3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Thursday 5/27/21

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's is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of bookmaker totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found who everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-rostered plays if we look hard enough.

Here are three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.

Carlos Martinez, P, St. Louis Cardinals ($7,100)

The pitching options on tonight's slate are interesting to say the least.

There's no true ace on this five-game slate. Sure, Shohei Ohtani's salary is in ace territory, but he has pitched more than six innings only one time this year, and his matchup against the Oakland Athletics is no cakewalk. Alex Wood has been great this season but faces a tough Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup. This means that -- unlike most slates -- you might not be missing out if you don't spend up at pitching. So why not consider Carlos Martinez?

He's having a good-but-not great season. While Martinez's 12.1% strikeout rate is super low, his clips of 0.57 homers per nine and a 50.3% ground-ball rate are awesome.

It's a bit of a mixed bag for Martinez, which is what you get from a pitcher at this salary, but the matchup versus the Arizona Diamondbacks is worth attacking. The D-Backs come in with an 89 wRC+ (18th) and .146 ISO (20th). Considering Martinez has been limiting damage recently, he should continue that in this matchup and is a decent option for $7,100.

Trey Mancini, 1B, Baltimore Orioles ($4,200)

With the Chicago White Sox likely to be a popular stack on the other side of this game, the Baltimore Orioles could be going a bit overlooked.

The Orioles hold a low 3.49 implied run total and aren't viewed as an amazing offensive team. This doesn't mean you need to be avoiding all of their players. In fact, Trey Mancini is a player you should be going heavily today.

Mancini is looking strong this season and comes in with a 112 wRC+ and .197 ISO versus right-handed pitchers. Those are good numbers and can provide plenty of fantasy value to your lineups.

He will be up against Dylan Cease, a young pitcher who has yet to throw more than 73.0 innings in any of his three seasons. Looking at Cease's career numbers, he has allowed a 4.37 xFIP, 1.24 homers per nine, an 11.6% walk rate, and a 40.1% fly-ball rate versus right-handed hitters.

We have a chance to grab Mancini as an under-the-radar option, and we should lock him in.

Nate Lowe, 1B, Texas Rangers ($2,600)

The Texas Rangers have a modest 4.18 implied run total, which is the fifth-highest on the slate. Normally, the fifth-highest implied total on the slate could be somewhat popular, but we are dealing with a small five-game slate, which leaves them as a middle-of-the-road option.

They will be taking on Chris Flexen, who has been struggling this season against left-handed hitters, allowing a .373 wOBA and 1.42 homers per nine. He's mustered a low 15.7% strikeout rate and a 4.06 xFIP in the split, as well.

The Rangers do have a negative park shift against them since they are on the road in Seattle, which could be another factor that keeps their draft percentages lower. But we can turn to Nate Lowe, who has looked good this season versus right-handed pitchers. In the split, he comes in with a 134 wRC+, .212 ISO, and 46.2% hard-contact rate.

Those are really nice power numbers, and if Lowe's roster percent is going to be...low, you should play him in tournaments.