FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Saturday, May 19

Padres at Pirates

Padres Probable Starter – Clayton Richard, LHP

5.20 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 21.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .239 average, .292 wOBA, 10.0 fly ball rate and 34.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .282 average, .356 wOBA, 24.6 fly ball rate and 47.2 hard contact rate

I thought for sure Austin Meadows would be in my lineup since he’s minimum price and looked pretty good in his major league debut Friday night. Then I saw what Richard has been able to do against lefties so far this year and there’s just not a ton of upside to be had. Meadows would likely have to steal another base or two to get any points. You can still give it a go if you want because Meadows did hit lefties well in the minors this year. Other than the Austin Meadows show, we’re looking at players like Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli from the regular players along with Sean Rodriguez, Max Moroff and Jose Osuna if they play. Loading up against a ground ball pitcher can sometimes backfire so be cautious.

Pirates Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Josh Bell, Francisco Cervelli

Secondary Options – Sean Rodriguez, Jose Osuna, Austin Meadows

Pirates Probable Starter – Nick Kingham, RHP

2.92 ERA, 0.65 wOBA and 35.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .214 average, .242 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 41.7 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .133 average, .211 wOBA, 43.8 fly ball rate and 43.8 hard contact rate

It’s only been two starts in the majors for Kingham so let’s not get his plaque for the Hall of Fame ready just yet. It’s still a great matchup for him and he’s at a very palatable price of $8,600. San Diego has been a team we’ve had interest in lately but they have the highest strikeout rate in baseball against righties. They also rank 26th in average, 29th in OPS, 29th in ISO and 27th in wOBA. So far, Kingham is easily my favorite pitcher.

Padres Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Eric Hosmer

Secondary Options – Travis Jankowski, Franchy Cordero

Home Run Pick – Josh Bell

Diamondbacks at Mets

Diamondbacks Probable Starter – Patrick Corbin, LHP

2.52 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 34.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .132 average, .180 wOBA, 32.0 fly ball rate and 20.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .182 average, .250 wOBA, 27.5 fly ball rate and 44.7 hard contact rate

If there was ever a spot for Corbin to have a ceiling game and put to rest some buzz about him slipping a bit in his performance, this is it. First, the Mets are one of the worst hitting teams against lefties in baseball. They rank second in strikeout rate and dead last in all four of average, OPS, ISO and wOBA. Not towards the bottom, DEAD LAST in all four categories. Secondly, they don’t hit the slider that well and that’s Corbin’s main weapon. The only players that are above average are Asdrubal Cabrera and Adrian Gonzalez. I don’t know about you but I’m not playing the ghost of Gonzalez against Corbin. On paper, this is the best possible matchup Corbin could ask for.

Mets Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Asdrubal Cabrera

Mets Probable Starter – Steven Matz, LHP

3.86 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 24.5 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .235 average, .373 wOBA, 15.4 fly ball rate and 7.1 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .211 average, .324 wOBA, 42.0 fly ball rate and 38.4 hard contact rate

Matz is actually interesting himself since there’s no A.J. Pollock in the Arizona lineup. The only spot the Diamondbacks are above average is ISO and that’s not totally enough to scare me off of Matz. I’m not sure how the public perceives them but Arizona does not have a good offense by almost any measure. Paul Goldschmidt at $3,500 is driving me nuts. Just based off of price, Goldy should be an auto-lock . He’s just been so bad it’s hard to trust him.

Diamondback Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Paul Goldschmidt, Steven Souza

Home Run Pick – Steven Souza