Baltimore Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco is not in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against right-hander Jean Carlos Mejia and the Cleveland Indians.
Pat Valaika will shift to third base in place of Franco and Stevie Wilkerson will enter the lineup as the Orioles' second baseman and bat eighth. Franco went 0-for-10 and struck out three times during the Orioles' three-game weekend set against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Per numberFire's MLB Heat Map, the Orioles have an implied total of 4.1 runs. The Indians' starter has the fourth-best strikeout rate (29.4 percent) and also the fourth-worst walk rate (11.8 percent) this season among Monday's listed starters. Valaika has a $2,000 salary on Monday's slate and our models project him to score 9.0 FanDuel points.
Source: Baseball Press