Daily Batter Breakdown: Monday, July 27th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-07-29 17:40:16

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 on FanDuel and DraftKings among other sites, and then a description of why I’ll be targeting him.

		Kyle Schwarber
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber has had some solid games lately and is cheap on both sites. I am a bit worried about the L/L matchup here, but the fact of the matter is Jorge de la Rosa has been a reverse splits pitcher so far this season. Again, the catcher pool is fairly thin again tonight, unless you want to use a guy like Buster Posey, and Schwarber gives you power while still coming at a discount. I do not particularly like the game being played in Wrigley, especially if the wind is blowing out (hasn’t made a big impact relative to the boost in ownership), but the price is solid.

		Paul Goldschmidt
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.383	1.132	6.04%	0.476
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.450	1.25	0.00%	0.51
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Montgomery – LEFT		0.222	0.642	2.71%	0.284
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.904	0.000	$4,700	$12,350	$6,000	$99,500

Paul Goldschmidt

The fun seems to be over for Montgomery. He has allowed 14 ER in only 13 innings pitched over his last three games. He is lacking control and major league hitters have found a way to attack him. Goldy has a .480 wOBA against lefties, which is right in line with last year, and his 210 wRC+ is an insane number. He averages a homer about every 10 plate appearances against left-handed pitching and is a great play despite the price today.

		Matt Duffy
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.297	0.777	1.95%	0.338
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.261	0.624	0.00%	0.283
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Lohse – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.784	0.000	$3,200	$7,500	$3,600	$70,900

Matt Duffy

Duffy will make for an extremely solid play here tonight for cheap on both sites. This season he has raked against righties with a .370 wOBA and a .172 ISO. He continues to hit well and post great numbers for San Francisco, while Lohse is going the other way for Milwaukee. Lohse continues to give up run after run, and with a .375 wOBA allowed to righties, he should be targeted against this evening.

		Tyler Saladino
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD

Tyler Saladino

Saladino continues to be close to min price on both major sites; with him producing here in the early going after being called up, I really do not see his job in danger, as he continues to produce. He has moved up to second in the order and gets a nice matchup tonight against Joe Kelly. Kelly continues to be a reverse splits pitcher and has allowed a .375 wOBA to right-handers this year. Saladino is a great bargain play if you need salary cap space.

		Xander Bogaerts
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.302	0.811	2.48%	0.355
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.393	0.808	0.00%	0.348
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Danks – LEFT		0.283	0.835	3.73%	0.363
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.109	0.000	$2,700	$7,100	$3,600	$59,700

Xander Bogaerts

With no Coors Field in play, we look to Fenway to provide us with runs today, and look who is pitching for the White Sox. We have John Danks here, a favorite of DFS players to pick on. The issue with Danks is that he has been known to pitch a gem or two this year, or get shelled. Based on the over/under and his career numbers, I am going to predict Danks will get shelled here. Bogaerts has a .403 wOBA against lefties, is way underpriced and is going to hit at the top of the lineup. Load him up.

		Chris Young
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.270	0.855	4.91%	0.367
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Harrison – LEFT		0.297	0.000		0.365
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.123	0.000	$6,300	$5,800	$4,500	$76,400

Chris Young

Chris Young should play tonight against a soft tossing lefty in Texas, and that is one of his best matchups in MLB DFS. If he does not hit at the top of the lineup, I would be extremely surprised. With Harrison’s poor early numbers against right-handers, it only makes sense to plug Young in for super cheap.

		Mookie Betts
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.261	0.720	2.82%	0.314
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.167	0.509	0.00%	0.235
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Danks – LEFT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.109	0.000	$3,400	$8,250	$4,400	$67,800

Mookie Betts

The fact that Danks has thrown two shutout starts in a row concerns me a bit here, but Danks is not a shutdown pitcher. I would rather target him with bats than target him with my dollars, and with a .378 wOBA allowed to righties, I am definitely going that way. Betts is really struggling against lefties, but he did have a .370 wOBA against them last year and has been getting robbed by a .203 BABIP this year, which means that his true numbers should be between the .370 last year and the .270 this year. Considering how prone Danks is to getting beaten up, Betts is a solid play.

		Carlos Gonzalez
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.269	0.851	6.05%	0.366
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.412	1.386	17.65%	0.584
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Hendricks – RIGHT		0.248	0.673	2.14%	0.297
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.759	0.000	$3,000	$10,750	$4,100	$76,200

Carlos Gonzalez

Cargo is still extremely cheap on FanDuel, and while I do not love the matchup with Hendricks in Wrigley, it appears that the left-hander has found his groove again. He has five homers in his last four games; while those games were at Coors, Gonzalez is such a streaky masher that at this price I want him in my lineups everywhere. He is the main hitting cog for Colorado right now and looks like a good bet to continue smashing the ball.

		Shin-soo Choo
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.256	0.779	3.66%	0.345
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.333	1.091	5.56%	0.457
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Nova – RIGHT		0.310	0.794	1.77%	0.348
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.123	0.000	$3,300	$8,700	$3,700	$68,000

Shin-soo Choo

Choo is cheap as well tonight, and he is one of the better hitters out there against right-handed pitching. If Choo was against a lefty, I would never take him, but against Nova, who has allowed a .356 wOBA to lefties, I am certainly looking his way. His 147 career wRC+ is a solid number and he is in the best hitter’s park tonight against a guy in Nova who is still working his way back into a rhythm in the bigs.

		Prince Fielder
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.336	0.902	2.93%	0.381
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.316	0.985	5.26%	0.407
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Nova – RIGHT		0.310	0.794	1.77%	0.348
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.123	0.000	$3,900	$9,450	$4,500	$77,100

Prince Fielder

I mentioned Nova’s wOBA allowed to lefties above, and with Fielder, Moreland, Choo (and don’t forget about Hamilton), there is some definite left-handed power on this team. Fielder has a .413 wOBA against righties and is averaging about a homer every 10 at-bats against right-handed pitching. With him locked into a top four spot in the batting order, there is little risk with this pick; the only risk is the opportunity cost of not using Goldschmidt.