MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 9/20/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Sep 20th, 2016
Joey Votto is on fire in the second half, but he is up against Jon Lester, making it a night to avoid the Reds' slugger.

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.

Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds

FanDuel Price: $3,900

Joey Votto's second half has been amazing, and he has continued it recently, going 6-for-7 in the Cincinnati Reds’ last two games. However, even though Votto has been destroying pitchers of both handedness, his prospects of a big fantasy night diminish tonight against Chicago Cubs’ southpaw Jon Lester.

Lester has been great against lefties this season, holding them to a .240 wOBA with a 28.1% strikeout rate. For his career, Lester has a 3.18 xFIP against left-handers.

Even though Votto has an impressive .308 average and .361 wOBA against southpaws this season, his power numbers drop significantly. Only 4 of his 25 homers have come off lefties, and his ISO drops from .244 against righties to just .126 against left-handers. He also has a 24.1% strikeout rate against southpaws.

Yasmani Grandal, C, Los Angeles Dodgers

FanDuel Price: $2,400

Switch hitter Yasmani Grandal missed a few games recently with an elbow issue, but he returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup last night. However, even if he is back in the lineup tonight, it may be best to avoid Grandal as the San Francisco Giants are starting Johnny Cueto.

Cueto has been devastating to right-handed hitters this season, but he's also been very good against lefties. The Giants’ starter has limited left-handed batters to a .281 wOBA while racking up a 22.8% strikeout rate.

Combine that with Grandal's 27.0% strikeout rate against righties this year, and it's probably best to avoid the Dodgers' catcher in this one.

Ryan Zimmerman, 1B, Washington Nationals

FanDuel Price: $2,400

Ryan Zimmerman is having the worst season of his career, and he is facing off against Jose Fernandez in brutal matchup.

Zimmerman has just a .271 wOBA with a 24.1% strikeout rate against righties this season. Fernandez, meanwhile, has dominated righties in 2016, holding them to a .245 wOBA with an incredible 42.2% strikeout rate.

Zimmerman and every other Washington Nationals' right-handed hitter is on the landmine list tonight.