MLB Daily Grind Down May 20th Part 2
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. (any fp listed uses Fanduel’s scoring system)
Cincinnati at NY Mets
| Cincinnati | NY Mets | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Field | 7:10 PM | ||||||
| Johnny Cueto – (1-0), 2.6 ERA, 9.47 K/9, 1.04 WHIP | Shaun Marcum – (0-4), 6.75 ERA, 5.55 K/9, 1.69 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (26-71 H/AB) 0.366 BA-A, 23.94 K%, 0.915 OPS-A | PvB | (25-89 H/AB) 0.281 BA-A, 28.09 K%, 0.798 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-0), 0 ERA, 0 HRA, 5.4 K/9, 1.2 WHIP | HOME | (0-0), 16.2 ERA, 0 HRA, 27 K/9, 3 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
CIN BvP  | CIN vs R | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7.5
- Favored CIN -160
Pitchers
- Home Shaun Marcum has been getting hit hard early and often on the year. I know the OU is low but this is probably not the best place to put your money on today even though he is at home. CIN is batting .244 on the road, .250 versus right-handers, and .282 over the last 7 days. Avoid
- Away Johnny Cueto takes the mound as a heavy favorite tonight. When healthy, he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is obvious good play today versus a struggling Mets team. Target
Batters
- Home The BvP and splits are very favorable to CIN today. It would seem that the only player to avoid would be Brandon Phillips who is 0-12 versus Marcum. Votto, Choo, and Bruce are all hot and playable versus the struggling right-hander.
- Away Rick Ankiel has owned Johnny Cueto. He is 7-16 with 1 HR versus him. David Wright is 5-17 with 1 HR as well. David Wright has been hot producing 25.75 fp over the last week. Daniel Murphy has been hotter producing 35.5 fp over the last 7 days.
Oakland at Texas
| Oakland | Texas | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers Ballpark | 8:05 PM | ||||||
| Bartolo Colon – (3-2), 4.56 ERA, 5.16 K/9, 1.1 WHIP | Josh Lindblom – | ||||||
| PvB | (45-189 H/AB) 0.238 BA-A, 13.23 K%, 0.73 OPS-A | PvB | (5-12 H/AB) 0.417 BA-A, 25 K%, 1.25 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-3), 3.82 ERA, 6 HRA, 5 K/9, 1.435 WHIP | HOME | NO DATA | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| OAK BvP | OAK vs R | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9.5
- Favored TEX -122
Pitchers
- Home Josh Lindblom is your high risk/reward player of the night. He has been a K per inning guy in the major leagues and is off to a great start as a starter in the minor leagues. This will be his first start in the major so there is much risk involved in the play. He will be super cheap, though, and OAK does not scare me. In Play
- Away Please take Bartolo Colon versus TEX. I need a few dead entries in my GPPs. Avoid
Batters
- Home Adrian Beltre is 19-60 with 5 HRs versus Colon. Mitch Moreland has been hot producing 34.5 fp over the last 7 days. The OU is high so I think all of TEX is playable.
- Away You know how it works with rookies. He could get rocked so everyone is playable. Josh Donaldson continues his great season and is playable either way.
LA Dodgers at Milwaukee
| LA Dodgers | Milwaukee | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller Park | 8:10 PM | ||||||
| Clayton Kershaw – (4-2), 1.4 ERA, 9.41 K/9, 0.87 WHIP | Yovani Gallardo – (3-3), 4.5 ERA, 6.23 K/9, 1.46 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (25-91 H/AB) 0.275 BA-A, 27.47 K%, 0.681 OPS-A | PvB | (36-141 H/AB) 0.255 BA-A, 29.08 K%, 0.709 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (3-1), 5.4 ERA, 2 HRA, 7.9 K/9, 1.292 WHIP | HOME | (2-0), 2.29 ERA, 2 HRA, 9.6 K/9, 1.068 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| LAD BvP | LAD vs R | MIL BvP | MIL vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7
- Favored LAD -145
Pitchers
- Home Yovani Gallardo has run into trouble on the road but he has been his usual dominant self at home this year. He gets a little help today from a LAD team that is not swinging the bat all that well. LAD is batting .252 on the road, .238 and .222 over the last 7 days. I like Gallardo as a nice against the grain pick. In Play
- Away Clayton Kershaw is a stud. You do not need me to tell you that fact. He has a 1.40 ERA and 0.87 WHIP on the year. He is capable of GPP winning performances every time he takes the mound. He is a risky proposition today versus a MIL team that crushes at home. MIL is batting .283 at home, .279 versus left-handers, and .247 over the last 7 days. MIL has a .275 BAA vs. him but his upside is huge so he is always in play. In Play
Batters
- Home Rickie Weeks is 4-9 versus Kershaw with 3 doubles. Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez have positive BvPs as well. Norichika Aoki and Jean Segura have been very hot each producing over 30 fp in the last 7 days.
- Away Adrian Gonzalez has the best set of BvPs versus Gallardo. He happens to be the LAD best hitter and is playable. I would not look to far down this LU because they are trending down and Gallardo seems to be trending upward.
Boston at Chicago White Sox
| Boston | Chicago White Sox | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Cellular Field | 8:10 PM | ||||||
| Jon Lester – (6-0), 2.72 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 1.01 WHIP | Dylan Axelrod – (1-3), 4.27 ERA, 5.08 K/9, 1.32 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (35-141 H/AB) 0.248 BA-A, 23.4 K%, 0.794 OPS-A | PvB | (5-17 H/AB) 0.294 BA-A, 35.29 K%, 0.706 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (2-2), 4.33 ERA, 2 HRA, 10 K/9, 1.222 WHIP | HOME | (1-0), 2 ERA, 1 HRA, 15 K/9, 0.889 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| BOS BvP | BOS vs R | CHW BvP | CHW vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8
- Favored BOS -145
Pitchers
- Home Dylan Axelrod had a very nice second half of the season last year. His ERA is up from a year ago but his WHIP is roughly the same. He remains the same pitcher. He is a low K/9 player who only becomes relevant when he has a good matchup. BOS is not a good matchup. Avoid
- Away If you need me to tell you to play Jon Lester versus a CHW team that is struggling and batting only .219 at home then you need to stop playing daily fantasy. CHW has been hot lately batting .294 over the last 7 days but they have not spent the last 7 days facing a pitcher of Lester’s caliber. Target
Batters
- Home If you are playing the fade then Paul Konerko is 10-23 versus Lester with 3 HRs. He is slumping so he is cheap.
- Away Dustin Pedroia is on a tear producing 29.25 fp over the last 7 days. Axelrod is crafty but the left-handed bats are playable in this park.
Kansas City at Houston
| Kansas City | Houston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minute Maid Park | 8:10 PM | ||||||
| Jeremy Guthrie – (5-1), 2.82 ERA, 4.99 K/9, 1.29 WHIP | Dallas Keuchel – (0-1), 4.82 ERA, 5.14 K/9, 1.64 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (19-53 H/AB) 0.358 BA-A, 13.21 K%, 1.189 OPS-A | PvB | (0-0 H/AB) 0 BA-A, 0 K%, 0 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-3), 4.94 ERA, 2 HRA, 7.6 K/9, 1.394 WHIP | HOME | (1-1), 5.4 ERA, 2 HRA, 6.6 K/9, 1.467 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| KCR BvP | KCR vs L | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9
- Favored HOU -150
Pitchers
- Home Dallas Keuchel plays for the Astros and is a Triple A pitcher. Enough said. Avoid
- Away It has become very trendy to pick the starter facing HOU no matter who it is. Jeremy Guthrie is actually a nice play versus the Astros. He had a horrible year last summer but is back on track this year and should make easy work of this team. He gets just enough Ks to be relevant and the Astros should pad those numbers. Target
Batters
- Home The Astros score runs so there is value to be had but I cannot tell you where. One Astro ends up in my LU every night because of the price.
- Away Gentlemen start your KAN stacks! The red hot Billy Butler verses the left-hander is a solid play either way. I also like Jeff Francouer as a value play.
