MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, August 12th Page Three
Oakland at Kansas City
| Oakland | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Jon Lester | Vegas Moneyline | Jeremy Guthrie | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-150) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.681 | 0.301 | 25.90% | SP vs. Left | 0.288 | 0.827 | 0.363 | 15.60% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.235 | 0.632 | 0.282 | 24.70% | SP vs. Right | 0.250 | 0.664 | 0.300 | 14.50% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP  | OAK vs R | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jon Lester – Lester has pitched well in his first 2 starts as a member of the A’s. One of those starts came against his opponent tonight. Lester gave up 3 earned runs over 6 and 2/3 innings against the Royals in Oakland and now gets to face them in Kansas City. While the Royals are one of the better contact teams in baseball, they are still a pretty average team offensively. I’m not sure that I will be paying up for Lester on FD or DK, but I do think he will pitch well tonight. Rating = 7
Salaries: $10200 FD, $20850 DD, $11600 DK, $NA FF, $31200 SS, $20850 FTD
- Jeremy Guthrie – Guthrie shutout the A’s in his first meeting against them this season. He struck out 6 batters over 6 innings of work without giving up a single earned run. While it’s certainly worth noting, I’m not sure that he’ll have the same success against them tonight. Guthrie’s biggest weakness is his inability to get LH hitters out (he has given up a .353 wOBA to lefties this season). The A’s have plenty of talented LH hitters to throw at Guthrie. It also doesn’t help that the A’s have Lester on the mound. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6300 FD, $11350 DD, $6000 DK, $ FF, $18500 SS, $11350 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
John Jaso – As mentioned above, Guthrie has given up a .353 wOBA to LH hitters this season. Meanwhile, Jaso is sporting a .348 wOBA against RH pitching. He’s been swinging a cold bat recently, but all that means is that his price has come way down.
Additional Plays: Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick, Stephen Vogt
Kansas City
The Royals keep on winning, but they do it as a team. There aren’t any hitters that stand out tonight against Lester.
Philadelphia at LA Angels
| Philadelphia | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Jerome Williams | Vegas Moneyline | C.J. Wilson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-210) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.321 | 0.882 | 0.386 | 19.20% | SP vs. Left | 0.205 | 0.584 | 0.268 | 23.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.307 | 0.824 | 0.364 | 13.20% | SP vs. Right | 0.269 | 0.784 | 0.347 | 21.20% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs L | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jerome Williams – Williams is the biggest underdog on the board tonight. He’s a below average RH pitcher at this stage in his career and he’s facing an Angels offense that is ranked 11th in wOBA (.316) vs. RH pitching. He can safely be avoided in all league formats. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5000 FD, $8850 DD, $4800 DK, $NA FF, $13000 SS, $NA FTD
- C.J. Wilson – Wilson is a very interesting play tonight. When he is healthy, he is one of the better lefties in the American League. His recent slide has lowered his price across the board. Wilson pitched pretty well in his last outing as he gave up 4 earned runs to the Dodgers over 5 and 2/3 innings of work. He also hit the 100 pitch mark which is good to see. The Angels are starting to stretch his starts out a bit and it’s going to be hard to pass on him at this price tonight against the Phillies. He’s the biggest favorite on the board and the Phillies have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $6800 FD, $12600 DD, $6300 DK, $ FF, $18200 SS, $12600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia
Marlon Byrd and Carlos Ruiz both hit LH pitching well, but I think I’m going to pass on the Phillies hitters tonight. I think we see a sharp outing from Wilson on his way to his 2nd win in as many months.
LA Angels
Kole Calhoun – The Angels are my favorite team to target offensively tonight. Williams has given up a .364+ wOBA to both LH and RH hitters this season. Calhoun is probably my favorite play of the bunch. He continues to mash RH pitching and he’s a much cheaper option than his teammate Mike Trout.
Additional Plays: Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols
Toronto at Seattle
| Toronto | Seattle | ||||||||
| J.A. Happ | Vegas Moneyline | Chris Young | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SEA (-124) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.210 | 0.720 | 0.321 | 24.70% | SP vs. Left | 0.248 | 0.778 | 0.341 | 13.40% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.282 | 0.779 | 0.344 | 16.80% | SP vs. Right | 0.182 | 0.581 | 0.256 | 18.20% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- J.A. Happ – Happ is a pitcher that can have dominant outings. This is evidenced by his 12 strikeout performance against the Orioles. He’s also a pitcher that can get blown up. This is evidenced by him giving up at least 4 earned runs in 3 of his last 9 starts. Basically, Happ is a boom or bust option. The Mariners offense has been rolling, but are still only ranked 29th in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. Use Happ in GPP’s, but avoid him in cash games. Rating = 5.5
Salaries: $6800 FD, $12750 DD, $6600 DK, $NA FF, $18300 SS, $12750 FTD
- Chris Young – You may see Young’s 3.28 ERA and think that he is a solid play against the Blue Jays, but his ERA doesn’t tell the whole story. Young’s 5.14 xFIP suggests some serious regression. He’s also only averaging 5.7 K’s per 9 innings and is giving up a 58% fly ball rate. A couple of swings from the Blue Jays could ruin Young’s start tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $5700 DD, $7200 DK, $ FF, $19500 SS, $14250 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Jose Bautista – As mentioned above, Young is giving up a 58% fly ball rate on the season. This had led to him giving up 1.22 HR’s per 9 innings. Bautista homered off of Felix Hernandez last night and will look to make it 2 games in a row tonight against Young.
Additional Plays: Melky Cabrera, Jose Reyes, Colby Rasmus
Seattle
Austin Jackson – This is the exact reason why the Mariners traded for Jackson. They needed a solid RH bat to help their offense against LH pitching. Jackson is batting .328 against southpaws this season with a wOBA of .368.
Additional Plays: Kendrys Morales
Colorado at San Diego
| Colorado | San Diego | ||||||||
| Yohan Flande | Vegas Moneyline | Odrisamer Despaigne | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SDP (-150) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.175 | 0.527 | 0.237 | 20.90% | SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.731 | 0.334 | 10.70% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.329 | 0.871 | 0.372 | 10.70% | SP vs. Right | 0.219 | 0.591 | 0.273 | 16.00% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Yohan Flande – Flande owns a 5.77 ERA, but his xFIP of 3.79 suggests that he’s had some terrible luck. He’s producing a 56% ground ball rate which is good to see. While he has given up a 12% HR per fly ball rate, he shouldn’t have to worry about that too much tonight in Petco Park which is a tough park to hit HR’s in. The Padres offense has been much better over the last month of play, but a pitcher in Petco is always in play. Rating = 6
Salaries: $5100 FD, $8850 DD, $5500 DK, $NA FF, $13000 SS, $8850 FTD
- Odrisamer Despaigne – Despaigne is getting a lot of love from Vegas. He’s a -160 favorite tonight against the Rockies in Petco. Not only does Despaigne see a major ballpark boost, but he’s facing a Rockies offense that is ranked 27th in wOBA on the road this season. That said, I’m leaning toward Flande in this matchup. Despaigne doesn’t strike many batters out and he has a 4.79 xFIP on the season. Rating = 5.5
Salaries: $5700 FD, $11100 DD, $6100 DK, $ FF, $15800 SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – Dickerson hit a 3-run HR that put the Rockies on top in last night’s game, although they would eventually go on to lose the game. He has been terrific against RH pitching all season long and draws a nice matchup against Despaigne who has given up a .334 wOBA to LH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Justin Morneau, Charlie Blackmon
San Diego
Yangervis Solarte – Solarte has really fit in nicely with the Padres. He’s had close to a .330 wOBA since the start of July and hit his 3rd HR of the season last night. Flande has really struggled against RH batters this season and Solarte is a solid value play if you are looking to save some cap space.
Additional Plays: Jedd Gyorko
Chicago White Sox at San Francisco
| Chicago White Sox | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Chris Sale | Vegas Moneyline | Ryan Vogelsong | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | CWS (-130) | RIGHT | 6.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.118 | 0.301 | 0.145 | 39.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.285 | 0.761 | 0.336 | 18.40% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.218 | 0.590 | 0.264 | 26.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.240 | 0.695 | 0.309 | 20.10% |
| Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Chris Sale – Sale is looking to bounce back after 2 subpar starts (by his standards anyway) in a row. He gave up 4 earned runs to the Twins and then gave up 2 earned runs to the Rangers. I expect a dominant Sale tonight against the Giants. The Giants are ranked 21st in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season and this game will be played in the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Sale will look to improve on his already impressive 2.14 ERA and 10.2 K/9. He’s easily the top pitching option on the board tonight. Rating = 9.5
Salaries: $10600 FD, $20800 DD, $12500 DK, $NA FF, $32000 SS, $20800 FTD
- Ryan Vogelsong – Vogelsong is one of the more difficult pitchers to predict in daily fantasy baseball. He tends to pitch well in tough matchups and then disappoint when he is faced with a favorable matchup. He has pretty decent numbers on the season with a 3.64 ERA (3.91 xFIP) and a K/9 of 7.3. The total of this game is set at only 6.0 runs and Vogelsong could make a nice contrarian play with the majority of DFS players targeting Sale in this matchup. Rating = 6
Salaries: $6500 FD, $13250 DD, $7600 DK, $ FF, $20900 SS, $13250 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago White Sox
While I’m not completely off of the White Sox hitters tonight, the low total does have me concerned. I’ll likely be targeting some of the games with higher run totals.
San Francisco
Avoid all Giants tonight against Chris Sale.