5 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for Monday 4/26/21

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

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

Anthony DeSclafani, SP, San Francisco Giants ($6,800)

It's going to be tough to hop down from Corbin Burnes, but if you're looking for a different lineup build, Anthony DeSclafani has a fantastic matchup against the Colorado Rockies.

It's no secret that the Rockies are a team to attack on the road, and their active roster owns a poor 83 wRC+ and 26.1% strikeout rate versus righties dating back to last season. As a result, they have a mere 3.30 implied total tonight, which is the third-lowest mark on the board.

While DeSclafani doesn't possess the firepower of some other hurlers on the slate, he has a solid 3.60 SIERA and 23.6% strikeout rate over his four starts. And his best outing this season? That came against these same Rockies in an 8-strikeout effort for 52 FanDuel points.

Austin Riley, 3B, Atlanta Braves ($2,500)

The Atlanta Braves not only arguably have the night's top matchup against Zach Davies, but their lineup is loaded with value, with even guys such as Marcell Ozuna ($3,200) and Ozzie Albies ($3,300) coming in at modest salaries. Davies is having a rough go of it in 2021 with a 12.8% strikeout rate and 14.1% walk rate resulting in an 8.80 ERA through four starts.

Everyone in the bottom half of Atlanta's projected order comes in below $3,000 -- with Austin Riley having one of the lowest salaries of the bunch. Riley's power hasn't quite been there so far, but considering his solid career .204 ISO, he should come around. An 89th-percentile max exit velocity this season is also a promising sign.

Aaron Hicks, OF, New York Yankees ($2,600)

The one good thing about the New York Yankees' inconsistent play at the dish is that their salaries are far lower than what we normally see. Their 4.94 implied total against Matt Harvey is one of the better marks on the slate.

Although Aaron Hicks hasn't been batting third lately, he's remained in the top six most nights, and he can take advantage of Harvey's poor splits versus lefty sticks. Going back to 2019, Harvey has posted a 5.63 xFIP, 14.7% strikeout rate, and 11.2% walk rate, all while allowing dingers off a 47.9% hard-hit rate and 37.5% ground-ball rate.

Hicks' 2021 line is lacking, but he's slugged home runs in back-to-back games, so he could be turning things around. Pairing him and a left-handed Rougned Odor ($2,200) with the other value options in the bottom half of the lineup allows you to stack up the Yankees without spending much cap.

Yordan Alvarez, OF, Houston Astros ($3,100)

The more conventional choice on the Houston Astros is Yuli Gurriel ($2,900), who will have the platoon advantage against Justus Sheffield. Houston also has the distinction of owning the top implied total of the night (5.03).

But we shouldn't ignore Yordan Alvarez at such a low salary just because he bats left-handed. While it isn't the biggest sample, Alvarez has displayed no dip in production when facing southpaws, producing a .324 ISO across 166 plate appearances in the split. Meanwhile, Sheffield's prowess against lefties remains difficult to pin down over just 28.1 career innings against them, but he carries a lackluster 4.95 xFIP in those spots.

On top of all that, Alvarez will also get to take hacks against a predominantly right-handed Seattle bullpen.

Jose Rojas, 2B, Los Angeles Angels ($2,000)

A Los Angeles Angels stack becomes far less appealing if Mike Trout is out of the lineup again, so keep an eye on that this evening. As things stand, though, their spot against Jordan Lyles is a good one, as Lyles has a pedestrian 20.7% strikeout rate over four outings and has already coughed up 5 home runs in 21.1 innings. Lyles gave up 1.87 home runs per 9 innings in 2020 and 1.60 per 9 the year before that.

Lyles also shows a 5.62 xFIP versus left-handed batters going back to 2019, giving us some interest in minimum-salaried Jose Rojas. Admittedly, Rojas has little to show for his 38 plate appearances in 2021, but he demonstrated some pop in Triple-A (.283 ISO in 2019) and is making a fair bit of hard contact (45.5%). Particularly if he's batting fifth or sixth, he could be worth rolling the dice on.