Another great week of fantasy baseball continues this Tuesday with an 11-game slate on DraftKings. It’s an exciting time of the season with the trade deadline around the corner, pennant races shaping up, and young players getting a chance to establish themselves as MLB talent that can contribute to fantasy lineups. Tuesday’s 11-game slate includes five divisional matchups, the latest version of the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees, and Coors Field is also in play as the Rockies take on the Red Sox.
As you assemble your lineup for Tuesday, you may find yourself short of salary for a few spots. Fortunately, there are some very strong value options on the board, who bring a high ceiling and still come at very affordable salaries. Check out my top three bargain plays for the night analyzed below.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $225K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
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SP Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners, $7,600
Soriano will be making his second straight start against the Mariners and has been working his way back to form after missing a couple of weeks due to an abdominal infection. He earned 18.9 fantasy points and the win over Seattle on the Saturday before the All-Star break. In that start, he allowed just one run on five hits in six innings while picking up five strikeouts. On the season, he is 5-7 with a 3.71 ERA, 4.10 FIP and 7.4 K/9. Before going on IL, Soriano had a strong stretch of six straight starts in which he went 301 with a 2.77 ERA, and he seems to be back in the groove after a rough re-entry. In his climb through the minors, the 25-year-old exhibited more strikeout potential and should pick up more K’s as he adjusts to the majors. Even though the Mariners are tied for the AL West lead, they have been a favorable matchup for opposing starting pitchers due to their high strikeout rate. They lead the majors with a 28.1% K% on the season and a 30.6% K% over the last 30 days. With that added boost to his strikeout upside, Soriano has the highest ceiling of the SP options under $8,000 on Tuesday night’s slate.
SS Max Schuemann, Oakland Athletics vs. Houston Astros, $2,500
The A’s offense has turned things around dramatically over the last couple of weeks going from one of the worst in the MLB to one of the highest scoring. Oakland’s offense has scored more runs in the last 30 days and in the last 15 days than any other team in the MLB and they have averaged 7.3 runs with a 148 team wRC+ over their last 10 contests. One great way to get affordable exposure to their recent surge is by rolling with SS Max Schuemann. The 27-year-old righty has thrived out of the No. 9 spot in the order while Lawrence Butler ($3,700) has taken over as leadoff hitter with great success. Schuemann has been getting on base and serving in the “second leadoff” role, resulting in an average of 10.7 fantasy points per game over his last 19 contests. During that span, Schuemann hit .382 (21-for-55) with three doubles, three homers and a .457 wOBA. He has also been extremely involved in run production with 17 runs scored, 15 RBI and five stolen bases over that 19-game span. It looked like he might be moving to 3B with the arrival of Jacob Wilson (hamstring) after the All-Star break, but Wilson landed on IL after just one game. Schuemann doesn’t have the long-term upside of Wilson, but he’s riding a major heater right now and makes a great bargain play while he stays so involved in the suddenly productive A’s offense.
2B/SS Leo Jimenez, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays, $2,200
The Blue Jays lineup has a couple of value options worth a look as they start to give some prospects extra playing time. Jimenez is helping to fill in for the injured Bo Bichette (calf) and should continue to get plenty of playing time over the next several weeks. Jimenez has played 11 games for the Jays in the majors this season, going 8-for-29 (.267) with two doubles and an RBI. In Triple-A before being called up, he showed some decent power potential with seven homers and a .392 wOBA in 57 games. He and the Blue Jays are in a great matchup against lefty Tyler Alexander ($6,400), who has allowed 28 hits and 24 runs in his last four starts. Jimenez is only 0-for-4 in the MLB against lefties in his very limited sample size, but in Triple-A, he had strong splits against southpaws with a .283 batting average and three home runs for a .896 OPS. Another bargain play to keep an eye on from Toronto is speedster Steward Berroa ($2,000), who hasn’t gotten many at-bats since being called up but offers good upside if in the lineup.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $225K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
