Daily Batter Breakdown: Saturday, April 25th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-04-28 13:15:55

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.

		Robinson Chirinos
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.237	0.759	6.45%	0.334
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.214	0.884	7.14%	0.379
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Wilson – LEFT		0.273	0.774	1.79%	0.345
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.919	0.000	$2,400	$6,000	$3,200	$60,600

Robinson Chirinos

If you’re looking for a GPP play at catcher, Chirinos is going to fit the bill. He may not hit for average, but he certainly can hit for power, as he had a .205 ISO against left-handed pitchers in 2014. He has came out of the gates this year and smashed two homers off lefties as well, so the upside is there. The question is, is his price low enough and can he get enough good looks against CJ Wilson in a minus park to knock one out? He certainly will be low owned and for that reason, makes a great GPP gamble.

		Freddie Freeman
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.300	0.885	3.05%	0.388
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.273	0.976	9.09%	0.421
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Buchanan – RIGHT		0.226	0.593	1.00%	0.272
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.929	0.000	$3,300	$9,850	$4,900	$73,500

Freddie Freeman

The over/under in this game is not great because of two poor offenses, but Atlanta does have the advantage in that category. Freeman is the cornerstone of this offense and makes for a solid GPP play, but a great cash game play. Buchanan had a 4.47 xFIP last year against lefties but has been unable to get any lefties out this year, given that his xFIP is over 8 in a very small sample. That number will come down, however Freeman has a great chance at putting up some major fantasy points today.

		Chris Davis
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.199	0.716	5.65%	0.312
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.240	0.807	4.00%	0.36
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Masterson – RIGHT		0.312	0.910	2.54%	0.400
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.932	0.000	$3,100	$10,250	$4,300	$61,600

Chris Davis

This is a poor matchup for Masterson. The Orioles hit right handers extremely well, and although Masterson has improved his approach against lefties, but still had a 4.51 xFIP against them last year, and he gives up homers in droves against them. He has a 7.71 career ERA at Camden Yards and this Orioles team can stack up the lefties against him. I like Davis as a GPP play at first, while I like Freeman as more of the cash game option.

		Robinson Cano
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.327	0.891	3.27%	0.382
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.417	1.065	0.00%	0.455
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		May – RIGHT		0.298	0.892	3.58%	0.393
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.825	0.000	$3,800	$10,000	$4,400	$78,300

Robinson Cano

May does not profile as a terrible pitcher, but he did have a 4.46 xFIP and some really ugly numbers, not only against lefties last year but against everyone. Cano, as we have talked about in many articles previously, is going to be the best power hitter at second base, and while he does not have the SB upside as Altuve and Gordon, he has the two-HR upside against a poor pitcher that can get you a higher total. Vegas is not liking May a whole ton in this game either, so I will go with the guy who has raked for years against RHP and use Cano, even at an inflated point.

		Kyle Seager
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.283	0.862	5.66%	0.376
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.381	1.004	0.00%	0.442
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		May – RIGHT		0.298	0.892	3.58%	0.393
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.825	0.000	$3,400	$8,850	$3,900	$75,600

Kyle Seager

Any time the Mariners are against a right-handed pitcher, it seems like a good opportunity to stack Seager and Cano together with some of the other power lefties in their lineup. They have a great ability to stack the lineup with lefties with power (Seager has a .221 and .225 ISO in 2014 and 215 respectively) and a great option to stack against May, who has not had much service time in the majors and has not been great in such time.

		Matt Carpenter
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.277	0.762	1.46%	0.343
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.417	1.295	8.33%	0.544
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Peralta – RIGHT		0.300	0.820	3.59%	0.361
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.002	0.000	$4,100	$9,800	$4,900	$88,400

Matt Carpenter

Today I love Carpenter, who has had a good amount of power in the early going of this year. Carpenter has always hit right handers at a close to elite level and now he hits against one of the most homer-prone pitchers in a hitter’s park. This should be a great chance for Carpenter to go deep, as Peralta has allowed a 1.93 HR/9 and a 4.95 xFIP against lefties this year. Carpenter will have backup as well and is not that expensive on either site.

		Hanley Ramirez
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.282	0.869	3.88%	0.383
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.238	0.685	4.76%	0.29
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Chen – LEFT		0.262	0.746	1.35%	0.326
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.932	0.000	$3,600	$11,150	$4,900	$77,500

Hanley Ramirez

Chen is a completely average pitcher with average numbers and average stuff and he rarely has a poor outing. That scares me a bit today from using the Red Sox, but Hanley has such great numbers against left-handed pitching, I like him today. Camden Yards is a nice place to hit homers, and Ramirez has three of in 10 at bats against lefties this year, and despite a poor .383 wOBA last year, he still has almost a career .400 wOBA and a .921 OPS against right handers. He is a great play, especially if he is still SS eligible on your site.

		Alejandro De Aza
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.277	0.766	2.05%	0.337
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.067	0.192	0.00%	0.099
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Masterson – RIGHT		0.312	0.910	2.54%	0.400
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.932	0.000	$2,500	$7,850	$3,100	$50,700

Alejandro De Aza

I talked about Masterson being unable to get lefties out, so I am assuming De Aza will be leading off. De Aza hits right handers well with a .205 ISO this year and a .330 career wOBA and will have his chances against Masterson. He may run today as well, but if the Orioles run out a lineup of right handers around him, I would downgrade him a few notches because of Masterson’s elite ability to strike right handers out.

		Nick Markakis
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.274	0.751	2.83%	0.332
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.524	1.187	0.00%	0.524
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Buchanan – RIGHT		0.226	0.593	1.00%	0.272
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.929	0.000	$2,900	$8,050	$3,900	$69,700

Nick Markakis

Markakis is great to pair with Freeman today, as we have talked about Buchanan’s numbers in the early part of this year and last year. Markakis has a career .356 wOBA against righties and has been hitting extremely well this year, with a .483 wOBA and a 1.085 OPS in limited plate appearances. With Freeman batting behind him, he should have a good chance at scoring some runs, and if Young can get on, driving them in as well.