FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Sunday, May 13

4 of 6

CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 2: Edwin Encarnacion #10 of the Cleveland Indians rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field on May 2, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Royals at Indians

Royals Probable Starter – Danny Duffy, LHP

5.15 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 8.04 K/9

Vs LHH – .212 average, .272 wOBA and 40.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .283 average, .382 wOBA and 37.7 hard contact rate

Duffy has been taking baby steps in improving his game his past few starts but that doesn’t mean he’s been all that good. There’s no way I’m going to play Duffy in this spot and I’ll target a couple of Indians bats for sure. The one that catches my eye the most might be the most expensive because Francisco Lindor has been unreal lately. He’s scored at least nine points his last 13 games and it’s often been much more than that.

Indians Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion

Secondary Options – Yan Gomes, Michael Brantley

Indians Probable Starter – Corey Kluber, RHP

2.62 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 8.79 K/9

Vs LHH – .178 average, .256 wOBA and 33.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .179 average, .230 wOBA and 33.3 hard contact rate

The splits for Kluber are eerily similar but that’s not really what we’re focused on here. I’m not going to play a hitter against Kluber almost ever. The catch with this matchup is the strikeout. Kluber hasn’t had a K/9 this low since 2013 and he’s still priced at a premium. On top of that, the Royals carry the lowest strikeout rate against righties by just about a full three percentage points. Kluber can go seven innings and strikeout double digit hitters any time he gets the ball. Maybe I’ll miss the boat on him today, but I really doubt I’m paying the price for him.

Royals Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – None

Home Run Pick – Edwin Encarnacion

PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 11: Andrew Suarez #59 of the San Francisco Giants reacts as Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run in the first inning during the game on May 11, 2018 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Justin Berl/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Giants at Pirates

Giants Probable Starter – Derek Holland, LHP

5.66 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 8.23 K/9

Vs LHH – .118 average, .222 wOBA and 23.1 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .239 average, .353 wOBA and 46.1 hard contact rate

Even in a poor hitter’s park like PNC Park, I like a few Bucco bats today against lefty Derek Holland. His stats are a little bit better than his 5.56 ER shows. His SIERA(a metric that tries to measure pitching performance more accurately than ERA) is over a full run lower than his 5.66 ERA. There’s a trio of Pirates that are just dirt cheap. The one that catches my eye the most is catcher Elias Diaz. Starting catcher Francisco Cervelli played deep into the night last night due to rain. Diaz should start and in 11 at-bats(small sample size alert) vs lefties this year, Diaz is hitting .600 with a .650 wOBA .

Pirates Hitter to Target

Elite Options – Elias Diaz, Sean Rodriguez, Starling Marte, David Freese

Secondary Options – Josh Bell

Pirates Probable Starter – Ivan Nova, RHP

4.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 7.46 K/9

Vs LHH – .305 average, .367 wOBA and 36.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .262 average, .323 wOBA and 34.3 hard contact rate

Nova has gotten shelled his last two times on the mound, probably because I said he wasn’t the worst play ever in those games. It turns out he was the worst play ever but at the risk of being wrong again, he could be decent today. I’m not playing him, but a quality start wouldn’t shock me. Nova is giving up almost double the fly ball rate to lefties and they’d be the only type of Giants I have interest in.

Giants Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Brandon Belt

Secondary Options – Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco

Home Run Pick – Starling Marte