MLB

3 FanDuel MLB Hitters to Avoid on 8/1/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Aug 1st, 2016
Martin Prado is red hot heading into Monday's matchup with the Cubs and Kyle Hendricks, but you'll want to avoid him.

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 Monday.

Martin Prado, 3B, Miami Marlins

FanDuel Price: $2,700

Martin Prado continued his hot streak all the way into last night when he finally had an 0-for-4 outing. Prior to that, the Marlins’ third baseman had averaged more than 22 FanDuel points per game over his last five contests, while going 9-for-18 with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 8 RBI. However, his matchup against Kyle Hendricks tonight might be another night of closer to zero than 22 FanDuel points.

Prado has not hit righties as well as lefties this season. His wOBA is .313 over 302 at-bats this year against them. His isolated power drops from .144 to .099 against right-handers, and with a hard hit rate of just 24.3 percent, it’s hard to trust Prado to have another 20-point fantasy outing.

Hendricks is also a big reason for this. He has been sharp against righties this season with a .247 wOBA across 267 batters faced. His strikeout rate is slightly above average at 22.9 percent against right-handers. Considering Hendricks has had three starts in his last four that he didn’t allow a run, look elsewhere for third base options on Monday night.

Michael Bourn, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $2,700

Michael Bourn has been lackluster at best in the month of July, and a new month gets off to a rough start, as the Diamondbacks have to face off against the recently unbeaten Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals’ stud finally took a loss 10 days ago but bounced back with a huge seven-inning start during which he held the Indians scoreless his last time out.

Strasburg has also had very good reverse splits this season. Lefties own just a .245 wOBA over 240 batters faced. Strasburg’s strikeout rate against lefties is an impressive 32.1 percent, as is his 24.5 percent hard hit rate.

Bourn has just a .271 wOBA against right-handers this season. His strikeout rate against them is nearly 25 percent, and his hard hit rate is 27.3 percent against right-handers. It's best to leave Bourn, in the midst of a summer-slump, off your rosters on Monday’s short slate.

Eddie Rosario, OF, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $2,500

Eddie Rosario has strangely not started over the Twins’ last two games despite coming into the weekend hotter than most of the Twins’ lineup. However, even if he is back in the lineup tonight against the Indians, his matchup with Danny Salazar may be one to steer clear of.

Salazar has been great against left-handers this season, as they are posting a .248 wOBA across 215 batters faced this season. Lefties have a 28.8 percent strikeout rate against the Indians' righty this season, and he has given up only 3 homers to left-handers all year.

Rosario hasn’t been great overall against righties. He has a .292 wOBA against right-handers this season, and his strikeout rate is higher against righties than against lefties at 25.3 percent. Against a talent like Salazar, look for other cheap outfield options this evening.