3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 6/20/19
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 20.
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals (SP)
vs Miami Marlins
FanDuel Price: $8,000
Returning from the Injured List, Adam Wainwright takes the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals, and they are heavy favorites tonight (-190) against the Miami Marlins. So plug him in at this affordable price point, right?
Let's tap those breaks.
While Wainwright's home park is certainly pitcher-friendly, there's some land mines here. The veteran righty's strikeout rate of 20.2% clocks in only 12th on the main slate, and his 10.3% walk rate is fifth-worst.
While the Marlins are a poor offense, Wainwright's allowed a 43.2% hard-hit rate this season, which could help Miami get right in a hurry.
Add in a hot, humid night in St. Louis with a slight wind blowing out, and Wainwright could has a scary floor.
Austin Meadows, Tampa Bay Rays (OF)
at Oakland Athletics
FanDuel Price: $3,900
One of baseball's biggest breakouts in 2019 is Austin Meadows of the Tampa Bay Rays. Meadows has ripped his way to a .944 OPS, and his 12-homer, eight-steal combo is certainly a juicy one.
But Meadows has struggled recently -- in fact, he hasn't homered since May 28th, logging a paltry .636 OPS over that timeframe.
Frankie Montas, who opposes Meadows tonight, could add to those struggles. Montas has been brilliant this season, and he's been very tough on left-handed batters, putting up a .308 wOBA and 27.7% strikeout rate this season against them.
Despite Meadows' excellent performance this year, the Rays' low implied team total (3.71) and Montas' elite numbers versus lefties make Meadows a player to avoid.
Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees (C)
vs Houston Astros
FanDuel Price: $4,100
Partly out of necessity due to bevy of injuries, the Houston Astros have turned to Framber Valdez at the back end of their rotation, and so far, he's been brilliant. In his last two starts, he's thrown 13 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out 15 batters.
Valdez's success has hinged on dominating right-handed batters -- and that's not a one year blip. Going back to the start of the 2018 season, spanning 229 batters, Valdez has held righties to a .291 wOBA, 29.0% hard-hit rate, and absurd 16.3% fly-ball rate. Rare stuff for a southpaw.
Gary Sanchez has blasted his way to 21 home runs, but there's some concerning splits here against left-handers. Sanchez has struck out an elevated 36.7% rate in the split this season, and for his career, he's got a 26.9% strikeout rate against lefties and a 23.6% clip versus righties.
After blasting a home run and driving in four runs on Wednesday, Sanchez should be a popular play with the platoon advantage, but it's not as great of a spot for him as it may seem.
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.
