MLB

3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 5/8/19

Paying up for pitching or paying up for Coors Field is the question of the night, but what if you fade them all and look elsewhere?

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.

Kyle Gibson, P, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $7,300

With two very clear aces on the slate tonight, ownership should be centralized around them, leaving plenty of opportunities for the mid-tier pitchers to go overlooked.

One of those pitchers in the mid-tier is Kyle Gibson, who comes in with five or more strikeouts in three straight starts, while only allowing a total of five earned runs in that span. Gibson does come in with a modest 20.4% strikeout rate, which is lower than most of the expensive pitchers tonight, so the ceiling will be limited for Gibson, but he brings much-needed salary relief tonight. Coors Field is in play and getting exposure to the hitters there always brings the most upside in tournaments, something that can be achieved tonight with Gibson in your lineups.

The matchup for Gibson tonight is solid against the Toronto Blue Jays, whose current roster posted a 97 wRC+ last season versus right-handed pitchers, which was bottom 10 in the league. The salary savings, the recent consistency, and the overall matchup for Gibson should see him continue his recent success.

Josh Reddick, OF, Houston Astros

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Josh Reddick was out of the lineup yesterday, so he should be set to return to action tonight, where he will have the platoon advantage against Jorge Lopez.

The Houston Astros got blown out last night and even resorted to having Tyler White, a position player, take the mound for an inning. It happens to every team, but now the Astros come in boasting a slate-best implied run total set at 5.28, which is even higher than the teams at Coors Field. They are looking for some revenge tonight against Lopez, who allowed 1.38 homers per nine innings, a 38.5% fly-ball rate, and a 42.9% hard-contact rate to left-handed hitters last season.

Reddick had a modest .120 ISO versus right-handed pitchers in 2018, but he finished with a solid 45.1% fly-ball rate and a super disciplined 15.7% strikeout rate. He doesn't waste opportunities at the plate, and his affordable price tag tonight is good for any format while getting you exposure to the team with the highest implied run total.

Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers

FanDuel Price: $2,900

The Detroit Tigers come into with an implied run total sitting at 4.12, which is on the lower end of teams tonight, putting them in a perfect spot to be forgotten in tournaments.

Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers are up against Tyler Skaggs, who is the fourth-most expensive pitcher on the slate and finished last season allowing a .332 wOBA, 41.1% hard-contact rate, and 1.06 homers per nine innings to right-handed hitters last season. Those are very average numbers for a pitcher and nothing you should be afraid of when looking for some tournament options.

Historically, Cabrera is great against left-handed pitchers but didn't truly show that in 2018 since his season was cut short by injuries. If we look back to 2017, though, we see that Cabrera carried a super strong .397 wOBA, .168 ISO, and a 46.6% hard-contact rate against lefties.

Those are the numbers we are accustomed to seeing from Miggy, who comes in with an active six-game hitting streak and is in a spot to extend that tonight versus Skaggs. At just under $3K tonight, Cabrera and some of the Tigers' right-handed hitters could be a great stack at a very affordable overall cost, allowing you to pay up for pitching.


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.