5 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters for 4/19/16

If you have played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field and to find players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.

The purpose of this article will be to bring you some high-upside players who will likely go overlooked and give you an edge.

Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox

FanDuel Price: $4,100

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Xander Bogaerts has gone hitless in back-to-back games and is part of a deep shortstop position today. He also has a respectable opposing pitcher on the mound, Drew Smyly, on a day with several weak pitching options to target.

Why You Should Use Him:

While Smyly's career SIERA is a solid 3.40, the lefty has struggled to contain right-handed bats throughout his career. He has allowed righties to post a higher slugging percentage, wOBA, and fly-ball rate than lefties, while also posting fewer strikeouts and more walks against righties.

Enter Bogaerts, a right-handed batter who was on an eight-game hitting streak prior to his last two games and hits lefties better than righties. Last season, Bogaerts elevated his slugging percentage, ISO, wOBA, and hard-hit rate against lefties. He was even better at home, where he posted a .514 slugging percentage, .162 ISO, .406 wOBA, and 32.3 percent hard-hit rate against lefties.

Bogaerts is expensive but is a terrific way to get exposure to Boston's large implied team total tonight.

Jose Abreu, 1B, Chicago White Sox

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Jose Abreu is part of a deep first base position and has struggled to start the season.

Why You Should Use Him:

Matt Shoemaker posted a respectable 3.98 SIERA last season, but his splits against right-handers offer plenty of reason for optimism for Abreu tonight.

Last season, Shoemaker saw his slugging percentage against jump from .422 against lefties to .480 against righties, and his wOBA rose from .316 to .337. Combine that with the 40.5 percent fly-ball rate he allowed to righties, and Shoemaker could be in big trouble tonight.

Similar to his counterpart Shoemaker, Abreu posted some reverse-splits last year, hitting right-handed pitching much better than left-handed pitching. Against righties, he elevated his slugging percentage from .352 to .548, his ISO from .120 to .240, and his wOBA .288 to .384. He also posted a 33.1 percent fly-ball rate and 34.2 percent hard-hit rate against righties, which helps to explain why 27 of his 30 home runs came against right-handed pitching.

It's hard to trust him in anything but tournaments until he comes out of his slump, but if there is a time to buy-low on Abreu, the time is now.

Kendrys Morales, 1B, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $3,100

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Kendrys Morales will also go overlooked amid a deep first base position, especially because the Royals have a modest projected team total today.

Why You Should Use Him:

Morales' opponent on the mound today will be Shane Greene, who struggled against left-handed batters last season. Greene allowed lefties to hit for a higher slugging percentage and wOBA, while also walking more frequently.

Morales is a switch hitter but will be hitting from the left side against Greene today. Last season, Morales raised his slugging percentage from .412 to .538 against righties, while also raising his ISO from .113 to .254. Morales' hard-hit rate rose to 38.3 percent against righties last year too. All of these stats used in conjunction offer an easy explanation as to why Morales hit 18 of his 22 home runs against right-handed pitchers last season.

Starlin Castro, 2B, New York Yankees

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Starlin Castro has cooled off after a hot start and is hitting in the bottom half of the Yankees' order. Don't expect him to be popular today.

Why You Should Use Him:

Castro's opponent on the mound today will be Eric Surkamp, who boasts a career 5.26 SIERA across five seasons with four different teams. Throughout his career, Surkamp has allowed power hitters to post better numbers against him from the left side of the plate, but his performance against righties has been far from impressive. He has also walked righties more frequently, while striking them out more infrequently.

Castro, a righty, has hit lefties better in his career. He's posted a higher slugging percentage and wOBA against lefties, while striking out less and walking more. He's also posted a career 29.8 percent hard-hit rate against lefties, up from 26 percent against lefties. The Yankees are a very stackable team today, and Castro is a nice contrarian way to get some exposure to their lineup.

Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox

FanDuel Price: $2,900

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Dustin Pedroia isn't a flashy option and is facing a respectable pitcher.

Why You Should Use Him:

The other part of my favorite sneaky stack of the day, Pedroia is on a 10-game hitting streak and is very affordable.

Pedroia, a righty, will also benefit from Smyly's splits against right-handers. Much like Bogaerts, Pedroia really improved on his numbers against lefties last season -- especially at home. Check out Pedroia's home splits against lefties last year.

Pedroia should continue to be a consistent fantasy contributor -- he has at least six FanDuel points in six straight games -- and he has the potential for more tonight in an advantageous matchup against Smyly.