3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 6/1/16
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 Wednesday.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
FanDuel Price: $3,100
The Dodgers pulled off the improbable yesterday as they beat Jake Arrieta in Chicago. Now they'll try to ensure at least a split series here on Wednesday evening as they face off against Jon Lester. The problem is there is some rain in the forecast, which makes targeting this game a bit risky, especially if you are looking at Adrian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has struggled to hit lefties so far this season. His wOBA against them is only .299 through 47 at bats this season, and his ISO drops to .085 against lefties in 2016. His strikeout rate in 2016 against lefties is 21.2 percent, and all three of these categories are below his career averages against left-handed pitching. The sample size is small, and Lester has been beaten by some lefties this season, but it might be too much with the rain in the forecast as well.
This season, lefties have a wOBA of .304 against Lester, but his strikeout rate against them is 26.8 percent, and lefties fly-ball rate against Lester this season is just 26.5 percent. While Lester was slightly better against lefties in 2015, he has been better this season when pitching at home against left-handers. His strikeout rate is 32.4 percent and his wOBA is .280 at home against the 37 lefties he has faced at Wrigley Field so far.
Maikel Franco, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies
FanDuel Price: $2,900
The Phillies are walking into a buzzsaw this evening, as they have to face off against Max Scherzer and the Nationals. However, the righties from Philadelphia will have it even tougher tonight, and that includes third baseman Maikel Franco.
Franco has a wOBA of .298 this season against right-handed pitchers, and while his BABIP has been a lot better against righties, his power numbers drop significantly this season when facing off against right-handers. His ISO is .140 against righties compared to .300 against lefties, and while he is striking out much less against righties at 14.2 percent, he's also walking a lot less against them. His hard-hit rate is also nearly 20 points lower against righties at 21.5 percent this season, and his fly-ball rate is 10 points less against righties at 34.6 percent.
Franco’s opponent tonight has been dominating righties all season. Scherzer owns a wOBA against righties this season of only .201, and his strikeout rate against them is a staggering 39 percent. He has walked just 1.4 percent of the 146 total right-handers he has faced so far this season, and righties have a hard hit rate of just 22.1 percent against him this season. Scherzer is just getting better from his stellar numbers against righties from last season, and Franco presents the biggest landmine for the Phillies tonight.
Wil Myers, 1B, San Diego Padres
FanDuel Price: $3,200
Speaking of tough righty-righty matchups this evening, Wil Myers and the Padres have to face off against King Felix Hernandez tonight. Not only do they own a tough matchup, but it’s in Petco Park tonight, which is just an even bigger advantage to Hernandez. The Mariner’s ace has owned Petco Park throughout his career. In seven starts there, Padres hitters are slashing .171/.218/.232 through 181 at bats.
Hernandez also has been very good against right-handed hitters this season. They own a wOBA of .281 against him through 133 total batters, and his strikeout rate against them is over 21 percent in 2016. These are barely down from his career numbers of a .275 wOBA and a strikeout rate of 24.2 percent against righties, but in a park he has owned in the past, Hernandez might be a great pitcher to target.
Myers might face the brunt of Hernandez tonight. He's hitting .250 with a wOBA of .301 against righties this season, and his strikeout rate is nearly 24 percent against them on the year. While these numbers aren’t bad at all, Myers is in somewhat of a power slump recently. He has one extra base hit in his last 45 at-bats, and considering his opponent tonight, he might go without one here this evening, despite Myers being better at home.
