3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 4/16/19
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.
Max Fried, P, Atlanta Braves
FanDuel Price: $8,300
We have a full 15-game slate with every team in action tonight, meaning ownership should be spread out, leaving plenty of low-ownership opportunities to attack.
Max Fried has looked super strong in his first two starts of the year, posting a total of 12 innings pitched, nine strikeouts, while not allowing a single earned run. He is bound to give up a run here or there at some point, but he is up against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight and has a chance to minimize the damage. Arizona comes in with an implied run total sitting at only 3.91, which is the eighth lowest on the slate, along with carrying a 22.8% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers this season. Fried has a strong 27.8% strikeout rate, 55% ground ball rate, but a somewhat concerning 12% walk rate. Letting base runners on for free can always come back to bite you, but he has done a good job at limiting the damage and inducing ground balls.
He has posted 40 FanDuel points or more in each of his two starts this season and comes in very affordable tonight, opening up plenty for the rest of your lineup.
Kevin Kiermaier, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
FanDuel Price: $3,500
Kevin Kiermaier comes into this game with a modest five-game hitting streak and will have the platoon advantage against a struggling right-handed pitcher.
That struggling pitcher is Dylan Bundy, who has allowed 12 earned runs in 12.1 innings pitched this season, making him one of the worst pitchers on the slate tonight. The struggles Bundy is having are not only this season, but date back to last year when he allowed a .399 wOBA, 1.94 homers per nine innings, and a 46% fly ball rate. Those are truly some awful numbers, but they line up perfectly for Kiermaier, who had his fair share of injuries last season but was still able to post a .165 ISO and a 36% hard contact rate versus right-handed pitchers.
The Tampa Bay Rays left-handed hitters are one of the best stacks on the slate and shouldn't be passed on in tournaments.
Josh Reddick, OF, Houston Astros
FanDuel Price: $2,200
Josh Reddick is just slightly above the minimum salary tonight and is a great option for some home run upside.
He is facing Marco Estrada, who has allowed eight earned runs in his last 9.1 innings pitched and now facing an always dangerous Houston Astros team. The Astros are always a great team to stack for tournaments and most of the attention goes towards the top of the lineup, but Reddick should be a player to keep your eye on tonight.
First off, Estrada is a fly-ball pitcher and allowed 1.54 homers per nine innings to left-handed hitters last season, always putting him at risk to allow multiple home runs and thus making a great pitcher to stack against. If you are a believer in batter-versus-pitcher stats you'll also want to take note of this spot, as Reddick has nine career at-bats versus Estrada, with four hits, two home runs, and four RBI.
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.
