3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for Friday 8/20/21
With production being highly variable on a night-to-night basis, daily fantasy baseball plays a bit differently than other sports.
An 0-for-4 dud from a chalky high-salaried slugger is a lot more common than a total dud from a top-salaried NBA player or even than a stinker from a top quarterback or running back.
That means that it's not uncommon for value plays to end up doing the heavy lifting in carrying your lineup. The fact that they can be the difference between a good and a great lineup isn't much different than other sports, but value plays being able to make up for a whiff on a high-salaried play completely is somewhat unique.
Let's get right into it and take a look at the top value options on today's 14-game main slate.
Austin Gomber, SP, Colorado Rockies
FanDuel Salary: $6,800
Tonight's slate has nine teams with implied run totals over 5.0, including four that are sitting at 5.86 or higher, per numberFire's Matchup Heat Map. To put it another way -- you're going to want to save some cap space for the big boppers. One way to do that would be through rostering Austin Gomber, who might just be my favorite play on the entire slate.
Gomber's season hasn't been anything special. To date, he's amassed a 4.09 ERA, but his 3.63 xERA and 3.88 xFIP imply that he's been even better than that. And those numbers start to look a lot better when you consider that he makes a healthy chunk of his starts at Coors Field.
Speaking of Coors Field, Gomber has been downright masterful there. Through 42 1/3 innings at the most hitter-friendly park in baseball, the 27-year-old has accrued a 1.70 ERA, 3.51 FIP, and 23.3% strikeout rate. His 0.85 WHIP on his home turf is almost too hard to believe.
Tonight, Gomber will have the pleasure of hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors. This season, Arizona ranks bottom-seven in team OPS, ISO, wOBA, and wRC+.
Gomber has racked up 34 or more FanDuel points in five of his last seven starts at home, and that includes outputs of 40, 46, 46, and 55. Sign me up.
Randal Grichuk, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
FanDuel Salary: $2,500
The Toronto Blue Jays are currently sitting on a healthy implied run total of 5.86, so some exposure here would certainly be recommended. Toronto's matchup with Detroit Tigers left-hander Tyler Alexander is a tasty one.
This season, right-handers have smashed Alexander to the tune of a .297 average, .848 OPS, .359 wOBA, and 1.75 dongs per nine innings. Yikes. That's not going to play well against the predominantly right-handed lineup of the Blue Jays.
One hitter who's primed to take advantage and yet won't cost you an arm and a leg is Randal Grichuk. Since 2018, Grichuk has recorded a .840 OPS, .238 ISO, and 124 wRC+ against southpaws.
Manny Pina, C, Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel Salary: $2,200
The Milwaukee Brewers are one of the nine teams to have an implied total over 5.0, and that's due to their matchup versus Washington Nationals veteran Patrick Corbin.
Corbin enters tonight's contest with a 6.04 ERA and a strikeout rate under 20%, and most of that is due to the damage right-handers have done against him.
In 2021, hitters with the platoon advantage have pelted the 32-year-old for a .292 average, .894 OPS, .378 wOBA, and an astonishing 2.41 homers per nine. Sheeeeesh.
For the Brewers, Manny Pina is one cheap bat who could rake in this spot. The veteran catcher has an .822 OPS and .220 ISO against lefties since 2019. The Pineapple has also had a hot bat as of late, as he's hitting .286 with a .937 OPS, 6 extra-base hits, and 16 RBI over his last 44 plate appearances. That'll play.
