Sunday’s MLB afternoon slate will be getting underway soon, so let’s quickly discuss some top DraftKings targets and value plays from across those nine games.
Top Pitchers
Kevin Gausman, TOR vs. MIN, ($10,200) — A Cy Young frontrunner at this juncture, Gausman looked human at points in May as he felt short of a quality starter in two of his past three outings. But even with that short stretch of relative mediocrity, Gausman has a fantastic 2.51 ERA and 70 strikeouts to just six walks in 61 innings. He is definitely the most dependable starter on the slate and Toronto’s offense is really starting to bash the ball like expected, which makes the right-hander a likely candidate to be credited with the all-important W.
Zac Gallen, ARI vs. PIT ($9,800) — Much like Gausman, Gallen has not been as untouchable lately as he was through much of the first six weeks of the season. However, the Pirates continue to be a matchup to target, even after their surprising road sweep of the Dodgers last week. Gallen upped his strikeout rate and lowered his walk rate in May. He’s still got a 2.32 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP and a .186 opponents’ batting average on the season. Don’t let a couple of rough spots scare you.
Top Hitters
Jose Ramirez, CLE vs. BAL ($6,000) — Is Ramirez the best hitter in baseball? Slashing .298/.400/.646, he leads the AL in RBIs and OPS while posting a walk rate that is more than double his strikeout rate! It doesn’t matter whom he’s facing — the Orioles’ Dean Kraemer is today’s adversary — Ramirez should be in every lineup just about every day.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR vs. MIN ($4,500) — He’s not a top hitter by price, but you know he belongs here. Remember when everyone was worried about Vladdy’s power outage? Yeah, so much for that. He’s homered in three of his past five games, five of his past 10 and is up to 12 HRs for the year. Although his overall production still leaves something to be desired, he’ll eventually come around to be the hitter we’ve expected him to be.
Value Pitcher
Framber Valdez, HOU vs. KC ($9,400) — There aren’t many appealing SP options on the board, but this feels like an incredible value for a starting pitcher who has averaged 26.7 DK points over his past four starts and is coming off of a complete-game effort. He’s backed by a high-quality offense and is facing the team that ranks 26th in the Majors in both runs and OPS. The only concern is the forecast as rain may threaten to wash this game away.
Value Hitter
Mike Trout, LAA vs. PHI ($4,900) — Yep, Mike Trout has fallen into the bargain bin — relatively. You can credit an 0-for-23 skid. But this price won’t last long as Trout will get back to crushing the ball soon enough. He may get back on track today versus the Phillies’ Kyle Gibson. Trout is 7-for-23 with a double and two home runs against the veteran righty.