On Friday night, all 30 teams in Major League Baseball are ready to roll into the final weekend of August in style! After three early games, the main MLB DFS slate begins at 7:05 p.m. ET, with a dozen matchups on the board. With the Cubs at Coors and several high-priced stars in smash spots, you may find yourself running short on salary cap space. If you need a few bargain plays to balance out your spending, check out my three MLB DFS value picks for this Friday. Even though these three players come at minimal salaries, they have very high ceilings based on their form, matchup, and game environment.
The weather for this Friday is a little tricky in two key spots. The Red Sox are giving rookie Payton Tolle ($7,600) his MLB debut against Paul Skenes and the Pirates, but the forecast doesn’t look great with storms in the area around gametime. Denver also has some rain in the mix, so checking back on weather and lineups before these contests being will be imperative this Friday. There are lots of options, though, so in this post I’ll pass on those games for today’s MLB DFS value picks.
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SP Nestor Cortes, San Diego Padres at Minnesota Twins, $6,900
Both Tolle and Jonah Tong ($8,500) are exciting young arms that bring value upside, but Tong is priced up a little too high to be considered a “bargain” and Tolle’s weather looks dicey. Cortes is a veteran alternative who is even cheaper and brings great value potential under $7,000.
Cortes is coming off his best start since he was traded from the Brewers to the Padres at the deadline. He went six shutout innings at home against the Dodgers in that contest, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts. He earned his second win of the season and racked up 22.9 fantasy points. He seems to be gathering momentum since returning from an extended injury layoff, and will look to keep rolling on the road in Minnesota on Friday.
He has a high ceiling against the Twins, whose offense has struggled since selling off multiple pieces at the deadline. Over the last 30 days, the Twins rank in the bottom 10 in runs scored and wOBA and have the 11th-highest strikeout rate, averaging 8.7 strikeouts per game. Even though Cortes doesn’t typically pile up strikeouts, he still has a good ceiling Friday.
C Edgar Quero, Chicago White Sox vs. New York Yankees, $2,700
The White Sox have several exciting young bats now in the mix, including multiple players eligible at catcher. Kyle Teel ($3,600) is a little pricey after his recent surge, and the White Sox are facing a lefty in Carlos Rodon ($10,500), so it makes more sense to use switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero as a bargain play.
Quero is 15-for-41 (.366) over his last 13 games with one double and one home run. He’s been used as both a catcher and a designated hitter, while also getting in a few pinch-hit appearances. On the season, he’s hitting .282 in the majors with a .321 wOBA after posting a .333 average in Triple-A with a .398 wOBA.
Overall against lefties this season, Quero is hitting .366 with a .389 wOBA. At Rate Field, where tonight’s matchup will take place, he’s hitting .388 with a .415 wOBA against southpaws.
1B/2B Ezequiel Duran, Texas Rangers at Athletics, $2,300
The Rangers continue to lose multiple key contributors in their lineup to injury. After they went off for 20 runs on Wednesday, Corey Seager (abdominal) became the latest player to end up on the sidelines, joining Marcus Semien (foot), Evan Carter (wrist) and Jake Burger (wrist). With so many pieces off the board, players like Duran will continue to serve in key roles and in premium lineup positions.
Duran has been posting good numbers lately, and like Quero, he gets a boost from taking on a lefty on Friday. Over his last 17 games, Duran has gone 19-for-51 (.373) with five doubles, six runs scored and eight RBI. He has averaged 6.8 fantasy points per game over his last eight contests and has double-digit fantasy points in three of his last four games with multiple at-bats.
If he’s hitting high in the batting order against Jeffrey Springs ($7,100) on Friday, he has the potential to be the ultimate bargain play. He’s barely over the minimum salary and in a favorable game environment at offense-friendly Sutter Health Park.
