3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 9/25/19
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
Jon Lester, P, Chicago Cubs
FanDuel: $6,700
The Chicago Cubs have been on a downward spiral the last few weeks and are seeing their playoff hopes slip away. Can they reverse that tonight?
There aren't many games left for the Cubs this season, and if they want a shot at making the playoffs, they will need Jon Lester to stop up and post a strong start tonight. Lester is very affordable tonight and comes in with a fantastic matchup we should be looking to attack, all while at lower ownership. By no means is Lester an elite pitcher, but the matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates is what we are looking to attack. Pittsburgh comes in with a 75 wRC+ (30th in the league), a .139 team ISO (29th), and a 31.0% fly-ball rate (28th) versus left-handed pitchers this season.
The Pirates are among the worst teams in this split, presenting very little threat on offense. Lester only comes in with a 21.8% strikeout rate this season, but he's in a great spot as a road favorite -- -120 per oddsFire -- and has a chance for the quality start and the win.
Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Mets
FanDuel Price: $2,900
The New York Mets are another team that's in desperate need of wins, but thankfully for them, that looks good tonight.
New York comes in as very strong -186 home favorites, thanks to Jacob deGrom being on the mound, but they're also in a spot to generate the run support they often fail to give him. They will be facing off against the Miami Marlins, who will have Robert Dugger on the mound tonight, a young pitcher who is struggling. Dugger only has 32.1 innings pitched this season -- his first year in the Majors -- and they haven't been too kind to him, as he is allowing 1.32 home runs per nine innings, a 7.96 xFIP, and a 50.0% hard-hit rate. Of course, this is all from a small sample size, but nothing from his Minor League numbers suggest he is an elite prospect.
We can look to attack him tonight with a player like Robinson Cano, who despite his struggles this season, is solid in this split. He comes in with a .213 ISO, super low 14.8% strikeout rate, and a 41.9% hard-hit rate. Cano isn't wasting chances at the plate and has the power to bring a home run against a pitcher who is clearly struggling with that this season.
Ramon Laureano, OF, Oakland Athletics
FanDuel Price: $3,100
With Andrew Heaney on the mound for the Los Angeles Angels, we should be looking towards the Oakland Athletics as a great option tonight.
With a 12-game slate on tap for tonight and plenty of options to choose from, I'm not sure the Athletics are going to be highly-owned, which should make them a great tournament option. Heaney is on the mound tonight and in all honesty, he is having a horrible season, there is really no other way to put it. He is allowing 1.65 home runs per nine innings, a 45.3% hard-hit rate, and a whopping 46.6% fly-ball rate to right-handed hitters this season. Not sure if Heaney heard, but teams are hitting a ton of home runs this season and giving up a lot of fly balls isn't a great idea.
Numbers like those present plenty of upside, which makes a player like Ramon Laureano so interesting. He isn't one of the "power hitters" in the Athletics' lineup but is holding a .181 ISO and a 44.9% hard-hit rate versus lefty pitchers this season. He doesn't scream home run threat, but with Heaney giving so many up this season, he has a shot.
