MLB

3 Daily Fantasy Baseball Hitters to Avoid on 8/10/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Aug 10th, 2016
Joey Votto is avoidable tonight running up against Jaime Garcia in a tough lefty-lefty matchup

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.

Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds

FanDuel Price: $3,700

For the money, there are several better options at first base than Joey Votto. The Cincinnati Reds’ lefty has hit double-figure FanDuel points in three straight games, but tonight against Jaime Garcia, that could easily change.

Garcia has been very good against left-handers this season, as the have a .282 wOBA and 22.6% strikeout rate against him. Seemingly fully recovered from the shoulder injuries that have plagued him over the last several seasons, Garcia now looks closer to the player he was before the injuries, which is bad news for left-handers. Even with the poor seasons in and out of his shoulder troubles, lefties own a career-hard hit rate of less than 25% against Garcia.

Votto, on the other hand, has a solid .341 wOBA versus southpaws, but his ISO drops to .144. He only has four homers against lefties this season, and his strikeout rate skyrockets to 27.1% against them.

Kevin Kiermaier, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Kevin Kiermaier had two hits and came around to score twice on Tuesday night for a great 21.9 fantasy-point performance on FanDuel. However, now he is running up against J.A. Happ, who has been outstanding over his last three starts.

Happ has an ERA of 0.95 in his last 19 innings of work, and he has been great against lefties this season, limiting them to a .298 wOBA. While the sample size is small, he does have a 21.4% strikeout rate against lefties for his career, so Kiermaier might have trouble duplicating his performance from last night.

Kiermaier has made his way back from a broken hand, but he has not been great against lefties in his career. The Tampa Bay Rays’ centerfielder has a .267 wOBA across 256 career at-bats against southpaws, while he has a 22.9% strikeout rate and 23.2% hard-hit rate.

Adam Lind, 1B, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $2,500

Adam Lind has posted a solid last seven games with an average of just over nine FanDuel points per contest. He had two hits a night ago against the Detroit Tigers, but the Tigers are sending Justin Verlander to the mound on Wednesday in what will be a very tough matchup for Lind and the rest of the Mariners.

Lind hardly plays against left-handers, but even against righties he hasn’t been great this season. His wOBA is just .303 against right-handers this season across 253 at-bats. Compared to his career numbers against them, this is a severe regression, and considering the sample size isn’t that small anymore, it’s enough to warrant fading Lind.

Verlander, as always, is also very good against left-handers. They have a .269 wOBA and 29.5% strikeout rate against the Tigers’ righty this season. For his career, lefties have just a .290 wOBA against him. Combined with Lind’s struggles against righties, it’s a night to pass on the Seattle Mariners' southpaw..