3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 4/6/21

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.

Marcus Stroman, P, New York Mets ($8,000)

There are a number of big strikeout pitchers on tonight's slate, and they should all be relatively popular.

One pitcher who isn't known for a ton of strikeouts is Marcus Stroman, who should be far less popular compared to the other top-tier pitchers on the bump. Stroman has a lower salary compared to the others and is still a viable option in DFS. Stroman didn't pitch last season, so we'll look back to 2019 where he held a low 7.5% walk rate and super strong 53.7% ground ball rate while creating medium contact 46.8% of the time. Stroman is a classic ground-ball pitcher who can limit the damage on a nightly basis.

Stroman will be up against the Philadelphia Phillies, who hold a 4.24 implied run total tonight, which is the sixth-lowest on the slate. The Phillies also won't have Andrew McCutchen or Rhys Hoskins in their lineup tonight, decreasing a bit of their potential power.

Look for Stroman to keep the runs limited and go at least six innings to pick up the quality start points on FanDuel.

Jake Croneworth, 2B/1B, San Diego Padres ($3,300)

If the San Diego Padres aren't going to be too popular tonight, they make a great tournament option.

The Padres are going to be without Fernando Tatis Jr. for the foreseeable future, which makes their lineup weaker without question. If that is going to scare some people away from rostering them, you should be looking to them in tournaments. The Padres also hold a 4.51 implied run total tonight, which is the ninth-highest out of 16 teams on tonight's slate. That doesn't jump off the page, giving us another reason why some DFS players might be shying away from them.

If that is the case, look to someone like Jake Cronenworth, who held a very solid .265 ISO, 41.2% hard-contact rate, and a 156 wRC+ versus right-handed pitchers last season.

If only he was going up against a pitcher who struggled versus lefty hitters. OH! He is in fact up against Aaron Sanchez, who allowed 1.70 HR/9 to lefties, a .356 wOBA, and a 4.73 xFIP in 2019.

Travis Shaw, 3B/1B, Milwaukee Brewers ($2,800)

If you want a home run or bust option who is under $3,000, Travis Shaw could be the answer.

Having home run upside is great in tournaments, and that is exactly what Shaw can bring to your lineups at a very affordable salary. He is only an option when he is going up against right-handed pitchers, but when that is the case, he is a home run waiting to happen. Last season, Shaw carried a massive 48.7% fly-ball rate and a .193 ISO versus righty pitchers, but it also came with a 31.3% strikeout rate. He's legitimately a boom or bust option, but that variance should be embraced in tournaments.

He is up against Adbert Alzolay, who only has 33.2 innings pitched at the Major League level over the past two years but has struggled against lefty hitters in that time. Alzolay has allowed a .355 wOBA, a 5.54 xFIP, and a 44.4% hard-contact rate to lefties in his short career thus far. While it's a small sample size, he struggles with lefties and especially ones who have power such as Shaw.