MLB Grind Down: Thursday, April 24th
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
Kansas City at Cleveland
| Kansas City | Cleveland |
| Bruce Chen | Vegas Moneyline | Corey Kluber | Vegas Over/Under |
| LEFT | CLE (-125) | RIGHT | 8.5 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.752 | 0.331 | 13.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.288 | 0.768 | 0.340 | 21.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.240 | 0.668 | 0.301 | 17.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.272 | 0.711 | 0.316 | 22.3% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP  | KCR vs R | Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs L |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Bruce Chen – Chen has not gotten off to a great start this season. He has a 6.60 ERA with a 1.87 WHIP and has given up a combined 10 earned runs over his last 2 starts. Chen is a low strikeout pitcher that only averaged 5.8 K’s per 9 innings last season. Chen is a small underdog today against Kluber and the Indians and has more downside that upside. Rating = 4
- Corey Kluber – Kluber hasn’t taken that next step forward that the Indians were hoping for. After a very solid 2013 campaign, Kluber has posted a 5.40 ERA with a 1.73 WHIP in his first 4 starts of 2014. Kluber has had 2 quality starts this season, but was shelled in the other 2 starts. Today he faces a Royals lineup that has struck out less than any other team in baseball this season which will make it hard for Kluber to live up to his K/9 of 8.3 last season. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
- Eric Hosmer – Kluber gave up a .340 wOBA to LH batters last season and is giving up a .906 OPS to LH batters this season. Hosmer is batting .333 against RH pitching this season with a .792 OPS. Hosmer is cheap and makes a great punt play at 1B if you are looking to save some cap space.
Cleveland
- Jason Kipnis – Chen is a reverse splits pitchers as he gave up a higher wOBA (.331) and OPS (.752) to LH batters than he did to RH batters last season. Kipnis is a lefty that has always been able to hit LH pitching and is coming into this game seeing the ball well with 4 hits in his last 3 games.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
| Cincinnati | Pittsburgh |
| Tony Cingrani | Vegas Moneyline | Brandon Cumpton | Vegas Over/Under |
| LEFT | CIN (-118) | RIGHT | 7.0 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.178 | 0.510 | 0.237 | 30.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.633 | 0.285 | 21.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.199 | 0.672 | 0.302 | 27.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.197 | 0.433 | 0.204 | 14.1% |
| Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs L |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Tony Cingrani – In 4 starts this season, Cingrani has a 3.22 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and 23 K’s over 22 innings of work. His biggest issue this season is giving runners a free pass. In fact, Cingrani has only given up 15 hits, but has given up 14 walks. If he can sure that up, he will start producing some terrific fantasy outings. Cingrani posted a K/9 of 7.4 last season and makes a great tournament play against the Pirates. Rating = 6
- Brandon Crumpton – Cumpton is a young right hander that is making his first start of the season with Wandy Rodriguez dealing with a knee injury. Cumpton made 5 starts for the Pirates last season and posted a 2.05 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP and 22 K’s over 30 innings of work. Cumpton has looked very good in his minor-league starts this season and could make for a great tournament play if he is priced low enough on the site that you are playing on. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
- Joey Votto – We don’t have a ton to go off of with Cumpton, but he did give up a much higher wOBA and OPS to LH batters last season. Votto is batting .333 against RH pitching this season and has reached base safely 10 times in his past 5 games. He is really seeing the ball well right now.
Pittsburgh
- Andrew McCutchen – Cutch was my favorite Buccos’ play yesterday and he came through with flying colors after hitting his 3rd HR in as many games. He now has 7 hits against the Reds in this series. Today he faces a LH pitcher which is music to his ears. Last season Cutch hit LH pitching for a .388 batting average and an OPS of 1.13.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit
| Chicago White Sox | Detroit |
| Jose Quintana | Vegas Moneyline | Max Scherzer | Vegas Over/Under |
| LEFT | DET (-200) | RIGHT | 8.0 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.754 | 0.332 | 20.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.221 | 0.640 | 0.283 | 26.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.676 | 0.302 | 19.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.168 | 0.495 | 0.226 | 33.0% |
| Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs L |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jose Quintana – Quintana has given up at least 5 hits and 2 walks in each of his first 4 starts this season. While he has been able to stay out of trouble for the most part, he’s not going to get away with it against this tough Tigers’ lineup. Quintana is one of the biggest underdogs on the board (+190) and should be avoided against the Tigers’ who hit LH pitching well. Rating = 3
- Max Scherzer – This Tigers’ pitching staff hasn’t been as sharp as it was last season, but Scherzer is holding up his end of the deal. In his first 4 starts this season, he has posted a 2.33 ERA with an impressive 34 K’s over 27 innings pitched. Scherzer has one of the highest K-rates in baseball. While this White Sox lineup does pack a punch, I think Scherzer pitches well and picks up the win. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
Chicago White Sox
- No offense to the White Sox’ bats, but I will not be targeting any of them today against Scherzer who is a dominant pitcher, especially at Comerica Park.
Detroit
- Ian Kinsler – The last time that I put Miggy in the “Additional Plays” section instead of the highlighted section, he hit a HR so I’m hoping that’s the case again today. Kinsler has always hit LH pitching well and this season is no different. He is batting .417 against lefties with 3 XBH’s.
Minnesota at Tampa Bay
| Minnesota | Tampa Bay |
| Ricky Nolasco | Vegas Moneyline | Erik Bedard | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | TBR (-150) | LEFT | 8.5 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.744 | 0.334 | 17.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.309 | 0.811 | 0.365 | 17.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.260 | 0.662 | 0.298 | 20.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.247 | 0.747 | 0.333 | 21.5% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ricky Nolasco – The Twins starting rotation had the highest ERA in all of baseball last season which is what prompted them to sign Nolasco in the offseason. So far the Twins have had more of an effect on Nolasco than the other way around. Nolasco has a 6.08 ERA this season with only 12 K’s in 23 innings of work. He faces a very tough Rays lineup that has been locked in offensively over the last 2 weeks. Rating = 3
- Erik Bedard – Bedard is making his second start of the season today after giving up 4 earned runs in 3 and 2/3 innings against the Yankees in his first start. Bedard is still getting healthy and I will be avoiding him until he can prove that he can pitch late into games. He’s a decent favorite in this game, but I’m not sure he will even be eligible for the win. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
- Chris Colabello – Bedard gave up a .333+ wOBA to both RH and LH batters last season which puts plenty of batters in play for the Twins. Colabello looks like the top play though. He is batting .346 this season and already has 26 RBI’s. The best part is that a few sites still have him listed at a bargain price even though he has been consistently producing all season long.
Tampa Bay
- Matt Joyce – Joyce has been the play of the series as he again faces another average RH pitcher in Nolasco. Nolasco gave up a .334 wOBA to LH batters last season and Joyce has been crushing RH pitching to a tune of a .391 batting average and an OPS of 1.13. Keep targeting Joyce in all leagues.
St. Louis at NY Mets
| St. Louis | NY Mets |
| Lance Lynn | Vegas Moneyline | Bartolo Colon | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | STL (-130) | RIGHT | 7.5 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.266 | 0.776 | 0.350 | 18.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.712 | 0.310 | 14.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.626 | 0.285 | 27.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.274 | 0.666 | 0.293 | 16.7% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Lance Lynn – Michael Wacha had a very interesting start last night. After picking up 9 strikeouts in the first 3 innings, he couldn’t seem to find the strike zone after that and then continued to walk batter after batter. This Mets lineup doesn’t look great on paper, but they are good against RH pitching and have plenty of LH batters to throw at Lynn who gave up a .350 wOBA to LH batters last season. With that in mind, plus the fact that Lynn has really struggled on the road, I’ll be avoiding him today. Rating = 5
- Bartolo Colon – Colon wasn’t a pitcher that I could trust when he was on PED’s last season and he’s certainly not a pitcher that I can trust this season. While Citi Field is a very pitcher-friendly ballpark, Colon has an extremely tough matchup against the Cardinals. Colon is nothing more than a deep GPP play today. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
- Matt Carpenter – Carpenter is an on-base machine and he should be able to get on base easily against Colon who has already given up 34 hits and 3 walks in his first 4 starts this season. Carpenter is good against RH pitching and makes a safe cash games play.
NY Mets
- Lucas Duda – Duda is batting .271 with 4 HR’s this season, all of which coming against RH pitching. As mentioned above, Lynn really struggles against LH batters and gave up a .776 OPS to lefties last season. A mini LH Mets stack could be a sneaky play in a GPP.
MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2
