Fansided

MLB FanDuel Lineup and Picks for Monday, May 21

By Adam Strangis

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals bats in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during his MLB debut at Nationals Park on May 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals bats in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during his MLB debut at Nationals Park on May 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – MAY 05: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the fourth inning at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on May 5, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 05: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the fourth inning at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on May 5, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Orioles at White Sox

Orioles Probable Starter – Andrew Cashner, RHP

4.83 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 20.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .267 average, .385 wOBA, 52.9 fly ball rate and 28.2 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .247 average, .330 wOBA, 32.9 fly ball rate and 35.8 hard contact rate

I’m certainly not using Cashner, although he can be frustrating to use hitters against him from time to time. He’s not striking out a ton of hitters and one of my favorite plays from the White Sox is Yoan Moncada. He’s killing right handed pitching with a wOBA over .4000 and if Moncada can get balls into the air against Cashner, he’s got a pretty got chance to hit one out. I’m not crazy heavy on the White Sox today but the next side of this game might just be the most attractive portion of this slate.

White Sox Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu

Secondary Options – Yolmer Sanchez, Matt Davidson

White Sox Probable Starter – Hector Santiago, LHP

5.29 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 18.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .314 average, .423 wOBA, 33.3 fly ball rate and 29.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .239 average, .331 wOBA, 59.4 fly ball rate and 26.1 hard contact rate

The Orioles are a team that can be very difficult to predict but they might have the highest upside of any offense on the slate. I wouldn’t put a ton of weight into Santiago being a reverse splits guy so far this year because he’s been in and out of the bullpen. Manny Machado is certainly one of the best plays on the slate but Baltimore also offers a lot of value plays as well. Basically any other other bat you’re interested in is $3,200 or under. I think this is the best offense of the night to stack, even better than the Yankees. Santiago could be in for a long night.

Orioles Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Trey Mancini, Danny Valencia

Secondary Options – Mark Trumbo, Jonathan Schoop

Home Run Pick – Manny Machado, Yoan Moncada and Jonathan Schoop

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 02: Jose Martinez #58 of the St. Louis Cardinals bats against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the first inning at AT&T Park on September 2, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 02: Jose Martinez #58 of the St. Louis Cardinals bats against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the first inning at AT&T Park on September 2, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Cardinals at Royals

Cardinals Probable Starter – Mike Mikolas, RHP

2.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 18.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .283 average, .314 wOBA, 27.7 fly ball rate and 38.5 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .195 average, .229 wOBA, 18.2 fly ball rate and 29.8 hard contact rate

If you’re playing this side of the game, it’s got to be Mikolas. He’s coming off his worst start of the year but this could be a game where he goes seven or eight innings The strikeouts are likely not going to be there. Mikolas doesn’t strike out a lot of hitters in general and the Royals have the lowest strikeout rate against righties in baseball. It’s just hard to see who does damage against him. Mike Moustakas would probably be the best player to target against Mikolas but even then, the fly ball rate is so low there’s very little upside. I feel like I would rather play Jose Berrios at $400 cheaper tonight.

Royals Hitters to Target

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez

Royals Probable Starter – Ian Kennedy, RHP

4.98 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 21.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .270 average, .326 wOBA, 43.8 fly ball rate and 36.9 hard contact rate

Vs RHH  – .292 average, .378 wOBA, 39.0 fly ball rate and 42.4 hard contact rate

Kennedy is throwing his fastball a little over 60 percent of the time and giving up a lot of fly balls so two hitters for the Cardinals really pop out immediately. Tommy Pham and Jose Martinez are the best two hitters against the fastball and they have the power to take Kennedy out of the yard. Pham especially is expensive at $4,300 but he can rack up points in so many different ways. If you’re hunting for a cheap option from this game, Tyler O’Neil has hit a home run in each of the past two games. He’s in and out of the lineup but he’s dirt cheap on FanDuel and could help fit in other offensive pieces.

Cardinals Hitters to Target

Elite Options – Tommy Pham, Jose Martinez

Secondary Options – Marcell Ozuna, Tyler O’Neil

Home Run Pick – Jose Martinez