MLB DFS Value Vault May 4: Gleyber Torres Stays Hot
From the perspective of being a baseball fan, Wednesdays are generally a great day. Games start right after lunch, or breakfast on the west coast, and continue throughout the day and night. For our purposes we are covering the main slate that begins in the evening and all three sites are uniform with seven games to work with. Let’s dig into some MLB DFS picks for today on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo as we look to find value to round out your roster with.
DFS Value Pitchers
Kyle Bradish (BAL); DraftKings - $5,500; FanDuel - $6,700; Yahoo - $29
Bradish makes the second start of his career tonight after turning in a quality start in his first with two runs allowed in six innings of work. From an opponent perspective, Minnesota is in the middle of the pack offensively so far this season as they are hitting .231 while striking out 24.7% of the time, and that works well for the rookie. While Bradish only struck out two batters in his debut, he worked around five hits and one walk and it was impressive to see him pitch as deep into the game as he did. We aren’t going to find true domination here, but Bradish has had some minor league success and is in a solid position tonight.
Garrett Whitlock (BOS); DraftKings - $7,800; FanDuel - $6,900; Yahoo - $31
Whitlock’s usage has been sporadic this season, and tonight he makes his third start in what will be his seventh appearance. Each of Whitlock’s last two appearances have been starts, and while it is concerning that he hasn’t pitched more than four innings in a game this season, the production has been there. In 16.2 innings, the right-hander has a microscopic 0.54 ERA (1.79 xERA) while striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings. The strikeouts alone make Whitlock a viable option, and I feel more confident in him than anyone else in this price range.
DFS Value Hitters
Nelson Cruz, OF/1B (WAS); DraftKings - $3,000; Yahoo - $14
After going hitless on Tuesday, Cruz’s batting average is down to .143 on the season and this has to be rock bottom for the slugger. Through 24 games, Cruz has just two home runs, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored as he clearly is behind pace in all facets of his production to this point, but I’ll still take the value where I can get it. After all, this is still Nelson Cruz at Coors Field, batting in the middle of the order against a left-handed pitcher so I am willing to look past the .066 ISO and chase his third home run of the season as part of a Nationals stack, and Cruz also works as a one-off here. Of course, this is contingent on Cruz’s back allowing him to be in the lineup, but other right-handed Washington bats could also be in play here.
Luis Urías, 3B/2B/SS (MIL); FanDuel - $2,500; Yahoo - $19
I don’t want to say that FanDuel makes it too easy to find value here, and I don’t want to forget about DraftKings, but Urias is too good to pass up. The infielder made his debut for the season on Tuesday and picked up a hit and a walk in three plate appearances while driving in and scoring a run. This is on the heels of a 2021 season that saw Urias hit .249 with 23 home runs, 75 RBI, and 77 runs scored. I’m not sure Urias is going to move out of the ninth spot in the batting order, but at this price on FanDuel, it’s hard to ignore him.
Josh Harrison, 2B/3B (CWS); DraftKings - $3,200; FanDuel - $2,100; Yahoo - $7
Attacking Kyle Hendricks isn’t the worst strategy to employ tonight, and it doesn’t really get much cheaper than Harrison tonight. While Harrison did go hitless in three at bats on Tuesday, he had five hits in nine at bats in his three previous games. So far this season, Harrison is hitting just .170 with six runs scored, but with a .205 BABIP, things can only go up from here. To this point, Harrison does have a 41.7% hard-hit rate and tonight he gets to face a pitcher with a 5.47 ERA.
Gleyber Torres, 2B/SS (NYY); DraftKings - $3,600; FanDuel - $2,500; Yahoo - $13
Torres has come on strong as of late, and he has that in common with the Yankees’ offense as a full unit these days as they continue to win while scoring runs in bunches. For the most part, it has been a true team effort, and Torres has played a large part in that hitting .286 with two home runs and 10 RBI in his last 10 games. Tonight, things should continue to go well for both New York and Torres as he gets the platoon advantage against a struggling Yusei Kikuchi. The left-hander has a 5.52 ERA through four starts so far this season, and his 6.63 FIP only makes things look worse. Torres fits perfectly into a Yankees’ stack tonight.