3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Opening Day
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.
Matthew Boyd, P, Detroit Tigers ($7,400)
With so many top-tier pitchers available on Opening Day, is Matt Boyd worth a shot in tournaments?
It's no secret that Boyd struggled last season compared to what he had shown in 2019, but he has a solid matchup versus a weak Cleveland Indians lineup.
In 2019, Boyd posted a 30.2% strikeout rate, which dropped to 22.1% in 2020. His walks were also up to 8.1% in 2020 from 6.3% in 2019. Along with allowing 2.24 HR/9 in 2020, which was up from 1.89 in 2019. The list goes on and on for Boyd, who simply had a bad season in an abbreviated year. Regardless, he is starting the season off in a soft matchup and has the potential to get things going in the right direction this year.
The current Cleveland roster held a combined .153 ISO last season versus left-handed pitchers, which was 24th in the league, along with a 99 wRC+, which was 15th. They also struggled to do damage with a league-worst 27.7% hard-contact rate and a 35.2% fly-ball rate, which was 16th in the league. Even though they didn't strike out a ton last year (20.2% versus left-handed pitchers), they failed to truly punish opposing pitchers.
Due to the favorable Opening Day matchup, Boyd could be in a spot to start a resurgent 2021 off in a positive way.
Jurickson Profar, 2B/OF, San Diego Padres ($2,300)
The San Diego Padres are going to be popular tonight, but does that mean all of their players will be?
This season is looking up for the Padres after a number of signings in the offseason, and they get to start the season with a 5.03 implied run total. We know that plenty of DFS players will look to roster Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, or Tommy Pham, but Jurickson Profar could be a player going a bit overlooked. He has a far lower salary than some of those other options and has solid splits against left-handed pitchers.
Last season, albeit shortened, he ended with a 108 wRC+ and a low 15.1% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers. He may not have a ton of power with a .147 ISO and a 31.0% hard-contact rate, but his ability to get on-base is certainly there, and he gets your exposure to the Padres' powerful lineup.
He will be up against Madison Bumgarner, who held a terrible .404 wOBA and allowed 3.30 HR/9 against right-handed hitters last season. The matchup is there for Profar, who shouldn't be too popular today.
Brandon Lowe, 2B/OF, Tampa Bay Rays ($3,300)
The Tampa Bay Rays have a modest 3.72 implied run total today and shouldn't be popular today
That run total is the 11th-highest on today's slate -- aka middle of the road. There is nothing that jumps off the page about that, and if that means Rays' stacks are going to be less-rostered, then they make a solid tournament target.
Brandon Lowe had a phenomenal 2020, posting a 130 wRC+, .238 ISO, 40.6% hard-contact rate, and a 41.6% fly-ball rate versus right-handed pitchers. He was a fantasy surprise last season and should be able to start this year off in a big way versus Sandy Alcantara.
Alcantara seriously struggled versus lefty hitters last season with a 5.27 xFIP, a 13.3% walk rate, and a 45.1% fly-ball rate. Yikes. Letting hitters on-base for free and giving up fly balls is never a good combination. Given all of the options available on Opening Day, it doesn't seem the Rays will be very popular, making them all the more intriguing for tournaments.
