FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball (DFS) picks for Monday, April 18

Reminder: Always double check the lineup card before rosters lock to make sure that a player you've chosen to roster is playing that day, and check the weather to make sure your players won't get rained out of their game.

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Hitting

The game most likely to be highest scoring appears to be the Reds-Rockies game in Great American Ballpark, where Dan Straily and Jordan Lyles oppose each other. Both have career adjusted ERA-'s well below average, and both are projected to remain below average. Great American Ballpark will get more hitter friendly as the weather heats up, and the weather report for Cincinnati has it reaching a high around 80 degrees today with game time temperatures around 78.

Joey Votto's ($3,900) price has fallen under $4,000 because of a slow start but he's hit RHP to a 163 wRC+ and .227 ISO since establishing his health last year. Jay Bruce ($3,800) will hit RHP for power (.234 ISO) and remains a threat to go deep, although his overall production is closer to average. I still believe in catcher Devin Mesoraco ($2,700) long term, but it's possible he continues to scuffle at the plate in the short term after missing so much time in the last year with lower body problems. Mesoraco had one of the better power hitting seasons for a catcher in baseball history in 2014 (his 2014 ISO ranks 27th all time for a catcher with at least 400 PA in a single season), but missed nearly all of 2015 with a hip issue and has missed time early in 2016 with quad tightness.

Rockies hitters on the road are sometimes problematic for reasons I mentioned last week, but they've been away from Coors for a few games now, and are probably a better play today for that reason than they usually would be on the road.

Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard ($11,300) vs Phillies

I think today is a good day to pay up for a pitcher with Syndergaard facing the Phillies. The Phillies will likely have a bottom 5 offense this year and only really contain one serious threat in their lineup, Maikel Franco. Syndergaard has made legitimate, massive improvements in the last year, and I've written a lot about it. It started last year with better pitch sequencing, the development of a two seamer, a better change up, and the infancy of a slider. This year, his slider jumped up about 3 mph and is sitting at 92, which might be the hardest slider for a starting pitcher ever. It's led to a 42% strikeout rate and 20% swinging strike rate through 2 starts, and one of those was against the notoriously high contact Royals.

In order to fit Syndergaard into a lineup, a fantasy owner will need some productive salary relief hitters.

Teammate Michael Conforto ($2,700) was just moved to the #3 slot in the order. He gets a park upgrade in Philly, and has hit RHP to a 141 wRC+/.254 ISO since coming up to the big leagues last season. If not playing Joey Votto, Lucas Duda's salary has fallen to $2,400 on the back of a slump, but he's hit RHP to a 141 wRC+/.246 ISO since 2014, and he's going to start hitting eventually.

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