Fansided

FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Tuesday, May 8

By Adam Strangis

CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 02: Adam Duvall #23 of the Cincinnati Reds bats during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park on May 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Brewers defeated the Reds 3-1. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Adam Duvall
CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 02: Adam Duvall #23 of the Cincinnati Reds bats during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park on May 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Brewers defeated the Reds 3-1. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Adam Duvall /
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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) /

Braves at Rays

Braves Probable Starter – Sean Newcomb, LHP

3.38 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 10.90 K/9

Vs LHH – .148 average, .291 wOBA and 38.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .243 average, 288 wOBA and 26.1 hard contact rate

The Rays have been much better against lefties than almost anyone would have thought at the start of the season. They’re second in average, OPS, ISO and wOBA against lefties so far this season and Newcomb allow more hits to righties. I usually love Newcomb and do think he’s taking a step forward as he’s raised his K/9 and lowered his BB/9 by significant margins. I’m likely to steer clear from this side of the game as I really don’t want to make a habit of playing hitters against Newcomb.

Rays Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – C.J. Cron, Wilson Ramos, Matt Duffy

Rays Probable Starter – Blake Snell, LHP

2.55 ERA, .094 WHIP and 9.57 K/9

Vs LHH – .116 average, .167 wOBA and 31.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .215 average, .291 wOBA and 30.3 hard contact rate

This pitching matchup is basically the Spider-Man meme where both Spider-Man’s are pointing at each other because they’re the exact same. Snell and Newcomb are both young lefties in a tough matchup who have taken a large step forward in their careers this year. Snell is in the exact same boat tonight as well. I generally would like to use him but the Braves offense rates so well against lefties it’s hard to get on board. This game might be one where I just cross it off the list completely other than GPP’s. On a 14 game slate, it can be helpful to just pretend at least a couple games don’t exist to narrow your focus. If I were to use one pitcher, I’d give Newcomb the slight edge as the Atlanta offense is better.

Braves Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna, Freddie Freeman

Home Run Pick – Wilson Ramos

MLB Hall of Fame
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 15: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds prepares to take an at bat during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on September 15, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 4-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

Mets at Reds

Mets Probable Starter – Jason Vargas, LHP

16.20 ERA, 3.00 WHIP and 8.64 K/9

Vs LHH – .385 average, .556 wOBA and 36.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .484 average, .594 wOBA and 44.0 hard contact rate

This is a terrifyingly bad spot for Vargas tonight. He’s lucky the Reds offense isn’t that great as a whole because he’s gotten clobbered his first two starts this year. The Braves offense getting to him is understandable but he also got worked over by the Padres. Any batter that you could want to play for the Reds is in play, especially towards the top of the lineup. They could be relatively chalky even on a big slate.

Reds Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Eugenio Suarez, Adam Duvall, Joey Votto

Secondary Options – Jose Peraza, Tucker Banrhart

Reds Probable Starter – Luis Castillo, RHP 

7.01 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 8.05 K/9

Vs LHH -.339 average, .447 wOBA and 46.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .281 average, .313 wOBA and 34.4 hard contact rate

There was finally a ray of hope for Castillo coming out of his last start as he posted his second quality start of the season. The Reds think they may have figured out something in his mechanics that led to better results and Castillo could potentially y be a GPP play tonight. He has the talent to be an expensive hitter and the Mets don’t have a ton of lefty bats that can make Castillo pay. There’s only three lefties in the Mets typical lineup that can be scary and Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto have been terrible so far. If you believe in the talent of Castillo, this could be one of his lowest prices of the season.

Mets Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Asdrubal Cabrera

Secondary Options – Jay Bruce, Michael Conforto

Home Run Pick – Asdrubal Cabrera