3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Monday 8/16/21
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 who 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.
Josh Fleming, P, Tampa Bay Rays ($6,600)
Collin McHugh is set to be the opener for the Tampa Bay Rays but Josh Fleming should see action after that.
It's always interesting to roster a pitcher that isn't "starting" but the Rays have been doing this opener thing for a few seasons and we know how things should play out. Fleming will likely come in and see four or five innings of work, the normal amount we've seen from him this season.
Although Fleming only has a 15.5% strikeout rate this season overall, he has posted a 29% strikeout rate or higher in two of his last three starts. Yes, that's a small sample size, but he flashed that same strikeout rate or higher in two other starts earlier in the year. If he has that potential, is only $6,600, and is going up against the Baltimore Orioles, shouldn't he be a strong option tonight? I think so, and given his ability to push towards 30 FanDuel points, you should be willing to take a shot with him tonight.
Nick Castellanos, OF, Cincinnati Reds ($4,400)
The Cincinnati Reds could be massively undervalued tonight and that presents an opening for tournaments.
Whenever we have a slate with a Coors Field game, we can expect it to be very popular due to its potential for massive fantasy points. This can also cause several of the other teams to go overlooked despite having very solid matchups and plenty of power upside. That latter is what could be on tap with Nick Castellanos, who could be an awesome one-off or a part of a larger Reds' stack. Castellanos comes in with a .226 ISO, a 123 wRC+, a 45.8% hard-contact rate, and a 22.7% HR/FB ratio versus left-handed pitchers.
He will be going up against Justin Steele, who only has 18.1 innings pitched this season, which is his first year in the majors. Of course, a very small sample size but he has allowed 2.25 HR/9 to righties in this time, a modest 22.0% strikeout rate, and a crazy high 42.9% HR/FB ratio. Of course, those numbers will all change with more innings pitched, but Steele is struggling with righties to start his career. When this is the case, I'll always look to side with the experienced hitter over a young and unproven pitcher.
Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Miami Marlins ($3,000)
We could see Touki Toussaint as a chalky pitcher tonight and I want to grab some players going against him.
To be clear, Toussaint is in a solid spot versus the Miami Marlins, and I know I'll have exposure to him in my player pool. However, this doesn't mean Toussaint is without his faults, and looking to capitalize on those could be beneficial in tournaments. Toussaint is allowing 2.20 HR/9 to right-handed hitters this season, along with a 39.1% hard-contact rate, and a 28.6% HR/FB ratio.
If he is struggling against right-handed hitters, we want to attack him with a player such as Jesus Aguilar. This season, Aguilar has hit 17 of his 22 home runs off of right-handed pitchers, due to his .224 ISO, a 45.2% fly-ball rate, and a 38.5% hard-contact rate. Those numbers will play in nearly any matchup, especially one with a pitcher who is home run prone versus righties.
