Major League Baseball begins the final game of the regular season with a small, three-game slate on Monday night, but even with a limited slate, it’s still a good night for fantasy baseball contests on DraftKings. Finding the right value plays is always important, and getting the right MLB DFS value picks is just as important with only six teams in the player pool. The right bargains can give you a boost of production themselves while also saving significant salary cap space for other spots.
To help you as you search through the bargain bin, check out these three MLB DFS value picks in this post, who bring big upside despite their small salaries:
- SP Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins at San Francisco Giants, $7,100: Matthews has been inconsistent this season but has shown off a very high ceiling. He had 27.1 FPTS against the Yankees in his last start and 27+ FPTS in three of his alst five starts.
- 2B/3B Jorbit Vivas, Washington Nationals at Detroit Tigers, $2,500: Vivas offers nice positional eligibility and has gone 10-for-29 (.345) with three doubles and an average of 5.8 FPTS per contest over his last 10 games. He had four hits and 16 FPTS in his last start on Saturday.
- SS Ben Ross, Minnesota Twins at San Francisco Giants, $2,200: Ross is a bargain play at SS who had 20 HR and 20 SB in the minors this year. He stole his first base of the season in the MLB on Sunday and has 12 FPTS.
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Top MLB DFS Value Plays
SP Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins at San Francisco Giants, $7,100
Matthews has had a very up-and-down year for the Twins, but his upside has been impressive enough to make him the best pitcher in today’s MLB DFS value picks. Matthews is coming off an excellent outing against the Yankees last Wednesday. He worked six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight to earn 27.1 FPTS.
Matthews has 27+ FPTS in three of his last five starts, but he did get knocked around for -4.4 FPTS by the Tigers during that stretch as well. Overall, he has a 4.74 ERA and 4.80 FIP on the year, but over his last six starts, his numbers have been much better with a 3.15 ERA and 4.12 FIP. He has struggled on the road at times, but he’s also had some starts that show his high ceiling when he’s away from Target Field.
The 26-year-old righty does come with some risk on Monday night, but the Giants’ offense is a slightly favorable matchup and Oracle Park is usually a pitcher-friendly environment.
2B/3B Jorbit Vivas, Washington Nationals at Detroit Tigers, $2,500
Vivas had four hits on Saturday, and the 25-year-old lefty is hitting .247 in his 119 games with the Nats this year. The Yankees traded him to the Nationals in March in exchange for Sean Paul Liñan since he was out of options and didn’t have a clear path to playing time in the Bronx.
Vivas has only three homers and two stolen bases this season, but he has been making consistent contributions lately. In his last 10 games, he is 10-for-29 (.345) with three doubles and an average of 5.8 FPTS per contest. His strong contact skills should put him in a good spot against righties River Ryan ($7,800) and Keider Montero (7,800), who are expected to both work multiple innings on Monday in the Motor City. Vivas has been hot enough to chip in good numbers of his own, while bringing excellent positional flexibility and plenty of salary cap relief at either 2B or 3B in today’s MLB DFS Value Picks.
SS Ben Ross, Minnesota Twins at San Francisco Giants, $2,200
The Twins had to put Kaelen Culpepper (hamstring) on the injured list, but his absence opens up a chance for them to take a look at another interesting prospect in Ben Ross. Ross has utility-player potential with good athleticism and has shown offensive potential this year in his rise through the minors. He played 16 games in Double-A and 105 games at Triple-A, hitting a combined .273 with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. His .389 wOBA and .227 ISO show he has some pop, and his speed gives him another way to post solid fantasy numbers.
He has played eight games with the Twins since his debut on September 1. During that span, he has gone 3-for-19 (.158) but has two doubles and a stolen base. That stolen base came on Sunday, when he earned 12 FPTS in his team’s 8-0 win over the Angels. He has been hitting ninth in most of his starts, which gives him good potential to score runs when the lineup flips if he can get on base. Getting him at only $2,200 makes him one of the best MLB DFS Value picks of the day since he doesn’t have to do much to offer a big return on investment. His minor league production indicates he has good potential upside as he settles in at the MLB level.
