MLB Daily Grind Down April 18th Day Games

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-04-18 17:10:02

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the MLB schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit.

While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy baseball, there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, weather, and salaries. The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. No sport has more variance than baseball. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.

It is becoming a trend but the day games are loaded with some great pitchers. If the game gets played in Coors Field then that is where you are going to want to find your bats. Troy gets the nod this morning as the play of the day but his counterpart David Wright numbers are just as good and he could easily steal the show this morning. Four games are enough for sites to run some early GPPS so here is the grind down to get your day started.

San Francisco at Milwaukee

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
SFG BvP		SFG vs R		MIL BvP		MIL vs R
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 8

• Favored SF -127

Pitchers

• Home Yovani Gallardo has not been sharp to start the season. He has given up 13 Rs and 26 Hs in only 16 IPs of work. What worries me the most is he has only 9 Ks. Vegas has this game set at a low OU but I do not trust him for his price vs. a SF team batting .221 vs. him and .271 on the year. He was a worst pitcher at home last year than on the road. Avoid

• Away Matt Cain got pummeled in his only home start of the year vs. STL. Heaven help him if you had him that day. His other two starts on the road went well but he is typically a worse pitcher on the road. The park favors offense and he catches a brewer team batting .285 at home and .275 vs. him. He gets enough Ks but today might be too risky. In Play

Batters

• Home Although he has yet to take him yard, Ryan Braun has owned Cain posting a .364 BAA. Jonathan Lucroy, Rickie Weeks and Norichika Aoki all have positive numbers as well. Those guys bat next to each other. You do the math.

• Away Angel Pagan has been hot and he has the best BvPs vs. Gallardo. Hunter Pence has taken him yard before. With the way he has been pitching and the way SF has been hitting, I think everyone is in play. I like a hot Pablo Sandoval. He is cheaper than most of the other big 3Bs and he is producing just as much.

Texas at Chicago Cubs

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
TEX BvP		TEX vs R		CHC BvP		CHC vs R
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

• OU 7.5

• Favored TEX -126

Pitchers

• Home I do not know what they put into “Carlos Villanueva(player-profile)”:/players/Carlos_Villanueva-10767’s water but he has been pitching lights out. His home ERA is serviceable and he actually has pretty good BvPs versus the Rangers as a team. However, he struggles vs. the team’s left-hand hitters and all of those players have positive numbers vs. him. TEX is batting just .219 over the last 7 days and .253 on the season. Avoid

• Away After his 10 K first outing, Alexi Ogando’s Ks went back down to the totals you would expect in his next two starts. There is no arguing that he is pitching well but he has yet to last 7 innings. He does not get enough Ks to matter in a single pitcher format but if his price has not elevated too much you can use him as a second pitcher vs. the hapless CHC team that is batting a mere .221 on the season with 107 Ks. In Play

Batters

• Home The low OU plus how bad the Cubs have been swinging make me think that it is best to avoid them. Though, if you want to take one it should be Alfonso Soriano. After a slow start he has gone on a nice little tear raising his average 140 points in ten days.

• Away The BAA is very deceiving, Lance Berkman, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, A.J. Pierzynski and even Mitch Moreland have nice numbers vs. Carlos. That is over half the order. When so many people have good numbers, that makes me think that everyone is in play.

NY Mets at Colorado

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
NYM BvP		NYM vs R		COL BvP		COL vs L
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 9.5

• Favored -125

Pitchers

• No matter who is on the mound, games in Coors Field always have a chance of ending 10-7. Neither of these two pitchers give me any confidence in me to think this will not happen today and do not get enough Ks to offset the Rs they are going to give up. Avoid

Batters

• Home Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton have real nice numbers vs. Niese. I also mix in some Dexter Fowler. The lefty/lefty thing scares me with Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer and the numbers are there for me to take them today unless I am loading COL.

• Away Chacin pitched well in his first start at home but that was vs. SD. He was a 6.34 pitcher at home last year and catches a very hot NYM team. I like a hot John Buck and David Wright and all of the Mets lefties but everyone is in play.

Detroit at Seattle

BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN
DET BvP		DET vs R		SEA BvP		SEA vs R
Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window

Las Vegas

• OU 6.5

• Favored DET -161

Pitchers

• Home DET is a buzzsaw of a team with 5 starters batting over .300. Hisashi Iwakuma is off to a hot start and he pitched very well at home a year ago. His numbers vs. DET are likewise great. His K/9 ratio puts him in play. They were held to 1 run last night by another SEA starter. He could be a nice against the grain play in a GPP if you think he can sneak by Verlander and the OU is only 6.5 In Play

• Away Whenever Vegas post that low of a line with that heavy of a favorite then that teams pitcher is going to end up in my LU. It does not always work out as we saw with Kershaw last night but it works more often than it does not. Safeco field is a very pitcher friendly park and JV is a K machine. SEA is batting .218 over the last 7 days. Target

Batters

• Home If you are going to fade Verlander then you think that SEA will get to him so playing Michael Morse, Kendrys Morales or Franklin Gutierrez might not be a bad idea in that scenario. If SEA scores runs it will be with these guys. Justin Smoak could get a hold of one also. I do not recommend fading Verlander, though.

• Away I’m not sure this game is where you want to focus your energy but DET is loaded with talent. Any one of those guys could have a good game.