3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 7/16/19
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 July 16.
Andrew Cashner, Boston Red Sox (SP)
vs. Toronto Blue Jays
FanDuel Price: $8,000
Andrew Cashner has changed jerseys within the AL East, and he makes his first start for the Boston Red Sox tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Any time a pitcher gets to attack the Toronto offense, it's typically a good day -- they rank ninth-highest in strikeout rate (24.3%), and they are fifth-worst in team wOBA.
But Cashner doesn't exactly have eye-popping numbers, either -- at least not eye-popping in a good way. His 16.5% strikeout rate is fifth-lowest on the main slate, and his 37.2% hard-hit rate means a lot of screamers could be in play. It all leads to a pretty ugly 5.03 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA).
Despite being a heavy favorite (moneyline -200), Cashner's implied allowed run total of 4.68 isn't tidy, either. Consider Cashner at your own risk.
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies (OF)
vs. San Francisco Giants
FanDuel Price: $4,800
With a hot, humid day projected in already mega-hitter friendly Coors Field, a massive implied team total of 7.43 runs means roster all Colorado Rockies bats, right? I'd steer clear of Charlie Blackmon. Certainly, we don't need to recap why Denver is so fantastic. But let's check out a few things.
First, Drew Pomeranz, tonight's starter for the San Francisco Giants, has actually held his own against same-sided bats this year, recording a .339 wOBA and 29.8% strikeout rate against them.
Second, it's not a surprise that Blackmon struggles against lefties. Since the start of the 2018 season, Blackmon owns a 31.6% fly-ball rate and .849 OPS against lefties, but those numbers jump up to a 37.4% fly-ball rate and .923 OPS against righties.
Third, Blackmon has struggled as of late. Since July 5th, he has three total hits and one RBI.
It's not likely Blackmon will stay down for long, and he could pop tonight in an explosive environment, but there are better ways to spend up in Denver tonight.
Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies (OF)
vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
FanDuel Price: $3,500
It's been a bit of an up-and-down season for Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, and there's no rest for the weary tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a mammoth showdown of teams gunning for a 2019 World Series title.
Playing at home, where the Phillies home park ranks second in home run factor over the past three seasons, even against a stud like Walker Buehler and having the platoon advantage could lead to Harper being a solid play, right?
Not exactly. Buehler has been filthy against all batters, especially against lefties like Harper. On the season, he has limited them to a 31.8% fly-ball rate, 25.1% strikeout rate, and lowly .260 wOBA over 223 plate appearances.
Oddly, Harper's been far better against southpaws (.889 OPS) than versus righties (.806 OPS) in 2019, so he makes for a fade in this spot.
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.
