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MLB Grind Down: Sunday, April 20th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-04-20 16:19:20

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the MLB schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy baseball, there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, weather, and salaries.

The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. No sport has more variance than baseball. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.

Note: Any Fantasy Point Average Listed Uses FanDuel Scoring. For more info on FanDuel’s MLB Scoring System,check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review

Toronto at Cleveland

Toronto Cleveland
Brandon Morrow Vegas Moneyline Carlos Carrasco Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT TOR (-105) RIGHT 8.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.307 1.008 0.427 17.2% SP vs. Left 0.357 0.965 0.422 10.4%
SP vs. Right 0.256 0.686 0.305 21.8% SP vs. Right 0.298 0.734 0.336 20.9%
Batter Splits TOR BvP pop up 2 TOR vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits CLE BvP pop up 2 CLE vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Brandon Morrow – Morrow has yet to go deep into a game this season and has been limited to a max of 98 pitches. He currently has an ERA of 5.52, but has big K potential as he has 17 strikeouts in 14 innings so far. Morrow in nothing more than a risky GPP option today. Rating = 4

Carlos Carrasco – Carrasco has had a terrible start to season so far. He gave up 5 and 4 earned runs to the White Sox and Twins respectively. He now has a much tougher matchup against the Blue Jays powerful offense. He has allowed LH bats to hit for .389 against him so far and should not be used in any type of game today. Rating = 2

Batter Grind Down

Toronto

Melky Cabrera – The majority of the Blue Jays bats are in play against Carrasco today, but I really like Melky. Cabrera is off to a tremendous start to the season batting .339 vs. RH pitching and has only one hitless game so far this season. He should be in position to be driven home a number of times today in what should be a high scoring game.

Cleveland

Michael Brantley – The majority of Brantley’s power comes against RH pitching and if he is able to connect with one of Morrow’s fastballs, it could get out in a hurry.

LA Angels at Detroit

LA Angels Detroit
Hector Santiago Vegas Moneyline Rick Porcello Vegas Over/Under
LEFT DET (-140) RIGHT 8.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.238 0.650 0.316 21.6% SP vs. Left 0.301 0.808 0.361 15.2%
SP vs. Right 0.249 0.748 0.341 20.2% SP vs. Right 0.238 0.593 0.264 23.5%
Batter Splits LAA BvP pop up 2 LAA vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits DET BvP pop up 2 DET vs L pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Hector Santiago – Santiago has had one solid performance and two very poor performances this year. Both of those poor performances came against the Mariners. Today he has a much tougher matchup against the Tigers who hit LH Pitching for .267 AVG and a .333 OBP. Rating = 3

Rick Porcello – Porcello pitched very well in his first start at home this season, but was rocked against the Padres in San Diego. Porcello’s K/9 jumped up to 7.22 last year which would have made him a bit more useful for fantasy, but has already come back down to his career average around 5. With the poor matchup, I will be looking at other pitchers today. Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

Detroit

Miguel Cabrera – We are all waiting for the breakout game out of Miggy. He has the perfect Lefty matchup today and with his price at most sites, Miggy a great play.

Anaheim

Mike Trout – He is an absolute beast right now with multi hit games in 4 straight until yesterday’s 4 strikeout game. He is the most expensive batter on the board, but is in play every day he is facing a non-elite pitcher.

Atlanta at NY Mets

Atlanta NY Mets
David Hale Vegas Moneyline Zack Wheeler Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT ATL (-105) RIGHT 7.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.306 0.807 0.365 20.9% SP vs. Left 0.273 0.797 0.356 18.9%
SP vs. Right 0.227 0.563 0.247 24.4% SP vs. Right 0.238 0.633 0.289 20.1%
Batter Splits ATL BvP pop up 2 ATL vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits NYM BvP pop up 2 NYM vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

David Hale – Hale has been decent in his first two starts with 2.89 ERA, but also sports a WHIP of 1.82. The matchup and stadium are nice, but Hale has extremely limited upside as he hasn’t gone past 5 innings or 4 strikeouts yet this season. Rating = 4

Zack Wheeler -Wheeler has not looked like a young stud so far this season and it has a lot to do with his struggles against the LH bats allowing a .414 OBP. He does have 15 strikeouts in 17 innings and played well against the Braves last year (2.89 ERA in 18 innings), but I will not be having too much exposure. Rating = 5

Batter Grind Down

Atlanta

Freddie Freeman – Freeman is hitting close to .400 so far and mashes RH bats. It is a small sample size, but Freeman hit Wheeler well last year (5 for 9, 1 home run).

NY Mets

Eric Young – Young hits righties for a much better average than lefties this year. He is hitting leadoff in the lineup and is cheap. If he gets on base, the steal is in play at Gattis is known more for his offense then for his ability to throw guys out.

Seattle at Miami

Seattle Miami
Brandon Maurer Vegas Moneyline Kevin Slowey Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT SEA (-110) RIGHT 8.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.321 0.917 0.396 14.4% SP vs. Left 0.303 0.829 0.362 16.5%
SP vs. Right 0.299 0.801 0.368 21.4% SP vs. Right 0.285 0.783 0.344 20.3%
Batter Splits SEA BvP pop up 2 SEA vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits MIA BvP pop up 2 MIA vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Brandon Maurer – Maurer has yet to pitch this year but was terrible last year. He had a 6.30 ERA, while allowing opponents to bat .311 against him. He is not an option today. Rating = 2

Kevin Slowey – Slowey has been out of the bullpen so far this season and will be used to replace Brad Hand in the rotation. It is not much of an upgrade for the Marlins as Slowey has not been good as their long reliever. He gave up 15 hits and 6 earned runs in his 12 innings pitched so far. Rating = 3

Batter Grind Down

Seattle

Robinson Cano – This is the perfect spot for Robinson Cano as he should be in position to drive home a few runs today. Cano’s price is still down which makes him a great cash game and GPP play today.

Miami

Giancarlo Stanton – Stanton has been ridiculous to watch in the first few weeks of the season. His 26 RBI’s lead the league by a wide margin and should get an opportunity for a few today too. Maurer gives up a .384 OBP to RH bats and Stanton could go yard again today.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh

Milwaukee Pittsburgh
Marco Estrada Vegas Moneyline Gerrit Cole Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT PIT (-118) RIGHT 7.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.206 0.614 0.276 24.0% SP vs. Left 0.251 0.629 0.287 21.8%
SP vs. Right 0.250 0.710 0.312 21.9% SP vs. Right 0.260 0.657 0.298 20.5%
Batter Splits MIL BvP pop up 2 MIL vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits PIT BvP pop up 2 PIT vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Marco Estrada – Estrada has a 3.06 ERA while posting a 7.64 K/9. He pitched against this Pittsburgh team very well last year with a 3.32 ERA in 19 innings. He makes for a decent GPP play if cheap. Rating = 5

Gerrit Cole – Cole has not had the start of the year that many people hoped for. He showed flashes of what he could do with a 10 strikeout performance against the Cubs, but is still sporting a 4.74 ERA on the season. Cole pitched well against this Brewers team last year and is looking for that breakout game this year. Rating = 7

Batter Grind Down

Milwaukee

Jean Segura – Cole had good numbers against both lefties and righties season, but so does Segura. Segura hits high in the order and if Cole struggles here, he could be a main part of it.

Pittsburgh

Pedro Alvarez – Anytime the Pirates get a RH pitching matchup, I look to fit Alvarez in the lineup. He continues to hit clean-up and makes for a great GPP play due to awful average, but 6 bombs already on the season.

MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2

About the Author

Ryan138
Ryan138

Ryan (Ryan138) is from Chicago and has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. He has been playing daily fantasy sports for over 2 years since he was introduced to Daily Joust in late 2010. In the last year, Ryan has risen into the Top 100 of the RotoGrinders leaderboards by playing at DraftDay, DraftKings and FanDuel in all the major sports.