MLB FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Monday, May 21

Welcome into the Monday edition of the FanDuel daily fantasy baseball column! We have a nine game slate tonight so let’s keep things rolling!

For all the words in this column, sometimes what’s most important is the hour or so that lead up to lock. Yesterday was a prime example of this as Boston slugger J.D. Martinez went yard twice and he wasn’t in the lineup until 30 minutes before lock. I didn’t trust the weather in Kansas City so instead of Stanton, we replaced him. That makes three straight days that we’ve gone over 160 FanDuel points and we’re aiming to keep things rolling today.

Padres at Nationals

Padres Probable Starter – Robbie Erlin, LHP

3.46 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 23.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .237 average, .277 wOBA, 14.3 fly ball rate and 37.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .230 average, .257 wOBA, 31.1 fly ball rate and 23.9 hard contact rate

The Padres are turning to Erlin on a bit of short notice and even though it’s the first game we’re hitting tonight, the Nationals are going to be a good team to stack. Erlin only has one other start this season and didn’t make it past the third inning. One of the most popular topics the past 36 hours has been the Bats calling up youngster Juan Soto, who should be in the lineup tonight. He hit lefties better than righties in the minors this season and at just $2,500, he’s almost a lock. Bryce Harper is just fine as always and Anthony Rendon is our resident lefty masher on Washington.

Nationals Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon

Secondary Options – Trea Turner, Mark Reynolds

Nationals Probable Starter – Gio Gonzalez, LHP

2.36 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 25.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .180 average, .201 wOBA, 35.3 fly ball rate and 20.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .262 average, .330 wOBA, 29.2 fly ball rate and 34.0 hard contact rate

It’s a testament to how rough the pitching is on this slate is when Gonzalez very well might be the chalk of the evening. Don’t get me wrong, Gonzalez is an excellent pitcher in real life. He’s not always the most useful in fantasy because the strikeouts come and go and he can be his own worst enemy when he’s not pitching well. If you want to attack Gonzalez, it’s with the righty bats fro the Padres. Christian Villanueva has a low floor but he’s been hot lately with home runs in three out of four games. Eric Hosmer and Jose Pirela are the only other hitters I’d really consider but I don’t think I’ll have too many Padres tonight.

Padres Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Christian Villanueva, Eric Hosmer, Jose Pirela

Home Run Pick – Juan Soto

Braves at Phillies

Braves Probable Starter – Mike Foltynewicz, RHP

2.87 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 27.9 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .186 average, .294 wOBA, 40.0 fly ball rate and 36.4 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .247 average, .304 wOBA, 30.8 fly ball rate and 36.4 hard contact rate

Foltnewicz could actually be a great tournament option tonight as he will likely go overlooked and is in potentially a solid matchup. Philly strikes out at the second highest clip in the majors and Foltynewicz throws a fastball and slider quite often. The only hitter that rates well against both pitches is Odubel Herrera but he’s a lefty bat. Rhys Hoskins destroys fastballs but gets killed by sliders. Cesar Hernandez will bat lefty tonight and isn’t that interesting at his price point. This is a great spot to either play the pitcher or stack the offense and there might not be a lot of middle ground.

Phillies Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Odubel Herrera, Cesar Hernandez, Rhys Hoskins

Phillies Probable Starter – Nick Pivetta, RHP

3.72 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 28.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .281 average, .321 wOBA, 38.7 fly ball rate and 30.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .194 average, .241 wOBA, 37.5 fly ball rate and 25.0 hard contact rate

I don’t think I’m going here because it’s so hard to play a pitcher against this Braves offense, but Pivetta appears to be back on track after a little bit of a bump in the road. His past two starts have been 12 innings pitched, six hits, 18 strikeouts and one earned run. That’s a great run but the Braves offense is very good. They have quality lefties to play against Pivetta and that’s likely the only place I would go if I play Braves(and let’s face it, I want to play pieces from the best offense in the N.L.). Freddie Freeman is always a top play on any slate and I wonder if he’ll have low ownership. Nick Markakis and Johan Carmago are right next to Freeman in wOBA against righties.

Braves Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Freddie Freeman

Secondary Options – Nick Markakis, Johan Carmago, Ozzie Albies, Ender Inciarte, Ronald Acuna

Home Run Pick – Odubel Herrera