MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 6/14/19

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Jun 14th, 2019
Blake Snell has been strong as of late, but he's got a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Angels. Which other matchups should we look to avoid?

Baseball is heating up, and there are plenty of DFS contests to choose from on FanDuel's main slate. While we have plenty of pieces geared towards guys you should target in your DFS contests, it's also important to avoid sub-optimal options who are overpriced and/or in tough spots.

Let's check out three players to consider fading on FanDuel's main slate for June 14.

Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays (SP)

vs Los Angeles Angels
FanDuel Price: $10,500

It's a jam-packed main slate this weekend, which means there's a plethora of solid hitting and pitching options. One that seems in for a tough night is Blake Snell.

Make no mistake -- the old Snell is back. Over his last seven starts, he's struck out 57 batters over 40 2/3 innings pitched, including five quality starts and a 2.87 ERA.

But the matchup with the Los Angeles Angels is a sneaky challenge -- they strike out the least in all of baseball (16.7%), and their .328 wOBA clocks them in 13th in the league. It's a solid offense that is tough to rack up a big day against.

While Snell was brilliant his last turn out against a tough-to-whiff Boston Red Sox team (46 FanDuel points), this feels like a stay-away spot.

Didi Gregorius, New York Yankees (SS)

at Chicago White Sox
FanDuel Price: $3,400

After a length stay on the Injured List, Didi Gregorius of the New York Yankees has been red hot, racking up eight hits in his first four games, including bopping his first long ball of 2019. He's following up on a 27 home run season a year ago.

But the shortstop may not be ripping any homers tonight against one of the league's best surprises in 2019, Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox.

Giolito has been absolutely dominant this year, recording a 2.28 ERA and 3.52 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), supported strongly by a 30.8% swinging-strike rate and 14.0% swinging-strike rate.

Giolito has been even more dominant against left-handed batters in 2019 -- they've recorded only a .218 wOBA against him.

Moving from Yankee Stadium, which ranks sixth in park factor, to 20th at Guaranteed Rate Field, Gregorius feels like a tough play.

Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers (OF)

vs Chicago Cubs
FanDuel Price: $4,600

This may be one of the most fun matchups of the evening, as one of baseball's best pitchers in Kyle Hendricks squares off with one of baseball's best hitters in Cody Bellinger.

Bellinger's 1.153 OPS has been an insane start to the year, but he has cooled a bit recently. While he did rip two dingers last night, Bellinger had been homerless since May 28th prior to last night's home runs.

That cool streak may continue as Hendricks has been outstanding as of late -- he has not lost a start since April, and his six straight wins are being driven by a 26.1% strikeout rate against lefty-swingers, including paltry .315 wOBA.

Fold in a potential cool-weather evening in Los Angeles, and Bellinger may not be primed for a large score.


Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. 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.