Even though the US Open is taking center stage on this Thursday, there is still plenty of MLB action to look forward to. Not only is DraftKings offering a three-game early MLB slate — MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (Early) — there’s also a four-game late slate that locks at 7:40 p.m. ET.
There are plenty of stars in the slate, most notably Aaron Judge ($6,600), so while fitting Judge into your lineup is a must, here are some value options so you can still build a strong lineup even with more than 10% of your salary taken up by one hitter. I’ll take a look at one pitcher, one infielder, and one outfielder.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $150K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st].
SP Andrew Heaney, Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs, $7,000
Heaney raised some concern when he left the game in the seventh inning on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the issue turned out to just be a calf cramp, which shouldn’t affect him in tonight’s start. He was elite before he departed, giving up just one run in six innings (19.1 FPTS), and now carries a 3.24 ERA, the 16th-best among qualified National League pitchers. Overall, he’s conceded two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts in what has been the best season of his career.
His DFS salary is among the cheapest that it’s been all season despite his strong form. Though he’ll be going against a strong offense in the Cubs, who have posted the league’s fourth-best OPS this season and roughed him up to the tune of four runs in 4.2 innings (-2.3 FPTS) on April 29, he has dominated other tough offenses before. He’s held the Phillies (ninth in OPS) to two runs across two appearances (14.1 FPTS per game) and the New York Yankees to one run in seven innings (30.2 FPTS). Heaney is elite at inducing chases, and Chicago swings at an above-average rate as is. The Cubs’ OPS is also 24 points worse against lefties than against righties.
3B Oswald Peraza, New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals, $2,600
Given that Peraza is hitting well below the Mendoza Line, his inclusion in your lineup only makes sense if Jazz Chisholm Jr. ($5,100) ends up getting the day off after leaving the game with an injury in two consecutive days. But there are some reasons for optimism with Peraza — he’s recorded at least one hit in each of the last four games in which he’s received at least one three at-bats and he’s averaged more fantasy points on the road (4.3) than he has at home (2.6), partially because six of his eight extra-base hits have come away from home. Peraza has also been about league-average against righties (84 sOPS+) and unfathomably bad against lefties (22 sOPS+).
Seth Lugo ($7,800), to be fair, is a pretty good righty, having only given up four or more earned runs twice this season, but one of them came in his second-most recent start and another came against the Yankees, so it wouldn’t be extraordinary if he had a bad start tonight. He’s gotten exceptionally lucky this season — though his ERA is just 3.46, his expected mark is 5.22, and he ranks in just the 12th percentile in hard-hit percentage. Peraza, meanwhile, would rank near the league average in both hard-hit percentage and average exit velocity if he’d had enough plate appearances to qualify, and his expected batting average and slugging percentage are both well higher than his actual marks.
OF Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers, $3,400
Milwaukee is calling up its top prospect, Jacob Misiorowski ($8,000), to make his major league debut tonight, and though his DFS salary is extremely high to represent his tantalizing potential, it’s far from a guarantee that talented prospects will immediately make an impact in their first major league games; even Paul Skenes gave up three runs in four innings in his first MLB start. Misiorowski certainly has the tools — in 63 innings for Triple-A Nashville this season, he sports a 2.13 ERA, and his fastball regularly sits in the triple digits — but his strikeout-to-walk ratio was barely north of two-to-one. A pitcher with control issues — especially one who’s just 23 years old — might feel more nerves than most in his MLB debut.
That should make St. Louis’ left-handed outfield duo, Burleson and Victor Scott II ($3,300), among possible value picks. Scott has some fantasy value thanks to his eye — he has an above-average walk rate — and sprint speed, but he simply doesn’t make contact enough to be worth his salary, given that he’s slashed .107/.219/.107 over his last 10 games (2.9 FPTS per game). Burleson, meanwhile, has been swinging a hot bat, posting a .353/.395/.471 slash line across that span (6.9 FPTS per game). He ranks in the 94th percentile in squared-up percentage and the 72nd in average exit velocity, so he could definitely take Misiorowski deep for his welcome-to-the-majors moment.
