MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 7/1/19

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 July 1.

Mike Minor, Texas Rangers (SP)

vs Los Angeles Angels
FanDuel Price: $10,800

On such a small main slate, finding a solid pitching option can be a challenge, and today certainly falls into that category. One option that looks tempting is Mike Minor, who's at the top of the pitching chart. Don't fall into the trap, though.

Minor faces a tough Los Angeles Angels team that clocks in 12th in team wOBA (.327), with the lowest strikeout rate in the league (17.2%), and their 39.4% hard-hit rate also puts them inside of the top-10.

Fold in one of baseball's most offensive-happy parks, and this could be a tough spot for Minor.

Jason Heyward, Chicago Cubs (OF)

at Pittsburgh Pirates
FanDuel Price: $3,300

It seems like no one in the NL Central is interested in winning the division, and that includes the Chicago Cubs. Prior to the All-Star break, they will try and get things going against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Trevor Williams.

Unfortunately for Jason Heyward and other lefties in the lineup, Williams has been tough on lefty bats. Spanning 111 plate appearances this year, the right has limited them to a .327 wOBA, including solid marks of a 34.1% fly-ball rate and 34.8% hard-hit rate.

If you are looking for a dinger from Heyward, keep looking. Williams has allowed only 0.72 home runs per nine (HR/9) innings pitched this season and couple that with Pittsburgh's fourth-worst home run factor over the last three seasons, and Heyward makes for an easy fade.

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (OF)

at Texas Rangers
FanDuel Price: $4,600

Just because Mike Minor isn't the safest of plays doesn't necessarily mean perennial All-Star Mike Trout is an automatic pick, either.

What could make things a little easier for Minor is that there appears to be a strong wind blowing in for tonight's contest. And while spending up for Trout is never a bad play, Minor's numbers against righties this year could make you think twice.

Over the course of 357 plate appearances, Minor has limited the damage to a .280 wOBA and 24.4% strikeout rate. That's a big reason why he's allowed only a .224 batting average to righties, including 51 singles out of 71 base hits.

If you've got the money to spend, certainly Trout isn't your worst investment -- it just looks like he may not be ready to explode, either.



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.