MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 5/2/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp May 2nd, 2016
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.

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 Monday.

Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Eric Hosmer is off to a nice start for the Royals. Through 93 at-bats this season, his wOBA is .393, which is on pace for a career-high.

Even with a few dud games over the past week, he is averaging better than 14 FanDuel points per game in his last seven games. However, tonight the Royals face off against Gio Gonzalez, who is off to an even better start than Hosmer, especially against left-handed hitters.

Gonzalez has been good against hitters from both sides of the plate so far this season. His xFIP is 3.49, and his SIERA is 3.48 to start the season. Left-handed hitters have a wOBA of just .215 against Gonzalez in 2016. In 2015, lefties had a wOBA of .281 against Gonzalez.

Hosmer, on the other hand, has not hit lefties well so far. He has a wOBA of just. 328 against them and an average of .208 on the year. His career wOBA against lefties is only .303, and this season, his BABIP against left-handers is .167, and his hard hit rate drops to 15 percent.

Stephen Piscotty, OF, St. Louis Cardinals

FanDuel Price: $3,300

The Cardinals start a series with the Phillies tonight, and Philadelphia will start Jeremy Hellickson, who is off to a pretty good start. He owns a strikeout rate of 25.7 percent and a SIERA of 3.29. Starting in pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium, he may have some success against Cardinal hitters tonight, especially Stephen Piscotty.

Piscotty has struggled to hit right-handers so far this season. His wOBA against righties is .320, and his strikeout rate goes up to 25.3 percent when facing right-handed pitching. So far at home, it’s been even worse for him. His home wOBA against righties is .184, and his strikeout rate is 32.4 percent.

In 2016, right-handed hitters have a wOBA of .300 against Hellickson. The 37 righties he's faced on the road have posted a wOBA of .206 and a BABIP of .192. Overall, Hellickson owns a strikeout rate of 28.8 percent against righties in 2016. Piscotty might be faced with a tough situation tonight.

Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $2,700

On a shorter Monday slate, value could be hard to come by. While Oswaldo Arcia's price is enticing, his matchup against the Astros’ Dallas Keuchel is not. Arcia has not faced many left-handers so far this season, but his career numbers say it may be a good idea to lay off him tonight.

Arcia has a career wOBA of .275 against left-handers, and his power numbers drop significantly with an ISO of .110 compared to .232 against right-handed pitchers. His career hard hit rate drops to 29.2 percent against lefties, and his fly ball rate drops to 36.2 percent, compared to 42.6 percent against righties.

Keuchel has dominated lefties this year. They have a wOBA of just .213 against him (compared to a career mark of .269). This season, lefties have a hard hit rate of just 13 percent against the Astros’ southpaw, so it may be wise to lay off of Minnesota lefties tonight.