MLB

4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 5/3/16

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl May 3rd, 2016
Edwin Encarnacion has a great matchup against Martin Perez tonight. 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.

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

Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays

FanDuel Price: $3,300

The Toronto Blue Jays are at home against a struggling lefty, and unsurprisingly they have the highest implied total of the night. Martin Perez is having a brutal season so far, and the Jays' lineup is loaded with strong right-handed hitters. Edwin Encarnacion is a big part of that group, and with such a low price tag tonight, it's hard not to start any conversation about the first base position with his name.

Over his career, Encarnacion has a .376 wOBA and a .232 ISO against left-handed pitchers, with a 48.5 percent fly ball rate and 34.2 percent hard-hit rate.

Perez has a higher walk rate (12.2 percent) than strikeout rate (11.4 percent) through five games this season and is sporting an awful 5.42 SIERA. He has allowed a career .337 wOBA to righties wit ha 4.38 xFIP, and his night is likely going to be a miserable one.

Kiké Hernandez, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

FanDuel Price: $2,100

Kiké Hernandez is criminally under-priced against Matt Moore and the Rays tonight.

Moore has had a very strong start to the season, but it's hard to ignore his career .413 wOBA and 10.3 percent walk rate or his 4.15 xFIP against righties.

Hernandez has been very successful in 147 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in his young career, with a .458 wOBA and .273 ISO. These obviously aren't sustainable numbers, and he has an absurd .414 BABIP, but even with variance on his side over a small sample, it's hard not to be intrigued by his 36.2 percent hard-hit and only a 4.8 percent soft-hit rate. With a price tag this low, there's not a lot to lose here, while you get some big upside.

Our projections also have Hernandez as the top value of the day.

Curtis Granderson, OF, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Matt Wisler is getting the start for the Braves tonight, and that means big things for Mets lefties. Wisler has a 4.85 SIERA and 15.6 percent strikeout rate through 134.1 Major League innings and has allowed a .408 wOBA to lefties with a 6.13 xFIP.

While the sample size, once again, is small, his 14.8 percent home run-to-fly ball ratio and .313 BABIP are much tamer than you'd expect with numbers that poor, and we shouldn't expect him to look even serviceable against left-handed hitters any time soon.

Curtis Granderson, on the other hand, has been terrific against right-handed pitching through his career, with a .370 wOBA and .234 ISO. He has a 44.4 percent fly ball rate and has huge upside against Wisler tonight.

Yasmany Tomas, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Justin Nicolino is starting on the mound for the Marlins tonight, and while he only has 13 Major League games to draw numbers from, he has really struggled. He has only a 7.7 percent strikeout rate and a 5.56 SIERA in 81.1 innings pitched.

Yasmany Tomas is another young guy with a relatively small sample size, but he hasn't been kind to left-handed pitchers through his young career, with a .378 wOBA, .237 ISO, and 38.2 percent walk rate.

It's easy to like targeting Nicolino tonight because the Diamondbacks have the fifth-highest implied total of the day. Plus, Tomas is a hitter with a ton of upside who gives you exposure to the Arizona offense without paying a premium.