FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Sunday, May 20

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CHICAGO, IL – MAY 02: Anthony Rizzo #44 of the Chicago Cubs bats against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field on May 2, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Rockies defeated the Cubs 11-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Cubs at Reds

Cubs Probable Starter – Yu Darvish, RHP

5.56 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 26.9 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .288 average, .388 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 30.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .214 average, .324 wOBA, 38.6 fly ball rate and 28.9 hard contact rate

If you’ve been around for a while, you know I used to include a K/9 instead of a strikeout rate. Darvish is actually the reason I changed. Someone(I’m sorry I can’t remember who) pointed out that Darvish had a great looking K/9 but his strikeout rate was down by three percentage points. His K/9 looked good because he wasn’t pitching deep into games. Anyhow, I’m not getting trapped by Darvish today. His HR/9 is spiked at almost double his career average and that’s not what I want to hear when he’s pitching in Cincinnati. I’m chasing some of the bigger names fo the Reds and one that might not get a lot of love today.

Reds Hitter to Target

Elite Options – Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett

Secondary Options – Scott Schebler

Reds Probable Starter – Tyler Mahle, RHP

4.34 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 22.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .281 average, .406 wOBA, 41.3 fly ball rate and 46.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .235 average, .274 wOBA, 33.8 fly ball rate and 31.2 hard contact rate

I don’t normally play pitchers against the Cubs and today won’t be different. When a pitcher gives up that amount of fly balls mixed with that amount of hard contact, it gets my attention. Two of the biggest names to go after are Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber. I like Rizzo slightly better than Votto at that position and Schwarber is still so relatively cheap. Ian Happ is heating up a little bit and if Ben Zobrist leads off, he’s interesting as well.

Cubs Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Ben Zobrist

Secondary Options – Ian Happ, Kris Bryant

Home Run Pick – Scott Schebler

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – MARCH 13: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves hits in the first inning during the spring training game between the Atlanta Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays at Champion Stadium on March 13, 2018 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by B51/Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Marlins at Braves

Marlins Probable Starter – Wei-Yen Chen, LHP

7.56 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 11.4 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .200 average, .356 wOBA, 60.0 fly ball rate and 40.0 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .308 average, .478 wOBA, 59.1 fly ball rate and 37.5 hard contact rate

The Braves scored eight runs last night and I wouldn’t be shocked if they did it again today. Chen couldn’t be in a much worse spot today as the Braves team is one of the best teams against lefties this year. It’s going to be another game when any Brave that you want is a solid play but my top three from the team are Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis. Albies still has a wOBA over .500 against lefties and his sky high price tag is warranted. As much as I love Ronald Acuna, Markakis is cheaper and he hits lefties extremely well.

Braves Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis

Secondary Options – Ronald Acuna, Jose Bautista

Braves Probable Starter – Julio Teheran, RHP

3.49 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 21.7 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .198 average, .301 wOBA, 46.2 fly ball rate and 40.3 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .211 average, .306 wOBA, 44.6 fly ball rate and 28.8 hard contact rate

I still can’t figure out how Teheran is getting things down. His velocity is down 2-3 MPH on his fastball and slider, which is 80 percent of his pitch type this season. He’s kind of scary and I’d understand if players shied away from him but I think Teheran is a solid play today. I’m not going to hold his last start against him as it was against the Cubs. His last six starts have seen a great performance four times and the other game he left with a back injury. The Marlins offense just doesn’t scare me, no matter who is pitching against them.

Marlins Hitters to Target

Elite Options – J.T. Realmuto

Secondary Options – Justin Bour

Home Run Pick – Jose Bautista