MLB DFS Value Plays April 16: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks
With rotations flipped back to the top, a lot of our MLB DFS lineups will be littered with the likes of Gerrit Cole, Sandy Alcantara, Aaron Nola, and many of the elite pitchers on Sunday, April 16th’s main slate. In order to get one or two of those elite arms, and possibly elite bats too, we’re going to have to dig for some value options on the mound and at the dish. Let’s dive into my top value options of the day.
MLB DFS Value Pitchers
Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
Look, this is teetering on mid-tier versus value, but relative to the pitcher, this price tag is criminally low. Zac Gallen showed last year that he’s an elite pitcher and was off to a rocky start but had unfortunate luck on his side going into his last outing. Well, he turned that around firing seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. He faces a Miami Marlins offense that has the fourth-highest strikeout rate at 25.4% and their team OPS of .687 ranks 24th in baseball against right-handed pitching.
Kyle Wright, Atlanta Braves
Things didn’t go great for Kyle Wright during his first start of the year, but the Royals presented a good opportunity to put up a big number. The Royals have struggled mightily with right-handed hurlers ranking 28th in OPS and 29th in wOBA while posting a 24.4% strikeout rate. Wright was 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA and is a -165 favorite according to DraftKings Sportsbook today. I really like the price tag.
MLB DFS Value Hitters
Josh Bell, 1B, Cleveland Guardians
It has been a pretty bad start to his 2023 campaign, but Josh Bell has shown signs of life over the last two games and now gets to face Patrick Corbin. He has a four-game hitting streak going and back-to-back multi-hit games as well. He has four extra-base hits in the last two games and has begun to show the power that Cleveland needs. He flashed a lot of pop from the right side of the dish last year, posting a .459 SLG%, .186 ISO, and .350 wOBA. Patrick Corbin has been just as bad this year as he was last year, so advantage Bell.
Vaughn Grissom, SS, Atlanta Braves
It’s hard to ignore Vaughn Grissom’s price at this point and it’s a fantastic match-up to boot. Zack Greinke has spent the large part of the last three seasons struggling against right-handed bats and Grissom is a threat when he gets on the basepaths. Grissom has a hit in each of his first two games this year and this match-up isn’t going to slow him down any.
Bryson Stott, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies
It’s been a very solid start to the 2023 campaign for Bryson Stott as he’s hitting .375 and is riding a 15-game hitting streak. He’s been so good he’s vaulted to the leadoff position essentially every game. He’s hitting .400 against righties and has swiped three bags against them as well. This is a guy that had double-digit home runs and stolen bases last year and the power will come and maybe it’ll be on display here as the Phillies once again hit in Great American Ballpark. Lefties are mashing Luis Cessa to start the year notching an .875 SLG% and .542 wOBA against them.
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