MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 9/5/19

Gabriel Billig Sep 5th, 2019
Anthony Rizzo takes on Chase Anderson, who is sporting reverse splits in 2019. Who else should you stay away from 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 shortlist 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.

Wade Miley, P, Houston Astros

FanDuel Price: $9,400

Lefty Wade Miley has had a successful season for the Houston Astros, logging a 3.06 ERA from the back end of their rotation. However, his 4.36 FIP tells us he has been the beneficiary of some luck, and negative regression could be looming. Furthermore, the 32-year-old has shown signs of wearing down as he has been unable to make it through six innings in any of his past five starts. Taking on the Seattle Mariners, who are above-average offensively, Miley is best left on the bench.

Jose Quintana ($9,000) provides more upside at a lower price.

Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Chicago Cubs

FanDuel Price: $4,200

Anthony Rizzo has continued to be an anchor in the Chicago Cubs' lineup this season, hitting 25 home runs and accumulating 3.8 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), per FanGraphs. He faces righty Chase Anderson tonight, which seems like a good matchup for the lefty first baseman. Surprisingly, though, Anderson has been much tougher on lefties this season, holding them to a .256 wOBA. Considering the reverse splits, targeting Cubs' righties could be a winning strategy on tonight's slate.

At first base, Trey Mancini ($3,700) finds himself in a favorable matchup against the Texas Rangers.

Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox

FanDuel Price: $4,100

Rafael Devers has arguably been the best player on the Boston Red Sox this season in what has been a letdown for the squad after dominating the league last year. Devers has broken out to the tune of 5.5 WAR and a 138 wRC+. Despite his performance, his matchup tonight suggests leaving him out of the starting lineup.

Facing lefties, such as tonight's starter Martin Perez, who has had a resurgent year with the Minnesota Twins, Devers has struggled with plate discipline. His walk rate is a mere 1.7% in lefty-lefty matchups, compared to 9.0% against righties. Similarly, Devers' strikeout rate is five percentage points higher against lefties than it is when he has the platoon advantage. The lack of discipline has limited his performance, as evidenced by his unimpressive 101 wRC+ against lefties.

Avoid Devers in favor of Anthony Rendon ($4,400).

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.