Daily Batter Breakdown: Mon, May 12th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2014-05-12 19:33:51

Welcome to the Daily Batter Breakdown. Each day, with at least 8 games on the night slate, I’ll breakdown 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. Be sure to check out the FAQ for more information on specific stats.

We are starting to get into the period of baseball when the novelty of a new game has worn off and the real grinding begins. We have enough data from this season that stats start to mean something and there are few games under each pitcher’s belt so we can see how they are doing as well. With the article going up at nights now, I will focus on more guys who have a good chance at being in the lineup.

		Victor Martinez
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.274	0.779	4.76%	0.319
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.333	1.215	14.81%	0.501
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Norris – RIGHT			0.303	0.858	8.99%	0.379
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.057	1.073	$4,200	$9,379	$9,650	$4,700	$107,100	$8,000	$12,900

Victor Martinez

This is some kind of run that Martinez has been on in the past week. He’s hit 4 homers in that span and is sporting a 1.332 OPS in May. Martinez has always hit right handers very well in his career and in the last 3 years Norris has allowed a .832 OPS to left handed batters. This game has one of the highest over/unders, is in a hitter’s park, and the Tigers are away making them a fantastic stacking lineup. Martinez is especially effective batting in the middle of the Tigers lineup.

		Chris Davis
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.245	0.788	3.77%	0.347
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Porcello – RIGHT			0.295	0.788	7.51%	0.351
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.057	1.073	$3,800		$10,850	$4,100	$92,100	$7,700	$11,200

Chris Davis

Davis was activated off the DL on Sunday and had a nice game with 2 hits showing he’s not going to have any issues getting into the swing of things. Like noted above, this is going to be a high scoring game and I love Davis at home against a righty. It helps as well that Porcello struggles mightily against left handed batters in his career and even though he’s been solid this year I’ve seen way too much of him against lefties to think that Davis isn’t a premier play today.

		Howie Kendrick
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.242	0.706	3.03%	0.312
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.227	0.684	0.00%	0.291
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Buehrle – LEFT			0.279	0.738	6.05%	0.327
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.118	1.060	$3,600	$7,040	$8,300	$4,700	$77,800	$6,100	$10,700

Howie Kendrick

Kendrick’s power game is much more pronounced against left handers throughout his career and he faces one in Buehrle today. Buehrle has been great this year but the Angels are still in Rogers Centre as a 4.5 team over/under. Kendrick had a massive game on Sunday and will look to keep it going Monday. I’m not really enamored with the 2nd base options today so Kendrick gets my not as one of my favorite plays.

		Adrian Beltre
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.212	0.620	1.92%	0.282
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.286	0.891	7.14%	0.389
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Peacock – RIGHT			0.207	0.658	8.17%	0.295
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.074	1.017	$3,900	$8,451	$10,200	$5,100	$79,700	$6,900	$9,700

Adrian Beltre

The Rangers continue to have good hitting matchups as they travel to the Astros to hit in Minute Maid Park. Beltre has been terrible this year and his price is down which isn’t a bad thing. I think he’s going to snap out of the funk sooner than later and tonight looks like a good bet against Peacock who has allowed a stunning .881 OPS this year to right handers. Peacock isn’t good, the Rangers have a high over/under and Beltre will be hitting in the middle of the lineup which should add to his RBI opportunities.

		Hanley Ramirez
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.252	0.686	0.90%	0.310
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.231	0.718	3.85%	0.326
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Koehler – RIGHT			0.262	0.735	6.95%	0.333
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.868	0.958	$3,800	$6,662	$10,000	$5,000	$69,700	$7,600	$11,200

Hanley Ramirez

Tom Koehler has been fantastic at home this year allowing some ridiculously low hitting numbers. The problem is he’s been not good away from home and today he travels to pitch in Dodger Stadium. For some reason Koehler has reverse splits and is better against lefties than righties so I’m targeting Hanley Ramirez tonight as a guy who not a lot of people might have. Hanley homere the other night and I am hoping that’s going to get his bat together.

		Jacoby Ellsbury
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.296	0.712	0.00%	0.314
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.130	0.374	0.00%	0.178
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Colon – RIGHT			0.268	0.710	3.88%	0.310
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.087	1.040	$3,800	$8,212	$10,700	$4,800	$74,500	$8,000	$11,400

Jacoby Ellsbury

Is Colon’s age finally catching up to him? Or is it all those doughnuts? Anyways, he’s been less than impressive this year and has had 2 ridiculously bad performances. He’s allowing a .866 OPS to left handed batters so far this year and Ellsbury is a guy who can do it all. He won’t come cheap but you can’t argue about the upside that Ellsbury brings especially hitting in Yankee Stadium against a right handed pitcher. I am going to try to squeeze his salary in.

		Yoenis Cespedes
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.242	0.918	9.09%	0.389
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.280	0.988	12.00%	0.423
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Danks – LEFT			0.266	0.776	6.44%	0.340
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.889	1.007	$3,700	$7,992	$10,350	$4,400	$87,200	$7,600	$10,100

Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes is a top tier power hitter and right now he’s priced like a middle tier hitter. He has always been fantastic against left handed pitching with a .867 OPS in his career and 18 HR in just over 300 at bats. He gets John Danks today and Vegas isn’t a fan of Danks at all. I really like Cespedes’ upside against the lefty at home an he’s one of your best bets to hit one deep today.

		Gerardo Parra
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.299	0.741	1.71%	0.327
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.346	0.893	3.85%	0.395
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Zimmermann – RIGHT			0.265	0.706	4.91%	0.311
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.974	0.970	$2,700	$5,831	$8,100	$3,700	$66,600	$5,700	$6,700

Gerardo Parra

I wouldn’t consider using Parra against a left hander as his numbers are just miserable against them not only today but in his career. The opposite is true about righties as he’s an effective hitter against right handed pitching. What he’s been doing lately has been pretty special as he’s not only showing speed but he’s also showing power. Zimmermann is a tough matchup but is his price on your site is still in the lower tier, you could definitely do much worse.

		Corey Hart
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.220	0.677	2.44%	0.314
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.231	0.679	3.85%	0.314
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Ramos – LEFT			0.223	0.653	10.55%	0.302
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.991	0.990	$2,900	$6,266	$8,450	$3,700	$39,500	$5,400	$6,500

Corey Hart

I really like Corey Hart as an off the radar option tonight. Hart’s OPS against lefties in the last 3 years is .966 and he’s been very solid as a hitter overall in that time. He’s struggled a little bit out of the gate but he still brings you solid upside and his price is really low. Vegas doesn’t like Cesar Ramos at all in this one and I like Hart to do some damage today against the lefty.

		Jason Castro
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.218	0.756	5.13%	0.338
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.238	0.511	0.00%	0.235
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Lewis – RIGHT			0.333	0.882	4.23%	0.387
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.074	1.035	$2,900	$3,916	$5,900	$4,000	$52,600	$5,400	$8,000

Jason Castro

If you don’t like Victor and want to spend a little less on your catcher option, look towards Castro. He’s been striking out at an alarming rate so using him on DraftStreet is really risky however he does bring power and is solid against right handers. Some of his overall numbers are skewed by the fact that he’s so terrible against lefties but he should get a few pitches to hit against Lewis. Definitely a pick I would reserve for GPPs but I do like his matchup.