FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Saturday, May 19

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Welcome into the Saturday edition of the FanDuel daily fantasy baseball column. We lucked into a 11 game slate tonight so let’s dig in.

Last night was a very solid night for us as almost our whole lineup showed up in a big way. Jacob deGrom was chalk after the Nationals got postponed and Scherzer cam off the board. It was still well worth eating said chalk as the Mets starter utterly dominated the Arizona lineup. The Padres mini stack went over 40 points and then the big blow came in the form of Shin-soo Choo hitting a grand slam. Hopefully we get even better results tonight.

VIERA, FL – MARCH 15: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Houston Astros throws the bat after drawing a walk during the second inning of the Spring Training game against the Washington Nationals at FITTEAM Ballpark on March 15, 2018 in Viera, Florida. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /

Dodgers at Nationals

Dodgers Probable Starter – Rich Hill, LHP

6.20 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 21.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .227 average, .305 wOBA, 29.4 fly ball rate and 35.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .313 average, .432 wOBA, 48.2 fly ball rate and 50.0 hard contact rate

Hill is plenty talented provided he’s healthy, which is always a risky proposition. I will almost never use Hill in cash games because he carries such a high injury risk and the numbers for him are pretty poor so far. Since he’s talented and these numbers are way outside of what’s normal for him, I don’t want to go overboard with National batters. I’d stick to the righties and Anthony Rendon is a lefty masher with a .373 wOBA agains lefties so far in 2018. That’s actually quite low when compared to last season and he’s been hampered by injuries.

Nationals Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner

Secondary Options – Bryce Harper

Nationals Probable Starter – Tanner Roark, RHP

3.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 22.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .230 average, .317 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 30.7 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .155 average, .220 wOBA, 40.6 fly ball rate and 28.1 hard contact rate

Roark can actually be usable in the right spot but I don’t think this is it. Los Angeles can throw plenty of lefties at him and while they might not be the greatest, it’s a clear split that’s worse for Roark. It sure didn’t take very long to see Justin Turner’s price to skyrocket back up. $4,000 is fair but it was fun to play him at a discount for a couple of games. Roark is better in real life than fantasy so if this is a spot that you want to attack, I’d stick with lefties that can hit for power.

Dodgers Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Cody Bellinger, Yasmani Grandal

Secondary Options -Joc Pederson, Chase Utley, Justin Turner,

Home Run Pick – Antony Rendon

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 16: Tucker Barnhart #16 of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the first inning at AT&T Park on May 16, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Cubs at Reds

Cubs Probable Starter – Jose Quintana, LHP

5.23 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 20.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .188 average, .283 wOBA, 25.0 fly ball rate and 26.1 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .289 average, .379 wOBA, 34.3 fly ball rate and 43.4 hard contact rate

Until Quintana shows us that he’s at least somewhat back to form, he’s off the table for me. Pitching in this Little League park in Cincinnati likely isn’t going to help him out and there’s some good looking Reds bats tonight. You’ll want to start with Eugenio Suarez, who dipped back under $4,000 and has utterly wrecked lefty pitching in limited sample size so far. A .655 wOBA is ridiculous and won’t hold up for very long but it’s tough to ignore this spot for him. Adam Duvall and Jose Peraza are rock solid plays in the mid-tier range. The one player that could go under the radar is Tucker Barnhart. The Reds and Cubs play a doubleheader tomorrow, so lineup watching is crucial. If Barnhart plays the night cap, his .529 wOBA against lefties stands out.

Reds Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Eugenio Suarez, Tucker Barnhart(if he plays)

Secondary Options – Adam Duvall, Jose Peraza

Reds Probable Starter – Sal Romano, RHP

4.84 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 14.1 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .282 average, .364 wOBA, 35.7 fly ball rate and 35.7 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .237 average, .315 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 34.2 hard contact rate

Seeing as how Romano carries a low strikeout rate and is pitching in a small park, I have exactly zero interest in playing him tonight. The lefties are mostly where we want to head on the Cubs tonight, although you can’t really go wrong with Kris Bryant. I have eyes on one of my man crushes again tonight in Kyle Schwarber. He can hit the ball out of any park in the league and in this one he might be able to bunt a home run. He’s also just $3,700 which is always attractive for a bat with his upside. Any of the usual big guns are in play for the Cubbies tonight and hopefully they won’t get rained out again.

Cubs Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Kyle Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant

Secondary Options – Javier Baez, Willson Contreras

Home Run Pick – Eugenio Suarez and Kyle Schwarber