MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 5/5/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp May 5th, 2016
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.

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 Thursday.

Michael Saunders, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Michael Saunders has made his way into landmines territory before this season, and tonight, he is back again as the Blue Jays host Derek Holland and the Rangers for the rubber game of their series. So far, Saunders has a hit in all three games of this series, but against Holland, his series hit streak may come to an end.

Holland has been devastating against lefties this season. They own a wOBA of just .167 off him this season. For his career, lefties have a wOBA of .291 and a hard hit rate of just 21.7 percent.

While Saunders has been solid in limited at-bats against lefties this season, he owns a strikeout rate of 32.1 percent -- and 28.3 percent for his career. Even though Saunders has a wOBA of .449 and 3 home runs against lefties this season, his hard hit rate drops to 25 percent against lefties in 2016. Saunders could easily be a tournament play tonight, but I would stay away from him in cash games.

Nomar Mazara, OF, Texas Rangers

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Nomar Mazara is an exciting prospect, but tonight might not be his night as he squares off with J.A. Happ, presenting him with a lefty-on-lefty matchup.

Through 91 plate appearances against righties, Mazara has a wRC+ of 172, a .192 ISO, and a .419 wOBA. Through 61 plate appearances against lefties, he's been much worse: a 54 wRC+, a .036 ISO, and a .257 wOBA.

Happ hasn't been very good against the 17 lefties he's faced this season, posting an absurdly bad xFIP of 7.08, but his career xFIP against lefties is 3.68, compared to 4.42 against righties. He's still beatable, but Mazara's issues with lefties should make him a fade on such a big slate.

David Ross, C, Chicago Cubs

FanDuel Price: $2,500

The Chicago Cubs' offense has been red hot to start the season, and their record so far shows it. Now we get a potential NLCS preview tonight as the Cubs welcome in the Washington Nationals. The Nationals will put their young righty sensation Joe Ross on the mound, and while the Cubs don’t have many right-handed options, the one who has been playing well enough recently to warrant potential landmine status is another Ross, David Ross.

The Cubs' Ross has hit two home runs in his last seven games, and he is averaging 12.6 FanDuel points per game in that stretch. However, the veteran catcher has struggled some against right-handed pitching. Ross owns a wOBA of just .277 against righties this season, and his strikeout rate goes from 7.1 percent against lefties to 20.6 percent against righties. For his career, his strikeout rate against righties is 28 percent, and this season, his hard hit rate against them is only 20.8 percent.

Joe Ross, on the other hand, has shut down right-handers in his short time in the Majors. For his career, they have a wOBA of just .190 against him and a strikeout rate of 25.6 percent. His hard hit rate against right-handers is also a stellar 17.7 percent for his career.

Ross’ double-digit FanDuel average may face a hit tonight, especially with the weather calling for the wind to be blowing in slightly at Wrigley Field.