MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 7/5/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jul 5th, 2016
Carlos Gonzalez has to face off against Madison Bumgarner tonight. Who else should you look to avoid on Tuesday?

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 Tuesday.

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies

FanDuel Price: $2,400

After destroying the ball at the end of June, Carlos Gonzalez has been cooling off in the month of July. He is only 2-for-17 in his last five games, and our friends at FanDuel have lowered his price considerably for his matchup against Madison Bumgarner.

However, it’s for good reason. Bumgarner has dominated left-handers this season. Across 84 batters faced, lefties own a .217 wOBA. The Giants’ ace also has a 33.3 percent strikeout rate against batters of the same handedness, and with a hard hit rate of 27.5 percent, Gonzalez looks like a player to avoid.

The Rockies' cleanup hitter has a strikeout rate of 31.6 percent against lefties this season, and his wOBA is .339 against them compared to .404 against right-handers. His on-base percentage is more than 100 points lower against lefties than it is against right-handers this season.

Justin Upton, OF, Detroit Tigers

FanDuel Price: $2,600

Unlike his brother, Justin Upton is not having a great bounce back season in Detroit. While Melvin Upton is on pace for 20 homers and 30 steals, Justin has to face off against Carlos Carrasco. Since coming off the disabled list, Carrasco has been very good for the Tribe, and for his career, he has been very good against right-handed batters.

Righties own a .295 wOBA against Carrasco across 134 batters faced this season. He has a 26.1 percent strikeout rate and a 31.5 percent hard hit rate against righties this year. In 2015, his strikeout rate was 30.3, and his hard hit rate was 25.7 against right-handers.

This all spells bad news for Upton. He has a 31.6 percent strikeout rate against righties in 2016 with a .271 wOBA. His hard hit rate drops from 37.3 against lefties to 31.9 against right-handers, and with Carrasco getting his grove back, don’t expect much from Upton tonight.

Adam Eaton, OF, Chicago White Sox

FanDuel Price: $2,600

Adam Eaton had a nice holiday weekend at the plate for the White Sox. He went 5-for-14 in his last three games, but Eaton has also been a unique hitter at the plate this season because of his reverse splits. Here on Tuesday, he has to face off against Masahiro Tanaka, who has also been much better against hitters of opposite handedness this season.

Lefties own a .247 wOBA against Tanaka this season over 184 batters, compared to righties who are at .288 over 237 batters. His FIP is 2.85 versus lefties compared to 3.70 against righties. With a lower hard hit and fly ball rate against lefties as well, Tanaka presents some issues for Eaton.

Eaton has a .318 wOBA against righties this season compared to .367 against lefties. His batting average drops nearly 70 points when facing a right-handed pitcher this season. Considering how good Tanaka has been facing hitters from the left side of the plate, Eaton presents multiple landmine qualities tonight.