5 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 7/26/18

Mallex Smith, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

Price: $2,800

Mallex Smith has made some real strides as a hitter this year. His first two seasons saw him post wOBA's of .300 and .301 with strikeout rates of 22.3% and 22.0%, respectively. In 2018, he has a .326 wOBA with a much improved 19.9% strikeout rate.

He's also sporting a career-high 28.8% hard-hit rate (his previous best was 21.3%) and career-low 17.5% soft-hit rate (previously 25.9%).

Just looking at his split against right-handed pitching, things get even better, with a .331 wOBA on a 30.0% hard-hit and 15.8% soft-hit rate. That puts him in a good spot against Baltimore Orioles righty Alex Cobb, who has allowed a .371 wOBA to left-handed hitters while posting a career-worst 4.63 SIERA on the year.

A spot where Smith is likely to get on base is especially appealing when you factor in his base-stealing ability. He averages a steal every 18.9 plate appearances -- the seventh-most frequent mark among qualifying hitters -- and the Orioles have allowed a top-10 mark in both steals and steals per game this season. It would be shocking if he didn't grab at least one bag tonight.