3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 4/14/16
As is the case in most daily fantasy sports, finding information on players you might want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.
While you can get away with a zero from a hitter in daily fantasy, you certainly don't want to target guys whose matchups aren't enticing.
Here are three hitters you may want to lessen your exposure to or even fade altogether on Thursday.
Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore Orioles
FanDuel Price: $2,800
Matt Wieters is coming off a day of rest on Wednesday, so he should be fresh and ready to roll against the Rangers here on Thursday evening. The problem with that is two-fold. Firstly, the switch-hitting catcher has to go up against Cole Hamels, a tall order -- especially when you consider he has started to struggle as a right-hander against left-handed pitching over the last few years.
He struggled in limited at-bats in 2014, but that was the year he had to have Tommy John surgery, so the sample size is too low. However, in 2015, Wieters actually had a worse wOBA against lefties when hitting from the right side at .314, compared to .326 from the left side. His strikeout rate also increased to more than 30 percent when he hit against lefties from the right side of the plate last season, which has always been a problem. Wieters’ career strikeout rate as a right-handed hitter against lefties is 25 percent.
Hamels’ hard hit rate versus righties is only 27 percent for his career, and even though Wieters’ career hard hit rate as a right-handed hitter is good, it dipped to 29.8 percent last season, which is concerning for a guy coming off major elbow surgery.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
FanDuel Price: $3,000
Two days after being a landmine, and a day after being a value play and paying off for daily fantasy players, Troy Tulowitzki is right back to the landmines, where he has been a majority of this season. The Jays' shortstop is off to a horrible start this season, but I’m sure his name value is getting some to continue to roster him, despite his slow start. However, after a solid game yesterday, he is even more dangerous tonight against Nathan Eovaldi.
Eovaldi got roughed up in his last start, but he did post seven strikeouts, something he does very well against right-handed hitters. Last season Eovaldi posted a strikeout rate of nearly 19 percent against right-handed hitters, and his strikeout to walk ratio against righties last season was 3.00. Righties had a wOBA of .290 last season against Eovaldi as well.
Tulowitzki, on the other hand, has struggled since coming over from Colorado, and this season has been no different. He has 11 strikeouts in 27 at-bats against right handed pitching to start the season. Last season, his BABIP dropped to .307 against righties, and that was half in Coors Field. Until he breaks out of his slump, it’s probably best not to roster him at all.
Tyler Flowers, C, Atlanta Braves
FanDuel Price: $2,300
Tyler Flowers had a nice five-game hitting streak broken up two days ago, and after an off day on Wednesday, the Braves are back at it tonight against the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to start this game after being scratched from yesterday’s start with flu-like symptoms. If Strasburg is available and feeling better, this below-average Braves offense is in trouble -- specifically the low-priced catcher.
Even though Strasburg has been better against lefties over the last few seasons, right-handers have had trouble with him. Righties own a wOBA of .275 against him, and throughout his career, Strasburg has an xFIP of just 2.43 against right-handed hitters.
Flowers struggled against righties last season. His wOBA dropped to .276 against right-handed pitching, and his hard hit rate sunk below 30 percent to 29.2. As long as Strasburg is on the mound today, it might be best to avoid most of the Braves.
