MLB

4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 5/1/16

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl May 1st, 2016
After going yard last night, Derek Dietrich has a great matchup again today. Who else should you target for big time fantasy value?

Building daily fantasy baseball lineups can be intimidating. On any given slate, you have a massive number of options in front of you and a ton of factors to consider.

We're here to help take some of that burden off and break down some hitters who you can slot into your lineup for nice and cheap, while still being well-positioned to provide your lineup with solid fantasy production.

Derek Dietrich, 3B, Miami Marlins

FanDuel Price: $2,100

With Dee Gordon suspended for 80 games, Derek Dietrich is getting a big bump in playing time. He made a big impact while hitting lead-off yesterday, hitting a home run and driving in two RBI's in a Miami win.

His career batting stats (at least against right-handed pitchers) are very encouraging -- he's sported a .342 wOBA and .205 ISO with a 40.8 percent fly ball rate and 34.6 percent hard hit rate.

His salary is so low that he's really hard to ignore tonight, especially against Wily Peralta, who tends to struggle with lefties. He has allowed a career .354 wOBA to lefties with a 4.25 xFIP and 16.1 percent strikeout rate, and he makes Dietrich that much more appealing as one of the best values on the slate.

David Peralta, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $3,100

The Diamondbacks have the highest implied total on the slate as they take on Chad Bettis and the Colorado Rockies. Bettis has a career 4.28 SIERA, a 16.9 percent strikeout rate, and has allowed a .332 wOBA with a 4.37 xFIP to lefties over his career.

David Peralta is a lefty well-positioned to give Bettis a hard time tonight. Through his first couple of seasons, Peralta has crushed right-handed pitchers to the tune of a .380 wOBA and .210 ISO, giving him big upside while hitting in the heart of the most potent offense of the night gives a bump to both his fantasy floor and ceiling.

Miguel Sano, OF, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $3,500

Any time Mike Pelfrey is pitching, your eyes should light up a bit. Pelfrey's career numbers are pretty brutal, with a 4.71 SIERA and a 12.9 percent strikeout rate while allowing a wOBA above .330 and sporting an xFIP above 4.10 to hitters of both handedness.

The matchup makes it especially easy to like Miguel Sano tonight. Strikeouts are always a big concern with Sano, who has a 35.4 percent strikeout rate against righties, but Pelfrey's numbers being so dramatically low goes a long way to alleviate those concerns.

Sano has a career .375 wOBA and .233 ISO with a 38.4 percent hard-hit rate and 42.1 percent fly-ball rate in his 333 career plate appearances against right-handed pitchers, and without having to worry about strikeouts much, this is exactly the kind of matchup you like to see him in.

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies

FanDuel Price: $3,600

While $3,600 is a little bit above the price range I usually try to keep things in here, there are couple of factors in play. First is that, for an outfielder, $3,600 is still a fairly low price tag, with 17 outfielders priced higher. Second, and more importantly, is that it's just far too low a price tag for Carlos Gonzalez in this matchup.

The Rockies have the third highest implied total of the day against Shelby Miller, a righty with an uninspiring 4.16 career SIERA who has allowed a .323 wOBA with a 4.57 xFIP to left-handed hitters.

Gonzalez has crushed righties over his career, with an outstanding .395 wOBA and .262 ISO, and even against a talented righty he tends to be in play as a fantasy option. Against Miller today though, with the whole Rockies offense fairly well-positioned, Gonzalez becomes an incredible play.