MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 7/18/16

Robinson Cano has a tough matchup on Monday with Chris Sale. Who else should you leave off your rosters?

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.

Robinson Cano, 2B, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $3,600

One of the more intriguing lefty-lefty matchups on the slate tonight is Robinson Cano welcoming Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox to Safeco Field for a three-game series. Cano has been very good this season, posting a .384 wOBA and 21 home runs. That’s as many homers has he hit the entirety of last season. However, the home runs may be hard to come by against Sale.

Cano has some discouraging splits against left-handers this season, and against Sale, it may get more pronounced. Cano’s ISO drops from .297 against righties to only .129 against left-handers. His wOBA is .319 against lefties this season, compared to .421 against right-handers, and his hard-hit rate plummets to 27.4% against lefties.

Lefty hitters own a .286 wOBA against Sale. For his career, Sale is sporting a .241 wOBA against lefties, and his career strikeout rate against them is a towering 30.6%. With Cano hitting only four of his 21 homers against lefties this season, it might be wise to not pay up for Cano at second base Monday night.

Tommy Joseph, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies

FanDuel Price: $2,500

The Phillies are fresh off of getting destroyed by Jacob deGrom on Sunday, as the Mets’ ace went the distance against Philadelphia while allowing only one hit and no runs. So what do they get for their reward on Monday? A matchup with flame-throwing Jose Fernandez, of course!

Fernandez has been filthy lately. The Marlins’ righty has allowed one earned run or less in nine of his last 11 starts, and he blanked his opponent in five of those outings.

Tonight against Phillies’ right-handers, Fernandez presents a towering matchup, especially for young first baseman Tommy Joseph. The Phillies’ rookie has not been great against righties so far in his career, posting a .276 wOBA. His ISO drops to .217 against righties.

Fernandez isn't going to help. This season, Fernandez has a 44.3% strikeout rate against right-handers and has allowed a .210 wOBA. Righties hard hit rate is just 28%, and Fernandez has an insane FIP of 1.08 against a total of 203 right-handed batters. Just don’t go there with Joseph tonight.

Kendrys Morales, 1B, Kansas City Royals

FanDuel Price: $3200

Over half of Kendrys Morales' 15 home runs have come within the last month. However, the Royals’ slugger has cooled off considerably from his hot month of June, where he hit .402. Morales is only batting .227 in the month of July, and tonight he has to face off against Corey Kluber.

Morales has not only been a different hitter in July, but he has been a much better hitter against left-handed pitchers. When he hits from the left side against righties, that’s when things go downhill. His wOBA is only .309 as a lefty, compared to .387 the other way.

Kluber has been good against everyone this season, and he is one of the bigger reasons the Indians are one of the league’s best teams heading into the second half. Lefties own a .271 wOBA against Kluber this year. He also owns a 24.4% strikeout rate versus lefties, so with Morales’ splits so striking, it's probably best to find other options at first base.