MLB Grind Down: Thursday, September 4th Page Two
St. Louis at Milwaukee
| St. Louis | Milwaukee | ||||||||
| Michael Wacha | Vegas Moneyline | Wily Peralta | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.218 | 0.569 | 0.259 | 19.60% | SP vs. Left | 0.304 | 0.843 | 0.370 | 17.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.223 | 0.638 | 0.289 | 25.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.219 | 0.626 | 0.285 | 17.50% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP  | STL vs R | Batter Splits | MIL BvP | MIL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Michael Wacha – Wacha will be activated off of the DL to make a start tonight against the Brewers. The Cardinals are hoping Wacha can get a few quality starts under his belt before the postseason as we all know how well he pitched in October last year. Wacha is an elite strikeout pitcher, but the Cardinals will be extremely cautious with him as to avoid setbacks. He only threw 34 pitches in his rehab start and will certainly be on a limited pitch count tonight. It’s great to have him back, but for now avoid him in all fantasy leagues. Rating = 4
Salaries: $8100 FD, $17000 DD, $9200 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Wily Peralta – Peralta has an electric fastball, but only averages 6.7 strikeouts per 9 innings. That’s not a bad K-rate by any means, but it’s not at the elite level either. Peralta has struggled to keep the ball in the park this season. He has given up a HR per fly ball rate of 16% which is one of the highest in the NL. The good news is that he is producing a 54% ground ball rate. His fantasy potential basically comes down to two things: Can he keep it on the ground? And can he get strikeouts? Rating = 6
Salaries: $7100 FD, $13400 DD, $7400 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
Matt Adams – Adams has been ice cold of late with only 4 hits in his last 10 games. That said, his price has reached an all-time low and he does draw a very favorable matchup against Peralta who has given up a .370 wOBA to LH hitters this season. He also gets to face Peralta in the HR-friendly Miller Park.
Additional Plays: Matt Carpenter
Milwaukee
Jonathan Lucroy – I don’t expect Wacha to pitch deep into this game so the Brewers will likely be facing the Cardinals bullpen fairly early. That makes it tough to predict fantasy performance. That said, Lucroy hits both LH and RH pitching well and is a solid option at catcher on a night with very few options at the position.
Additional Plays: Aramis Ramirez
LA Angels at Minnesota
| LA Angels | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Hector Santiago | Vegas Moneyline | Kyle Gibson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.214 | 0.556 | 0.251 | 21.90% | SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.701 | 0.312 | 9.90% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.228 | 0.676 | 0.303 | 20.90% | SP vs. Right | 0.233 | 0.633 | 0.286 | 19.10% |
| Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Hector Santiago – Santiago has quietly had a very nice season for the Angels. He’s not the most exciting pitcher, but he gets the job done. In 19 starts this season, he has posted a 3.28 ERA with a K/9 of 7.9. He does walk quite a few batters (3.5 per 9 innings) though and he’s not a ground ball pitcher by any means. He has a 53% fly ball rate which is a bit scary. Overall, this is a tough spot for Santiago as the Twins are the 4th best offense in baseball over the last 30 days. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6300 FD, $12250 DD, $6800 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Kyle Gibson – Gibson is an easy pitcher to avoid tonight. On the season he owns a 4.23 ERA with a K/9 of only 5.4. He walks quite a few batters (2.9 per 9 innings) and he draws a less than favorable matchup against the Angels who are ranked 12th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. Even though the Angels bats have been cold over the last month of play, Gibson is a little too risky to use tonight. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5700 FD, $11300 DD, $5700 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
LA Angels
Kole Calhoun – Calhoun has hit RH pitching well this season. He’s batting .285 with a .351 wOBA against righties this season and gets to face Kyle Gibson tonight who doesn’t strike out many batters. Calhoun’s price has come way down and it’s a nice time to buy low.
Additional Plays: Mike Trout
Minnesota
Trevor Plouffe – Plouffe got the night off last night despite a terrific matchup against the lefty John Danks. The good news is that he should be back in the lineup tonight against the lefty Hector Santiago who has one of the highest fly ball rates in baseball. Plouffe has terrific power against LH pitching and he’s been swinging a hot bat with 12 hits (7 XBH’s) over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Brian Dozier, Danny Santana, Kennys Vargas
Arizona at San Diego
| Arizona | San Diego | ||||||||
| Vidal Nuno | Vegas Moneyline | Ian Kennedy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.198 | 0.623 | 0.281 | 21.30% | SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.702 | 0.309 | 26.20% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.259 | 0.762 | 0.333 | 18.10% | SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.692 | 0.307 | 24.90% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Randall Delgado – Even though Delgado gets a dream pitching matchup against the Padres in Petco Park, I’ll be avoiding him tonight. On the season he owns a 5.85 ERA and he’s a sizable underdog. He’ll see little to no run support and the Padres offense has actually been much better over the last two months of play. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6400 FD, $12700 DD, $6200 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Ian Kennedy – Kennedy is one of my favorite pitchers available tonight. He owns an elite strikeout rate (9.8 K’s per 9 innings) and he has pitched extremely well at home this season. He can afford to be aggressive with the big ballpark behind him and he’s facing a Diamondbacks offense that is ranked 21st in wOBA vs. RH pitching and 28th in wOBA over the last 30 days. Kennedy is almost a must play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 8
Salaries: $8100 FD, $15550 DD, $8600 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
Avoid all Diamondbacks against Ian Kennedy who has held batters from both sides of the plate under a .310 wOBA this season.
San Diego
Jedd Gyorko – Gyorko has had a very disappointing season, but he does have big fantasy outings every now and then. He has hit RH pitching well in his career and draws a pretty decent matchup against Delgado who has struggled against RH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Seth Smith