MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, August 26th Page Two
Atlanta at NY Mets
| Atlanta | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Alex Wood | Vegas Moneyline | Dillon Gee | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | ATL (-134) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.687 | 0.307 | 24.70% | SP vs. Left | 0.228 | 0.701 | 0.312 | 12.50% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.235 | 0.668 | 0.297 | 22.80% | SP vs. Right | 0.211 | 0.658 | 0.294 | 21.80% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP  | ATL vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Alex Wood – Wood continues to fly under the fantasy radar despite a 3.05 ERA (3.36 xFIP) and a K/9 of 8.6 this season. Wood isn’t afraid to attack hitters by throwing a lot of strikes, especially early in the count. He draws a favorable matchup against the Mets tonight who are ranked 28th in wOBA vs. LH pitching while striking out at a 24% clip which is the highest in baseball. The only question mark surrounding Wood is whether or not he will get enough run support to get a win. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7900 FD, $15750 DD, $7300 DK, $NA FF, $19600 SS, $15750 FTD
- Dillon Gee – Gee typically pitches well at home. He owns a 3.64 ERA at home this season with 35 K’s over 59 innings of work. There are two red flags with Gee that I see. First off, his K/BB ratio is right around 2.1 which isn’t great. Second, he is giving up too many HR’s this season. He is giving up an average of 1.25 HR’s per 9 innings. Even in a favorable matchup against the Braves, Gee will not find himself on any of my rosters tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6300 FD, $11350 DD, $7200 DK, $ FF, $17600 SS, $11350 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman – As mentioned above, Gee gives up quite a few HR’s. While Citi Field isn’t exactly a HR-friendly ballpark, Freeman has enough power to carry it out of the park no matter where he plays. He’s been crushing RH pitching all season long and is a solid play if you are looking to spend up at 1B.
Additional Plays: Jason Heyward
NY Mets
With David Wright likely out of the lineup tonight, there aren’t any hitters on the Mets that you need to target against the lefty Alex Wood.
Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati
| Chicago Cubs | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Travis Wood | Vegas Moneyline | Johnny Cueto | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | CIN (-210) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.211 | 0.595 | 0.263 | 21.80% | SP vs. Left | 0.199 | 0.556 | 0.256 | 23.60% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.292 | 0.831 | 0.369 | 17.50% | SP vs. Right | 0.173 | 0.556 | 0.249 | 26.50% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Travis Wood – From one wood to another. This Wood has had a very down season. He owns a 4.91 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 7.5. He is walking nearly 4 batters per 9 innings and is only producing a ground ball rate of 35%. At this point in the season, he is a tournament play at best. He does draw a solid matchup against the Reds who are ranked 25th in wOBA vs. LH pitching, but I think I’m siding with the Reds offense in this one. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6300 FD, $9650 DD, $6200 DK, $NA FF, $14900 SS, $9450 FTD
- Johnny Cueto – Cueto’s xFIP is a full run higher than his ERA, but there’s no doubt that he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is sporting a 2.20 ERA this season with a K/9 of 8.9. He keeps his walks down and he is only giving up 0.7 HR’s per 9 innings. There are quite a few aces on the mound tonight, but Cueto takes the cake as my top option. He’s facing a Cubs offense that is ranked 29th in wOBA vs. RH pitching while striking out at a 23% clip. Rating = 9
Salaries: $10200 FD, $19050 DD, $11200 DK, $ FF, $30300 SS, $19050 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
I’ll keep this one simple: Avoid all Cubbies against Cueto.
Cincinnati
Todd Frazier – Frazier is one of my favorite plays at any position tonight. He has been terrific against LH pitching, he has a favorable matchup against Wood who has given up a .369 wOBA to RH hitters, and he is a good source of both speed (16 SB’s) and power (22 HR’s).
Additional Plays: Brandon Phillips, Ryan Ludwick
Minnesota at Kansas City
| Minnesota | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Ricky Nolasco | Vegas Moneyline | Danny Duffy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | KCR (-178) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.336 | 0.936 | 0.407 | 13.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.130 | 0.363 | 0.172 | 19.10% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.308 | 0.865 | 0.373 | 18.40% | SP vs. Right | 0.217 | 0.654 | 0.293 | 18.90% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ricky Nolasco – Nolasco is one of the worst starting pitchers to take the mound tonight. He owns an ERA right around 6.00 this season with a low K-rate. He’s giving up 1.3 HR’s per 9 innings and has given up a .370+ wOBA to batters from both sides of the plate. He’s an easy pitcher to avoid tonight against the Royals who have had the 3rd best offense in baseball over the last 30 days. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5100 FD, $8950 DD, $5300 DK, $NA FF, $13000 SS, $8950 FTD
- Danny Duffy – Duffy has a very shiny 2.53 ERA on the season, but his 4.48 xFIP tells a bit of a different story. He’s benefited from some great defense behind him as well as some good luck. You don’t see many pitchers with a .231 BABIP over the course of an entire season, but that’s the case with Duffy. He has a respectable K/9 of of 6.9 and he rarely gives up HR’s, especially at home. He draws a nice matchup against the Twins who are ranked 21st in wOBA vs. RH pitching. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $7200 FD, $11950 DD, $6500 DK, $ FF, $18200 SS, $11950 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
Danny Santana – Santana has been terrific against LH pitching this season. He’s batting .332 with a .376 wOBA against southpaws. He also gives you the added bonus of decent power and great speed.
Additional Plays: Brian Dozier
Kansas City
Alex Gordon – This pick is pretty simple. Nolasco has been awful against batters from the left side of the plate. He has given up a .401 wOBA to lefties and Gordon has been very good against RH pitching.
Additional Plays: Salvador Perez
Oakland at Houston
| Oakland | Houston | ||||||||
| Jason Hammel | Vegas Moneyline | Dallas Keuchel | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | OAK (-122) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.247 | 0.710 | 0.313 | 19.30% | SP vs. Left | 0.240 | 0.608 | 0.273 | 24.90% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.713 | 0.315 | 23.00% | SP vs. Right | 0.260 | 0.704 | 0.312 | 16.50% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs L | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jason Hammel – Hammel hasn’t had a dominant outing in almost 2 months. The last time he faced the Astros, they put up 8 earned runs on him in only 4 and 1/3 innings. Hammel hasn’t struck out more than in any of his last 6 starts. While he will be facing a strikeout happy Astros offense, there are too many red flags here. He’s more risk than reward at this point in the season. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6600 FD, $11700 DD, $7400 DK, $NA FF, $19200 SS, $11700 FTD
- Dallas Keuchel – Keuchel is not going to be a popular pick tonight, but he’s one of my favorite sleepers. He is an extreme ground ball pitcher that is sporting a ground ball rate of 62%. He has been very good at home with a 3.03 ERA and 50 K’s over 68 innings of work. The A’s typically scare people away from taking pitchers against them, but they have been very pedestrian offensively over the last 2 months. If Keuchel can pitch around Josh Donaldson, I think he’ll throw a gem tonight. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7700 FD, $15500 DD, $7400 DK, $ FF, $21700 SS, $15450 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Josh Donaldson – Donaldson is the only A’s hitter that really stands out tonight. He has been mashing LH pitching this season and has something crazy like 60% of his hits against lefties going for extra bases.
Additional Plays: None
Houston
Jose Altuve – Altuve has been quite over the last week or so, but is still an elite fantasy option at 2B. He hits for a very high average and is one of the fastest players in baseball as evidenced by his 47 SB’s. He gets a small stolen base boost tonight with a righty on the mound.
Additional Plays: Robbie Grossman
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox
| Cleveland | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||
| T.J. House | Vegas Moneyline | Jose Quintana | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | CWS (-118) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.642 | 0.286 | 20.70% | SP vs. Left | 0.230 | 0.615 | 0.271 | 22.50% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.315 | 0.855 | 0.376 | 15.00% | SP vs. Right | 0.251 | 0.649 | 0.289 | 20.30% |
| Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs L | Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- T.J. House – House has pitched pretty well this season. He owns a 3.80 ERA with a K/9 of 6.6. That said, there are plenty of better options that will take the mound tonight and I don’t love the matchup against the White Sox who have a lot of good RH hitters in their lineup. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5900 FD, $9400 DD, $5600 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $9400 FTD
- Jose Quintana – Quintana is a very sneaky play tonight. He’s been terrific this season with a 3.25 ERA (3.47 xFIP) with a K/9 of 7.8. He walks very few batters and is only giving up 0.4 HR’s per 9 innings. Tonight he faces a LH heavy Indians offense that is ranked 27th in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. He’s one of the better mid-range options on the board tonight. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $7400 FD, $15100 DD, $8000 DK, $ FF, $19700 SS, $15100 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Cleveland
I’m going to avoid all Indians bats tonight against Jose Quintana who has held batters from both sides of the plate under a .290 wOBA this season.
Chicago White Sox
Avisail Garcia – Garcia has been mashing LH pitching this season and no one seems to be noticing. He is batting .429 with a .581 wOBA against southpaws. I love his matchup against House who has given up a .367 wOBA to RH hitters.
Additional Plays: Jose Abreu