MLB Grind Down: Friday, September 12th Page Three
Colorado at St. Louis
| Colorado | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Jorge De La Rosa | Vegas Moneyline | Adam Wainwright | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | STL (-200) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.185 | 0.505 | 0.228 | 24.50% | SP vs. Left | 0.243 | 0.631 | 0.280 | 20.20% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.788 | 0.346 | 15.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.206 | 0.567 | 0.254 | 18.50% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP  | COL vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jorge De La Rosa – De La Rosa has not pitched well on the road this season. He owns a 5.29 ERA on the road and faces a tough Cardinals offense that is ranked 9th in wOBA over the last 30 days of play. Avoid De La Rosa in all leagues. Rating = 3
- Adam Wainwright – Wainwright continues to underwhelm. Whether he is pitching injured or something else is factoring in, his velocity and strikeouts are both down while his batting average against is up. That’s typically a red flag for pitchers, but his tremendous matchup does put him in play tonight. The Rockies really struggle to score runs away from Coors Field as they are ranked 29th in road wOBA. This may be the night to play Wainwright with confidence. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – Wainwright has kept both LH and RH hitters in check this season, but if you want to take some contrarian plays in the OF, take a look at Dickerson and Blackmon. Both hit RH pitching very well and get to face a struggling Wainwright.
Additional Plays: Charlie Blackmon
St. Louis
Jhonny Peralta – Peralta has hit 20 HR’s on the season and has already hit two since the start of September. Peralta owns a .378 wOBA against LH pitching this season and draws a nice matchup against De La Rosa who has given up a .346 wOBA to RH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina
San Diego at Arizona
| San Diego | Arizona | ||||||||
| Eric Stults | Vegas Moneyline | Vidal Nuno | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | ARI (-130) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.763 | 0.334 | 12.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.198 | 0.614 | 0.277 | 21.90% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.276 | 0.809 | 0.353 | 15.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.259 | 0.763 | 0.333 | 17.80% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs L | Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Eric Stults – Even though the Diamondbacks have a depleted offense, I will not be targeting Stults in any leagues. He has already given up 25 HR’s this season and has to pitch in Chase Field which is regarded as a hitter’s ballpark. Avoid Stults and target the RH hitters against him. Rating = 4
- Vidal Nuno – Nuno has strung together some quality starts over the last couple of months, but needs to do a lot more than that before I trust him in any of my cash game lineups. He still has an average ERA (4.07) with an average K/9 (7.0). The good news is that he is facing a weak Padres offense. He’s not the worst play tonight, but I’m not going to have any exposure to him. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
Even in a hitter-friendly ballpark, there aren’t any Padres hitters that stand out tonight.
Arizona
Aaron Hill – Hill has had a down year, but he still has decent power in his bat and is only one year away from a .388 wOBA against LH pitching (2013). He typically bats in the heart of the Diamondbacks lineup and he draws a terrific matchup against Eric Stults who has already given up 19 HR’s to batters from the right side of the plate.
Additional Plays: Mark Trumbo, Ender Inciarte
Houston at LA Angels
| Houston | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Brett Oberholtzer | Vegas Moneyline | C.J. Wilson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAA (-200) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.288 | 0.743 | 0.329 | 20.00% | SP vs. Left | 0.215 | 0.604 | 0.277 | 23.20% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.286 | 0.757 | 0.330 | 13.40% | SP vs. Right | 0.274 | 0.785 | 0.349 | 19.10% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs L | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brett Oberholtzer – Oberholtzer is facing the hottest offense in baseball. The Angels have been on an absolute tear over their last 8 games and at this point, all pitchers that they are facing should be avoided. Rating = 3
- C.J. Wilson – Wilson is going to be a very tempting play tonight. He’s the largest favorite on the board and he is extremely cheap across the industry. I’m not buying it though. He has given up 3 or more earned runs in 7 of his last 10 starts and he’s facing an Astros offense that can really swing the stick against LH pitching. Take the chance if you want, but I’ll be targeting a safer option in my cash games. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Houston
Jose Altuve – Have you heard? Altuve is pretty good against lefties. On the season, he is batting .408 with a .437 wOBA against LH pitching. He also has 2 career HR’s off of Wilson which doesn’t hurt.
Additional Plays: Chris Carter
LA Angels
Mike Trout – There are a lot of viable options on the Angels tonight, but Trout leads the way as he has mashed LH pitching this season. He offers a good source of both speed and power and draws a nice matchup against Oberholtzer who has given up a .330 wOBA to RH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, David Freese
Oakland at Seattle
| Oakland | Seattle | ||||||||
| Jason Hammel | Vegas Moneyline | James Paxton | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SEA (-145) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.230 | 0.675 | 0.299 | 19.30% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.234 | 0.689 | 0.304 | 23.40% | SP vs. Right | 0.216 | 0.604 | 0.269 | 16.50% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs L | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jason Hammel – Hammel has really struggled since the All-Star Break. He owns a 4.81 ERA while giving up a .345 wOBA to his opponents. Tonight he faces a Mariners offense that has been much better over the last 6 weeks of play and he’ll have to face a few LH hitters in this lineup that are very scary at home. Hammel offers more risk than reward tonight. Rating = 5
- James Paxton – Paxton has pitched well in the majors this season, but we haven’t’ seen the strikeout totals that he was posting in the minor leagues. That said, he is producing an impressive 55% ground ball rate and gets to face a struggling A’s offense. If he can pitch around Josh Donaldson, he could post another quality outing tonight. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Josh Donaldson – Donaldson is an extra base hit machine against LH pitching. Of his 40 hits against LH pitching this season, 30 of them went for extra bases. He owns a .453 wOBA against righties and should be targeted in all leagues.
Additional Plays: Derek Norris
Seattle
Kyle Seager – This pick is pretty straightforward. Target Seager at home against RH pitching. Seager has a .407 wOBA at home and a .385 wOBA against righties this season.
Additional Plays: Robinson Cano
LA Dodgers at San Francisco
| LA Dodgers | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | Vegas Moneyline | Madison Bumgarner | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SFG (-127) | LEFT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.270 | 0.627 | 0.279 | 18.30% | SP vs. Left | 0.222 | 0.559 | 0.247 | 31.10% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.649 | 0.287 | 23.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.679 | 0.299 | 23.40% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs L | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Hyun-Jin Ryu – Ryu has pitched well this season with a 3.16 ERA and a K/9 of 8.2. The issue here is that he is facing a red hot Giants offense that is ranked 1st in the majors in wOBA over the last 30 days. That combined with the fact that Bumgarner is pitching opposite him makes him a GPP option only. Rating = 5
- Madison Bumgarner – Bumgarner and Price are the two top pitching options tonight. After struggling at home earlier in the season, Bumgarner appears to be back on track. In his last 3 home starts, he has only given up a combined 3 earned runs while striking out an impressive 29 batters. He has one of the best strikeout rates in baseball and a favorable matchup against the Dodgers who are ranked 20th in wOBA vs. LH pitching. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
LA Dodgers
Avoid all Dodgers against Madison Bumgarner.
San Francisco
Hunter Pence – Pence has been red hot of late. He has 13 hits, 8 RBI’s and 9 runs over his last 10 games. He also has a nice track record against Ryu going 9/21 with 2 doubles off of him in his career.
Additional Plays: Buster Posey