3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 5/1/19
When being contrarian in daily fantasy sports, there's a fine line between taking a calculated risk and being reckless. But differentiating your lineups from everyone else is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of Vegas totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found that everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-owned plays if we look hard enough.
Here are three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.
Anthony DeSclafani, P, Cincinnati Reds
FanDuel Price: $7,600
When Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Corey Kluber are all on the same slate, it can be tough to look past them, but Anthony DeSclafani is a great option tonight.
DeSclafani had a rough start to the season but has turned things around recently, with 12 strikeouts over his last 12 innings pitched, while only allowing one earned run. One strikeout per inning has him up there with the top aces on the slate, and he has allowed fewer earned runs than either of those three pitchers. Yes, this is a small sample size, but we see DeSclafani getting a massive park shift in his favor tonight, being away from a hitter's park at home. On the road at Citi Field, he will take on the New York Mets, who have an implied team total sitting at only 3.67 runs.
This isn't to say he doesn't come without risk, as he finished last season with a 4.37 xFIP versus left-handed hitters and a 3.43 xFIP versus right-handed hitters. Those numbers are generally in line with what we've seen from him to start this season, so while he's not an elite pitcher yet, he is pitching well enough to consider at this point.
Jake Marisnick, OF, Houston Astros
FanDuel Price: $2,100
The Houston Astros come in with an implied team total set at 4.79 tonight, which is one of the highest totals on the slate. But how can you differentiate yourself with options from their lineup?
Houston is facing off against Martin Perez, who might be the worst pitcher on the slate and finished last season allowing a .410 wOBA, 1.88 homers per nine innings, a 31% fly ball rate, and a 44.9% hard contact rate to right-handed hitters. Those are among the worst numbers you will find from a pitcher today, and with the power in the Astros' lineup, they are looking like the best team to stack tonight. Getting up to Alex Bregman, George Springer, Jose Altuve, and Carlos Correa is always the goal for an Astros stack, but there are also several very expensive pitchers to pay for.
Marisnick is just above the minimum salary tonight and finished last season with a .173 ISO and 50% fly ball rate versus left-handed pitchers. The savings he offers for your lineup, along with getting exposure to this high implied run total, is nearly unmatched among players available to us tonight.
Ben Gamel, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
FanDuel Price: $2,400
Ben Gamel should continue to see playing time for the Milwaukee Brewers as Christian Yelich is out with an injury, so let's take a look at what he offers for a low price.
Gamel has an active four-game hitting streak with two doubles, five runs, and one home run, which is fantastic point-per-dollar production given how cheap he is. The Brewers come in with an implied team total set at 4.81, which is the second0highest of any team on the slate, meaning they are in a spot to not only score plenty of runs but also produce plenty of fantasy points.
The platoon advantage will be there for Gamel tonight, as he is facing off against Antonio Senzatela, who had a 4.36 xFIP and a 30% hard contact rate to left-handed hitters last season. The lefty bat essentially checks all the boxes today: he's hitting well, has the platoon advantage, has a high total, and provides the salary relief you need to pay up for a stud pitcher.
Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
