MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 9/29/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Sep 29th, 2016
Kevin Kiermaier is a player to avoid because of his brutal matchup with Jose Quintana. Who else should we stay away from?

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 Thursday.

Kevin Kiermaier, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

FanDuel Price: $3,500

Not only is there rain in the forecast tonight in Chicago, but the Tampa Bay Rays are up against a tough left-hander in Jose Quintana.

Kevin Kiermaier has done well in the second half of the season, but overall against southpaws, his stats have dropped this year. He has an uninspiring .238 average with a 23.2% strikeout rate versus southpaws. His career hard-hit rate against lefties is also only 24.9%.

Quintana has held lefties to a .270 wOBA this season and a .297 wOBA for his career. He has been even better this season against left-handers when he pitches at home. When pitching at U.S. Cellular Field, lefties own a .240 wOBA against Quintana, and over the last two years, lefties have a .257 wOBA against Quintana in Chicago.

Joe Mauer, 1B, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $3,100

Joe Mauer's 13th year in the majors is about to come to a close, and he has been in and out of the lineup over the last few weeks because of nagging injuries. However, if he is in the lineup tonight, he has to square off against Danny Duffy.

Mauer’s splits against southpaws have fallen off a cliff this season. He has a solid .328 wOBA in his career against lefties, but this season, his wOBA against southpaws has fallen to .272 over 127 plate appearances. He also has a measly .095 isolated power and 16.3% fly-ball rate against them.

Duffy has been fantastic against lefties, holding them to a .202 wOBA with a 34.9% strikeout rate and 22.7% hard hit rate.

Gerardo Parra, OF, Colorado Rockies

FanDuel Price: $2,500

It’s "fade lefties day" here on the landmines article, and Gerardo Parra rounds out the list. He isn’t up against a fellow lefty, but Parra will see Johnny Cueto.

While Cueto has been great against righties this season, he has been superb against lefties, as well, holding them to a .287 wOBA. Cueto has a higher strikeout rate against lefties (22.8%), and his xFIP has also been better against southpaws (3.29). Overall at home, hitters from both sides of the plate have a .259 wOBA against the San Francisco Giants’ starter.

Against righties this year, Parra has a .285 wOBA, and he's not a recommended play in this one.