MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 8/14/19

While we have plenty of pieces geared towards guys you should target in your DFS contests, it's also important to narrow down your short list of plays and avoid the suboptimal ones who are overpriced and/or in tough spots.

Let's check out three guys to consider fading on tonight's FanDuel main slate.

Steven Matz, P, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $8,400

Although lefty Steven Matz has shown flashes of brilliance this season, like his complete game shutout on July 27th, his cumulative results are not pretty.

Matz has only struck out 21.7% of batters he's faced and currently owns a 4.72 FIP and a 1.40 WHIP. His opponent tonight, the Atlanta Braves, currently have a .338 wOBA against lefties, the eighth-best mark in the league.

At a similar price point, Cole Hamels ($8,300) provides much stronger value.

Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs

FanDuel Price: $3,700

At this salary, Kris Bryant may seem like a tempting play, but a closer look at the matchup suggests otherwise.

Bryant is going up against righty Aaron Nola, who has held opposing righty batters to a .289 wOBA and 1.20 WHIP. On top of that, Bryant sees his wOBA drop over 100 points when facing a righty rather than a lefty and also figures to have fewer opportunities with men on base in a tough matchup.

Saving salary with Josh Donaldson ($3,500) allows for more upside.

Paul DeJong, SS, St. Louis Cardinals

FanDuel Price: $3,300

In a league filled with young superstar shortstops, Paul DeJong can get lost in the crowd. The 26-year-old has already popped 19 home runs while playing stellar defense. However, on today's slate, there at better options at the position.

DeJong has nearly even splits but is going up against Brad Keller, who has limited righties to a .304 wOBA and under one home run per nine innings. Furthermore, DeJong has only hit one home run since July 24th while striking out in 30.6% of plate appearances in that span.

Given the matchups, starting Corey Seager ($3,300) or Amed Rosario ($2,500) both seem like better options at shortstop tonight.


Gabriel Billig is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice Gabriel Billig also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username gpbbsb. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.