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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CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 15: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a solo home run during the first inning of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on September 15, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 15: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a solo home run during the first inning of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on September 15, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

Early Sample Lineup

P – Jake Faria

C/1B – Joey Votto

2B – Tim Beckahm

3B – Danny Valencia

SS – Manny Machado

OF – Starling Marte, Charlie Blackmon, and Christian Yelich

Utility – Eric Thames

I didn’t fully set out to do it, but I wound up with a mini Baltimore stack and really have no problem with that. We’ve touched on how playing Faria leaves open literally just about any bat we want, including Machado and Blackmon. Marte, Yelcih, Thames, and Votto round up this lineup nicely. Is Faria risky? Sure, but so is every pitcher on this mini four gamer. I’m not sure why the Cardinals and Cubs game isn’t on this slate. It starts only 40 minutes later than the Tigers game, it would have been nice to have access to that game instead of playing an all day slate. Fingers will be crossed that Faria can get the job done for us tomorrow afternoon.

Main Sample Lineup

P – Gerrit Cole

C/1B – Ryan Zimmerman

2B – Ketel Marte

3B – Daniel Descalso

SS – Freddy Galvis

OF – Mookie Betts, Jay Bruce, Nick Williams

Utility – J.D. Martinez

At least as of right now, we’re attacking this with a star and scrubs approach. Cole is so dominant, I can’t possibly leave him off the main lineup. Ryan Zimmerman doesn’t have the stats yet to back it up, but his exit velocity still looks good. He’s going to hit a lefty hard one of these days and maybe he won’t be as chalky as he typically has been lately. The Marte and Descalso punts are what they are, we’re just hoping for Stratton to get beat up. Galvis should provide a nice floor, even though it’s hard to lose out on Trea Turner. Bruce should have a great shot at a homer and then Nick Williams is just a cheap platoon play to fit in our Red Sox duo. Some things may change but I think Cole, Betts, Bruce, and Martinez are likely locked in for this evening.

Next: Top 10 Baseball Cities

As always, may fortune be on your side and make sure to follow me on Twitter @bucn4life as MLB allows late swap. If there’s a late scratch and/or lineup cards aren’t put in for the late games, this article will always be updated on Twitter ASAP.