4 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 4/14/17
Chris Archer, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
FanDuel Price: $9,100
It's no secret that Chris Archer is one of baseball's most talented pitchers. He had a disappointing 2016 with a 4.02 ERA, but a 3.44 SIERA and 27.4% strikeout rate showed he was still the same elite arm.
However, the Boston Red Sox have been a thorn in Archer's side throughout his career. It's true that pitcher performances against specific teams don't usually mean much because lineups change and sample sizes are generally small. All that being said, in 16 career starts, Archer is 1-11 versus the Sox with a 5.38 ERA in 83.2 innings. In five starts at Fenway Park, he has a 7.30 ERA, his worst of any ballpark in the league.
Even if you think those numbers are a bunch of noise, the fact remains that the Red Sox still have a formidable offense in the post-Ortiz era.
They had the highest wRC+ in the league against righties last year (113), and only struck out 18% of the time. This season, despite dealing with a strange flu bug that got so bad it even took out NESN's Dave O'Brien in the middle of a Red Sox broadcast, they've mostly picked up where they left off with a 104 wRC+ and 16.7% strikeout rate.
Sure, Archer is a top-notch talent, so he could shut down the Sox, making him usable as a risky GPP play. Outside of that, though, there are too many other viable options to endorse Archer's low floor.
