3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 6/18/19
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 18.
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets (SP)
at Atlanta Braves
FanDuel Price: $10,400
Jacob deGrom has been stellar again in 2019, and our models think he could be in line for a big evening. His 29.9% strikeout rate ranks him second-best on the main slate.
All of that is good.
Where things go off the rails a bit is his matchup against a tough Atlanta Braves offense. Atlanta is among the league leaders in categories like wOBA (.339, third), strikeout rate (21.6%, 23rd), isolated power (.195, eighth), and hard-hit rate (42.7%, first).
The Braves flexed their muscles last night by pounding out 12 runs in a game in which Zack Wheeler started. Throw in some wind blowing out in Atlanta today, and deGrom makes for a fade tonight.
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies (OF)
at Arizona Diamondbacks
FanDuel Price: $4,500
Think Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies has been white-hot lately? The lefty slugger has been going absolutely nuts, posting 30-plus FanDuel points in each of the last four games of the homestand in Colorado last week.
Dorothy has left Kansas, though -- and the Rockies aren't in Denver anymore. Looking at his 2019 splits, the numbers are starkly different away from Coors. Blackmon has a .590 wOBA at home and only a .270 wOBA on the road.
Blackmon will have the platoon advantage against Merrill Kelly tonight, but the Rockies' outfielder likely isn't nearly as appealing when he's on the road.
Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals (3B)
vs Philadelphia Phillies
FanDuel Price: $4,400
Anthony Rendon might be quietest super star in all of baseball. The slugging third baseman, who has five home runs in his last seven games, now owns a 1.075 OPS on the season. Not shabby.
Rendon ranks fourth in baseball with a .436 wOBA, and he has maintained his disciplined approach with a 12.2% walk rate.
He will have his hands full tonight, though, against Jake Arrieta. Yet again, the veteran Arrieta is wiping out same-sided bats, giving up a .291 wOBA, 22.7% strikeout rate, and 20.9% fly-ball rate to righties. Among 80 qualified starters, Arrieta clocks in 12th overall with a 27.1% fly-ball rate, and his fly-ball rate against righties is fourth-best in the league.
Rendon has been rolling lately, but it could get bumpy tonight versus Arrieta.
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.
