4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for Tuesday 6/8/21

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 full 15-game main slate, which locks at 7:05 PM Eastern.

Sonny Gray, SP, Cincinnati Reds ($8,000)

With every team in action on tonight's slate, there is no shortage of pitcher options, as you would expect. Five pitchers have salaries of $10,000-plus, and an additional seven come in pricier than Cincinnati Reds starter Sonny Gray, who is our algorithm's second-best point-per-dollar value at pitcher.

Gray enters tonight's slate with an impressive strikeout rate of 29.4%, which is right in line with what he's posted since 2019. The 31-year-old also sports an ERA of 3.64, and that's backed up by a SIERA that's also 3.64. The veteran has been especially rock-solid at home since joining the Cincinnati Reds, as evidenced by his 31.6% strikeout rate and 3.13 xFIP at Great American Ball Park since 2019 (compared to 27.1% and 3.90 on the road).

A matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers only makes Gray all the more appealing. Though they've been somewhat better of late, Milwaukee's 81 wRC+ against righties ranks second-worst in the league, while their 26.0% strikeout rate comes in as the fourth-highest, according to FanGraphs.

Gray has recorded at least 43 FanDuel points in three of his last seven efforts, and an output in that range is certainly in play tonight.

Martin Maldonado, C, Houston Astros ($2,100)

According to numberFire's Matchup Heat Map, no team on tonight's slate has a higher implied total than the Houston Astros.

The Astros will be going up against Boston Red Sox lefty Martin Perez. Though Perez's 3.09 ERA might scare some away, it is 1.29 points lower than anything he's posted since 2013, and his 4.39 xERA and 4.27 SIERA scream regression.

Martin Maldonado enters tonight's game with an awful .163 average and .250 on-base percentage. So why should we consider him tonight? Well, it's as simple as the fact that he's facing a southpaw. This season, all 4 of Maldy's dongs and 12 of his 14 RBI have some with the platoon advantage, and in 114 plate appearances versus southpaws since the start of 2020, he has racked up a 840 OPS, .228 ISO, and 137 wRC+. That'll play, especially at a near-minimum salary.

Maldonado has also had his fair share of success against Perez in his career. In 16 plate appearances against the veteran, Maldonado has racked up eight hits and two walks.

Tony Kemp, 2B, Oakland Athletics ($2,100)

Tony Kemp has been red-hot of late for the Oakland Athletics, and yet we can roster him for only $100 more than the minimum in an excellent matchup.

Over his last 15 games, Kemp is hitting .390 with an OPS of 1.160, 10 RBI, and a strikeout rate (12.2%) that's nearly identical to his walk rate (10.2%). Tonight, he'll look to keep that going in a delicious spot against Jon Duplantier and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The first 45.1 innings in Duplantier's Major League career have been underwhelming, to say the least. He boasts a 5.36 ERA, which is backed up by a 5.39 xFIP. His 20.3% strikeout rate is nothing to write home about, and his 11.1% walk rate and 1.61 WHIP should make us want to get as many A's players in our lineups as possible. Kemp's an economical way to start.

LaMonte Wade, OF, San Francisco Giants ($2,100)

That's right -- another player with a salary of $2,100. That just seems to be the sweet spot tonight. This time we'll go with LaMonte Wade Jr of the San Francisco Giants.

San Fran will be pitted against Jordan Lyles, which is a dream spot for their hitters. In 118.2 innings since joining the Texas Rangers in 2020, Lyles has allowed the opposition to hit at a .291 clip against him, and his 16.8% strikeout rate and 1.54 WHIP during that stretch doesn't exactly inspire much confidence. As an added bonus, the 30-year-old has also ceded 1.7 dongs per nine frames during that time.

Wade is one of a number of cheap Giants' bats we'll want to get into our lineups. In an admittedly small sample of 38 plate appearances with the platoon advantage this season, the 27-year-old has posted a 1.046 OPS, .313 ISO, and 186 wRC+. Over his last nine games, Wade has racked up at least 12.2 FanDuel points five times, including four outputs of 18.7-plus.

If Brandon Belt ($2,500) returns to the lineup tonight, he absolutely should be a priority. Any of Brandon Crawford ($3,000), Steven Duggar ($2,400), and Alex Dickerson ($2,200) can also be included in stacks.