3 Under-the-Radar MLB FanDuel Plays for 5/13/19

When being contrarian in daily fantasy sports, there's a fine line between taking a calculated risk and being reckless. But differentiating your lineups from everyone else is the name of the game if you plan on taking down one of those highly lucrative DFS tournaments. Whether it's because of Vegas totals, other options at a given position, or some gem you've found that everyone is overlooking, we can always find potential under-owned plays if we look hard enough.

Here are three such players to consider branching out for on FanDuel's main slate.

Reynaldo Lopez, P, Chicago White Sox

FanDuel Price: $7,100

A six-game slate gives us limited options at each position, which could lead to condensed ownership, presenting an opportunity to fade the chalk.

One of the pitchers who shouldn't see much ownership is Reynaldo Lopez, who comes in as the third-cheapest option on the slate. Lopez is facing off against the Cleveland Indians, who have an implied run total set at 4.61, the fourth highest on the slate. This should help keep Lopez's ownership low, but there are a few factors on his side tonight, so let's take a look.

First off, the first pitch weather is expected to be 52 degrees in Chicago, which is great for pitchers. Next, the Indians come into this game with an 81 wRC+ versus right-handed pitchers this season, which is the third-lowest clip in the league.

Lopez is carrying a 23.9% strikeout rate this season, has eight or more strikeouts in two of his last four starts and has allowed three or fewer earned runs in four of his last five outings. He has shown signs of upside and is now in a spot to go overlooked, even on this smaller slate.

Marwin Gonzalez, 3B, Minnesota Twins

FanDuel Price: $2,600

The Minnesota Twins come in with an implied team total set at 4.73, which is the second-highest on the slate. But will any of their players be viable in tournaments?

Last season, Marwin Gonzalez posted a .324 wOBA, .164 ISO, and a 41.4% hard-contact rate versus left-handed pitchers. Those are good-but-not-great numbers, often making him the type of player to be passed over. This season, things have been a bit inconsistent for him, and he comes in carrying a .313 wOBA, .125 ISO, and 37.5% hard contact rate versus left-handed pitchers. That's a clear dip in production, and it's combined with the fact we have seen his strikeout rate jump up to 29.6% this year -- up from 21.5% last season -- versus left-handed pitchers.

Yes, those numbers can be tough to look at on first glance, but over the past two weeks, we have seen his hard-hit rate come in at 45.5% versus left-handed pitchers while posting a .200 ISO. It appears he had a slow start to the season, and this recent power surge may help him move towards the numbers we've seen from him over the past few seasons. Now could be the time to pounce.

Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Seattle Mariners

FanDuel Price: $3,400

Dan Vogelbach and the Seattle Mariners are up against Mike Fiers. Fiers is coming off a no-hitter, but he's not a pitcher we need to avoid.

Historically, Fiers has been bad against left-handed hitters. Last season, he allowed a 1.52 homers per nine innings, a 43.3% fly-ball rate, and 39.5% hard contact rate to lefty bats. Those numbers are not good by any stretch, and despite this game being in Seattle, a pitcher-friendly park, we want to embrace the potential home-run upside from the Mariners, who lead the league in dingers.

Vogelbach comes in with more plate appearances this season than he had all of last season, giving us a better sample size to look at despite it being the middle of May.

He is posting a very strong .423 wOBA, .348 ISO, and 44.4% hard-hit rate versus right-handers this season. Vogelbach can be a bit of a boom-or-bust option, but the power he brings against a fly-ball pitcher shouldn't be passed on when the Mariners have an implied total sitting at 4.32.

Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.