5 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 9/17/19

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.

Gavin Lux, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers ($2,700)

Gavin Lux’s production is starting to increase, as is his price, but he’s still a clear value.

The elite prospect now has an .826 OPS in his first 43 MLB plate appearances, and until he’s priced alongside similarly great hitters in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup, he will find himself in this article as a clear value.

Tonight, the Dodgers face Blake Snell in his return from the injured list. Snell isn’t an easy matchup, but given he’s only expected to go three innings, and then it will be a bullpen game for the Tampa Bay Rays, I am not worried about the matchup for Lux.

CJ Cron, 1B, Minnesota Twins ($2,700)

C.J. Cron has dominated left-handed pitching all season long. In 137 plate appearances against southpaws, Cron is hitting .325 with ten home runs and a 1.037 OPS. His walk rate also jumps from 5.5% against righties to 7.3% against lefties, while his strikeout rate drops from 22.9% to 18.9% when facing lefties.

Cron will face Chicago White Sox starter, Ross Detwiler. Along with Cron having a platoon advantage, he gets to face one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball. Detwiler has a 6.79 ERA in 54 ⅓ innings this season, while allowing right-handed hitters to hit for a 1.027 OPS with 12 home runs off of him in 188 plate appearances.

Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros ($2,700)

Kyle Tucker is similar to Gavin Lux in that they are both top prospects that are extreme values whenever they are in their teams starting lineups, unfortunately for Tucker that has happened far less than it has for Lux, but Tucker’s production is hard to argue.

After being one of two players in all of Minor League baseball to hit 30 home runs and have 30 stolen bases, Tucker since his call-up has hit .325 with a .907 OPS, two home runs, and four steals in 42 plate appearances. Tonight, he’ll face Lance Lynn, which is a tough matchup, but given Tucker’s consistent production across both levels, if he’s in the Astros lineup tonight he’s a value.

Ramon Laureano, OF, ($2,900), Mark Canha, OF, ($3,200) Oakland Athletics

Similarly to yesterday, a mini Oakland Athletics stack is a great way to round out my lineups tonight.

Starting with Ramon Laureano, Laureano has continued his breakout after missing a month due to injury, which is why his price is at such a low point. In seven games since his return, Laureano has a .994 OPS and has regularly hit second in the lineup.

Mark Canha has dominated right-handed pitching all season long, hitting for a .285/.406/.531 slash line in 321 plate appearances with 17 home runs. Canha has also established himself as the clean-up hitter against right-handed pitching, making two Athletics middle of the order bats extreme values for tonight.

The Athletics will face Kansas City Royals starter Jorge Lopez, tonight. Lopez’s 6.09 ERA in 109 ⅓ innings this season tells a pretty good story of how bad he’s been. The Athletics should have a huge night tonight, and with two middle of the order bats being extreme values, I want them both in my lineup.

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.