Fansided

FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Monday, May 14

By Adam Strangis

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 29: Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) reacts as he sees on a scoreboard replay that Seattle Mariners outfielder Ben Gamel (16) dropped a ball he was called out on during the seventh inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians on April 29, 2018, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. After a replay review Ramirez was awarded second base and 2 runs batted in. Seattle defeated Cleveland 10-4. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 29: Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) reacts as he sees on a scoreboard replay that Seattle Mariners outfielder Ben Gamel (16) dropped a ball he was called out on during the seventh inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians on April 29, 2018, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. After a replay review Ramirez was awarded second base and 2 runs batted in. Seattle defeated Cleveland 10-4. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 11: Lance McCullers Jr. #43 of the Houston Astros looks on during the game against the Minnesota Twins on April 11, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Astros 9-8.(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 11: Lance McCullers Jr. #43 of the Houston Astros looks on during the game against the Minnesota Twins on April 11, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Astros 9-8.(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Astros at Angels

Astros Probable Starter – Lance McCullers, RHP

3.72 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 10.17 K/9

Vs LHH – .190 average, .296 wOBA and 34.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .270 average, .301 wOBA and 28.8 hard contact rate

If you happened to read this column yesterday, you know that I really like Tampa Bay starter Blake Snell but I didn’t want to play him because of the bad matchup. That’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in with McCullers tonight. The Angels are 28th in baseball in strikeout rate, so that would seem to hurt the ceiling for McCullers. The other biggest mark against him is he sees a pretty big split between righties and lefties and the Angels can put a lineup with at least seven righties in it. McCullers has some of the best pure stuff in baseball and can strikeout double digits on any given night. He’s a great tournament play but really isn’t on the board for cash games tonight.

Angels Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Mike Trout

Secondary Options – Justin Upton

Angels Probable Starter – Andrew Heaney, LHP

4.78 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 9.91 K/9

Vs LHH – .333 average, .329 wOBA and 17.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .253 average, .334 wOBA and 36.2 hard contact rate

One of the teams that might be close to ownership to the Indians tonight could be the Astros. We always love it when Houston draws a lefty and they’ll be popular again this evening.In fairness, Heaney has pitched better than some of his statistics would indicate. I’m likely not going a full stack like I did yesterday but there’s a few that pique my interest. Jose Altuve hasn’t gotten on base in three straight games and you really won’t get him much lower than $4,100. Evan Gattis is also barely above minimum and has hit well the past two games. Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman round out the big names from the Astros to target.

Astros Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Evan Gattis, Alex Bregman

Secondary Options – Yuli Gurriel, George Springer(if he plays)

Home Run Pick – Alex Bregman

MONTERREY, MEXICO – MAY 5: Christian Villanueva #22 of the San Diego Padres bats during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey on Saturday, May 5, 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Roberto Maya/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MONTERREY, MEXICO – MAY 5: Christian Villanueva #22 of the San Diego Padres bats during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey on Saturday, May 5, 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Roberto Maya/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Rockies at Padres

Rockies Probable Starter – Tyler Anderson, LHP

4.23 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 9.39 K/9

Vs LHH – .269 average, .386 wOBA and 33.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .229 average, .320 wOBA and 34.9 hard contact rate

Anderson could actually be a fairly reasonable GPP play tonight. The Padres lineup isn’t all that great and the game is in San Diego. Anderson has been slightly better away from Coors this year and frankly, I’m pretty happy we’re not at Coors. Those slates always mess with me because I’m always terrified of being underweight on bats in Colorado. The only two bats that interest me in a big way for the Padres is Christian Villanueva and Jose Pirela. Villanueva has been ice cold lately with zero hits since May 2. However, his price is down to $2,800. He smashes lefties so far in his career and when he was hitting at the start of the year, he was close to $4,000. Pirela has a wOBA of .345 this year and is dirt cheap.

Padres Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Christian Villanueva, Jose Pirela

Secondary Options – Matt Szczur, Eric Hosmer

Padres Probable Starter – Joey Lucchesi, LHP

2.98 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 9.78 K/9

Vs LHH – .219 average, .233 wOBA and 25.0.hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .238 average, .321 wOBA and 42.2 hard contact rate

I know one thing for sure tonight and that’s I will have basically no exposure to the Rockies bats. I think some players might see they draw a lefty and run to play Colorado, especially with Lucchesi not making it past the fifth inning in his last four starts. At just $8,300, he might be my favorite GPP pitcher of the night. Lucchesi has shut down lefties so far, so that should help neutralize Charlie Blackmon. Nolan Arenado is still scary because he’s Nolan Arenado. I’d worry about him touching up my pitcher if I had the Marvel character Thanos on the mound with the Infinity Gauntlet, replete with all six Infinity Stones. Trevor Story is borderline useless against lefties away from Coors with a .264 wOBA and a 45.5 strikeout percentage. Lucchesi has a really good shot at a 40 spot tonight and will carry very little ownership.

Rockies Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Nolan Arenado

Secondary Options – None

Home Run Pick – Christian Villanueva