FanDuel MLB lineup and picks for Friday, May 25

White Sox at Tigers

White Sox Probable Starter – Reynaldo Lopez, RHP

2.98 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 17.2 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .237 average, .347 wOBA, 50.0 fly ball rate and 34.2 hard contact rate

Vs RHH –  .167 average, .246 wOBA, 48.2 fly ball rate and 28.9 hard contact rate

When a pitcher like Lopez is on the mound and he throws his fastball at a 58.2 rate, I want to take a look at who hits that pitch well from the Tigers. There’s not many that are active and rate super well against it. The highest player is Niko Goodrum and he’s not a terrible option in the outfield. He’s $700 cheaper than Nicholas Castellanos and you’re going to need every dollar tonight. The only other player I have some interest in is Leonys Martin. He doesn’t hit the fast ball well but is on the better side of the splits.

Tigers Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Niko Goodrum, Nicholas Castellanos

Secondary Options – Leonys Martin

Tigers Probable Starter – Mike Fiers, RHP

4.57 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 15.3 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .279 average, .379 wOBA, 43.9 fly ball rate and 34.8 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .253 average, .310 wOBA, 42.3 fly ball rate and 36.3 hard contact rate

This could be a great spot for Yoan Moncada. He’s been a little uneven since coming back off the disabled list but he draws Mike Fiers who is a pure fly ball pitcher. If Moncada can get a ball into the air, it could leave the yard. The problem is Moncada’s price is still really high and I’m hard pressed to pay $3,900 for him. Daniel Palka is also attractive as lefties hit for a higher average against Fiers. You can’t talk about a fly ball pitcher against the White Sox without bringing up Jose Abreu. He’s the best hitter the White Sox have and he’s got a decent chance to hit a homer tonight.

White Sox Hitters to Target 

Elite Options- Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu

Secondary Options – Daniel Palka, Yolmer Sanchez

Home Run Pick – Niko Goodrum

Astros at Indians

Astros Probable Starter – Dallas Keuchel, LHP

3.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 18.6 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .245 average, .310 wOBA, 20.0 fly ball rate and 28.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .224 average, .292 wOBA, 27.4 fly ball rate and 27.9 hard contact rate

Keuchel has been better than I’ve given him credit for at this point but he’s not in play for me tonight. He saw this Indians lineup last time out and didn’t pitch very well, giving up more runs than strikeouts. The Indians have too many good hitters agains lefty pitching for me to want to pitch Keuchel tonight. You can’t fall too far behind in the pitching slot in my opinion. If you think Keuchel gets beat up a little bit, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez stand to do some damage. Michael Brantley is awfully expensive and my favorite cheaper play is Yan Gomes at $2,600.

Indians Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Yan Gomes

Secondary Options – Michael Brantley, Edwin Encarnacion

Indians Probable Starter – Corey Kluber, RHP

2.36 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 26.0 strikeout rate

Vs LHH – .187 average, .247 wOBA, 30.2 fly ball rate and 32.6 hard contact rate

Vs RHH – .201 average, .249 wOBA, 32.0 fly ball rate and 33.3 hard contact rate

Kluber is another one of the high end pitching options for tonight and he’s coming off a fantastic start against this Houston lineup a few days ago. Typically when a pitcher sees an offense back to back, it’s a little more difficult to be effective. Here’s the issue with Kluber — while he could be really good, I’d rather pay further up to get to the best pitcher on the slate in the better matchup. Kluber should be lower owned than most and the only way I’m using Astros bats is in a stack in case blubber blows up.

Astros Hitters to Target 

Elite Options – None

Secondary Options – Carlos Correa, George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve

Home Run Pick – Yan Gomes