MLB

3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 4/19/19

A loaded 14-game slate has almost too many options, but that means several players in strong spots will go overlooked. Who should we focus on in tournaments tonight?

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 is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of Vegas totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found that everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-owned plays if we look hard enough.

Here are three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.

C.C. Sabathia, P, New York Yankees

FanDuel Price: $7,700

CC Sabathia made his first start of the season last week and got his year underway with a strong outing.

He was able to go five innings in that start, and while he racked up only three strikeouts against the Chicago White Sox, he should be able to surpass that level of production today against the Kansas City Royals.

The current roster for the Royals had a 23.8% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers last season (sixth-worst in the majors), along with an 86 wRC+ (seventh-worst). Those are very weak offensive numbers and shouldn't be too much of a threat tonight versus Sabathia, who induced a 25% soft contact rate last season. He likely won't go super deep into the game, but getting the quality start points on FanDuel is certainly in play at this price-point.

Matt Carpenter, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Matt Carpenter is very affordable tonight and could even be considered a bit too cheap since the St. Louis Cardinals have an implied team total sitting at 4.83, which is the fifth highest outside of Coors Field.

On paper, some people might look over Carpenter since he is in a lefty versus lefty matchup, but this is actually the spot you want to attack. He is up against Jason Vargas, who allowed 1.25 homers per nine innings to lefties last season, along with a 37% hard contact rate. Vargas has always been home run prone and that should line up nicely for Carpenter who finished with a .232 ISO and a shockingly high 50% hard contact rate versus left-handed pitchers last season.

Daniel Vogelbach, 1B, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $3,800

The Seattle Mariners posted 11 runs last night in a wild win over the Los Angeles Angels and with their offense clicking again, we want to target them tonight.

Dan Vogelbach got the start at first base last night and was able to pick up two hits and three walks, which was awesome for fantasy production since he added two runs as well. The issue with him last night was that he was pinch hit for late in the game, which limited his potential upside.

Knowing you have a player on your roster who could get pulled is something that is never comforting, but that could also add to him going overlooked on a loaded 14-game slate. Vogelbach can easily reach value up against Felix Pena, who allowed 1.13 homers per nine innings while at home last season to left-handed hitters, along with a 43% hard contact rate in that same split.


Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.