MLB DFS Value Vault May 29: Triston McKenzie In Detroit Rock City
Welcome to Value Town. We are right in the middle of Memorial Day weekend and does it get any better than building fantasy baseball lineups for an MLB DFS slate? Both DraftKings and FanDuel are locking at 1:35 pm ET and will carry 8 game slates while Yahoo Fantasy offers an all-day slate starting at 11:35 am ET. There will be some elite arms on the hill today that you may want to include in your MLB DFS lineup and that includes Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, and Max Fried. The Red Sox and Rafael Devers are in a smash spot offensively along with the Juan Soto-led Nationals. So how will you get all of these studs in your fantasy baseball lineup? That’s where we come in at DFS Alarm with the Value Vault. I have dug in to find the top point per dollar plays of the slate that you can include in some of your lineup builds but before that make sure to check the MLB Weather Center and our MLB Tools page that includes daily projections, a draft percentage forecaster, lineup generator, batter vs. pitcher, season splits and much more. Now it’s time to open the MLB DFS Value Vault…
PITCHERS
Triston McKenzie (CLE) $7.6K DK/$9.0K FD
Do you realize that Triston McKenzie has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the first two months of the season? He is coming off domination of the tough Houston Astros where he only allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts for his fourth straight quality start. He now has a 2.45 ERA and an awesome 0.87 WHIP on the season and takes his right-handed throwing arm to pitcher-friendly Comerica Park and a weak Detroit Tiger offense. The wind will be blowing in today and the Tigers are striking out 25.7% with a slate high 14.5% SwStr rate plus they have a low .109 ISO/.278wOBA to right-handed pitching. All in on Triston McKenzie as the top value arm on the board.
Elieser Hernandez (MIA) $6.9K DK/$6.0K FD/$29 Yahoo
Elieser Hernandez is a boom or bust pitcher today facing a boom or bust offense- the Atlanta Braves. Due to the volatility of both sides Hernandez is a tournament play only but if things go right, he has the stuff to end up as one of the top-scoring pitchers of the day. Hernandez will be pitching in a hitters park (Truist Park) against a bunch of big-time hitters that include Ronald Acuna and Matt Olson but he has electric stuff and just two starts ago allowed only one run while striking out five against this same Braves team. He looked good and threw 49 of 70 pitches for strikes and notched 11 swings-and-misses plus the Braves lineup strikes out 28% of the time against right-handed pitching. If you are multi-entering today take a shot against this right-hand
HITTERS
Josh Naylor (CLE) $3.2K DK/$3.K FD
This is more of a DraftKings value, but Josh Naylor is in a smash spot against young Elvin Rodriguez of the Tigers. The Tigers right-handed rookie has started two games and comes in with a 7.22 ERA/1.40 WHIP and 6.68 xFIP. Not very good. Now on the other side, Naylor is crushing righties this season with an elite .284 ISO/.401wOBA to go along with a 183 wRC+. He had a big game yesterday going 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored and there is no reason to not expect similar results today.
Garrett Cooper (MIA) $3.4K DK/$2.5K FD/$15 Yahoo
Garrett Cooper is rolling. He is slashing .308/.356/.487 with an .843 OPS over the last 15 days including a home run and 8 RBIs. He is also hitting .390 over the last week with a .448wOBA and is coming off two straight double-digit fantasy points in the series against the Braves that includes a home run, double, and 4 RBIs. Today he faces Max Fried, who is one of the better pitchers on the board but Cooper has had success against the left-hander going 5-for-12 (.417) lifetime with a couple of doubles. With a .385wOBA and 48.6% hard contact, this season against southpaws Cooper is in play for tournaments on all sites.
Rougned Odor (BAL) $2.6K DK/$2.3K FD/$15 Yahoo
I can’t believe I am writing this but Rougned Odor can still be a fantasy asset. After being a liability at the plate during the month of April, Odor totally flipped the switch and has become a sparkplug for the Orioles offense. He has provided home runs and walk-off hits to keep Baltimore competitive all month and that includes a three-run blast yesterday. He had an 11-game hit streak snapped in the first game of the double-header yet rebounded in the second game with the big home run in a 4-2 win. Odor has a .204 ISO with a 48.8% flyball rate and gets the platoon advantage today against Nick Pivetta who is only striking out 18% of left-handed bats while allowing 40% flyball and hard contact.
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Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.