Daily Batter Breakdown: Thursday, July 30th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-07-31 17:35:46

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.

		Brian McCann
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.226	0.693	4.59%	0.304
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.143	0.437	0.00%	0.225
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Gallardo – RIGHT		0.233	0.658	2.02%	0.294
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.085	0.000	$3,000	$8,000	$3,900	$70,900

Brian McCann

McCann had a couple of hard hit balls last night that did not go as he would have liked them to, but he seems fairly primed for one to go out in Texas here tonight. Gallardo is not bad by any means, but he is pitching above his ability so far this year with that .254 BABIP. His wOBA is usually higher than it is, and with McCann really only able to hit right-handed pitching and having a price that’s so affordable, he makes a solid play at catcher in a weak pool here.

		Chris Davis
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.209	0.747	6.19%	0.325
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.308	1.362	19.23%	0.545
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Simon – RIGHT		0.271	0.793	3.41%	0.345
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.164	0.000	$4,100	$11,100	$4,600	$83,000

Chris Davis

Despite really struggling these last couple of years and having a poor batting average, Davis’ wOBA this year is still at .347 and climbing. Simon’s wOBA against lefties is a sad .388 and he has allowed lefties to do whatever they want against him. In a home run park like Camden Yards, I am very nervous for Simon’s future in this one and could see Davis paying off as a major GPP chip.

		Brian Dozier
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.269	0.837	4.42%	0.362
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.238	0.714	4.76%	0.32
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Happ – LEFT		0.261	0.743	3.08%	0.325
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.107	0.000	$3,600	$9,950	$4,600	$79,400

Brian Dozier

Happ is pretty average against batters from both sides of the plate, but Dozier really excels at taking lefties deep, and he’s a good value. Dozier has a .383 wOBA this year against lefties and a 147 wRC+ with career numbers that are all extremely nice, like a .231 ISO. If you want a power bat at second base, Dozier is your man. He has not been great lately but I trust his season long numbers, and he is always a solid play when a southpaw toes the rubber.

		Manny Machado
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.293	0.855	5.20%	0.372
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.185	0.6	3.70%	0.27
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Simon – RIGHT		0.234	0.652	2.00%	0.290
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.164	0.000	$3,800	$8,800	$4,800	$75,200

Manny Machado

Machado’s .383 wOBA against right-handed pitching is a great reverse split, and probably is more due to the fact that he is just a really good hitter. Really good hitters tend to destroy poor pitchers, and with Simon really struggling to do anything resembling getting outs right now, Machado should be able to do damage to him from the leadoff spot. Simon’s numbers are solid against righties and I like Donaldson more for a bit cheaper, but Machado makes a solid play as well.

		Troy Tulowitzki
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.302	0.857	4.35%	0.373
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.000	0.111	0.00%	0.04
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Martinez – RIGHT		0.227	0.593	0.93%	0.266
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.865	0.000	$3,500	$10,250	$3,900	$79,400

Troy Tulowitzki

The pricing on Tulo here is just wrong. For whatever reason, changing teams somehow rejuvenates a player, and even though Tulo was not having a great year, he was just not having his typical crushing year. Out of Coors, he is now less than 4K on both sites, and with his pedigree against lefties (career .410 wOBA), this is an absolute no brainer.

		Danny Valencia
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.321	0.836	2.17%	0.365
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.263	0.721	5.26%	0.316
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Duffy – LEFT		0.237	0.702	2.91%	0.311
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.948	0.000	$2,800	$6,500	$3,100	$61,800

Danny Valencia

Valencia continues to be extremely cheap when considering his .376 career wOBA against lefties, and with Danny on Danny crime going on today I have Valencia in a lot of lineups. Him being OF eligible allows you to grab Tulo and Donaldson tonight, and with Duffy’s 4.70 xFIP, I really think the Jays are in for a big night with their new tool-o?

		Randal Grichuk
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.269	0.788	4.48%	0.340
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.375	1.194	12.50%	0.505
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Rusin – LEFT		0.312	0.861	3.47%	0.372
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.865	0.000	$3,800	$9,500	$4,400

Randal Grichuk

Rusin struggles against righties with a .373 career wOBA allowed. He has been better this year after essentially letting them do whatever they wanted to him last year, but he still is not good. Grichuk has a .372 wOBA against lefties this year, and with him coming back from his groin issue and Holliday exiting the other direction, Grichuk is going to have to step up, and I think he does. This is a solid matchup and he should be at the top of the lineup.

		Adam Eaton
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.286	0.782	1.46%	0.344
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.375	1.149	4.17%	0.487
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Wright – RIGHT		0.260	0.719	3.82%	0.317
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.107	0.000	$3,800	$9,200	$4,300	$76,000

Adam Eaton

The White Sox prices are finally rising as they heat up with their bats at all the same time. Eaton has been the nuts at the top of the lineup lately and I would feel comfortable paying $4,300 for him. Eaton is arguably the hottest hitter in the game right now and his wOBA has been raised from .320 to .356 in the last month or so. Wright is not going to pose a problem for the lefties of the White Sox, and in Fenway, they should get another boost as well.

		Melky Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.300	0.772	2.14%	0.338
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.516	1.531	6.45%	0.645
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Wright – RIGHT		0.260	0.719	3.82%	0.317
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.107	0.000	$3,800	$9,850	$4,300	$86,800

Melky Cabrera

I am not sure that I have seen the White Sox at a 4.5 over/under this year, but hey there is a first for everything. The White Sox are getting their bats together and Melky has been one of the best hitters since the All-Star break. He has seven straight games with multiple hits; despite his low season total in points, he is racking them up now. Even better for him he faces Wright in Fenway, which should be great given Wright’s 4.79 xFIP and his inability to get major leaguers out.

		Josh Donaldson
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.296	1.022	8.58%	0.433
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.227	0.879	9.09%	0.369
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Duffy – LEFT		0.237	0.702	2.91%	0.311
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.948	0.000	$4,600	$10,300	$4,600	$88,200

Josh Donaldson

I think I should put Donaldson as a disclaimer just like the Coors Field disclaimer, as he seems to fit his way into my writeups every time he is against a left-handed pitcher. Yes, KC is fairly formidable, but we are still talking about the Rogers Centre and we are still talking about the best hitting team against LHP in the world. Donaldson’s ridiculous .434 wOBA against lefties makes him always in play, no matter his price, and hes only $4,600 tonight.