MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, July 23rd Page Three
Miami at Atlanta
| Miami | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Nathan Eovaldi | Vegas Moneyline | Ervin Santana | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ATL (-137) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.282 | 0.755 | 0.341 | 14.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.272 | 0.736 | 0.326 | 16.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.238 | 0.634 | 0.284 | 20.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.220 | 0.618 | 0.277 | 22.7% |
| Batter Splits | MIA BvP  | MIA vs R | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Nathan Eovaldi – Eovaldi has terrific velocity, but it doesn’t exactly translate into a high strikeout rate. He’s averaging 6.4 K’s per 9 innings to go along with his 4.08 ERA. Eovaldi has had some great success against the Braves though. In 3 starts against them this season, he’s posted a 1.29 ERA while striking out 16 batters over 21 innings of work. For the price, I don’t mind him as a #2 pitcher tonight. Rating = 6
Salaries: $6000 FD, $12350 DD, $5900 DK, $54900 FF, $16200 SS, $12350 FTD
- Ervin Santana – After a great month of April and then an awful month of May, Santana has settled down into a nice rhythm. He has a 4.03 ERA on the season, but a 3.39 xFIP to go along with his K/9 of 7.5. He draws a favorable matchup tonight against the Marlins who are 25th in wOBA on the road while striking out at a 25% clip. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $8100 FD, $14750 DD, $8300 DK, $98400 FF, $21600 SS, $14750 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Miami
Christian Yelich – Yelich had a big game last night and makes a nice play again tonight. Santana has given up a .375 wOBA to LH hitters this season and Yelich has some nice speed so there is always the potential for a stolen base or two.
Additional Plays: None
Atlanta
Jason Heyward – Heyward is the BvP play of the day. He’s face Eovaldi 22 times and has 10 hits off of him, 4 of which went for extra bases.
Additional Plays: Freddie Freeman
Tampa Bay at St. Louis
| Tampa Bay | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Alex Cobb | Vegas Moneyline | Lance Lynn | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-115) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.224 | 0.645 | 0.290 | 22.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.737 | 0.334 | 18.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.650 | 0.303 | 21.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.629 | 0.287 | 25.6% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Alex Cobb – Odorizzi ended up being a terrific value play last night and Cobb is hoping to do the same tonight. Cobb has struggled with his consistency this season, but appears to have turned a corner with a solid start to the month of July. Cobb has always had a high K-rate and he’s facing a short-handed Cardinals’ offense that is ranked 20th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $7400 FD, $13100 DD, $7900 DK, $84000 FF, $21600 SS, $13100 FTD
- Lance Lynn – Lynn seems to get better each month. In his 3 starts in July, he’s posted a 1.86 ERA while holding opponents to a .216 batting average. He has a sub 3.00 ERA at Busch Stadium in his career and has a decent matchup against the Rays tonight. The Rays pitchers are not used to swinging the bat and Lynn should have himself a couple of easy K’s. Rating = 7
Salaries: $8100 FD, $17000 DD, $9100 DK, $97900 FF, $25100 SS, $15750 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
James Loney – The biggest weakness in Lynn’s game is that he struggles with LH hitters. Loney is having a great month with a .370 wOBA while drawing walks in 11% of his at-bats which is a season high. He’s a cheap option at 1B that allows you to afford the higher priced players at other positions.
Additional Plays: None
St. Louis
Matt Holliday – I put Holliday here because Cobb has struggled with RH hitters this season and Holliday is the Cardinals best RH hitter now that Molina is out. Holliday hits RH pitching well and is moderately priced on most sites.
Additional Plays: Matt Carpenter
San Diego at Chicago Cubs
| San Diego | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Ian Kennedy | Vegas Moneyline | “Tsuyoshi Wada(player-profile)”:/players/Tsuyoshi_Wada-15410 | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-108) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.752 | 0.333 | 23.5% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.258 | 0.707 | 0.324 | 21.8% | SP vs. Right | ||||
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs L | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ian Kennedy – The wind in Wrigley affects the game more than in any other stadium. Last night the wind was blowing out and we saw quite a few HR’s. Tonight the wind is blowing in which gives both pitchers a nice fantasy boost. Kennedy has an impressive K/9 of 9.5 and is facing a Cubs offense that is one of the worst teams in baseball against RH pitching. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $7500 FD, $15650 DD, $8300 DK, $109400 FF, $24300 SS, $15050 FTD
- “Tsuyoshi Wada(player-profile)”:/players/Tsuyoshi_Wada-15410 – Wada is a 33 year-old lefty that will be making his 2nd career start tonight. He pitched 5 scoreless innings in his debut and is looking like an interesting value play tonight against the Padres who have a historically bad offense. With the wind blowing in, don’t hesitate to use Wada as a #2 pitcher or as a GPP play. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
Even though I don’t have a ton of confidence in Wada, I have even less confidence in the Padres. I’ll be avoiding them tonight.
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – RIZZO hit 2 HR’s last night and now has 8 HR’s in his last 12 games. Even with the wind blowing in, he has more than enough power to bomb another one tonight. We’ll see if Kennedy dares pitching to him.
Additional Plays: Arismendy Alcantara
Baltimore at LA Angels
| Baltimore | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Chris Tillman | Vegas Moneyline | Jered Weaver | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-159) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.252 | 0.728 | 0.326 | 17.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.242 | 0.665 | 0.299 | 19.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.232 | 0.703 | 0.310 | 20.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.219 | 0.638 | 0.288 | 17.0% |
| Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs R | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Chris Tillman – Tillman is walking more and striking out less batters than he did last season. That’s typically not the best combination. His xFIP of 4.75 suggests that he’s actually pitching worse than his 4.03 ERA. A matchup against the Angels makes him an easy avoid tonight. Rating = 3
Salaries: $6100 FD, $11450 DD, $6400 DK, $67400 FF, $17200 SS, $11450 FTD
- Jered Weaver – I typically like to stay away from pitchers that have a considerably higher xFIP than ERA, but I think Weaver is in play tonight. He’s really pitched well at home this season with a 2.70 ERA and 68 K’s over 76 innings of work. That said, there are a lot of good options in his price range and I’m not sure he quite stacks up. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7500 FD, $15300 DD, $8500 DK, $97900 FF, $22200 SS, $15300 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Baltimore
There aren’t any options that stand out here. Weaver pitches well at home and has good numbers against the Orioles’ hitters in his career.
LA Angels
Kole Calhoun – Calhoun continues to rake against RH pitching. He has a .378 wOBA against righties this season and will undoubtedly be batting leadoff tonight against the struggling Tillman.
Additional Plays: Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout
Houston at Oakland
| Houston | Oakland | ||||||||
| Brad Peacock | Vegas Moneyline | Jesse Chavez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | OAK (-250) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.270 | 0.811 | 0.363 | 18.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.658 | 0.306 | 19.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.229 | 0.701 | 0.311 | 24.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.626 | 0.284 | 25.7% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brad Peacock – Peacock is a high strikeout pitcher, but is not relevant tonight as he faces a very tough A’s offense. Peacock often struggles with his command and tends to walk a lot of batters. That plays right into the hand of the A’s as they are very patient at the plate and lead the league in walks. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5700 FD, $10450 DD, $5500 DK, $63200 FF, $13600 SS, $10450 FTD
- Jesse Chavez – The final pitcher of the night is Mr. Chavez. Unlike last night when there were very few pitching options, tonight features plenty of candidates and Chavez is one of them. He has a 3.14 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 8.4. He’s also facing the Astros who lead the majors in strikeouts. Rating = 8
Salaries: $7600 FD, $13700 DD, $7600 DK, $87400 FF, $21700 SS, $13700 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Houston
Jose Altuve is always a decent cash game play, but for the most part I will be avoiding the Astros against Chavez.
Oakland
Brandon Moss – I always love taking Moss against RH pitchers, especially mediocre ones. He has a .378 wOBA against righties this season and should be considered one of the top 1B plays tonight.
Additional Plays: John Jaso, Yoenis Cespedes, Stephen Vogt