MLB

3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 9/10/19

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Sep 10th, 2019
Can Jose Berrios get back on track tonight versus the Nationals? Will he be a lower-owned player on this 14-game slate?

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.

Jose Berrios, P, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $8,000

The Minnesota Twins come in as -144 home favorites tonight, but will we see Jose Berrios go under-owned?

The final few weeks of the MLB regular season are here, and teams are looking to lock up their playoff spots, making every win that much more important. The Twins are solid home favorites tonight and have their ace on the mound in Berrios, who shouldn't be too highly owned. He comes in with a modest 22.9% strikeout rate this season, which generally sees him go overlooked since the massive fantasy points upside isn't there with him. It also doesn't help that the matchup tonight isn't amazing, but it's beatable.

Berrios comes in with a very solid 42% ground-ball rate along with a 45% medium-contact rate, which is the most contact he allows. He lives on the ground ball in order to get hitters out, and while the Washington Nationals lineup certainly has plenty of dangerous hitters, they only come in with a 35.1% hard-hit rate, which is 24th in the league versus right-handed pitchers.

Ryan O'Hearn, 1B, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $2,400

A loaded 14-game that features Coors Field has us looking for some cheaper options in tournaments, but who fits that bill tonight?

Getting off the ownership at Coors Field is always an interesting decision to make in MLB DFS tournaments, but the Kansas City Royals could be a viable option tonight. Now, this isn't to say the Royals are some amazing offensive team, but they are facing Ivan Nova, who is worth attacking tonight. Nova comes in allowing 1.52 home runs per nine innings to lefty hitters this season, along with a modest 36.2% hard-hit rate and 35% fly-ball rate. Nova is also holding a 5.35 xFIP in this split and a very non-threatening 13.3% strikeout rate. Simply put, we should be able to attack Nova with most lefty hitters.

One of those lefty hitters for the Royals its Ryan O'Hearn, who is very cheap tonight and allows you to pay up for pitching or for some expensive hitters. O'Hearn comes in with a .174 ISO, 42.9% hard-hit rate, and 36.7% fly-ball rate versus right-handed pitchers. Those are some decently strong numbers for a player that cheap, who is up against a home run prone pitcher.

Randal Grichuk, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

FanDuel Price: $2,600

Does Randal Grichuk make a viable GPP option tonight versus a home run prone pitcher?

That pitcher is Nathan Eovaldi of the Boston Red Sox, and he is worth attacking tonight. This season, Eovaldi is allowing 1.03 home runs per nine innings, a 41.3% hard-hit rate, and a modest 15.8% home-run-to-fly-ball ratio this season versus right-handed hitters. Eovaldi is having an up and down season, so we want to attack him with power, which hopefully comes in at lower ownership.

One such hitter is Grichuk, who, despite being under $3K, has some serious power in same-sided matchups. In that split, he is boasting a .209 ISO, 34.4% hard-hit rate, and a 42.5% fly-ball rate this season. Those are surprisingly strong numbers and with a positive park factor in their favor, the Toronto Blue Jays hitters are in a good spot tonight.