MLB DFS Value Vault April 29: Frankie Montas Takes the Bump
Another weekend of baseball is upon us here at DFS Alarm and there is nothing better than a green Friday night. We have a huge 13-game DFS slate on all three sites- DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo and it is our job to help get you into the cash line. One way is to find those top point per dollar plays that will allow you to get your favorite stud pitcher or bat and they can be found right here in the Alarm Value Vault! So, let’s crank this safe open and see what today’s DFS Alarm Value Vault has to offer...
DFS Value Pitchers
DraftKings- $4,000
Kyle Bradish will be making his major league debut tonight at home against the Red Sox. The 6’4” right-hander is one of the top prospects in the organization and he has been mowing down Triple-A batters so far this season. In 15 innings he has struck out 17 with only three walks and a 0.73 WHIP.
Bradish is only available on DraftKings and is worth taking a shot as a GPP dart play if multi-entering lineups. It will not take much for him to make value at a $4K price so you just have to hope that he can keep the Red Sox at bay for a few innings and not implode. He seems to be stretched out since his first three starts have been four, five, and then six innings and he threw 86 pitches in the last one. Bradish will also be on a couple of extra days of rest so a full workload could be in order.
DraftKings- $8,100
On DraftKings, Frankie Montas is mispriced at only $8.1K. After a tough first start, Montas turned it right around with quality starts in each of his last three games with an ERA of 1.83, a WHIP of 0.66, and a 26.4% K rate. He has struck out at least five batters in every start this season and tonight gets a Cleveland offense that is going south after a hot start in pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum.
Montas is the most expensive pitcher on FanDuel so if playing over there I would turn to Adam Wainwright of St. Louis, who is only $8.5K. He has historically been a much better pitcher at home and gets to face a horrible offense (Arizona) in another pitcher-friendly park (Busch Stadium).
DFS Value Hitters
Note: The entire Reds lineup in Coors is a value on DK. Jonathan India is the most expensive Red at $3.5K with Mike Moustakas all the way down to $2.1K against RH Antonio Senzatela. All can be considered as part of the Value Vault but let’s take a look at a few non-Coors plays:
DraftKings- $2,600; FanDuel- $2,500; Yahoo- $12
Chas McCormick should be leading off tonight as he gets the RvL advantage over Yusei Kikuchi of the Blue Jays. This is an exciting young player that is near minimum price yet is slashing .353/.389/.471 with an OPS of .860 against right-handers. With a .216 ISO and near-elite 50.8% flyball and 49.2% hard contact McCormick sets up as a smash spot against Kikuchi who is allowing a .213 ISO/.358wOBA and 40% hard contact to the right side of the plate.
DraftKings- $3,100; FanDuel- $2,500; Yahoo- $15
When the Giants claimed Luis González off waivers from the White Sox no one batted an eye. Even after tearing through spring training with a slash of .416/.530/.714 with an OPS of 1.234, Gonzalez remained anonymous, and he started the season in Sacramento. With injuries to LaMonte Wade Jr and Steven Duggar, Gonzalez was called up to the Show last week and it did not take long for his signature moment as a Giant – a huge 9th inning two-run game-winning home run against the Brewers on Monday.
With Joc Pederson leaving Wednesday’s game early (groin) Gonzalez may see even more playing time and should be in the middle of the order tonight against righty Aníbal Sánchez. He is slashing at a .353/.333/.588 against right arms in a limited sample size and is a cheap way to get a piece of the Giants stack tonight.
FanDuel- $2,300; Yahoo- $10
With five hits in his last three games, Kolton Wong is starting to heat up so jump on this minimum price now on FanDuel. He should be leading off tonight with the platoon advantage over right-hander Kyle Hendricks. What jumps out, even more, is Wong’s history against Hendricks. The second baseman is 18-for-50 career (.360 BA) against the soft-throwing Cubs veteran.
DraftKings- $2,800; FanDuel- $2,900; Yahoo- $12
It is wake-up time for Dansby Swanson and the days of the sub $3K pricing on DraftKings and FanDuel will be gone soon. Swanson went 2-for-3 with a home run, walk, and stolen base last night. The home run was a bomb, and it was estimated to travel 432 feet. Swanson is a notoriously streaky power hitter, and this may be the start of one of those waves. He has now reached base in six straight games hitting .390 in that span with a .500 OBP and .495wOBA. Tonight, Swanson faces Garrett Richards as an opener who is allowing a .204 ISO/.369wOBA against right-handed bats and the followed by Spencer Howard, who is not much better.
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Masataka Yoshida (shoulder) is not making progress with a throwing program.
Cora added that Yoshida, who is working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, might head back to Boston to undergo further evaluation since his throwing program is “not going well. He was expected to start playing in extended spring training games earlier this month, but hasn’t made enough progress with his throwing program for that to happen. The 31-year-old doesn’t have a path to at-bats in Boston unless he can get back into the club’s left field mix with Rafael Devers occupying the DH role. He’s in a bit of a holding pattern right now and it doesn’t seem like he’s close to making his season debut.
Padres activated 1B/2B Luis Arraez from the 7-day concussion injured list.
Arraez is back at first base and batting second on Tuesday night, as expected, after missing just over one week recovering from a concussion that he suffered during an on-field collision back on April 20.
Padres activated OF Jason Heyward from the 10-day injured list.
Heyward returns to San Diego’s lineup following a two-week absence recovering from left knee inflammation. The 35-year-old veteran outfielder’s days as a fantasy-relevant contributor are long gone, but he remains a strong fourth outfielder on a playoff contending roster.
Padres placed INF Mason McCoy on the 10-day injured list with a left pinky finger dislocation.
McCoy managed to avoid the injured list for a couple days after dislocating his left pinky finger on Saturday night. It’s unclear whether he’ll have a spot on San Diego’s active roster once he’s ready to return, which means he’s likely ticketed for Triple-A El Paso.
Padres designated 1B Yuli Gurriel for assignment.
Gurriel has been booted from San Diego’s roster after batting .111 (4-for-36) with one extra-base hit and three RBI in 16 contests. The 40-year-old veteran figures to pass through waivers unclaimed and could wind up back at Triple-A El Paso as emergency depth.
Luke Raley has been scratched from Tuesday’s lineup after tweaking something in his side or back during batting practice.
The Seattle Times’ Adam Judge reports Raley is undergoing precautionary imaging after tweaking something in his side or back during pregame batting practice. He adds that the Mariners aren’t expected to make a roster move prior to first pitch. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. There should be an update on his status following Tuesday’s game.