Daily Batter Breakdown: Thu, May 22nd

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2014-05-22 19:53:41

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.

There’s a pretty solid schedule tonight for a Thursday in MLB, so it’s a good time to do some research and get some extra games in. There are a little bit of weather issues so make sure you check and make sure what’s going on when you’re checking lineups. Not a lot of obvious plays today as a lot of the over/unders are right around 7.0 or 7.5. Should definitely be an interesting day and picking the right pitcher that has a bad game is going to be paramount.

		Yadier Molina
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.265	0.766	2.94%	0.328
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.529	1.147	0.00%	0.474
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Miley – LEFT			0.258	0.734	8.50%	0.327
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.892	0.939	$3,400	$7,102	$9,950	$4,600	$78,200	$6,800	$8,700

Yadier Molina

The most indispensable catcher in the major leagues highlights my catcher plays of the night here as Molina isn’t that expensive anywhere, is hot with the bat and I really like his matchup against Miley. Over his career, Molina has crushed left handed pitching and has hit well at home. He may not be the biggest home run threat of the night but he’s one of the safest GPP plays and he’s really been swinging a hot bat lately with a 1.187 OPS in the last 7 and a 1.034 OPS at home this year. I admit I am lower than most on Miley but I think the Cards get it together at home tonight, and Molina’s price is a lot lower than I would expect.

		Chris Davis
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.261	0.847	4.35%	0.372
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.333	1.386	19.05%	0.567
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Tomlin – RIGHT			0.190	0.590	2.33%	0.255
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.057	1.073	$4,300	$8,252	$12,250	$4,700	$87,600	$8,800	$10,700

Chris Davis

It will be Justin Masterson and not Tomlin on the bump for the Indians tonight, but all that does is increase my desire to use Davis tonight. Fresh off the 3 HR game, Davis has been raking lately and in the last couple of years has absolutely annihilated right handed pitching. There was lots of talk about Masterson’s improvement against left handed hitting this year but I’ve seen none. He’s still allowing over a .300 BAA and a .898 OPS. He’s also been complete garbage in the last 2 games and it’s just not good for him right now. I’m going to try to roster Davis on almost every site.

		Jose Altuve
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.449	1.042	0.00%	0.453
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.379	0.828	0.00%	0.365
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Elias – LEFT			0.255	0.709	9.83%	0.326
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.991	0.990	$3,800	$7,683	$9,800	$4,500	$82,400	$7,200	$11,900

Jose Altuve

Elias had that one magical start with 10 strikeouts, but really since then has been just average on the mound and has been extremely homer prone. The Astros strike out a lot but they aren’t devoid of power bats so although they aren’t my favorite plays of the day I’m not straying away from them. Altuve is in a position with not many great hitters, his price isn’t going to force you to downgrade significantly at other positions, he’s been solid in the last week and he’s hitting lefties at a 1.001 OPS with a .436 batting average. He’s got a track record of hitting lefties well and Elias is still green when it comes to major league pitching.

		Kyle Seager
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.247	0.873	6.74%	0.382
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.211	0.549	0.00%	0.254
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Cosart – RIGHT			0.204	0.602	13.36%	0.279
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.991	0.957	$3,100	$6,038	$8,650	$4,000	$67,800	$6,000	$8,700

Kyle Seager

Maybe this last series against the Rangers will have struck something in Seager where he will remember how to hit the ball. He’s shown some solid power in the last couple of years and can go on streaks that really help your fantasy team. He hits at a career .784 OPS against righties and is hitting even better than that this year so his matchup against Cosart is encouraging who has given up 4 of his 5 HR to left handers this year. Also helping out is the surprise 4 over/under for the Mariners today which is higher than usual as Vegas doesn’t seem to believe in Cosart or the Astros pen.

		Everth Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.248	0.574	0.00%	0.255
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.192	0.645	7.69%	0.281
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Arrieta – RIGHT			0.209	0.675	14.74%	0.310
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.831	0.976	$2,600	$4,339	$8,400	$3,800	$61,200	$6,500	$5,000

Everth Cabrera

Even with how bad the Padres are right now and the struggles that Cabrera has had this year, I still look at his salary and see a bargain. He has a little bit of power and he also has speed to steal bases and get on base which makes his upside worthwhile. Shortstop is a little weak tonight, Arrieta has left a lot to be desired this year especially against left handed hitting and the Padres are pretty heavily favored in this game for being the Padres. Cabrera usually hits at the top of the order and he’s a perfect filler to be able to load up on salary elsewhere.

		Adam Eaton
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.254	0.730	1.41%	0.328
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.214	0.5	0.00%	0.219
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Phelps – RIGHT			0.234	0.704	10.00%	0.322
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.998	1.002	$3,000	$6,781	$8,400	$3,800	$71,100	$6,100	$10,000

Adam Eaton

Eaton really disappointed me last night against Guthrie as I had him almost everywhere and he went for dud. I’m not ready to give up on him yet after one bagel of a game. Tonight he gets Phelps who has been solid against lefties this year however in a bigger sample last year allowed 15 of his 22 homers against lefties. Eaton hits at the top of the lineup and isn’t going to break the bank at all. If he cannot start hitting right handed pitching well, I might start believing in the reverse splits he’s shown in the last couple of years.

		Carlos Gomez
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.304	0.920	4.80%	0.399
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.250	0.583	0.00%	0.275
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Harang – RIGHT			0.261	0.713	6.06%	0.316
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.956	0.932	$4,200	$6,890	$11,350	$4,900	$89,600	$6,900	$11,900

Carlos Gomez

Carlos Gomez has one of the most violent swings that you will ever see, causing him to fall over on some. He’s always fun to watch as you never know when someone will make him angry and there will be a benches clearing brawl. Anyway, he’s not as expensive as I would have thought especially on a site like DraftStreet as Gomez has been really solid against both left and right handers this year. Harang is coming back to earth a little bit and is not the 100% dominant pitcher he was for a couple of starts there. Gomez is leading off so he will get the most plate appearances possible, has big homer power, can steal bases and get to every base on the diamond. The right/right matchup concerns me a bit but still with Braun hitting behind him I love him tonight on DS for under 7k.

		Yasiel Puig
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.333	0.900	5.56%	0.399
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.381	1.29	9.52%	0.542
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Niese – LEFT			0.289	0.746	7.49%	0.334
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.867	0.961	$5,100	$10,369	$12,700	$5,600	$118,400	$10,000	$13,200

Yasiel Puig

Jonathon Niese has been a little bit vulnerable in the last 2 games giving up 3 ER in each. I’m not overly excited by Dodgers tonight as he’s been effective, however there really aren’t too many awesome matchups. Niese has been very hittable by right handers offering up about a .275 average and about a .750 OPS. Puig is on fire right now and playing with some huge confidence in his swing. You will have to pay for him but at this point he’s one of the most consistent cash game options you can think of. I don’t trust Niese to hold down this Dodger lineup right now.

		Ike Davis
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.301	0.878	2.41%	0.389
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.214	0.889	7.14%	0.374
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Treinen – RIGHT			0.455	0.933	4.35%	0.416
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.907	0.897	$2,400	$5,215	$7,500	$3,000	$55,700	$5,500	$6,800

Ike Davis

I would target the Pirates a little bit more today, but I’m not really seeing anything that’s making me believe that Treinen is going to get lit up today. He had a really solid SP debut last time out, he’s BB/K ratio is solid and he’s inducing more ground balls than fly balls and he’s also pitching at PNC park tonight which isn’t great for hitters. The one guy I am looking at is Ike Davis who is batting better than he ever did with the Mets with Pittsburgh now. He’s not striking out that much recently and his price is ridiculously cheap everywhere for what was once one of the top power hitting prospects. He’s only good against righties and has a .312 average and a .913 OPS against them which people might not realize as his ineptness against lefties drags down all of the numbers.

		Paul Goldschmidt
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.318	0.953	6.08%	0.409
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.263	1.07	10.53%	0.449
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Lynn – RIGHT			0.242	0.624	5.71%	0.286
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.892	0.939	$4,400	$8,565	$12,600	$5,200	$91,500	$8,900	$10,800

Paul Goldschmidt

Goldschmidt actually has a higher OPS against right handers this year than he does against lefties which is really surprising. He’s only homered off of righties and it hasn’t really mattered whether he’s home or away, he will get the job done. He’s one of the best cash game options as well because he walks a ton and has power and hits in the middle of the lineup. Lance Lynn hasn’t been horrible this year but he hasn’t been great, and he really hasn’t pitched against a solid offense in a while. I’m just not sold on Lynn and I really like Goldy’s consistency.