3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 9/27/19
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
Anthony DeSclafani, P, Cincinnati Reds
FanDuel Price: $8,400
The final Friday of the regular season is here, and we have 14 games to take a look at. Let's jump in.
There are several top-tier pitchers on this slate, and right below them, we find Anthony DeSclafani, who should be priced as a top option as he has been amazing to end the season. Over his last seven starts, he has allowed two or fewer runs six times and has picked up the quality start in five of those outings.
The quality-start points are important since he comes in with a rather modest 24.1% strikeout rate this season, which often leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to fantasy scoring. He is mainly a ground-ball pitcher who gives up a few home runs here and there.
He has seemingly turned the tide on that in recent starts and should be able to close out the season strong with his matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are a team worth attacking. The Pirates have a .164 team ISO (25th in the league), 34.5% hard-hit rate (27th), and 31.8% fly-ball rate (29th) versus right-handed pitchers this season. This is no doubt a weak lineup, putting DeSclafani in a spot to continue his recent success.
Roberto Perez, C, Cleveland Indians
FanDuel Price: $2,800
The Cleveland Indians have a decent 4.57 implied team total tonight and make for a solid GPP stacking play.
Cleveland still needs to be winning games if they want a shot at the playoffs, so no resting starters for them. That is not something we find with many teams at this point in the season, which makes them a team we should target. They will have their best lineup out there tonight against Austin Voth, who is allowing 1.69 home runs per nine innings to right-handed hitters this season, along with a massively bad 51.1% fly-ball rate. He is a pitcher we want to be targeting for potential home runs on a slate where ownership will be at Coors Field.
I love rostering catchers in GPPs since they are almost always lower owned, which makes Roberto Perez a viable option tonight. He has plenty of power in this matchup with a .202 ISO and impressive 26.3% homer-run-to-fly-ball rate versus right-handed pitchers. His profile lines up well against Voth, and we are on home-run watch here.
Anthony Santander, OF, Baltimore Orioles
FanDuel Price: $3,200
The Baltimore Orioles are one of my favorite stacks of the night, but let's take a look at one specific player.
The Boston Red Sox are hosting the Orioles, and we could be in for a bit of offense on both sides. Boston will have Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, and he is getting blasted by lefty hitters this season, coming in with a 5.72 xFIP in the split while allowing 3.77 home runs per nine innings, a 48.8% fly-ball rate, and 44.1% hard-hit rate. Those are horrible numbers, and when at a hitter-friendly park like Fenway, that usually won't end well for him.
Anthony Santander has pretty even splits this season -- 11 of his 20 home runs against righty pitchers -- making him viable in most cases. He has a strong 47.4% fly-ball rate versus right-handers along with a .209 ISO. The Orioles aren't amazing by any means, but Eovaldi is a bad pitcher, and with the volume of home runs he is allowing, there are fantasy points to find here.
