Washington Nationals infielder Ildemaro Vargas is not in the lineup for Thursday's series opener against left-hander Max Fried and the Atlanta Braves.
The Nationals are deciding to hold the switch-hitting Vargas out of the order against a southpaw. Carter Kieboom will start on third base Thursday and bat fifth versus Fried.
numberFire’s models project Kieboom ($2,700) for 6.5 FanDuel points on Thursday. Per our MLB Heat Map, the Nationals' implied total is a deflated 3.56 while the game total is the highest of the day (9.0). Fried has a sparkling 2.64 ERA and 2.81 xERA this season while limiting hard hits (32.5%) and walks (5.9%). His 25.3% strikeout rate is also solid and rates in the top 65th percentile among qualified starters this season.
Source: MLB.com