Daily Batter Breakdown: Wednesday, May 20th

by Jon Schiller (Varncass) Last Updated 2015-05-22 18:02:02

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.

		Salvador Perez
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.269	0.703	2.80%	0.307
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.300	0.85	5.00%	0.364
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Marquis – RIGHT		0.362	0.000		0.503
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.014	0.000	$2,500	$7,150	$3,800	$62,300

Salvador Perez

There are not many top tier catcher options today, so we are going to have to pick from the bottom of the barrel a bit here. Perez is cheap on both sites ($2,500 on FanDuel is especially nice) and is facing one of the worst pitchers not only to toe the rubber today but who consistently graces the mound. Marquis is not good, and while he struggles against lefties (which should make Moustakas, Hosmer and Gordon solid looks), he has been especially poor against righties this year, giving up a .503 wOBA, a 3.83 HR/9 and a 2.02 WHIP. Those numbers won’t continue for the season, but take advantage of it now while he is not throwing it well.

		David Ortiz
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.262	0.871	6.73%	0.369
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.200	0.623	5.00%	0.279
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Klein – Right		0.333	0.000		0.509
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.072	0.000	$2,900	$9,150	$4,500	$56,800

David Ortiz

David Ortiz is only $2,900 on FanDuel, which is insane to me. He is going up against Phil Klein, who is not even the Rangers’ top pitching prospect and has hardly any major league experience. He allowed a homer while only facing eight batters from the left side so far and Ortiz has made a living eating new righties for breakfast over the course of his career. In Fenway against a righty at this price on FD, he is really hard to pass up. The Boston righties should be in play as well, considering the fact that Klein may not last past 3 or 4 innings since he’s a reliever.

		Miguel Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.320	0.915	4.59%	0.393
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.370	1.395	14.81%	0.566
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Lohse – RIGHT		0.241	0.687		0.302
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.003	0.000	$5,300	$13,250	$5,400	$102,400

Miguel Cabrera

There is one guy I just cannot get right when I use him, and that is Miguel Cabrera. He is so expensive now that I have been fading him, but I love him as a GPP gamble today. Over his career, Lohse has been better against lefties than righties, so Cabrera may not get the splits love he would against a lefty today, however he has arguably the same matchup whether right or left. Just like with most great hitters, it does not matter which side he is facing, as he has comparable wOBA (over .4) and ISO ( around .245) against both sides. He hits a few more HRs against righties while hitting for a better average against lefties. That paired with his high price is why I think he will be a better GPP gamble. He is Miguel Cabrera though, so seeing his ownership under 10% is a rarity.

		Trevor Plouffe
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.271	0.783	2.01%	0.343
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.182	0.49	0.00%	0.216
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Locke – LEFT		0.270	0.768	2.29%	0.337
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.977	0.000	$2,500	$7,350	$3,800	$61,200

Trevor Plouffe

Plouffe is back and we get to use him at a price where he is extremely discounted. He should not be this cheap, especially against a lefty, and while we are looking at PNC Park and a pitcher in Locke who has been solid against right-handers in his career, Plouffe has made a living out of obliterating lefties. A .203 career ISO and a .360 wOBA are nice, but this year he is really tearing it up with a .260 ISO and a .390 wOBA, which are numbers close to Cabrera’s career averages if he can keep it up.

		Dee Gordon
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.314	0.755	0.34%	0.332
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.321	0.714	0.00%	0.312
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Anderson – RIGHT		0.230	0.727	3.29%	0.319
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.014	0.000	$3,700	$8,650	$5,100	$83,100

Dee Gordon

Without many other options at second, and on a day with not a lot of great pitchers where you will have to take a bargain pitcher most likely, it may be good to spend up for Gordon today. Against a right-handed pitcher, there is not much else more consistent than you get with Gordon and fantasy points. This year he has a .404 wOBA with a .400 average, and he steals almost all of his bags against right-handed pitching. Anderson has been solid against righties, but gives it up to lefties and Gordon is going to need to get on base at home for the Marlins in this one. He is a plug and play cash game option with upside against righties.

		Asdrubal Cabrera
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.231	0.679	2.45%	0.302
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.200	0.623	0.00%	0.274
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Perez – Right		0.500	0.000		0.743
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.940	0.000	$2,400	$6,350	$3,800	$53,800

Asdrubal Cabrera

They should just get rid of the SS spot and give us another outfield spot, because that is all what we want right? Sometimes if you take the Coors game out of the picture and try to get a competent SS, it is hard. Cabrera homered last night and is a part of a Rays lineup which has surprisingly been decent recently. I am not loving the Rays here despite facing Williams Perez, who really has hardly any experience at the major league level and a lacking arsenal, but I do like a flier on Cabrera here. He homered last night and has been hitting better for only $2,400. Perez has some great numbers at AAA with average K/9 numbers but has struggled in major league time.

		Anthony Gose
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.274	0.722	1.07%	0.324
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.370	0.969	0.00%	0.417
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Lohse – RIGHT		0.242	0.717	3.62%	0.315
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.003	0.000	$3,200	$8,200	$4,200	$66,700

Anthony Gose

Kyle Lohse has struggled all of this year to keep guys in the park and to keep righties and lefties off the basepaths. Gose is a little bit of a risk, but he is affordable and his .330 average with his .365 wOBA definitely states that he is going to be on base a good deal if he is hitting well that day. Gose has a good number of solid fantasy games, as he steals against righties well, and despite the fact that he does not have much power, he will lead off with a lot of power bats behind him. He is not my favorite OF plug and play, but you certainly could do worse.

		Carlos Gomez
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.291	0.839	3.88%	0.368
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.318	0.984	9.09%	0.422
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Greene – RIGHT		0.208	0.578	2.78%	0.262
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.003	0.000	$4,000	$10,800	$5,200	$78,700

Carlos Gomez

Gomez is on fire right now and unfortunately, we are going to have to pay to put him in our lineups. Greene has been lights out against righties this year, but his xFIP is expecting a small regression and we are never really sure whether we will get good Greene or bad Greene. Gomez has continually improved each year against right-handed pitching and has hit for a .245 ISO and a .382 wOBA, which are both solid numbers. Gomez is on fire right now with homers in the last two games against the Tigers, and when you get a guy like Gomez locked in, watch out.

		Justin Upton
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.280	0.910	7.69%	0.395
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.286	0.946	9.52%	0.408
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Wada – LEFT		0.269	0.799		0.348
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
0.826	0.000	$4,300	$10,600	$4,600	$83,400

Justin Upton

You could really put Kemp or Upton here – both have solid splits against left-handed pitching throughout their careers. Any time Upton goes up against a lefty, I am thinking about choosing him, and I am not really worried about his poor .238 wOBA this year. He has a career .390 wOBA, and while the north of .400 wOBAs are probably not sustainable in Petco, he certainly is going to hit much better against lefties than his current numbers. Wada has allowed a 1.1 HR/9 against righties in his short major league stint so far, and even in Petco he could struggle tonight against a lineup that seems to be made to crush left-handed pitching.

		Bryce Harper
		Daily Breakdown		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Left/Right Splits		0.297	0.913	6.44%	0.391
		Last 7 Days Splits		0.579	1.967	15.79%	0.755
		Opp SP vs. LR		Avg	OPS	HR%	wOBA
		Warren – RIGHT		0.194	0.569	1.02%	0.254
PARK-1	PARK-LR	FD	DD	DK	FF	SS	FTD
1.068	0.000	$6,200	$14,650	$5,700	$119,300

Bryce Harper

How expensive is too expensive? I am not sure, but I am getting exposure every night to Harper in some form or another. Tonight will most likely be a great night to have him in cash because he continues to hit against RHP, and there is not a lot of great pitching on tap. That means going away from Ross for a cheaper pitcher to save money is a real option. Harper is on one hell of a run right now, and I do not want to be betting against him.