MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 9/9/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Sep 9th, 2016
Chris Carter has to face off against Carlos Martinez in a matchup you'll surely want to avoid in Friday's MLB DFS slate.

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 Friday.

Chris Carter, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Chris Carter has cooled off some after blasting three homers in as many days earlier this week. He now rolls into a Friday matchup with the Cardinals’ Carlos Martinez, who has been very good against fellow right-handers this season.

Martinez has held righties to a wOBA of only .227 with a 25.5 strikeout rate this season. They also have just a 22.1 hard-hit rate against Martinez, so with how Carter has faired against right-handed pitching, it might be best to avoid the Brewers’ slugging first baseman.

Even though Carter has been serviceable against righties this season with a .332 wOBA, he has a 33.7 strikeout rate against them. As long as Martinez doesn’t make a mistake pitch to the Brewers’ first baseman, it might be best to lay off Carter.

Kole Calhoun, OF, Los Angeles Angels

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Kole Calhoun has been a big tournament winner for players who rostered him on the right night over the last few weeks. However, he has posted as many poor days at the plate as he has posted double-digit fantasy points during that stretch and, tonight, it may be more of the former against Yu Darvish.

Darvish has been problematic for lefties this season and throughout his career. They have a .280 wOBA and a 29.5 strikeout rate against the Rangers’ righty this season. Lefties also have a fly-ball rate of 33 percent against Darvish in 2016, which has led to him only allowing three homers to lefties this season.

Calhoun has a .327 wOBA against righties this season over 442 plate appearances. His walk rate is great against righties at 10.4 percent, and with Darvish’s 9.4 walk rate against lefties, he isn’t a complete fade, but he certainly isn’t a cash game option tonight.

Howie Kendrick, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers

FanDuel Price: $3,100

Howie Kendrick is another player with an extra tough matchup on Friday night, as he and the rest of the Dodgers have to go up against Jose Fernandez. The Marlins’ ace got knocked around some in his last start against the Indians, but after two bumpy road starts, he's back at home where he has been a different pitcher this season.

Overall, visiting hitters have a .246 wOBA against Fernandez in Miami, and against righties at home, that number drops to .231. Fernandez has an overall strikeout rate of 43.3 against righties this season and at home his xFIP against righties is just 1.80.

Kendrick, on the other hand, has a .319 wOBA and .304 BABIP against right-handers this season. He has posted good power against right-handers, which is a bit of a concern, but considering he is up against Fernandez, it's hard to see Kendrick having a huge fantasy line.