Fansided

FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Friday, May 18

By Adam Strangis

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 25: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on April 25, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 25: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on April 25, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 02: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets warms up in the outfield before the game against the Atlanta Braves on May 2, 2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Diamondbacks at Mets

Diamondbacks Probable Starter – Zach Godley, RHP

4.08 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 21.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .239 average, .305 wOBA, 23.1 fly ball rate and 28.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .283 average, 3.46 wOBA, 30.0 fly ball rate and 38.6 hard contact rate

On a slate this big, it’s sometime helpful to eliminate certain games that you just don’t want a part of. There’s really only one player that I’m sorry of interested in but we’ll get to him in a minute. Godley hasn’t been as good as some thought he might be leading into the season but he hasn’t been awful either. He’s not a super upside play as his strikeout rate has dropped by almost five full percentage points. He’s also been great at not giving up fly balls, so there’s not a ton of upside in the Mets bats either.

Mets Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Devin Mesaraco, Michael Conforto

Mets Probable Starter – Jacob deGrom, RHP

1.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 32.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .189 average, .253 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 22.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .209 average, .227 wOBA, 25.0 fly ball rate and 25.0 hard contact rate

If I knew for sure that deGrom was fully healthy and ready to roll, I might actually prefer him over Scherzer to have an extra $1,600 to build an offense. Maybe he is but he was forced to leave his last start after one inning due to him throwing over 40 pitches in said inning. He might be scary for cash but this Arizona offense doesn’t scare me in the least right now. A.J. Pollock is out and Paul Goldschmidt is in a terrible funk right now. Past that, the next best hitter might be…David Peralta? If deGrom pitches a normal game, he’s in a fantastic spot.

Diamondbacks Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – David Peralta, Paul Goldschmidt

Home Run Pick – Devin Mesaraco

OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 22: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on April 22, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Red Sox 4-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mitch Moreland
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 22: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on April 22, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Red Sox 4-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mitch Moreland /

Orioles at Red Sox

Orioles Probable Starter –  Alex Cobb, RHP

7.06 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and 11.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .483 average, .551 wOBA, 26.9 fly ball rate and 39.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .276 average, .346 wOBA, 24.6 fly ball rate and 35.4 hard contact rate

What’s going on Mitch Moreland? You feeling good, big man? I hope he’s ready to swing that bat today because he has one of the juiciest matchups on the board tonight. Cobb has just been getting dominated by lefty bats and Moreland is a very affordable $3,300. The other lefty bat I’d really want is Andrew Benintendi but he’s $4,400. One of the best ways to get away from Scherzer might be to play Tyson Ross and jam in Red Sox bats. Cobb should get buzz-sawed tonight.

Red Sox Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Mitch Moreland, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi

Secondary Options -Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts

Red Sox Probable Starter – Drew Pomeranz, LHP 

5.43 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 23.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .200 average, .176 wOBA, 43.8 fly ball rate and 37.5 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .308 average, .423 wOBA, 41.1 fly ball rate and 37.5 hard contact rate

I’m not sure I can say no thanks to Drew Pomeranz fast enough in this spot. David Price turned back the clock and smoked Baltimore last night. That’s fun and all but I don’t think that’s happening again this evening. Pomeranz has yet to find his footing and hasn’t been able to get righty batters out yet. The Orioles can put nine righties out there and Pomeranz is in almost as bad a spot as Cobb is. The normal names are viable here and I still might chase Danny Valencia, who did have two base hits last night.

Orioles Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Manny Machado, Trey Mancini, Mark Trumbo, Danny Valencia

Secondary Options – Jonathan Schoop

Home Run Pick – Mookie Betts and Mark Trumbo