MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 8/22/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Aug 22nd, 2016
The smoking-hot Brad Miller is once again up against a left-hander on Monday, making him a player to avoid.

As is the case in most daily fantasy sports, finding information on players you might want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.

While you can get away with a zero from a hitter in daily fantasy, you certainly don't want to target guys whose matchups aren't enticing.

Here are three hitters you may want to lessen your exposure to or even fade altogether on Friday.

Brad Miller, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

FanDuel Price: $3,400

We closed out last week correctly fading Brad Miller, who was up against a tough lefty matchup versus Cole Hamels. The Texas Rangers' southpaw pitched a masterful game, while Miller was 0-for-3. Now, Miller is up against David Price, who has pitched well his last two times out and gets the added benefit of coming back to face his old team in the pitcher’s park that made him a $200 million pitcher.

Price has been better against lefties throughout his career, with a .264 wOBA against them, but this season, they own a .316 wOBA. Pitching at Fenway Park might have a lot to do with it, but overall, hitters’ wOBA only dips slightly when Price is pitching on the road this season.

Miller, on the other hand, spent the weekend mashing, banging home three RBI on Saturday and scoring a run after a double on Sunday. However, now up against a southpaw, his prospects for double-digit fantasy points diminish. He has a .315 wOBA and a 29.3 percent strikeout rate against left-handers this season. Plus, in 17 career at-bats against Price, Miller has little to show for it with a .176 average and a 27.8 percent strikeout rate.

Khris Davis, OF, Oakland Athletics

FanDuel Price: $3,000

From one player we correctly faded last week to another. Khristopher Davis has also spent the weekend mashing, hitting dingers on Friday and Sunday. However, he was 0-for-3 Thursday when he was featured in this article and we could see more of the same Monday against Carlos Carrasco.

While the drama surrounding Billy Butler and Danny Valencia remains the main storyline in Oakland right now, Davis has been a great story in his first season there. He has a career-high 31 homers and 77 RBI, but he also struggles against strong right-handed pitching. His wOBA drops slightly to .341 with a .249 average this season against righties. His strikeout rate is also 26.7 percent against righties in 2016.

Carrasco continues to be a devastating one-two punch with Corey Kluber, and right-handed batters have felt his wrath the most. Righties have a .279 wOBA and 23.9 percent strikeout rate against him in 2016. It’s time to jump off the Davis train right after you jump off the Miller one.

Travis Jankowski, OF, San Diego Padres

FanDuel Price: $2,800

Be advised, Jon Lester gets to go up against a team with a 25 percent strikeout rate against lefty pitchers in Petco Park. It’s no wonder he is Monday’s top-priced pitcher, so it should be no surprise that San Diego Padres lefties are landmines here on Monday night. That includes young Travis Jankowski.

The Padres’ outfielder homered on Sunday making him an even bigger landmine coming into Monday night against one of the better lefties throwing this season. Jankowski’s sample size of at bats against Major-League southpaws is small, but it is not encouraging. He owns a career .202 wOBA across 72 at-bats against left-handed pitching. His career strikeout rate is 26.3 percent against southpaws, along with a hard hit rate of just 11.3 percent.

Lester has predictably dominated left-handers this season to the tune of a .260 wOBA and 27.6 percent strikeout rate. He adds an xFIP of 2.82 and a 25.3 percent fly ball rate against left-handers, making Jankowski just another Padre to avoid in MLB DFS Monday night.