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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ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 02: Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home opening game at Angel Stadium on April 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – APRIL 02: Mike Clevinger #52 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home opening game at Angel Stadium on April 2, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Indians at Astros

Indians Probable Starter – Mike Clevinger, RHP

2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 21.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .220 average, .267 wOBA, 31.5 fly ball rate and 29.7 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .223 average, .265 wOBA, 37.8 fly ball rate and 27.6 hard contact rate

You want to get nuts? Let’s get nuts! I basically never target the Astros when they’re at home and this could very easily blow up in my face, but Clevinger is a great tournament play. Houston seems to either score five or more runs or they can’t do anything at all. Clevinger doesn’t have the highest ceiling ever because his strikeouts are just OK but not spectacular. In fact, he only has one game over seven strikeouts all season. Here’s the thing – nobody is going to play him. There’s 15 games tonight. Nobody wants to play pitchers against Houston at home, opposite on f Charlie Morton.Even if you don’t play Clevinger, I’m passing on the Astros bats this evening. I respect Clevinger.

Astros Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Alex Bregman, Evan Gattis

Astros Probable Starter – Charlie Morton, RHP

2.03 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 32.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .132 average, .226 wOBA, 30.6 fly ball rate and 27.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .208 average, .282 wOBA, 21.9 fly ball rate and 24.7 hard contact rate

Good ol’ Ground Chuck might be the best play on the board not named Scherzer tonight. He doesn’t carry the potential risk that deGrom does and he’s only $500 more than Newcomb. He’s had two bad starts all season and even though the Cleveland offense is solid, they also carry the 12th highest strikeout rate against righties. Morton has his highest ground ball and strikeout rates of his career and hard contact rate is below his career normal as well. I’m fully confident in Morton tonight.

Indians Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley

Home Run Pick – I’m honestly not going to pick one for this game. I think pitching rules the day.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 01: Kyle Gibson #44 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of the game on May 1, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 01: Kyle Gibson #44 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of the game on May 1, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Brewers at Twins

Brewers Probable Starter – Brent Suter, LHP

5.14 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 16.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .191 average, .247 wOBA, 40.5 fly ball rate and 26.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .311 average, .386 wOBA, 32.7 fly ball rate and 35.9 hard contact rate

You’d have to be fairly brave to want to pitch Suter tonight and it’s definitely not a spot that I can go. He doesn’t have a quality start this season and has only pitched into the sixth inning once. That’s a hard pass from me and there’s a couple of righty bats that I want to highlight here. If you have the money, Brian Dozier is in a pretty solid spot. He’s been pretty quiet for the most part but $3,700 isn’t bad for his talent level. The best play just from a price point is Eduardo Escobar. He’s also been a little cold lately but it’s solid buy-low spot at just $3,300.

Twins Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar

Secondary Options – Max Kepler(hits lefties well), Joe Mauer

Twins Probable Starter – Kyle Gibson, RHP

3.43 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 26.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .182 average, .239 wOBA, 38.3 fly ball rate and 37.5 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .202 average, .292 wOBA, 28.8 fly ball rate and 41.8 hard contact rate

If I removed the name of the player and just put forth the stats, Gibson would be in the running to play tonight. He’s still just $7,600 which makes for an interesting risk/reward option. The Brewers are top 10 in strikeout percentage against righties so there’s at least hop for a 40 spot from Gibson tonight. I wouldn’t play him in cash games, but a tournament could be won with Gibson pitching. I’ll pass on the Brewers offense tonight unless something changes during the day and early evening.

Brewers Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw

Home Run Pick – Brian Dozier