3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 5/13/19
Baseball is here, and there are plenty of DFS contests to choose from on FanDuel's main slate. While we have plenty of pieces geared towards guys you should target in your DFS contests, it's also important to avoid sub-optimal options who are overpriced and/or in tough spots.
Let's check out three players to consider fading on FanDuel's main slate for May 13.
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (OF)
at Minnesota Twins
FanDuel Price: $4,700
One of the spiciest matchups of the day showcases the red-hot offensive Los Angeles Angels and Mike Trout against the sparkling José Berríos of the Minnesota Twins. Who has the best chance of coming out on top?
It seems like a fool's errand to ever bet against Trout, who is rocking a .650 slugging percentage and 1.057 OPS over the last six games. But Berríos has been absolutely brilliant against right-handed batters, both in 2019 and in the past. Looking at a broader sample from 2018, Berríos limited same-sided bats to a .283 wOBA, 24.1% strikeout rate, and 31.4% hard-hit rate.
A Berríos-Trout matchup should be a fun one, and given Trout's lofty salary, it may be best to stay away from him today. With that said, Trout is capable of a big game no matter the matchup, so if the vibe around this slate is that the date with Berríos will scare away a lot of people, Trout would be worth plugging into a few GPP lineups.
Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox (1B)
vs Cleveland Indians
FanDuel Price: $3,700
One of the steadiest hitters in the game today, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is up to his usual tricks, ripping nine home runs this year on his way to an .844 OPS.
In an AL Central matchup with the Cleveland Indians, Abreu and the Sox have a tough task on their hands versus Shane Bieber. The righty has dominated same-sided batters over his brief career, stifling them for a 30.9% fly-ball rate, 26.7% strikeout rate, and .271 wOBA.
It's also important to note that Abreu has been far better with the platoon advantage. In 2018, he had a wRC+ of 107 against righties, compared to a 144 clip against lefties, and his OPS was .769 against righties, compared to .915 against southpaws.
On a small slate, a hitter like Abreu could be a tempting choice, but looks like a fade with a tough matchup against Bieber.
Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates (OF)
at Arizona Diamondbacks
FanDuel Price: $3,500
Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks is doing what he usually does -- he's walking far too many betters (12.4% walk rate) but is whiffing a ton of dudes with a 29.7% strikeout rate and 12.5% swinging-strike rate.
All of that indicates that when he's on, he's really on. And lefties, in particular, don't stand a chance. This season -- in an extremely small sample (37 total batters faced) -- same-sided bats have struck out 32.4% of the time without a walk or homer versus Ray. In 2018, they posted a .208 wOBA with a 32.4% strikeout rate.
Gregory Polanco has been extremely poor in this split for his career. He owns a 73 wRC+, .635 OPS, and 27.3% hard-hit rate in lefty-lefty battles. With a tough matchup and already owning below-average numbers against lefties, Polanco is someone to run away from tonight.
Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. 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.
