Zach Thompson dives into Tuesday night’s featured MLB DFS slate on DraftKings to find undervalued players to put in your lineups.
For a second straight day, Major League Baseball has a juicy 10-game slate on tap for MLB DFS contests on DraftKings this Tuesday. The action begins with another 7:07 p.m. ET start in Toronto and offers 20 teams of players in the pool to pick from. With so many strong options in favorable matchups near the top of the salary structure, you may need to find some cheaper salary savers to slide in at other spots. In this post, I’ll highlight my top three MLB DFS value picks, who bring a good upside as bargain plays on Tuesday’s slate.
It’s always critical to check the forecast before locking in your lineup, and on Tuesday, there are a few places where rain could play a factor. Tampa, Atlanta, and Colorado are three of the best hitters’ parks on the board, but each has rain concerns to watch as we approach gametime. Be sure to confirm the weather is going to work in those places and that your players are in the starting lineup and ready to produce, especially your MLB DFS value picks.
Check out the full range of MLB coverage from the team at DraftKings Network, since these bargains are just one piece of the MLB DFS picture to consider.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $225K Rally Cap [$50K to 1st]!
SP Landen Roupp, San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves, $7,300
Roupp had a very rough outing in Los Angeles against the Dodgers in mid-June, but he has been very strong aside from that and earned some redemption just before the All-Star break with a strong outing at home against the Dodgers. He had 22.7 fantasy points in that outing against L.A. in his most recent start, going six innings and allowing just one earned run while picking up eight strikeouts.
On the season, Roupp has two earned runs or fewer in 11 of his last 13 starts and has a 2.44 ERA, 3.56 FIP and 1.37 WHIP in those starts, dating back to the start of May. He has at least 18 fantasy points in three of his last five starts, and at least 16 fantasy points in seven of his last 11.
Roupp faced the Braves in early June and earned the win despite giving up three runs in six innings. He will look for a more effective outing but similar end results in this rematch in Atlanta. The weather could be an issue, but as long as it looks like a dry start, Roupp has the highest ceiling and most consistent results of the value options in Tuesday’s probable starting pitchers.
1B/3B Will Wagner, Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees, $2,700
The Blue Jays continued their recent mastery of the Yankees with a 4-1 win on Monday night, and they’ll look to further add to their AL East lead in Tuesday’s matchup with rookie righty Cam Schlittler ($8,000). Schlittler impressed in his MLB debut on July 9 but has been dealing with upper arm soreness, which has kept him from making a start since then.
Wagner sat out on Monday since the Jays were taking on a lefty but should be back in the batting order on Tuesday night. The 26-year-old lefty is a nice value at either corner infield spot after going 7-for-15 (.467) in his last five games with three doubles, four runs scored and four RBI. Since rejoining the team at the end of June, Wagner has gone 11-for-33 (.333) with a .405 wOBA and a 48% hard-hit rate.
While Wagner doesn’t bring the elite ceiling with power or speed of the next bargain option in this post, Wagner has been very consistent and made solid contributions when he has been given opportunities for the Jays. He brings a high floor if he’s back in the lineup on Tuesday against Schlittler.
2B Brice Matthews, Houston Astros at Arizona Diamondbacks, $2,100
Matthews had gotten off to a slow start to his first tenure in the majors, but he broke through with a monster game on Monday night, going 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and 34 fantasy points. With the Astros still missing Isaac Paredes (hamstring), Jeremy Pena (ribs), Jake Meyers (calf), Yordan Alvarez (hand), and Zach Dezenzo (hand), Matthews should get a long look at 2B to see if the prospect is ready to take over the job on a full-time basis heading into next year.
The 23-year-old righty had 10 homers and 25 stolen bases in his 73 games this year for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. He hit .283 with a solid .393 wOBA. His 30.2% strikeout rate at Triple-A shows he still has some things to adjust in his swing, but he has the potential to produce big games with power, speed or both for as long as he stays in the Astros’ everyday order. Matthews should get the start on Tuesday against Eduardo Rodriguez ($7,700) in Arizona, and if he does, he’s definitely worth considering at this salary just over the minimum.
