DraftKings MLB: Monday-Wednesday Value Plays

All player prices are as of Monday, May 18

Pitchers

Corey Kluber, CLE (Mon. at CWS), $10,100– I was never too concerned about Kluber's slow start, as the strikeout and walk rates weren't too far off from last season's, while his strand rate and opponents' BABIP appeared to be the real culprits. Then, he turned in the most dominant pitching performance of the young season, striking out 18 Cardinals over eight innings of one-hit ball. The outing was good for a whopping 56.8 DraftKings points, and while it did cause Kluber's price to jump back up above $10,000, the ace right-hander is still underpriced. Even in a middling matchup, Kluber is Monday's best value among starting pitchers.

Trevor Bauer, CLE (Tue. at CWS) – I'm not trying to pick on the Chicago lineup, but it does seem that all of the Cleveland starters are still underpriced, as they've only emerged either this season or last. While Bauer surprisingly piled up just eight strikeouts over his previous three outings, he got back on track with a 10-K gem last week against the Cardinals. He doesn't yet have the consistency you'd hope for, but few pitchers in his price range offer similar upside on a start-to-start basis.

Tyson Ross, SD (Wed. vs. CHC) – Ross has a troubling walk rate of 12.7 percent, but with both his strikeout rate (26.3 percent) and ground-ball rate (63.1 percent) still looking fantastic, he's managed to mitigate the damage. While the control issues have prevented him from piecing together any dominant outings this season, he still has all the tools to eventually put up such a game. Wednesday's matchup is high-risk, high-reward, as the Cubs have some very talented bats but also lead the majors in strikeout rate (25.2 percent). With the game being played at Petco Park, I favor Ross' side of the intriguing matchup.

Other options:Matt Harvey, NYM (Mon. vs. STL), $10,600; Chris Sale, CWS (Mon. vs. CLE), $9500; Sonny Gray, OAK (Tue. at HOU); Chase Anderson, AZ (Wed. at MIA); Jake Odorizzi, ATL (Wed. at ATL)

Batters

C Stephen Vogt, OAK (at HOU), $4100 – I assume Vogt's price will come up to the mid-4000s by the end of the season, as there's little reason to think his breakout isn't the real deal. He has the same number of walks and strikeouts (19 apiece), with nine home runs in just 107 at-bats. He's obviously not going to maintain the home-run rate or sky-high OPS, but there's no reason Vogt can't keep his place as one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. He also figures to keep his place in the No. 5 spot of Oakland's lineup, and the Monday and Tuesday matchups are both highly favorable.

1B James Loney, TB (vs. ATL) – Loney lacks big-time power at a position where we typically look for exactly that, but he also provides an unconventional way to save some salary while still offering plenty of upside. He consistently bats fourth in the Tampa Bay lineup against right-handed pitchers, and the Rays will face lousy righties both Tuesday and Wednesday. While the Rays aren't usually a team worth stacking, matchups with Mike Foltynewicz and Williams Perez should change that thinking.

2B Daniel Murphy, NYM (vs. STL), $3600 – Murphy's having an unusual season, with his strikeout and line-drive rates way down from last year. Both should eventually move a bit closer to last season's marks, but it still seems rather unlucky that his BABIP sits at just .248, compared to .317 for his career. Murphy remains a well above-average hitter for his position, and he should be a bargain over the next few weeks, with his price sitting a few hundred dollars below its usual range. There aren't any blatantly soft matchups in an upcoming series against the Cardinals, but Murphy also won't have to face any left-handed starters.

3B Nolan Arenado, COL (vs. PHI), $4200 – While it's best to target Arenado against poor left-handed pitchers, I'll happily settle for matchups with Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang and Chad Billingsley at Coors Field. The young third baseman has consistently hit third or fourth in the Colorado lineup over the last few weeks, and the Rockies' offense should be in for a big series. Even with some of the team's top bats sidelined by injuries, the Rockies will be a worthy stacking option this week.

OF Josh Reddick, OAK (at HOU), $4200 – Not much has gone right for the last-place A's this season, but the team does seem to have found a deadly mid-lineup combo in the form of Reddick and Stephen Vogt. While he's shown this kind of potential at various points in the past, Reddick often saw his value limited by either injuries or too many strikeouts. While I can't really speak to the injuries, Reddick's fantastic strikeout rate (9.6 percent) this season is backed by similarly impressive swinging-strike (5.2 percent) and contact (92.9 percent) rates. While all three marks should regress toward his career-long norms, this appears to be something more than just a sample-size fluke.

Other options:1B Lucas Duda, NYM (vs. STL), $3900; 2B/3B Neil Walker, PIT (vs. MIN); 3B Adrian Beltre, TEX (at BOS); 1B/3B Pedro Alvarez, PIT (vs. MIN); SS/OF Hanley Ramirez, BOS (vs. TEX); OF J.D. Martinez, DET (vs. MIL), $4400; OF Mookie Betts, BOS (vs. TEX); OF Coco Crisp, OAK (at HOU), $3900

Lineup Stacks

Monday

Rockies vs. PHI's Cole Hamels
Diamondbacks at MIA's Dan Haren
Athletics at HOU's Lance McCullers
Brewers at DET's Kyle Lobstein
Blue Jays vs. LAA's C.J. Wilson

Tuesday

Blue Jays vs. LAA's Hector Santiago
Rays at ATL's Folynewicz
Marlins vs. ARI's Jeremy Hellickson
Rangers at BOS's Wade Miley
Phillies at COL's Chad Bettis
Pirates vs. MIN's Ricky Nolasco
Orioles vs. SEA's Taijuan Walker
Braves vs. TB's Erasmo Ramirez
Red Sox vs. TEX's Yovani Gallardo

Wednesday

Blue Jays vs. LAA's Jered Weaver
Rays at ATL's Williams Perez
Rangers at BOS's Joe Kelly
Indians at CWS's Carlos Rodon
Phillies at COL's Eddie Butler
Pirates vs. MIN's Mike Pelfrey
Rockies vs. PHI's Chad Billingsley
Orioles vs. SEA's Roenis Elias
Red Sox vs. TEX's Phil Klein