Daily Batter Breakdown: Monday, April 27th
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.
Editor’s Note: The Chicago at Baltimore game has been postponed due to safety concerns in the Baltimore area. Do not roster any players from the White Sox or Orioles tonight.
 | Brian McCann | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.209 | 0.633 | 4.19% | 0.282 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.208 | 0.49 | 0.00% | 0.221 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Karns – RIGHT | |||||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.945 | 0.000 | $2,800 | $9,150 | $3,900 | $65,600 | ||
Brian McCann
McCann seems absurdly cheap on DraftKings at $3,900 despite being one of the better power hitters at catcher in the majors. McCann will be hitting against Karns today who has allowed a 4.55 xFIP and a 6.35 FIP against lefties in his career, a lot of those starts coming in the Trop, which does not have the short porch in right. This is a great matchup for the Yankees’ lefties, who have one of the highest over-unders and should have a field day.
 | Mark Teixeira | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.215 | 0.718 | 5.68% | 0.320 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.333 | 1.414 | 20.83% | 0.565 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Karns – RIGHT | |||||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.945 | 0.000 | $4,000 | $10,700 | $4,600 | $78,800 | ||
Mark Teixeira
Tex doesn’t hit for much average from the left side of the plate, but he hits for some major power. He has been down in the .220’s in terms of batting average lately, but still continues to have his OPS up at .850 and his ISO near .200 with a career average at .249. He is crushing the ball this year with three homers in the last three games and again gets to abuse his fun short porch in right against an inexperienced righty today. The Yankees’ lefties are definitely a target.
 | Robinson Cano | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.327 | 0.891 | 3.27% | 0.382 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.435 | 1.127 | 0.00% | 0.481 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Gallardo – RIGHT | 0.233 | 0.637 | 1.57% | 0.287 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $3,800 | $10,300 | $5,300 | $75,100 | ||
Robinson Cano
I have been backing Cano lately and he has not exactly performed, but I am going back to the well today in the hopes that he will be under-owned because of a few poor performances in good spots. He is in another great spot today in the hot air of Texas. With one of the highest over-unders of the day, the Mariners should be solid stacks. Gallardo has struggled this year against lefties with a 4.58 xFIP, and Cano has absolutely destroyed righties during his career. His price is the only thing holding him back from being a lock as the top play.
 | Kyle Seager | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.283 | 0.862 | 5.66% | 0.376 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.333 | 0.851 | 0.00% | 0.365 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Gallardo – RIGHT | 0.233 | 0.637 | 1.57% | 0.287 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $3,300 | $9,000 | $4,700 | $73,400 | ||
Kyle Seager
Seager’s .184 ISO and .353 career wOBA against right-handers is great, especially hitting in Safeco for half of his games. He gets out of Safeco today and will be hitting in Globe Life Park, which is one of the easiest parks to hit a ball out of. Gallardo has been struggling against lefties this year and I am looking at the Mariners and their power lefties to provide one of the night’s best stacks, especially being away from home.
 | Pablo Sandoval | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.317 | 0.824 | 2.77% | 0.359 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.227 | 0.61 | 0.00% | 0.275 | |||
| 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 |
| 1.072 | 0.000 | $2,800 | $4,500 | ||||
Pablo Sandoval
Sandoval is significantly better hitting from the left side of the plate against right handers. He has been struggling at the plate to begin the year, but hasn’t been struggling against righties with a .423 wOBA and a .944 OPS. The problem is, the power just is not there yet. Fenway is favorable to the left-handed batters, so we should definitely look at the Panda as an option for the early games today. Vegas does not believe in Sanchez and despite him having great stuff, he has been hittable this year especially for a potent Sox lineup.
 | Hanley Ramirez | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.283 | 0.801 | 2.60% | 0.355 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.409 | 1.14 | 9.09% | 0.493 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Sanchez – RIGHT | 0.114 | 0.306 | 0.00% | 0.149 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.072 | 0.000 | $3,700 | $5,100 | ||||
Hanley Ramirez
For the games that start at 6:10, Hanley makes a fantastic play. Boston has the highest over/under on the board of all the teams today and Hanley will be hitting in the middle of the lineup. He launched two homers in his last game, so he will certainly be popular, but a .371 career wOBA and .195 career ISO is worth the price and the popularity considering they cannot ignore him late in the game.
 | Adeiny Hechavarria | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.265 | 0.645 | 0.00% | 0.281 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.458 | 1.105 | 4.17% | 0.483 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Gee – RIGHT | 0.241 | 0.711 | 1.72% | 0.315 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.014 | 0.000 | $3,100 | $6,700 | $3,800 | $72,600 | ||
Adeiny Hechavarria
Hechavarria is just raking right now, and his price does not reflect how good he has been. He does not bring much power, but he brings triple upside and stolen base upside and continues to reach base consistently. I generally do not target poor hitters but his price is inexpensive and he’s hit in nine straight with five multi-hit games. I am hoping he moves up in the lineup today to increase his chances against Gee, but I still do not mind if he is hitting down in the order.
 | Leonys Martin | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.282 | 0.725 | 1.26% | 0.320 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.318 | 0.784 | 0.00% | 0.349 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Walker – RIGHT | 0.253 | 0.729 | 1.20% | 0.333 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $3,400 | $8,100 | $4,600 | $56,200 | ||
Leonys Martin
The Rangers are a pretty solid favorite to score a good amount of runs today against Taijuan Walker and the Mariners despite Walker’s strong start against Houston. Walker is still having some control issues, but the Rangers do not strike out as much as the Astros and should be able to deal some damage to the righty. Martin will be leading off (most likely), and even though he does not have great numbers against righties, he should be able to do damage against Walker, who has a 4.87 xFIP against lefties.
 | Justin Maxwell | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.087 | 0.241 | 0.00% | 0.123 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.350 | 1.335 | 15.00% | 0.554 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Anderson – LEFT | 0.240 | 0.675 | 0.83% | 0.291 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.907 | 0.000 | $2,800 | $5,000 | $3,100 | $63,400 | ||
Justin Maxwell
Maxwell has filled a very important role in the Giant’s lineup, trying to make up for the lack of Hunter Pence. He is a decent hitter against lefties, not only this year, but in his career, with a .179 ISO and a .334 wOBA, which is dragged down by a couple of poor years early in this career. It is not the greatest matchup against Brett Anderson, but Maxwell just homered off him on recently and Anderson has been less than sharp lately.
 | Alex Guerrero | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | |||||||
| Last 7 Days Splits | |||||||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Lincecum – RIGHT | |||||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.907 | 0.000 | $5,500 | $2,900 | $64,800 | |||
Alex Guerrero
All this guy does it hit homers. I am not sure anyone really expected him to have five in the limited amount of at bats he has taken. The prospect is really showing his worth, and while a 1.596 OPS with a .668 wOBA is absolutely unsustainable, he is still cheap across the industry. Don Mattingly has noted that he is going to play some left field going forward, so it is worth it to keep him in mind when making rosters. He is affordable and offers roster flexibility, not to mention that Lincecum’s velocity is not what it used to be and he’s not been shutting down right handers lately.