On Tuesday, Major League Baseball has a full MLB DFS slate with a dozen games starting at 7:05 p.m. ET or later on the main slate. Four of the 12 games are divisional matchups, and three are interleague contests, including the Nationals visiting Yankee Stadium in the first matchup of the evening. Several star players are in smash spots, but they will also stretch your salary cap space, so you may need some bargain plays to balance out your spending. In this post, we’ll look at three players with low salaries but high ceilings who stand out as strong MLB DFS value picks on Tuesday’s slate.
The weather for this Tuesday looks cooperative for the most part, with several games expected to feature warm summer weather and wind blowing out. It looks like we’ll have the full 24-team player pool to sift through looking for 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.
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SP Charlie Morton, Detroit Tigers at Athletics, $7,900
Even at Sutter Health Park against a solid Athletics lineup, Morton stands out as the top bargain starting pitcher on Tuesday’s slate. The veteran can get his record to .500 for the season with a win after winning each of his last two starts to improve to 9-10 on the season with a 5.09 ERA and 4.66 FIP. Those overall numbers aren’t that exciting, but he had an absolutely brutal start, going 0-6 with a 10.36 ERA in his first six games of the season. The 41-year-old veteran turned things around, though, and is 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA over his last six games.
He turned his season around to the point that the Tigers added him at the trade deadline, and in three of his four starts with Detroit, he has worked at least six innings and earned at least 19 fantasy points. He had 23.9 and 25.9 fantasy points in his two most recent outings, getting wins over the Twins and Astros, and he brings that kind of high ceiling to his matchup on Tuesday with the Athletics. Getting him under $8,000 is a good way to balance your spending at starting pitcher.
SS Jared Triolo, Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals, $2,800
Triolo has been the Pirates’ primary shortstop for the past several weeks after moving around the infield earlier in the season. He has picked up his offensive production over his last 10 games, hitting .438 with 14 hits over that span. He isn’t just hitting for average either, thumping three doubles, a triple, and two home runs for a .543 wOBA over that span. Triolo has added two stolen bases as well, giving him an average of 11.9 fantasy points per game over those 10 contests.
The 27-year-old righty is still hitting only .218 on the season, but his recent form has been much stronger and makes him worth considering as a shortstop play under $3,000 as he takes on Andre Pallante ($6,000) and the Cardinals in St. Louis. Triolo has produced multiple hits in four straight games with over 25 fantasy points in two of those contests.
1B/2B Ezequiel Duran, Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Angels, $2,000
The Rangers added Marcus Semien (foot) to a growing Injured List that already included Evan Carter (wrist) and Jake Burger (wrist). With multiple holes in the lineup, Duran should have a good chance to find his way to regular playing time the rest of the season, especially against lefties.
Duran didn’t start on Monday in the series opener against the Angels, but he had started three straight games before that. Over his last 15 games, he went 17-for-45 (.378) with four doubles, three stolen bases, five runs scored and six RBI. He picked up at least one hit in each of his last five games with multiple at-bats, averaging 8.0 fantasy points per game in that handful of contests.
Duran doesn’t typically bring much power and still does not have a home run in his 61 games in the majors this season. However, he did show more pop in his limited time in the minors and has been finding ways to contribute lately, even without hitting any big flies. If he’s in the lineup against Yusei Kikuchi ($8,300) on Tuesday, Duran is a great way to get some production from a player with a salary at the minimum, who can fit in multiple roster spots, depending on the rest of your build.
