Fantasy Baseball Value Picks, April 27, 4 Best Bargain Bats
DFS Fantasy Baseball value hitters for Wednesday's eight-game MLB slate at DraftKings
Happy Wednesday! As we make our way through another busy week, we’ve got a tripleheader on tap for the getaway day with three afternoon games, four games starting between 6:30 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. ET on a nice turbo slate, and a solid eight-game evening slate getting underway under the lights at 7:05 p.m. ET. While there are a ton of different ways to play the various games available, for this post, I’ll be focused on the eight games on the main slate on DraftKings.
As usual, I use DraftKings scoring and salaries for these picks, but they should translate to anywhere you decide to play fantasy baseball. The players on this list every day are available at a discounted price but bring plenty of upside due to their expected workload, matchup and current form. If you enjoy this post and would like to get these free picks and my other free posts delivered daily, subscribe below.
My picks have been scuffling a little bit lately, so let’s see if we can get things rolling with these four selections for Wednesday.
OF Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs, $3,500
The Braves lineup should be stuffed with value in this matchup against Mark Leiter Jr. ($5,800) and the Cubs. Leiter has allowed nine runs on eight hits over his 7 1/3 innings in his first two starts while giving up a .495 wOBA to right-handed batters. As a result, Travis d’Arnaud ($3,300), Austin Riley ($4,100), Adam Duvall ($2,500) and even Dansby Swanson ($2,700) are options to consider for your Atlanta stack in addition to Ozuna.
Ozuna has a .246 ISO and .364 wOBA in his 18 games this season with four home runs. All four of those home runs have come against righties like Leiter, and four of his five doubles have come at home, where he has a .371 wOBA and .238 ISO. He enters this matchup on a three-game hitting streak and with five hits in his six most recent games.
OF Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles vs New York Yankees, $2,600
Another proven right-handed power bat available at a good price on this slate is Mancini, who continues to bat in the heart of the Orioles lineup. While that may not mean great things for the O’s depth, it does give him good chances for RBI and reliable at-bats. In his 17 games this season, Mancini is hitting .234 with one home run, an .094 ISO and a .274 wOBA. However, he seems to be trending the right way after going 4-for-19 with a home run over his four most recent games with a 69.2% hard-hit rate. He has actually been hitting the ball well much of the season with a 56.3% hard-hit rate, but it has translated to spotty success.
His matchup should be one that works in his favor against lefty Jordan Montgomery ($7,500). Against southpaws, Mancini is 9-for-24 (.375) with a .208 ISO and .434 wOBA. He has come up against Montgomery plenty of times in their AL East history and has gone 10-for-23 with a home run and four walks against the Yankee’s starter in the past.
SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, $3,300
On the other side of that AL East contest at Camden Yards, Kiner-Falefa offers nice value at SS for the Bronx Bombers, whose lineup may be starting to come around (or their just facing the Orioles). IKF has been one of the few bright spots for New York, starting his Yankeeography by going 16-for-54 (.296) over his first 16 games with four doubles and two stolen bases.
Kiner-Falefa has averaged over 6.0 DKFP per game on the season and over 7.0 DKFP per game over his 10 most recent contests. He has a seven-game hitting streak coming into this contest and has three games of at least 12 DKFP during that span. The slick-fielding SS should continue to be a fixture for the Yankees and can give your lineup a boost from under $3,500.
OF Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins vs Detroit Tigers, $3,100
Kepler and the Twins lineup scuffled early in the season, but they have shown signs of life lately. He’s still just hitting .241 with a .148 ISO and .309 wOBA but almost all that production has come over the past week. Over his past seven games, Kepler is 8-for-22 (.364) with a double and a home run helping him to produce a .457 wOBA over that stretch.
He has multiple hits in each of his two most recent games with double-digit DKFP as a result in the Twins’ two wins. He and Minnesota will take on former-Twin Micheal Pineda ($6,800), who looked sharp in his Tigers’ debut but let left-handed batters post a .346 wOBA against him last season, including eight of his 17 home runs allowed in 21 starts. Kepler’s power potential makes him popular, and he should be in a good spot against Detroit in this contest.
Hopefully, these picks deliver on their upside this Wednesday night and give us a nice fantasy baseball boost. I’ll check back in before contest lock with any updates needed on Twitter @ZT_Sports.
Have a great Wednesday, enjoy all the multiple fantasy baseball slates of goodness and good luck!