3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays for Monday 6/26/23
Finding low-salary production is one way to get a leg up on the competition in MLB DFS.
Here are some low-salary players to target on FanDuel for tonight's main slate.
Advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.
Eugenio Suarez, 3B, Seattle Mariners ($2600)
Eugenio Suarez is definitely having a down year compared to the rest of his career. He should experience some regression, and has a good matchup tonight.
Suarez was one of the game's best power hitters for the last handful of seasons heading into 2023. He had posted at least a .223 isolated slugging percentage (ISO) for the last five seasons. This year, that's down to .118. His weighted on-base average (wOBA) is also lower than normal but his expected wOBA (xwOBA) is just .05 below where it was last season.
In the Statcast data, we can see he is still barreling the ball at a 11.5% clip. He's also carrying the second-best exit velocity of his career, so we should expect him to improve moving forward.
The Seattle Mariners will face the Washington Nationals and Trevor Williams tonight. Williams has seen his strikeout rate drop to just 17.3%, and has an expected ERA (xERA) of 5.23. He's also allowing opponents to barrel the ball 11.8% of the time, the highest in his career.
Seattle has an implied team total of 4.81 runs tonight, the third-highest on tonight's slate. Suarez should bat sixth, and is a nice value piece to add to your lineup.
Matt Thaiss, C, Los Angeles Angels ($2500)
Matt Thaiss definitely is not the biggest name in the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels, but he's having a nice season for himself.
In his fourth season in the big leagues, Thaiss has developed into a nice hitter. He's posting career highs in wOBA (.351) and weighted runs created plus (wRC+) at 123. Those numbers improve to .358 and 128 when facing right-handed pitchers, which he will do tonight.
The Angels are taking on Dylan Cease tonight. Cease was a dominant pitcher last season, but hasn't been the same this year. His xERA is up to 4.40 this season and his numbers across the board are worse against lefties.
Thaiss is the fourth-best value hitter on the slate by numberFire's model. He makes for a solid option if you want to add him to Angels' stacks, and use him to balance out the salaries of their star players.
Kevin Newman, SS, Cincinnati Reds ($2700)
No team in baseball has been hotter than the Cincinnati Reds. They have different players getting the headlines, but Kevin Newman might be the best value option.
Newman's numbers are fairly pedestrian on the whole, with just a .310 wOBA and a .114 ISO. That changes when he faces lefties, his wOBA shoots up to .407 and his ISO is .221. He should be hitting leadoff against a beatable lefty tonight.
Cole Irvin will take the mound tonight for the Baltimore Orioles against the Reds. Irvin has only pitched 23.1 innings this season, and has an xERA of a whopping 8.99.
Cincinnati is an underdog tonight, but they have a healthy implied team total of 4.77 runs. Getting a leadoff hitter with the platoon advantage for this salary on a team expected to score runs is something to target, putting Newman as one of the best value hitters on the slate.
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.