Daily Batter Breakdown: Friday, April 24th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-04-27 17:32:28

Welcome to the Daily Batter Breakdown. Whenever there are at least eight games on the night slate, I’ll break down some of the best top tier hitters to target based on matchup.

The biggest split taken into account will be left/right, but each player card will also show park factors, player salaries and then a description of why I’ll be targeting him.

Disclaimer: Again, as usual, Coors Field players are not included, as on this slate with a lot of solid pitchers, anyone hitting on the Giants and Rockies today will continue to be solid plays.

		A.J. Pierzynski
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.269	0.677	1.63%	0.298
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.385	1.121	7.69%	0.481
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Harang – RIGHT		0.284	0.747	1.33%	0.330
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.929	0.000	$2,900	$6,900	$3,300	$49,800

A.J. Pierzynski

Pierzynski has been a major player for the Braves early in this season, really hitting the ball well in a surprise performance. I doubt he can keep this rate up for the entire season, but he is still cheap and showing no signs of slowing at this point. Harang has allowed a .330 wOBA and a 4.42 xFIP to lefties in his career, which is consistent with his current numbers so while he is not a great target, he is not a shutdown pitcher either. If you want some Coors Field magic or some of the stud pitchers today, you are going to have to save and Pierzynski is a good option.

		Jose Abreu
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.353	1.098	7.35%	0.462
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.360	1.24	12.00%	0.526
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Duffy – LEFT		0.227	0.670	1.05%	0.299
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.052	0.000	$4,400	$11,600	$5,400	$93,500

Jose Abreu

If you somehow have the money for Abreu after your Coors Field dip and picking pitchers, Abreu would be a fantastic choice. He is getting it going with multiple hits in three straight with 2 homers, and after a struggle to start the season in his first 14 at-bats against righties, he should progress to his 2014 numbers with a .462 wOBA and .305 ISO. He destroys right-handed pitching and with Duffy taking the mound with a 4.67 xFIP against righties, he should have some good at bats.

		Robinson Cano
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.327	0.891	3.27%	0.382
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.417	1.065	0.00%	0.454
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Hughes – RIGHT		0.245	0.619	1.60%	0.272
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.825	0.000	$4,100	$10,000	$4,600	$73,400

Robinson Cano

There are really not a lot of second basemen that tickle my fancy today, so again it’s Gordon, Altuve, Cano or punt the entire position. Hughes is having a renaissance in Minnesota, coming into his potential but Cano hits righties so well I am not worried about it. Altuve has a great matchup but is more expensive and Gordon is against a solid pitcher in Zimmerman, so I will roll Cano here.

		David Freese
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.320	0.876	2.00%	0.382
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.292	0.708	0.00%	0.308
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Rodriguez – LEFT		0.313	1.087	1.97%	0.463
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.919	0.000	$3,300	$7,650	$3,500	$63,500

David Freese

Outside of the Giants and Rockies, the next best team to stack is probably the Angels. They are against Wandy Rodriguez here at home, with Wandy making a spot start. He was cut by the Braves earlier this season and only signed to a minor league deal, so this may not be a long stint, which would allow the Angels to work on the pathetic Rangers’ bullpen as well. Anyway, Freese has raked this year against lefties and has a nice .378 wOBA and .870 OPS against them in his career.

		Jimmy Paredes
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.264	0.687	1.89%	0.303
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.438	1.221	6.25%	0.524
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Porcello – RIGHT		0.265	0.732	2.02%	0.320
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.932	0.000	$3,000	$5,000	$2,000	$42,600

Jimmy Paredes

Paredes continues to be minimum salary on DraftKings with multi-position eligibility, which really makes him a fantastic play to save salary. He has a little bit of power as shown two nights ago and has been hitting second in a fairly powerful Orioles lineup in a hitter’s park. The salary is just too low to ignore here.

		Asdrubal Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.236	0.696	2.89%	0.310
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.211	0.421	0.00%	0.187
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Dickey – RIGHT		0.220	0.665	1.65%	0.300
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.002	0.000	$2,500	$6,750	$3,300	$45,200

Asdrubal Cabrera

The Rays are favorites here in this game, and Cabrera is super cheap on both sites. He does not have great numbers as a lefty hitter against righties with a .141 ISO and a .325 career wOBA, but he will hit high in the lineup and will hit near Souza. Dickey is fairly homer prone, especially when he does not get that movement on the knuckler, and in the Rays dome it may be a little bit more difficult to fool the hitters.

		Mike Trout
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.275	0.910	6.04%	0.398
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.182	0.78	9.09%	0.323
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Rodriguez – LEFT		0.313	1.087	1.97%	0.463
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.919	0.000	$5,500	$12,050	$5,400	$95,400

Mike Trout

Can we trust Wandy Rodriguez? I doubt it highly and I think Trout has a great chance at taking him deep a couple of times today. Trout rakes agains lefties with a .900 OPs and almost a .400 wOBA in his career, and even though he has been struggling this year, Wandy is one of the best matchups for him.

		Gregory Polanco
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.262	0.727	2.56%	0.326
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.381	1.076	4.76%	0.463
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Collmenter – RIGHT		0.280	0.741	2.33%	0.327
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.154	0.000	$3,400	$8,300	$4,500	$55,900

Gregory Polanco

Outside of Coors and Wandy, I like the Pirates to stack here against Collmenter. Polanco has power, speed and is a major talent, yet does not have the numbers yet to support it, so he is somewhat of a wild card. I like that he will hit lefty against a righty he can steal on and who most likely will not go deep into the game. Collmenter is one of the worst pitchers on the slate despite being the D’Backs’ opening day starter and should be targeted in a hitter’s park today.

		Jason Heyward
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.304	0.820	2.09%	0.363
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.125	0.41	4.17%	0.183
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Garza – RIGHT		0.222	0.634	1.82%	0.285
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.002	0.000	$3,200	$9,000	$4,200	$49,200

Jason Heyward

Vegas hates Matt Garza today, putting the Cardinals away from home as one of the only other teams with a 4 over/under today. Heyward bats second in the lineup behind Carpenter, and against a righty in a hitter’s park, the Cardinals’ lineup is fairly formidable. With almost a .200 career ISO and a .364 career wOBA with SB ability, I am not worried about Heyward’s struggles to start the season.

		Steven Souza Jr.
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Dickey – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.002	0.000		$8,400	$4,400

Steven Souza Jr.

UPDATE: Souza is not in the lineup tonight

Souza has been raking lately, essentially hitting a homer every other game for the last couple of weeks. He has a huge upside even in this Rays’ lineup, and could end up being one of the breakout players this year if he keeps it up. Souza has a .209 ISO against righties this year with a .370 wOBA and is affordable on both sites. He makes a fantastic GPP play as I doubt anyone would really pick him there.