This fine Tuesday presents us with a big 14-game slate and some expensive pitchers that will decimate your bank roll in seconds. Zack Wheeler, Gerritt Cole, Max Scherzer and Lucas Giolito headline the slate, but guys like Clayton Kershaw, Marcus Stroman and Zack Greinke aren’t far behind. You’ll likely need a value bat, or a couple if you load up with two studs on DraftKings, but don’t worry, I have the value bats for your lineup. Also, if you fancy DraftKings and want to go contrarian with your second pitcher, I have one for you there as well. Without further ado, let’s jump into today’s Value Vault!
Both Sites
Akil Baddoo, OF DET ($2,600 FD/$2,300 DK) - The early season sensation is coming back to life here of late. Over the last five days, he has at least nine FanDuel points in four games, and his .351 average in the month of June has raised his batting average 30 points! He’s riding a seven-game hit streak and has a ridiculous .455 on-base percentage. St. Louis’ Johan Oviedo has allowed a .367 wOBA to left-handed hitters and also has a 4.58 BB/9 mark this season. Expect Baddoo to be a regular on the base paths tonight.
Wander Franco, SS TB ($2,500 FD/$2,000 DK) - Come on, I had to! At Triple-A before being called up, he was hitting .315 with a .934 OPS, and had seven home runs and 35 RBI through 39 games. He hit both lefties and righties at over a .300 clip, and he was peaking at the right point, hitting .371 in the month of June specifically. Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez has a 6.21 ERA on the year, and he’s allowed at least four earned runs in seveon of his last nine starts. Here’s to a great debut for the future star!
FanDuel
Tommy Edman, 2B/OF STL ($2,700) - On DraftKings, Edman is nearly doubled his price compared to on FanDuel! Sheesh! He’s hitting .327 with a .414 wOBA against southpaws this year, and if you like Day/Night splits, you’ll like going against Skubal. In eight night starts, Skubal has a 5.68 ERA to go along with a 1-6 record. Also, 13 of the 16 homers he’s allowed have come in night starts. Interesting, nonetheless. Skubal will get his strikeouts tonight, sure, but Edman should get a couple base knocks and a run scored or two.
Alex Verdugo, OF BOS ($3,100) - For the month of June as a whole, Verdugo is hitting .292 with a .791 OPS. He’s turned it up recently, however, as he’s riding a six-game hit streak, in which he has three multi-hit efforts. Over his last six games specifically, he’s hitting .321 with one home run, five RBI and six runs scored. Tampa’s Andrew Kittredge has been more vulnerable to lefties, as evidenced by his .343 wOBA and OPS near .820 to opposing left-handed hitters. Meanwhile, Verdugo has hit righties at a .329 clip in 2021, and on the road, he’s a .301 hitter.
DraftKings
Shed Long Jr., 2B SEA ($2,800) - Long has hit safely in six of his last seven games, and now gets to face the struggling Kyle Freeland. In three road starts this year, Freeland has an even 9.00 ERA. Ouch. Lefties have a .429 average off him, not to mention a .583 wOBA and 1.425 OPS! Long is 6-for-19 (.316) off southpaws this year and Seattle makes for a fun stack tonight. If you go that route, do not leave out Jake Bauers or J.P. Crawford.
Anthony DeSclafani, SP SFG ($7,000) - DeSclafani has been excellent in June. He’s averaging well over six innings per start and has a 1.35 ERA with a 17:2 K/BB ratio across 20 innings of work. On the road this year, he’s posted a 2.12 ERA and allowed a .181 BAA away from home. Excellent! Left-handed hitters have given him more fits this year (.250 BAA & .712 OPS), but the Angels are a right-handed heavy lineup. They have been hitting well of late, but DeSclafani will stop that streak tonight. With a bevy of good pitchers on the board, DeSclafani could be a nice contrarian play as your second starter.
Player News
Red Sox OF prospect Roman Anthony scalded a 497-foot grand slam on Saturday for Triple-A Worcester.
That’s how you give the WooSox faithful at Polar Park something to remember for years to come. The legend continues to grow as Anthony’s latest gargantuan blast to right-center field carried a stratospheric 115.6 mph exit velocity. It’s the longest home run tracked by Statcast at any level in baseball this season, per MLB.com’s Allison Mast. It was also his 10th round-tripper of the year. It’s mystifying what the Red Sox are doing at this juncture since Anthony is certainly capable of providing an offensive spark, even in his first exposure to the big leagues. There’s been zero indication that a call-up is imminent, but fantasy managers should anticipate Anthony arriving at Fenway Park at some point soon. There’s nothing left for him to prove in the minors.
Nick Kurtz (hip) went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and three RBI on Saturday in a minor league rehab game for Low-A Stockton.
The bat looks fine. Kurtz walloped a colossal homer and also added an RBI single in his first rehab contest as he makes his way back from a hip flexor strain that put him on the shelf back in late May. The 22-year-old top prospect might only need another game this weekend before he’s ready to rejoin the Athletics’ lineup. Fantasy managers should anticipate Kurtz being back in the big leagues at some point in the coming days.
Reds RHP prospect Chase Burns recorded six strikeouts over seven shutout innings on Saturday for Double-A Chattanooga.
There’s a legitimate argument for pushing Burns ahead of Bubba Chandler and Andrew Painter as the top pitching prospect in the fantasy landscape. The second-overall selection from the 2024 MLB Draft retired 17 consecutive batters to open his latest outing and was still hitting 98 mph during his seventh inning of work. He allowed just three singles over seven frames and didn’t hand out a free pass. The 22-year-old phenom holds a microscopic 1.68 ERA and 75/9 K/BB ratio across 53 2/3 innings (11 starts) this season between Double-A Chattanooga and High-A Dayton. He might be ready to pitch in the big leagues by the second half.
Brewers RHP prospect Jacob Misiorowski posted seven strikeouts over five shutout innings on Saturday for Triple-A Nashville.
Misiorowski touched triple-digits on 14 pitches and allowed just two hits over five strong frames in his latest dominant outing on the doorstep of the majors. Milwaukee doesn’t exactly have a spot for him in their current rotation, but they should strongly consider making one in a couple weeks. The hard-throwing 23-year-old righty is up to 80 punchouts over 63 1/3 innings and also boasts an International League-best 2.13 ERA across 12 starts.
Pirates SS/OF prospect Konnor Griffin went 3-for-5 with an inside-the-park home run, three RBI and one stolen base on Saturday for Low-A Bradenton.
Griffin’s phenomenal professional debut continued Saturday when he legged out an inside-the-park home run as part of his 21st multi-hit performance of the season. The 19-year-old phenom is slashing .338/.398/.536 with nine round-trippers and 26 steals across 50 games for Low-A Bradenton. He leads the entire Florida State League with 70 hits and ranks second in home runs, trailing only Phillies breakout prospect Aroon Escobar in the power department. Based on his current trajectory, Griffin is likely to finish the year as a top-five caliber prospect for dynasty purposes.
Ronny Mauricio went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, stolen base and two runs scored in a win for the Mets on Saturday over the Rockies.
Mauricio gets the combo meal in a blowout win over the lowly Rockies. Still counts. The 24-year-old has his first homer of the 2025 campaign, and the steal is also his first after being recalled from Syracuse on Tuesday. Mauricio is still young enough to live up to the lofty expectations he once had, but fantasy managers shouldn’t be rushing to add the infielder just yet.