MLB Daily Grind Down April 20th Day Games
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.
I remember when I was a kid and Saturday mornings were an event. That was the one day that was dedicated to you. I feel that way now with baseball. Saturdays give us an equal split between day and night games. Bryce Harper gets my nod for the play of the day. The young kid is crushing it and could hit for the cycle today. He probably still watches Saturday morning cartoons himself.
NY Yankees at Toronto
| NY Yankees | Toronto | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers Centre | 1:07 PM | ||||||
| Hiroki Kuroda (2-1 REC, 2.87 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | Mark Buehrle (1-0 REC, 7.31 ERA, 6.1 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | 34-121 (0.281) H/AB, 0.876 OPS, 6 HR, 25 Ks | PvB | 122-388 (0.314) H/AB, 0.848 OPS, 11 HR, 55 Ks | ||||
| ROAD | 87.1 IP, 4.23 ERA, 0.292 BAA, 6.8 K/9 | HOME | 109.1 IP, 3.13 ERA, 0.246 BAA, 6.1 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
NYY BvP  | NYY vs L | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.5
- Favored Pickāem
Pitchers
- Home Mark Buehrle has had a great career. It looks like it is done now. Even if he were pitching well I could not recommend him today versus a NYY team that sports a .314 BAA vs. him and is batting .271 on the season with 25 HRs. Avoid
- Away Hiroki Kuroda is the one Yankee who pitches better at home than he does on the road. His road ERA is a 4.23. He draws a TOR team struggling on the year and slightly injured. His numbers versus them are not great but they have 131 Ks already on the season so you have to consider him based on how poorly they have been swinging the bat. In Play
Batters
- Home Jose Bautista has taken Kuroda deep twice in 5 AB. J.P. Arencibia, Edwin Encaracion, and Colby Rasmus have gone yard against him as well. Adam Lind is batting .357 over the last 7 days and has a righty on the mound.
- Away When Robinson Cano sports a .429 BAA vs. Buehrle with 2 HR then you know it could be a big day for NYY because Cano normally struggles with lefties. It is a take your pick kind of day with the Yankees but Vernon Wells and Brennan Boesch numbers look very appealing. You have to like Kevin Youkilis today also but even the lefties have positive numbers.
Kansas City at Boston
| Kansas City | Boston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenway Park | 1:10 PM | ||||||
| James Shields (1-2 REC, 3.43 ERA, 6.2 Avg IP) | Clay Buchholz (3-0 REC, 0.41 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | 5-29 (0.172) H/AB, 0.448 OPS, 0 HR, 3 Ks | PvB | 0-0 (0) H/AB, 0 OPS, 0 HR, 0 Ks | ||||
| ROAD | 105.2 IP, 3.83 ERA, 0.238 BAA, 8.1 K/9 | HOME | 94.2 IP, 4.66 ERA, 0.284 BAA, 5.3 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| KCR BvP | KCR vs R | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8
- Favored BOS -132
Pitchers
- Home Clay Buchholz is locked in right now. Not only has he pitched well but it has been versus some good hitting teams. He has yet to give up a run at home this year. His ERA was in the 4s a year ago so I am not sure how much of his success is legitimate and how much can be attributed to a player who is streaking. If his price has gone up too much then I would not pay it for that reason. Either way, he looks like a solid play versus a KC team that has been struggling over the last 7 days batting only .237. Target
- Away James Shields pitched 8.1 IP of shutout baseball in his only start at Fenway Park a year ago. He has pitched as well as you expect to start the season. BOS is batting .286 on the season versus right-handers and they have hit him very well in the past. I am not sure I trust his 3.87 road ERA. Avoid
Batters
- Home Dustin Pedroia has good BvPs versus shields Jacoby Elisbury has also taken him deep twice. Shane Victorino is batting .357 versus right-handers on the season.
- Away Alex Gordon has great BvPs vs. Clay today and is batting .350 on the season and he draws the righty/lefty matchup today. Lorenzo Cain is on a nice string of games also.
Miami at Cincinnati
| Miami | Cincinnati | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great American Ball Park | 1:10 PM | ||||||
| Wade LeBlanc (0-3 REC, 6.75 ERA, 5.1 Avg IP) | Bronson Arroyo (2-1 REC, 4.05 ERA, 6.0 Avg IP) | ||||||
| PvB | 4-17 (0.235) H/AB, 0.882 OPS, 1 HR, 4 Ks | PvB | 53-161 (0.329) H/AB, 0.913 OPS, 8 HR, 19 Ks | ||||
| ROAD | 35.1 IP, 4.08 ERA, 0.291 BAA, 7.1 K/9 | HOME | 86 IP, 3.98 ERA, 0.295 BAA, 5.4 K/9 | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| MIA BvP | MIA vs R | CIN BvP | CIN vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.5
- Favored CIN -240
Pitchers
- Home Bronson Arroyo is a matchup play. He takes the hill today as the huge favorite so this is the matchup. His home ERA was pushing four a year ago and his K/9 ratio leaves much to be desired but he draws the worst team in baseball today so he should be in line for the win. I would not use him in a single pitcher format because of the low K/9. Target
- Away Wade LeBlanc has one thing working for him today. He is a lefty. He has been horrible to start the season and he draws a CIN club batting .273 over the last 7 days and .271 at home. Like all the other Marlin pitchers, he does not get enough Ks and even if he does pitch well will most likely not get the win. Avoid
Batters
- Home Brandon Phillips has hit left-handed pitching to the tune of a .412 average this year. LeBlanc has been so bad I am not scared to start any of the left-handers in this one. I might avoid Jay Bruce but I am going to use Votto and Choo in my LUs.
- Away A good portion of the Marlins have some decent BvPs versus Arroyo. Placido Polanco and Juan Pierre jump out the most. It might be a good day to look for a few of the Marlins players for value. I like a 1,2,3 run with Giancario Stanton.