% or higher fly ball rate in the last three seasons and four times over his last five. Righties also have averaged 1.86 HR/9 this year and Rooker hits fly balls at a 44% clip himself. He has a .350 wOBA and .250 ISO against LHP and could be a source of a cheap home run on Saturday.
Jonah Heim, Texas Rangers
I know it’s strange to recommend a catcher, a position typically punted, but it’s very hard to not look at what Jonah Heim is doing and want to use him. He’s hitting .313 on the year but has been unreal lately hitting .371 over his last 10 games as he’s hit in eight of his last nine games and has belted four home runs over that span. He’s homered in two straight as a matter of fact and Shintaro Fujinami has NOT looked like a major league pitcher to this point. He’s not missing as many bats as we thought he would, he has a 52.5% fly ball rate, 42.5% hard-hit rate, walks 14% of the batters he faces, and allows 1.42 HR/9. There are a lot of different ways to beat him and with how locked-in Heim is at the plate, I’d bet he has another big day.