Happy Thursday! After an early set of games yesterday, there are a ton of teams having travel days today, leaving us with an extra small set of games for MLB DFS lineups. There are a few early games, but our focus will be on the MLB daily fantasy main slate of 3 games kicking off at 7:05 PM EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. We are focused on the New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers vs Oakland Athletics, and the San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks. With so few players to pick from, finding value plays for our MLB DFS picks can be extra difficult. There are still some great options and a path to a winning lineup in a small slate. In my opinion, your choice of pitchers is between Nathan Eovaldi, Drew Rasmussen, and Alex Cobb are the only pitching options I am willing to go for today, which leaves out any real value at the pitching spot, but I will still give you my favorite two pitchers to target for the day. Despite the lack of options, there are still some great plays to target when building your MLB DFS lineups for the day, so let’s dive into some of my favorite value options and top MLB daily picks! 

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays (DraftKings: $9,200 / FanDuel: $10,300) 

The Yankees have been a disappointing offense this season. Aaron Judge is back in the lineup, and they did score 11 runs yesterday, but that was against the Athletics, so I am not sure how much credit we should give them for that. The Yankees have still been in the bottom third in wRC+ at 92 as well as only a .695 OPS against right-handers. Drew Rasmussen, on the other hand, has his highest K/9 since becoming a starter this season and continues to be a fantastic pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He hasn’t made it 6 innings in his last 5 starts, but he still has been fantastic in a big game against the Yankees; I think he is a great option in this spot, and with options limited is my favorite pitcher on today’s slate.

Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers (DraftKings: $9,500 / FanDuel: $11,000) 

Alright, I know we are really stretching the term “value play” here. Eovaldi is the most expensive pitcher on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Even so, I think Eovaldi is more likely than the other pitchers to return the value compared to his price. For one, he gets to face the Oakland Athletics and I don’t think I need to dive deep into how terrible they have been this season. On top of that, Eovaldi has been brilliant. In his last two starts, he has thrown 17 innings of shutout baseball. Eovaldi is just under a strikeout an inning on the season, but against the Oakland Athletics, you should expect him to be over that in this start. I am fully willing to pay up for Nathan Eovaldi in this small slate and consider him a value even if he isn’t the traditional “value play” you will see here.

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Luke Raley, 1B/OF Tampa Bay Rays (DraftKings: $3,500 / FanDuel: $3,200) 

Luke Raley has been a big part of the magic happening down in Tampa Bay this season. He has a .958 OPS against right-handers this season, and I don’t trust Domingo German in New York to hold down this Tampa Bay offense at all. Luke Raley has been on a tear recently as well. In his last 10 games, he is slashing .371/.405/.886, along with 5 home runs. He also saw himself all the way up to the 5th spot in the lineup in the last two games for the Rays. If he continues to deliver in the heart of the lineup, Luke Raley could quickly get a lot of attention in the fantasy world. The Rays haven’t shown any signs of letting up, and Luke Raley isn’t either. 

Wilmer Flores, 1B/3B San Francisco Giants (DraftKings: $2,800 / FanDuel: $2,800) 

Wilmer Flores has been a steady contributor for the Giants this season. He has been a fantastic hitter against left-handed pitching, though, and gets to face the left in Tommy Henry for the Arizona Diamondbacks today. He has always been a better hitter against lefties, but his season is even more extreme so far, with a 1.006 OPS against lefties. Tommy Henry, in his three starts this season, hasn’t been great. While only giving up one long ball so far, he only has a 4.02 K/9, along with his 5.17 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. The San Francisco Giants as a team have struggled against left-handed pitching this year, but Wilmer Flores is not, and he is a fantastic value today in this matchup. 

Ezequiel Duran, SS Texas Rangers (DraftKings: $3,100 / FanDuel: $3,000) 

Ezequiel Duran seems to have figured out how to hit major-league hitting. He has a .375 BABIP and has only walked once this season, so I am a little unsure about the sustainability of what he has been doing but for now, he has been hitting great for the Texas Rangers. He is slashing .304/.333/.478 this season with 4 home runs and 2 steals to go along with it. Considering the limited options available today, Duran is a great value play at SS, facing Zach Neal of the Oakland Athletics, who is a 34-year-old who has been struggling in AAA. The Texas Rangers are easily the best stack of the day in this matchup and Duran is an amazing value play at his price.

Mitch Haniger, OF San Francisco Giants (DraftKings: $3,700 / FanDuel: $3,000) 

Mitch Haniger has been struggling at the plate quite a bit this season with his new team, with only a 77 wRC+ and batting .227, but he hasn’t gotten to face a ton of lefties who he has still been hitting well against despite his struggles. Against lefties this year, he is still slashing .333/.429/.417 against left-handers, and considering how good of a hitter he has been in his career, I am confident he will see some positive regression. Getting to face Tommy Henry today will be a great place for him to continue his good hitting against lefties and improve his season numbers quite a bit. 

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