3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Tuesday 7/20/21
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 three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.
Dane Dunning, P, Texas Rangers ($7,600)
The Detroit Tigers aren't a good team.
Yes, I know the Tigers won 14-0 last night, but it's baseball, anything can happen. So, I'll rely on the fact they have a 26.4% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitchers this season, which is second-worst in the league. That's where things start and that leads us to Dane Dunning, who comes in with a 24.9% strikeout rate, a 3.84 SIERA, a 53.8% ground-ball rate, and a 45.6% medium-contact rate. For a pitcher who is under $8,000, those are some solid numbers you can lean on.
Despite all of the runs last night, the Tigers still have a 90 wRC+ (17th in the league), a .151 ISO (22nd), a 35.5% fly-ball rate (19th), and a 30.1% hard-contact rate (27th). They are not a good offense, I don't care what they did last night, I'm turning to Dunning versus the Tigers.
Ben Gamel, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates ($2,100)
I know what you're thinking, 'Why in the world should I consider Ben Gamel tonight?'
A near-minimum salary outfielder on one of the worst teams in the league can be a tough sell but I'm going to do it anyway. It really comes down to one reason, Gamel and his matchup fits the profile of what I look for when it comes to a hitter that has power upside and won't be popular in DFS. The Pittsburgh Pirates come in with a 4.46 implied run total tonight, which is the eighth-lowest on the slate. Right from the jump, that's not too intriguing, and while stacking the Pirates is not the plan, targeting Gamel as a one-off is.
He comes in with a solid .202 ISO, 117 wRC+, a 44.0% fly-ball rate, and a 40.9% hard-contact rate this season versus right-handed pitchers. Shocking, I know. Only $2,100 and he reaches the 40-40 line that indicates solid power upside. He will be up against Taylor Widener, who is allowing 1.50 HR/9 to left-handed hitters, along with a 5.28 xFIP, a 48.6% fly-ball rate, and a 48.6% hard-contact rate. Yikes. Those are some rough numbers and exactly the type we like to see when targeting a pitcher who gives up home runs.
Adolis Garcia, OF, Texas Rangers ($3,200)
The Texas Rangers shouldn't be popular tonight and make for intriguing tournament targets.
We all saw the Rangers get blown out last night -- they're not a good team -- but this doesn't mean they don't have viable fantasy options. Simply put, I think the Rangers are undervalued tonight and I'll be turning to Adolis Garcia in tournament lineups. He has massive power potential this season with a .203 ISO, 39.8% fly-ball rate, 45.8% hard-contact rate, and a solid 21.2% HR/FB ratio versus left-handed pitchers.
I really like the power Garcia has shown this season, and when he is matched up against Tarik Skubal, it puts him in a spot to hit a home run. Skubal is allowing 2.27 HR/9 to righties this season, along with a 4.62 xFIP, a 49.5% fly-ball rate, and a 39.3% hard-contact rate. It's a near-perfect match for two players both at the 40-40 line, giving us a clear home run spot to target.
