Fansided

FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Thursday, May 17

By Adam Strangis

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MAY 06: Kevin Pillar (11) of the Blue Jays hits a line drive during the MLB regular season game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays on May 06, 2018, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MAY 06: Kevin Pillar (11) of the Blue Jays hits a line drive during the MLB regular season game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays on May 06, 2018, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 10: Vince Velasquez #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park on May 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 6-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vince Velasquez
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 10: Vince Velasquez #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park on May 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 6-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vince Velasquez /

Phillies at Cardinals

Phillies Probable Starter – Vince Velasquez, RHP

5.05 ERA, 1.34 ERA and 28.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .316 average, .417 wOBA, 45.6 fly ball rate and 29.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .162 average, .229 wOBA, 47.6 fly ball rate and 18.2 hard contact rate

At least to this point, Velasquez is my favorite pitcher. That’s not a super high bar but he could be in a very good spot tonight. He’s coming off his best start of the season for fantasy when he struck out 12 Giants. He’s not likely to reach double digits tonight but the Cardinals lineup is chock full of righty bats. The two lefties they’ll roll out there are Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter who shouldn’t concern anyone right now. The Cards have a fairly good lineup but I think Velasquez might have the edge. St. Louis would have to overcome a significant disadvantage as far as splits are concerned.

Cardinals Probable Starter 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Tommy Pham, Matt Carpenter, Jose Martinez, Paul DeJong

Cardinals Probable Starter – Luke Weaver, RHP 

4.91 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 20.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .307 average, .332 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 24.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .193 average, .259 wOBA, 42.4 fly ball rate and 27.9 hard contact rate

The only decent start that Weaver has put forth in his last five came against the Padres so that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Weaver is almost in the exact same boat as Velasquez. He’s pretty good against righties and he’s struggling with lefties. I don’t have the gumption to start Weaver and if you want to go against him, I wouldn’t talk you out of it. I want the lefties more than anything and that means Obdubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez and Carlos Santana. The Phillies are highly priced tonight but they’re not egregious.

Phillies Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Odubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana

Secondary Options – Rhys Hoskins

Home Run Pick – Carlos Santana

LAKELAND, FL – MARCH 01: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves bats during the Spring Training game against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 1, 2018 in Lakeland, Florida. The Braves defeated the Tigers 5-2. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
LAKELAND, FL – MARCH 01: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves bats during the Spring Training game against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 1, 2018 in Lakeland, Florida. The Braves defeated the Tigers 5-2. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Cubs at Braves

Cubs Probable Starter – Jon Lester, LHP

2.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 19.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .212 average, .257 wOBA, 37.5 fly ball rate and 23.1 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .235 average, .324 wOBA, 38.6 fly ball rate and 36.9 hard contact rate

Lester is still getting the job done for the most part and I actually wonder if he could be the closest thing to a chalk pitcher in cash games just due to name value. Anyone who plays daily fantasy knows the name Jon Lester. Maybe he throws a solid game but I’m not tempting fate as the Braves destroy lefties more often than not. I love Ozzie Albies so much tonight, it’s not even funny. He has a wOBA over .500 against southpaws and I think you could argue that Albies could be in the N.L. MVP discussion. Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis are also really strong plays. As much as I think Lester might get lit up, I won’t go with a ton of Braves in cash tonight.

Braves Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis

Secondary Options – Ronald Acuna, Kurt Suzuki, Jose Bautista

Braves Probable Starter – Mike Soroka, RHP

3.68 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 21.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .242 average, .259 wOBA, 9.1 fly ball rate and 26.1 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .406 average, .445 wOBA, 25.9 fly ball rate and 25.9 hard contact rate

It’s tough to get a gauge on Soroka this early in his career. You’re going to see some good and some bad and I don’t want to pick on the Cubs offense with an arm this young and inconsistent so far. I also  might not go totally crazy with the Cubs offense either as Soroka does possess some serious talent. If you want to go with Chicago, you don’t need to stray too far from the big names. Javier Baez is slowly coming down in price and you can pair him with Kyle Schwarber and/or Kris Bryant. I don’t think I’ll be to involved with this side of the game in any way.

Cubs Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Javier Baez, Kris Bryant

Secondary Options – Kyle Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras

Home Run Pick – Ozzie Albies