3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Wednesday 9/8/21
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.
Freddy Peralta, P, Milwaukee Brewers ($9,400)
The pitching options on tonight's nine-game slate offer a wide range of options.
Starting off, Adam Wainwright ($10,000) is the most expensive pitcher on the slate, and personally, I find it tough to pay that salary for a pitcher with a 22.6% strikeout rate and an always tough matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers' offense. Nathan Eovaldi ($9,700) has certainly been consistent lately but faces the Tampa Bay Rays, who are pouring on the offense right now. Alek Manoah ($9,600) faces a struggling but always dangerous New York Yankees' lineup. In short, the pitching options are all over the place, and it's going to be interesting to see who is chalky at the end of the night.
I say all this and haven't mentioned Yu Darvish ($9,000), who could be the best overall option tonight given his salary and his matchup versus the Los Angeles Angels. Lost in the mix is Freddy Peralta ($9,400), who only tossed 2.0 innings and 53 total pitches in his first start since returning from a shoulder issue. There's no doubt going to him is a risky option tonight, but that's part of the allure in tournaments -- he won't be popular.
What isn't up for debate is his 34.0% strikeout rate, 3.49 SIERA, 53.2% medium-contact rate, and 8.9% HR/FB rate this season. While there's obvious concern whether he can reach those levels after a rough first outing, his potential ceiling is still very high.
Peralta will be up against the Philadelphia Phillies, who come in with a 93 wRC+ (19th in the league), .168 ISO (13th), 35.5% fly-ball rate (18th), and 31.9% hard-contact rate (19th) versus right-handed pitchers this season. They are a league-average offense, and if there's any time for Peralta to get things in gear for the last month of the season, it's this matchup.
Ian Happ, 2B/OF, Chicago Cubs ($3,300)
The Chicago Cubs' hitters could be going a bit overlooked tonight.
We all know that the Cubs made a number of trades this season, and their roster simply isn't as powerful as it once was. They often present a lineup we want to attack with opposing pitchers, and while I'm on board with that tonight, this doesn't mean we shouldn't write the Cubs' hitters off completely.
Consider Ian Happ tonight, who comes in with a 99 wRC+, .203 ISO, 11.2% walk rate, and 25.8% HR/FB rate versus right-handed pitchers this season. He has power in his bat, and that has led to him hitting 17 of his 20 home runs against righties.
Happ will be up against Vladimir Gutierrez, who is giving up a .236 ISO, 5.91 xFIP, 1.93 HR/9, 47.3% fly-ball rate, and 34.7% hard-contact rate versus left-handed hitters this season. It sets up to be a good matchup for Happ, who shouldn't be popular tonight.
Mark Canha, OF, Oakland Athletics ($3,500)
With a 4.75 implied run total, the Oakland Athletics shouldn't be a popular team tonight.
There are eight teams with higher implied run totals compared to the Athletics, and they simply don't move the needle tonight. However, they are up against Dallas Keuchel, who is still giving up too many home runs and is worth targeting if you are looking to be different. Keuchel is allowing 1.53 HR/9 with a 4.72 xFIP and 20.9% HR/FB rate versus righties this season. If he is going to continue giving up the long ball to righties, we want to continue to attack him.
We turn to Mark Canha, who has a solid 38.7% fly-ball rate, 37.0% hard-contact rate, .182 ISO, 116 wRC+, and 10.6% walk rate versus lefties this season. The Athletics are an under-the-radar option tonight, and Canha should be near the top of the list.
