FantasyDraft MLB: Thursday Values

FantasyDraft MLB: Thursday Values

This article is part of our FantasyDraft MLB series.

PITCHER

Sonny Gray, NYY vs. TB ($22,800): I'm going all in with Gray, who is the biggest favorite of the day. He's been solid with the Yankees, posting at least 19 fantasy points in five of his last six starts. That includes going eight innings with nine strikeouts against the Rays just a few weeks ago. Tampa Bay is at the bottom of the charts in the last month against righties with a .278 wOBA and 25.4 K rate.

Ivan Nova, PIT at WAS ($13,200): Because of Gray's price, I wanted to reach into the bottom of the barrel for a cheap pitcher. There weren't many places to turn, but I think Nova and the Pirates are being underrated in this matchup. Nova has looked solid in recent outings, having not allowed more than six hits in his last four starts. The Nationals are also cold at the plate with a .284 wOBA and 25.8 K rate against righties in September.

INFIELD

Justin Bour, MIA vs. ATL ($8,700): Bour is on fire with a .482 wOBA and .313 ISO in his last 57 plate appearances against righties and comes at a nice price. Julio Teheran has looked solid in recent starts, but Bour is good enough to take a chance on. Teheran also has a .338 wOBA allowed and much higher 5.59 xFIP against lefties.

Jed Lowrie, OAK at TEX ($7,800): Lowrie is in the same mold of Bour, albeit with a bit less power. Lowrie has a .427 wOBA and .211 ISO in his last 69 plate appearances against righties, yet gets a better matchup with Miguel Gonzalez. While the righty hurler was good in his last outing, giving up four hits to the A's, I'll side with how he's looked the rest of the season. Gonzalez is giving up a .364 wOBA and 5.82 xFIP to lefties and that's where Lowrie comes in.

Elvis Andrus, TEX vs. OAK ($8,100): With the Rangers seemingly resting everyone in the final week, Andrus was easily the best option to use against Sean Manaea. Andrus has roped lefties in the last month with a .507 wOBA and .286 ISO in his last 24 plate appearances. Manaea has a good outing here and there, but a .351 wOBA allowed against righties is the selling point.

OUTFIELD

Jacoby Ellsbury, NYY vs. TB ($7,800):Jacob Faria has had a solid rookie season, but he still allowed at least one run in every start and the Yankees are back to hitting well. Ellsbury didn't face Faria in their only meeting and he's sporting a .396 wOBA in his last 69 plate appearances against righties. As for Faria, he has a 5.04 xFIP against lefties this season.

Alex Gordon, KC vs. DET ($6,600): At this price, Gordon is hard to pass up. For starters, he has a solid .393 wOBA in his last 20 plate appearances against lefties and has better numbers against lefties for the season. The kicker is that Daniel Norris is pitching for the Tigers and he hasn't had a good outing since June. Norris also has worse numbers against lefties with a .398 wOBA allowed and 5.53 xFIP. Adding even more to that, Gordon is 5-of-9 against Norris in his career and 3-of-4 against him this year.

Ben Zobrist, CHC at STL ($7,200): Zobrist has been one of Chicago's better bats in recent weeks and gets the call as he's cheaper than the rest. In addition to being a consistent starter, he has a decent .346 wOBA in his last 68 plate appearances against righties. Lance Lynn just gave up eight runs to a struggling Pirates team and can't be trusted. He's also been miserable against lefties with a 5.87 xFIP and 15.3 K rate.

UTILITY

Kurt Suzuki, ATL at MIA ($7,500): Due to his hot bat, Suzuki has been a mainstay in the lineup. That's seen in a .461 wOBA and .350 ISO in his last 22 plate appearances against lefties. The Braves should have a good time against Dillon Peters, who has allowed 13 runs in his last two starts to go with 10 hits allowed to 23 lefties faced this year.

Ian Kinsler, DET at KC ($7,200): Even through a tumultuous season, the Tigers have remained one of the better teams against lefties. Kinsler has joined the fun in the last month with a nice .488 wOBA and .357 ISO in his last 35 plate appearances against lefties. Danny Duffy is putting in consistent outings, but he's still poor against righties with a .328 wOBA allowed and 4.64 xFIP.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Adam Zdroik plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: zdroik, DraftKings: rotozdroik, Yahoo: StreakMaster.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Zdroik
Adam, a multiple-time finalist for FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's soccer editor. He runs RotoWire's Bracketology and partakes in various NFL content. He previously worked at ESPN and Sporting Kansas City, and he is a former Streak for the Cash winner and Michigan State graduate.
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