MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 8/26/16

Robinson Cano has to battle Chris Sale on Friday, making him a fade. Who else should you leave off your rosters tonight?

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 Friday.

Robinson Cano, 2B, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Robinson Cano smashed a home run last night in the first game in a series against the White Sox, but tonight the Sox are starting Chris Sale. The Sox’s southpaw has been spectacular against other lefties this season, and while Cano is still able to get big hits off anyone, tonight is not the night to take that risk.

Cano’s wOBA drops to .323 with a .289 BABIP against left-handers this season. His isolated power drops almost 100 points to .169 against them, while his hard-hit rate against lefties in 2016 is just 28.7 percent.

Sale has had his ups and downs this season, but when he isn’t cutting up throwback jerseys, he's dominating left-handers -- they have a .246 wOBA and a .222 BABIP against him this season. Lefties are also striking out at a rate of 28.7 percent against Sale, while they have a hard hit rate of just 23.9 percent.

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Another high-priced option who has landmine potential tonight is Carlos Gonzalez. The Rockies’ sweet-swinging left-hander has been struggling as of late, and that isn't a good sign when he is going up against Gio Gonzalez tonight.

The Nationals’ southpaw has been putting up great numbers for Washington this season, and he has been great against lefties. They have a .273 wOBA and a .264 BABIP against him through 124 batters faced, and for his career, their wOBA is .298. Lefties also have a fly-ball rate of just 21.6 percent against the Nats’ starter, which explains why he has given up only one homer to a left-handed hitter this season.

The Rockies’ Gonzalez has 9 homers in 126 at-bats against southpaws this season, but while his wOBA is a solid .351 against them this year, he also has a 31.5 strikeout rate and just a 2.3 walk rate in the split. While he isn’t a complete fade, with the struggles he is going through, it may not be smart to overuse him outside of Coors. Gonzalez has just a .312 wOBA away from Coors Field, while his wOBA drops to .244 when he is on the road against lefties.

Carlos Gomez, OF, Texas Rangers

FanDuel Price: $2,400

Carlos Gomez has spent some time in Triple-A since being released by the Astros and signing with the Rangers, but he was called up last night and he didn't disappoint. Gomez smashed a three-run homer, but after posting 25.7 FanDuel points in his Rangers' debut, Gomez should be avoided tonight with a much tougher battle against Corey Kluber.

Righties have a .261 wOBA and a 27.6 strikeout rate against the Indians’ ace this season. They also have a .274 BABIP and a 26.9 percent hard-hit rate.

Between the Rangers and Astros this season, Gomez has just a .264 wOBA and a .287 BABIP against right-handed pitchers. He has a 31.1 strikeout rate and just a 29.2 hard-hit rate against righties as well. Combined with his big night, Gomez is certainly a landmine tonight against Kluber.