When being contrarian in daily fantasy sports, there's a fine line between taking a calculated risk and being reckless. But differentiating your lineups from everyone else is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of Vegas totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found that everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-owned plays if we look hard enough.
Here are three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.
Nathan Eovaldi, P, Boston Red Sox
FanDuel Price: $6,800
There is no doubt that Nathan Eovaldi has been off to a slow start this season, but as the second cheapest pitcher on the slate, he could go overlooked in tournaments.
Eovaldi is up against the Toronto Blue Jays tonight, who come in with an implied run total sitting at 4.05, which is the third lowest on the slate. On paper, he is set to limit the potential damage, but let's take a look at why.
The current Blue Jays roster finished last season with a 25.3% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitchers, which was the fourth worst in the league. Toronto also finished with a 102 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers, which is barely above league average, making this a lineup that shouldn't be too dangerous.
Eovaldi is a better pitcher than what he is currently showing, as he finished last season with a 22.2% strikeout rate and a super low 4.4% walk rate.
Jackie Bradley Jr., OF, Boston Red Sox
FanDuel Price: $2,200
Jackie Bradley often hits near the bottom of the lineup for the Boston Red Sox, but he has plenty of value in tournaments.
Batting at the bottom of the lineup generally brings two things -- he is on the cheaper side of hitters and should be lower owned in tournaments. Salary relief is always great, but it's especially important when we only have five games on the slate tonight and are searching for value options.
Bradley will be facing off against Aaron Sanchez, who allowed a .380 wOBA, 1.12 homers per nine innings, and 35.6% fly ball rate last season to left-handed hitters. Those aren't good numbers by any stretch and look even worse when Sanchez is heading into one of the best hitter's parks in the league. The Red Sox have an implied team total sitting at 5.45, which is the highest on the slate.
Take the savings with Bradley and consider doing a wrap-around stack to get some of the Sox's hitters at the top of the lineup.
Brandon Nimmo, OF, New York Mets
FanDuel Price: $2,700
The New York Mets are on the road visiting the Atlanta Braves tonight, giving them a significant positive park shift, which will be a boost to their offense.
Brandon Nimmo isn't off to the best start this season and that is putting it nicely. He comes in with a 48.5% strikeout rate and a 71 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers, which is as bad as it gets.
Struggling currently? Yes. Is he a better hitter than this? Also, yes.
Last season, he had a super strong 163 wRC+ and a low 23.7% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitchers, clearly showing that this might just be a bumpy road to get the year going.
The good thing for Nimmo is that he is cheap tonight and comes in with the platoon advantage against Kevin Gausman, who allowed 1.20 homers per nine innings and a 35.9% fly ball rate to left-handed hitters last season. Gausman is a good pitcher, but also prone to the long ball, which could be in the cards tonight with this game having one of the best hitting environments on the slate, as first pitch is going to be around 77 degrees.
Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. 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.