3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 6/26/19

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

Framber Valdez, P, Houston Astros

FanDuel Price: $7,700

You might be asking yourself, who is Framber Valdez? That is a legitimate question since he isn't a household name and has limited Major league experience.

A nine-game slate brings us plenty of options tonight and we have five pitchers over $9K to look at, which is where the ownership should be concentrated. That leaves an opening for a pitcher like Valdez, who has a fantastic matchup versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team worth attacking on most slates. Pittsburgh comes in with a 75 wRC+ (28th in the league), 24.3% strikeout rate (14th in the league), and a .136 ISO (28th in the league) versus left-handed pitchers.

Besides the Miami Marlins and the Detroit Tigers, the Pirates are one of the worst teams on the slate and Valdez with his 3.90 xFIP, low 21.2% fly-ball rate, and modest 38.3% hard-hit rate, he should be able to keep them in check tonight.

Logan Forsythe, 1B, Texas Rangers

FanDuel Price: $2,600

A cheap hitter with the platoon advantage is always worth considering, but is Logan Forsythe worth a shot in tournaments?

Forsythe is going to see some action in the next few games since Asdrubal Cabrera is suspended and with the Texas Rangers having an implied run total set at 4.50, he is certainly in the conversation tonight. Forsythe comes in with a .340 wOBA, .158 ISO, 41.0% hard-hit rate, and a 38.5% fly-ball rate versus left-handed pitchers this season. Those are solid numbers for the veteran, who comes in at a reasonable price tag tonight and should be near the top of the lineup for the Rangers.

There are nine teams on this slate who have higher implied run totals compared to the Rangers, which is one reason he should be going overlooked. There are plenty of power hitters in the Rangers lineup and that is where most DFS players look for options. Forsythe simply doesn't have the power his teammates have and he often goes overlooked because of that.

Garrett Cooper, 1B, Miami Marlins

FanDuel Price: $3,200

The Miami Marlins are up against Patrick Corbin, one of the best pitchers on the slate, which should have most of their players coming in at lower ownership tonight.

Garrett Cooper is a player to consider from the Marlins if you are truly looking to take a stand against one of the aces on the slate, which could be an interesting tournament strategy. Cooper might be the best hitter on the Marlins and comes in with .200 ISO versus lefty pitchers this season, along with a 42.9% home-run-to-fly-ball rate -- which are both great marks, unlike his .293 wOBA is not great. Basically, Cooper is a boom or bust play against lefty pitchers, which might be bad in real baseball, but from a DFS perspective, that can be huge.

Do I expect Corbin to handle the Marlins tonight? Yes. Can Cooper hit a solo home run and provide DFS value? Yes. Both can be true in this situation and while fully stacking the Marlins might not be the best idea, taking a hitter like Cooper, who can reach value by himself, could be the key in your lineups tonight.