3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Friday 9/3/21

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.

Tyler Anderson, P, Seattle Mariners ($7,400)

On a loaded 14-game slate, there are several pitchers that could be going overlooked.

We have a ton of options, we have a game at Coors Field, and we have stacks we want to roster. It's always great to pay up for pitchers due to the tremendous upside they bring, but that can leave you searching for value options because you can't afford the top stacks. This could lead us to Tyler Anderson, who is not only affordable but has a good matchup versus the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Anderson comes in with a very modest 19.4% strikeout rate, a low 4.9% walk rate, a 56.6% medium-contact rate, and a 42.1% fly-ball rate this season. I get it, none of that is jumping off the page at you, but Anderson has managed to post 25 FanDuel points or more in three of his last four starts, a level he can certainly reach tonight.

He is up against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who come in with a 105 wRC+ (13th in the league), .170 ISO (15th), 34.0% fly-ball rate (20th), and 21.7% strikeout rate (23rd) versus left-handed hitters this season. They are just an average offense. There's no other way to put it.

Anderson should be able to handle them and cruise to a solid point-per-dollar outing.

Robbie Grossman, OF, Detroit Tigers ($3,200)

The Detroit Tigers have a 4.16 implied run total tonight and shouldn't be popular.

Finding under-the-radar options in MLB DFS is always great, especially if they bring some home run upside. That is what we have with Robbie Grossman tonight, who is set to take on Vladimir Gutierrez. This season, Gutierrez is allowing a .220 ISO, 5.86 xFIP, 1.81 HR/9, 10.6% walk rate, 47.8% fly-ball rate, and a 34.3% hard-contact rate versus left-handed hitters. He's simply not good in this split, and the lefties from the Tigers could be solid tournament options.

This is where Grossman comes into play, with his 105 wRC+, .167 ISO, 39.1% fly-ball rate, and 17.8% HR/FB rate versus right-handed pitchers. I get that the Tigers are "bad," but Grossman is worth a spot in some lineups tonight.

Andrew McCutchen, OF, Philadelphia Phillies ($2,800)

How popular are the Philadelphia Phillies going to be tonight?

That's a question I'm wondering because Jesus Luzardo is pitching for the Miami Marlins, and there's a chance he is somewhat popular tonight. Taking some hitters facing a popular pitcher is something I always have an interest in, so let's break it down.

Luzardo has a 5.36 xFIP and 11.1% walk rate while allowing 2.49 HR/9, a 47.1% fly-ball rate, and a 39.1% hard-contact rate versus right-handed hitters this season. Luzardo is not having a good season versus righties, and there is some clear power upside for them tonight. They also shouldn't be chalky, which presents some serious upside.

Andrew McCutchen has an awesome 184 wRC+, .346 ISO, 39.6% fly-ball rate, and 43.4% hard-contact rate versus left-handed pitchers. McCutchen fits the batted-ball profile I look for to a tee and is an under-the-radar candidate for a home run tonight.