Daily Batter Breakdown: Wednesday, June 17th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-06-19 18:29:51

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.

		Matt Wieters
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.343	0.926	4.04%	0.396
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.267	0.85	6.67%	0.345
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Correia – RIGHT		0.298	0.827	2.58%	0.361
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.942	0.000	$3,300	$10,350	$4,300	$77,500

Matt Wieters

There are plenty of great hitter matchups outside of the Coors Field game, so if you are looking to fade that completely, you will have options. The Orioles get to face Kevin Correia, which is one of the best matchups outside of Denver. Correia is arguably worse than last night’s starter Jerome Williams, and although Wieters has been better against LHP in his career, he is still a switch hitter and is on fire against RHP in the beginning part of this year. The price on FanDuel is great and he is affordable on DraftKings as well.

		Adam Lind
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.335	0.929	3.49%	0.401
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.318	0.739	0.00%	0.331
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Blanton – RIGHT		0.235	0.691	0.00%	0.288
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.874	0.000	$2,600	$7,650	$4,400	$72,200

Adam Lind

Blast from the past Blanton gets the start for the Royals today, and even though he has had a solid xFIP in recent years, he has still allowed a .360 wOBA to left-handers in the last two years. Lind has a .369 career wOBA with a .410 wOBA last year and a .371 wOBA this year. Lind is one of the best hitters against right-handers and has a very cheap price on FD.

		Anthony Rendon
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.280	0.784	0.00%	0.358
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		* – *
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
	0.000	$3,400	$7,200	$4,500	$67,600

Anthony Rendon

Rendon’s price should quickly get to Jason Kipnis levels, especially against opposite-handed pitching. But his price is still working its way up, and we get him against a like-handed pitcher today in Matt Andriese. Rendon has improved each year against right-handers and will likely continue that improvement this season. He is definitely in play here against a Rays’ pitching staff which was decimated last night and starts a pitcher with hardly any MLB service time.

		Manny Machado
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.289	0.810	4.37%	0.353
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.407	1.151	7.41%	0.494
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Correia – RIGHT		0.292	0.000		0.346
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.942	0.000	$3,500	$10,300	$4,800	$88,400

Manny Machado

This is the third consecutive day for Machado hitting against a weak right-hander, so he is definitely in play against. He hit two homers last night and is one of the hottest hitters in the majors in the last few weeks, and even at his increasing price, he is a great play.

		Josh Donaldson
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.306	1.055	9.18%	0.446
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.296	0.729	3.70%	0.321
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Niese – LEFT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.911	0.000	$4,700	$10,800	$4,700	$91,000

Josh Donaldson

There’s not really much to say about Donaldson. Even when considering the Coors Field game, he is arguably the top third baseman on the slate. He faces Jon Niese who has allowed a .363 wOBA to righties this year and has been generally ineffective. Donaldson is the premier slugger against left-handed pitchers and will be hitting at the top of the lineup. His price on DraftKings is an absolute steal.

		Jordy Mercer
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.301	0.775	2.05%	0.338
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.333	0.813	0.00%	0.338
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Danks – LEFT		0.283	0.845	3.90%	0.368
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.783	0.000	$2,400	$5,000	$3,700	$41,800

Jordy Mercer

Mercer has some great numbers against left-handed pitching in the last few years, and has a .375 wOBA against southpaws in his career. He has not been great this year, but he should be starting today against a lefty pitcher in Danks who is just completely miserable against right-handed batters. Danks has a .404 wOBA allowed to righties, which does not equal anything solid for his chances today.

		Kole Calhoun
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.277	0.775	3.57%	0.339
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.321	0.786	3.57%	0.342
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Anderson – RIGHT		0.230	0.694	2.76%	0.306
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.188	0.000	$2,700	$7,900	$4,400	$61,800

Kole Calhoun

I liked Calhoun in almost the same spot last night and he did nothing, but I am not willing to give up on him just yet. The Angels have one of the top over/unders of the day, and with Calhoun most likely hitting in the top of the lineup and at a cheap price, he is definitely in play today. Chase Anderson has not been bad this year, but Vegas hates him tonight against a hot Angels offense who can hit right-handers. Calhoun hits all of his homers against righties and has a solid chance to hit one tonight.

		A.J. Pollock
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.333	0.976	3.81%	0.420
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.304	0.742	4.35%	0.312
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Santiago – LEFT		0.245	0.735	4.11%	0.324
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.188	0.000	$4,400	$8,500	$4,400	$74,300

A.J. Pollock

I am no longer targeting Hector Santiago as a guy to stack against, but I am definitely using guys against him who have great numbers against lefties like Goldschmidt and Pollock. Both of these guys have been money for the Diamondbacks this year against lefties and have really increased Arizona’s profile as one of the best hitting teams in the majors. Pollock’s .431 wOBA might look unsustainable with his .441 BABIP, but last year he was at a .401 wOBA with a .264 BABIP, so he should continue hitting well against lefties. He also is a stolen base threat, especially when they bring in righties to face him.

		Kevin Pillar
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.255	0.633	1.02%	0.278
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.250	0.49	0.00%	0.212
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Niese – LEFT
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.911	0.000	$2,900	$7,150	$3,600	$65,900

Kevin Pillar

Jon Niese is having one of his worst seasons so far, and pitching in the Rogers Centre tonight really makes me want to target the Jays’ righties. We have seen two-homer upside from Pillar this year, but he is performing way under expectation and will definitely fall under the radar tonight. If you are stacking Toronto but want a guy who is going to be low owned who could push your stack over the top, Pillar is your guy. He had a .361 wOBA against lefties last year and will hit at the bottom of the lineup.

		Nick Markakis
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.282	0.763	2.07%	0.338
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.370	0.892	0.00%	0.386
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Kelly – RIGHT		0.238	0.657	1.24%	0.298
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.096	0.000	$2,700	$7,650	$3,500	$62,100

Nick Markakis

Markakis is hot right now for the Braves and gets to face a guy in Joe Kelly who has definitely been hittable lately. Markakis has a .355 wOBA against righties this year, and even though Kelly has been lights out against lefties, he is due for a regression. Kelly has not been this good against lefties in his career and his K% and HR/FB ratio are totally unsustainable. I can guarantee Markakis will be low owned but he does have some power despite not showing it this year.