MLB

5 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters for 5/2/16

With R.A. Dickey on the mound, the Rangers have several appealing options.

If you have played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field and to find players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.

The purpose of this article will be to bring you some high-upside players who will likely go overlooked and give you an edge.

Lucas Duda, 1B, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Lucas Duda has struggled recently, and the Mets' implied team total is just in the middle of the pack.

Why You Should Use Him:

Duda's opponent on the mound, Mike Foltynewicz, posted a 4.30 SIERA last season and struggles to retire left-handed hitters.

88 of Duda's 105 career home runs have come against right-handers, which is no surprise when you look at the underlying numbers. Duda has elevated his career hard-hit rate against righties to 38.8 percent and his fly-ball rate to 48 percent. He's also significantly lowered his strikeout rate and raised his walk rate against righties.

He is an excellent way to punt first base while also avoiding the high ownership that will accompany some of the more expensive options.

Mitch Moreland, OF, Texas Rangers

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Mitch Moreland has been hot recently but is hitting in the bottom half of the order, and outfield has plenty of viable options. He likely won't go completely under the radar, but he will likely have lower ownership than he should.

Why You Should Use Him:

The Rangers draw one of the best matchups on the board, as their opponent is R.A. Dickey, who posted a 4.76 SIERA last season.

Moreland crushed right-handed pitching last season, elevating his slugging percentage from .387 against lefties to .528 against righties, his ISO from .142 to .234, his wOBA from .297 to .372, his hard-hit rate from 34.5 percent to 36.7 percent, and his fly-ball rate from 31.9 percent to 35.9 percent. He also cut down on his strikeout rate from 24 percent to 20.7 percent.

The Rangers have one of the highest implied team totals on the board today, and Moreland should be a big part of that. He makes for an excellent tournament option tonight, especially if you're paying up at pitcher or for the elite outfielders.

Nomar Mazara, OF, Texas Rangers

FanDuel Price: $3,200

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Nomar Mazara hasn't hit as well as Moreland recently, but he will be hitting near the top of the order for Texas. Top options like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Jose Bautista are all in great spots, as is the red-hot Michael Conforto. Mazara is unlikely to be a hot commodity.

Why You Should Use Him:

Mazara should also feast on Dickey in this matchup, and he will get to face him often if hitting second.

In his short career, Mazara has hit much better against right-handers, elevating his hard-hit rate from 12.5 percent to 27 percent. Obviously, those numbers came in a small sample size, but they aren't too surprising considering he is a lefty.

He also has a 6.5 percent strikeout rate and a 13 percent walk rate against righties, as opposed to a 35.7 percent strikeout rate and 3.6 percent walk rate against lefties. Again, these are obviously small sample sizes. The extremity of the splits are certainly telling that he hits righties quite a bit better at this point in his career.

Matt Duffy, 3B, San Francisco Giants

FanDuel Price: $2,700

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Top options Nolan Arenado, Josh Donaldson, and Matt Carpenter are all in good matchups today, and the Giants are projected for a modest 4.1 runs. Matt Duffy will likely go overlooked among all of the flashy options at the top.

Why You Should Use Him:

Duffy and the Giants are one of the sneakiest stacks of the day in a matchup with lefty Brandon Finnegan. Finnegan has solid stuff but struggles with control sometimes, which isn't good news against a patient Giants lineup.

Finnegan has allowed a higher hard-hit rate and fly-ball rate to right-handed batters, and Duffy has posted higher marks in both categories against lefties. He has also struck out less often and walked more against lefties.

This game is also being played at Great American Ballpark, which has the 13th-highest park factor over the past three years, as well as the fifth-highest home run park factor. Duffy should be able to be productive hitting out of the two-hole against Finnegan tonight.

Matt Adams, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals

FanDuel Price: $2,300

Why He Will Go Overlooked:

Matt Adams isn't an every day player for St. Louis and is part of an always deep first base position.

Why You Should Use Him:

Be sure to check that Adams is in the lineup, but after sitting out Sunday's contest, it's likely that Adams gets the start tonight.

Adams has been getting more playing time recently and has played well -- hitting safely in his last three games, including a two-for-four game with a homer and three RBI against Washington on Friday.

The Cardinals are facing right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who posted a 4.14 SIERA last season and struggled against left-handed batters.

Adams is about as extreme of a platoon hitter as there is -- hitting much better against right-handed pitching. If he is in the starting lineup tonight, he'll likely hit in the middle of the order and be an excellent value at near-minimum price.