FanDuel MLB: Friday Value Plays

J.D. Martinez has returned with a bang, and Greg Vara is looking for him to produce again Friday at home against Nick Martinez and the Rangers.
FanDuel MLB: Friday Value Plays
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PITCHER

Chris Sale, BOS at OAK ($12,000): Sale is earning roughly 4.5x value right now, something no one else in the league is doing, and when you factor in that he's producing at that level, at his price, he's a must-play. The A's are a bottom-10 team in wOBA against lefties this season and have the sixth worst K% against them. Until Sale shows signs of slowing down, there's no reason to fade him.

CATCHER

Alex Avila, DET vs. TEX ($3,000): The Tigers have a nice little platoon going behind the plate with Avila and James McCann. McCann takes the lefties and Avila takes the righties. While McCann is doing a good job, Avila leads the league in wOBA against righties this season, ahead of guys like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman. Avila hasn't hit a home run since April 25, yet he's continued to score plenty of fantasy points. He'll face righty Nick Martinez who enters with a 5.04 ERA.

FIRST BASE

Anthony Rizzo, CHC vs. MIL ($4,100): Although Brewers starter Paolo Espino has posted decent numbers at Triple-A, Rizzo is slowly improving, and if the wind keeps blowing out at Wrigley, it won't take long before he's back to his 2016 form. The lefty/righty matchup should favor Rizzo here as well.

SECOND BASE

Ian Happ, CHC vs. MIL ($3,200): I realize Happ has only played five games at the major league level, but his price is way too low for someone sitting in the cleanup spot in the Cubs lineup. Happ is averaging 17.4 fantasy points per game, and a lot of that has to do with where he sits in that dangerous order. As long as Happ is hitting cleanup and the Cubs are not facing an elite pitcher, Happ is a steal at this price.

SHORTSTOP

Chris Owings, AZ at SD ($3,400): It's once again time to pick on Jered Weaver. Weaver was rocked by the Diamondbacks when he faced them in Arizona, and while it would make sense that Weaver would fare better at home, he's actually been terrible at Petco this season, surrendering 12 runs in his past two home starts. Owings' wOBA against righties this season is .407.

THIRD BASE

Jake Lamb, AZ at SD ($4,000): It'd be nice to get all the big Arizona bats in your lineup, but odds are you'll have to choose between Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb, and in this case, I would side with Lamb. A couple reasons for this line of thinking; one, Lamb is facing a righty and he's always done the majority of his damage against righties. Two, Lamb is rolling right now with 10 hits in his past five games and two home runs in the previous two.

OUTFIELD

Jayson Werth, WAS at ATL ($3,500): A lot of quality hitters just can't seem to hit a knuckleball, but Werth is not one of them. At least, Werth has had no trouble hitting the knuckleball from R.A. Dickey's hand. As I've mentioned before, it doesn't matter how a guy is hitting recently, or his splits versus lefties and righties; all that matters is how a particular guy hits a particular knuckleballer. In this case, Werth is 13-for-27 against Dickey with two home runs and five walks.

Adam Duvall, CIN vs. COL ($3,500): Duvall is in the midst of a slump right now, but a matchup against lefty Tyler Anderson could solve that issue. Anderson has really struggled this season, surrendering four or more runs in five of eight starts. Duvall has the highest wOBA against lefties on the Reds' roster at .518, as well as nine homers on the season, so this recent stretch without a round tripper is likely to end soon.

J.D. Martinez, DET vs. TEX ($4,000): Martinez has five home runs, 11 RBI and nine walks in five games since returning from injury. His price is already up, but if he keeps producing, it doesn't matter much as he's earning 6x his salary.

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. Greg Vara plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: lennykarl1, DraftKings: lennykarl1.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vara is the lead golf writer at RotoWire. He was named the FSWA Golf Writer of the Year in 2005 and 2013. He also picks college football games against the spread in his "College Capper" article.
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