Fansided

FanDuel MLB Lineup and Picks for Friday, April 19

By Adam Strangis

GOODYEAR, AZ - FEBRUARY 23: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians bats in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds during a Spring Training Game at Goodyear Ballpark on February 23, 2018 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images)
GOODYEAR, AZ - FEBRUARY 23: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians bats in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds during a Spring Training Game at Goodyear Ballpark on February 23, 2018 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images) /
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Welcome to the Friday edition of the FanDuel MLB daily fantasy column! For the first time all season, all 30 teams could be in action tonight.

If you don’t like to see condensed ownership on certain games or players, this slate should be right up your alley. Every team is on the schedule today and hopefully we’ll actually get all the games in. We’re going to try a bit of a difference in the format today. Since the slate is so big, I’ll be giving two options in the “Also Consider” portion if I think it’s warranted.

Last night was good to us once agains as you should have cashed in any 50/50 you played. We just missed the tournaments, thanks to the big fat zero Josh Bell provided us. The Brewers stack did extremely well as did the Red Sox. Even with limited exposure to those offenses, we made the line, just like we usually do anymore. Send a nice thank you card to Lorenzo Cain as he went bonkers for over 40 FanDuel points. Let’s dig into the veritable buffet we have going tonight!

DENVER, CO – APRIL 08: Starting pitcher Sean Newcomb #15 of the Atlanta Braves throws in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 8, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – APRIL 08: Starting pitcher Sean Newcomb #15 of the Atlanta Braves throws in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 8, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitcher, High End Spend

Clayton Kershaw, $11,500

.288 (38 for 132), 27.5 strikeout rate

There’s a lot of of aces on the hill today and we have two late night hammers in the Nationals/Dodgers game alone. Both Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw are on the mound and either one is a great play. Kershaw is going to be my pick because the Nationals have been dreadful against lefties so far this season. They’re 24th in wOBA, 27th in ISO, 28th in OPS, and dead last in batting average. As a team, they’re also striking out the fifth most in the league and is only making hard contact 30.8 percent of the time. There’s a lot of factors lining up to see another ceiling game from Kershaw. The only factor that could go against him is possibly having a hard time getting the win since Scherzer is opposing him.

Also Consider –  Max Scherzer, $11,400 and Justin Verlander, $11,100

Mid-Range

Trevor Bauer, $9,000

.266 (17 for 64), 16.4 strikeout rate

Given some of the bigger names on the slate, Bauer should fly under the radar nicely. This matchup fits perfectly with his skillset. Things seemed to start clicking for him last season, when he allowed a .309 wOBA to righty hitters. He’s been even better in that regard so far this season with a .262 wOBA allowed and a .189 batting average to righties. The Orioles are built with righty hitters, with as many as six of their top-seven being right-handed. Bauer’s strikeout rate is close to 10 K/9 and against righties, Baltimore ranks dead last in wOBA, 24th in ISO, last in OPS, and 28th in average. They’re striking out the the most in the league vs. righty pitching at 28.5 percent. There’s not much more we could want from a metric standpoint in this matchup.

Also Consider – Jakob Junis, $8,500 and Lance Lynn, $7,100

Value

Sean Newcomb, $6,800

.227( 5 for 22), 32.0 strikeout rate

One of the things you look for when you’re digging deep into pitchers in this range is strikeout upside. If there’s one thing Newcomb does pretty well, it’s strike people out. He’s not very consistent to this point in his career but his career K/9 rate sits at 10.12. It’s even higher so far this season at 12.64. Newcomb will take the mound against the Mets, who have not had much luck against lefties yet. It automatically makes life harder on outfielder Michael Conforto, if he plays. The Mets are ranked 29th in wOBA, last in ISO, 29th in OPS, and 23rd in batting average against lefties. On top of all those pitiful numbers, they strikeout against lefties 30 percent of the time and they rank 25th in hard contact. At least on paper, this appears to be one of the better matchups Newcomb could ask for.

Also Consider – Tyson Ross, $7,400