If you avoided the “Bryce Harper Local” train, which I also suggested, then you weren’t stuck with his 4-for-24 showing. Harper had a tough road ahead of him last week, which made his premium salary tough to roster. The saving grace was two of his four hits went yard. At least there was a silver lining to his cloudy Week 8.

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As always, we’re here trying to spot the best values and fades for the upcoming week, so here are the trends, matchups and information you need to know for Week 9 in the world of DFS.

FanDuel and DraftKings strategy

PLAYER AT PEAK SALARY:

Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox ($5.1K DraftKings/$4.7K FanDuel)

The current AL batting leader is having a brilliant season. Bogaerts has finally showed the promise so many scouts have foretold, and he’s been a strong value despite a high salary most of the year. This week, Trevor Story will be cheaper on FanDuel, and he faces the Reds, who give up plenty of home runs. Brandon Crawford is another cost effective alternative. With Colorado and some big ticket arms in play early in this week, adding Bogaerts to your roster may not be a smart delineation of budget. 

PITCHER PRICED BELOW VALUE:

Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies ($8.9K FanDuel)

If you’re looking for a contrary play on Tuesday, Nola against the Nats is your man. The Washington offense has been inconsistent at times this year, and the young Nola has been quite spectacular of late. Over his past six starts, Nola has six quality starts, three wins, 40 K/7 BB, 1.80 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. In Nola’s last time out against the Nats, he held them scoreless over seven innings. His second start this week is at home against the Brewers. Both nights he’s set to pitch will have some pretty big names on the slate like Jake Arrieta, Gerrit Cole and Jose Fernandez, but Nola is pitching just as well of late and may be a nice alternative to the very top of the board.

HITTER PRICED BELOW VALUE:

Cameron Maybin, OF, Tigers ($3.3K FanDuel/$3.7K DraftKings)

Despite a quite weekend, Maybin has otherwise been very productive since he returned from injury. In 13 games, he’s hitting .435 with four steals, five walks and 10 runs scored. Outside of the Chris Sale matchup on Saturday, the rest of his games this week should be smooth sailing. Maybin has a little pop, and even though he’s hitting seventh in the order for now, that hasn’t slowed him down. He faces four lefties this week, and year-to-date Maybin sports a 1.471 OPS versus southpaws in 16 plate appearances. 

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Daily fantasy baseball hitter strategy

The Reds have given up the second most stolen bases in baseball this year. That should give an extra bump in value for their opponents with speed this week, which includes DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies and Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Michael Taylor of the Nationals. Taylor in a spot start could be a very nice tournament play based on his power/speed/low-price combination. The Cubs are right behind the Reds in that steals allowed department, which bodes well for Chris Owings, Jean Segura and perhaps evenPaul Goldschmidt, which makes his premium price slightly more acceptable. Don’t neglect the concept of speed when creating DFS lineups. A big night on the bases can pay off nicely. 

The Brewers give up a plethora of home runs, and they head to the tiny ballpark in Philadelphia this weekend. Maikel Franco should be a target this weekend, as should Tommy Joseph if he gets a start or two. Joseph has already displayed some legit pop in the early going and is a significant bargain at first base on all sites. 

Daily fantasy baseball lineup picks

Finally, here’s a look at Tuesday’s Relative Position Value per Dollar Lineup (RPVPD) for DraftKings. RPVPD is the Fantasy Black Book’s DFS player evaluation tool, which is only available to Fantasy Alarm subscribers . For more optimal lineups, DFS tools like RPVPD, and season-long rankings and advice, head to FantasyAlarm.com for the DFS Playbook and much more!

Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the seven-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series  for baseball and football. He hosts Fantasy Sports Tonight on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and the Dear Mr. Fantasy Podcast.