Roberto Perez riding pine Thursday for Indians

Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's series opener against right-hander Luis Patino and the Tampa Bay Rays.

What It Means:

Perez is out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games. Austin Hedges is catching for Cal Quantrill and batting eighth.

numberFire’s models project Hedges for 5.0 FanDuel points and he has a $2,000 salary on Thursday. Per our MLB Heat Map, the Indians have an implied total of 4.1 runs. Patino is registering a 27.6 strikeout percentage with a 5.7 walk percentage this season.