3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 6/28/19

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

Eric Lauer, P, San Diego Padres

FanDuel Price: $7,700

A loaded 14-game slate featuring Coors Field allows the potential for plenty of lower-owned tournaments options, so let's jump in.

One pitcher who gets no love in MLB DFS is Eric Lauer, but he has a few things going for him tonight, which could make him worth a shot in tournaments. First off, he is at home, which offers a great park factor for pitchers, something that can always be helpful. Next, he is up against the St. Louis Cardinals, who come in with an 89 wRC+ (18th in the league), .176 team ISO (16th), and a .253 BABIP (30th) versus left-handed pitchers. Simply put, the Cardinals are average or below average against lefty pitchers and can be attacked accordingly.

Lauer isn't some hard-throwing strikeout pitcher with only an 18.3% strikeout rate this season, but he comes in allowing three or fewer runs in eight of his last 10 starts. The two games he allowed over three earned runs were both at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, so take that for what you will. Lauer has a legit shot to pick up the quality start and the win tonight against a weak Cardinals team.

Alex Gordon, OF, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $3,200

There are 28 teams in action tonight, two of which are at Coors Field, while a handful have tough matchups, and the rest are left in the middle. Let's find some lower-owned possibilities in that middle group.

The Kansas City Royals are on the road to take on the Toronto Blue Jays and pitcher Sean Reid-Foley, who has very limited Major League experience. This season, he has a total of four innings pitched, while last season he had 33.1 innings pitched, making 2018 the spot to look for a clearer picture. Last year against lefty hitters, Reid-Foley had a 5.33 xFIP and a whopping 17.3% walk rate, while allowing 1.50 homers per nine innings and a 40.8% fly-ball rate. Those are truly terrible numbers, and they put the Royals' lefties in a spot to capitalize, thus making them a good DFS option.

One such lefty on the Royals is Alex Gordon, who his having a solid season, coming in with a .343 wOBA, .208 ISO, and 36.7% hard-hit rate against right-handed pitchers. Those numbers work in this matchup, and with the Royals having a 4.78 implied run total tonight, they are primed to score some runs.

Corey Dickerson, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

FanDuel Price: $3,000

The Pittsburgh Pirates come in with a 4.83 implied run total tonight, which is the eighth highest on the slate -- does that mean they will go overlooked?

Bad pitchers are bad, and they should be attacked regardless of how bit the slate is. That might sound silly, but when we are dealing with 14 games, teams simply get lost in the mix. That bad pitcher tonight is Jhoulys Chacin, who comes in with a 6.47 xFIP, staggering 50.5% hard-hit rate, and a 36.8% fly-ball rate against left-handed hitters this season. When you see numbers like that in a hitter-friendly venue like Miller Park, you should be looking to stack against that pitcher.

Bad pitcher? Check. Good hitter's park? Check. The last part of the equation is finding a good hitter and that just might be Corey Dickerson. He has a limited sample size this season due to an extended period on the injured list, but if we look back to last season we see that he had a .348 wOBA, .194 ISO, super low 13.4% strikeout rate, and a modest 37.4% fly-ball rate versus right-handed pitchers. Dickerson doesn't waste chances at the plate, has power, and comes in very affordable on this 14-game slate.