3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 4/27/16
As is the case in most daily fantasy sports, finding information on players you might want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.
While you can get away with a zero from a hitter in daily fantasy, you certainly don't want to target guys whose matchups aren't enticing.
Here are three hitters you may want to lessen your exposure to or even fade altogether on Wednesday.
Odubel Herrera, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
FanDuel Price: $3,400
Odubel Herrera not only has one of the top-five baseball names in the Majors, but he also has been very good so far this season and especially recently. The young Phillies’ outfielder is riding a seven-game hitting streak, and in his last four games, he has scored seven runs and homered in his biggest fantasy day of the year, scoring 55.8 FanDuel points.
That kind of upside is intriguing until you realize he has to face off against Gio Gonzalez tonight. The Nationals’ lefty has been a thorn in the side of left-handed hitters so far this season, as they have a wOBA of just .175 against him. While the sample size is small, Gonzalez had a wOBA against lefties of just .281 with a BABIP of .305 last season.
So far this year, left-handed pitchers have been Herrera’s kryptonite. Herrera is hitting just .143 off of lefties this season, but he has also drawn 8 walks in his 22 total plate appearances against them. That adds up to a wOBA of .363 against lefties so far this season. So, while he may still be an option for tournaments tonight, Herrera should probably stay out of your cash games.
Chris Carter, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel Price: $3,400
Chris Carter has been going through a career revitalization so far in his first year in Milwaukee. The career .220 hitter is batting .297 so far this season, and he already owns 5 home runs and a wOBA of .425, which ranks him 13th among all players. While the question of whether he can keep up this pace is still up in the air, his chances of continuing his torrid start tonight against Jake Arrieta are slim.
Arrieta has been dominant, and despite the tough matchup, some will look at Carter’s game log and see he has 7 hits in his last 14 at-bats and roster him anyway. That may be a mistake. Right-handed hitters have a wOBA of just .137 off Arrieta so far this season, and his strikeout rate against them is 27.9 percent.
Carter owns a strikeout rate of 33.9 percent against righties so far this season, which isn’t far off from his career rate against righties of 34.6 percent.
Carter’s hard hit rate against righties also goes down to 31.4 percent against righties, compared to 54.6 percent against lefties this season. Against one of the game’s best pitchers tonight, most of the Brewers are landmines, but considering his recent game log, Carter is especially dangerous.
Jeff Francoeur, OF, Atlanta Braves
FanDuel Price: $2,100
The Braves’ struggles at the plate have been well-documented this season. They have hit only three home runs as a team and are already dealing with some injuries to their position players. Jeff Francoeur has been playing more recently because of it, and he has actually been hitting pretty well over his last four games. Francoeur has hit safely has hit safely in 6 of his last 14 at-bats, but only one of those hits has gone for extra bases.
Now, the Braves face off against Steven Wright tonight, who is off to a nice start for the Red Sox. The young hurler has also been very good against right-handers to start the season. Righties have a wOBA of .277 against him and a strikeout rate of 23.4 percent against 64 total batters.
Francoeur, on the other hand, has a wOBA of just .153 against right-handed pitching so far this season. Targeting any Braves hitters is tough to do right now, but even at his price, Francoeur should also be left off your rosters.
