3 MLB FanDuel Value Plays for Tuesday 6/13/23

Finding low-salary production is one way to get a leg up on the competition in MLB DFS.

Here are some low-salary players to target on FanDuel for tonight's main slate.

Jameson Taillon, SP, Chicago Cubs ($6,300)

Jameson Taillon signed a big deal in free agency with the Chicago Cubs this past offseason. It hasn't worked out super well yet, but he could be a nice value arm to roster tonight.

Taillon's surface-level numbers do not look great, as he has a 7.02 ERA. Looking under the hood, though, things don't look that bad.

His fielding independent pitching (FIP) is a more respectable 4.66. He's given up a .336 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), which is higher than his career average BABIP (.297) despite Taillon allowing a lower average exit velocity than he did last season. He's also stranding just 53.4% of baserunners, a number that should regress over time. His career strand rate is 73.1%.

Taillon will face his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh's offense ranks as a pretty average one against righties this season, with a 101 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) and a .322 weighted on-base average (wOBA). This definitely isn't a lineup to be scared of when considering a pitcher.

If you take a look at the MLB odds on FanDuel Sportsbook, the Cubs are favored in this game (-130 moneyline). Rostering a pitcher at this salary who earns a win can help the rest of your lineup a lot, and Taillon can easily do that tonight.

Brandon Drury, 1B/3B/, Los Angeles Angels ($2,900)

Brandon Drury had the best season of his career last year. He hasn't been quite as good this season, but he's still a useful hitter, especially with the platoon advantage.

Drury has stayed in the big leagues for a while because he can hit left-handed pitching. He has a career .201 isolated slugging percentage (ISO) and .324 wOBA against lefties. During last season's career year, those numbers skyrocketed to a .327 ISO and .403 wOBA.

We want our players to hit lots of fly-balls because those can turn into home runs, and Drury has a great chance of doing that tonight. He's facing Cody Bradford, a pitcher with just 10 MLB innings under his belt. Bradford has allowed a 50% fly-ball rate in those innings and also had a 47.8% fly-ball rate in Triple-A this season.

Drury should bat fifth in the Los Angeles Angels lineup, and he makes for a good play in Angels stacks or as a one-off.

Triston Casas, 1B, Boston Red Sox ($2,500)

Triston Casas has become an everyday player for the Boston Red Sox. Some of his numbers are rough, but there are also some peripheral numbers that are promising.

Casas has just a .305 wOBA this season, but his expected wOBA (xwOBA) is .342. His Statcast data is strong, too, as his hard-hit rate is 44.4%, and his barrel% is 13.5%. He's also hitting fly-balls at a 44.4% clip, with just 2.1% of those being infield flies.

Casas and the Red Sox will face Chase Anderson tonight. Anderson has just a 15.3% strikeout rate this season and is giving up a lot more hard contact than he did in the previous season (25.8% hard-hit rate last year, compared to a 31.3% hard-hit rate in 2023).

Boston has the highest implied team total on this slate, so it makes sense to target one of their low-salary hitters who should get a decent lineup spot.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.