Fantasy Baseball Picks, May 14, Top 4 Bargain Bats
DFS Fantasy Baseball value picks for Saturday's nine-game MLB slate at DraftKings
Major League Baseball has nine games lined up to provide a busy Saturday night fantasy baseball slate to continue a fun sports weekend. With 18 teams in action, there are lots of different ways to go about building a lineup leaning into top pitchers or building around big bats. If you end up short on salary, check out the four options listed below that can provide solid offensive upside despite being available at major discounts.
Earlier today, I previewed the whole slate on DraftKings Playbook, and in this post, I’ll examine my four favorite bargain bats. If you find these picks helpful, you can keep up with all my content including these bargain bat picks by subscribing below and following me on Twitter @ZT_Sports.
The games in Washington and New York might have some weather issues to deal with, so we’ll keep an eye on that leading up to the start of the contests at 7:05 p.m. ET. It should be a good night for fantasy baseball, though, so let’s dive right into my bargain picks for the day.
1B Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers, $2,700
3B Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers, $2,200
The Phillies will be a very popular source of value on Saturday after scoring 21 runs in the first two games of their series against the Dodgers and piling up 12 in a win despite a matchup against Walker Buehler on Friday. Tonight, they’ll take on lefty Luis UrÃas ($9,400), who has been excellent against left-handed hitters (.173 wOBA allowed) but beaten up a bit by righties (.323 wOBA allowed). I’m not sure if the rotation shuffle required by the Clayton Kershaw injury caused the Phillies’ salaries to plummet, but whatever the reason, it’s a situation to attack.
Hoskins could hit leadoff again like he did the last time the Phillies faced a lefty or move to lower in the lineup. Wherever he has been hitting, he has been heating up lately hitting safely in six straight and going 9-for-28 (.321) over that span with a double, three home runs, a .357 ISO and a .435 wOBA.
Hoskins started the season hitting second but has been replaced in that lineup spot by the 25-year-old Bohm, who has very good contact skills. The 3B has hit .313 with two homers and a .344 wOBA. Six of his seven extra-base hits have come against southpaws, so facing UrÃas is a decent spot for him. He has also been heating up and has hit safely in seven of his past eight games with five multi-hit efforts during that span, going 12-for-35 (.343).Â
OF Alek Thomas, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs, $2,400
Thomas is another young hitter who is super cheap but brings nice upside. The 22-year-old isn’t big by any stretch of the imagination but generates very good power with solid speed as well. He has gone 5-for-13 with two doubles and a home run in his five games in the Majors. He hasn’t attempted a steal yet, but stole eight bases over 58 games in Triple-A the past two seasons. He has 12 homers and 32 RBI in those contests as well, and his game looks MLB-ready.
The Diamondbacks offer solid value overall against Kyle Hendricks ($7,500), who has let lefties like Thomas post a .351 wOBA against him and has a 6.48 road ERA.
SS Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians, $2,300
I’ve been using Lewis a lot in my lineups as an ultra-cheap play with upside and he delivered Friday with his first MLB home run, which was a grand slam. He finished with his second straight multi-hit game and 27 DKFP.
The No. 1 overall pick from the 2017 MLB Draft has been filling in for Carlos Correa (finger), and has gone 8-for-25 (.320) with two doubles, a home run and a .368 wOBA. He had strong numbers in Double-A last season and Triple-A to start the season this year. While he may still need a little more time in the minors before he’s ready to be in the Twins lineup full-time, he’s worth a look at this salary in this matchup Saturday night.
As usual, I’ll let you know of any replacement picks on Twitter @ZT_Sports but hopefully the weather and lineups cooperate to make these picks pay off.
Enjoy your Saturday and good luck!