MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 6/7/16

Colby Rasmus was a player to target yesterday, but you should avoid him today.

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 Tuesday.

Francisco Cervelli, C, Pittsburgh Pirates

FanDuel Price: $2,400

Francisco Cervelli was back in the Pirates lineup on Monday, but the game was postponed. However, even here on Tuesday, Cervelli has a tough matchup against the Mets and Jacob deGrom.

Cervelli has not hit right-handers well at all this season. His wOBA against them is .290 through 124 at-bats on the season, and his strikeout rate against righties is more than 20 percent in 2016. Cervelli has also seen his hard hit rate plummet against righties this season to 21.9 percent, compared to 40.6 percent against lefties.

deGrom has been good against everyone, but righties have found it harder to get on base against the Mets' young flamethrower. deGrom owns a strikeout rate of 25 percent against righty hitters this season, and their wOBA against him is only .284 through 100 total batters faced. deGrom’s wOBA against righties for his career is only .241, so Cervelli has a tough go tonight even at home.

Colby Rasmus, OF, Houston Astros

FanDuel Price: $3,000

With a lefty on the hill for the Rangers tonight, there is a chance that Colby Rasmus doesn’t see the starting lineup, but even if he does, he is not a player you want to target this evening against Cole Hamels. Rasmus has been very good lately, but he also has the ability to put up a zero with a tough matchup against a fellow lefty tonight.

Rasmus owns a wOBA against lefties this season of only .226 in 40 at-bats this season. His strikeout rate against them is 27.1 percent. His power also drops considerably to an ISO of .050, compared to .191 against righties.

Hamels, on the other hand, has been superb against lefties, who have a wOBA of only .246 against him through 58 total batters this season. Throughout his career, Hamels has a wOBA against lefties of .299, and a strikeout rate of 23.4 percent. This season, Hamels has limited lefties to a hard hit rate of just 22.5 percent. Even if Rasmus is in the Astros’ starting lineup, don’t roster him against Hamels.

Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

FanDuel Price: $2,400

Desmond Jennings has had a pretty rough season, and at times it looked like the Rays may have been ready to move on from him. However, two crucial outfield injuries have thrown Jennings into more playing time, and last night, he had a huge game with three hits and a homer. However, chasing points in daily fantasy sports can get you in trouble, especially considering that, if he is in the starting lineup tonight, Jennings will have to face off against Zack Greinke.

Greinke had a rough start to the year but has also been dominant at times over his last four starts. This season, righties have a wOBA of .298 against him, and for his career, that mark is .282. His career strikeout rate against right-handed hitters is 23 percent, and with his superb night last night, Jennings might be back in the lineup with a much tougher pitching matchup.

Even after his big night, Jennings is still only hitting .179 against righties this season, with a wOBA of .268. His strikeout rate is 28.4 percent through 78 at-bats against righties this season, and his hard hit rate against them is only 20.4 percent. Don’t be fooled into chasing points with Jennings tonight.