MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 5/17/16

Jim Sannes  —  @JimSannes May 17th, 2016
Giancarlo Stanton always has the ability to go deep, but a matchup with the high-strikeout Vincent Velasquez is a major ding to his value.

As is the case in most daily fantasy sports, finding information on players you might want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.

While you can get away with a zero from a hitter in daily fantasy, you certainly don't want to target guys whose matchups aren't enticing.

Here are three hitters you may want to lessen your exposure to or even fade altogether on Monday.

Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins

FanDuel Price: $4,200

It's hard to label a player as great as Giancarlo Stanton as someone to avoid, but his matchup is mighty difficult tonight.

The Philadelphia Phillies will throw righty Vincent Velasquez, who has been dismissing dudes with ease this year. He holds a 28.7% strikeout rate, and that jumps to 31.6% against right-handed batters. His ground-ball rate is low, and the park factor is tremendous for hitters, but strikeouts are still the thing we should look to first.

Stanton's worst numbers historically have been against power pitchers, as evidenced by his career .224/.332/.465 slash. That's compared to a .303/.381/.599 slash against finesse hurlers. Stanton's great, and he is always a candidate to launch a massive tater, but the risks and price don't quite align to make him a safe play on this slate.

Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies

FanDuel Price: $4,400

Normally, Trevor Story is going to be a great guy to use against a lefty as his 70.0% hard-hit rate is hard to comprehend. But when it's a high-strikeout lefty like Jaime Garcia has been this year, things change pretty drastically.

Garcia has been outstanding through his first seven starts with a 26.8% strikeout rate, and it's validated by his 11.4% swinging-strike rate and 74.8% contact rate. His strikeouts do dip a bit to 24.3% against a righty, but Story's whiffs compensate there.

Story is now up to 43 plate appearances against lefties in his big-league career, and he has already struck out 15 times over that span. He does also have four home runs, but even those get flushed down the tube with Garcia's 60.0% ground-ball rate. Story's a lot like Stanton in that he absolutely could go deep today, but Garcia's repertoire makes Story a tough sell.

Jean Segura, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Jean Segura has been spitting hot fire this whole season with a disgusting .333/.360/.512 slash, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are coming off of a 12-run outburst last night. The matchup against the New York Yankees' Michael Pineda just may not be as good as it appears at first glance.

Pineda's 6.28 ERA is enough to make a person hurl, but his SIERA is still quality at 3.75. He holds a 23.2% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate, and his ground-ball rate has jumped back up to 51.9% over his past three starts. Pineda's metrics aren't as good as they were last year, but they're a whole heck of a lot better than his ERA.

Segura has obviously been great, but his 26.2% hard-hit rate indicates that's not going to last. His situation -- batting leadoff for a team in a hitter's park -- lends itself to consideration on most slates, but the gap between perception and reality in Pineda's ability is enough to make Segura a guy to fade today.