Daily Batter Breakdown: Tuesday, April 14th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-04-16 16:31:28

Welcome to the Daily Batter Breakdown. Each day, when there are at least eight 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.

		Buster Posey
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.314	0.844	3.69%	0.366
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.353	1.009	5.88%	0.44
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Bergman – RIGHT		0.341	0.994	0.83%	0.425
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.920	0.000	$4,400	$9,950	$4,300	$73,100

Buster Posey

The catcher position is extremely thin this year it seems with Posey being one of the only great plays on the board on every slate. He gets Christian Bergman, who allowed a 5.01 xFIP last year against right handers and even in a pitcher’s park won’t be able to hold Posey down. Posey crushes lefties, but he also hits solid against right handers, making him a very attractive option today against a below average pitcher.

		Miguel Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.317	0.894	4.15%	0.385
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.286	0.883	7.14%	0.372
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Burnett – RIGHT		0.254	0.713	0.00%	0.316
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.977	0.000	$5,300	$12,300	$4,900	$85,300

Miguel Cabrera

Cabrera is a DraftKings play as his FanDuel price is the top on the board while at DraftKings he is under $5,000. PNC is not a great hitters park and Burnett is a fairly decent pitcher, but Cabrera still has almost a .400 wOBA against righties and an ISO north of .200 against them as well. There are some other solid plays at first, but his price is so low on DK.

		Ben Zobrist
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.246	0.703	1.69%	0.316
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.350	0.831	0.00%	0.367
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Peacock – RIGHT		0.270	0.793	3.54%	0.348
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.012	0.000	$3,100	$9,100	$4,500	$65,200

Ben Zobrist

Zobrist is really cheap on FanDuel at $3,100 and makes one of the better pays at 2nd. While Peacock has improved in each of his years in the majors, he has still allowed a career 4.90 xFIP to left handers, where Zobrist will be batting from. Zobrist makes a fantastic cash game play as he can do everything and gets on base efficiently and is hitting in a hitter’s park with upside.

		David Wright
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.241	0.634	1.20%	0.283
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Buchanan – RIGHT		0.284	0.820	0.00%	0.357
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.847	0.000	$3,800	$9,400	$4,100	$63,500

David Wright

Wright is one of my top plays at 3B today. The Mets are -230 at the writing of this, and while a lot of that is due to the pitching matchup, it also indicates with a 4 over/under that Vegas expects the Mets to score some runs against Buchanan. Wright is cheap, bats in the middle of the lineup and Buchanan will not be able to hold him down here.

		Jose Reyes
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.289	0.732	1.81%	0.324
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.240	0.551	0.00%	0.236
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Andriese – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.042	0.000	$3,900	$9,900	$5,100	$73,200

Jose Reyes

Reyes was a bummer last night, but I still like him today. Andriese is making his first major league start and may have some jitters in the first inning. I love Reyes’ potential as the Jays have a 4 over/under, are in a hitter’s park which gives Reyes HR potential and he gets a boost of SBs against an inexperienced right-handed pitcher. Do not let his struggles yesterday impact this play.

		Steve Pearce
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.327	1.109	9.18%	0.472
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.182	0.853	9.09%	0.369
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Sabathia – LEFT		0.320	0.921	2.64%	0.401
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.932	0.000	$3,900	$7,650	$4,000	$63,500

Steve Pearce

Steve Pearce’s numbers against lefties are ridiculous, especially last year. He had a .472 wOBA, 1.109 OPS and a .378 ISO against lefties, meaning that he was one of the top 5 hitters in the majors against them all year. Granted, this was only in 50 at-bats but his career numbers are still incredibly solid. Sabathia is not the pitcher he was a while ago, and though his velocity is up this year it did not help in his first start. I would expect him to continue struggling in Camden and the Orioles to have a solid day at the plate.

		Matt Joyce
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.263	0.758	2.08%	0.337
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.286	0.875	7.14%	0.387
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Martinez – RIGHT		0.276	0.832	3.57%	0.366
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.052	0.000	$2,500	$8,800	$4,400	$45,400

Matt Joyce

Joyce is way too cheap on FanDuel assuming he gets the start here against Nick Martinez, who was miserable last year with a .366 wOBA allowed and a 5.68 (!!) xFIP. The Angels should be all over him in this game, and if Joyce is in the middle of the lineup we could see an incredibly solid game from him with lots of RBIs and a homer. Joyce has mashed right handers in Tampa and should enjoy hitting in Rangers Park today.

		Shin-Soo Choo
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.244	0.732	2.86%	0.329
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Rucinski – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.052	0.000	$3,000	$9,100	$4,700	$61,400

Shin-Soo Choo

We have Choo against a right hander again, and forgive me if I do not think that Drew Rucinski is not exactly one of the best pitchers on the board. The Rangers are at a 4 over/under here, Choo will be batting 2nd behind another lefty at the top of the lineup and should be able to produce solid numbers in this situation, with his career .392 wOBA and .200 ISO against righties.

		Edwin Encarnacion
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.270	0.909	7.59%	0.392
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.273	0.779	4.55%	0.346
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Andriese – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.042	0.000	$4,600	$12,200	$5,500	$82,300

Edwin Encarnacion

If you are not taking Cabrera, you should think about Encarnacion. While Harvey and Arrieta seem to be the best pitchers on the board, there are certain value plays like Greene and Despaigne who could allow you to stack your roster with Jays. Encarnacion is against a righty but had a .291 ISO and a .392 wOBA against right handers last year. Rogers Centre is full of homers and he is as good of a bet to homer as anyone today.

		Nelson Cruz
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.320	0.84	4.00%	0.365
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Huff – LEFT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.907	0.000	$3,800	$10,200	$4,500	$73,200

Nelson Cruz

Cruz homered twice last night and should be at it again today. His price is so cheap on FanDuel and very affordable on DraftKings. Huff is making his first start, and has never really been a major force in the majors with a 4.84 xFIP over his career. He has not exactly been shelled consistently, but he has not been good either. Cruz had a .416 wOBA and a .255 ISO last year against lefties which is close to his career averages. The price and the matchup for Nelson are too good to pass up today.