3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 7/17/19
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.
Kenta Maeda, P, Los Angeles Dodgers
FanDuel Price: $7,400
The Philadelphia Phillies have a 4.89 implied run total tonight, but will that keep DFS players off of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher?
That pitcher is Kenta Maeda, who comes in with a solid but not amazing 24.8% strikeout rate this season, which should put him in a decent spot tonight since the Phillies have a 23.0% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitchers. W're not necessarily expecting him to strike out a ton of hitters out tonight, but rather continue his string of strong starts of limiting damage. In his last 10 starts, Maeda has allowed three or fewer earned runs nine times, making him one of the safest pitchers on the slate. His strikeouts range from four up to 12 in that span, which is where the lack of upside comes from.
Not being a massive strikeout pitcher is one reason some DFS players won't roster Maeda, along with the fact he doesn't pitch too deep into games, also limiting his fantasy points. Even with that said, he is very affordable tonight and has shown the ability to limit the damage regardless of matchup.
Christian Vazquez, C, Boston Red Sox
FanDuel Price: $2,900
Catchers are always lower owned, but the Boston Red Sox have the highest implied team total on the slate tonight. Will that draw people in?
Christian Vazquez is quietly having his best season in the Majors and finds himself looking at a 6.57 implied run total tonight against Aaron Sanchez. This is a great spot for the Red Sox offense, and we should see most people flock to the usual suspects in their lineup in Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers, etc. But don't pass on Vazquez tonight, since he is carrying a .217 ISO, 41.4% fly-ball rate, and a modest 16.7% home-run-to-fly-ball ratio versus right-handed pitchers while at home this season.
Sanchez is holding a 6.18 xFIP and 40.0% hard-hit rate against righty hitters this season, and with the park factor in favor of the hitters tonight, it's all Red Sox and their offense.
Eric Hosmer, 1B, San Diego Padres
FanDuel Price: $2,900
The San Diego Padres aren't the best team in the league, but they certainly have some power worth considering tonight.
A 4.05 implied team total for the Padres is nothing to write home about, but they have a shot to hit the over on that since they are up against Trevor Richards tonight. Richards comes into this game with a 6.17 xFIP while allowing 1.18 homers per nine innings, and he's giving up a 41.9% fly-ball rate to lefty hitters this season. Even though this game is in Miami, which is a pitcher's park, Richards hasn't performed any better in home starts.
This is good because we can target a hitter like Eric Hosmer, who has a significant 24.5% home-run-to-fly-ball rate versus right-handed pitchers this season. Hosmer has seen that home-run-to-fly-ball rate increase each month so far this season up to June and is looking to grab his first homer in July tonight.
