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-priced slugger is a lot more common than a total dud from a top-priced 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-priced play completely is somewhat unique.

Let's get right into it and take a look at the top value options on today's slate.

JD Davis, OF, ($2,800), Robinson Cano, 2B, ($2,900) New York Mets

J.D. Davis has continued to prove his success is legitimate over an extended hot stretch. He is not hitting for a .345/.411/.604 slash line over his last 42 games and even with the return of Robinson Cano and Brandon Nimmo, Davis has secured an everyday spot in the Mets lineup.

Meanwhile, since coming back from the injured list Robinson Cano has looked good. It’s an obviously small sample, but in his first 14 plate appearances back, Cano has struck out just twice and has hit two home runs.

Tonight, the New York Mets face Arizona Diamondbacks starter, Merrill Kelly. Kelly has struggled mightily recently, posting a 7.36 ERA over his last 40 ⅓ innings, while also allowing ten home runs.

Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros ($2,300)

Top prospect Kyle Tucker was recently called up after having an amazing season in Triple-A. Tucker was one of two players in the minor leagues this season to have 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, showing off his power-speed ability, and did so while walking in a very good 11.2% of his plate appearances.

Tucker is considered to be one of the best hitting prospects in all of baseball, so whenever he is in the lineup at a price this low, he’s worth playing. Tonight, Tucker faces off against Oakland Athletics starter Mike Fiers. Fiers success this season continues to confound me, as his 3.51 ERA does not match up at all with his 4.75 FIP and 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9). Fiers isn’t a pitcher who forces to be nervous about playing Tucker if he’s in the lineup.

Mike Yastrzemski, OF, San Francisco Giants ($3,000)

This price was surprisingly low, as against righties, Mike Yastrzemski both hits the ball well and is the primary lead-off hitter for the San Francisco Giants.

In 265 plate appearances versus right-handed-pitching Yastrzemski has a .521 slugging percentage with 31 extra-base hits. Yastrzemski also does a great job of making hard contact, ranking in the 74th percentile of all hitters in Hard Hit%.

Tonight, Yastrzemski faces Pittsburgh Pirates starter, Trevor Williams. Williams represents a great matchup for Yastrzemski, as his 5.16 ERA comes with 21 home runs allowed in 125 ⅔ innings. Left-handed hitters also dominate against Williams. In 232 plate appearances versus Williams, lefties are hitting for a .930 OPS, compared to a mediocre .761 OPS for righties.

Eric Thames, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers ($2,700)

Against right-handed pitching, Eric Thames has continuously hit the ball extremely well.

In 336 plate appearances against righties, Thames is hitting for a .906 OPS with 19 home runs. His performance has landed him an everyday spot in the Milwaukee Brewers lineup when they face right-handed pitching.

Tonight, Thames faces Miami Marlins starter, Robert Dugger. In his first three MLB starts, Dugger hasn’t looked great. His 4.00 ERA is a bit of a mirage as shown by his 5.88 FIP, 6.0 K/9, and an ugly 12:7 strikeout to walk ratio (K:BB). Dugger has also shown an ability to be beaten via the long-ball, as across 142 innings in Triple-A and the majors, Dugger has allowed 21 home runs.

James Kohout is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, James Kohout also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username jt2115. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.