3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 6/18/19

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

Homer Bailey, P, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $6,800

We have a full 15-game slate but no Coors Field in action, so the ownership should be spread out significantly tonight, leaving plenty of spots to attack in tournaments.

One pitcher who should go overlooked is Homer Bailey, who comes in with a modest 20.8% strikeout rate this season. But he is up against the Seattle Mariners, who have a 24.9% strikeout rate versus righty pitchers, the third-worst in the league. The Mariners' lineup got a bit weaker in the last week since Edwin Encarnacion was traded away, so this could put them as a team to attack the rest of the way after how far they've fallen after their hot start.

Bailey has a 4.82 SIERA this season and is particularly strong against lefty hitters, holding them to only a .299 wOBA this year. The potential downside for Bailey comes from the fact he is allowing at least 42.9% hard-contact rate to left- and right-handed bats, putting him in a spot to get hit hard and give up runs despite having one of the best park factors going for him tonight.

Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

FanDuel Price: $3,300

The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home and come in with an implied run total set at 4.61 tonight. Will they go overlooked in tournaments?

There are 16 teams who have higher implied totals than the Pirates do, which should lead to them being one of the lower-owned options. They are up against Daniel Norris, who comes into this game with a 4.56 xFIP overall. He's allowing a 42.2% hard-hit rate versus righty hitters, along with giving up 1.43 homers per nine innings in the split. This should put the Pirates in a bit of a sneaky-good spot to attack Norris, and Bryan Reynolds looks like the perfect player to do so.

Per Baseball Savant, Reynolds is second on the Pirates in both hard-hit percentage and xwOBA, along with fifth in xSLG. While this might not be the best park factor for the Pirates, Reynolds comes in with a .411 wOBA and .227 ISO versus left-handed pitchers this season, which should allow him to continue his hot streak of notching a hit in 12 of his last 14 games.

Jason Heyward, OF, Chicago Cubs

FanDuel Price: $2,900

The Chicago Cubs' lineup has plenty of heavy hitters who can attract ownership, but Jason Heyward usually isn't one such player. Should we be targeting him tonight?

Regardless of the overall inconsistency Heyward might have at times, he is a cheaper option on a good Cubs offense, one that has a great matchup versus Ivan Nova. Heyward also has had some success against Nova, with eight hits in 22 at-bats, including one home run, for a .393 wOBA. If you are a believer in batter-versus-hitter, this could be a spot to take a shot on Heyward versus Nova, who is currently carrying a 4.68 xFIP and allowing 1.74 homers per nine innings to lefty hitters this season.

The Cubs are usually a great offense to look to in DFS, and it helps to find ways to get unique exposure to their lineup, with Heyward being such an option today.