Happy Friday, everybody! We have a fantastic slate of games ready for us today. Unfortunately, no day baseball to get you through your Friday with the first game not kicking off until 5:10 PM EST, but that means we have plenty of time to get lineups set with the 13-game main slate kicking off at 7:05 EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. There are endless exciting pitching options today, with some big names of Shohei Ohtani, Logan Webb, Zack Wheeler, Luis Castillo, Clayton Kershaw, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander included, but that only scratches the surface of the good pitchers available today. With so many quality pitchers, my preference is not to take the very top end when you can get ace pitchers cheaper, and I am probably not paying for at least the top 2 or 3 guys, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still viable today if they interest you. With so many good pitchers taking the mound, it makes choosing hitters a little more difficult as well. With so many games, there are endless choices which makes finding some good value plays vital to building a winning lineup. There are some players that are higher priced than I would normally include in the value plays, but I wanted to give you a good range of quality options today for building a winning DFS lineup. With that said, let’s dive into some of my favorite value options of the day! 

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays (DraftKings: $7,900 / FanDuel: $9,200) 

I avoided Glasnow in his first start wanting to make sure he was healthy and looking good. He only went 4.1 innings, but he racked up 8 strikeouts and threw 83 pitches against the Dodgers. Hopefully, he will make it at least a full 5 innings today against Boston, but that shouldn’t be an issue as he continues to ramp up his pitch count and can limit the hits to be more efficient as well. He comes in even cheaper today on DraftKings than he did in his first start, and when pitching, Glasnow is one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball, so I am fully in. 

Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies (DraftKings: $9,200 / FanDuel: $10,900) 

Zack Wheeler is coming off his best start of the season against the Atlanta Braves, where he struck out 12 batters through 8 innings of shutout ball while only allowing 3 hits and 1 walk. He now gets to face the Washington Nationals. The Nationals don’t strike out a lot, but with how good Wheeler has been pitching, I don’t think that is going to matter and we should still expect a fair number of strikeouts in this outing. Zack Wheeler would be my pick as the number one starter on this slate with this matchup, and while he isn’t cheap, you don’t have to pay the number one price for him, which makes him a value play in my book today. 

Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins (DraftKings: $8,400 / FanDuel: $10,000) 

Bailey Ober still holds a 2.68 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP on the year. The strikeout numbers haven’t been huge but have still been consistent and he hit a season-high of 7 in 5 innings in his last outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, who have the 6th lowest K% against right-handed pitching. Getting an easier matchup today against the Cleveland Guardians (albeit another one that doesn’t strike out a ton) should provide Ober a great chance to keep up his great season for the Minnesota Twins, who have the second-best ERA in the major leagues. 

Jon Gray, Texas Rangers (DraftKings: $7,600 / FanDuel: $9,000) 

In his last 4 starts, Jon Gray has 27 strikeouts in 27 innings while only giving up 3 runs. He has gone at least 7 innings in three of those starts as well and has won all 4 games. That stretch includes a start against Seattle, where he struck out 8 in 7 innings while only giving up 1 run off of a solo home run. He faces Seattle again today and should be able to keep up this strong stretch and is at a very low price today with a lot of other big-name pitchers on the slate. 

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Gary Sanchez, C San Diego Padres (DraftKings: $3,300 / FanDuel: $2,300) 

Gary Sanchez appears to have finally found a home in San Diego; who have been desperate for some offensive life. He got the start at DH yesterday, getting him in the lineup for the third straight game, and he delivered, hitting his second home run in as many days. If they keep him in the lineup, we know that Gary Sanchez can be one of the best power-hitting catchers in the game, so I am willing to take a chance this hot streak continues for him as he tries to prove that he deserves to be playing every day in the majors. 

Brandon Drury, 1B/2B Los Angeles Angels (DraftKings: $4,100 / FanDuel: $2,800) 

Brandon Drury is back on a hot streak. In his last 11 games, he has slashed .325/.413/.725, with 10 of his 13 hits being for extra bases, including 3 home runs in his last 6 games. He has always been able to put up big games against left-handers. While Framber Valdez is no ordinary left-handed pitcher, I still like the value here for Drury to continue his hot streak today, getting to bat right in the middle of a strong Angels lineup.  

Ryan McMahon, 3B Colorado Rockies (DraftKings: $4,600 / FanDuel: $3,600) 

A Colorado Rockies hitter outside of Coors, which a lot of the time is not something you are excited about, but Ryan McMahon has been red-hot, and I don’t think it matters where he is playing right now. While Kauffman Stadium has the second lowest home run park factor over the last three years, it is still the 4th best hitters' park overall, so it is not a pitcher’s park despite limiting home runs. McMahon is on an absurd streak right now with 15 hits in his last 8 games, including 4 home runs and 8 extra-base hits; he also has 8 runs and 12 RBIs over that stretch. He should have no problem keeping this streak going against Jordan Lyles today. 

Bo Bichette, SS Toronto Blue Jays (DraftKings: $5,200 / FanDuel: $3,600) 

You are always taking a chance when facing Justin Verlander, but he has been far from great this season. In his 5 starts, he has a 4.80 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP which isn’t terrible, but his 18.2 K% along with a 1.50 HR/9 are far more concerning for the 40-year-old. Along with that, Bo Bichette has been incredible. He is leading shortstops in AVG, OBP, SLG, and home runs. In his first 57 games this season, he only has 13 where he hasn’t recorded a hit, and he has recorded 23 multi-hit games, with 9 of them having 3 or more hits. That’s absurd. Given he isn’t close to being the highest-priced SS for DFS, I am happy to fit him into my lineup in as many places as I can. 

Royce Lewis, SS/3B Minnesota Twins (DraftKings: $3,100 / FanDuel: $3,100) 

If you can’t afford Bo Bichette pivoting to Royce Lewis is a great option. The Minnesota Twins are facing Aaron Civale in his first start since April 7th and can hopefully take advantage of a pitcher coming off the injured list. Royce Lewis has 4 hits in his first 3 games, including 2 home runs and a double. Royce could certainly be a start for the Twins, and I am happy taking him at this price because I can’t imagine it will stay this low for long if he can keep delivering at the plate.

Juan Soto, OF San Diego Padres (DraftKings: $5,500 / FanDuel: $4,300) 

Another hitter who isn’t cheap but is still far too cheap for his talent. Juan Soto, is still one of the best hitters in baseball despite a slow start to the season. In May, he had the third-best wRC+ and the 4th best OPS in the league. The San Diego Padres get one of the easiest matchups of the day by facing Jameson Taillon. While the Padres have still been struggling to live up to expectations, Juan Soto hasn’t been lately and shouldn’t disappoint in this matchup today. 

Brendan Donovan, OF San Diego Padres (DraftKings: $2,900 / FanDuel: $2,700) 

A much cheaper option at outfield than Juan Soto but one that still provides plenty of upside. The St. Louis Cardinals are a great stack option today, getting to face Roansy Contreras and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brendan Donovan is in a solid stretch of hitting right now, having slashed .310/.459/.552 over his last 10 games. He also found himself in the back in the leadoff spot in his last start back on Tuesday (he hasn’t been sitting; the Cardinals just weirdly had back-to-back off days). Hopefully, he gets to be back in the leadoff spot again today against Roansy and could provide great value hitting atop this Cardinals lineup. 

 

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