3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 7/19/19
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 July 19.
Jhoulys Chacin, Milwaukee Brewers (SP)
at Arizona Diamondbacks
FanDuel Price: $6,700
With the main slate featuring so many high totals, pivoting down at the pitcher slow to save some cash for big bats is a viable strategy. Checking out the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks, it's combined implied team total of only 9.5 runs seems enticing, especially when looking at Jhoulys Chacin as a solid favorite (moneyline -136). It's one of the few games without a double-digit run total on the board.
Don't fall into that trap. While the D-Backs rank only 20th in team wOBA in the last month (.320), they have continued to be a tough team to strike out, clocking in with a 20.2% mark.
Their batted-ball profile remains solid, too. They own a 39.7% hard-hit rate in the last month (10th best) -- and that could spell trouble for a hurler with an ugly 45.9% hard-hit rate this season.
Couple that with Chacin's 10.0% walk rate, and the low-priced hurler should be avoided.
Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (OF)
at Baltimore Orioles
FanDuel Price: $4,400
In hitter-friendly Camden Yards, with the platoon advantage, Mookie Betts and his Boston Red Sox teammates are likely to see solid ownership. Their implied team total of 6.0 runs could make them skyrocket in lineups.
But Betts has not been at his best with the platoon advantage this season. Spanning 113 plate appearances, Betts has posted a mediocre .295 wOBA, including an ugly .094 isolated power (ISO) mark.
John Means has been pretty tough against righties this season, too. He has limited them to a .304 wOBA, including a 31.2% hard-hit rate.
It's obvious that Vegas thinks the Sox will light up the scoreboard, but Betts may not be leading that charge.
Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds (3B)
vs. St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel Price: $3,500
Returning back to the friendly confines of home, where the Cincinnati Reds home park ranks fourth in home run factor over the last three years, and Eugenio Suarez looks like a juicy play.
The Reds have a solid implied team total of 5.00 runs, but the matchup could be a difficult one. Adam Wainwright, tonight's starter for the Cardinals, has been fantastic over his last seven starts, recording a strong 2.98 ERA and 27.8% strikeout rate.
And Suarez certainly can whiff in this spot -- against same-sided arms this season, he owns only a .325 wOBA and 27.3% strikeout rate, including a 41.3% ground-ball rate.
While Suarez has knocked four home runs since the All-Star Break, this may be one spot that's tough for him to leave the yard.
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.
