MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 6/15/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jun 15th, 2016
Lorenzo Cain has had a few tough matchups recently, and things don't get any easier Wednesday night. Who else should you avoid in DFS?

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.

Jason Heyward, OF, Chicago Cubs

FanDuel Price: $2,900

The afternoon slate on FanDuel is full of value, but it also has some potential landmines lurking in the slate. One of the landmines that may be a little more obvious, though, is Jason Heyward. The Cubs and Heyward are going up against Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals, and as we’ve talked about before, Strasburg has been very good this season and beyond at getting lefties out.

Heyward has also struggled against righty pitching this season. His wOBA against righties is only .281 through 153 at bats, and his strikeout rate against them is also higher than against righties at 23.8 percent. Heyward’s BABIP has dropped below .300 against righties this season at .291.

These are troubling signs against a pitcher like Strasburg, who has a wOBA against lefties of only .245. Strasburg's strikeout rate is 31.7 percent against lefties -- which is close to his rate against righties -- and this year, lefties have a lower fly-ball rate than righties against Strasburg at 34 percent. Heyward’s struggles have been well documented, so don’t expect too much against a dominant pitcher like Strasburg today.

Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Speaking of well-documented struggles, Andrew McCutchen is having a down year. Not many people have been able to figure it out, either, but one thing is certain: he has entered landmine territory for the first time in basically his entire big-league career.

Today, the Pittsburgh Pirates and McCutchen have to take on Noah Syndergaard, and that is bad news for pretty much every Pirates right-hander. Syndergaard has a wOBA against righties of only .228 this season through 158 total batters faced, along with a strikeout rate of nearly 30 percent. Righties also have a hard-hit rate of 24.8 percent against him this season.

McCutchen is in the midst of a 1-for-18 slump over his last four games, and tonight against Syndergaard, it might not get any better. The Pirates' outfielder is hitting just .237 with a .315 wOBA against righties this season, and his BABIP is just .294. Considering these are all lower than his career numbers of a .368 wOBA and a .330 BABIP against righties, it is concerning enough to make him a landmine against Syndergaard.

Lorenzo Cain, OF, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Lorenzo Cain made the landmines earlier this week thanks to a tough matchup against Carlos Carrasco, and now he has an even tougher battle in Wednesday’s game as the Kansas City Royals face off against Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians.

Kluber has been fantastic as of late, and he has done a lot of his work against right-handed batters. Righties own a wOBA of just .236 through 189 batters faced this season, and he has a strikeout rate of 27.5 percent against right-handers this year. Considering Kluber has only given up five hits over his last two starts, it might be another night to avoid Cain.

After another 0-for-4 game on Tuesday, Cain is 0-for-8 in this series against the Indians. He is only 5-for-27 in his last 10 games, and it has been a tough season for him against righties. He has a wOBA against righties of .285 through 188 at bats, and his strikeout rate is 25.2 percent against pitchers of the same handedness. Considering Kluber is having a dominant year against righties, Cain is once again a player to avoid.