We have ourselves a nice little slate this evening, full of good value bats and an arm that caught my eye. I was rather surprised to find myself interested in a particular southpaw, but alas, here we are! Walker Buehler, Zack Wheeler and Lucas Giolito aren’t cheap, but don’t worry, I have plenty of players below to help you get your preferred arm or bat in the lineup.
Keep reading below to find my preferred value bats of the night, including my must plays on Yahoo, FanDuel and DraftKings! Without further ado, let’s jump in and find the players in today’s Value Vault!
All Sites
James McCann, C NYM ($2,300 FD/$3,400 DK/$9 Yahoo) - McCann has hit southpaws at a .319 clip this year and he has four home runs in 69 at-bats. Fried has a 6.55 ERA in seven road starts this year, and opponents have hit .333 against him. Yikes. I like some of the bigger name bats for the Mets tonight, too, like Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis, but for a value play, it starts with McCann.
Madison Bumgarner, SP ARI ($6,400 FD/$9,500 DK/$32 Yahoo) - Over the last two weeks, Texas is tied for the second-lowest batting average and they have a 24.2 percent strikeout rate. THe team’s 85 wRC+ is tied with the Pirates for second-worst over the last two weeks and there has been no life in the team’s bats, posting a measly .146 ISO during that time. Bumgarner is a bit pricy for my liking on DraftKings, but I like the upside today as your second starter. His 4.86 ERA on the road this year is better than his 5.35 mark at home, but what caught my eye is that he’s allowed just a .212 average on the road this year, compared to .278 at home.
Yahoo!
Brendan Rodgers, 2B/SS COL ($11 Yahoo) - Rodgers’ road numbers are actually better than the numbers he’s posted when at Coors Field. He’s hitting .275 with an .873 OPS on the road this year, and he loves southpaws, posting a .304 average and 1.046 OPS this year through 46 at-bats. Los Angeles’ Andrew Heaney has allowed a .759 OPS to right-handed hitters this season, and in nine home starts this year, he’s allowed a 5.72 ERA and a .272 BAA. Yikes. For $11, Rodgers is a no-brainer.
Kris Bryant, 3B/OF CHC ($15 Yahoo) - Still a value on Yahoo! He’s 7-for-18 with three home runs in his career against Tyler Mahle and Mahle has reverse splits, as righties have posted better numbers against him than lefties. Mahle has been excellent on the road this year, so that presents some cause of concern, but Bryant hits righties well, and Mahle’s struggles come against righties. At this price point, you cannot go wrong.
FanDuel
Bryan Reynolds, OF PIT($3,300 FD) - Lefties against Adrian Houser can make you a couple bucks, or at least get you some good ROI. He’s allowed a .294 average and .348 wOBA to opposing lefties, and Reynolds has been excellent against righties, hitting .293 with a .384 wOBA! Reynolds has a .450 average and 1.176 OPS over his last 20 at-bats, and he has posted an .886 OPS against Milwaukee pitching in 2021.
Alec Bohm, 1B/3B PHI ($2,500 FD) - Bohm is 2-for-7 in his career with a home run against Patrick Corbin and Bohm loves facing southpaws, as seen by his .306 batting average and .829 OPS against lefties.He’s hitting .275 in the month of July and he hit .329 back in June, so he’s been on a nice little run after a very slow start to the year. He’s hit safely in five of his last seven games, and has an OPS of .833 in the month of July. UPDATE: This game has been postponed. Look to Brian Anderson at 3B.
DraftKings
Brian Anderson, 3B MIA ($3,200 DK) - Baltimore’s Jorge López has struggled this year, and righties are hitting .306 against him. Anderson has hit .298 versus right-handers this year with an .838 OPS. Since returning from injury, he’s 5-for-12 with two home runs, two RBI, three runs scored and one stolen base, good for a .417 average and 1.417 OPS. He’s a steal at $3,200 on DraftKings this evening.
Wilmer Difo, SS PIT ($2,000 DK) - Difo has carved himself a solid role with the Pirates. His versatility should help play nearly every day after the Adam Frazier trade and he’s shown that he can hit for the Bucs in 2021. He’s hitting .350 with a 1.001 OPS in July, and against righties in 2021, he’s hitting .293! Milwaukee’s Adrian Houser has allowed a .294 average to left-handed hitters, and Difo should prove a quality return on investment this evening. UPDATE: Difo isn't starting.
Player News
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.
Francisco Lindor went 3-for-5 and stole two bases while helping the Mets to an 8-1 win over the Rockies on Saturday.
Lindor’s first game back in the starting lineup was a successful one. The fractured pinkie toe clearly wasn’t bugging him too much, as he swiped a pair of bags to bring his total to 13 in 2025. Lindor may get some maintenance days to prevent aggravation, but it doesn’t appear that this injury will slow him down. Literally and figuratively.
Germán Márquez allowed four runs over five innings to take a loss to the Mets on Saturday.
Márquez is now 2-8 on the season and has an ERA of exactly 7.00. He’s not a good pitcher, and he pitches for the worst team in baseball. Atlanta gets the pleasure of facing him next weekend.
Clay Holmes gave up one run over six innings to get a win over the Rockies on Saturday.
Holmes gave up nine hits, but the only run he allowed came on a solo homer off the bat of Ryan McMahon. The 32-year-old didn’t issue a free pass, and he struck out six in another successful outing. Holmes now has an ERA of 2.95 on the season, and you cannot say the conversion to starter has been anything but a success. He gets the Rays next weekend.
Colton Cowser clobbered a solo homer while going 2-for-5 in a 7-4 win for the Orioles over the Athletics on Saturday.
Ramón Laureano hit a two-run homer while driving in three runs while going 3-for-5 in a win over the A’s on Saturday.