A fine 14-game slate is just what the doctor ordered to start this weekend off right! Some value arms, plenty of value bats and some pitchers that we are going to attack this evening! Whether they have the better side of the splits or prior success against their opponent, each of the guys below warrants consideration in your lineup!
Without further ado, let's check out some of the best value options on the board for tonight’s slate.
All Sites
Wade Miley, SP CIN ($8,500 FD/$8,200 DK/$35 Yahoo) - Miley posted an impressive 2.51 ERA across 32.1 July innings, and the reason he’s likely cheaper than his performance indicates is because he isn’t missing many bats, posting just 19 strikeouts last month and failing to record five or more strikeouts in four of his last five outings. Pittsburgh is hitting just .236 with a .357 slugging percentage against lefties in 2021, and through the first couple of games in August as a team, they are really struggling, hitting just .216 with a .293 slugging percentage.
Michael Conforto, OF NYM ($2,600 FD/$3,300 DK/$9 Yahoo) - Conforto is 4-for-5 with one home run against Kyle Gibson, and the Philadelphia right-hander’s numbers have been more generous to lefties compared to right-handers. Admittedly, it’s not a great matchup, but the BvP data is there, and Conforto does have a .389 on-base percentage through the first handful of games in August.
Yahoo!
Joey Gallo, OF NYY ($15 Yahoo) - Gallo is 6-for-18 with two home runs and seven RBI against Seattle’s Marco Gonzalez. He has a .476 wOBA against Gonzalez, and he’s coming off his best game as a Yankee to date. It’s been a slow start with the Yankees, but in five August games with the team, he has a .965 OPS and .263 average. He’s a bit too cheap on Yahoo.
Pedro Severino, C BAL ($13 Yahoo) - Severino has five home runs in 92 at-bats against southpaws this year, not to mention a .293 average against them. He may be hitting just .236 over the past month, but five of his 13 hits have gone for homers, and he does have an .836 OPS during that span. For a cheaper play behind the dish on Yahoo, you could go far worse than Severino on the good side of his splits.
FanDuel
Trey Mancini, 1B/OF BAL ($3,200 FD) - Mancini is hitting lefties at a .280 clip with nine home runs in 132 at-bats. He has an impressive .952 OPS at home in 2021 and while he’s been struggling of late, he loves Tampa Bay pitching, hitting .375 with a 1.300 OPS against them this year. I’m not rolling with a full Baltimore stack, but if you want a contrarian mini-stack, Mancini and Severino is quite intriguing.
Daulton Varsho, C/OF ARI ($2,600 FD) - Varsho has a .256 average and .802 OPS against southpaws this year, which is far better than his .179 average and .613 OPS against righties. Over his last 37 at-bats, he’s hitting .270 with a .925 OPS and is coming off an impressive July where at times, he was one of the hottest hitters in the league. UPDATE: Varsho isn’t starting. Pivot to Brantley if you have the funds.
DraftKings
Dylan Carlson, OF STL ($3,000 DK) - Kansas City’s Mike Minor hasn’t been overly generous to right-handed hitters, but Carlson crushes lefties. He’s hitting .318 against southpaws this year with a .788 OPS. Also, at home this year, he’s hitting .311 with an .807 OPS, which is far and away better than his .195 average and .683 OPS on the road. Love Carlson tonight.
Michael Brantley, OF HOU ($3,000 DK) - Am I missing something here? Just $3,000 on DraftKings for Brantley who let me throw this out there:
- 3-for-3 in his career against Bailey Ober
- Hitting .368 against right-handed pitching
- Hitting .333 with an .884 OPS over his last 39 at-bats
- Ober has allowed a .303 average and .401 wOBA to left-handed hitters
Don’t make a lineup on DraftKings without Brantley tonight.
Player News
Carlos Narváez went 2-for-4 and clubbed a three-run homer on Sunday night, propelling the Red Sox to an 11-7 victory over the Yankees.
The 26-year-old backstop crushed a 372-foot (101.0 mph EV) three-run shot off of Carlos Rodón in the sixth inning that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 advantage for the Red Sox. Narváez also drew a walk and singled in the ballgame. On the season, he has slashed a respectable .282/.361/.459 with six homers and 22 RBI in his first 191 plate appearances.
Kristian Campbell launched a two-run homer on Sunday night, helping to lead the Red Sox past the Yankees in New York.
The 22-year-old rookie infielder tagged Yankees’ starter Carlos Rodón for a 349-foot (99.0 mph EV) two-run shot in the fifth inning that tied the game at two runs apiece. It was just his second home run since April 29 and first since May 13. Campbell also drew a walk and singled in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-3. On the season, he’s now slashing .233/.323/.364 with five long balls, 20 RBI and two stolen bases in 234 plate appearances.
Rafael Devers went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and a pair of runs scored on Sunday night as the Red Sox bested the Yankees in New York.
Devers did his damage in the ninth inning, crushing a leadoff 393-foot (111.2 mph EV) solo shot off of Brent Headrick that extended the Red Sox’ advantage to 10-5. He was also hit by a pitch in the sixth inning and rode home on a three-run shot by Carlos Narvaez. The 28-year-old slugger is now slashing a healthy .283/.407/.522 with 14 homers and 57 RBI on the season.
Aroldis Chapman picked up his easiest save of the season on Sunday, recording the final out against the Yankees to protect a four-run advantage.
That out came after Robert Stock had given up a couple of runs at put another couple of runners on with two outs, putting the tying run in the on-deck circle. That’s when Red Sox’ skipper Alex Cora turned to Chapman to end the threat. The 37-year-old southpaw needed just three pitches to strike out Anthony Volpe to end it. On the season, he sports a brilliant 1.71 ERA to go with a 35/9 K/BB ratio over 26 1/3 innings and 11 saves in his first 12 chances.
Hunter Dobbins picked up his third victory of the season on Sunday evening, limiting the Yankees to three runs on four hits over his five innings of work.
The 25-year-old right-hander surprisingly did not walk or strike out a batter in the ballgame. He served up a mammoth two-run homer to Aaron Judge before he had even recorded an out in the contest, but settled in nicely afterwards and allowed just a solo shot to DJ LeMahieu in the fifth the rest of the way. Dobbins got four whiffs on 64 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 28 percent. Now 3-1 on the season, he’ll tote a 4.20 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and a 37/10 K/BB ratio (49 1/3 innings) into a rematch against the Yankees on Saturday evening at Fenway Park.
Aaron Judge went 3-for-4 and clobbered his 22nd and 23rd home runs of the season on Sunday night, but it wasn’t enough to power the Yankees past the Red Sox.
Judge absolutely demolished a first-pitch fastball from Hunter Dobbins for a 436-foot (108.6 mph EV) opposite-field two-run shot that gave the Yankees an early 2-0 advantage. He also drew a one-out walk in the sixth inning and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr. Jude also pulverized a 1-2 fastball from Robert Stock for a 398-foot (108.9 mph EV) two-run shot in the ninth inning. The 33-year-old outfielder is having a season for the ages, slashing an utterly ridiculous .396/.493/.771 with 23 homers, 55 RBI and five stolen bases through his first 64 games.