Yes, football starts tonight but there’s still a four-game main slate that we are treated to on the diamond! In between watching Tom Brady and Dak Prescott duke it out, flip over to see the Philadelphia left-handers and Atlanta offense set the slate on fire! Despite being just four games and eight teams to choose from, I found some value to help round out your lineup. Yes, some of the Atlanta and Toronto bats are quite expensive, so you’ll need some cheaper options. 

Let’s dive in and take a look at my favorite value plays for tonight’s four game main slate!

All Sites

Carlos Hernández, SP KC ($7,600 FD/$6,300 DK/$39 Yahoo) - Hernandez has a 3.14 ERA on the road this year with an impressive 34 strikeouts across 28.2 innings of work. He’s not a big strikeout arm, but in an earlier start against the Orioles, he struck out six batters across four innings of work. The Kansas City right-hander has a 2.55 ERA over his last 24.2 innings on the mound, and over the last 30 days against right-handers, the Orioles have the fifth-highest strikeout rate and 10th-lowest walk rate. They have a decent batting average and OPS in that span, but for this cheap on a four-game slate, you could do worse.

Austin Hays, OF BAL ($2,800 FD/$3,200 DK/$15 Yahoo) - Hernandez is a value pitcher that I like this evening, but if you don’t want to go there on the mound, I like Austin Hays as a Baltimore bat. He’s far better against lefties, but ownership should be low on him, and he’s hitting .270 with an .823 OPS at home this year. Furthermore, he’s hitting .373 over the past two weeks, and while he may be hitting just .220 off righties for the season as a whole, over the last 30 days, he’s hit righties at a .300 clip with an .814 OPS. UPDATE: Hays isn’t starting. Pivot to another OF in this article!

Yahoo!

Alejandro Kirk, C TOR ($14) - All Kirk does is mash lefties. In 40 at-bats against southpaws in 2021, Kirk is hitting .350 with a 1.051 OPS! He nearly has more home runs (3) than strikeouts (5)! He might only be hitting .235 against New York pitching this year, but he does have a 1.080 OPS, thanks to three of his four hits being home runs. 

Didi Gregorius, SS PHI ($10) - I like the Philadelphia bats tonight, because they have some affordable bats that should be key contributors at a reasonable price. Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela has a 4.56 ERA on the road in 10 starts this year, and lefties have posted a .292 batting average and .772 OPS against him. Gregorius is hitting .281 over the last two weeks, and the veteran shortstop has an .842 OPS in 137 at-bats at home this season.

FanDuel

Brad Miller, 1B PHI ($2,500) - The Philadelphia left-handers should be solid plays this evening. Senzatela has been more generous to left-handed hitters in 2021, while Miller has an .861 OPS against righties. Over his last 35 at-bats, Miller has five home runs, good for a 1.146 OPS. I love the price point on FanDuel this evening.

Odúbel Herrera, OF PHI ($2,800) - Another Philadelphia left-hander? You guessed it! Herrera is hitting .262 against right-handers this year and over the last two weeks he’s hitting .289 with a .738 OPS! Admittedly, he’s been better on the road than at home, but that won’t stop me from sliding him into a Philadelphia stack this evening.

DraftKings

Randal Grichuk, OF TOR ($2,900) - Don’t get me wrong, I love Nestor Cortes as much as the next guy or gal, but I also like Grichuk against the Yankees. Grichuk has a .271 batting average and .758 OPS against New York pitching this year, and when the games were played in Yankee stadium, his numbers jump to a .348 batting average and 1.075 OPS!

Brett Gardner, OF NYY ($2,300) - Gardner is 4-for-9 with three RBI against José Berríos in his career, and Berrios has allowed an .817 OPS to left-handed hitters this year, not to mention a batting average that is 75 points higher compared to righties. Gardner is hitting .278 thus far in September and he’s hit safely in four of his last five contests.