It’s time to start another busy work week with a full 12-game schedule on the Major League Baseball scoreboard. The MLB DFS main slate includes the seven games that begin at 7:10 p.m. ET or later. Some rain could impact the early games, but some intriguing matchups are in the mix as new series get underway across the leagues. Once you decide your core plays, you may need to dive into the bargain bin for a value option or two to help balance out your spending. Finding the right MLB DFS value picks is key to maximizing the production of your roster across the board, since some affordable players can go off with big nights of their own.
To help you as you search through the cheap options and find the best options, check out my three MLB DFS Value Picks in this post, who bring big upside at a small salary:
- SP Tatsuya Imai, Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels, $6,800: Imai is coming off 27.3 FPTS against the Marlins in his last start and has posted 27+ FPTS in three of his last five games. He faces the Angels, who lead the MLB in K% and have scored the fewest runs in the MLB in July.
- OF Luis Lara, Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants, $3,100: Lara has huge power and speed potential as a dual-threat top prospect. He had 20 FPTS on two hits Saturday and two more hits on Sunday with 16 FPTS.
- 1B/3B Tommy White, Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox, $2,700: “Tommy Tanks” is hitting .323 with two doubles, two walks, and four runs scored. He had two hits and 10 FPTS on Sunday, and he brings big-time upside at Sutter Health Park at this bargain salary.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at these options that come with low salary, but high ceilings on Monday night.
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Top MLB DFS Value Plays
SP Tatsuya Imai, Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels, $6,800
While he has been extremely boom-or-bust, Imai brings a very high ceiling in this matchup against the Angels on Monday night. The 28-year-old rookie from Japan has gone 6-4 but has struggled to a 5.59 ERA and 4.74 FIP. He went off in his last start, though, producing 27.3 FPTS by holding the Marlins to one run in six innings with eight strikeouts.
While he is only averaging 12.2 FPTS per game, he has 27+ FPTS in three of his last five starts. In June, he posted double-digit strikeouts against the Tigers (35.7 FPTS) and the Guardians (29.9 FPTS), and he gets an even more favorable matchup on Monday night against the Angels, who lead the MLB in K% by a wide margin. Imai has huge upside if you can deal with the risk of a short outing. He has a few down games, but when he’s on, he’s a great value under $7,000.
OF Luis Lara, Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants, $3,100
Before his promotion to the MLB in July, Lara was the No. 65 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and the No. 4 prospect for the Brewers. The speedy 21-year-old switch-hitter is hitting .303 in his first 13 games in the MLB, with four doubles and a stolen base. He had two hits on Saturday for 20 FPTS and two more hits on Sunday for 16 more FPTS.
He was hitting .321 in 78 games in Triple-A with nine homers, a .408 wOBA and 24 stolen bases before his promotion. He has both power and speed potential against the Giants and Tyler Mahle ($7,100) on Monday night in San Francisco. Mahle has allowed 3+ runs in three of his last four starts, and lefties have a .194 ISO and .312 wOBA against Mahle this season. Since Lara will face Mahle from the left side, he’ll be on the strong side of those splits with a chance to build on his back-to-back big games over the weekend.
1B/3B Tommy White, Athletics at Minnesota Twins, $2,700
“Tommy Tanks” has carved out a spot in the middle third of the batting order for the A’s while playing 3B. Even with Nick Kurtz (thumb) back in the lineup, White has continued to start on a regular basis, hitting fifth on Sunday and going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and 10 FPTS on Sunday. In his eight games, he is hitting .323 with a .445 wOBA.
The 23-year-old righty started this season at Double-A and played 55 games at Triple-A before his promotion. In his 76 games in the minors, he hit .303 with 10 homers and a .364 wOBA. He hasn’t gone yard yet in the majors, but he’ll be at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park for this week’s series against the Red Sox. Lefty Payton Tolle ($8,800) will start on Monday, and since he’ll be on the strong side of the splits, the rookie will be in a great spot to be a bargain at either corner spot in Monday’s MLB DFS Value Picks.
