MLB DFS Value Vault May 29: Triston McKenzie In Detroit Rock City
Welcome to Value Town. We are right in the middle of Memorial Day weekend and does it get any better than building fantasy baseball lineups for an MLB DFS slate? Both DraftKings and FanDuel are locking at 1:35 pm ET and will carry 8 game slates while Yahoo Fantasy offers an all-day slate starting at 11:35 am ET. There will be some elite arms on the hill today that you may want to include in your MLB DFS lineup and that includes Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, and Max Fried. The Red Sox and Rafael Devers are in a smash spot offensively along with the Juan Soto-led Nationals. So how will you get all of these studs in your fantasy baseball lineup? That’s where we come in at DFS Alarm with the Value Vault. I have dug in to find the top point per dollar plays of the slate that you can include in some of your lineup builds but before that make sure to check the MLB Weather Center and our MLB Tools page that includes daily projections, a draft percentage forecaster, lineup generator, batter vs. pitcher, season splits and much more. Now it’s time to open the MLB DFS Value Vault…
PITCHERS
Triston McKenzie (CLE) $7.6K DK/$9.0K FD
Do you realize that Triston McKenzie has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the first two months of the season? He is coming off domination of the tough Houston Astros where he only allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts for his fourth straight quality start. He now has a 2.45 ERA and an awesome 0.87 WHIP on the season and takes his right-handed throwing arm to pitcher-friendly Comerica Park and a weak Detroit Tiger offense. The wind will be blowing in today and the Tigers are striking out 25.7% with a slate high 14.5% SwStr rate plus they have a low .109 ISO/.278wOBA to right-handed pitching. All in on Triston McKenzie as the top value arm on the board.
Elieser Hernandez (MIA) $6.9K DK/$6.0K FD/$29 Yahoo
Elieser Hernandez is a boom or bust pitcher today facing a boom or bust offense- the Atlanta Braves. Due to the volatility of both sides Hernandez is a tournament play only but if things go right, he has the stuff to end up as one of the top-scoring pitchers of the day. Hernandez will be pitching in a hitters park (Truist Park) against a bunch of big-time hitters that include Ronald Acuna and Matt Olson but he has electric stuff and just two starts ago allowed only one run while striking out five against this same Braves team. He looked good and threw 49 of 70 pitches for strikes and notched 11 swings-and-misses plus the Braves lineup strikes out 28% of the time against right-handed pitching. If you are multi-entering today take a shot against this right-hand
HITTERS
Josh Naylor (CLE) $3.2K DK/$3.K FD
This is more of a DraftKings value, but Josh Naylor is in a smash spot against young Elvin Rodriguez of the Tigers. The Tigers right-handed rookie has started two games and comes in with a 7.22 ERA/1.40 WHIP and 6.68 xFIP. Not very good. Now on the other side, Naylor is crushing righties this season with an elite .284 ISO/.401wOBA to go along with a 183 wRC+. He had a big game yesterday going 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored and there is no reason to not expect similar results today.
Garrett Cooper (MIA) $3.4K DK/$2.5K FD/$15 Yahoo
Garrett Cooper is rolling. He is slashing .308/.356/.487 with an .843 OPS over the last 15 days including a home run and 8 RBIs. He is also hitting .390 over the last week with a .448wOBA and is coming off two straight double-digit fantasy points in the series against the Braves that includes a home run, double, and 4 RBIs. Today he faces Max Fried, who is one of the better pitchers on the board but Cooper has had success against the left-hander going 5-for-12 (.417) lifetime with a couple of doubles. With a .385wOBA and 48.6% hard contact, this season against southpaws Cooper is in play for tournaments on all sites.
Rougned Odor (BAL) $2.6K DK/$2.3K FD/$15 Yahoo
I can’t believe I am writing this but Rougned Odor can still be a fantasy asset. After being a liability at the plate during the month of April, Odor totally flipped the switch and has become a sparkplug for the Orioles offense. He has provided home runs and walk-off hits to keep Baltimore competitive all month and that includes a three-run blast yesterday. He had an 11-game hit streak snapped in the first game of the double-header yet rebounded in the second game with the big home run in a 4-2 win. Odor has a .204 ISO with a 48.8% flyball rate and gets the platoon advantage today against Nick Pivetta who is only striking out 18% of left-handed bats while allowing 40% flyball and hard contact.
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Player News
Colson Montgomery went 1-for-5 and smacked a go-ahead two-run single in the fifth inning on Tuesday night, leading the White Sox to a 9-6 victory over the visiting Tigers.
The 23-year-old strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning and he grounded a single up the middle off of Jack Flaherty to plate two runs and turn the tide of the ballgame in the Sox’ favor. Montgomery is now hitting .239/.306/.549 with 10 home runs and 28 RBI in his first 125 big league plate appearances.
Edgar Quero went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI on Tuesday night, helping to power the White Sox past the Tigers.
Quero tagged Tigers’ right-hander Codi Heuer for a 383-foot (102.3 mph EV) solo shot in the seventh inning that extended the White Sox’ advantage to 7-3. He then tacked on a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning that made it 9-3. Quero also singled and scored during the team’s five-run rally in the fifth inning. With his two-hit effort, the 22-year-old catcher is slashing .275/.342/.381 with four homers and 29 RBI in his first 272 plate appearances.
Curtis Mead went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored as the White Sox triumphed over the Tigers on Tuesday evening in Chicago.
Mead tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single off of Jack Flaherty in the fifth inning. He then came around to score on a two-run single off the bat of Colson Montgomery. He also reached on an infield single to start the sixth inning and scored as Andrew Benintendi worked a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the frame. Mead got the start at third base in this one and he’ll need to log most of his action at the hot corner now that Miguel Vargas has returned from the injured list to play first base. On the season, the 24-year-old is hitting .232/.321/.324 with three homers, 13 RBI and five stolen bases in 162 plate appearances.
Jordan Leasure was called upon to get the final out on Tuesday night, protecting a three-run lead to earn his fourth save of the season.
The White Sox entered the ninth inning with a 9-3 lead, but things got a bit tighter after Colt Keith clobbered a three-run homer off of Mike Vasil. Vasil rebounded to get the next two outs but then issued a two-out walk to Riley Greene, prompting the call to the bullpen. Leasure then retired Spencer Torkelson on strikes to end it. He’s likely second in line for save chances behind Grant Taylor, which will continue to give him an occasional opportunity here and there.
Yoendrys Gómez pitched well in a victory over the Tigers on Tuesday evening, allowing just one run on one hit over five strong frames.
The 25-year-old rookie right-hander piled up seven strikeouts on the evening while issuing only one base on balls. The lone tally against him came on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Wenceel Perez in the fourth inning after the Tigers had put two runners in scoring position to open the inning. Gómez got 16 swings and misses on 89 pitches on the night — six of them on his fastball — while registering a CSW of 29 percent. After this terrific outing it seems likely that Gómez will get a chance to stick around and start against the Braves in Atlanta on Monday.
Dillon Dingler went 1-for-2 and belted a two-run homer as the Tigers fell to the White Sox on Tuesday evening in Chicago.
Dingler victimized White Sox’ left-hander Tyler Gilbert for a 388-foot (103.9 mph EV) two-run blast in the seventh inning that pulled the Tigers to within three runs at 6-3. He also reached on catcher’s interference in the ninth and rode home on Colt Keith’s three-run shot. On the season, the 26-year-old backstop is now hitting .272/.319/.429 with 11 long balls and 46 RBI.