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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 7
Next
KANSAS CITY, MO – APRIL 9: Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates a single against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium on April 9, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Whit Merrifield
KANSAS CITY, MO – APRIL 9: Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates a single against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium on April 9, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Whit Merrifield /

Second Base, High End Spend

Jed Lowrie, $4,300

.500/.692/1.000 with 1 HR in 8 at-bats

Perhaps the most surprising player of the 2018 season to this point has been Jed Lowrie. He’s already hit six home runs and has 21 RBI to go along with a massive batting average. Now he faces lefty Drew Pomeranz, who’s making his first start. You don’t know what you’re going to get in his first start of the season but Lowrie has been smoking lefties so far this season and his career numbers are solid as well. He’s making hard contact 38 percent of the time this season. It would be a surprise if Pomeranz was super sharp in his debut and Lowrie is definitely a solid option at this price range.

Also Consider – Jose Altuve, $4,100 and Ian Kinsler, $3,800

Mid-Range

Whit Merrifield, $3,400

.444/.444/1.000 with 1 HR in 9 bats

The Royals second baseman has been crushing lefty pitching so far this season with an average of .391, 1.027 OPS, .450 wOBA and is making hard contact over 50 percent of the time. Tigers starter Daniel Norris is actually doing a pretty nice job limiting hard contact against righty hitters this year but that’s not going to put me off of Merrifield in this matchup. Norris has given up a wOBA over .340 against righties the last two seasons and that’s a factor that I’ll side with.

Also Consider – Jason Kipnis, $3,000 and Scooter Gennett, $3,100

Value

Carlos Asuaje, $2,300

N/A

If you’re looking to punt second base, the options aren’t exactly sparkling. However, Asauje could be the way to go because he gets a very inexperienced righty on the mound. Matt Koch has just 20 innings under his belt at the big league level. Asauje is nothing special but is certainly on the right side of his splits. You could do worse as a punt and you just have to hope for the best and that the Padres can get to Koch.

Also Consider – Isiah Kiner-Falefa, $2,300