MLB

4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 4/26/16

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl Apr 26th, 2016
Mike Pelfrey is one of the worst pitchers on the slate, and that could mean big things for Khris Davis tonight. Who else should you target?

Building daily fantasy baseball lineups can be intimidating. On any given slate, you have a massive number of options in front of you and a ton of factors to consider.

We're here to help take some of that burden off and break down some hitters who you can slot into your lineup for nice and cheap, while still being well-positioned to provide your lineup with solid fantasy production.

Let's take a look at where we can find value on today's slate.

Miguel Montero, C, Chicago Cubs

FanDuel Price: $2,500

The Brewers' Jimmy Nelson has been pretty bad against left-handed hitters through his first few seasons in the Majors with a 4.46 xFIP and allowing a .362 wOBA.

The Cubs have a few talented lefties in their lineup, but the most cost-effective one today is catcher Miguel Montero.

Montero's overall numbers (and thus his salary) are held back by some drastic platoon splits, but he has been solid against right-handed pitching through his career, wit ha .343 wOBA and .167 ISO. Against a guy as likely to struggle as Nelson, those numbers become even more appealing, especially when you account for just how cheaply you can get Montero today.

Joe Mauer, 1B, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $3,100

To start the season, Joe Mauer has shown us that he still has gas left in the tank at 33, and he looks to be bouncing back to his former ways.

He's hitting .329/.455/.457 to start the season with a .390 wOBA. Looking at his career numbers, taking on right-handed pitchers gives him a big boost, and he has a .384 wOBA and .161 ISO against righties, meaning his matchup with Cody Anderson is an interesting one.

Anderson is only in his second year in the Majors, and we don't have a huge sample size to draw from, but he has looked pretty terrible so far. Through 18 games, he has managed a 4.83 SIERA and 12.4 percent strikeout rate. Especially encouraging for Mauer is Anderson's 4.86 xFIP and his .339 wOBA allowed against lefties.

Khris Davis, OF, Oakland Athletics

FanDuel Price: $2,700

The Oakland offense has the good fortune of getting a matchup with the Tigers while Mike Pelfrey is on the mound. There's not a lot of good to say about Pelfrey, who sports a career 4.71 SIERA and a 12.9 percent strikeout rate.

Khris Davis hits pitchers of both handedness well and has a .346 career wOBA and .230 ISO against righties with a 38.7 percent hard hit rate.

Pelfrey is about as good a matchup as you can ask for, and especially with Oakland sporting the third-highest implied total of the night, Davis is nice and cheap, providing great value.

Justin Upton, OF, Detroit Tigers

FanDuel Price: $2,800

Another nice value in the outfield on the other side of that Athletics/Tigers game is Justin Upton.

Upton has had a slow start to the season, giving him a very low daily fantasy price tag, but the 28-year-old is still sporting a 30.2 percent hard hit rate on the season and hasn't shown any real signs of decline. He has a strong .377 wOBA and .230 ISO against left-handed pitchers through his career and is up against Rich Hill tonight.

Hill hasn't been terrible against right-handed hitters over his career, but he has allowed a .322 wOBA with a 4.36 xFIP, which isn't enough to scare me off of the talented Upton while his salary sits so low.