MLB DFS Value Vault August 23: Nathaniel Lowe Heads to Coors
We have a stacked MLB DFS main slate tonight, Tuesday August 23rd, with the only question being whether or not the conclusion of the doubleheader between St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs will be included. Options are aplenty tonight, but it should be noted that the top portion of our pitching slate is extremely strong. Fear not though, as there will still be plenty of MLB DFS value picks to chose from. In order to help uncover some of that value, it continues to be important to stay up to date on all of the latest MLB news and MLB lineups while also being aware of the MLB weather.
DFS Value Pitchers
Zach Logue (OAK); DraftKings - $5,400; FanDuel - $6,300; Yahoo - $32
I am aware that Logue’s ERA for the season is 6.35 (5.87 FIP) but he is pitching at home tonight so that is the first piece of information working in our favor. By no means is Logue pitching at an All-Star level, but a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings at home is certainly a lot better than his 7.52 mark in 26.1 innings and that is something we can work with at this price. The fact that Logue struggles to keep the ball on the ground, 28% of the time, does not hurt as much when he is pitching at home, but his upside is limited by the fact that he strikes out just 6.15 batters per nine innings. The other attractive piece of the puzzle here is tonight’s opponent, Miami, as the Marlins are ranked in the bottom portion of the league offensively with a .232 team batting average, a 90 wRC+, and a 23.2% strikeout rate.
Corey Kluber (TB); DraftKings - $7,700; FanDuel - $8,200; Yahoo - $41
Kluber did struggle two starts ago and Baltimore, but the right-hander proceeded to bounce back in a strong way against the Yankees with six strong innings of two run ball while striking out eight. Things have generally gone pretty well for Kluber this season although his 6.28 ERA in the second half (28.2 innings) is a little concerning after a 3.73 first half ERA in 94 innings. There have been both good and bad outings mixed in here, but with a 4.33 ERA (3.45 FIP) on the season, the overall body of work remains pretty strong with 8.14 strikeouts and 1.32 walks per nine innings. Tonight’s opponent also benefits Kluber as the Angels have struck 26.1% of the time this season and have a wRC+ of just 89 while batting .226 as a team.
DFS Value Hitters
Vaughn Grissom, 2B/SS (ATL); DraftKings - $2,300; FanDuel - $3,400; Yahoo - $25
This is one of those situations, especially on DK, where I am quite concerned that the joke is on me and I am missing something. Yes, Grissom is batting eighth for Atlanta, but that, or really anything, has not slowed the rookie down since his promotion. In 13 games, Grissom is batting .391 to begin his major league career with three home runs, nine RBI, and an impressive 13 runs scored. The Braves are expected to break the five-run mark tonight, and it is pretty difficult to overlook Grissom as part of that stack.
Emmanuel Rivera, 3B (ARI); DraftKings - $2,600; FanDuel - $2,400; Yahoo - $17
Rivera continues to find himself settled into the second spot in Arizona’s batting order on most nights, and with 10 home runs in 77 games this season, production has followed. In his last 10 games, Rivera is hitting .282 with three home runs and six RBI and tonight brings with it a favorable matchup against Jonathan Heasley. The third baseman is making strong contact with a 10.1% barrel rate this season and with Heasley allowing 1.92 home runs per nine innings this season, things are set up for success.
Nathaniel Lowe, 1B (TEX); DraftKings - $3,600; FanDuel - $3,300; Yahoo - $23
I know that Germán Márquez has been pitching pretty well as of late, but it is still Coors Field and the right-hander is not completely unbeatable, so we cannot know what to expect. In his last 10 games, Lowe is hitting .410 with two home runs and six RBI, and the price is quite simply too cheap for a cleanup hitter who happens to be playing in Colorado tonight. With a .293 batting average this season to go along with 18 home runs, 54 RBI, and 54 runs scored, it has been a solid year to this point for Lowe.
Michael Massey, 2B (KC); DraftKings - $2,100; FanDuel - $2,300; Yahoo - $7
With a .288 batting average through 21 games this season, Massey has been a solid contributor for Kansas City, and with a 17.6% strikeout rate, he does a solid job of putting the bat on the ball. Prior to his promotion, Massey had 16 home runs in the minor leagues this year, and the Royals offense figures to be busy tonight against Zach Davies.
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Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.