MLB

3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 4/9/19

Garrett Hampson, who generated a lot of preseason buzz, has been miserable so far this year. Why is he worth a roll of the dice tonight, and who else could pop at low ownership?

When being contrarian in daily fantasy sports, there's a fine line between taking a calculated risk and being reckless. But differentiating your lineups from everyone else is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of Vegas totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found that everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-owned plays if we look hard enough.

Here are three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.

Marco Gonzales, P, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $8,500

Marco Gonzales has looked solid in his three starts this season and has a chance to build on that success against a weak Kansas City Royals team, one that has lost seven games in a row.

Gonzales has 19.2 innings pitched so far this campaign, posting 11 strikeouts in that time while allowing seven earned runs. Yes, those numbers aren't amazing when you are looking for strikeout potential, since punchouts provide massive fantasy points, but his lack of whiffs is the reason he will go overlooked tonight. We are dealing with a slate that contains four pitchers priced over $10,000, but it's also a slate in which Coors Field is in play, giving us a very tough decision with roster construction. Paying up for the elite pitchers as well as expensive hitters at Coors may not be doable tonight.

If you want to pay down on the mound, Gonzales is a decent option.

The Royals finished with a .301 wOBA, .135 ISO, and a 23.8% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers last season -- all of which were among the worst rates in the league. Those aren't numbers you should be afraid of, and from a point-per-dollar view, Gonzales has the chance to exceed value on a loaded pitching slate.

Garrett Hampson, 2B, Colorado Rockies

FanDuel Price: $2,600

Garrett Hampson was in the starting lineup for the Colorado Rockies yesterday, and we should him there again today -- but not at second base.

Despite being listed as a second baseman, Hampson played in center field yesterday since David Dahl is head to the 10-day injured list. With the lack of depth the Rockies have on their current roster, Hampson should be in the lineup again tonight and will have the platoon advantage against Max Fried. Last season, Fried didn't get a ton of innings under his belt, but he allowed a 44.3% hard-contact rate and 13.6% walk rate to right-handed hitters. Those aren't the type of numbers you want to have going into a date at Coors Field, the best hitter's park in the league.

With Hampson being under $3,000 tonight, the salary relief will allow you to stack the Rockies, who have an implied team total of 5.48, the highest on the slate.

Nick Ahmed, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

FanDuel Price: $3,200

Nick Ahmed and the Arizona Diamondbacks have an implied team total sitting at 4.51, which is the sixth-highest on the slate, but this is a spot in which they can exceed their projected runs.

Ahmed comes into this game with hits in six of his last seven contests, with three of those games being outings in which he produced multiple hits. That's very solid production for a hitter just above $3,000, and he's going up against Mike Minor, who allowed 1.33 homers per nine innings and a 47% fly-ball rate to right-handed hitters last season.

This puts the right-handed hitters for the Diamondbacks in a great spot to have home-run upside, and they should be very easy to stack since they have no batter over $4,000. Whether you're stacking Arizona or looking for a one-off play, Ahmed is in play as he comes in with great splits versus left-handed pitchers from last season, including a surprising .217 ISO.



Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.