FanDuel MLB Lineup and Picks for Wednesday, April 25

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Welcome into the Wednesday edition of the FanDuel daily fantasy baseball column! We have a medium-sized nine game slate on or hands tonight.

After a highly annoying four-day stretch on the outside looking at other people making money, we finally landed in the green Tuesday night with a score of 120.8. It’s always funny to see how the cash lines work out on a night to night basis. Monday night they were right around 200, which is quite ridiculous. Last night it was around 108. Even though four days not making money seems like a lot, it’s small percentage of the baseball season. Let’s get right back to it tonight and tackle the “Clayton Kershaw will be 95 percent in cash games” slate!

BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 20: Eduardo Rodriguez #52 of the Boston Red Sox reacts during the seventh inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on September 20, 2016 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitcher, High End Spend

Zach Grienke, $9,200

.242 (8 for 33), 30.6 strikeout rate

Everyone likely assumed that Clayton Kershaw would be in this space and if you’re playing cash games, he’s pretty much a lock-and-load option. It’s hard to envision the Marlins offense mounting much of a fight. I wanted to put Orioles starter Dylan Bundy in this space until he got pushed back so we’ll spotlight Zach Grienke instead. He hasn’t found his strikeout ceiling yet this season but all of his number are looking good. The Phillies also carry the highest strikeout rate against righty pitching in the league. As I said, it’s likely a Kershaw night but Grienke is an interesting pivot.

Also Consider – Jake Arrieta, $8,800

Mid-Range

Eduardo Rodriguez, $7,100

.234(15 for 64), 23.9 strikeout rate

This is a bit of a risk/reward play but when he’s on, Rodriguez is a really good pitcher. His strikeout rate is over 11 per nine innings and the hard contact is all the way down to 23 percent. The Jays strikeout about 23 percent of the time against lefties and they’re worse without Josh Donaldson. They rank about league average in most offensive categories. The Jays can send out plenty of righties tonight but Rodriguez has been fine against them, though the wOBA is a touch high at over .330. He’s posted a quality outing against the Angels and Orioles his last two starts and they can be righty heavy as well. The strikeout upside is certainly there, and this price is likely just a hair too cheap despite the relatively difficult matchup.

Also Consider – Trevor Bauer, $9,000 is more expensive than what we usually highlight, but he’s a great GPP option. Nobody will play him against the Cubs and he carries major strikeout upside as well.

Value

Jacob Faria, $5,900

.125 (1 for 8), 50.0 strikeout rate

This is another risk/reward option (it’s kind of a theme tonight) bur Faria would be capable of throwing a good game against Baltimore and getting you a very cheap 35 or so FanDuel points. The Orioles hit for power but they also strikeout in gobs against righties at a 26.6 percent clip. Their average is all the way down at .205, the OPS is .603 and the wOBA is a putrid .266. Could Faria get blasted? Sure. He’s also about half the price of Kershaw. If Faria puts up 35 points, that would be a massive win at his price point and let’s you build whatever offense you want.