Daily Batter Breakdown: Friday, May 8th
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 – Anyone playing at Coors Field is a legitimate option, so I will ignore them here in this article and focus on the other matchups.
 | Blake Swihart | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | |||||||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.143 | 0.414 | 0.00% | 0.19 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Sanchez – RIGHT | 0.146 | 0.469 | 2.43% | 0.223 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.042 | 0.000 | $2,300 | $3,500 | $51,200 | |||
Blake Swihart
Swihart is regarded as one of the best catcher prospects on the board, and while the consensus is he needs more time in the minors, here he is because of Vasquez and Hanigan’s injuries. He is cheap across the board today, and at a catcher position that does not have a ton of great options, Swihart did show a bit of pop in AA with a .187 ISO. I am not expecting big things, but for how inexpensive he is and the fact that he is in one of the most homer prone parks in the majors in the Rogers Centre, I would not be surprised to see him hit Sanchez hard.
 | Joey Votto | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.241 | 0.736 | 0.62% | 0.342 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.364 | 0.895 | 0.00% | 0.398 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Noesi – RIGHT | 0.238 | 0.728 | 4.66% | 0.320 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $3,900 | $10,950 | $4,600 | |||
Joey Votto
We’re waiting on a suspension from headquarters for bumping the refs, but as of the writing of this I have not heard anything yet. I love him as a play today against Noesi, even though he has been struggling a bit lately. Nothing like a little chest bumping a ref to get the juices flowing, along with facing Hector Noesi, who has a 5.94 xFIP this year against left-handed batters. He has never been good against lefties and is one of the worst starting pitchers on the board today. Noesi’s BABIP and LOB% are going to come crashing down to earth at some point – if Votto is in the lineup he makes one of the safest cash game plays.
 | Jose Abreu | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.305 | 0.919 | 6.19% | 0.394 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.217 | 0.497 | 0.00% | 0.234 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Marquis – RIGHT | |||||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $3,600 | $10,600 | $4,800 | $84,700 | ||
Jose Abreu
One the other side of the coin in this game, I really like Abreu as well. Marquis has been decent against RHB with a .330 wOBA in his career, but he has really struggled this year with a .462 wOBA. Abreu has crushed right-handed pitching as well with a .393 career wOBA and a .919 career OPS. He is at home here in a relatively hitter friendly park and should be a great play that is overshadowed by a few other first basemen.
 | Jason Kipnis | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.256 | 0.710 | 1.51% | 0.318 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.440 | 1.317 | 8.00% | 0.555 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Pelfrey – RIGHT | 0.183 | 0.648 | 3.33% | 0.294 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.950 | 0.000 | $3,600 | $10,500 | $5,200 | $83,200 | ||
Jason Kipnis
Despite having a few struggles at the plate in the Indians’ last game, Kipnis is on fire right now. He has been producing against everyone, not just right-handers, which is different for him. Pelfrey has a career 4.91 xFIP against left-handed batters and a career .343 wOBA given up as well. Pelfrey has done well in the last couple of years, but his BABIP is ridiculously low and completely unsustainable. At some point, he is going to be blown up – with a lefty heavy Indians lineup, today makes for as good of a chance as any.
 | Devon Travis | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | |||||||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.160 | 0.57 | 4.00% | 0.258 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Miley – LEFT | |||||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.042 | 0.000 | $3,400 | $8,050 | $3,300 | $90,800 | ||
Devon Travis
Miley has a 5.64 xFIP this year against right-handed batters and has continually struggled with walks and not being able to get anyone out. I do not foresee good things for him today against a righty-heavy Jays lineup in Rogers Centre. Travis has been a revelation this year for the Jays (seven homers already) and continues to lead off for them. He brings upside to the top of the lineup and is extremely cheap across the industry, especially on DraftKings.
 | Pablo Sandoval | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.317 | 0.824 | 2.77% | 0.359 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.261 | 0.553 | 0.00% | 0.251 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Sanchez – RIGHT | 0.146 | 0.469 | 2.43% | 0.223 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.042 | 0.000 | $3,000 | $8,250 | $4,200 | $75,400 | ||
Pablo Sandoval
I like Sandoval against Sanchez as well as Swihart today and think that he has a great shot at a homer in the Rogers Centre. Sanchez has a 5.20 xFIP against left-handed batters this year and Sandoval is having his best season yet against right-handed pitching with a .435 wOBA. He has consistently hit righties well, and in a really hitter friendly park should be one of the better plays of the night. I do not love the $4,200 price point on DraftKings, but the matchup screams homer.
 | Ian Desmond | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.273 | 0.771 | 3.33% | 0.341 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.280 | 0.853 | 4.00% | 0.369 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Stults – LEFT | 0.273 | 0.778 | 2.84% | 0.341 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.068 | 0.000 | $3,000 | $8,850 | $4,200 | $55,300 | ||
Ian Desmond
The shortstop pool is fairly terrible if you are not using Tulo, who is the top play at that position by far. Desmond makes a distant second for me, but I really like him in GPPs. He is hitting well in the last few games and is batting second in the lineup. Stults has a career 4.56 xFIP against right-handers and is around the same number this year. He is at 2.33 HR/9 and is giving up an absurdly bad WHIP as well. The Nationals are starting to get their bats together and I really think they are one of the better teams to stack today, outside of Coors.
 | Jacoby Ellsbury | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.258 | 0.711 | 2.78% | 0.312 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.462 | 1 | 0.00% | 0.445 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Gonzalez – RIGHT | 0.257 | 0.772 | 3.84% | 0.340 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.945 | 0.000 | $4,400 | $10,850 | $5,200 | $78,700 | ||
Jacoby Ellsbury
Ellsbury is hot right now and is one of the top plays on the board outside of the Coors Field game. He has home run upside, especially in Yankee Stadium, in addition to his stolen base ability. He hits at the top of the lineup and is going to be facing Gonzalez, who has a below average xFIP at 4.42 and an unsustainable BABIP.
 | Kole Calhoun | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.277 | 0.793 | 3.85% | 0.348 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.280 | 0.699 | 0.00% | 0.324 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Hernandez – RIGHT | 0.246 | 0.745 | 2.77% | 0.333 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.919 | 0.000 | $3,300 | $9,800 | $4,500 | $70,200 | ||
Kole Calhoun
Hernandez is not good against lefties, period. He has a 5.67 xFIP this year, which is close to the horrible numbers he put up last year in a much bigger sample. He just is not good ,and with Calhoun likely leading off for the Angels tonight at home, he will most likely have some struggles. Calhoun has a .178 career ISO against right-handed pitching and is inexpensive on FanDuel with a decent price on DraftKings.
 | Chris Colabello | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.211 | 0.583 | 1.41% | 0.258 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | |||||||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Miley – LEFT | 0.264 | 0.751 | 1.57% | 0.331 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.042 | 0.000 | $2,200 | $8,050 | $2,800 | $65,700 | ||
Chris Colabello
Colabello is basically min-priced across the industry and gets a prime matchup today against Miley, who I talked about earlier. He has power, as evidenced by a .217 ISO in the minors and a .448 wOBA. His BABIP is unsustainable, but he brings upside for extremely cheap, and I am hoping he graces the middle of the lineup today. He has a solid record of homers in the Twins farm system and should get a few good pitches to launch one out today against Sanchez.