3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Tuesday 8/31/21
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.
Lance McCullers, P, Houston Astros ($9,200)
With a slate full of aces, Lance McCullers may be overlooked versus the Seattle Mariners.
All things considered, this is one of the best pitching slates we've had in a while, and there are a number of different options to consider in the top tier. Lucas Giolito ($10,200) at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates clearly stands out as an amazing matchup. Blake Snell ($9,400) versus the Arizona Diamondbacks is also a good matchup at a lower salary. But lost in the mix could be McCullers, who is on the road versus the Seattle Mariners.
McCullers has the stats to compete with the other pitchers with his 27.8% strikeout rate, 3.67 xFIP, 54.8% ground-ball rate, and 56.3% medium-contact rate. He loses a step with an 11.0% walk rate, and that could be the deciding factor for some people. If this is going to make McCullers less popular than the other top arms, you should be considering him for tournaments.
The matchup against the Mariners is a very solid one, as they come in with a 25.7% strikeout rate (3rd-highest in the league), .159 ISO (19th), 92 wRC+ (18th), and 30.8% hard-contact rate (26th) versus right-handed pitchers this season. We can attack the Mariners' offense and should expect McCullers to cruise.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, Philadelphia Phillies ($2,700)
With a 4.41 implied run total, the Philadelphia Phillies are lost in the mix among stacking options.
That implied run total is just 12th-highest on the slate, which isn't jumping off the page at you. There are clearly other teams that are a higher priority. However, the Phillies are going up against Patrick Corbin, who is allowing 2.51 homers per nine to right-handed hitters, something we absolutely want to attack. Corbin is also carrying a 4.63 xFIP, 17.4% strikeout rate, and a 25.4% homer-to-fly-ball (HR/FB) ratio. He has been crushed by righty hitters all season, and there is no reason to stop targeting him now.
As such, we can look to Andrew McCutchen, who has a 178 wRC+, .328 ISO, 15.0% walk rate, 38.5% fly-ball rate, 30.0% HR/FB ratio, and 42.3% hard-contact rate versus left-handed pitchers. McCutchen elevates the ball, and when he does, it's going for a home run a good percentage of the time. The power potential is very clear for him and some of the Phillies' other righties tonight.
Yan Gomes, C, Oakland Athletics ($2,600)
Are the Oakland Athletics worth a shot in tournaments?
That's the question I'm asking, because they shouldn't be popular and have some clear upside versus Tarik Skubal. Yes, Skubal is showing to be a solid pitcher, but he is still allowing 2.31 homers per nine to righties, with a 46.1% fly-ball rate and a 37.9% hard-contact rate in the split. Those are average-to-bad numbers -- there's no other way to put it. We're also not too worried about the Detroit Tigers' bullpen once Skubal is out of the game.
This is where Yan Gomes comes into play as a tournament option since he shouldn't be popular in any capacity. He has a 148 wRC+, .283 ISO, 17.4% strikeout rate, 43.4% hard-contact rate, and 23.1% HR/FB ratio versus left-handed pitchers this season. I love seeing that type of power for a hitter with a salary less than $3,000 -- especially if he is going to fly under the radar.
