Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Monday 6/7/21

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's is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of bookmaker totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found who everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-rostered plays if we look hard enough.

Here are two such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.

Victor Caratini, C, San Diego Padres ($2,100)

The San Diego Padres have a lowish 4.10 implied run total tonight, but does that mean you should avoid them?

We have a small three-game slate tonight and the top options -- the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels -- are very clear but we are looking to be different in tournaments. This is where the Padres and some of their hitters come into play because their lineup has plenty of power in it. I know that might come as a surprise but the Padres' offensive has plenty of potential and being able to get exposure to them when they aren't chalky can be very beneficial.

While Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado are always popular options, pivoting to Victor Caratini is an option tonight. He comes in with a .170 ISO, 35.4% fly-ball rate, and a 17.4% HR/FB rate versus right-handed pitchers this season. Those are modest numbers overall but some sneaky power at near-minimum salary is worth dropping into your lineups. Caratini's matchup against Adbert Alzolay has some surprising upside, considering he has been so strong this season. Alzolay is allowing 2.16 HR/9 to lefties this season, along with a 38.8% fly-ball rate and a 37.3% hard-contact rate. Alzolay is known for his strikeout potential but is also prone to a few home runs allowed versus lefty hitters.

Jorge Soler, OF, Kansas City Royals ($2,200)

To say Jorge Soler is having a slow start this season is an understatement.

Soler has not been good this season...from a stat sheet perspective. He has only four home runs, he is striking out too much, and he is barely getting on base. Now that we have that out of the way, let's turn to his underlying numbers. He comes in with a very modest .159 ISO, a 43.8% fly-ball rate, and a 32.6% hard-contact rate. The fly-ball rate is awesome but we'd like to see more hard contact from him. Still, there is power lurking with Soler, who, over the course of his career, has proven to be a reverse splits hitter.

This means it's viable to roster him tonight versus Dylan Bundy, who is giving up too many fly balls this season. Hmm. On the year, Bundy is allowing 1.91 HR/9 and a 38.5% fly-ball rate to right-handed hitters but that jumps up to 2.40 HR/9 and a 45.5% fly-ball rate on the road, which is where he is tonight. So we have a hitter who is still hitting fly balls this season but no home runs and we have a pitcher who is giving up too many home runs to right-handed hitters. Seems like a clear spot to attack.