FanDuel MLB: Friday Value Plays

FanDuel MLB: Friday Value Plays

This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.

PITCHER

Nathan Eovaldi, NYY at SD ($7,900): This should be a great matchup for Eovaldi, who moves from hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium to one of the better pitchers' parks in San Diego. He has a respectable 20 percent strikeout rate while the Padres have the worst wOBA (.283) against right-handed pitching and the fourth-worst strike out rate (23.8 percent) in baseball. The game opened up with a nice over/under of eight runs, with the Yankees being a slight favorite.

CATCHER
Jason Castro, HOU vs CHI ($2,900):
Miguel Gonzalez heads into the game with a 5.17 ERA, and both his xFIP against lefties (5.36) and on the road (4.88) are his worst splits. Castro has come around at the plate with a .815 OPS over the last month and has a .407 wOBA against right-handed pitchers at home this season. Castro also has BvP stats working in his favor going 4-for-12 against Gonzalez with three doubles and a home run. Note: George Springer has gone 4-for-9 against Gonzalez with two home runs.

FIRST BASE

Chris Carter, MIL at STL ($3,400): Carter is having an outstanding season with 19 home runs and 48 RBI, but, of course, he still strikes out a lot (only Trevor Story has more in the National League). Carter is still as capable as anyone to hit multiple home runs in any stadium, and he has always hit left-handed pitching better. He'll travel to St. Louis to take on Jaime Garcia and bring his .352 wOBA with him. Another interesting note on Carter is his power, as his .317 ISO against lefties is 43 points higher than any other season of his career.

SECOND BASE

Brian Dozier, $3,100 (MIN vs TEX): Right now it seems naïve to fade Dozier in cash games considering he's scored at least nine fantasy points in seven straight games. That shows that the floor is there and the fact that he's scored at least 24.9 fantasy points in five of his last 10 games shows there's a nice ceiling as well. Dozier has always hit southpaws better and has a whopping .454 wOBA this season against them. He'll get one at home Friday in Martin Perez, who has given up a .341 wOBA to right-handed hitters.

THIRD BASE

Travis Shaw, BOS vs LAA ($2,800): With no game at Coors Field, the Red Sox comes in with the highest expected team run total, according to Vegas. Shaw comes in as the cheapest Red Sox starter (note: Xander Boegarts is only $3,300) and has hit much better against righties (.359 wOBA) this season. He'll get Jhlouys Chacin in Fenway and should hit in a decent RBI spot behind JBJ and Hanley Ramirez.

Shortstop

Trevor Story, COL at LAD ($2,300): It's pretty hard to find someone at this price at a thin position who has 18 doubles, 19 home runs and 50 RBI this season. Story has likely seen a reduction in price due to a finger injury that kept him out of Wednesday's game. The good news is that if he's in the lineup, he's a steal. If he's not, Jhonny Peralta ($3,000), who hit a home run Thursday night and has good numbers against Matt Garza (1.149 OPS in 38 PAs), is a good alternative.

OUTFIELD

Jake Smolinski, OAK vs PIT ($2,700): Smolinski has worked his way into the Sean Rodriguez, Ryan Rua and Ryan Raburn category as far as being a lefty-killer from the right side of the plate. Smolinski has a ridiculous .576 wOBA this season against left-handed pitching and will face off against Jeff Locke and his 7.36 ERA on the road. An Oakland stack (Josh Phegley, Khris Davis, Danny Valencia and Marcus Semien) is a play that should go under the radar.

Cody Asche, PHI vs KC ($2,700): Asche and Odubel Herrera have been two of the few bright spots for the Phillies' offense, and Asche has finally moved up in the batting order, hitting third Wednesday and going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI. On the season, he has a .346 wOBA and will have the advantage of hitting at home. Ian Kennedy has struggled on the road this season with a 5.16 ERA, while giving up a .357 wOBA.

Trayce Thompson, LAD vs COL ($3,100): Did you know that Trayce was the brother of the NBA's Klay and got booed when he showed up during the playoffs at a Giants game with his LAD hat on? Thompson has been a nice find for the Dodgers, considering the Carl Crawford debacle, and he has a good matchup at home Friday against Jorge De La Rosa (a lefty). Trayce has a .397 wOBA at home this season and De La Rosa (10.69 road ERA) is giving up a .410 wOBA to right-handed hitters. It doesn't hurt that Thompson has gone 4-for-12 with a home run, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base over his last three games.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Kevin Payne plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: Fanduel: kevinccp, Draft Kings: kevinccp, Yahoo: kevinccp.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Payne
Kevin has worked for RotoWire over a decade and has covered basketball, baseball and football. A glutton for punishment, he roots for his hometown Bills, Sabres and the New York Yankees. You can follow him on Twitter @KCPayne26.
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