DFS: DraftKings Top Plays And Value Plays For Friday May 9th

It's finally Friday, and there is a lot going on in the sports world this weekend.  The NFL draft starting yesterday, the NBA and NHL playoffs are still going on- and of course baseball.  This Friday is interesting as a lot of aces are set to pitch tonight, so I decided to do the top play/value play format for tonight.  There are only evening games tonight so you have plenty of options to choose from.

All players' prices based on DraftKings values

Starting Pitchers

Top Plays:

Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins, $12,800 - Jose Fernandez gets to face the Padres horrible offense tonight.  I like him for cash game plays - but he might be too rich for my blood.

Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves, $9,800 - Teheran against the Cubs at home is a nice a matchup, he has great control, and seems to be starting to strike out some batters - a trait the Cubs are known for.  Teheran is a priced reasonably for a number one starter.

Value Plays:

Tyson Ross, San Diego Padres, $8,200 - He isn't priced much cheaper than Teheran, but after seeing what Ian Kennedy did to the Marlins last night this might be a bargain.

Catcher Top Play:

Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, $4,700 - A little pricey for a catcher, but he is no doubt the best play due to his matchup against Paul Maholm.

Catcher Value Play:

Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers, $3,300 - Avila is significantly cheaper than Posey, and has as good of a matchup - Phil Hughes in Detroit.  This could be a high scoring affair for the Tigers so consider Avila.

First Base Top Play:

Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays, $4,400 - The way Encarnacion is swinging the bat as of late, I am surprised he isn't priced over $5,000.  Edwin has a tough matchup in Garrett Richards tonight, but I still think Edwin is the top play.

First Base Value Play:

Brandon Moss, Oakland Athletics, $3,800 - Moss is eligible at 1B and OF, so you can slot him in either position; tonight he faces Doug Fister (no not me), who is starting his first game of the season.  I like this matchup for two reasons - 1) Lefty/Righty matchup, 2) Fisters' first start of the season.

Second Base Top Play:

Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners, $5,100 - Cano is hitting almost 500 in his career against Jason Vargas, the lefty/lefty matchup doesn't scare me because Cano is an elite hitter - and Vargas has been imploding as of late.

Second Base Value Play:

Mark Ellis, St. Louis Cardinals, $3,000 - Batting .571 with a homer in his career against Francisco Lirano.  If you don't want to spend too much of your budget on a 2B, Mark Ellis is your guy.

Third Base Top Play:

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers, $5,900 - Bad time for Phil Hughes to come in to Detroit - Miggy is getting hot.  This is a pretty obvious top play, take Miggy.

Third Base Value Play:

Mike Olt, Chicago Cubs, $3,100 - Kind of negates my Teheran play, but you might not use him.  Olt has been a sneaky tournament play as of late, with two homers in his last two games (one was a grand slam).

Short Stop Top Play:

Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals, $4,000 - No I won't be predictable and choose Tulowitzki or Hanley Ramirez - I like Peralta the most tonight.  Batting .325, with two homers in his career against Liriano (40 at bats), is good enough for me.

Short Stop Value Play:

Nothing I really like in terms of value - although J.J Hardy is due for a homer any day now, he could be an intriguing option against Houston.

Outfield Top Plays:

Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves, $5,000 - Batting .304 with a homer and 7 RBIs against Hammel in his career.  I think the Braves' bats come alive tonight after a week of looking like the Padres.

Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants, $4,100 - He isn't that expensive but his career numbers against Maholm are fantastic - yes I just said fantastic.  Pence owns a .291 average, with two homers, and 9 RBIs against the weak lefty.

Outfield Value Play:

David Murphy, Cleveland Indians, $3,200 - I like this price for Murphy, its quite reasonable for a guy who mashes off right handed hitters.  Murphy takes on the struggling Odorizzi, who I don't expect to last long.

As always be sure to check the weather in the city your players are playing in. Don't forget to check lineups either, nothing worse than having a rostered player on your squad that isn't in the lineup.