This Thursday gives us a split slate with all of the slates having their main slate tonight. However, there’s a few games in the early afternoon, and enough games where that could be its own slate. So, I added a few plays for the early afternoon games below as well! The main slate tonight consists of four games, and below you will find some of my favorite value bats, and even a value arm!
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of my favorite value plays for tonight’s main slate!
Yahoo!
Joey Gallo ($12) - The first of a couple Yankees here this evening! Gallo has an .828 OPS against righties this year and going back to his time in Texas this year, he has a 1.041 OPS in 26 at-bats against Minnesota pitching this year. Gallo has cooled off a bit of late, but John Gant has a 4.15 ERA and 1.04 HR/9 through 8.2 innings with the Twins this year. Chase upside and Gallo has it tonight.
Gary Sánchez, C NYY ($11) - Sanchez has homered once every 19.5 at-bats against righties this year and while his wOBA is much higher against southpaws than righties, you have to get creative on such a small main slate. Sanchez has an .841 OPS at home this year and he’s 2-for-7 with just two strikeouts in his return to the lineup. There’s some risk here, sure, but on Yahoo where you must play a catcher, let’s get creative and swing for the fences. Literally. UPDATE: Sanchez is not starting.
Options for early/all-day slate: Jo Adell ($11), Isiah Kiner-Falefa ($9)
DraftKings
Tyler Naquin, OF CIN ($2,300) - This price point is as juicy as a perfectly cooked filet mignon! Naquin has a .267 batting average and .795 OPS against right-handers this season. Furthermore, Naquin is hitting .356 in August, and over the last seven days, he’s sporting a .423 batting average and 1.175 OPS. He’s my no-brainer play of the day.
Jameson Taillon, SP NYY ($6,300) - Taillon at home has been tough this year. In 12 home starts, Taillon is sporting a 3.22 ERA with a 65:18 K/BB ratio and .218 BAA. After a slow start to the season, the right-hander has turned things around. Since the calendar flipped to July, Taillon has a 1.68 ERA and a 43:14 K/BB ratio across 48.1 innings of work. He’s allowed three or fewer earned runs in eight straight starts, and in 10 of his last 11. Fire him up today on DraftKings as your second starter.
Options for early “main” slate: Miguel Cabrera ($3,200), Aledmys Díaz ($3,300), Luis Robert ($3,200)
FanDuel
Kolten Wong, 2B MIL ($3,300) - Wong loves seeing a southpaw on the mound. He’s hitting lefties at a .326 clip with an .864 OPS in 2021. Against this southpaw in particular, Wong is 9-for-25 in his career, and Wong has a .306 batting average on the road this year. All of the splits are in his favor and he should easily net a solid return at this price point.
Wily Adames, SS MIL ($3,300) - Adames hasn’t hit lefties for a great clip this year unlike his teammate above, but the power has been fine, posting four home runs in 50 at-bats against southpaws. I’m trusting the hot bat here, as Adames is hitting .322 in August, and over his last 46 at-bats he has a .326 average and 1.002 OPS.
Options for early “main” slate: Miguel Cabrera ($2,800), Jo Adell ($2,500), Andrew Vaughn ($2,500)