Daily Batter Breakdown: Friday, May 22nd
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 – Another game at Coors tonight with a 10 over/under. I purposely avoided that game – all plays there will be solid, especially the Giants lefties and Posey against Kyle Kendrick, who is one of the worst pitchers on a night to night basis.
 | Brian McCann | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.215 | 0.648 | 4.03% | 0.286 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.125 | 0.325 | 0.00% | 0.158 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Lewis – RIGHT | 0.305 | 0.836 | 2.19% | 0.363 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.945 | 0.000 | $2,800 | $7,550 | $3,700 | $57,800 | ||
Brian McCann
McCann has terrible numbers away from Yankee Stadium and especially against lefties, but that is not what we have here. We have the Yanks at home against Lewis, who is primed for a regression. Lewis has consistently been one of the most homer-prone pitchers in his career with a 1.81 HR/9 but only has a .32 HR/9 this year (both against lefties) and is still managing a 5.35 xFIP against lefties. McCann is so inexpensive and is one of the big homer threats in the Yankee lineup. He is a great play at catcher with that short porch in right.
 | Anthony Rizzo | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.287 | 0.928 | 6.39% | 0.398 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.333 | 0.968 | 4.76% | 0.42 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Collmenter – RIGHT | 0.289 | 0.762 | 2.21% | 0.333 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.154 | 0.000 | $4,400 | $11,350 | $5,300 | $94,800 | ||
Anthony Rizzo
Rizzo has great home splits, but here is a spot to use him away from home. The Cubbies go from a run wasteland in Petco to a run haven in Arizona, and I like his chances against Collmenter. Collmenter has been decent against lefties this year, posting a xFIP under 4, but Rizzo has a .401 wOBA and a .250 ISO against righties in this young season. Collmenter has not been good – he continues to allow 4 ER every start and I think the Cubs get to him here, with Rizzo being a huge part.
 | Robinson Cano | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.317 | 0.850 | 2.50% | 0.366 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.200 | 0.44 | 0.00% | 0.193 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Estrada – RIGHT | 0.226 | 0.717 | 5.02% | 0.315 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.042 | 0.000 | $2,900 | $6,950 | $4,500 | $70,000 | ||
Robinson Cano
I feel like I’m obligated to use Cano today, however there are a lot of other options at second base out there. The thing is, the Mariners visit the Rogers Centre and Toronto throws out Marco Estrada. Estrada is not terrible, and does not have absolutely horrible numbers, but he always has struggled to keep balls in the park, with a 1.45 career HR/9. The Mariners are lefty heavy and I am not sure how the Rogers Centre is going to help him out. I like Cano and Seattle as a stack today.
 | Kyle Seager | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.276 | 0.828 | 5.01% | 0.361 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.348 | 0.826 | 4.35% | 0.361 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Estrada – RIGHT | 0.226 | 0.717 | 5.02% | 0.315 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.042 | 0.000 | $2,900 | $7,750 | $4,400 | $69,000 | ||
Kyle Seager
I talked a little bit about Estrada’s penchant for allowing homers, and while Seager has been struggling this year, we have seen a bit of a rebound in the last few games. Seager has great numbers against right-handers; a .349 career wOBA with a .180 career ISO, and his down numbers this year could be the result of a .271 BABIP, which is lower than usual. Seager has always hit righties well, and Estrada’s ability to give up the long ball should really help him in the most homer-prone park.
 | Ian Desmond | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.249 | 0.719 | 3.51% | 0.318 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.346 | 1.008 | 7.69% | 0.434 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| O’Sullivan – RIGHT | 0.226 | 0.624 | 0.00% | 0.275 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.068 | 0.000 | $3,100 | $7,900 | $4,400 | $59,600 | ||
Ian Desmond
Again there are not a lot of great shortstops, but you can get Desmond for only $3,100 on FanDuel. Desmond has heated up in the last few games and I am a huge fan of the Nats bats today. I love the Nats lefties, but I also do not mind the right-handers, as O’Sullivan has a a career 4.74 xFIP against righties and a 1.29 HR/9 allowed. It is not like Desmond has been horrible against righties either, posting above league average numbers consistently against them. I love him in a stack, and I also like him as a filler.
 | Kole Calhoun | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.279 | 0.783 | 3.51% | 0.343 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.217 | 0.699 | 4.35% | 0.311 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Porcello – RIGHT | 0.262 | 0.736 | 2.53% | 0.321 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.072 | 0.000 | $3,000 | $8,250 | $4,500 | $71,800 | ||
Kole Calhoun
The Angels have been horrible against right-handed pitchers this year, almost bottom in the league, as they have no one other than Trout who can hit them on the regular, except for Calhoun. This game sets up really nice for Calhoun in Fenway – Porcello has historically not been able to get lefties out, while Fenway plays easy for left-handers. Oh, and Calhoun is now cleaning up for the Angels, so his RBI opportunities will increase too. Get him in your lineup.
 | Brett Gardner | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.263 | 0.783 | 3.34% | 0.344 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.200 | 0.5 | 0.00% | 0.214 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Lewis – RIGHT | 0.305 | 0.836 | 2.19% | 0.363 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.945 | 0.000 | $3,300 | $8,200 | $4,500 | $66,200 | ||
Brett Gardner
Along with McCann, the Yankees lefties look good today, even without Ellsbury. Gardner is back to leading off and is a terror on the basepaths when allowed to run. We talked about Lewis and how he is due for a regression, especially in the home run department, and Gardner and his .356 wOBA this year is primed to do some damage against a pitcher who will not mold with Yankee Stadium well.
 | Denard Span | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.327 | 0.844 | 1.37% | 0.369 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.391 | 0.81 | 0.00% | 0.349 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| O’Sullivan – RIGHT | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.439 | ||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.068 | 0.000 | $3,500 | $9,800 | $4,700 | $81,300 | ||
Denard Span
Span has had more games above 20 fantasy points on DraftKings and 7 fantasy points on FanDuel than almost anyone in the game this year. O’Sullivan has a career 5.50 xFIP against lefties this year with a .459 wOBA, and he has gotten progressively worse each year against lefties. Span has a .443 wOBA and is over 1 OPS because of his ability to get on base this year, which has increased his steal numbers as well. Span has huge upside in this game against one of the worst pitchers on the slate.
 | Bryce Harper | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.297 | 0.913 | 6.44% | 0.391 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.500 | 1.751 | 16.67% | 0.686 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| O’Sullivan – RIGHT | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.439 | ||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.068 | 0.000 | $6,000 | $14,100 | $5,500 | $118,700 | ||
Bryce Harper
Assuming Harper is in the lineup, I am not sure how you ignore him today, especially at $5,500 on DraftKings. Yes he burned a lot of people after getting kicked out of the game, but he is still the hottest hitter in the majors and gets to face O’Sullivan, whose blemishes have been spoken about earlier. Harper’s .528 wOBA and his 1.300 OPS are otherworldly right now – is this really a hot streak or is this one of the most hyped young hitters in the game coming into his own?
 | Jason Kipnis | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.291 | 0.795 | 1.88% | 0.352 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.414 | 1.14 | 3.45% | 0.49 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Leake – RIGHT | 0.280 | 0.798 | 3.58% | 0.348 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.950 | 0.000 | $4,600 | $10,150 | $4,900 | $88,100 | ||
Jason Kipnis
Outside of Harper, Kipnis has been one of the hottest hitters against right-handers in the nation. Kipnis has a .462 wOBA, leads off, and does everything well for the Indians, including stealing some bags. Leake could run into some trouble against lefties, who he has struggled with this year with a 5.70 FIP and a 2.22 HR/9. The Indians lineup is stacked with solid hitting lefties, and I really do not think this is a time when Leake is going to put out his best stuff. Kipnis is very expensive, but should be worth it at second base today.