MLB Daily Grind Down: Friday, August 30th Part 3

by Ethan Haskell (Ethan) Last Updated 2013-08-30 17:16:47

Seattle vs. Houston

8:10 PM	Seattle – ROAD					Houston – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.243	0.706	21.70%	0.54		0.239	0.683	25.60%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.248	0.728	21.50%	0.47		0.237	0.678	25.30%	0.41
SP STATS	Walker – RHP					Peacock – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON						1.44	5.67	8.00	6.15
LAST 14 DAYS						1.17	3.00	7.50	13.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SEA vs R		SEA BvP			HOU vs R		HOU BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Taijuan Walker – Not a much better place to get your first MLB start than against the Astros. The 20 year old is one of Seattle’s most promising prospects and some even consider the right-hander to be the best young arm in ALL of baseball’s farm system. He boasted a 3.4 ERA in AAA with over 1 K/IP average (64 K’s in 57 IP). He’s a strikeout heavy pitcher facing a strikeout happy offense, so I’d say he’s definitely in play today. A few more scouting report themes for your curiosity on Walker: He commands his fastball well, but his secondary pitches are still below average for the MLB level.

• Brad Peacock – I wanna joke about him but the fact is he’s been really solid over his last 4 starts and faces a Mariners team that is extremely boom or bust offensively. In his last start against them he lasted just 4 1/3 giving up 7 earned on 9 hits. He’s settled down a bunch since then though and I’d consider him as a cheap 2nd SP in GPPs.

Batter Grind Down

• Mariners – Peacock’s downfall is lefties who are hitting for an OPS of .998 against him this season. You can imagine why he struggled against them in his last start, since Seattle has almost exclusively left handed or switch hitting bats. I’d look at Nick Franklin, Miller, Seager, Ibanez for a nice 4-man mini stack. Saunders is a nice value play as well in the outfield.

• Astros – Really tough to predict how a 20 year old making his first start will fare, even if he is the top pitching prospect in baseball. There could be some logic behind getting Castro and Carter in your lineups if you’d like to take a deep shot in a GPP. Carter hits fastballs well and Walker uses that as his best pitch. Beyond those two, I don’t know where to start for this Houston squad.

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Cincinnati vs. Colorado

8:40 PM	Cincinnati – ROAD					Colorado – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.249	0.718	20.10%	0.58		0.264	0.735	19.80%	0.60
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.251	0.723	20.10%	0.47		0.266	0.749	19.90%	0.48
SP STATS	Arroyo – RHP					Manship – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.11	3.42	5.73	10.12		1.43	6.86	5.14	4.25
LAST 14 DAYS	1.08	4.15	8.31	13.50		1.18	6.55	6.55	5.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CIN vs R		CIN BvP			COL vs R		COL BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Bronson Arroyo – Arroyo heads into Coors coming off 4 consecutive starts with at least 6 IP and 6 Ks. He’s been amazing for Cincy all season and in his only start vs. COL this season he went 8 shutout innings. He’s in play despite being in Coors because he’s a ground ball pitcher so the spaciousness and HR-factor of Coors should be minimized.

• Jeff Manship – This is gonna get ugly. Cincy is hot and Manship is not. If you feel the need to play him, please find me and let me know so I can join the game.

Batter Grind Down

• Rockies – Tulo and Helton both have good BvP against Arroyo, with Tulo being 5-12 and Helton being 9-25 and both with a pair of HRs. Helton is also 3 for his last 9 with a HR so he might be a nice value steal at 1B. In Coors, any Rockies bat has to be in play for the right price tag since even above average pitchers can fall victim to the high altitudes.

• Reds – Where to start? Lefties are hitting for a great average off Manship with not as much power (.293 BA, .682 OPS) and righties are hitting for power with a lower average (.244 BA, .947 OPS) so I think you can pretty much roll anyone out there confidently. I love Votto and Bruce in Coors with their pop but Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier and Ryan Ludwick all serve as terrific options tonight as well. If you want some value, Chris Heisey is 9 for his last 25 with 4 home runs.

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San Francisco vs. Arizona

9:40 PM	San Francisco – ROAD					Arizona – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.259	0.692	16.90%	0.51		0.259	0.717	18.30%	0.56
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.261	0.701	16.80%	0.40		0.257	0.716	18.90%	0.45
SP STATS	Lincecum – RHP					Delgado – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.32	4.55	9.39	10.43		1.25	3.87	6.60	8.87
LAST 14 DAYS	1.98	6.97	10.69	9.05		1.17	6.00	9.00	8.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SFG vs R		SFG BvP			ARI vs R		ARI BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tim Lincecum – On the road I don’t like to take Lincecum. He also struggled in his only start against Arizona this season and given the fact that ARI is fighting for a playoff spot while San Fran fades into the night I think this is a good day to avoid Timmy Jim, who’s an underdog in a hitters park.

• Randall Delgado – He gave up 3 Earned in 6 innings with 6 K’s in his last start and actually had 5 2/3 shutout innings against these Giants earlier in the year. His ERA has been better at home but his K rate goes way down as well in Arizona. I think he has to be a cheap GPP option given the matchup but only if he’s much cheaper than guys like Walker, Peacock or McAllister.

Batter Grind Down

• Giants – No big BvP samples but Pence has struggled in 7 AB’s against Delgado. Pence, Scutaro and Blanco are all riding 5+ game hit streaks though and could be decent options. Delgado has also been crushed by lefties on the year, allowing them to hit for a near .900 OPS against so Brandon Crawford, Sandoval and the afore mentioned Blanco are strong plays. Roger Kieschnick could also provide some value at the min salary.

• Diamondbacks – Goldie locks has Lincecum’s home phone number, cell phone number and fax number dialed up at all times. He’s 9 for 17 lifetime with 5 HRs for a 2.021 OPS-against, which is just filthy. Aaron Hill isn’t bad either with 7-13 splits and 4 doubles. Willie Bloomquist and Montero have both struggled against Lincecum in the past though.

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Tampa Bay vs. Oakland

10:07 PM	Tampa Bay – ROAD					Oakland – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.262	0.748	18.70%	0.62		0.244	0.718	19.40%	0.59
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.253	0.739	18.70%	0.49		0.245	0.735	20.00%	0.49
SP STATS	Price – LHP					Parker – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.09	3.28	7.29	11.51		1.20	3.58	6.35	9.73
LAST 14 DAYS	1.64	3.27	9.00	13.00		0.94	1.06	6.88	18.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	TBR vs R		TBR BvP			OAK vs L		OAK BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• David Price – This is tough because Oakland is absolutely MASHING everyone they see right now. They just tagged up Scherzer in a bad way on Thursday and it’s hard to see them slowing down. The lefty can do it though, since some of OAK’s hottest hitters (Crisp, Lowrie and Moss) don’t hit lefties very well at all.

• Jarrod Parker – He’s tossed back to back gems and the Rays offense has gone stagnant in the past few days. Vegas has the O/U at 6.5 with Price being a slight favorite in this one so I’d say Parker is definitely a viable option in all formats tonight.

Batter Grind Down

The line is 6.5 and for good reason. There are other places to find hitting options tonight than this game. I’m fading it altogether.

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San Diego vs. LA Dodgers

10:10 PM	San Diego – ROAD					LA Dodgers – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.247	0.693	20.90%	0.54		0.266	0.723	18.40%	0.56
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.254	0.734	21.30%	0.47		0.256	0.710	19.20%	0.43
SP STATS	Stults – LHP					Ryu – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.25	3.72	5.64	8.78		1.22	3.08	7.47	11.45
LAST 14 DAYS	1.23	4.15	6.23	8.00		1.07	5.11	8.93	8.55
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SDP vs L		SDP BvP			LAD vs L		LAD BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Eric Stults – The lefty has dwindling K numbers and a rising ERA. He draws a Dodgers team that has remained hot and has tagged him for 9 ER in 18 IP on the season. Avoid.

• Hyun-Jin Ryu – Ryu is absolutely in play tonight despite San Diego’s improved splits against lefties. He’ll have to get past Gyorko, Denorfia and Headley but beyond that there isn’t much to scare you off from these Pads. With the line set at -200 in his favor with an O/U of just 7, it’s safe to say Vegas agrees. His 2.12 home ERA is pretty snazzy as well.

Batter Grind Down

• Padres – Gyorko and Denorfia are hot and hit lefties really well so I’d consider either of them from the San Diego lineup. Beyond that, I’m not looking at any Padres.

• Hanram has a 1.052 OPS against left handed pitchers this season to go with a 1.001 OPS at home so he is more than a terrific play tonight if you can afford him. I also really like Puig who hits much better both at home and against lefties (OPS over 1 in both splits). For value, A.J. Ellis can hit for some pop against left handed pitching and any Dodger righty has to be in play against Stults who’s allowing RHB to hit .294 against with a .750 OPS.

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