After a wild MLB Trade Deadline on Thursday, all 30 MLB teams are on the field this Friday, ready to start the new month with a massive day of fantasy baseball. After four games with early start times, 11 games are on the main MLB DFS fantasy baseball on DraftKings. With 22 teams in the player pool and lots of familiar faces in new places, it should be an exciting Friday night to fill out lineup cards. If you’re in the market for some cheap values as you assemble your roster, check out these top three MLB DFS value picks, who each bring high upside as bargains.
The weather looks mostly clear and cooperative, with the wind blowing out in Denver, Sacramento and Anaheim to give offenses an extra boost. Especially with all the new-look lineups, be sure to double-check that your MLB DFS value picks are in the lineup and in the slot in the batting order that you are looking for when you select them.
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 $200K Relay Throw [$50K to 1st]!
SP Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins, $7,800
Williams has a high ceiling and now will have a great matchup against the Twins after Minnesota traded away so much of their team at the trade deadline. The Guardians traded Shane Bieber to the Blue Jays, but they had been without Bieber all season. They didn’t make many other moves, though, and are still just three games back of the third Wild Card spot.
Williams is 6-4 in his 21 starts this season with a 3.51 ERA, 4.57 FIP, and 109 strikeouts in 110 1/3 innings. He showed his ceiling with 11 strikeouts in seven innings on the Sunday after the All-Star break against the Athletics. He finished with 36.75 fantasy points in that win but settled down to just 11.3 fantasy points in his most recent start against the Royals last Saturday.
Throughout this season, Williams has been much better at home than on the road, with a 3.05 ERA and 3.65 FIP at Progressive Field. He should have a favorable matchup against the Twins, who will be without Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro and Ty France, who were all traded on Thursday.
1B Tyler Locklear, Arizona Diamondbacks at Athletics, $2,500
While they weren’t quite the Twins, the Diamondbacks were also active sellers at the trade deadline, and part of their return in the Eugenio Suarez trade to Seattle was prospect Tyler Locklear, who is expected to step right in as the starting first baseman for Arizona.
Locklear had a quick audition last year with the Mariners, hitting just .156 in 16 games in the majors but smashing two home runs and adding a stolen base.
He spent this season in Triple-A, where he was raking for the Tacoma Rainiers. He hit .316 in his 98 games with 19 homers, 18 stolen bases, and a .411 wOBA. In July, though, he took it to a whole different level, hitting .422 with nine of those home runs, a .534 wOBA and a 212 wRC+ in 21 games.
Since he’s a righty, he’ll be on the strong side of his splits if he makes his Dbacks debut against Jacob Lopez ($7,000) and the Athletics on Friday. He’ll also be in a very homer-friendly environment in Sacramento, so there’s lots of upside to love at his salary of only $2,500.
OF Gustavo Campero, Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox, $2,200
Campero is an interesting option in Friday’s MLB DFS Value Picks as well, since the 27-year-old switch-hitter has made a huge impact since his promotion last weekend. Campero has played 22 games in the majors this year and 35 games at Triple-A. He went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and 18 fantasy points on Monday and followed that with another stolen base, a double and 20 more fantasy points on Tuesday.
Campero hit a solid .322 in his 36 games with the Salt Lake Bees while stealing 11 bases in 12 stolen base attempts. He scored 20 runs and had 18 RBI in those 36 games as well, giving him a 120 wRC+. While Jorge Soler (back) is on the injured list, there’s an open spot for Campero, and the speedy outfielder brings enough upside to be worth a bargain play in a favorable environment in Anaheim and a solid matchup against righty Shane Smith ($7,600). Although he has started the last four games for the Angels, you’ll want to be sure he is in the starting lineup, since the Angels do have a few different outfield alignments they could use on Friday against Smith.
