3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Wednesday 5/5/21

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's is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of bookmaker totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found that everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-rostered plays if we look hard enough.

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

Jordan Montgomery, P, New York Yankees ($6,300)

Jordan Montgomery is a viable option tonight versus the Houston Astros.

Yes, this is a bit of a hot take or going out on a ledge -- whatever you want to call it -- but Montgomery should come in at a very low roster percentage tonight.

This season, the Astros are "bad" against left-handed pitchers. I say that in quotes because it needs some context. They hold an 18.8% strikeout rate, which is the fourth-best in the league, so they simply don't waste chances at the plate. However, they have a .130 ISO, which is the fifth-lowest in the league, along with a 34.3% fly-ball rate (16th). While they don't give opposing pitchers free outs, they aren't generating a ton of power.

If you are looking to load up on the expensive hitters tonight and need the savings at pitcher, Montgomery could be the one to offer that, all while being low rostered in tournaments.

Ramon Laureano, OF, Oakland Athletics ($3,500)

Each of the past two days, one of the hitters I've written about has hit a home run, so tonight it's Ramon Laureano's turn. Two days ago it was Mitch Haniger, who hit a home run, and last night it was Andrew McCutchen, who hit two home runs.

We are hot right now, and it's time to keep it going with Laureano, who has been off to a great start this season and is in a fantastic matchup tonight. He will be taking on Robbie Ray, who has been one of the most home run-prone pitchers in the league dating back to 2019. Since that season, he has allowed 1.9 HR/9 to right-handed hitters, along with a .356 wOBA, 42.4% fly-ball rate, and 42.3% hard-contact rate.

This is nothing new for Ray. He gives up a ton of home runs and walks too many batters but can also strike out plenty of hitters.

This puts Laureano in a good spot because he has been a good power hitter over the course of his career. He comes in with a career .203 ISO, 123 wRC+, 41.1% hard-contact rate, and 35.1% fly-ball rate versus left-handed pitchers. Some of those numbers are even higher this season, and Laureano has plenty of power to knock one over the fence.

Wilson Ramos, C, Detroit Tigers ($2,600)

The Detroit Tigers have the 12th-highest (3.96) implied run total tonight and shouldn't be too popular.

We all know the Tigers aren't a great team baseball team, but that doesn't mean they don't offer some good DFS options tonight. They are on the road to take on the Red Sox, giving the Tigers a solid hitter's park to potentially take advantage of.

They will be facing off against Martin Perez, who simply isn't a good pitcher. Since the start of the 2019 season, Perez is allowing 1.3 HR/9, 4.90 xFIP, 18.4% strikeout rate, and 33.8% hard-contact rate to right-handed hitters. He's been known for giving up too many home runs, and we want to jump at the chance to attack him.

This is where Wilson Ramos comes into play for tournaments tonight because he is a catcher and shouldn't be popular. To start this season, Ramos holds an 8.1 Brls/PA% (Barrels per Plate Appearance), which is the 35th highest in the league. Believe it or not, that is higher than, Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, and even Freddie Freeman. He has a low 16% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers this season, too, helping him not waste chances at the plate.