MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 6/17/19

Baseball is heating up, and there are plenty of DFS contests to choose from on FanDuel's main slate. While we have plenty of pieces geared towards guys you should target in your DFS contests, it's also important to avoid sub-optimal options who are overpriced and/or in tough spots.

Let's check out three players to consider fading on FanDuel's main slate for June 17.

Mike Clevinger, Cleveland Indians (SP)

at Texas Rangers
FanDuel Price: $9,800

Set to make his return from the injured list, Mike Clevinger of the Cleveland Indians takes the hill and looks to jump-start his 2019 season.

It was a very small sample size, but prior to his injury, Clevinger was downright brilliant. Over 12 innings, the right-hander posted 22 strikeouts and only a 31.3% fly-ball rate. So, the upside could be there.

But, this is going to present some issues, too. First, any pitcher coming off of an injury can be a challenge to roster and second, they will play in Texas, which ranks second in park factor over the last three years.

Despite that gaudy strikeout rate, Clevinger also has the fifth-highest implied allowed team total on the main slate. Fade him tonight but be excited to get him into DFS lineups soon.

Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves (1B)

vs New York Mets
FanDuel Price: $4,400

After clubbing 23 home runs a season ago, Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves has decided to mash taters at an even more prodigious rate this year, slamming 19 to his name so far.

Freeman may have a tough time tonight against Zack Wheeler of the New York Mets in an NL East showdown. While Wheeler's 4.87 ERA sticks out as an arm to attack, a closer peek reveals that Wheeler sports better numbers against left-handed batters, including a .404 slugging percentage, .297 wOBA, and 27.8% strikeout rate.

Sun Trust Park isn't the easiest place to homer, either -- in its first two years, it clocks in only 24th in home run factor, so pivot off the slugging first baseman for the Braves.

Alex Bregman, Houston Astros (3B)

at Cincinnati Reds
FanDuel Price: $4,400

Studs like Alex Bregman are usually locks any night of the week, but there are a few reasons to be nervous about rostering the stud third baseman.

First, let's peek into Bregman's performance over the last eight games, which is pretty poor -- a .160 batting average and only a single extra-base hit. If it weren't for his 11 walks over that time span, he'd be an absolute fantasy dud.

Next, let's layer in Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Castillo, who ranks second on the main slate in terms of strikeout rate (29.7%) and has posted a 26.9% hard-hit rate against same-sided bats this year.

Fold in some potential rain into this contest, and Bregman becomes a stay away.



Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. 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.