On a small five-game slate, value is going to be tough to come by for MLB DFS lineups tonight – especially on the mound. Jacob deGrom and Yu Darvish stand head and shoulders above the rest of the MLB pitchers for your daily fantasy baseball lineups. Fortunately, though, there is a good chunk of value hitters that can help you easily afford one or both of Darvish and deGrom into your MLB daily fantasy lineups this evening. In particular, Yahoo DFS gave us a gift with Rafael Devers’ price tag while Alex Verdugo is way too cheap despite being one of the hottest hitters in Major League Baseball lately. With only five games, you have to get creative, so be sure to use our MLB daily projections and confirmed MLB lineups to find some additional value on tonight’s slate. Plus, analyze the MLB DFS playbook for everything regarding your daily fantasy baseball lineups, including MLB DFS top plays, MLB DFS stacks, and more! Lastly, check out our MLB weather report so that you don’t get burned by any weather concerns. Now, here are my MLB DFS top value plays for the main slate on Thursday, August 18.

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

DISCLAIMER: Value pitching is rough tonight. I don’t know what else to say. Yu Darvish and Jacob deGrom are my top guys, but of course, they have never heard of the Value Vault.

Frankie Montas, NYY ($7,300 DK/$35 Yahoo)

You could also go José Berríos here or look to Josh Winckowski against Pittsburgh. However, as Pete Cole called out in the playbook, Montas and the Yankees are favorites and over the last two weeks, the Blue Jays are merely league average against right-handed pitching. Montas fared better in his second start for the Yankees, and in his home debut tonight, he’ll be looking to make a big statement. Again, value pitching is rough tonight, so I wouldn’t consider Montas on FanDuel where you only have to play one pitcher. To be frank, I’m settling in on those top two guys and not looking back, but if I had to go with a value arm, Montas is at or near the top of that incredibly short list.

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Rafael Devers, BOS ($15 Yahoo) 

This price is a gift from Yahoo, so I’m going to keep it short. Devers has cooled off lately, sure, but he is 3-for-his-last-11, with one home run and one double. A matchup against JT Brubaker is just what the doctor ordered tonight.

Alex Verdugo, BOS ($3,000 FD/$3,000 DK/$15 Yahoo) 

Verdugo is hitting righties at a .281 clip this year with a .403 slugging percentage, and over the last week, he’s hitting .429 with a .571 OBP and .619 slugging percentage. He’s hit safely in nine of his last 11 games, and on the road this season, Verdugo is hitting .292 with a .421 slugging percentage and .768 OPS. Pittsburgh’s JT Brubaker has a 5.44 ERA and 1.61 WHIP at home this season, and he has a 6.52 ERA and 1.40 HR/9 over his last four starts. In his last two home starts, he has allowed 11 earned runs on 19 hits across 10.1 innings of work.

Estevan Florial, NYY ($2,000 FD/$2,000 DK/$7 Yahoo) 

Florial may be 0-for-14 at the big league level this season, but in the 13 games prior to his promotion, he was slashing .283/.356/.472 with two home runs and three stolen bases. Toronto’s José Berríos has a 6.06 ERA and 2.20 HR/9 over his last six starts, and on the road this season, he has a 7.50 ERA, .316 BAA, and 2.50 HR/9. We haven’t seen it from Florial at the game’s highest level yet, but I’m willing to take the gamble on the worst side of Berrios’ splits at minimum price.

Darin Ruf, NYM ($2,600 FD/$10 Yahoo) 

Since joining the Mets, Ruf is hitting .333 with three doubles, and five RBI, and for this season, we know when to deploy Ruf. When a southpaw is on the mound, Ruf is in play, and at these price points, sign me up, even in a tougher matchup against Max Fried. Ruf is hitting lefties at a .258 clip with a .524 SLG and .883 OPS. Against lefties, he’s homered once every 13.8 at-bats, and Fried has been more vulnerable to right-handed hitters this season.

Jeff McNeil, NYM ($2,800 FD/$15 Yahoo) 

I don’t necessarily love a lefty against Fried, given what you read above, but McNeil makes sense in a GPP. He’s hit lefties at a .324 clip this season and on the road, he’s hitting .352 with a .910 OPS. McNeil is red hot, scratch that, white hot at the moment, hitting .476 over his last seven games, and .418 over his last 15 games. McNeil has hit safely in all but two games this month, and he has seven multi-hit efforts in August, which has fueled his .431 average and .690 SLG for the month.

Ha-Seong Kim, SDP ($2,400 FD) 

You are going to want some part of the San Diego offense tonight, as Aníbal Sánchez stinks. Not only has the Washington right-hander allowed at least three earned runs in every start this season, but he’s also served up at least one home run in each start, and multiple home runs in four of his six starts. Sanchez has some reverse splits working this season, allowing a .357 batting average and .486 wOBA to right-handed hitters, and while Kim has just a .236 average against righties for the 2022 season as a whole, the recent numbers spark optimism. Over the last 30 days, he’s hitting .323 with an .864 OPS against right-handed pitching, and he’s sporting a .343 average and 159 wRC+ over his last nine contests.

 

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