3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 8/31/18
Matt Olson, 1B, Oakland Athletics
FanDuel Price: $3,300
On a 15-game slate, we probably don't need to be going for an all-in stack at Oakland Coliseum, but we know how dangerous the Oakland Athletics can be, and they have a solid matchup against Mike Leake.
Leake carries an unimposing 4.38 SIERA and 15.3% strikeout rate this year, and his ground-ball rate isn't as low as it's been in years past (48.9%). Against lefty bats, that strikeout rate drops to just 11.9%, and he's allowing a 37.6% hard-hit rate.
That makes Matt Olson an enticing play at this price point. While his power output has been somewhat disappointing compared to 2017, he's still producing a massive 48.5% hard-hit rate and 47.0% fly-ball rate against righties, leading to a .243 ISO in the platoon split. He also continues to show a top-10 average exit velocity in the league, so don't doubt his ability to knock one out on any given night.
Kenyatta Storin is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Kenyatta Storin also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username yatters. 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.