MLB Daily Grind Down: Sunday, September 8th Part Two
Detroit vs. Kansas City
| 2:10 PM | Detroit – ROAD | Kansas City – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.282 | 0.785 | 16.90% | 0.65 | 0.258 | 0.688 | 16.60% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.273 | 0.782 | 18.30% | 0.53 | 0.257 | 0.687 | 16.70% | 0.40 | |
| SP STATS | Fister – RHP | Chen – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.30 | 3.81 | 6.64 | 10.01 | 1.16 | 2.79 | 6.10 | 5.11 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.07 | 6.35 | 4.86 | 6.55 | 1.87 | 7.71 | 4.95 | 5.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
DET vs L  | DET BvP | KCR vs R | KCR BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Doug Fister – The Royals are 21st in slugging over the last week and Fister comes into this game after a gem against Boston earlier in the week. He’s fared well in two starts against and should be in good shape to pick up the win against Chen (he’s a -129 favorite). Starter Rating: 7 out of 10
- Bruce Chen – Against one of the league’s best offenses, he’s an avoid today for me. He just doesn’t have enough upside even against a poor opponent. Starter Rating: 2 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Miggy is a ridiculous 15 of 34 with 5 HR off Chen and this might be a good day to pay up.
- The Tigers are my favorite stack of the day, with guys like Infante and Vmart who crush left handed pitching.
- Fielder, Jackson, Vmart and Miggy have all taken Chen deep before.
- For the Royals, Moustakas headlines the BvP splits but Butler and Escobar have had reasonably success vs. Fister in large sample sizes as well.
Toronto vs. Minnesota
| 2:10 PM | Toronto – ROAD | Minnesota – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.252 | 0.733 | 18.00% | 0.62 | 0.241 | 0.698 | 22.20% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.244 | 0.685 | 18.10% | 0.42 | 0.238 | 0.695 | 22.00% | 0.43 | |
| SP STATS | Rogers – RHP | Albers – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.50 | 5.03 | 6.16 | 3.51 | 0.87 | 2.92 | 3.16 | 9.20 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.61 | 6.48 | 5.56 | 3.55 | 1.31 | 4.97 | 4.43 | 5.60 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TOR vs L | TOR BvP | MIN vs R | MIN BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Esmil Rogers – So Esmil goes to Arizona and spins a gem in a spot start but I’m far from believing in this guy. He’s horrific against lefties and the only positive I see here is a Twins lineup that has about 2 players I’ve heard of before this season. Starter Rating: 4 out of 10
- Andrew Albers – He’s a slight favorite at home but since his impressive 2-start season debut in early August he has been really bad, including getting lit up by Houston in his last start. Avoid. Starter Rating: 1 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Any left hander will do against Esmil, they have a .920 OPS against him on the year.
- With the line set at 8.5, it’s a safe bet to gamble on some value hitters from this one.
- Reyes and Encarnacion are great stud plays against the lefty Albers. The value may come from guys like DeRosa and Pillar though, especially with Albers being so bad recently.
Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis
| 2:15 PM | Pittsburgh – ROAD | St. Louis – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.245 | 0.705 | 22.40% | 0.55 | 0.272 | 0.743 | 17.90% | 0.61 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.241 | 0.696 | 22.10% | 0.41 | 0.284 | 0.766 | 17.50% | 0.49 | |
| SP STATS | Morton – RHP | Wacha – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.29 | 3.14 | 6.18 | 9.64 | 1.18 | 3.78 | 10.06 | 6.41 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.14 | 0.63 | 3.19 | 13.05 | 1.39 | 3.52 | 15.00 | 5.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| PIT vs R | PIT BvP | STL vs R | STL BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Charlie Morton – Morton can’t get left handers out which should lead to some impressive lines for Carpenter, Beltran, and Adams. With the line at 8 and him being a pretty big underdog, I can’t buy into him today. Starter Rating: 3 out of 10
- Michael Wacha – Wacha could be a sneaky upside play. He’s a heavy favorite at -141 and has been above average (at least in terms of value) in each of his last 2 starts, which were both against CIN. His 15 K/9 rate in that span is also tempting. Starter Rating: 7 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Charlie Morton has allowed lefties to an .840 OPS on the season and any Cards left hander should be chomping at the bit in this matchup.
- Allen Craig is 9-18, Jon Jay is 6 for 14 and Yadier Molina is 8-18 lifetime vs. Morton.
- Wacha has struggled most against right handers this year, so if you want to target a PIT bat it might be best to pay up for McCutch
Milwaukee vs. Chicago Cubs
| 2:20 PM | Milwaukee – ROAD | Chicago Cubs – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.254 | 0.714 | 19.70% | 0.57 | 0.240 | 0.702 | 20.10% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.251 | 0.713 | 18.90% | 0.43 | 0.244 | 0.707 | 19.40% | 0.44 | |
| SP STATS | Gallardo – RHP | Baker – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.43 | 4.39 | 6.97 | 8.82 | |||||
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.15 | 1.38 | 6.92 | 12.50 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| MIL vs R | MIL BvP | CHC vs R | CHC BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Yovani Gallardo – Gallardo is at a huge advantage as a windy day at Wrigley is expected to blow towards home plate. Proceed with caution though, as the Cubs have the 9th best slugging percentage over the past 7 days at .469. Gallardo has also been rocked by the Cubbies in both appearances this season. Starter Rating: 6 out of 10
- Scott Baker – I don’t know what to think here. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2011. Starter Rating: ? out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Gallardo is really off and on, but Castro is 14-34 off him lifetime and might be a good value at SS. He also came into Saturday on a 7 game hit streak.
- For the Brewers, I like a few lefties like Gindl and Gennett but don’t know what Baker might bring to the table to feel strongly enough about any recommendation.
Texas vs. LA Angels
| 3:35 PM | Texas – ROAD | LA Angels – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.262 | 0.740 | 16.80% | 0.62 | 0.263 | 0.743 | 18.90% | 0.61 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.266 | 0.747 | 17.10% | 0.48 | 0.270 | 0.753 | 18.80% | 0.48 | |
| SP STATS | Tepesch – RHP | Vargas – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.35 | 4.85 | 7.40 | 7.82 | 1.38 | 3.54 | 6.31 | 10.06 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.07 | 0.68 | 8.24 | 16.05 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TEX vs L | TEX BvP | LAA vs R | LAA BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Nick Tepesch – Tepesch takes the bump for the first time in awhile and I’m interested to see how he fares for TEX. With that said, pay attention to Sunday’s start then use him later on if he looks ok. Starter Rating: 3 out of 10
- Jason Vargas – Vargas has been pretty good of late, but his last start against Tampa Bay went wrong quickly. The biggest upside here is his 2.7 ERA in 2 starts against Texas. This one should be high scoring though and it’s best to avoid both SPs. Starter Rating: 3 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Beltre, Kinsler, Andrus and Baker are all tremendous plays against the lefty Vargas.
- Kinsler is 12-38 with a HR off Vargas
- As much as I like Beltre vs. a lefty, his 3-24 lifetime split vs. Vargas is scary.
- Tepesch was allowing lefties to hit .312 against prior to this. I think it’s safe to say that any Angels left hander is in play.
