Daily Batter Breakdown: Wednesday, April 29th
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.
(Note: I will be driving throughout the night on Thursday to attend the Oaks and the Derby courtesy of DraftKings, so the Batter Breakdown will be taking a hiatus until next Monday.)
 | Stephen Vogt | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.291 | 0.770 | 3.48% | 0.337 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.294 | 0.703 | 0.00% | 0.328 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Shoemaker – RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.701 | 2.94% | 0.308 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.023 | 0.000 | $3,100 | $8,300 | $3,700 | $74,100 | ||
Stephen Vogt
We’re told to buy in on Angels’ pitcher Matt Shoemaker, and while I am not advocating him as a guy to target all the time, there is something to be said with how much he has struggled so far this year. Vogt is obliterating right-handed pitching with a .475 wOBA and a 1.141 OPS (.443 OBP as well), making him one of the safest plays on the board today considering he still is not very expensive. He has 2 HR upside and even though Shoemaker will regress to better numbers than his north of 7 xFIP, I do not mind using hitters against him until he shows us something.
 | Matt Adams | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.318 | 0.854 | 2.96% | 0.367 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.273 | 0.759 | 4.55% | 0.332 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Harang – RIGHT | 0.284 | 0.747 | 1.33% | 0.330 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.100 | 0.000 | $2,700 | $8,850 | $4,300 | $55,000 | ||
Matt Adams
A lot of the matchups today are quite similar to yesterday’s matchups, so you may see a lot of the same guys on the list today (I tried to diversify some) but if they made solid plays in good situations yesterday, they would make good plays again today. Matt Adams is one of those guys with a cheap price on FanDuel (these days, everyone seems cheap on FanDuel) and affordable on DraftKings. Adams feasts on right-handed pitching and the big guy hits them at almost a .200 ISO and a .367 wOBA. Harang has been good this year so this is not a “target all of the Cardinals” spot like last night, but I still love Adams at first as a GPP play with 2 HR upside.
 | Daniel Murphy | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.293 | 0.747 | 1.56% | 0.328 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.208 | 0.728 | 4.17% | 0.316 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Latos – RIGHT | 0.233 | 0.609 | 1.59% | 0.271 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.014 | 0.000 | $3,100 | $8,250 | $4,000 | $67,600 | ||
Daniel Murphy
Murphy has quietly been a very dependable hitting second baseman for the Mets. He has a career .142 ISO with a solid number to start off this year and plugs along as a decent hitter. You have to be careful at what price you get him because he is not a stud hitter, but does have the ability to get you a decent fantasy score for cash games. Murphy appears to be well on his way to a career hitting season as he has solid numbers this year even with a .222 BABIP indicating that he has been extremely unlucky on his balls in play. Latos is improving but still is not lights out.
 | Kelly Johnson | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.220 | 0.653 | 2.64% | 0.294 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.375 | 1.069 | 6.25% | 0.463 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Zimmermann – RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.655 | 1.81% | 0.290 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.940 | 0.000 | $2,700 | $5,850 | $3,000 | $46,400 | ||
Kelly Johnson
Johnson is very close to min salary across the industry and if he keeps hitting in the middle of the Braves’ lineup, he deserves some consideration. Rarely can you find a guy with a career .179 ISO and a .331 wOBA sitting at the bottom of the salary pool (I guess it’s more likely now with the FanDuel pricing), but even against a tough pitcher in Zimmermann, he brings upside with low ownership and a cheap price while also being 3B eligible.
 | Jimmy Rollins | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.246 | 0.732 | 3.63% | 0.326 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.080 | 0.287 | 0.00% | 0.157 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Vogelsong – RIGHT | 0.282 | 0.787 | 2.30% | 0.346 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.907 | 0.000 | $2,700 | $8,700 | $3,800 | $58,600 | ||
Jimmy Rollins
I will be picking on Vogelsong a bit tonight and using Rollins as the Dodgers leadoff hitter makes sense. Rollins has decent power hitting from the left side of the plate making him a solid GPP option with Vogelsong who has allowed over 1 HR/9 in his career. We’re not only looking for power here, but also SB upside against a RHP and runs as well with the strength of the lineup hitting behind him.
 | David Peralta | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.312 | 0.848 | 3.16% | 0.369 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.000 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Lyles – RIGHT | 0.286 | 0.844 | 2.86% | 0.372 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.154 | 0.000 | $2,300 | $7,100 | $3,900 | $41,800 | ||
David Peralta
Peralta was a great play last night and really paid off. Tonight again, he makes a fantastic play as well but with Lyles on the mound is a little bit worse than last night against Kendrick who is a much worse pitcher. Lyles has not allowed a HR this year against lefties, but was homer prone against them in the last few years and has a career 4.75 xFIP against lefties. Peralta has a .209 ISO and .368 wOBA against right-handed pitching and is in a hitter’s park at home. This is another great spot for him and he should again be used heavily in cash games.
 | Joc Pederson | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.174 | 0.561 | 0.00% | 0.293 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.313 | 1.063 | 6.25% | 0.455 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Vogelsong – RIGHT | |||||||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 0.907 | 0.000 | $3,300 | $8,650 | $4,000 | $58,000 | ||
Joc Pederson
Vogelsong is not a great pitcher. So much so, that the Dodgers are favored to cross the four-run mark today in their pitcher’s park. He has been struggling greatly this year, especially against left-handed bats (the numbers are just absurd, .548 wOBA, 7.32 xFIP) and Pederson has been smashing right-handed pitching with a .444 wOBA. Assuming he is in the lineup, he will be in a great run-producing position near a lot of other lefties and should return a good number today.
 | Nelson Cruz | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.314 | 0.977 | 5.84% | 0.416 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.182 | 0.614 | 4.55% | 0.255 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Rodriguez – LEFT | 0.313 | 1.087 | 1.97% | 0.463 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $4,900 | $11,400 | $5,500 | $99,400 | ||
Nelson Cruz
We get Cruz against a lefty again tonight. Wandy is not terrible, but he is borderline not being good enough for a major league rotation and Cruz is potentially the best hitter in the majors at this moment. Cruz’s numbers against lefties are otherworldly right now and despite him costing as much as he does, he should not be ignored. He continues to hit the ball hard and far and produce double-digit fantasy point performances, on both sites.
 | Corey Dickerson | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.328 | 0.985 | 6.09% | 0.419 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | 0.474 | 1.493 | 15.79% | 0.626 | |||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Collmenter – RIGHT | 0.280 | 0.741 | 2.33% | 0.327 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.154 | 0.000 | $4,600 | $10,450 | $5,200 | $81,800 | ||
Corey Dickerson
Dickerson is going to be at the top of a lot of the projection tables today. He has a ridiculous .265 career ISO against RHP and a .403 wOBA in a decent sample of at bats. He absolutely destroys right-handed pitching and in a hitter’s park against Josh Collmenter should be extremely highly owned. Collmenter is not awful against left-handed hitting, but all of the other situations are in Dickerson’s favor.
 | Rickie Weeks | ||||||
| Daily Breakdown | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Splits | 0.256 | 0.865 | 5.26% | 0.381 | |||
| Last 7 Days Splits | |||||||
| Opp SP vs. LR | Avg | OPS | HR% | wOBA | |||
| Rodriguez – LEFT | 0.313 | 1.087 | 1.97% | 0.463 | |||
| PARK-1 | PARK-LR | FD | DD | DK | FF | SS | FTD |
| 1.052 | 0.000 | $2,200 | $5,150 | $3,600 | $35,000 | ||
Rickie Weeks
Weeks has been awful for the last couple of years, but not against left-handed pitching. He had a .381 wOBA with a .248 ISO last year and while people have a poor opinion of him, he is definitely a solid play today. He cannot hit right-handers and is somewhat in a slump right now, but he absolutely destroys left-handed pitching and his career numbers match that of last year. He should be in the lineup around Cruz today and it is definitely good to pair them together.