Happy Thursday, everyone! We have a standard Thursday of baseball that includes some day games and a few teams getting the day off, giving us a smaller main slate to focus on. We’ve got a 6-game main slate starting at 7:15 PM EST on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Today’s slate is highlighted by Shohei Ohtani taking the mound against the Seattle Mariners. He is certainly worth paying for as the best pitcher of the day with a solid matchup against a struggling Mariner’s offense. We have some solid value options as well on the pitching side to either pair up with Ohtani or completely pivot away from him. Some great value options on the hitting side as well to help build some winning MLB DFS lineups. On the offensive side, some of my favorite lineups to target today include the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros. It should be a great day for baseball, so let’s dive into my favorite value options of the day! 

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

JP Sears, Houston Astros (DraftKings: $6,800 / FanDuel: $8,200) 

I think this may be the first time recommending an Oakland starter all year. This must be prefaced with the fact that this pick comes with some risk. Sears has basically no win potential here, and there is the potential for a blowup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Sears did survive Coors Field, giving up only 1 earned run off a solo shot and striking out 5 batters. He has shown some strikeout upside this season with a fantastic fastball and slider working for him, and I am willing to take the risk that comes with some great upside at a really good price. 

Adrian Houser, Milwaukee Brewers (DraftKings: $5,200 / FanDuel: $7,400) 

Adrian Houser just got through a rough stretch of games having to pitch in Cincinnati and then back-to-back starts against the Atlanta Braves. He gave up a fair amount of runs over those three games, but that is expected against those opponents. He still had 18 strikeouts through 15.2 innings, including a 10-strikeout game against the Atlanta Braves. The Pittsburgh Pirates should be a great matchup for him after suffering through that tough schedule, and I think he easily returns the value for what is an extremely low price today. 

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Yan Gomes, C Chicago Cubs (DraftKings: $3,200 / FanDuel: $2,700) 

Yan Gomes is on a 10-game hitting streak over which he is slashing .385/.415/.641 and has 4 multi-hit games as well as 8 extra-base hits. He had another 3-hit game just before this hit streak started as well. He is locked in at the plate and should have no problem keeping the hitting streak going today against Luke Weaver, who has struggled to get guys out all season long. 

Jeimer Candelario, 3B Chicago Cubs (DraftKings: $4,200 / FanDuel: $2,900) 

Good luck finding anyone as hot over the last couple of days as Jeimer Candelario. Since becoming a Chicago Cub, he has gone 8 for 10 with back-to-back 4-hit games. He also has a 1.353 OPS over his last 9 games. While I’m not saying we are going to get 3 straight 4-hit games out of Candelario, there is a chance, and I certainly think he returns his value today either way. 

Tyler O'Neill, OF St. Louis Cardinals (DraftKings: $3,700 / FanDuel: $2,600) 

Tyler O’Neill has been looking solid ever since returning from the IL on July 20th. He only has two games without a hit over that stretch and has slashed .310/.408/.548, and has now hit homers in back-to-back games. Doesn’t have the easiest matchup today against Sonny Gray, but not one I am shying away from, and with him tapping into his power the last couple of days, I don’t see why we wouldn’t expect him to return this kind of value in the outfield today. 

Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals (DraftKings: $4,400 / FanDuel: $3,500) 

Guess who leads the league in OPS over the last 10 games with an OPS of 1.517. Yep, it’s Lars Nootbaar. He has 15 hits over the last 10 games, with 5 of them being homers. He may be my highest-priced position player on this list, but nobody is hitting the ball like Lars Nootbaar right now. He doesn’t have to keep leading the league in OPS to be worth this price, and I will happily continue to ride this hot streak for as long as it lasts. 

 

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