FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Wednesday, May 9
Nationals at Padres
Nationals Probable Starter – Gio Gonzalez, LHP
2.33 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 9.78 K/9
Vs LHH – .225 average, .238 wOBA and 23.2 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .241 average, .302 wOBA and 30.1 hard contact rate
I’m usually pretty happy to see the Padres draw a lefty but I won’t have very much interest in them tonight. Gonzalez should be good and might be one of the more popular pitchers on the slate. Players will see the Padres name and run to attack them. I can’t blame them as Gonzalez is a very good major leaguer. He’s a guy I never seem to get right and I’m likely to have another pitcher in my lineup tonight that we’ll get to in the next game.
Padres Hitters to Target
Elite Options – None
Secondary Options – Christian Villanueva
Padres Probable Starter – Joey Lucchesi, LHP
3.13 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 9.64 K/9
Vs LHH – .219 average, .234 wOBA and 25.0 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .224 average, .315 wOBA and 40.5 hard contact rate
The youngster for the Padres is an intriguing option for this evening. He’s been a good pitcher since he’s been called up and the most dangerous bat in the Nationals lineup is a lefty. Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman are both excellent against lefty pitchers but I’m almost siding with Lucchesi in this spot. It’s useful that the game is Petco Park. I feel like if I’m taking any parts of this game, it might be Lucchesi and Villanueva.
Nationals Hitters to Target
Elite Options – Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman
Secondary Options – Bryce Harper, Trea Turner
Home Run Pick – Christian Villanueva
Diamondbacks at Dodgers
Diamondbacks Probable Starter – Patrick Corbin, LHP
2.15 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 11.76 K/9
Vs LHH – .147 average, .186 wOBA and 20.8 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .164 average, .242 wOBA and 39.7 hard contact rate
Corbin represents what will likely be the chalk of the evening and I’m happy to eat it. He’s a talented pitcher and even though there is some concern he just saw the Dodgers his last start(and once more at the start of the year), I’m siding with the talent of Corbin. Nobody on the slate has the strikeout ceiling that Corbin does and the Dodgers are 22nd or worse in average, OPS, ISO and wOBA against southpaws. I won’t be playing any Dodgers hitters tonight, personally.
Dodgers Hitters to Target
Elite Options – None
Secondary Options – Yasmani Grandal, Kike Hernandez
Dodgers Probable Starter – Alex Wood, LHP
3.83 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 8.55 K/9
Vs LHH – .294 average, .311 wOBA and 33.3 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .182 average, .220 wOBA and 34.4 hard contact rate
Some players will likely look to Wood to get a discount on Corbin and to pivot off of him or Gonzalez against the Padres. While Wood can get the job done, he’s not someone I like to deploy very often. He’s likely not going to go past six innings and he left his last start with hamstring cramps. If you know six innings is probably the most he goes, he’s really got to dominate in those six innings to make it worthwhile. The Arizona offense isn’t as good as their perception is but I just can’t stomach Wood tonight. I also won’t have too many Diamondbacks hitters since I do respect Wood as a pitcher.
Diamondbacks Hitters to Target
Elite Options – A.J. Pollock, Chris Owings
Secondary Options – Paul Goldschmidt(he’s been terrible lately but he is so cheap)
Home Run Pick – Chris Owings
Sample Lineup
P – Patrick Corbin
C/1B – Justin Smoak
2B – Jonathan Schoop
3B – Danny Valencia
SS – Scott Kingery
OF – Jon Jay, Ronald Acuna, Dee Gordon
Utility – Ozzie Albies
There’s quite a few cheap options at the C/1B spot and for now, I’ll side with Smoak because $3,300 is so appealing. We’ll take a couple of super cheap Orioles in a great matchup, “punt” the shortstop slot and the move into the outfield. Jay is another great salary saver and Dee gordon should go under owned. I have the Braves young guns anchoring this lineup for now, but I’m not sure if I’ll spend up on both.
Stacks to Consider – Braves(at Tampa), Orioles or Royals, Mariners(at Toronto) and Giants(at Philadelphia)
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.