Today’s main slate varies by slate because on Yahoo, they are opening the full day of games, so you’ll see some players with prices listed on Yahoo, and others that do not. When looking at the board, two pitchers, in particular, stood out, led by St. Louis’ Jordan Montgomery, who arguably could be considered the best MLB trade deadline acquisition. Offensively speaking, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is too cheap on Yahoo, Oscar Gonzalez is too cheap on DraftKings, and my home run call of the day is Franmil Reyes. Check out our MLB DFS daily projections and MLB DFS playbook for all the MLB content you’ll need for your MLB DFS lineups. Picking superstars is fun, but the Value Vault has the plays of the day to give you some quality ROI at a cheaper price point. Here are my favorite value plays of the day for your MLB DFS lineups for Sunday, September 18.

 

 

MLB DFS Value Pitchers

Jordan Montgomery, STL ($9,200 FD/$7,900 DK/$44 Yahoo) - Montgomery has been so darn good for St. Louis, and I cannot believe he’s not priced higher. The southpaw has a 2.05 ERA in eight starts with the Cardinals, and he has six or more strikeouts in five of those eight outings. He’s coming off a rough start against the Brewers, sure, but this matchup against the Reds is juicy. Over the last two weeks, the Reds have the sixth-highest strikeout rate in baseball against lefties, and they have the lowest batting average, second-lowest OBP, and third-lowest wRC+ against southpaws in that span.

Nick Pivetta, BOS ($8,000 FD/$7,200 DK/$38 Yahoo) - Pivetta may be 1-3 in his last eight starts, but he has a 3.86 ERA and a 50 percent ground ball rate during that stretch. I don’t love being on this side of his home/road splits, but I do like the fact that Kansas City has hit just .190 with a .235 wOBA and 46 wRC+ against righties over the last two weeks. They are about league average in terms of strikeout rate, and if Pivetta can keep the ball on the ground, he should deliver a quality start this evening with a handful of strikeouts.

BONUS: Ryne Nelson ($39) is only on Yahoo’s main slate, and he’s too cheap for putting up 35.4 and 26.4 fantasy points in his first two starts.

MLB DFS Value Hitters

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR ($14 Yahoo) - Compared to DraftKings and FanDuel, the pricing for Guerrero Jr. on Yahoo is SOFT. He’s 4-for-11 with three home runs in his career against Baltimore’s Dean Kremer, good for a .364 average and .583 wOBA. The star slugger has a .362 wOBA against right-handed pitching, while Kremer has allowed a .282 average to RHH.

Jon Berti, MIA ($2,400 FD/$10 Yahoo) - Aníbal Sánchez is not very good, and Berti can rack up fantasy points in a myriad of ways. He can run with the best of them, and when he gets on base, he’s running. I really like the Miami offense to get to Sanchez a bit today, and with Berti being an absolute menace on the base paths, don’t be surprised if he gets a base knock or two, steals a base or two, and scores once or twice. At this price point, that provides a more than adequate return on investment. Berti has a .310 wOBA and 101 wRC+ against righties this season.

Santiago Espinal, TOR ($2,400 FD/$2,300 DK/$8 Yahoo) - Espinal hits lefties better than righties in terms of batting average, but he just so happens to be a perfect 5-for-5 against this particular right-hander. Kremer has pitched well of late, but the BvP data at this price point, given that Kremer is more generous to RHH, makes Espinal tough to pass on at these low, low price points.

Franmil Reyes, CHC ($2,300 FD/$2,700 DK/$12 Yahoo) - Here’s the Colby Conway gut call for the day. Yes, he’s hitting just .209 this month, but he does have a .321 BABIP, so luck isn’t completely against him. Sure, it’s not on his side, but he gets a matchup against a righty today that has struggled with the long ball this season, posting a 1.56 HR/9 mark on the season. Despite his home park being Coors Field, he has a 1.91 HR/9 on the road, and 1.80 HR/9 to RHH. If we look at those together, on the road against right-handed hitters, he has a 2.04 HR/9. Eleven of Reyes’ 13 home runs this season have come against righties, and I’m going to hope for another here today.

Oscar Gonzalez, CLE ($3,700 DK) - The price point for Gonzalez on DraftKings is incredibly affordable, as he he’s hitting .343 with a .586 SLG here in September, and over during his six game hit streak, he’s slashing .407/.407/.667 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI. Gonzalez has a .302 average and .808 OPS against right-handed pitching this season, and in his home park in 2022, he’s hitting a cool .311 with a .466 SLG and .155 ISO.

Corey Dickerson, STL ($2,500 FD/$2,800 DK) - Nine at-bats. Three hits. Two home runs. A .333 batting average and .500 wOBA. Since returning as a starter, he has served up a 4.84 ERA and 2.82 HR/9 over his last five starts. Dickerson is a known righty-killer, and in 2022, he’s hitting .306 with a .782 OPS against righties, not to mention that 21 of his 22 extra-base hits this season have come against righties.

 

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