On this day in 1991, the then longest nine-inning game of all time was played between a pair of Sox, which lasted a grand total of 4 hours and 11 minutes. Last year in the NLDS, the Cubs and Nationals played a 4 hour, 37-minute game that was done after nine innings. Granted, that game was ripe with relief pitcher switches and mound visits, but it is not a surprise that ol’ commish Manfred put in some rules you may have heard about to speed up the pace of play. How does this relate to DFS today? Well, it’s my job to give you the speed version of the value plays in today’s 14-game slate, especially on a day with not much pitching. Without further ado…

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Pitcher

Jack Flaherty (STL): $7,300 @ MIN
Trevor Williams (PIT): $7,200 vs. CWS
There are far fewer aces on the bump than last Tuesday, but you should absolutely have Gerrit Cole on your cash team. Pitching against an inexperienced pitcher in Jaime Barria in an extreme pitcher’s park, look for Cole to pile on the points Tuesday. Meanwhile, you have two great options to choose from in the middle tier of fantasy pitchers.

Flaherty has just been called up to pitch while ace Carlos Martinez is on the DL. While he did fare not well in his last big league start, he has struck out 11 in just ten innings pitched with a 3.60 ERA in the majors. More significantly, he struck out 13 batters over 6 2/3 innings of work (and did not issue a free pass) in his last minor league start. The Twins do play in a hitter’s park of course, but Flaherty has the stuff to surprise the Twins, who are in the middle of the pack in hitting. Miguel Sano is still on the DL, so they have one less power bat to do damage against Flaherty. He is opposite Jose Berrios, who has been inconsistent over his past few starts, giving him a decent chance at a win.

Trevor Williams is going against the anemic White Sox in a pitcher’s park. Williams’ ERA is not supported by his secondary stats (4.60 FIP, 81% strand rate, .223 BABIP), but one can throw those numbers out the window against the pitiful Sox. Additionally, he will be facing the pitcher in this interleague matchup, as opposed to a DH. Williams does have low K rates, but he has a great likelihood to pick up a win.

Other Notables

• Nick Pivetta (PHI): $7,200 @ BAL – better pitcher than Williams, but chance of postponement

Catcher

James McCann (DET): $3,100 vs. CLE
There are a few nice plays in the top tier, but I’m not reaching. The Tigers are facing Josh “I give up 4.5 homers a game” Tomlin, who has a spectacular (for the wrong reasons) 8.06 ERA. I’ll be looking to stack any healthy Tigers against this gas can. This game is tied for the highest implied run total of 9.5 for the evening, so make sure to grab some guys from this game.

Other Notables

• Kurt Suzuki (ATL): $3,400 vs. CHC
• Tucker Barnhart (CIN): $3,000 @ SF

First Base

John Hicks (DET): $3,400 vs. CLE
Hicks has filled in quite well for an injured Miguel Cabrera, collecting seven hits over the past four games with four runs scored and a dinger. Again, Hicks is facing Tomlin, so he is absolutely worth playing at first, and then loading up other positions that are scarcer. He makes for a good play in GPP. Victor Martinez is not a bad play here as well.

Other Notables

• Jose Martinez (STL): $3,200 @ MIN – safe floor (good for cash), but going against a better pitcher
• Justin Smoak (TOR): $3,200 @ NYM – big power bat, wind blowing way out, but going against Thor

Middle Infield

Second base and short seem to be a wasteland for value picks lately, so I’ll give you a few options with a brief synopsis for each:

Jose Peraza (CIN): $3,300 @ SF
Facing gas can Ty Blach.

Jonathan Schoop (BAL): $4,000 vs. PHI
Schoop Jon B is starting to heat up, playing in hitter’s park.

Jean Segura (SEA): $3,900 vs. TEX
Has to step up with Cano out of the lineup.

Third Base

A lot of players I would recommend here are injured (Todd Frazier, Jeimer Candelario), so that leaves us with…

Colin Moran (PIT): $3,400 vs. CWS
Moran is facing Reynaldo Lopez, who has a dazzling 2.44 ERA. However, if we go under the hood, we see a 5.54 xFIP, 83% strand rate, and .202 BABIP. I want to be on board when those stats inevitably come back to the mean. Moran’s discipline (10% walk rate, 16.5% K rate) should give him a few opportunities to drive the ball against Lopez.

Other Notables

• Yangervis Solarte (TOR): $3,200 @ NYM – going against Thor, but this is very low for his power bat

Outfield

Andrew McCutchen (SF): $3,700 vs. CIN
McCutchen is consistently undervalued in DFS, mainly due to his home park, but also due to him not being a sexy pick anymore. He is hitting over .370 in the past two weeks, and the power will come around any day now. I want to be in on Cutch before everyone hops back on the bandwagon.

Marcell Ozuna (STL): $3,600 @ MIN
Ozuna is starting to heat up, hitting over .300 in the past two weeks with a homer and even two swiped bags. Ozuna hates playing in the cold, and now that it seems the cold weather is gone, Ozuna is a great play at this price.

Other Notables

• Reds outfield: Duvall ($3,800) /Schebler ($3,600) make for nice plays against Blach
• Adam Jones (BAL): $3,600 vs. PHI
• Ian Happ (CHC): $3,600 @ ATL

My Lineup

• P: Cole
• P: Flaherty
• 1B: V. Martinez
• 2B: Schoop
• 3B: Moran
• SS: Segura
• OF: Castellanos – going for the Tigers mini-stack if he starts; otherwise will pivot to Trey Mancini or Adam Jones for an Orioles stack
• OF: McCutchen
• OF: Ozuna

A few games are likely to be delayed or even postponed, so be sure to pay close attention to the lineups when they are released and monitor the weather leading up to game time. For reference throughout the season, be sure to bookmark our overview of MLB Park Factors and how to Use Weather to Your Advantage in MLB DFS. Also, check out our GPP and Cash Games Primers to learn more about different daily fantasy game types specific to MLB. Best of luck!

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Carmen Maiorano is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Carmen, check out his archive and follow him @cmaiorano3.