MLB Daily Grind Down April 2nd

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-04-15 06:19:48

While April 2nd does not carry the glamour of opening day that April 1st did, it is just as packed with action. Day one in the MLB grind is over. I hope you had Bryce Harper and won some money. Who will today’s Bryce Harper be? Only time will tell. Luckily, we have the Grind Down to get us prepared.

Many Grinders believe that there is a curse linked to the player featured in the caption of this article so today I am going to simply put the player who was the play of the day yesterday so as to avoid any bad mojo. I will, however, call my shot and say that today’s Bryce Harper will be Ryan Braun.

Tonight is the first qualifier for the 2013 DFBC. As a 2011 DFBC finalist, I can tell you how hard it is to get there. Here is a run down of tonight’s games to get you prepared.

This is an early game so keep that in mind. Price is as good as they come so it is har to suggest any of the orioles. If you can make him work in your roster then put him in because he is the play of the day at pitcher given the oriole’s free swinging ways. He posted a 1.81 ERA, 0.189 BAA, and 8.9 K/9 ratio last year at home. Cover your eyes because those numbers are jumping off the page.

If I was going to take any of the Os, it would be Brian Roberts at a discounted price. When healthy, he is one of the best 2B in baseball. He says he is healthy. He was a doubles machine in his day with 50 steals a year speed.

Another player that is healthy at a discount is Evan Longoria. He has some great numbers against righties and, in this park, is a must play. I expect him to return to form this year. Keep using him while the value is there.

Most the rays have not seen Hammel but the ones that have hit him pretty well. TB is loaded with left handed hitters. Any time they face a righty everyone is in play. Could be a good day to take the heart of the order. Matt Joyce is another solid option.

TOR is batting .295 vs Masterson. I like all the lefties in this one. Adam Lind hit .400 over the spring and looks back to his 2011 form. Lawrie is hurt so I expect Izturus will start today if you are looking for value. Bautista has hit Masterson very well so do not be afriad to use him either. The numbers suggest that this one is going to get real bad fast for the Cleveland hurler. Only take him if you like to lose.

Melky Cabrera, I think is undervalued. His numbers will be closer to his 2012 totals then you think. He is in a much better park, much better LU, and Bautista will teach him how to do roids w/o getting caught. I’m drinking the Kool -Aid on this one. 300/15/100/100 for Melky. Book it.

The one player you can look to on CLE is Bourn who actually has hit Dickey well in his career. I might be willing to gamble on Swisher, Reynolds or Santana since the park favors power. I don’t expect too many runs from cleveland but I do expect runs. They have to come from somewhere. Dickey seems underpriced on many sites today, on Fanduel he is only 6900. At that price, he is going to be on half of the rosters tonight.

I was at that game Sunday and the best part was I got to screamed “Rangers Suck” to every Dallas fan as I left the stadium that night. I’m not going to the game tonight but if I were I probably would not be given the same experience. Darvish finished the season strong last year going 4-1 over his last 5 games and looked great all spring. He posted 3.92 ERA, 0.209 BAA, and 10 K/9 on the road last year and those numbers include his early struggles. If money is no option than he is your guy for tonight.

Darvish has shutdown stuff so it is hard to recomend any one from a team that is filled with has-beens and triple A players. The Astros will have their moments this year. There will be a ton of value to be had with this squad, just not today. Gamble on a cheap guy if you feel lucky but I think it is better to stay away from them this time. If you are going to take anyone then it should be Maxwell. He is 2-3 vs Darvish and is coming of a great game Sunday.

Harrell is a good young pitcher but he is a young pitcher. It could be a long day for him. He did post a 2.34 ERA, 0.249 BAA, 6.5 K/9 at home last year. That is something but he does not get you enough Ks and I doubt he gets the win in this one even if he manages to pitch well.

Beltre has a sick 1.714 OPS against Harrell and he leads the charge. I like Murphy and his salary is reasonable on most sites but all the Rangers look like great plays today. I would not be opposed to stacking a few of the Rangers players together. Smoke em if you got em.

Lance Berkman could be a sneaky play today. I like his price on most sites and he hit in that park for ten years. His stroke seems back. Plus he has quite a bit of protection around him. The big Puma even looks like he dropped a few pounds.

That was a great game yesterday. I expect another thrilling one today. It is hard for anyone to pitch in COL. It is even harder when your last name De La Rosa. He posted 10.57 ERA, 0.343 BAA, and 4.7 K/9 on the road last year. ON THE ROAD! Some of these balls might land in Chicago.

I like all of the Brew Crew. Stack. Stack. Stack. Weeks looked good at the plate and could be set for a bounce back year. He is 4-7 vs De La Rosa. Of course, Bruan and Aramis are legit options. Take both if you can. Braun sports a 2.278 OPS vs. the man on the hill. Aoki is a lefty that still hits lefties well so he is in play also. Do not forget about Alex Gonzalez who is starting at first until Hart returns. Super cheap everywhere.

If Estrada can put up the numbers he did in the second half of the season last year for a full year in 2013 then we will be mentioning his name for the Cy Young award. If think you can get his home average numbers of 2.97 ERA, 0.214 BAA, and 10.2 K/9 tonight then fire away because he is capable of GPP winning outings. If nothing else, he will get you K’s. On some sites that is all that matters.

The bad news for COL is that no one on their team has hit Estrada all that well. The good news is they have not seen the pitcher that many times. Estrada is talented pitcher with a great deal of upside but I would not worry about the numbers on this one. I expect this to be a high scoring game. Cuddyer and Tulo both had great springs and are stroking the bat really well. Both are coming off of injuries and are priced lower than what they should be. Todd Helton batted .435 over the spring. Yes I am recomending that you take Todd Helton

Anytime you see a lefthander going versus ARI then you will find me telling you to play Mr. Goldschmidt. He kills left handed pitching and is the only real bright spot for the Dbacks today. The entire team is batting just .188 vs Garcia. The only saving grace is that Garcia posted a +5 ERA on the road last year and this is a ballpark that produces runs so this might be the game they turn things around.

It is hard not to like Jon Jay at the top of this LU. If you can get him for some value take him. Holliday has hit Cahill well but the sample size is small. The play to remember here is the 2b Descalso who will be seeing playing time until Freese returns. Cahill only pitched a 4.68 ERA, 0.278 BAA, and 7.3 K/9 ratio at home last year

On a site that uses multiple pitchers, I think both starters are in play because both could have a solid number two guy outing. Neither guy gets enough Ks to be a factor in a single pitcher format and both have numbers that suggest they might be in line for a tough outing. If I had to guess, I would say the final score of this game is 5-3 which doesn’t excite me to take anyone.

The problem with Iwakuma is he has trouble keeping the ball in the park. The Coliseum is a big park which helps him a bit. Cespedes is 2-4 vs him and both of those hits were for HRs. Anyone who has power on OAK is in play today because of Iwakuma’s track record.

I know he did not have a place in LAA but Kendrys Morales is still a hell of a hitter. He is pretty cheap on most sites. He sports a 5-12 BvP today. For the price you can’t beat him.

Parkers 2.61 ERA, 0.240 BAA, and 6.4 K/9 make him a good play on any site. I like him to pitch well and get the win at home today. He may be a sneaky play if all of the high K guys go bust.

Bumgarner has had the Dodger’s number in recent years. Matt Kemp has had the most success and his batting average is ony .250 against him. The dodgers LU does not look to scary. I would not be taking any of them. If you feel like gambling on one then Carl Crawford looked good in his debut. He is cheap and could finally be healthy. He was one of the ten best players in baseball from 2004 to 2010.

Ryu is a rookie so it is hard to gauge exactly how good he is. He looked hot coming out of spring sending down 23 batters in a row. Posey, Sandoval and Scutaro have hit lefties well in the past. Those are the only players I would consider today for the Giants until more is known about Ryu. Some scouts are comparing him to Greg Maddux with the way he changes speeds and keeps the ball down. If you are looking for a guy to gamble on at SP, he posted a sub 3 ERA in Korea and 3.31 strikeout to walk ratio.

The Wynn open this game with a 5.5 over/under. That should tell you all you need to know about this one. Take a pitcher if you want but the bats from this game seem risky unless you think Ryu will crumble in his first big league game.