3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays for Tuesday 5/7/24

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3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays for Tuesday 5/7/24

Finding low-salary production is one way to get a leg up on the competition in MLB DFS.

Here are some value plays to target on FanDuel for today's main slate.

Advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs. Betting lines via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Betting odds as well as our projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- may change after this article is published.

MLB DFS Value Plays

Bailey Ober, P, Twins ($8,500)

Bailey Ober was pummeled for 9 hits and 8 runs over 1 1/3 innings in his first start of the season. He exited with -17 FanDuel points.

Since then, Ober has turned in three quality starts in five tries. He's pitched to 3.65 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) while racking up 24.3% strikeout (K) and 5.4% walk (BB) rates over that span. Opponents have hit just .162 against him in this stretch.

While his 32.1% groundball rate leaves something to be desired, stellar 7.7% barrel and 32.1% hard-hit rates have allowed the flyball pitcher to stay effective.

That's resulted in some strong fantasy performances. Ober is averaging 35.6 FanDuel points per game over his last five starts and has exceeded 30 FanDuel points in four of them.

Today's date with the Seattle Mariners bodes well for his chances of piecing together another quality DFS outing.

The Mariners enter today averaging the fourth-fewest runs per game (3.57). They've particularly struggled against righties, ranking 20th in wOBA (.295), 19th in ISO (.138), and dead-last in K rate (29.1%).

Our projections are in on Ober today, pegging him for 30.2 FanDuel points. At salary, that makes him the top point-per-dollar value among pitchers (3.56 FanDiel points per $1,000).

I buy what our model is selling and will gladly garner Ober's services at a discounted salary.

LaMonte Wade Jr., Giants, 1B/OF ($3,000)

The San Francisco Giants have the slate's highest implied total (5.78) in a Coors Field matchup with the Colorado Rockies, but their lineup doesn't have a single salary north of $3.3K.

That should be music to our ears in DFS.

They'll be a popular stack, but I can get behind LaMonte Wade Jr -- even as a one-off.

The 30-year-old lefty is off to a strong start this season, registering a .409 wOBA and 42.3% hard-hit rate. Though he's averaging a mere 6.7 FanDuel points per game, Wade's absurd .469 on-base percentage should give him plenty of chances to rack up counting stats from the No. 2 spot in the order tonight. He has -140 odds to score a run and +125 odds to record an RBI on FanDuel Sportsbook.

His wOBA ticks up to .416 against righties -- something that will come in handy against Colorado's Dakota Hudson.

Hudson has been dreadful this season, pitching to a 5.93 ERA and 5.25 SIERA through six starts. He's not striking anyone out (12.8% K rate) and has let opponents compile a .355 wOBA against him.

It's been even worse for Hudson at Coors Field, where he's allowed 13 runs and 20 hits in just 13 1/3 innings pitched.

On top of that, he's been much more vulnerable to opposing lefties for his career, giving up a .331 wOBA and a dreadful 1.6% strikeout minus walk (K-BB) rate.

That all lines up well for LaMonte Wade. We project the 1B/OF for 14.5 FanDuel points, tied for third overall on the slate and making him far the top point-per-dollar value on the board (4.82 FanDuel points per $1,000).

Alex Verdugo, OF, Yankees ($3,000)

As the cleanup hitter for an above average New York Yankees lineup, it's not hard for me to like Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo has kicked off his Yankees career in style, posting a .342 wOBA with 12.5% BB and 10.3% K rates.

He's continued last year's trend of mashing right-handed pitchers, hitting .293 with three of his four home runs coming against righties. He belted 12 of his 13 homers against righties last season, posting a .279 average in that split.

For his career, Verdugo has a .345 wOBA and .172 ISO against righties compared to a .294 wOBA and .091 ISO against lefties.

So, naturally, we're happy to target him against righty Justin Verlander.

The future hall-of-famer finally showed some cracks last year, and that's continued into this season. Through three starts, Verlander has a 4.80 SIERA, 19.1% K rate, and 10.3% BB rate. His velocity is down across the board, and he's giving up a ton of contact in the zone just like last season.

Verlander still has something left in the tank, but he's not someone we should shy away from, especially against lefties at Yankee Stadium -- Statcast's fifth-best park for left-handed power.

Given Verdugo's strong right-handed splits, and the fact that it's Dinger Tuesday, it may be worth looking into the lefty in the prop market, too. Verdugo boasts +600 odds to hit a home run and +130 odds to record a run on FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Looking to build some MLB DFS lineups? Check out FanDuel’s daily fantasy baseball lobby to see all the offerings for today’s slates.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.