3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Wednesday 6/29/22
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 -- whether it be a pitcher unexpectedly piling up strikeouts or a low-salaried batter racking up points -- can be the secret sauce to taking down a tournament.
Which budget options stand out today on FanDuel?
Franmil Reyes, OF, Guardians ($2,400)
Franmil Reyes offers big-time pop at a low salary.
In 2021, Reyes recorded a .354 wOBA overall with a 45.2% hard-hit rate against right-handers. He'll see Dylan Bundy tonight, and it's a matchup he can take advantage of.
Bundy is permitting a 49.5% fly-ball rate to right-handers this season and has surrendered 1.79 dingers per nine since the start of 2021.
We project Reyes -- who has doubled in two straight -- for 10.8 FanDuel points and rate him as the slate's 10th-best point-per-dollar bat.
Rafael Ortega, OF, Cubs ($2,200)
Rafael Ortega has been slotted second in the Chicago Cubs' lineup for three consecutive nights, and he stands out as a great value if he's in that spot again today.
The Cubbies are hosting Hunter Greene, who is a pitcher you can justify rostering for yourself or stacking against. That's because he gets punchouts (28.9% strikeout rate) but also gives up a lot of loud contact (54.9% fly-ball rate and 2.57 homers per nine).
Ortega had a double and steal last night and owns a .344 wOBA this year versus right-handers.
In addition to Ortega, our model like a few Cubs value bats -- namely Ian Happ ($3,100) and Christopher Morel ($2,900) -- but Ortega rates out as the main slate's top point-per-dollar hitter with a projection of 11.9 FanDuel points.
Jorge Soler, OF, Marlins ($2,800)
Despite the Miami Marlins' underwhelming 4.15 implied total, I like Miami as a sneaky-good place to look for one-offs and mini-stacks in their clash with Andre Pallante.
Pallante has put up just a 15.0% strikeout rate over 48 2/3 MLB frames. While he keeps the ball on the ground (62.7% ground-ball rate), Pallante is also walking 10.2% of hitters. The batted-ball profile is really Pallante's lone positive.
Jorge Soler is a fly-ball hitter who should still be able to generate lift in this spot. He posted a 42.9% fly-ball rate in 2021 and has a 41.0% fly-ball rate this campaign. He's mashed his way to a .343 expected wOBA and 39.3% hard-hit rate so far this season. Soler's 28.4% strikeout rate -- his bugaboo -- isn't as big of a worry against Pallante.
We have Soler projected for 13.2 FanDuel points and rank him as the night's number-three point-per-dollar bat.
