MLB

5 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 4/20/16

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl Apr 20th, 2016
Ryan Howard offers solid home run upside against Bartolo Colon and the Mets tonight. Who else should you be targeting for big value in daily fantasy?

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.

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

Ryan Howard, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies

FanDuel Price: $2,900

Ryan Howard hasn't been playing like the superstar he once was over the past few season, but our own Sal Cacciatore took a look at Howard's start to this season and found that his numbers are trending towards a bounce-back year.

In addition to that, over the last four seasons, when Howard's struggles have been most pronounced, he has still fared quite well against right-handed pitching. He only posted a wOBA below .320 once (with two seasons above .340) and has a .200-plus ISO in three of those four seasons.

Playing at home against Bartolo Colon puts Howard in a great spot tonight. The right-handed Colon has a career 4.13 SIERA, allowing a .328 wOBA to lefties. He also has a 44.1 percent fly ball rate against lefties, and with Howard's power as well as the fact that Citizens Bank Park (over the past five seasons, ranks top-10 in home runs hit by lefties), Howard is a cost-effective way to find huge upside tonight.

Lucas Duda, 1B, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $2,700

The Mets are coming off of a huge 11-run performance last night and have the second highest implied total on today's slate as they take on Jeremy Hellickson and the Phillies.

Hellickson's career 4.28 SIERA is one of the highest among today's starters, and his struggles are especially pronounced against left-handed hitters, posting a 15.8 percent strikeout rate and 4.70 xFIP.

Lucas Duda has a habit of beating up on right-handed pitchers. He has a career .362 wOBA and .224 ISO against righties, with a 47.9 percent fly ball rate and 38.8 percent hard hit rate.

Just like Howard, Duda also benefits from playing in one of the more lefty-friendly parks for home runs, and with the Mets likely to put up big numbers against Hellickson, Duda is a great play.

Neil Walker, 2B, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $2,900

Coming off of a two home run game last night, Neil Walker went from "strong play" to "sure to be one of the most popular plays on the slate". There's good reason for that though, and you can be confident in the fact that playing Walker tonight isn't just point chasing.

I already touched on Hellickson's shaky numbers, especially against left-handed hitting, and Walker, a switch-hitter, does by far his best work as a lefty, taking on right-handed pitching.

He has a career .346 wOBA and .182 ISO against righties, with a solid 33.9 percent hard-hit rate. You're going to want plenty of exposure to the Mets offense today, and Walker can offer some great production without putting you in a tough spot salary-wise.

Odubel Herrera, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

FanDuel Price: $2,900

It does, admittedly, feel strange writing up two Phillies bats in the same day. But here we are. Odubel Herrera has looked very promising through his first season-and-a-bit, and as a lefty he too has a pretty solid matchup against Bartolo Colon tonight.

Herrera has managed a .340 wOBA and .130 ISO against right-handed pitchers, and hitting second in the order, even if the rest of the Phillies lineup struggles to get it going, he's locked in to a decent number of plate appearances.

Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $2,500

Oswaldo Arcia finds himself in a great spot tonight. He's been batting fifth for the Twins over the last two games, and he'll be playing in the hitter-friendly Miller Park against a pitcher in Jimmy Nelson that tends to struggle against lefties.

Nelson has allowed a career .358 wOBA to lefties with a 4.46 xFIP. Arcia's career numbers against right-handers inspire a lot of confidence in this matchup, with a .347 wOBA and .231 ISO. He does tend to strike out at a high rate, and he's not the safest option you're going to find, but he offers solid upside with an incredibly low price tag.