Happy Cinco De Mayo! The Dodgers and Padres began their Mexico series with a combined no-hitter from four Dodgers pitchers last night. I expect the Dodgers to celebrate again today and there are plenty of options from that game that are in play today. The fun continues today in Game 2 and that’s just one of the spots where we’ll look on this ten-game main slate. I’ll get you prepared by uncovering some value plays to help us get in the dinero. There are plenty of real American dollars to be won today on DraftKings so let’s go!
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Pitcher
Cole Hamels (TEX): $6,900 vs. BOS (GPP Special)
This could end badly, but I also like the chances of this paying off big. This is certainly high-risk/high-reward with Mookie Betts currently on a tear. However, as a team, Boston is only managing a .138 ISO, .281 wOBA and 70 wRC+ against lefties. They had minimal success on Thursday against Mike Minor whose demise was issuing free passes late in the game and escalating his pitch count. Boston scored most of it’s runs after he made his exit. Hamels has allowed some serious hard contact lately, but he no plays the crafty veteran role and he’s still skilled enough that I expect a similar, but more efficient outing. If he can get ahead in counts early and get a lot of first-pitch swings, that could go a long way for him today.
Other Notables
Jameson Taillon (PIT): $7,400 @ MIL
Catcher
Yasmani Grandal (LAD): $3,800 @ SD
Like I mentioned above, I like the Dodgers today. This game is not at Petco, it is in Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey in Mexico and L.A. faces RHP Bryan Mitchell. Mitchell has not paid off his DraftKings salary once this year and I certainly don’t expect his first occurrence of game to happen today. Grandal is an early N.L. All-Star favorite, he has great platoon splits against righties and the Dodge is implied to score 5.5 runs. Plug him in.
Other Notables
Chris Iannetta (COL): $2,900 @ NYM
First Base
Ryon Healy (SEA): $3,700 vs. LAA
Healy’s batted ball data is spiking in all the right ways in the last two weeks. Let’s go through the list together. Escalated flyball rate and hard-hit rate above 40%? Check. Elevated exit velocity? Check. Increased batted ball distance? Check! I like the chances for Healy to barrel up a big fly today against the southpaw in Tyler Skaggs. Since his arrival to the bigs in 2016, he’s displayed a .223 ISO, .366 wOBA and 132 wRC+ against LHP.
Other Notables
Justin Bour (MIA): $3,400 @ CIN
Second Base
Chase Utley (LAD): $3,100 @ SD
I’ve highlighted the exploitable Bryan Mitchell already. The “Silver Fox” still has gas in the tank as evidenced by him legging out a triple last night on the base paths. He’s always had favorable platoon splits and has become a specialist versus RHP at this stage of his career. He’s cheap enough to still pay off value if he gets pulled late in the game. He’s sporting a .368 wOBA and a .138 wRC+ thus far in 2018 and he’s playable in cash or in a stack.
Other Notables
Asdrubal Cabrera (NYM): $3,700 vs. COL
Third Base
Eduardo Escobar (MIN): $3,800 @ CHW (also SS eligible)
Escobar is playing every day with the suspension of Jorge “Chulo” Polanco and the recent injury to Miguel Sano, the same goes for his teammate Ehire Adrianze. All Escobar has done in the last couple weeks has included a nine-game hit streak and a pair of homers in yesterdays game on the South Side of ChiTown. He’s simply on fire at the hot corner and close to must-play status in Twins stacks. He’s borderline playable in cash games as well.
Other Notables
Max Muncy (LAD): $3,300 @ SD
Shortstop
Trevor Story (COL): $4,000 @ NYM
Story is showing off both his power and speed to start 2018, must like his rookie campaign of 2016. While $4,000 is a bit of a stretch for value, his penchant for multi-category contribution is worth it when he matches up against a lefty. He’s absolutely crushes LHP and he’s trimmed his K% and boosted his BB% this year, proving his plate discipline is improving. His career platoon splits are absurd and he’s slightly below those marks in 2018.
Other Notables
Ehire Adrianze (MIN): $2,600 @ CHW
Outfield
More Dodgers!
Chris Taylor $3,800/ Joc Pederson $4,000/Matt Kemp $3,500/Alex Verdugo $3,200: (LAD) @ SD
It’s entirely possible that one of these guys sits out today. Fine! That just makes building our stacks that much easier. I like any of these guys as a one-off play as well for tournaments. I’d stick to Taylor and Verdugo in cash games if you’re looking for solid values. You may not get to play Taylor in the OF for much longer, so plug him in while he’s starting to heat up. Play whoever you want, they’re all in play today. Go nuts!
Matt Joyce (OAK): $3,000 vs. BAL
Joyce is a cheap leadoff hitter when the A’s get a RHP. He made a nice play crashing into the left field last night, so make sure he’s in the lineup today before you set your lineups. The strange thing for Joyce is that he’s actually hit LHP better this year. For his career though, he carries a .205 ISO, .349 wOBA and 122 wRC+ against righties. If he’s out, a fantastic pivot for the same exact price with nice batted ball data is listed below.
Other Notables
Robbie Grossman (MIN): $3,000 @ CHW
Jesse Winker $3,500/Adam Duvall $3,900: (CIN) vs. MIA
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Josh Dalley is a DFS correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, follow him on Twitter @JoshDalley72.
