MLB DFS Value Vault May 9: Austin Gomber in a Groove
DraftKings gets the fun started a half hour earlier than FanDuel and Yahoo Fantasy tonight, but for a Monday, we have a nice size slate. Depending on the site, we have either a nine or seven game MLB DFS main slate tonight and as usual we need stay up to date with our MLB weather tool as well as the MLB lineups page. Without further ado, let’s dig into some MLB fantasy picks tonight that allow for some cost savings as we build our MLB DFS lineups.
DFS Value Pitchers
Austin Gomber (COL); DraftKings - $6,600; Yahoo - $35
Gomber is priced on DK tonight as if he is pitching in Coors Field, but instead he takes the mound in San Francisco. The Giants offense is around league average, but in Gomber they are running into an underrated pitcher whose ERA is more than two runs better (2.70) on the road than at home (4.91) this year. Last year, the splits were very strongly in the opposite direction, but with a 3.58 ERA and just about a strikeout an inning, Gomber is worth a look tonight. Opposing hitters have a hard-hit rate of just 36.4% this season and he is getting 47.3% of his outs on the ground.
Chris Flexen (SEA); DraftKings - $5,300; Yahoo - $30
DraftKings is making it pretty easy to save some serious cash in the pitching department as going with Flexen means you’ll likely have multiple hitters more expensive. The big drawback here is that Flexen only has 17 strikeouts in 29 innings this season, but he does have a 3.10 ERA and 1.14 WHIP which helps to limit the damage. Opposing hitters are batting just .231 against Flexen so far this season, but the biggest factor for me here is the matchup against Philadelphia tonight. After playing two games yesterday, the Phillies then flew cross-country to play the Mariners tonight, and Flexen stands to benefit tonight.
Elieser Hernandez (MIA); FanDuel - $6,900; Yahoo - $31
Targeting Arizona is always going to be at the top of my list as they are hitting just .191 on the season with a wRC+ of just 82. Hernandez’s 6.66 ERA is going to scare many suitors off, but his xERA of 3.79 does give me some optimism. With a 4.18 ERA last season, Hernandez showed some promise and we should get about a strikeout an inning as he limits the walks to less than three per nine innings. With just a 31.6% hard-hit rate against, hitters haven’t done a great job squaring Hernandez up and should lead to success tonight.
DFS Value Hitters
Adam Engel, OF (CWS); DraftKings - $3,400; FanDuel - $2,200; Yahoo - $8
As the White Sox deal with some injuries, Engel has been playing everyday as of late, and we get him at a solid price tonight in a good matchup against Zach Plesac and his 4.44 ERA (5.68 xERA). Engel has picked up a hit in six of his last seven starts, and while he’ll likely bat at the bottom of Chicago’s lineup, the outfielder could be a cheap option to round out a White Sox stack figuring he’ll be on base when the batting order rolls over.
Yasmani Grandal, C (CWS); FanDuel - $2,400; Yahoo - $9
I wasn’t intending on going with to White Sox here, but I also couldn’t ignore his price on FD and Yahoo. Grandal hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts this season as the catcher is batting just .173 with only one home run and six RBI. The one facet of Grandal’s game that is working, is his control of the strike zone as he has 14 walks against 15 strikeouts and he is coming off a two-hit effort on Sunday against Boston. With a BABIP of just .197, things can only go up for Grandal from here, and at this price, there is little risk in paying to find out.
Chad Pinder, 2B/OF (OAK); DraftKings - $2,600; FanDuel - $2,500; Yahoo - $13
While Oakland’s offense isn’t going to generate much fear, Pinder does bat right smack in the middle of the order and he has done well to this point. In his last 10 games, Pinder is hitting .306 with one home run and four RBI on the season with hits in seven of nine games after returning from the Injured list. While the strikeouts are a clear issue (41.7%), Pinder is in a good position tonight as Michael Pineda doesn’t over power hitters like he used to.
Franmil Reyes, OF (CLE); DraftKings - $3,600; FanDuel - $2,500; Yahoo - $10
It took long enough, but Reyes’ price certainly is on the rise but I would argue that it is not happening soon enough. Heading into action on Sunday, Reyes was hitting .474 through the first five games of May with a home run, four runs, and five RBI and he continued that trend with three more hits against Toronto. Reyes is now hitting .227 on the season with three home runs and 10 RBI as he looks to get his season on track. To this point, Reyes has a career high 13.9-degree launch angle, and he does have a 12%-barrel rate along with a 44% hard-hit rate and a career high 93 mile per hour exit velocity. Reyes is still going to strike out a ton, but he is in the midst of a hot streak I want to ride.
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Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
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Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
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Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
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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.