MLB

3 FanDuel MLB Hitters to Avoid on 6/28/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jun 28th, 2016
Joey Votto has not hit left-handers well this season, and he is up against Jon Lester tonight. Who else should you steer clear of?

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.

Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Joey Votto seems to be a player who everyone has a hot take on. However, the normal criticism of his lack of power has gone by the wayside this and last season. Votto has 13 homers on the season after 29 last year, but his wOBA of .352 this season is on pace for a career low, and tonight, things might not get any better against Jon Lester.

Votto has a career .387 wOBA against lefties, but this season, things have taken a turn for the worse. His wOBA is down to .267 against lefties across 75 at-bats, and he has hit only 2 of his 13 homers against left-handed pitchers. He is also striking out at an alarming rate against lefties at 31.4 percent

Lester, on the other hand, has been a tough matchup for lefties and righties, but mostly left-handers have been the ones who suffer the most at the plate. He owns a wOBA of .249 against left-handed hitters this season, and across 87 lefty batters faced, Lester has a strikeout rate of 31 percent. With Lester’s fly ball rate of only 20.8 percent against left-handers, Votto’s home run total is likely not going to increase tonight.

Tommy Joseph, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies

FanDuel Price: $3,000

Tommy Joseph has successfully edged out the slumping Ryan Howard for everyday first base duty, but Joseph has had some similar problems at the plate when facing pitchers of the same handedness. Tonight, he has another tough matchup, as the Phillies face off against Zack Greinke.

Greinke was pretty pedestrian in his last start, giving up three runs and posting only four strikeouts. However, that was in Coors Field. While Chase Field is no pitcher’s paradise, and while Greinke has been much better on the road than at home this season, the D-backs’ pitcher has dominated his last two home starts, with a combined ERA of 1.13. Greinke has also been very good against righties overall in 2016. They have a .286 wOBA against him across 209 total batters faced.

Joseph has a .253 wOBA against right-handers in his young career, compared to a .410 number against lefties. And with a 26.6 strikeout rate, Joseph is certainly a player to avoid tonight.

Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, New York Yankees

FanDuel Price: $3,300

Cole Hamels has been electric over his last three starts, and the Yankees are next in line to try and best the Rangers’ ace. Jacoby Ellsbury is one of the Yankees who looks especially vulnerable to Hamels tonight, and for a price of $3,300, he is a player you might want to leave off your DFS rosters.

Ellsbury has a .272 wOBA against lefties across 80 at-bats this season. His wOBA is .324 for his career against left-handers, but over the last two seasons, Ellsbury’s wOBA has dropped below .300 against left-handers. With a hard hit rate of just 25 percent, it’s hard to trust Ellsbury.

Hamels’ left-handed opponents have a wOBA of just .275 across 78 total batters faced this season. With a hard hit rate of just 23.2 percent and a fly ball rate of 28.6 percent this season, Hamels makes all the Yankees’ lefties look like players to lay off of tonight.