Daily Batter Breakdown: Wednesday, April 16th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2014-04-16 20:17:19

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 are a lot of what should be pitchers duels tonight and not too many huge scoring games so we might see a bit of overlap with the player selection. FanDuel has their $270 DFBC Qualifier tonight and DK is running the Perfect Game where they are guaranteeing $100k and $25k to first almost every single night now. Thank God there is only one game in real danger right now and that is Blue Jays at Twins which might be better to just avoid as it looks like it will be snowy. Oh, and if George Springer is in the lineup and is minimum salary on your site, use him.

		Victor Martinez
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.312	0.816	2.70%	0.354
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.357	0.983	7.14%	0.395
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		McAllister – RIGHT			0.254	0.744	12.22%	0.333
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.139	1.044	$3,200	$6,336	$9,300	$4,000	$65,300	$6,000	$10,300

Victor Martinez

I really like the Tigers bats tonight against McAllister even with his solid start last time against the Padres. Nine at-bats is no sample to use for Victor against McAllister, but Victor has been hitting well this season against RHP and hasn’t struck out a single time this year in 32 at bats against them. He’s seeing the ball well and makes one of the safest catcher plays today in my opinion.

		Miguel Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.338	1.022	7.06%	0.434
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.100	0.332	0.00%	0.135
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		McAllister – RIGHT			0.259	0.698	3.36%	0.315
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.139	1.090	$4,600	$8,384	$12,200	$5,000	$75,700	$8,900	$11,900

Miguel Cabrera

Everything that I wrote yesterday about Miguel translates to today so here we are:

Cabrera has really struggled in the opening part of the season and noted that he needs to work on his swing a bit. He is still a top tier hitter and this may be the cheapest you’ll ever be able to get him at. He faces McAllister who in his career has actually been worse against right handed hitting giving up a .769 OPS to righties. Cabrera has massive power against right handed pitching and taking out last year, Cabrera has usually been better against right handers. I would rather start using him when his price is low and riding the streak than hopping on when it’s high.

		Howie Kendrick
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.281	0.817	3.70%	0.347
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.160	0.45	0.00%	0.197
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Milone – LEFT			0.247	0.720	5.19%	0.316
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.968	1.066	$2,900	$6,082	$7,600	$4,100	$65,500	$5,500	$7,300

Howie Kendrick

Kendrick maintains a low price point even though he’s had multiple hit games frequently in the last 2 weeks. He has struggled against lefties this season but in the past 3 seasons, lefties have been his bread and butter and I don’t trust Tommy Milone in this game. Milone is usually equal against both righties and lefties but I really like the matchup the Angels pose today as they are one of the higher projected scoring teams here.

		Josh Donaldson
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.328	1.021	6.11%	0.433
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.333	1.074	11.11%	0.457
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Skaggs – LEFT			0.233	0.697	8.54%	0.314
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.968	1.066	$4,200	$7,775	$11,650	$4,800	$89,400	$7,200	$10,200

Josh Donaldson

If I’m paying for a 3rd baseman today, I’m paying for Josh Donaldson even against Skaggs. Donaldson obliterated left handed pitching last year posting a .936 OPS and 15 homers in 259 at bats. Skaggs also allowed 12 homers in 217 at bats and an .829 OPS last year to right handed batters. There’s really nothing of worth at 3rd base today and I think Donaldson gives you the best chance at homering from this position.

		Asdrubal Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.237	0.703	3.03%	0.308
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.207	0.706	3.45%	0.304
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Sanchez – RIGHT			0.256	0.686	8.06%	0.308
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.139	1.044	$3,100	$5,775	$8,900	$4,500	$67,800	$6,900	$7,900

Asdrubal Cabrera

Cabrera is off to a terrible start this season but has shown some life in the last week. There is also no one I really like at shortstop today so it may be best to just punt the position with Hechavarria or Villar but if you want to spend a little more I think Cabrera is a good gamble. He has decent homer potential, and while Sanchez hasn’t been horrible at the start of the season he’s really struggled to get left handers out so far. I’m not ecstatic about using him but hes a lesser of all evils if you don’t want to pay up for Hanley.

		Alfonso Soriano
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.291	0.918	7.54%	0.391
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.304	1.116	13.04%	0.471
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Wood – LEFT			0.225	0.641	7.73%	0.291
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.087	1.003	$3,300	$6,326	$9,900	$4,600	$72,000	$7,200	$8,200

Alfonso Soriano

Soriano’s homers seem to come in droves especially when he’s batting against lefties. He’s hit 3 in the last week or so and is still extremely cheap. I love him for GPP options today as I really think he’s got a solid chance to go yard against Travis Wood who gave up 15 of his 18 homers to right handers last year. I would avoid him in cash games, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Soriano send one out tonight.

		Adam Eaton
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.261	0.727	1.71%	0.322
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.455	1.299	4.55%	0.549
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Buchholz – RIGHT			0.192	0.551	9.28%	0.251
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.998	1.002	$3,400	$7,285	$10,900	$4,900	$82,400	$8,000	$10,200

Adam Eaton

I don’t expect a lot of people to go ahead and use White Sox players today so Eaton should be a guy who is pretty low owned and also fairly inexpensive. Eaton this year has hit righties to a .907 OPS and is on fire in the past 2 weeks. What makes this better is that Buchholz has been totally miserable against hitters batting from the left side with a 1.308 OPS this season and has allowed 2 homers. The Red Sox/White Sox game is definitely a decent game to target today and Eaton should be hitting at the top of the lineup and can get you a lot of points in a bunch of different ways.

		Yoenis Cespedes
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.275	0.864	6.59%	0.369
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.250	0.849	8.33%	0.365
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Skaggs – LEFT			0.233	0.697	8.54%	0.314
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.968	1.066	$4,000	$7,865	$10,550	$4,100	$80,300	$7,100	$9,200

Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes has struggled in the early part of the season but has shown some life with 2 homers in the past week along with a 4 game hit streak. If I’m using Donaldson against Skaggs, I’m seriously considering using Cespedes here as well as Skaggs has struggled against right handers and Cespedes has done work against lefties with a .867 OPS. It’s not the best matchup with Skaggs on the hill but I would definitely trust the A’s bats more than Skaggs in this one.

		Billy Butler
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.267	0.766	3.11%	0.326
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.105	0.255	0.00%	0.123
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Keuchel – LEFT			0.304	0.826	8.13%	0.366
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.074	1.017	$2,200	$4,411	$8,250	$3,700	$53,900	$5,800	$8,500

Billy Butler

Butler has been AWFUL this year and there is no way around it. In fact, he’s been so bad, that his price has dropped to 2,200 on FanDuel and has dropped extremely low everywhere else. He has a history of performing at the big league level and that price to me is something that will change in the future. Butler is great against left handed pitching and has shown that, hitting at a .902 OPS against them in the last 3 years. That price is a complete steal for a guy hitting in the middle of the lineup against an Astros team who is throwing Dallas Keuchel out there.

		Buster Posey
		Daily Breakdown			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits			0.317	0.882	2.48%	0.376
		Last 7 Days Splits			0.263	0.754	5.26%	0.334
		Opp SP vs. LR			Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Maholm – LEFT			0.301	0.837	8.21%	0.378
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DS	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.869	0.961	$3,600	$7,158	$10,650	$4,900	$84,900	$6,700	$10,300

Buster Posey

Posey is a great option today and if I’m not using any Tigers in conjunction with Martinez and can fit Posey I would rather use him here. Posey’s wheelhouse is to destroy left handed pitching hitting them at a 1.033 OPS with a 357 average and 18 homers in 360 at bats. There are very few left handers that I won’t consider rostering Posey against and Paul Maholm is definitely not one of those lefties. Maholm has allowed right handers to hit himat a 1.228 OPS this year and a .755 in previous years giving up 43 homers. This is a solid spot for Posey and the other SF righties like Pence and Morse.