MLB Grind Down: Saturday, August 9th Page Three

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2014-08-09 21:13:49

San Francisco at Kansas City

San Francisco					Kansas City
Tim Hudson		Vegas Moneyline			James Shields		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		KCR (-121)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.273	0.751	0.327	12.00%	SP vs. Left	0.272	0.755	0.333	19.80%
SP vs. Right	0.229	0.599	0.262	19.60%	SP vs. Right	0.253	0.721	0.316	18.60%
Batter Splits	SFG BvP		SFG vs R		Batter Splits	KCR BvP		KCR vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tim Hudson – Old Man Hudson just keeps getting the job done and he’ll enter tonight’s game rocking a 2.74 ERA through 22 starts this season. He’s been particularly effective away from the Bay area as he owns a 2.24 ERA in 11 road starts. With that said, he’s been absolutely shelled in both inter-league starts this season and will face a Kansas City team (with a DH) who strikes out the least often in baseball. He’s still a nice and safe secondary option on multi-pitcher sites, but his upside is somewhat limited. Rating = 5.5

Salaries: $7100 FD, $15750 DD, $7100 DK, $84000 FF, $21400 SS, $15750 FTD

• James Shields – “Big Game” James Shields has been on his game lately, posting a 1.99 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over his last six starts. His recent success has pushed his record to 10-6 on the season and has driven his ERA and WHIP down to 3.43 and 1.25 respectively. He’s matched up against a San Francisco team who owns just a .298 team wOBA against right-handed pitching this year. He doesn’t quite reach my top tier of starting options today, but he’s certainly in play. Rating = 6.5

Salaries: $8300 FD, $15950 DD, $8200 DK, $93400 FF, $23600 SS, $15950 FTD

Batter Grind Down

San Francisco

Pablo Sandoval – If you ignore his terrible April, Pablo is actually having a very strong season. He’s hitting .333 since May 11th and owns .373 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season.

Additional Plays: Hunter Pence

Kansas City

Alex Gordon – If you’re going to pick on Tim Hudson, you’ll want to do it from the left-side of the plate where left-handed batters have posted a .327 wOBA against him. Gordon leads this Royals team in wOBA against right-handed pitching (.338) and is hitting .301 since the All-Star break

Additional Plays: Norichika Aoki

Colorado at Arizona

Colorado					Arizona
Jorge De La Rosa		Vegas Moneyline			Trevor Cahill		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		ARI (-107)			RIGHT		8.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.176	0.463	0.210	27.30%	SP vs. Left	0.347	0.945	0.410	9.90%
SP vs. Right	0.255	0.799	0.352	15.40%	SP vs. Right	0.235	0.650	0.295	30.90%
Batter Splits	COL BvP		COL vs R		Batter Splits	ARI BvP		ARI vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jorge De La Rosa – De La Rosa has found his groove lately, posting a 2.84 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over his last six starts. However, he’s one of the few pitchers in baseball who seems to struggle away from Coors Field and tonight he’ll face an Arizona team who he hasn’t fooled in either of their prior meetings this season. His control issues (3.36 BB/9) can get him into trouble, but he’s also flashed the ability to be dominant. With Goldschmidt on the shelf, he’s in play but makes for a better GPP target than a cash game one. Rating = 5

Salaries: $6800 FD, $12350 DD, $7200 DK, $87700 FF, $20000 SS, $12350 FTD

• Trevor Cahill – Cahill’s last start was his best of the season as he tossed seven innings of one run ball against the Pirates. With that said, he enters tonight’s game owning a 5.12 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 63.1 innings this season. He’s yet to find his name in the win column at Chase Field this season, where he’s struggled his way to an 0-5 record and 6.08 ERA. This Colorado team is far less dangerous outside of Coors Field, but Chase Field is still very hitter friendly and the Rockies own the 2nd highest wOBA against right-handed pitching in MLB this season (.334 wOBA). Rating = 4

Salaries: $5500 FD, $9750 DD, $5900 DK, $53300 FF, $13400 SS, $9750 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Colorado

Corey Dickerson – Lefties have crushed Cahill to the tune of a .357 average this season and Dickerson brings a .419 wOBA against right-handed pitching into this matchup. He has RBI’s in three straight games and seven hits during that stretch.

Additional Plays: Justin Morneau, Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon

Arizona

Mark Trumbo – Trumbo rides a five game hitting streak into tonight’s matchup against the southpaw Jorge De La Rosa. He posted a .923 OPS against lefties last season and has followed that up with a .902 OPS against them this season and took De La Rosa deep in their only previous meeting.

Additional Plays: Aaron Hill, David Peralta

Boston at LA Angels

Boston					LA Angels
Clay Buchholz		Vegas Moneyline			Garrett Richards		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		LAA (-200)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.309	0.863	0.383	13.80%	SP vs. Left	0.189	0.516	0.236	25.00%
SP vs. Right	0.287	0.790	0.342	19.80%	SP vs. Right	0.202	0.538	0.251	24.40%
Batter Splits	BOS BvP		BOS vs R		Batter Splits	LAA BvP		LAA vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Clay Buchholz – Buchholz has been down-right terrible lately, allowing seven earned runs in each of his last two starts to raise his ERA to 6.20 on the season. He’s control continues to get him into trouble (3.36 BB/9) which has contributed to his atroicious 1.61 WHIP. He’ll face a very capable Angels lineup and is really only an option today as a high-risk/high-reward GPP play. Rating = 3.5

Salaries: $6200 FD, $11550 DD, $6400 DK, $40000 FF, $16400 SS, $11550 FTD

• Garrett Richards – Richards breakout year just keeps building, as he tossed the first complete game shutout of his career in his last start. He brings a 12-4 record, 2.54 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and strikeout per inning into tonight’s game against the Boston Red Sox. As impressive as his season long numbers are it’s easy to forget that he stumbled out of the gates this season and his numbers over his last 12 starts are absolutely outstanding; 8-2 record, 1.77 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 88 K’s in 86.2 innings. This Boston offense is a shell of its former self and Richards is a top tier option today on the mound. Rating = 8

Salaries: $8700 FD, $18600 DD, $10400 DK, $127000 FF, $29200 SS, $18600 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Boston

Mike Napoli – While I don’t like picking on Richards tonight, it’s tough to ignore the damage Napoli has caused against him (4 for 5 with a double, a homerun and a pair of walks).

Additional Plays: David Ortiz

LA Angels

Albert Pujols – Albert is heating up as he now has four doubles over the last five games. He owns a .901 OPS during the month of August and has had plenty of success against Buchholz in the past, going 4 for 8 with a double and a homerun.

Additional Plays: Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun, Josh Hamilton

Minnesota at Oakland

Minnesota					Oakland
Trevor May		Vegas Moneyline			Jeff Samardzija		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		OAK (-265)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left					SP vs. Left	0.234	0.673	0.296	23.10%
SP vs. Right					SP vs. Right	0.224	0.641	0.284	20.50%
Batter Splits	MIN BvP		MIN vs R		Batter Splits	OAK BvP		OAK vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Trevor May – May will make his somewhat long awaited MLB debut this evening, and he’ll be immediately thrown right into the fire as he’s forced to square off against MLB’s best and highest scoring team, the Oakland Athletics. May has been impressive at AAA Rochester this season, posting a 2.93 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning in 17 starts which earned him an invitation to this years Futures game. One day he may end up being fantasy relevant, but after struggling in his last start at AAA it’s wise to avoid him in this tough matchup. Rating = 3.5

Salaries: $ FD, $NA DD, $NA DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD

• Jeff Samardzija – Samardzija has now earned as many wins with the A’s (2) in six starts as he had with the Cubbies in 17 starts prior to being traded. The move to the AL may hurt his ERA/WHIP numbers slightly but he’s definitely set to benefit from the added run support the Oakland lineup provides as well as the spacious Oakland Coliseum. He has flourished in all three of his starts at the Coliseum, posting a 2-0 record to go along with a 2.48 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. This Twins own the 7th highest strikeout rate in MLB (21.5%) and “The Shark” is more than capable of racking up strikeouts in a hurry. Rating = 8

Salaries: $8000 FD, $18000 DD, $9200 DK, $93900 FF, $25700 SS, $18000 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Minnesota

I’m expecting a big night from Samadzija and therefore I won’t be targeting any Minnesota hitters against him.

Oakland

John Jaso – Jaso has been slumping a bit at the plate lately, but he still brings a .357 wOBA against right-handed pitching into today’s matchup against a very inexperienced Trevor May. I expect Oakland to put plenty of runs on the board today and Jaso, likely hitting in the #2 hole, should be right in the middle of the damage and makes for a nice play at catcher.

Additional Plays: Coco Crisp, Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick

Chicago White Sox at Seattle

Chicago White Sox					Seattle
Hector Noesi		Vegas Moneyline			James Paxton		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		SEA (-160)			LEFT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.224	0.695	0.307	16.60%	SP vs. Left
SP vs. Right	0.319	0.865	0.380	17.10%	SP vs. Right	0.195	0.713	0.311	25.00%
Batter Splits	CHW BvP		CHW vs L		Batter Splits	SEA BvP		SEA vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Hector Noesi – After starting this season with the Mariners, Noesi has certainly made the most of his opportunities versus his old team this year as he’s tossed 11 shutout innings against them since being released. He’s been Burned by longball lately, serving up eight bombs over his last seven starts (43 innings) and this Seattle team is much more threatening when facing right-handed pitching. With that said, Noesi has drastic reverse splits this season so it’s tough to decipher who has the advantage here, but nonetheless i’m still not ready to recommend Noesi. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6500 FD, $9550 DD, $6100 DK, $NA FF, $15000 SS, $9550 FTD

• James Paxton – In his return from the DL, Paxton was removed after just 4.1 innings earlier this week in his first start in nearly four months. He’s proved to be very capable of racking up strikeouts at every level on his way to the big leagues and was extremely impressive in two starts prior to the back injury the landed him on the DL. This matchup against the White Sox in Safeco Field is a plus, but it’s probably wise to let him work out the “ring rust” before trusting him in your lineups. He’s worth consideration as a GPP flier, but there is just too much risk here in cash games. Rating = 4.5

Salaries: $5400 FD, $12750 DD, $9000 DK, $87800 FF, $19200 SS, $12750 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

Dayan Viciedo – With homers in three straight games, it’s safe to say that Viciedo is locked in at the plate right now. He owns a seven game hitting streak that has seen him smack four longballs and owns a 1.102 OPS during the month of August.

Additional Plays: Jose Abreu, Alexei Ramirez, Adam Eaton

Seattle

Robinson Cano – Cano brings a robust .405 wOBA into today’s game against the very hittable Hector Noesi. He’s currently riding a 10 game hitting streak and is hitting .455 during the month of August.

Additional Plays: Austin Jackson, Kyle Seager

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