Fantasy Baseball Picks, May 11, Top 4 Bargain Bats
DFS Fantasy Baseball value picks for Wednesday's seven-game MLB slate at DraftKings
This Wednesday is another split schedule in Major League Baseball with a few different slates available for you to get your DFS fantasy baseball fix. In this post, we’ll focus on the seven-game evening slate which includes all the games starting in a tight window between 7:05 p.m. ET and 8:05 p.m. ET. Barring any weather delays, it shouldn’t be a late night since the West Coast matchup in Los Angeles is a late afternoon start, turning this into basically a jumbo-sized turbo slate with all the games getting underway relatively close together
As the day goes on, I’ll keep an eye on weather and lineup updates in case any updates to these picks are needed, and if an adjustment is necessary, I’ll tweet out the change at @ZT_Sports. You can also keep up with all my content at that post including my picks for DraftKings Playbook and my athlete profiles for NFT releases, which have included Sabrina Ionescu and Ronald Acuña this week. Subscribe below to get these bargain bats dropped into your inbox as well. I have been trying to get them posted each day, and will continue to prepare them for you as often as my schedule allows. Thank you for your support and continuing to read and share this content on Fantasy 4.
Taking a look at the starting pitchers, it should be a night with plenty of offense in store, so let’s take a look at some of the cheapest options that make sense to include in your roster builds for this Wednesday night.
OF Juan Yepez, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Baltimore Orioles ($3,000)
Yepez has been a regular in these bargain bats since joining the Cardinals a week ago. The 24-year-old prospect has made an instant impact and become an established part of the middle third of the order. He has gone 10-for-22 (.455) since being called up after hitting .279 at Triple-A with nine homers and a .410 wOBA in his first 22 games with the Memphis Red Birds.
In his first six games, Yepez has three doubles and a home run, giving him a .273 ISO and .535 wOBA while he has averaged 10.2 DKFP per contest. He likely won’t keep up this pace for the whole season, but he gets a good matchup to keep it rolling in this contest as he takes on Spenser Watkins ($6,700), who has allowed 11 runs in 21 1/3 innings but his xERA of 6.01 shows his ERA of 3.22 has been a little bit lucky. He has given up a .450 wOBA to right-handed hitters, so Yepez and the other right-handed hitting Cardinals are a solid stacking option to consider.
3B/OF Brad Miller, Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals ($2,500)
Miller has been a fixture atop the Rangers’ lineup this season whenever they face a right-handed starting pitcher like Brady Singer ($5,000), who they’ll take on tonight. Singer allowed four runs in three appearances out of the bullpen this season afterin going 5-10 with a 4.91 ERA and 4.04 FIP last season. He has struggled with left-handed hitters throughout his career, allowing a .350 wOBA last year and a .696 wOBA in his ridiculously small sample size this season.
Miller is one of a few lefties who make sense in this matchup, especially if he’s in his typical leadoff spot. The 32-year-old has three home runs and three steals on the season while going 14-for-70 (.209) with a .259 wOBA. He only has a .205 BABIP (average is around .300), so he seems due for some positive regression if he keeps putting the ball in play as the season goes on. The Rangers have a solid lineup behind him, so if he can get on base the opportunities to score runs should be there.
1B Ryan Mountcastle, Baltimore Orioles at St. Louis Cardinals ($2,900)
The Orioles offer a bevy of bargain bats on this slate and there are a few options under $3K that I really like led by Mountcastle, Tyler Nevin ($2,100) and Anthony Santander ($2,700). Mountcastle had a five-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday in the series opener, but went 10-for-21 (.476) with two doubles, two home runs, a .585 wOBA and a 47.1% hard-hit rate during that stretch.
On the season, the 25-year-old is hitting .275 with four homers, 10 RBI and a .315 wOBA. He typically hits in the middle of the order and showed he has good power potential with 33 home runs last year. It’s a little surprising to still be able to grab him for under $3K, so take advantage of his upside and his relatively anonymity playing for the Orioles.
SS Luis Rengifo, Los Angeles Angels vs. Tampa Bay Rays ($2,000)
The Angels recalled Rengifo from Triple-A when David Fletcher (hip) landed on the injured list, and if Rengifo gets playing time, I like the upside he brings from the minimum salary. He started and went 2-for-4 on Tueseay night with a double, a run scored and 10 DKFP. He and Andrew Velasquez ($2,600) both offer defense-first middle infield options near the bottom of the order, but Rengifo has a little more pop in his bat and is $600 cheaper.
In his 24 games with the Salt Lake City Bees, he hit .313 with a .212 ISO and .392 wOBA, including four home runs, 19 runs scored and two stolen bases in 24 games. The 25-year-old isn’t considered one the Angels’ top prospects anymore, but he has been in the past and just hasn’t proven he’s ready on a full-time basis yet. He should get chances to show that has changed, though, while Fletcher is sidelined.
Enjoy the day full of baseball and be sure to stay tuned to @ZT_Sports on Twitter where I’ll give updates and will also try to get out some early slate bargain bats as well. Keep having a great week and good luck!