3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Friday 6/10/22
With production being highly variable on a night-to-night basis, daily fantasy baseball plays a bit differently than other sports.
As a result of this, the primary method of selecting hitters is to "stack" certain teams in good spots to produce. Most of the top stacks on a given day come with hefty salaries. In addition to that, a vast majority of pitchers with the upside to win tournaments are high-salaried hurlers.
Therefore, crushing your value plays can be the secret sauce to taking down a tournament. That could be a low-salaried pitcher piling up strikeouts, or it could be a low-salaried hitter swatting a long ball.
Which budget options stand out today on FanDuel?
Alejandro Kirk, C, Blue Jays ($2,900)
Catcher is always a difficult pick for an All-Star ballot in either league, but you should really consider Alejandro Kirk for the American League if you vote.
Kirk's stellar 2022 has come against both sides of the plate. He's posted a .861 OPS against lefties, and surprisingly, it's even higher (.884) against righties. He's mashing any type of pitching in front of him.
It's insane he's just $2,900 facing Elvin Rodriguez. The Tigers' prospect has scuffled to a 10.13 ERA, and while that's mostly due to a 10-run blowup at Yankee Stadium, he's allowed at least four earned runs in three of his four starts.
The Blue Jays have the highest implied team run total (5.42) on Friday's main slate, and while most parts around Kirk are high-salaried, there are plenty of value pitchers -- including Toronto starter Jose Berrios -- that can help get up to the Jays' studs.
Max Muncy, 2B/3B, Dodgers ($2,900)
Before our eyes, Oracle Park is becoming the next Coors Field.
This season, the Giants' home ballpark is the 11th-best hitter's park in the league, according to Baseball Savant. That's a stark difference from the bottom-five mark it's held for years, and it makes me less concerned to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight.
L.A. actually has a 4.92 implied team total in San Francisco tonight. They're facing right-hander Jakob Junis, whose 2.53 ERA is masking a 3.73 FIP. Junis isn't a huge swing-and-miss guy, and the Giants' bullpen has the 10th-highest xFIP in baseball (4.08).
The potent Dodgers' offense comes with its stars, but Max Muncy is back off the injured list, and he returned in a notable way yesterday. Muncy's 96 wRC+ against right-handed pitching isn't phenomenal, but yesterday in Chicago was a great start.
Muncy, Justin Turner, and Cody Bellinger can help save salary when stacking L.A. if you're trying to fit in cross-state rival Joe Musgrove as well.
Steven Kwan, OF, Guardians ($2,600)
Kirk may get All-Star votes, but we can shift to the Rookie of the Year race to find Steven Kwan.
The Guardians' outfielder has raked in his first full tour in The Show. He's especially crushed right-handed pitching, holding a 124 wRC+ entering tonight's matchup with Oakland hurler Paul Blackburn.
Blackburn's 2.83 ERA is a total shock after posting a 5.87 mark last season. While he's been much better in 2022, his 3.83 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) -- in large part due to a 40.7% hard-hit rate -- isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. The A's bullpen has the sixth-worst xFIP in baseball (4.23), too.
As a result, in a friendly park for hitters, the Guards are a sneaky stack on Friday's loaded main slate. Importantly, they're a great one when targeting an ace considering Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, Myles Straw, and Andres Gimenez all sit below $3,000 on FanDuel.
