MLB weather simply crushed us last night in the Northeast and Midwest. There were six games postponed and five games were taken from the MLB DFS main slate. Tonight, that weather concern isn’t completely behind us for the eight (DraftKings) or seven (FanDuel and Yahoo) MLB DFS main slates in front of us as Kansas City at Baltimore is once again in jeopardy. Be sure to check in with our MLB weather report page throughout the day as you build those MLB daily fantasy lineups. And don't miss out on the official MLB Lineups as they become available to the fantasy baseball community. Let’s dig into some of the MLB DFS top picks that can help to save some salary cap space as we build some rosters for tonight’s main slate. 

DFS Value Pitchers

 

Michael Lorenzen (LAA); DraftKings - $7,200; FanDuel - $7,900; Yahoo - $37

Washington has proven to be an offensive I’m willing to target so far this season, and that continues tonight with Lorenzen. The biggest takeaway for me so far this season with Lorenzen is the length he has given the Angels and the fact that his pitch count did get up to 100 in his last start. Three of Lorenzen’s last four starts have resulted in a victory, and after six shutout innings against Cleveland, the right-hander followed that up with 8.1 innings of three run ball against the White Sox in which he scattered nine hits while walking two. Lorenzen benefited from generated 16 ground ball outs, but the fact that he is only striking out 5.32 batters per nine innings is a little troubling. Only 8.6% of balls hit off Lorenzen have been line drives while he has a 51.6% groundball rate and he figures to have another solid start tonight. 

 

Kyle Freeland (COL); DraftKings - $6,400; FanDuel - $7,100; Yahoo - $27

At first glance, it’s hard to ignore Freeland’s entire body of work. That is especially true when only one of Freeland’s starts this season have come on the road in which he allowed one run in five innings against the Phillies. In fact, after allowing 10 runs in his first two starts, Freeland has recovered to allow a combined four runs in 17 innings over his next three starts. Last season, Freeland posted an ERA that was a full run better on the road (3.84) than at home (4.83) and we can never go wrong targeted an Arizona team that has wRC+ of just 83. 

 

Jordan Lyles (BAL); DraftKings - $5,000; FanDuel - $7,000; Yahoo - $28

If the forecast changes both pitchers are viable value options. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is the case, but I did want to keep this pitching matchup on your radar as Lyles faces Carlos Hernández. This note is lifted from yesterday’s value vault, but the logic still applies if there is a game. Lyles is the perfect value option tonight, and that is especially true on DK as the second pitcher, as you will ultimately roster at least one hitter that is more expensive than the right-hander. Per wRC+, the Royals are the second worst offense in the league with a mark of just 80 as they are hitting just .218 on the season. Lyles is coming off a six inning, one run performance against Boston while he struck out six and picked up the victory. Through his five starts, Lyles has a 4.50 ERA and is in as good a position as any to succeed tonight. 

DFS Value Hitters

 

Juan Yepez, OF (STL); DraftKings - $2,200; FanDuel - $2,000; Yahoo - $16

After the first three games of his major league career, it seems that both DK and FD are still sleeping on Yepez. While it is a tough matchup tonight against Logan Webb, it’s hard to ignore Yepez as you aren’t going to find many, if any, hitters for a cheaper price. The fact that Yepez is projected to, once again, bat in the middle of the order for the Cardinals and has five hits in his first three games as he begins his major league career with a three-game hit streak doesn’t hurt either. While Yepez is still looking for his first career home run, he did hit nine in 22 games at Triple-A to begin the year and he has three doubles. 

 

Jordan Luplow, 1B/OF (ARI); DraftKings - $3,600; FanDuel - $2,300; Yahoo - $17

I know I highlighted his opposing pitcher, Kyle Freeland, above, but it seems to be a mixed bag across the industry whether or not they recognize Luplow’s proficiency against left-handed pitching tonight. Luplow is expected to hit second for Arizona, and in nine plate appearances so far this year he is hitting .286 with a home run against southpaws and historically platoon advantages have been present here. In roughly the same number of games (326 to 333), Luplow has the double the amount of home runs (24) and more RBI while hitting substantially better (.245 to .204). I know it’s still not elite level performance, but there is a solid chance Luplow does some damage tonight as he is in the right position for success. 

 

Jesse Winker, OF (SEA); DraftKings - $3,800; FanDuel - $2,600; Yahoo - $11

It’s a matter of time for Winker to really drive his cost up, and while he is hitting just .200 on the season, that mark does jump to .263 if we look at his last 10 games. Winker’s first home run of the season came on Thursday, and he has hits in three straight games as he looks to get back on track in his new home. Winker’s approach hasn’t changed as he is only striking out 12.3% of the time, against a 15.8% walk rate, and as he gets more comfortable in Seattle, his performance should improve. With a .222 BABIP, luck is also a factor, and it does help that the Mariners have kept him batting in the middle of the order and he gets a right-hander tonight. 

 

Jon Berti, 2B/3B (MIA); FanDuel - $2,500; Yahoo - $15

Miami continues to give the Berti playing time, and the utility man continues to produce. Berti is now hitting .300 on the season in 50 plate appearances while scoring 10 runs and driving in four. I’m not looking for another two run performance here, but against the left-hander, we just need Berti to get on base twice and score a run for him to hit the proper value, and that is a reasonable expectation. 

 

 

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