Fansided

FanDuel Lineup and picks for Wednesday, April 18th

By Adam Strangis

FORT MYERS, FL - MARCH 11: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after flying out to right field during the first inning of the Spring Training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Jet Blue Park on March 11, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FL - MARCH 11: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after flying out to right field during the first inning of the Spring Training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Jet Blue Park on March 11, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – APRIL 10: Hanley Ramirez #13 of the Boston Red Sox hits an Rbi single during the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees on April 10, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 10: Hanley Ramirez #13 of the Boston Red Sox hits an Rbi single during the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees on April 10, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Catcher/First Base

Early

Joey Votto, $3,700

.381/.435/.524 with 1 HR in 21 at-bats

Just in case you didn’t know, Joey Votto is one of the best hitters in baseball against righties. In the past three years, Votto has had at least a batting average of .306, OPS of .997, and a wOBA of .423. This numbers are the floor and even though he’s started slow, his bat could explode at any moment.

Main

Hanley Ramirez, $3,900

.600/.714/1.400 with 1 HR in 5 at-bats

I want as many right handed Red Sox as I can fit into my lineup tonight alongside Gerrit Cole and Ramirez is definitely on that list. He’s a lefty killer through his career and even though Skaggs has seen better results this season, he’s giving up hard contact over 43 percent of the time. That’s not a good match for players like Hanley and he might be one of my expensive spends tonight.

Mid-Range

Early

Francisco Cervelli, $3,000

.000/.333/.000 with 0 HR in 2 at-bats

The first thing about Cervelli is you’ll need to make sure that he’s in the lineup. It’s a day game after a night game so it’s possible he’s not. However, if he is, he’s a great play if you need the extra money. The power potential isn’t really there but he smacks around lefties. Rockies starter Kyle Freeland doesn’t have a high career strikeout rate and he’s giving up a fly ball or line drive about half the time. Cervelli should have a pretty good shot at some RBI if he’s batting in his customary fifth spot in the lineup.

Main

Buster Posey, $3,100

.250/.348/.450 with 1 HR in 20 at-bats

Ray has plenty of upside but he also has a lot of downside tonight and a hitter like Posey could take advantage of it. He’s just average in his at-bats vs Ray in their career. Still, Posey is absolute money against lefties in his career with a career average of .331, a .956 OPS, and a .403 wOBA. Even with the Giants offense in tatters, Posey can pay off his price without an issue.

Value

Early

Wilson Ramos, $2,400

.192/.222/.308 with 1 HR in 26 at-bats

We’re heading right back to the well with Ramos today as he draws Cole Hamels, who has seen way better days. Ramos came through at the very end of the game for us last night and I’m thinking you may not have to wait too long if you play him today. He’s been really good against lefties for a few years running now, and holds career marks of a .795 OPS and a .340 wOBA.

Main

Alex Avila, $2,300

.000/.500/.000 with 0 HR in 2 at-bats

Avila has been terrible so far this year, make no mistake about it. He draws a very positive matchup when Chris Stratton takes the mound. So far in 2018, Stratton is giving up a fly ball or line drive about 70 percent of the time and the hard contact rate is spiked at 42.6 percent. Those are really poor metrics to take into Chase Field and Stratton could get blown up tonight. Avila carries a career .346 wOBA against righties.