FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Friday, May 18
Tigers at Mariners
Tigers Probable Starter – Michael Fulmer, RHP
4.37 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 20.2 strikeout rate
Vs LHH – .253 average, .358 wOBA, 27.0 fly ball rate and 37.3 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .263 average, .294 wOBA, 28.1 fly ball rate and 32.8 hard contact rate
Fulmer is never a guy I like to roster and that will probably continue tonight. His strikeouts can’t be trusted and he just faced this Mariners team his last start and got lit up. Now, the lineup for Seattle is different. Robinson Cano is definitely gone and Nelson Cruz may be out of the lineup as well. Even without those players, I’ll pass on Fulmer. I’m not sure how many Mariners I want because Fulmer isn’t giving up many fly balls. There might not be a ton of upside in this spot.
Mariners Hitters to Target
Elite Options – Dee Gordon
Secondary Options – Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, Ryon Healy
Mariners Probable Starter – Felix Hernandez, RHP
5.66 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 20.6 strikeout rate
Vs LHH – .218 average, .342 wOBA, 44.4 fly ball rate and 33.3 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .279 average, .367 wOBA, 33.8 fly ball rate and 37.8 hard contact rate
If you have to roster two pitchers on another site, maybe you want to take a look at Felix Hernandez. I can’t get after him on FanDuel because there’s not a lot of upside and he could get smashed. That seems kind of weird because the Tigers lineup is just a train wreck and not any good with the players they have on the disabled list. If Leonys Martin comes off that list today, he’s interesting for sure at $3,000. This is pretty much Nicholas Castellanos or bust.
Tigers Hitters to Target
Elite Options – Nicholas Castellanos
Secondary Options -None
Home Run Pick – John Hicks
Rockies at Giants
Rockies Probable Starter – Kyle Freeland, LHP
3.42 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 22.6 strikeout rate
Vs LHH -.143 average, .227 wOBA, 35.0 fly ball rate and 19.1 hard contact rate
Vs RHH -.243 average, .304 wOBA, 38.2 fly ball rate and 27.4 hard contact rate
I have a little bit of respect for Freeland, especially when he’s allowed to pitch in AT&T Park. The Giants offense has some solid individual players, they’re not a good offense in totality. You can play players like Buster Posey, Evan Longoria or Andrew McCutchen but I don’t see a ton of upside here. Longoria would be my favorite in a vacuum but $3,300 seems unnecessary tonight. Freeland is in play but not likely where I would go. If Nick Hundley does play, he would be a great salary saver.
Giants Hitters to Target
Elite Options – Evan Longoria, Nick Hundley
Secondary Options -Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey
Giants Probable Starter – Derek Holland, LHP
4.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 22.3 strikeout rate
Vs LHH – .143 average, .237 wOBA, 50.0 fly ball rate and 23.5 hard contact rate
Vs RHH – .230 average, .342 wOBA, 48.5 fly ball rate and 46.0 hard contact rate
We have finally arrived at the final half of this monster of a slate. If you’ve made it this far, let me say thank you very much for sticking it out. I know it’s a bit overwhelming when there are this many games. It’s tough to sift through everything and I appreciate it very much. This is simple – don’t play Derek Holland because things could go badly and the only two hitter I want are Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. That’s it, that’s the list. Let’s go to the sample lineups!
Rockies Hitters to Target
Elite Options – Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story
Secondary Options – None
Home Run Pick – Nolan Arenado