MLB

4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 8/1/17

Didi Gregorius has put up good numbers over the last couple months, but in spite of a strong matchup, you're better off passing on his lofty price for tonight's FanDuel main slate.

Given Chris Sale's ($11,400) league-best 2.49 SIERA and 36.7% strikeout rate among qualified starters, on most slates you would just plug him into your cash game lineups and move on. But tonight he has to deal with the pesky Cleveland Indians, whose active roster is fanning just 16.9% of the time against southpaws. Thus, that leaves your top option as Max Scherzer ($11,500).

Scherzer lags slightly behind Sale with a 2.75 SIERA and 35.9% strikeout rate, but he is in a significantly more enviable position against the Miami Marlins. The Marlins by themselves are a more neutral matchup, but Scherzer won't have to deal with a designated hitter, and he gets to enjoy the pitcher-friendly confines of Marlins Park. Scherzer has the overall edge, but Sale's ridiculous upside still keeps him in the conversation for tournaments.

Seeing as we have all 30 teams going, we can't hit up every viable pitcher in this space, but if you want to save some dough, take a peek at Jon Lester ($9,700), Aaron Nola ($9,400) and Jimmy Nelson ($8,800). Jose Berrios ($9,200) has struggled through some tough matchups lately, but a date with the San Diego Padres has a way of curing what ails you.

Now, onto the main course. As always, it's important to narrow down your short list of DFS players to target and avoid the suboptimal plays who are overpriced or in tough spots. Here are four such players to consider fading on tonight's FanDuel main slate.