MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on 5/24/19

Baseball is heating up, and there are plenty of DFS contests to choose from on FanDuel's main slate. While we have plenty of pieces geared towards guys you should target in your DFS contests, it's also important to avoid sub-optimal options who are overpriced and/or in tough spots.

Let's check out three players to consider fading on FanDuel's main slate for May 24.

Alex Bregman, Houston Astros (3B)

vs Boston Red Sox
FanDuel Price: $4,100

With the slugging Alex Bregman heating up at the dish for the Houston Astros, they've surged their way to the top of the AL West. Now sporting a cool .952 OPS after a bit of a slow start, Bregman is likely to be a popular play most nights.

But tonight won't be like most nights -- he squares off with Chris Sale, who's also gotten back to stud status. And as tough as one may think Sale is on lefties, he's arguably even better against opposite-handed hitters. This year, in 203 plate appearances, righties own a meager .301 wOBA and 36.0% strikeout rate.

While starting your studs seems to make sense most days, Friday might be a good time to pivot off of Bregman.

Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (OF)

at Houston Astros
FanDuel Price: $4,500

Staying in the same contest, there aren't many days where playing Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox seems like a bad idea, but tonight could be one of those nights.

Wade Miley takes the pill in a battle of two AL East heavyweights, and he has been strong yet again thanks to heavy usage of that nasty cutter. And that cutter has been particularly tough to hit for right-handed batters. In 2018, Miley logged a 21.7% fly-ball rate against righties, including a .283 wOBA mark.

In 2019, Miley has still been stellar in this split with only a .312 wOBA mark. These two stellar offenses could put up some crooked numbers tonight, but Betts may not be part of that action.

Josh Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates (1B)

vs Los Angeles Dodgers
FanDuel Price: $4,500

Is there a hitter more on fire in baseball than Josh Bell of the Pittsburgh Pirates? With 10 home runs in May, and still having a week left to add to those totals, and his 1.126 OPS for 2019 is certainly no joke.

His opposing pitcher tonight, Walker Buehler, could cause him some problems. In his major league career, Buehler has dominated lefties for a .258 wOBA, including a 26.5% strikeout rate and 31.7% fly-ball rate.

Bell has been far better as a lefty hitter this year -- as his absurd .491 wOBA and 1.227 OPS would suggest. Buehler's numbers, though, indicate Bell could come back to earth a bit tonight.



Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. 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.