Welcome back to another edition of our MLB Value Plays for 4/26/17 on DraftKings. We will be offering up a pitcher under $8k, as well as a hitter at each position, and three in the outfield, that are priced $3.5k or under. A new feature to my value play article this year, we will be keeping track of how many home runs we are able to provide to our readers.
Last week was pretty solid actually. Jason Vargas gave us extreme value, and Chase Headley sent one over the fence for us. In addition to that, a number of these guys actually had pretty solid games, so while I do want to nail down value home runs, a solid game is a solid game.
* Editor’s note: Toronto @ St. Louis has been postponed. Please avoid using players from this game
Check out today’s MLB Moonshot contest at DraftKings 
Value Homers: 3
Let’s get things started!
Pitcher
Hector Santiago (MIN): $5,500 @ TEX
I’m going to say that this pick does come with some of risk, but most of it has to do with the stadium. Santiago isn’t exactly the best pitcher in the league, and to be honest, there are a number of solid options under $8k. Santiago also isn’t a high strikeout pitcher, so he doesn’t have a ton of upside in that area. I know I’m supposed to be trying to sell you on Santiago, but I’m getting there. Have you see the Rangers lately? No, I’m serious. They are all on the sides of milk cartons right now. They look absolutely awful, and against left-handed pitching, things look especially bleak for them this year. Their more reliable bats hit from the left side, and Santiago being a southpaw reduces their upside. Carlos Gomez, Mike Napoli and Ryan Rua don’t exactly instill fear in anyone right now, and Jonathan Lucroy shockingly has been better against righties this year. I think if you want to stack Coors or more high priced bats, Santiago is a great route in tournaments.
Catcher
Mike Zunino (SEA): $2,800 @ DET
Zunino is a strong, but frustrating tournament option. There will be 2-to-4 times this year at less than 3% ownership that Zunino will have a double dong game that sits on a tournament-winning roster. He’ll also have the vast majority of games where he’ll go 1-for-4 with three strikeouts and a single. While Daniel Norris has been pretty solid against righty bats this year, he does have an almost 40% hard contact rate, which plays to Zunino’s only strength.
First Base
Jay Bruce (NYM): $3,300 vs. ATL
Oh, hello there. With Lucas Duda out [shock, awe!], Jay Bruce has moved to first base and now has dual eligibility. If anything can be said about Julio Teheran, it is that he’s been worse on the road and against lefties, so this is a double whammy. While he hasn’t been giving up a ton of hard contact, his wOBA against lefties is .384 and he’s allowed a 50% fly ball rate. He’s also been plagued with home run troubles in the past, so I don’t hate this play, especially considering the price, in tournaments.
Second Base
Cesar Hernandez (PHI): $3,500 vs. MIA
I have to admit being a little bit shocked at the fact that Hernandez is still priced here. He’s been pretty solid this year, and has been sending the ball out of the park more than one would think. Sure, that could regress, but with Wei-Yin Chen on the mound, I’m not worried about it happening tonight. Chen is a wildly erratic pitcher than actually doesn’t get considered as one by the masses, but his outcomes are usually at opposite ends of the spectrum. I don’t love a stack against him, but choosing some right-handed power against him isn’t silly. Yes, with four home runs this year, I am considering Hernandez right-handed power in this situation.
Third Base
Jedd Gyorko (STL): $3,400 vs. TOR
Be warned, this game does carry weather concerns right now, but it’s really, really hard to not want to throw some bats against Mat Latos tonight. If this game does play, Jedd Gyorko is someone I want to have a good amount of exposure to. He’s dirt cheap and has been a much better player this year than in years past. He was mostly a guy we ran out against left-handed pitching in 2016, but this year, he’s been hitting very well against both sides. I know there is risk to it, but we do have late swap on DK, so I feel fine mentioning him here.
Shortstop
Chris Owings (ARI): $3,400 vs. SDP
I have no idea what Chris Owings has to do to get more respect. While I’m at it, to try to get more interaction in these articles, a few weeks ago, I traded D.J. LeMahieu and Yadier Molina for Jake Lamb and Owings. I liked my catcher situation. I needed HR help, as my team was a great average team. Anyway, Owings has been lights out at home this season so far, and Trevor Cahill does not scare me. His 40% hard contact rate doesn’t play well at Chase Field, and I think Owings could be a great option tonight.
Outfield
Seth Smith (BAL): $3,500 vs. TAM
Seth Smith broke my heart last night with a pretty poor performance in what should have been a good matchup. Tonight is a new night, and he gets another good situation against Alex Cobb. In 2017, Cobb has been poor against lefties, sporting a .467 wOBA, 37.9% FB rate, 36.4% HR/FB rate and an absurd 53.3% HH rate. While regression will come, he could sure get blown up tonight. I like Smith’s upside.
Michael Conforto (NYM): $3,200 vs. ATL
I don’t necessarily want to stack against Teheran tonight, but Conforto is far too cheap tonight. I think Bruce and Conforto are the two most likely to go deep tonight, and you basically aren’t paying for them. If you want to stack Coors, these two are great ways to allow yourself to save some cap space.
Jason Heyward (CHC): $3,000 @ PIT
Tyler Glasnow is an interesting case. When he unravels, it’s more of a death by paper cuts than a bunch of long balls. His hard contact rates are laughably low, but at this price, I’m not concerned about that. Heyward is a very cheap bat, and he does have some power upside. I think he could be a sneaky option tonight, or he might be highly owned. It’s tough to say when Coors is on the slate.
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Nicholas Volinchak is a correspondent at FantasyPros. You can find more of Nicholas’ baseball work at Research Fantasy. To read more from Nicholas, follow him @researchandwin.
