MLB DFS Value Vault June 8: Ian Anderson Facing the Oakland A's
While we have a full day of baseball tomorrow that starts right after breakfast or lunch depending on the coast in which you reside, there is still a chock full, 10-game MLB DFS main slate for us to enjoy. Throughout the day, remember to keep yourself apprised of the latest MLB news, MLB weather, and MLB lineups. With that mind, here are some MLB DFS value options for today’s main slate on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy.
DFS Value Pitchers
Ian Anderson (ATL); DraftKings - $6,400; FanDuel - $7,700; Yahoo - $37
At first, seeing Anderson priced this cheaply (especially on DK) caught me by surprise. When you see his 4.70 ERA it certainly makes more sense, and that’s also the case considering Anderson allowed two home runs in each of his last two games. Anderson should get a little pass after his last game as it did come in Colorado and he still finished with 18.9 DK points thanks to nine strikeouts, and he is worth a shot tonight in a favorable matchup against Oakland. Anderson’s 3.83 xERA does provide some optimism as does his 4.9% barrel-rate against in 162 batted ball events.
Marcus Stroman (CHC); DraftKings - $6,900; FanDuel - $8,300; Yahoo - $39
Stroman’s last start is bound to leave a bad taste as he allowed nine runs on 10 hits (including three home runs) and one walk against St. Louis. The right-hander is a better pitcher than that, and despite his ERA is 5.32 on the season, his WHIP is just 1.12 and his 3.39 xFIP offers up a good amount of upside as well. Home runs have been a real problem for Stroman (1.52 per nine innings) and he also had some bad luck via a 57.2% strand rate. Prior to his rough outing, Stroman had a stretch of four games in which he posted between 16 and 28 DK points, and the thought process here is that he reverts back to that in a favorable matchup against Baltimore.
DFS Value Hitters
Jason Heyward, OF (CHC); DraftKings - $2,100; FanDuel - $2,100; Yahoo - $9
Stacking Cubs against Jordan Lyles could prove to be a viable option tonight, and with Heyward we get the platoon advantage as well as cost savings. Heyward has a modest three game streak entering tonight and historically he has performed better against right-handed pitching. The Cubs should be busy offensively tonight, and Heyward could get a piece of that.
Joey Gallo, OF (NYY); DraftKings - $3,900; FanDuel - $2,300; Yahoo - $11
Going after Gallo will cost you a little more on DK, but it’s possible he is finally heating up, and it’s his power we are after. Whenever Gallo makes contact, and granted it might not be often at times, there is always the possibility of him going deep. Gallo has hits in three of his last six games, and tonight he gets to face Chris Archer and his 5.50 xERA. Archer is good for allowing over a home run per nine innings and there is no questioning Gallo’s power. The outfielder certainly has a place in a Yankees’ stack tonight.
J.D. Davis, 3B/1B (NYM); DraftKings - $2,900; FanDuel - $2,300; Yahoo - $10
Davis has been getting more playing time as of late, and that should continue tonight as the Mets face southpaw Sean Manaea. In his last 10 games, we have seen Davis truly get going as he is hitting .353 in that stretch with five RBI. Through 70 batted ball events so far this year, Davis has been making strong contact with a 93.4 mile per hour average exit velocity, 12.9%-barrel rate, and 62.9% hard hit rate. With hitting metrics like that, it’s not a surprise that Davis has come on strong as of late while continuing to earn increased playing time.
Ezequiel Duran, 3B/2B (TEX): DraftKings - $2,000; FanDuel - $2,500; Yahoo - $14
After four major league games, it’s surprising to me that Duran is still minimum priced on DK. Prior to his promotion, Duran had success in Triple-A with a .317 batting average, seven home runs, 31 RBI, 34 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. While Duran went hitless in his debut, the rookie has picked up hits in each of his last three games and Texas clearly appears committed to giving him regular playing time. The price is simply too attractive to ignore here.
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Addison Barger went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer on Friday in a 6-4 win over the Twins.
Everyone should be paying attention to Barger right now. This home run was his fifth in his last seven games as he now sports an .842 OPS in 42 games this season. Along with that longball, three of his four balls in play were hit at least 105.5 mph and he’s earned some of the best underlying power metrics in the league. While Andrés Giménez has returned to the lineup, Barger has kept his every day role and steadily hit in the top third of the Blue Jays’ lineup. He may be on his way to being a pivotal player to this fantasy baseball season.
Jeff Hoffman worked around a walk and recorded three strikeouts in his lone inning of work to earn the save on Friday over the Twins.
Hoffman put Byron Buxton on base as the tying run with a tough fought, two-out walk, but managed to punch out Trevor Larnach to close this game out. This now marks his longest consecutive outing stretch without allowing an earned run since the beginning of May at three.
Royce Lewis went 3-for-3 with a double, a RBI, a run scored, and a walk on Friday against the Blue Jays.
Lewis has not had a good go of it so far this season. He’s just a few games off a disastrous 0-for-28 spell and still has just a .171 batting average after this three-hit performance. Yet, we’ve seen just how hot he can get when he’s going right. So, hopefully a game like this where he doesn’t record an out and notches his hardest hit ball of the young season at 109.6 mph can light a fire.
Bailey Ober allowed five hits and five runs with one walk and four strikeouts across seven innings in a loss against the Blue Jays on Friday.
At first, Ober was cruising. It took him just 37 pitches to get through his first three innings and it felt like he was on his way to a gem. Yet, Addison Barger and the heart of the Blue Jays’ lineup had other ideas as they tagged him for seven hard-hit balls between the third and sixth innings. They had 12 hard-hit balls in total and it should be noted that Ober’s fastball velocity was down a little more than a full tick. He’ll try to right the ship next time out against the Rangers.
Sonny Gray scattered eight hits over 6 1/3 innings in the Cardinals’ 5-0 shutout of the Dodgers on Friday.
He struck out five. The eight hits amounted to just 10 total bases, and Gray didn’t give the Dodgers any free runners with walks or HBPs. It’s the fifth time this season that Gray has gone without allowing a run over at least six innings. Tarik Skubal is the only other pitcher who can say the same. Gray will take a 7-1 record and a 3.35 ERA into his next start, which could come either Wednesday against the Jays or Thursday versus the Brewers.
Justin Wrobleski gave up four runs in six innings Friday in a loss to the Cardinals.
Wrobleski, who was recalled today after three weeks in Triple-A, split the difference tonight after giving up eight runs in his lone appearance in April and no runs in his other outing in May. It’s uncertain if the Dodgers plan to give him a real shot here. They will need a fifth starter again on Wednesday, but they might just send him down for a fresh arm and deal with Wednesday when it comes.