Daily Batter Breakdown: Wednesday, April 8th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-04-10 16:13:27

Welcome to the Daily Batter Breakdown. Each day, with at least 8 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.

		Jason Castro
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.216	0.662	3.46%	0.296
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Carrasco – RIGHT		0.192	0.516	1.28%	0.236
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.012	0.000	$2,600	$6,100	$3,600	$38,300

Jason Castro

I like Castro today as a GPP punt play at catcher. Other than Posey and maybe Lucroy and Perez, there are no real solid catchers out there. Castro has not done much lately, but last year he was a monster against right-handed pitching and he should be behind the plate today against a righty, even with Gattis in the lineup. I am not that big of a fan of Carrasco despite how elite he was at getting out lefties, as his stats last year did not mesh with the rest of his career. Castro makes a solid GPP bargain who will allow you to grab some good pitchers.

		Dustin Pedroia
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.288	0.707	1.00%	0.316
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Harang – RIGHT		0.253	0.702	1.02%	0.312
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.929	0.000	$3,700	$8,100	$4,000	$71,200

Dustin Pedroia

Pedroia’s price has seen a quick correction, but I still think there is value here. He hit two homers in the first game, and while in no way do I expect something like that in this one, he does face one of my favorite pitchers to pick on in Harang. He is going to hit behind Betts, who is on fire, and in front of Ortiz and Hanley, two of the biggest power guys in the game. The Red Sox are certainly a solid stack today against Harang at Citizens Bank and Pedroia is a good plug and play at second.

Editor’s Note: David Ortiz is not in the starting lineup tonight for Boston. Pedroia will hit in front of Sandoval and Ramirez.

		Jake Lamb
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Heston – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.154	0.000		$5,700	$3,700

Jake Lamb

Alright, I am hopping on the bandwagon later than usual. Lamb has been great in the first two games of the season and his price is still almost min salary on FanDuel at $2,300. He makes a great third base option against Heston, who is also a minor league product, and with a D’Backs stack in a hitter’s park we can fit some of the best pitchers.

		Alexei Ramirez
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.273	0.744	3.25%	0.328
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Duffy – LEFT		0.227	0.670	1.05%	0.299
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.014	0.000	$3,100	$6,600	$3,900	$68,900

Alexei Ramirez

Alexei had one of his best seasons ever last year in the Sox organization and now hits sixth in a much more potent White Sox offense. Do not be scared of them not scoring runs in the previous game – they will have many games where they score a ton. Ramirez’ splits are somewhat strange, but he should have a solid chance at a good game against Duffy, who has not been great against right handers in his career. It should also help that on base monsters Garcia and Abreu are above him.

		David Peralta
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.312	0.848	3.16%	0.369
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Heston – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.154	0.000	$2,600	$6,900	$3,800	$35,500

David Peralta

Just like with Lamb, I am hopping on the Peralta train. He hit fourth last night behind Goldschmidt and if he hits there again he could definitely find himself in some great fantasy situations with men on base and in scoring positions. He has power against righties, and for a matchup with a call up in the Giants rotation, we should take advantage at this price.

		Michael Bourn
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.272	0.724	1.00%	0.321
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Feldman – RIGHT		0.267	0.715	1.56%	0.314
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.012	0.000	$2,700	$7,750	$3,800	$45,200

Michael Bourn

Bourn has had some injury concerns and is not the base stealer that he was previously, but he still has the chance to swipe bags and will be leading off against Feldman. Feldman was much better last year but his xFIP at 4.70 indicates that he was somewhat lucky and that we should expect a regression this year. This is one of the games to target and you will not find leadoff hitters with his career averages at this price anywhere.

		Brandon Moss
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.228	0.768	5.08%	0.336
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Feldman – RIGHT		0.267	0.715	1.56%	0.314
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.012	0.000	$3,800	$9,350	$4,500	$56,800

Brandon Moss

Moss has wowed us all with his two HR power in his years with Oakland and now gets a solid stack target here as an Indians player against Feldman. If you are looking to stack bats today, the Indians, who are -135 away from home in an 8 over/under game, are definitely a solid target. Moss has upside off the charts today but the place I really like him is DraftKings, where he has outfield eligibility.

		Jose Abreu
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.353	1.098	7.35%	0.462
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Duffy – LEFT		0.227	0.670	1.05%	0.299
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.014	0.000	$4,600	$10,700	$4,900	$89,600

Jose Abreu

Abreu had a ridiculous spring, and if you want to pay up for a stud hitter today, he certainly should be your guy. He is going to be highly owned, but I think Abreu and David Ortiz are far ahead of the other 1B crop out there today. Abreu has put up ridiculous numbers, including an ISO north of .300 against lefties and an OPS which approaches 1.1, along with a .470 wOBA against lefties. Here against Duffy represents a great spot for him, and his price is not that bad either.

		Angel Pagan
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.335	0.790	0.41%	0.350
		Last 7 Days Splits
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Hellickson – RIGHT		0.211	0.584	2.11%	0.261
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.154	0.000	$3,100	$8,050	$3,900	$66,400

Angel Pagan

FanDuel raised Pagan’s price $200, which in my opinion is not enough for how he has been playing in the first two games of the season. He bats third ahead of Posey, which is beneficial, but is also hitting in Chase Field against a Diamondbacks rotation which leaves a lot to be desired. I am not scared of Hellickson, and this game looks good to target again for batters. Pagan has not disappointed yet and should be solid again.