MLB Grind Down: Thursday, August 14th Page Two
Arizona at Miami
| Arizona | Miami | ||||||||
| Chase Anderson | Vegas Moneyline | Henderson Alvarez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIA (-125) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.185 | 0.615 | 0.273 | 18.10% | SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.641 | 0.281 | 15.40% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.298 | 0.881 | 0.381 | 22.40% | SP vs. Right | 0.276 | 0.727 | 0.324 | 13.80% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP  | ARI vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Chase Anderson – In his last 3 starts, Anderson has given up a combined 3 earned runs while striking out 17 batters. He’s lowered his ERA to 3.06 on the season to go along with his K/9 of 7.8. Anderson has good velocity and he is generating a 10.1% swinging strike rate. He has given up quite a few HR’s this season, but Marlins Park is a tough place to hit homers unless your name is Giancarlo Stanton. I like the matchup against the Marlins who strike out at a 24% rate against RH pitching this season. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7000 FD, $13600 DD, $6700 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $13600 FTD
- Henderson Alvarez – Alvarez will come off of the DL to make the start tonight against the D-Backs. A sore shoulder is what landed him on the DL in the first place and the Marlins are likely going to be careful with him in his first start back. He’s pitched very well at home, but he’s not a high strikeout pitcher and I’m not sure how deep the Marlins will let him pitch in this game. For that reason, I’m going to avoid him tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7700 FD, $13450 DD, $6800 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $13450 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
David Peralta – Peralta is a nice value play tonight. He is batting .320 against RH pitching this season with a .373 wOBA.
Additional Plays: Ender Inciarte
Miami
Giancarlo Stanton – The sample size is still fairly small, but Anderson has had some serious reverse splits in his rookie season. He has given up a .381 wOBA to RH hitters this season and as mentioned above, he has struggled to keep the ball in the park. Stanton may be worth his hefty price tag tonight.
Additional Plays: Casey McGehee
Houston at Boston
| Houston | Boston | ||||||||
| Scott Feldman | Vegas Moneyline | Allen Webster | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | BOS (-150) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.277 | 0.746 | 0.327 | 10.80% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.270 | 0.792 | 0.347 | 14.50% | SP vs. Right | ||||
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Scott Feldman – Feldman is not a great daily fantasy pitcher. He has a low K-rate (5.1 per 9 innings) and he plays for an Astros offense that is very erratic. Tonight he faces the Red Sox in Fenway. While the Red Sox offense has been a huge disappointment this season, Vegas has a high total set for this game and you have to think the Sox will knock Feldman around a bit. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5900 FD, $10050 DD, $5600 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $10050 FTD
- Allen Webster – He’s only had 3 starts this season, but Webster is averaging 7.9 walks per 9 innings. He had the same issue last year. I hate targeting pitchers that don’t have great command because free base passes can often come back to haunt you, especially against a team like the Astros that hits a lot of HR’s. Webster is a deep GPP play at best tonight. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5500 FD, $8850 DD, $5400 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $8850 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Houston
Chris Carter – Carter is on fire right now. Over his last 10 games he has 14 hits, 6 of which were HR’s. He also has 16 RBI’s and 9 runs scored during that stretch. Those are solid numbers for an entire month and he’s put them up in only 10 games. I love the matchup against Webster who has not pitched well at the major league level.
Additional Plays: Jose Altuve, Jon Singleton, Robbie Grossman
Boston
Brock Holt – Holt had a big game yesterday against the Reds and draws another solid matchup tonight against Feldman who has given up a .331 wOBA to LH hitters. Holt is riding a 7-game hitting streak that he should be able to keep alive tonight.
Additional Plays: Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Nava
Tampa Bay at Texas
| Tampa Bay | Texas | ||||||||
| Jake Odorizzi | Vegas Moneyline | Robbie Ross | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TBR (-147) | LEFT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.732 | 0.322 | 28.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.797 | 0.348 | 17.70% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.227 | 0.659 | 0.298 | 22.50% | SP vs. Right | 0.341 | 0.890 | 0.394 | 11.20% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs L | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jake Odorizzi – Odorizzi is one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball. He is averaging 10.2 K’s per 9 innings while generating a 10.2% swinging strike rate. His 3.89 ERA is pedestrian, but the high K-rate more than makes up for the couple of runs that he could potentially give up tonight. Even though this game will be played in a hitter’s park, the Rangers are ranked 21st in wOBA vs. RH pitching and Odorizzi should be able to rack up at least a K per inning of work. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7900 FD, $15600 DD, $7800 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $15600 FTD
- Robbie Ross – In 9 starts this season, Ross has a 5.61 ERA (4.25 xFIP) with a K/9 of 5.6. He has posted similar results in his time at Triple-A ball. Tonight he faces a Rays offense that is ranked 9th in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. He’s an easy pitcher to avoid tonight. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5000 FD, $7500 DD, $5400 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
Evan Longoria – Longo has always hit LH pitching well in his career and gets to face a young lefty that has really struggled this season. Globe Life Park is a hitter-friendly park and I think we finally see Longo put up a big game in a favorable matchup.
Additional Plays: Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez
Texas
There really aren’t any plays that stand out on the Rangers tonight. Odorizzi has held both LH and RH hitters in check this season.
San Diego at St. Louis
| San Diego | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Eric Stults | Vegas Moneyline | John Lackey | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | STL (-156) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.272 | 0.761 | 0.332 | 10.70% | SP vs. Left | 0.246 | 0.698 | 0.306 | 20.90% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.282 | 0.824 | 0.359 | 15.70% | SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.704 | 0.311 | 18.90% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Eric Stults – Stults has pitched well in each of his last 2 starts. He only gave up 1 earned run while striking out 9 batters . That said, he still owns a 4.85 ERA on the season and is only averaging 5.8 K’s per 9 innings. The Cardinals aren’t the most potent offense in baseball, but Stults has limited upside and he’s a large underdog. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $6200 FD, $11000 DD, $6600 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $11000 FTD
- John Lackey – Lackey was absolutely rocked in his last outing. He gave up 9 earned runs to the Orioles over 5 innings of work. He will try to bounce back tonight against the Padres who, despite a recent offensive surge, are still ranked dead last in most offensive categories. This could be a great time to buy low on Lackey. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $7600 FD, $13100 DD, $8800 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $13100 FTD
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
There aren’t any plays that stand out on the Padres tonight. I’m expecting a nice outing from Lackey.
St. Louis
Matt Holliday – Holliday has hit LH pitching well throughout his career and gets a nice matchup against Stults tonight who has given up a .358 wOBA to RH hitters this season. Holliday also has 2 XBH’s off of Stults in only 8 career at bats.
Additional Plays: Jhonny Peralta
Cincinnati at Colorado
| Cincinnati | Colorado | ||||||||
| Alfredo Simon | Vegas Moneyline | Jorge De La Rosa | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | COL (-117) | LEFT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.245 | 0.723 | 0.317 | 14.80% | SP vs. Left | 0.176 | 0.463 | 0.210 | 27.30% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.215 | 0.603 | 0.272 | 15.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.255 | 0.799 | 0.352 | 15.40% |
| Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs L | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Alfredo Simon – The final game of the night should be a fun one. I’ve been saying that Simon has been pitching over his head all season and we are finally starting to see him struggle a bit. He has given up 14 earned runs over his last 5 starts and now has to face the Rockies in Coors Field. Rating = 2
Salaries: $6800 FD, $13700 DD, $7000 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $13700 FTD
- Jorge De La Rosa – While I’m not going to be using him in cash games, De La Rosa could make an interesting GPP play tonight. He’s pitched well at Coors Field throughout his career. He has a 3.23 ERA at home this season. A large part of that is thanks to his 51% ground ball rate. Tonight he faces a depleted Reds offense that is ranked 22nd in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6600 FD, $12450 DD, $7200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $12450 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
Devin Mesoraco – I’m expecting a monster series from Mesoraco. De La Rosa has given up a .348 wOBA to RH batters and we all know the type of power that Mesoraco possesses.
Additional Plays: Todd Frazier
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – Dickerson is one of my favorite plays at any position tonight. He has been mashing RH pitching with a .329 batting average and a .419 wOBA. He’ll likely be a staple in all of my cash game lineups.
Additional Plays: Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, Justin Morneau