MLB

3 FanDuel Hitters to Avoid on 7/27/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jul 27th, 2016
George Springer runs up against Masahiro Tanaka on Wednesday night. What other players have less-than-ideal matchups?

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 Wednesday.

George Springer, OF, Houston Astros

FanDuel Price: $3,600

Despite an 0-for-4 night on Tuesday, George Springer has been heating up in late July. He is hitting .321 with 2 homers, 8 RBI’s and 8 runs scored in his last 7 games. He is averaging just over 17.5 FanDuel points per game during that stretch. However, tonight is probably an evening to avoid Springer as he's faces off with Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka has been great against pretty much everyone this season, and while he has reverse splits, righties have had just as much trouble against him. They own a .281 wOBA against Tanaka this season with a 20.4% strikeout rate.

Despite having 15 of his 22 homers against righties, Springer’s ISO against them drops to .191 this season, and his wOBA falls from .405 against left-handers to .343 against righties. With a 22.7% strikeout rate and 30.3% hard-hit rate against right-handers, it may be wise to stay away from Springer for this one.

Jake Smolinski, OF, Oakland Athletics

FanDuel Price: $2,700

Jake Smolinski has progressed from in-season call-up to a platoon player and now to an every-day outfielder in Oakland thanks to his play and injuries. The youngster has not disappointed, either, posting a .376 wOBA over 120 big-league at-bats this season. However, tonight he faces off against Yu Darvish, who has been very good against right-handed hitters over his career.

Righties have a .253 wOBA and an insane 40.4% strikeout rate against Darvish so far this season. While this year's sample size is microscopic at only 52 batters, Darvish’s career numbers against righties -- .268 wOBA and 33.1% strikeout rate -- are just as dope. Smolinski and other A’s righties are going to have a tough time.

Smolinski’s wOBA drops down to .294 against right-handers this year, and his ISO almost disappears at .077. With a hard hit rate of only 23.7% and only 1 of his 6 homers against a righty, don’t try to save salary with Smolinski.

Wilmer Flores, 3B, New York Mets

FanDuel Price: $2,600

Because of the injury to Jose Reyes, Wilmer Flores will likely be in the lineup tonight against Adam Wainwright, but if you’re trying to pinch pennies, Flores might not be the guy to target. Against right-handers this season, Flores has been a big landmine compared to how well he hits lefties.

Flores has a .289 wOBA against righties this season. His strikeout rate climbs more than 6% -- up to 17.1% -- and his ISO drops significantly to .143 against righties, compared to .350 against southpaws.

Wainwright has been turning on the jets over his last four starts, but all four of them came at home. He has been noticeably awful on the road this season, but in a pitchers' park like Citi Field, combined with his recent form, he's in a good spot to correct his road woes. For his career, righties own a .291 wOBA when Wainwright is pitching on the road, and this season righties have a .298 wOBA against him.