FanDuel Price: $3,100
David Peralta has gotten off to a hot start to the season, batting .288 as he boasts a hard-hit rate of 44.2%. However, he has largely been a platoon hitter in his career. Against right-handers, he possesses a 128 wRC+ thanks to a 36.1% hard-hit rate and just a 17.7% strikeout rate. Against southpaws, though, those numbers fall to a 75 wRC+, 24.9% hard-hit rate and 23.2% strikeout rate.
If you're wondering whether Peralta's platoon splits are simply a byproduct of early-season struggles, that is simply not the case. Even so far in 2018, he has done almost all of his damage against right-handed pitching, posting a 173 wRC+ against them, compared to a mark of 97 against southpaws.
Tonight's opposing starter, Alex Wood, had a breakthrough season in 2017, but he has been a very effective pitcher throughout his career -- he has merely struggled with injuries. When on the field, he has been dynamite against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .275 wOBA in his career. This includes a 22.0% fly-ball rate and a 23.3% hard-hit rate.
As a career platoon hitter facing a tough left-hander, Peralta isn't worth rostering at any price above $3,000, even with his impressive start to the year.
Akash Bhatia is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Akash Bhatia also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tenswimrun1. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.