Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Players: Post All-Star Break
The midsummer classic has come and gone with the accompanying four day hiatus, much to the chagrin of daily fantasy players unable to get their fix, but now, we’re back on the grind. Hopefully many out there took a little time to mull over their first half performances. Consider what worked, what hasn’t, and what, if any, tactic of their overall strategy should be tweaked. One underlying theme, however, that is always in play when successful lineups are deployed is the identification and utilization of value, or an excess of production compared to one’s subjective expectations for a player at their current salary.
Depending on one’s fantasy strategy, primarily a top-heavy alignment with a few best-in-class players such as Cliff Lee, Adrian Gonzalez, and Curtis Granderson intermixed with bargain bin newcomers like Zack Cozart or Jemile Weeks (the first week or two when he was consistently priced in the low $2,000s on FanDuel). Other Grinders prefer to take the Warren Buffet approach of searching and hoarding underpriced, quality assets where they subsequently stack each position with an underrated pitcher or hitter based on a recent upswing trend or favorable matchup based on their track record against a certain pitcher, or vice versa. Most likely, the majority of daily fantasy aficionados fall into one of those two categories or, at least, somewhere in the middle.
Regardless of what type of strategy is used, the process of identifying and selecting “value” or
underrated players is an important aspect of consistently finishing in the black. Here are a handful of players who could help you maximize your salary cap dollars as we enter the home stretch of the daily fantasy baseball season.
Second Half Value Plays
Rafael Furcal – SS (Los Angeles Dodgers)
The oft-injured Dominican Republic shortstop is only a year removed from a .300 season in which he stole 22 bases, scored 66 runs, and hit eight homers—in just 97 games.
FanDuel: $3,000
DraftStreet: $2,722
Daily Joust: $57,000
FD, DS, and DJ all have Furcal priced in a range conducive to providing daily grinders with value. DS presents the biggest bang for your buck potential.
Derrek Lee – 1B (Baltimore Orioles)
While his team is trending in the opposite direction, recently mired in a 1-9 record in 10 games prior to the break, Lee appears to be approaching his normal productive self. In the three most recent games Lee is hitting .364 and has left the yard three times in his last five games.
FanDuel: $3,400
DraftStreet: $5,016
Daily Joust: $69,000
DJ currently has Lee priced in a favorable spot providing greater flexibility across the rest of grinders lineups. FD is about $300 high and DS has him pretty close to fair market value, but still with a good sized discount factored in.
Jason Bay – OF (New York Mets)
Bay has shown signs of life recently after an uncharacteristically dismal first half of the season. It was only two years ago when Bay belted 36 home runs for the Boston Red Sox to go with 119 RBI and 103 Runs with a .921 OPS.
It was only two short seasons ago when Bay tallied 36 home runs, 119 RBIs, and 103 Runs. His first season as a Met the following year was one he would rather forget. In fact, his six home runs thus far in 2011 match his total from 2010. While his speed isn’t what it used to be, he will snatch the occasional base, too.
FanDuel: $3,300
DraftStreet: $4,280
Daily Joust: $54,000
DS currently has him slightly undervalued but DJ is offering the greatest discount at the moment at $54,000.
Wilson Betemit – 3B (Detroit Tigers)
The Tigers recent acquisition of the unspectacular, but steady, Dominican Republic native rarely starts more than half of his team’s regular season games. The status quo throughout his career usually has him appearing in about 80 games per season, with 115 games in 2005 with Atlanta being his most, but his career-high batting average just so happened to be during that season (.305).
Last season Betemit hit .297 with a surge in home runs in just over a half-season for Kansas City. Extrapolated out over a full season, the eternal optimist, or, delusional dummy, could somewhat claim Betemit could have finished with almost 90 RBIs and 25 home runs. Batting in the number nine hole for a potent Detroit Tigers lineup will provide ample opportunities for an uptick in both Runs and RBIs.
FanDuel: $3,300
DraftStreet: $3,280
Daily Joust: $56,000
He appears to be overvalued at FD by about $5,000. The best value from a daily fantasy aspect is DS and DJ, respectively. You will want to pay close attention to the RG Lineups page if you plan on using him since there’s a decent chance he will sit occasionally against left-handers.