For this fine Tuesday we are treated to a 14-game slate! Nearly a full one! Plenty of value bats to be had and there’s one value arm I really like tonight if you want to get risky on this Tuesday evening! He could be your perfect GPP ticket, or perhaps your second starter on DraftKings with considerable upside. There are also two bats that I believe you simply cannot avoid tonight. All of that and more is down below!
Keep reading to unlock my favorite value plays for tonight’s main slate!
All Sites
David Bote, 3B/SS CHC ($2,800 FD/$3,500 DK/$7 Yahoo) - If you are a sucker like me for BvP data, you won’t be playing without David Bote in your lineup. He’s 3-for-6 with two home runs in his career against Germán Márquez and while his numbers aren’t impressive this year, the numbers are promising against the Colorado right-hander. Bote isn’t swinging the hottest bat, but in GPPs, I love pairing Bote and his excellent BvP numbers with another teammate of his.
Tanner Houck, SP BOS ($6,700 FD/$7,900 DK/$36 Yahoo) - If Boston doesn’t keep him on a short leash, he could be an excellent value arm this evening. He threw just 58 pitches in his last outing but did throw 89 in the outing before that. He’s yet to surpass five innings of work, but he does have 16 strikeouts over his last 12.2 innings of work. Over the last two weeks, the Twins’ offense is league average in terms of strikeout rate, but below average in team batting average. I’m only considering Houck in GPPs tonight, due to the fact that he might not get deep into the game. What is most encouraging is that he has the stuff to rack up near double-digit strikeouts in just five or so innings of work.
Yahoo
Michael Brantley, OF HOU ($13) - I’ll say it in advance. Thank you, Yahoo! Brantley has a .365 batting average against right-handed pitching this year and Kansas City’s Brady Singer has allowed a .354 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season. Brantley might be cold of late, but that’s not scaring me away. Despite hitting just .226 over the last two weeks, he’s punched out just six times, and putting the bat on the ball should mean good things against Singer.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF NYY ($12) - This price point on Yahoo was a bit shocking. Just 12 dollars for someone that can leave the yard with literally any swing. Stanton is 9-for-28 in his career off Charlie Morton, and he has a .494 slugging percentage against right-handers this year. Stanton is hitting .400 over the past week and he has as many home runs (3) as strikeouts in that span (3). I’ll take a chance with Stanton at this cheap price.
FanDuel
Amed Rosario, SS/OF CLE ($3,200) - In my opinion, Rosario is one of the easiest, no-brainer plays of the day. He’s sporting a .336 batting average and .387 wOBA versus southpaws, and Kansas City’s Taylor Hearn has been more prone to righties than lefties this year. Additionally, Rosario has a .303 batting average at home this year. Do you want recent numbers? Okay, well he’s hitting .500 over his last 22 at-bats, and over the past two weeks, he’s hitting .418 with a 1.130 OPS. Fire him up today and don’t look back.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B/SS COL ($2,800) - Rodgers crushes lefties, to the tune of a .319 batting average and 1.003 OPS. I love playing Rodgers tonight, because we get his price point away from Coors Field, but his OPS at home (.775) is actually lower than it is on the road (.827). Rodgers is hitting .323 in the month of August, and he has an .824 OPS against Chicago pitching this year.
DraftKings
Rafael Ortega, OF CHC ($3,200) - Ah, here’s the other Cubs player I mentioned earlier! Ortega has a .344 batting average and .947 OPS against right-handers this year, and he’s hitting .324 in the month of August. He has an .839 OPS against Colorado pitching this year, and Marquez has been far more generous to left-handed hitters (.243 BAA) compared to right-handers (.197).
Nicky Lopez, 2B/SS KC ($3,000) - I just can’t quit him! He’s hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, he has a .389 batting average against Houston pitching this year, he’s hitting .407 over the past week and he has a .287 batting average and .364 OBP against right-handers this year. Furthermore, his lone official at-bat against Luis GarcÃa sailed over the fence for a home run! He’s still too cheap and needs to be rostered until his price matches his performance.
Player News
Emmanuel Clase earned his 14th save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Astros on Sunday.
It was not without drama. Clase allowed a back-to-back one-out singles to Yainer Diaz and Jake Meyers before getting Cam Smith to fly out and Jake Melton to ground out to end the game. After a rough start to the season, Clase now has a 3.54 ERA and 14 saves on the season.
Tanner Bibee allowed two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Astros on Sunday.
It’s deja vu all over again for Bibee. Just like earlier this week against the Yankees, Bibee was cruising into the seventh inning before starting to give up contact. Bibee had thrown six shutout innings, allowed just two hits, and struck out six while keeping his pitch count under 80 total pitches heading into the seventh inning. He then gave up a one-out single to Yainer Diaz before a jam-shot 66 mph single off the bat of Jake Meyers moved Diaz to third base. After Meyer stole second, Cam Smith got the benefit of a friendly two-strike ball call and then laced a double to the wall on the next pitch. Despite not having a win to show for it, these last two outings have been a step in the right direction for Bibee, who will take a 3.81 ERA into a start in Seattle next week.
Brandon Walter allowed two runs on six hits in six innings in a no-decision against the Guardians on Sunday.
The left-hander struck out five and didn’t walk a single batter, with the only real damage against him being a two-run home run to Bo Naylor. Walter had great command of his 88.5 mph cutter and was able to miss bats on both his changeup and sweeper. His lower arm slot will make him really tough on lefties, but as long as the cutter and changeup are commanded well, he can induce some soft contact against righties too. Walter is currently slated to start against the Twins next week and might be worth a look in deeper formats. However, Justin Verlander’s impending return from the IL means that Walter could be bumped from the rotation, even if he might be a better option than Ryan Gusto.
Jake Meyers went 4-for-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored in a loss to the Guardians on Sunday.
All of Meyers’ hits were singles, but this is what the 28-year-old does. He makes consistent contact and gets on base, and then steals bases when he does. He’s now hitting .302/.361/.412 on the season with 10 steals and needs to be on more fantasy rosters.
Bo Naylor went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored in a win over the Astros on Sunday.
Naylor is now up to eight home runs on the season but has just 18 RBI and a .187/.299/.393 slash line. The power has been nice to see, but he’ll need to connect more consistently if he wants to land on many fantasy radars.
Riley Greene went 2-for-4 with two RBI against the Cubs on Sunday.