3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 4/24/18
Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox
FanDuel Price: $4,000
Andrew Benintendi is a great young hitter, but it's been a rough start to the season. Benintendi has avoided strikeouts, but he's mustered just a 29.5% fly-ball rate and 21.3% hard-hit rate to start the year. And, to boot, he has a tough matchup against J.A. Happ on Tuesday night.
From 2014 to 2017, Happ has been consistent, never posting a SIERA above 4.30. In 2018, however, he has elevated his level of play. His walk rate and contact management is virtually unchanged from previous years, but he is forcing batters to whiff more often. His 32.0% strikeout rate and 14.3% swinging-strike rate have been good enough for a 2.84 SIERA through four starts.
Happ has been particularly tough on left-handed hitters. Lefty batters have a career .304 wOBA, 33.5% fly-ball rate, and 27.6% hard-hit rate against the Toronto starter.
Like most young left-handed hitters, Benintendi struggles against southpaws. In his career, he has just a 57 wRC+, 28.4% fly-ball rate, and 22.7% hard-hit rate against left-handed pitching. The matchup just doesn't bode well for him tonight.
