Happy Thursday! Let’s keep the week going with some winning MLB DFS lineups today! We get a 7-game main slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel kicking off at 7:10 PM EST. Plenty of time to enjoy some of the earlier baseball games and get your lineups set just right for the evening. This slate is highlighted by Nathan Eovaldi really cementing himself as an ace being the most expensive pitcher on the slate above the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Cristian Javier, and Sonny Gray. There are some great value pitchers on the board today as well if you don’t want to pay the top prices for the big names on the mound. The offensive side should provide plenty of options as well, with my favorite lineups to target being the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, and Minnesota Twins. Plenty of great players to build your lineups around, so let’s dive into some of my favorite value options of the day! 

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

AJ Smith-Shawver, Atlanta Braves (DraftKings: $5,500 / FanDuel: $8,000) 

AJ Smith-Shawver is getting his second career start for the Atlanta Braves, taking on the Colorado Rockies in Atlanta. He is only 20 years old and has great raw talent. He features mostly a fastball and slider combo that we know is good enough to work as a starter (see Spencer Strider). Getting to face the Rockies outside of Coors should be a good place for the rookie to get good results in his second start and hopefully begin to add some strikeouts. The price is so low that he doesn’t have to be incredible to return great value, but I think there is potential for him to put up a fantastic line in a matchup like this today.  

Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox (DraftKings: $8,200 / FanDuel: $8,300) 

Getting Dylan Cease is a value play seems strange, but his price continues to drop. He is at his lowest price of the season on DraftKings despite a few good starts in a row for him. Granted, he now must face the Los Angeles Dodgers, which can be a challenge, but when Dylan Cease is pitching well, he can dominate anyone. Despite it being easy matchups, 21 strikeouts in his last 15.1 innings is still fantastic, and I trust him enough to handle the Los Angeles Dodgers today at the price he is going for. 

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Gary Sanchez, C San Diego Padres (DraftKings: $3,500 / FanDuel: $3,100) 

Gary Sanchez has 4 home runs in his last 8 games and continues to be a power threat for the San Diego Padres. Granted, Sanchez is really an all-or-nothing type of hitter. He only has 7 total hits in those 8 games, but 4 of them are home runs and 2 are doubles, but a catcher with that good of power upside at this price is hard to pass up. You run the risk of getting nothing from him on any day, but the odds of a home run are good enough to jump in at this price. 

Andrés Giménez, 2B Cleveland Guardians (DraftKings: $3,400 / FanDuel: $2,600) 

This price feels almost criminal for Andrés Giménez while facing a left-hander. Ryan Weathers is far from a great pitcher and the Cleveland Guardians should be able to score some runs off him today. Giménez has slashed .328/.414/.475 against lefties this season, and while he is basically unusable right now when having to face a right-handed pitcher when you can get him against a lefty for this price, it is a no-brainer.

Kyle Farmer, 2B/SS Minnesota Twins (DraftKings: $2,500 / FanDuel: $2,500) 

Kyle Farmer hasn’t had a ton of power so far this season but with a home run and a double yesterday, there is some hope of more of that to come. Kyle Farmer has always been a great hitter against lefties with a career .829 OPS and this should be a great matchup for him against Matthew Boyd. He should find himself at the top of the Twins lineup today and I am anticipating some fireworks against Matthew Boyd, who has a career 1.59 HR/9. 

Marcell Ozuna, OF Atlanta Braves (DraftKings: $3,600 / FanDuel: $3,000) 

This isn’t the first time that Marcell Ozuna has made my value plays, but he continues to hit well and be underpriced. He is currently on a 10-game hitting streak during which he has slashed .394/.459/.667 and he has also found himself up in the 5th spot of Atlanta’s lineup over the last few days. In a good matchup against Kyle Freeland today, the Atlanta Braves are a dangerous offense, and being able to get Ozuna hitting well in the heart of it at this price is a steal. 

 

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