TGIF! Let’s kick off the weekend in a big way by making some money! Be sure you check out all of the great DFS content we have available to you here at DFS Alarm! Below, you’ll find my favorite value bats for tonight’s main slate. There’s some cheap bats available in popular stacks, as well as profitable one-off plays!
Without further ado, let’s jump in and examine the best value bats to help round out your lineup.
All Sites
Darin Ruf, 1B/OF SFG ($2,600 FD/$3,100 DK/$12 Yahoo) - Ruf against southpaws baby! Fire him up! Ruf has a .284 batting average and 1.037 OPS against southpaws in 2021, and away from his home park, he’s hitting .300 with a 1.077 OPS. Ruf on the road? Check. Ruf against a southpaw? Check. I know Fried has been good of late, and especially good at home, but Ruf’s numbers against lefties at the above price points are simply too good to pass up.
Lane Thomas, OF WAS ($2,200 FD/$2,200 DK/$12 Yahoo) - Please let Thomas find the lineup tonight! Rich Hill’s numbers are worse against right-handed hitters compared to lefties, and Thomas has excellent numbers against southpaws. Sure, small sample size, but he has 13 hits in 27 at-bats against southpaws this year, good for a .481 average and 1.267 OPS! He has eight hits in his last 20 at-bats, and is overall sporting a .417 batting average in the month of August.
Yahoo!
Pedro Severino, C BAL ($9) - Severino is 2-for-5 against Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan and overall against southpaws in 2021, Severino has a .270 batting average, .340 wOBA and .788 OPS. He’s sporting a .406 slugging percentage at home this year, and over the last two weeks, he’s hitting .256. Severino has a .688 OPS against Tampa Bay pitching this year, alongside a .265 batting average.
J.D. Davis 3B/OF NYM ($7) - Davis has a .318 batting average and .929 OPS against right-handers this season. Davis is hitting .450 against Washington pitching this season, and over the last two weeks, he’s posted a .289 average and .770 OPS. Washington’s Paolo Espino has allowed a .344 wOBA to right-handed hitters this year, and an OPS in the mid-.800s.
DraftKings
Luis Torrens, C SEA ($3,300) - If you aren’t paying up at catcher today, Torrens is a guy I would be targeting. He has eight home runs in 100 at-bats against southpaws this year, good for an .842 OPS all while hitting .250. He’s sporting a .270 batting average over the last two weeks and his numbers have been better at home than on the road in 2021. Kansas City’s Kris Bubic has allowed a .262 batting average and .357 wOBA to right-handed hitters this year, and a sneaky Seattle stack of Ty France, Mitch Haniger and Luis Torrens could be the move.
Tyler Naquin, OF CIN ($2,700) - I love this price point on DraftKings today for Naquin. Right-handed hitters haven’t done much against Zach Thompson this year, whereas lefties have had some levels of success, posting a .323 wOBA. It’s not great, no, but it’s better than his marks against righties. Naquin has destroyed right-handers, to the tune of a .282 batting average and .851 OPS. He’s hitting .453 over the last two weeks with a massive 1.368 OPS. He nearly has more home runs (5) than strikeouts (7) over his last 53 at-bats!
FanDuel
AJ Pollock, OF LAD ($3,100) - Pollock is 10-for-28 with two home runs in his career against Kyle Freeland, good for a .357 average and .452 wOBA. Not only is Pollock hitting .336 at home this year, but he’s hitting .342 with a .938 OPS in the month of OPS. Pollock is hitting .311 against Colorado pitching this year, and the likes of Pollock and Corey Seager should feast in this matchup.
Ben Gamel, OF PIT ($2,500) - Gamel is a perfect 4-for-4 against J.A. Happ for his career! Gamel has a .284 batting average against southpaws in 2021, while Happ has surrendered a .289 batting average and .763 OPS to left-handed hitters. Happ has been good since coming to St. Louis, but Gamel has Happ’s number, and I expect that to happen again today.
Player News
Angels designated RHP Michael Darrell-Hicks for assignment.
The Angels needed to clear a spot on the club’s 40-man roster for the addition of LaMonte Wade Jr. on Sunday and unfortunately Darrell-Hicks was the odd-man out this time around. The 27-year-old right-hander appeared in six games with the Halos, registering a 9.39 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and a 6/4 K/BB ratio over 7 2/3 innings. There’s a decent chance that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra bullpen depth for the Angels.
Angels acquired 1B/OF LaMonte Wade Jr. from the Giants for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
The 31-year-old was designated for assignment by the Giants on Wednesday so they were willing to flip him for anything that they could get at this stage. Wade will stay on the west coast and add a valuable and versatile left-handed bat to the Angels’ bench. He was hitting a meager .167/.275/.271 with one homer and 15 RBI in 169 plate appearances with the Giants.
X-rays on the injured right hand of Giants’ third baseman Matt Chapman came back negative for any fractures on Sunday.
Chapman jammed his hand on first base while diving back on a pickoff attempt during Sunday’s victory over the Braves. It sounds like he was fortunate to have avoided any significant injuries and should be considered day-to-day. Fantasy managers should check on his status prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Rockies in Colorado just to be on the safe side.
Jacob Wilson went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI as the Athletics triumphed over the Orioles 5-1 on Sunday afternoon in West Sacramento.
The 23-year-old shortstop delivered a run-scoring single off of Tomoyuki Sugano in the second inning that extended the A’s early lead to 4-1. He then led off the fifth inning with a double but the Athletics were unable to cash him in. He has been outstanding so far this season, slashing a blistering .372/.408/.528 with eight homers, 38 RBI and five stolen bases in what has been a breakout first half of the season.
Max Muncy went 1-for-4 and swatted a solo home run on Sunday afternoon as the Athletics defeated the Orioles.
Muncy capped off the scoring in the ballgame with a 431-foot (104.7 mph EV) solo shot off of Bryan Baker in the eighth inning. That was his only hit in four at-bats on the afternoon. For the season, the 22-year-old rookie infielder is slashing a disappointing .188/.216/.341 with three homers and eight RBI in his first 88 plate appearances with the A’s.
Jacob Lopez pitched well in a no-decision against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon, allowing just one unearned run on four hits over four innings.
The 27-year-old left-hander racked up five strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing a pair of free passes. The only run that the Orioles scored in the contest came on a pickoff error in the second inning. Lopez needed 91 pitches to get through four innings though, which caused the A’s to go to their bullpen in the fifth inning and cost Lopez a shot at a victory. He got 13 swings and misses on the afternoon — seven of those on his slider — while posting a CSW of 32 percent. Lopez now sports a 6.00 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and a 31/12 K/BB ratio over 24 innings on the season. He’ll do battle against the Royals his next time out in Kansas City on Saturday.