Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for Thursday 9/23/21
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.
Jake Lamb, 1B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays ($2,300)
Jake Lamb as a viable fantasy option? What year is it?
Lamb has always been a big splits hitter and is really only in play when he faces a right-handed pitcher, which is what we have tonight. The Toronto Blue Jays have a slate-high 4.99 implied run total and should be popular overall, but Lamb could fly under the radar. There's no doubt Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien, and Bo Bichette are going to be popular, but Lamb hits further down in the lineup and should go overlooked.
This gives you a chance to get exposure to the Blue Jays lineup on the cheap while also getting away from some chalk. Lamb comes in with a .200 ISO, 13.9% walk rate, 44.4% fly-ball rate, and a9.5% hard-contact rate versus right-handed pitchers this season. He has some sneaky power and is only $2,300 tonight.
Lamb will be up against Michael Pineda, who is allowing 1.66 HR/9 with a 4.56 xFIP, 42.8% fly-ball rate, and 33.3% hard-contact rate versus left-handed hitters. Pineda is not a pitcher you should be afraid of and getting Lamb a part of a larger Blue Jays stack would be a good option.
Charlie Culberson, SS/OF, Texas Rangers ($2,100)
If you want to pay up for Lance McCullers ($10,200) or Aaron Nola ($9,100), you will need salary relief tonight.
It's a small four-game slate, and there are limited options across the board, but Charlie Culberson is one you should consider. He has a solid 149 wRC+, .206 ISO, and low 16.8% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers this season. He's up against Zac Lowther, who only has 19.2 innings pitched this year, which is his first year in the Majors.
We really can't take too much from that, but what's more important is the fact the Baltimore Orioles' bullpen is allowing a league-worst 4.89 xFIP and 1.72 HR/9. Culberson should have a solid matchup regardless of whether it's Lowther or a reliever on the mound.
