Carlos Santana sitting Thursday for Royals

Kansas City Royals first baseman Carlos Santana is not in the starting lineup for Thursday afternoon's series finale against right-hander Paul Blackburn and the Oakland Athletics.

What It Means:

Ryan O'Hearn is starting on first base over Santana and hitting sixth.

numberFire’s models project O'Hearn for 7.9 FanDuel points and he has a $2,100 salary on Thursday’s slate. Per our MLB Heat Map, the Royals have an implied total of 4.8 runs. Through 22 1/3 innings this season, Blackburn is registering a 15.0 strikeout percentage and a 5.0 walk percentage this season, with a 4.89 xERA and a .334 xwOBA.