On Tuesday night, Major League Baseball has a monster 13-game slate stuffed with strong options from across the salary spectrum. While there are plenty of superstars worth paying up for, it’s also important to find just the right affordable options who can return great value while leaving you extra salary to spend up on stars. In this post, I’ll lay out my top three MLB DFS value picks who bring a great bargain upside and should be set up to outproduce their affordable price point.
As you navigate the slate, you’ll need to keep your eye on the sky (or at least the radar), since the weather could cause delay or postponement in New York, Chicago, Boston and St. Louis. Also, before game time, be sure to double-check that all the players you pick are in the starting lineup and ready to produce, especially your MLB DFS value picks.
Check out the full range of MLB coverage from the team at DraftKings Network, since these bargains are just one piece of the MLB DFS picture to consider.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
SP Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers, $7,300
Soriano has shown off a very high ceiling this season for the Angels, going 6-5 in his 18 starts with a 3.72 ERA, 3.25 FIP and 7.9 K/9. He has had a few ugly outings, but his boom-or-bust production works well in fantasy lineups where he stays cheap but brings that big-time upside when he’s locked in.
Soriano has earned 30+ fantasy points in three of his last four starts, including his last outing, when he went seven shutout innings in a road win over the Braves. He struck out seven in that game and finished with 30.75 fantasy points. He was even better in home starts against the Astros (33.4 fantasy points) and the Athletics (35.35 fantasy points).
He faced the Rangers earlier this season and only had 3.55 fantasy points in 5 2/3 innings back in mid-April. While he has been surging, the Rangers have slumped as a team, and even though they’ve been a little better lately, they still rank in the bottom-five teams in the MLB in road batting average at just .228 with a .295 road wOBA.
While Soriano isn’t low-risk, he does bring plenty of upside in this solid matchup at home, and he’s my top SP play of the day in my MLB DFS Value Picks.
3B Nate Eaton, Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies, $2,500
Eaton has hit leadoff for the last three games for the Red Sox since they have faced left-handed pitchers, and on Tuesday, they’ll face a fourth straight lefty in the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland ($5,000). Eaton went 1-for-3 with a double and five fantasy points on Monday and was caught stealing. The good news, though, is that he continues to be aggressive on the bases, and he brings a good ceiling with both power and speed potential.
Eaton had nine fantasy points on Saturday and 12 on Sunday, picking up one hit in each start. On Saturday, he doubled and scored two runs. On Sunday, he went 1-for-2 with a walk, a single, a stolen base and a run scored.
Before becoming the Red Sox’ leadoff option against lefties, Eaton spent the season in Triple-A with the Worcester Red Sox, where he hit .274 with seven homers, six stolen bases, a .362 wOBA and 39.8% hard-hit rate.
With such a great matchup at Fenway, where the weather could be very favorable to offense if a delay is avoided, Eaton is a great bargain with a high ceiling if he hits leadoff against Freeland on Tuesday night.
OF Denzel Clarke, Athletics vs. Atlanta Braves, $2,500
In another very hitter-friendly spot, the Athletics will host the Braves at Sutter Health Park, where the forecast is for hot, humid weather and winds blowing out. It should be a great spot to stack the Athletics against rookie Didier Fuentes ($5,300), who has a 9.00 ERA, 5.92 FIP and 1.83 WHIP across his 12 MLB innings this year.
While he has gotten plenty of attention for his outstanding defense, Clarke hasn’t been horrible at the plate. He’s only hitting .207 but does have three homers and five stolen bases with a .263 wOBA and 38.8% hard-hit rate.
He hit safely in each of the three games in his team’s series against the Giants, going 4-for-10 with two doubles, a triple and a home run for an average of 12.7 fantasy points per contest. He didn’t have a stolen base in that stretch, but he remains a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts this year. Clarke has a 53.8% hard-hit rate over his last seven games and is seeing the ball well. Like many prospects, he had a tough time after the league made initial adjustments to him, but it looks like he has countered those with some adjustments of his own and is now ready to produce.
Hitting ninth in the lineup actually puts him on base in front of the heavy hitters for the A’s, so I like him as a sneaky part of a wraparound stack or an independent value play this Tuesday.
