MLB

4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 4/8/16

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl Apr 8th, 2016
Colby Rasmus has a great matchup tonight against Chase Anderson and the Brewers. Who else is a solid value play?

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 you with solid fantasy production.

Let's take a look at where we can find value on today's slate.

John Jaso, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates

FanDuel Price: $2,600

John Jaso is a guy who really needs to be up against a righty to be even worth consideration in fantasy. He hits lefties very poorly, which keeps his total numbers down, but he has been solid against right-handed pitching, with a career .352 wOBA and .155 ISO.

He's up against a righty tonight in Alfredo Simon and is in a hitter-friendly environment at Great American Ballpark. Simon struggles against left-handed hitters, having allowed a career .339 wOBA with only a 14.8 percent strikeout rate, and this is exactly the kind of matchup in which Jaso can do some real damage.

Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $2,300

Franklin Gutierrez and his low salary give you an incredibly cheap way to get exposure to the Seattle offense, which has the third-highest implied total on the slate.

Pitching for Oakland today will be Eric Surkamp. He doesn't have a big sample size to draw from, having pitched only 57 career innings, but his numbers have been ugly. He sports a 5.05 SIERA, with only a 13.9 percent strikeout rate and an 11.6 percent walk rate.

Gutierrez isn't just simply a cheap option in a good spot, but he also hits lefties well, with a career .360 wOBA and .200 ISO.

Colby Rasmus, OF, Houston Astros

FanDuel Price: $3,000

While we're on the topic of getting exposure to the top offenses of the day, you don't want to ignore the Astros. Milwaukee's Miller Park is one of the more hitter-friendly parks in the league, their starter Chase Anderson is pretty middling as far as pitchers on this slate go, and the Astros have the second-highest implied total of the night.

Anderson's not the kind of pitcher you have to trip over yourself trying to attack, but he's in an unfavorable spot today as a righty against the Astros in a hitter's park. Therefore, Colby Rasmus becomes a strong fantasy play.

Rasmus owns a career .338 wOBA with a .212 ISO and a 47.0 percent fly ball rate against right-handed pitching. Things seem to be lining up really nicely for him today.

David Peralta, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $3,500

David Peralta has been excellent against right-handed pitching through his career with a .386 wOBA, .214 ISO, and 17.7 percent strikeout rate.

The Cubs are starting righty Jason Hammel tonight, whose career .340 wOBA allowed to left-handed hitters is very encouraging. He's not going to be a pushover, though. His 18.2 percent strikeout rate and 4.08 SIERA are in the middle of the pack among today's starters, but in a hitter-friendly Chase Field and against a right-hander, Peralta is a very strong fantasy option.