MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 8/9/19

Gabriel Billig Aug 9th, 2019
With little strikeout upside and a suspect defense behind him, Marcus Stroman will be one to avoid on FanDuel tonight.

While we have plenty of pieces geared towards guys you should target in your DFS contests, it's also important to narrow down your short list of plays and avoid the suboptimal ones who are overpriced and/or in tough spots.

Let's check out three guys to consider fading on tonight's FanDuel main slate.

Marcus Stroman, P, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $8,400

There is no doubting that the New York Mets have been scorching hot but expectations should be limited for Marcus Stroman.

Although he has pitched his way to a solid 3.07 ERA and 3.51 FIP, he has a below average strikeout rate at 19.1%. As a pitch-to-contact type, Stroman relies heavily on his defense to make plays. Unfortunately for him, the Mets rank 28th in defensive runs saved and do not figure to do him any favors with the glove.

The veteran righty will be going up against the Washington Nationals, who carry a team strikeout rate of 21.3%, the eighth-lowest mark in the league. With a lineup that tends to put the ball in play and features hitters like Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto, Stroman is best left untouched in favor of cheaper options such as Dakota Hudson ($7,200).

Eduardo Escobar, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $3,900

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be facing the young righty phenom Walker Buehler and the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight. Eduardo Escobar, a switch-hitter who leads the Majors in RBIs, has had a lot more success against lefties (.399 wOBA) than righties (.338 wOBA). With Buehler's tendency to keep runners off the basepaths, Escobar will have limited opportunities to drive in runs. Furthermore, Buehler has held lefties to just a .205 AVG and .296 FIP.

Instead of paying for Escobar, save money by starting Eugenio Suarez ($3,800) or pay up for a stud like Nolan Arenado ($4,100), both of whom have more upside in their respective matchups.

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves

FanDuel Price: $4,300

At first glance, playing Freddie Freeman against the Marlins seems enticing. However, Freeman is facing lefty Caleb Smith, who has limited lefties to a .261 wOBA and .186 AVG.

On top of that, Freeman has not quite dominated lefties this season. He enters the matchup striking out nine percentage points higher against lefties than righties and sporting an OBP over 80 points lower than when he faces righties. To further build a case against Freeman, consider that Marlins Park tends to heavily favor pitchers.

Consider saving some salary and increasing upside by opting for Anthony Rizzo ($3,700) or Paul Goldschmidt ($3,500).

Gabriel Billig is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice Gabriel Billig also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username gpbbsb. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.