Thursday, June 5 will go down as a great sports day. Not only do the NBA Finals tip off, there are two WNBA games and 13 MLB games. Because they’re spread out throughout the day, only five baseball games will be on tonight’s featured DFS slate, but there’s another early DFS slate that will go live at at 3:07 p.m. ET, which you can find here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (Early).
Still, the five-game late slate has a great combination of studs, value picks, and everything in between at every position. Here are my three favorite bargain plays from tonight’s action:
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st].
SP Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers, $6,800
Besides one poor start against the Boston Red Sox on April 15, in which he gave up six runs on nine hits in six innings (10.9 FPTS), Pepiot has been very good this season, having given up three or fewer earned runs in each of his other starts, and he’s now recorded five quality starts in a row. In his last two starts, he’s pitched 13.2 combined innings, given up five hits and no runs, walking two and striking out nine (24.3 FPTS per game), and if he does something similar to that again, he should be an absolute bargain. Although he’s given up 10 home runs this season, eight of them came in his first five starts of the season.
He shouldn’t have to be too concerned about getting mashed by the Rangers, who posted easily the league’s worst OPS in May. Sure, Texas tends to hit the ball hard — its average exit velocity is higher than the MLB average, and its home run percentage is right about average — but that doesn’t matter when it hits it right to defenders. This season, the Rangers have posted the league’s worst batting average on balls in play, and the Rays have been the league’s second-best fielding team. Combine that with the fact that Pepiot doesn’t issue many walks and Texas doesn’t walk much, and it could be a recipe for another six-plus-inning outing.
1B/OF Jac Caglianone, Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals, $3,500
Caglianone was extremely unlucky not to get a hit in his MLB debut on Tuesday, lacing four balls over 95 miles per hour and two over 110 miles per hour, but they all happened to be hit right at Cardinals defenders. In his first at-bat, he hit a ball that would have been out in one MLB stadium — Angel Stadium — but St. Louis’ Victor Scott II ($3,600) made a leaping catch to deny him at the wall. But through his first MLB game, the Statcast numbers look great, and as long as he continues to get opportunities in the big leagues, he shouldn’t have to wait long for his first hit. There was no game yesterday, as it was postponed due to rain, but it’s likely that his first hit comes at some point during tonight’s double-header.
Could it come against the Cardinals’ Matthew Liberatore ($8,000)? Liberatore has been pretty solid this season, having given up two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts, but he’s coming off of a five-inning, seven-hit, four-run (8.5-FPT) dud. The southpaw has an interesting pitch mix, throwing each of his six pitches at least 10% of the time, but he throws his four-seamer the most frequently, and in his debut, Caliganone was better against fastballs than against curves. In the minors, he wasn’t significantly worse against lefties, posting a .903 OPS this season, so Matt Quatraro should trust his star regardless.
OF Robert Hassell III, Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs, $3,000
I’m going with another talented left-handed rookie here in Hassell, who has played 12 games at the MLB level and been fine, slashing .250/.250/.333 (six FPTS per game), hitting one homer and scoring five runs. He hasn’t walked yet in his MLB career, which is a cause for concern, but the 23-year-old’s .285 expected batting average would be in the league’s top quintile if he’d recorded enough plate appearances to qualify, and his 85th-percentile sprint speed makes him a threat to steal the second base of his career. Plus, he’s been an above-average fielder so far, so his glove should keep him in the lineup and allow his bat to catch up.
It’s not worth analyzing his matchup against Drew Pomeranz ($4,000), who’s simply going to open the game for Chicago but has been elite, allowing zero runs over his 13.2 innings (4.2 FPTS per game). However, it is worth noting that Colin Rea ($6,000), who will back up Pomeranz in relief, has given up six or more earned runs in each of his last two outings (4.6 FPTS per game across that span). This season, Rea ranks below-average in 11 out of 13 Statcast categories, excelling only in extension and in walk rate, but he frequently turns to a fastball that ranks in the 38th percentile in velocity and the 32nd in spin rate. So far, Hassell has slashed .300/.300/.600 against four-seamers.
