Daily Batter Breakdown: Wednesday, July 1st

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-07-06 15:58:59

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.

		Robinson Chirinos
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.231	0.763	6.12%	0.334
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.250	0.868	6.25%	0.378
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Chen – LEFT		0.255	0.742	3.84%	0.323
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.166	0.000	$2,500	$6,700	$3,300	$50,900

Robinson Chirinos

Chirinos flat out hits left-handers well, and with his price so low in a hitter’s park, I see no reason why he won’t be one of my favorite catcher plays today. First of all, he has been hitting the ball well and consistently has a .330 wOBA against left-handed pitching. Chen is decent, but he is one of the most boring pitchers in the game based on his stats. There is really nothing that stands out either way with Chen, so you’re facing basically a league average pitcher. Chirinos has power, is cheap and is hitting in a Rangers lineup that is clicking right now.

		Chris Davis
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.203	0.736	5.89%	0.321
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.308	0.879	3.85%	0.383
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Martinez – RIGHT		0.253	0.759	3.00%	0.335
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.166	0.000	$3,300	$9,850	$4,200	$71,400

Chris Davis

Davis went nuts with two homers last night, and when he starts to turn it on, he really turns it on. Martinez is a great guy to continue his hot streak against, as his 5.43 xFIP is not a good number and his .275 wOBA allowed to lefties is propped up by a .220 BABIP. Martinez will continue to come down and will continue to struggle; with Davis blasting homers against righties regularly, I like him as a GPP play. As a cash game play? Not so much.

		Justin Turner
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.269	0.767	2.31%	0.341
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.316	1.172	10.53%	0.488
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Ray – LEFT		0.258	0.774	3.10%	0.339
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.136	0.000	$3,700	$8,300	$4,500	$83,400

Justin Turner

I will talk a little bit about Robbie Ray’s strange reverse splits this year below, but I am still on the Dodgers right-handers today. Turner has really struggled against lefties this season but recorded a .397 wOBA and a 159 wRC+ against them last year. I refuse to believe in this small sample size against lefties just yet, and I am expecting him to return to those decent numbers sooner rather than later, especially since he has improved so much at the plate overall. Feel free to use him today as you typically would against a righty.

		Manny Machado
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.296	0.840	4.78%	0.365
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.345	0.973	3.45%	0.409
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Martinez – RIGHT		0.284	0.806	2.75%	0.351
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.166	0.000	$4,300	$10,500	$4,500	$91,200

Manny Machado

We get Machado against Martinez tonight, two guys who have had reverse splits in the early part of the season. Machado’s numbers have been balancing out lately but he remains one of the hottest hitters in the majors with a .384 wOBA against right-handers. He has been destroying everyone lately, however, and with Martinez’ wOBA allowed to righties at .380 as well, I could see some big things out of the leadoff hitter tonight. You will have to pay up for him, but you should get an extra at-bat or two tonight, as the Orioles face a poor pitcher in a hitter’s park.

		Cesar Hernandez
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.219	0.594	1.07%	0.270
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.522	1.169	0.00%	0.511
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Lohse – RIGHT		0.259	0.724	3.34%	0.316
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.921	0.000	$2,700	$6,300	$2,900	$61,000

Cesar Hernandez

Is there anyone hotter in the game right now? Yeah, it is someone from the Phillies I am recommending here, but Hernandez has been on quite a roll lately. He has SB ability (as shown in the last game), and with Lohse not being the pitcher he used to be and not being effective at all, I will roll again with Hernandez here at a position with not a ton of point potential across the board. Hernandez is cheap, on fire, and has multiple ways to pay off his salary.

		Matt Duffy
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.302	0.821	2.65%	0.356
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.400	1.343	8.00%	0.559
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Haren – RIGHT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.862	0.000	$3,700	$8,650	$3,800	$71,200

Matt Duffy

Words cannot describe the dislike I have for Dan Haren in fantasy. I just do not think he is a very good pitcher, and year after year he proves that to be true. Duffy has been one of the hottest hitters in the game and is just raking against right-handed pitching. He has a .386 wOBA this year after being extremely poor last year, and while the .386 mark may not be sustainable, his price is so low that you can take a chance on him while he is hot. His price really has not increased, so it is not like you are chasing either in this situation.

		Brett Gardner
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.274	0.813	3.55%	0.355
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.444	1.294	3.70%	0.544
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Shoemaker – RIGHT		0.249	0.727	3.72%	0.317
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.875	0.000	$4,600	$11,850	$4,900	$85,400

Brett Gardner

Shoemaker is solid but he has still allowed a 5.04 FIP this year to left-handed hitters; his wOBA allowed at .332 is not anything to write home about either. Gardner is having an incredible season with a .380 wOBA, along with that stolen base ability. His point potential is off the charts, and until Ellsbury gets back, he is the main guy in the Yankees lineup to create runs. I love him today, even at an inflated price point, as he has proved lately that he deserves that price point.

		Bryce Harper
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.302	0.947	7.08%	0.405
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.231	0.67	0.00%	0.293
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Wisler – RIGHT		0.190	0.444	0.00%	0.196
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.045	0.000	$5,200	$12,600	$5,700

Bryce Harper

The buzz on Harper has somewhat cooled off since his monster couple of weeks where he was hitting everything out of the park. He still maintains one of the top hitter spots on a given day, and despite his high price point, he is always a solid gamble against right-handed pitching. Wisler has been average in his first few starts, and with Harper obliterating righties this year with a .498 wOBA and 20 homers, I see no reason to not use him if you can find the salary; you should be able to with no absolutely dominant pitchers on the slate.

		Yasiel Puig
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.277	0.792	2.03%	0.355
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.083	0.563	0.00%	0.245
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Ray – LEFT		0.258	0.774	3.10%	0.339
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.136	0.000	$3,400	$7,750	$4,000	$67,000

Yasiel Puig

Puig has been cold lately, but all that has done has remove the props from his salary and made him extremely cheap on each site. I continue to believe there is going to be a regression for Robbie Ray at some point, based on his monster numbers given up to righties last year. His BABIP and wOBA are completely different, and while I am not expecting him to allow a .442 wOBA again, it will certainly be higher than the .249 he is allowing this year. With small samples this year, Puig has hit lefties at a .471 wOBA clip, and his career number is .383, which is extremely solid. Despite the fact that he has been struggling, a lefty here should really allow Puig time to get back on track.