3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays for Monday 5/20/24

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3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays for Monday 5/20/24

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

Marcus Stroman, P, Yankees ($7,900)

Monday's main slate on FanDuel doesn't feature many intriguing values at pitcher, but I can get behind Marcus Stroman in a home date with the Seattle Mariners.

Stro has looked sharp to kick off his New York Yankees career, notching 40 FanDuel points in three of nine starts while pitching to a 3.33 ERA. He's again outperforming his SIERA (4.48) and FIP (4.96), but that's nothing unusual for the grounder-heavy righty. Stroman still has strong quality of contact metrics, letting up just 7.7% barrel and 36.6% hard-hit rates.

A 90th-percentile 55.6% ground-ball rate has helped Stroman pick up three quality starts even though he's been pulled in the sixth inning four times.

While he doesn't have the strikeout stuff we typically look for in fantasy pitchers (19.9% K rate and 9.0% swinging-strike rate), it's not like Stroman isn't punching anyone out. He has seven- and nine-K outings to his name, so there's more upside than you'd think against the free-swinging Mariners.

After striking out at the second-highest clip in 2023, Seattle leads the league with a 28.1% K rate this season. They've somehow been even worse versus righties, against whom that K rate jumps to 29.1%. They're 24th in wOBA (.301) and 19th in ISO (.141) in that split.

As of Monday afternoon, we project Stroman for 26.5 FanDuel points.

Andy Pages, OF, Dodgers ($2,900)

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the slate's highest implied total (4.98), making them one of today's top stacks.

Whether you're stacking Dodgers or not, Andy Pages is worth a look given his recent production and spot in LA's lineup.

Pages and the Dodgers are up against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight. The D-backs are expected to open with lefty Joe Mantiply before transitioning to righty Slade Cecconi as a bulk reliever. Mantiply hasn't completed more than 1 2/3 innings this season, so I'd be surprised to see him last long enough to face Pages at the bottom of the order.

So, most of Pages' ABs will come against Cecconi -- a second-year arm who's been all over the map in 2024. He's running a 5.27 ERA through 27.1 innings this season, with his 2.97 expected ERA and 4.67 SIERA telling different stories.

Still, he's only managed an 18.3% K rate and is letting up 1.65 HR/9.

Pages owns a .324 wOBA and .207 ISO against righties. He's coming off a string of quality outings, notching at least 6.0 FanDuel points in four straight games. That includes a 22.2-point effort yesterday thanks to his fifth homer of the year. Pages owns +680 odds to hit a home run on FanDuel Sportsbook.

The biggest downside with Pages is his spot in the order, but batting eighth does allow him to be on base ahead of the top of the order. That's allowed him to score 18 runs in 30 games. Pages has +120 odds to record a run tonight.

Bryan De La Cruz, OF, Marlins ($2,900)

It's not every day I want to roster Miami Marlins in DFS, but Bryan De La Cruz has been playing well and gets a soft matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers will start righty Joe Ross tonight. Ross has a middling 4.61 ERA through eight starts, supplemented by a 4.12 xERA and 4.38 SIERA. His K rate is down to 19.3% this season while he's surrendered 10% barrel and 41.5% hard-hit rates thus far.

Ross has also been worse against righties, against whom he's allowed a .357 wOBA and owns a 4.76 FIP.

That bodes well for righty Bryan De La Cruz. He's averaging a cool 9.9 FanDuel points per game this season and has notched at least 9 FanDuel points in four of his last six games. He's been especially impactful against righties thanks to a .342 wOBA and .238 ISO.

De La Cruz has +115 odds to record 2+ total bases on FanDuel Sportsbook, and our projections peg him for 10.6 FanDuel points tonight. As the second hitter in the Marlins lineup, De La Cruz should have ample opportunities to rack up counting stats in a plus matchup.

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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.