MLB Daily Grind Down: Friday, July 26th
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.
Note: Any Fantasy Point Average Listed Uses FanDuel Scoring. For more info on FanDuel’s MLB Scoring System, check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review
- FPAB – Fantasy Points Per At Bat
- K% – Strikeout Percentage
- K/9 – Strikeouts Per 9 IP
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Philadelphia vs. Detroit
| 7:05 PM | Philadelphia – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.258 | 0.716 | 19.80% | 0.55 | 0.280 | 0.781 | 17.40% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.262 | 0.719 | 19.30% | 0.43 | 0.264 | 0.762 | 19.20% | 0.52 | |
| SP STATS | Hamels – LHP | Fister – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.25 | 4.16 | 8.26 | 10.05 | 1.24 | 3.90 | 6.94 | 10.10 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.14 | 3.00 | 6.86 | 11.33 | 1.42 | 2.25 | 7.50 | 13.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
PHI vs R  | PHI BvP | DET vs L | DET BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8
- Favored Team – DET -155
Pitcher Grind Down
- Home Doug Fister is back on track after a rough string of outings. He has posted quality starts in his last 2 appearances. He is much better at home with a 3.68 ERA. Fister is a reverse splits player who has allowed right-handers to bat .316 versus him but has held left-handers to a .236 average. This should serve him well today since most of the Phillies best hitters are left-handed. PHI is batting .261 on the road, .262 versus right-handers, and .251 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 7*
- Away Cole Hamels is just another pitcher that I cannot reccomend in DET no matter what numbers there are to say to do it. Not that there are any such numbers today. Miguel Cabrera should be back in this one so that makes them even that much more dangerous. DET is batting .299 at home, .262 versus left-handers, and .250 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 4
Batter Grind Down
- Home Miguel Cabrera is 6-8 versus Hamels and Prince Fielder is 8-26 with 2 HR versus him. Victor Martinez and Tori Hunter have been hot for DET. Miguel Cabrera is batting over .400 versus left-handers. Tori hunter, Jonny Peralta, Omar Infante, Prince Fielder, and Matt Tulasosopo are all hitting left-handers at a high clip as well. RG Stack Rating 4
- Away Darin Ruf, Jimmy Rollins, John Mayberry jr., and Michael Young are all producing and make nice right-handed options to exploit Fister. Ben Revere, Delmon Young and Michael Young all have positive BvPs versus Fister. RG Stack Rating 3
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NY Mets vs. Washington
| 7:05 PM | NY Mets – ROAD | Washington – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.236 | 0.684 | 22.40% | 0.55 | 0.240 | 0.682 | 21.00% | 0.52 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.234 | 0.682 | 22.30% | 0.43 | 0.250 | 0.705 | 20.90% | 0.43 | |
| SP STATS | Harvey – RHP | Ohlendorf – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 0.89 | 2.23 | 10.31 | 14.60 | 0.95 | 2.02 | 7.21 | 6.15 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.71 | 1.93 | 10.29 | 15.50 | 0.92 | 1.50 | 9.75 | 7.67 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| NYM vs R | NYM BvP | WSN vs R | WSN BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7
- Favored Team – NYM -126
Pitcher Grind Down
- Home I do not know why two teams that need a miracle to make the playoffs would not try to go for broke and have their aces square off in one of the games of a double header. This matchup would be interesting for tonight if it were Jordan Zimmermann at home versus Matt Harvey but instead we get Ross Ohlendorf. His first start went well and the Mets are no juggernaut offensively. If I am not taking Harvey then I will probably squeeze him in on a multiple pitcher site because of salary but I will probably play Harvey. NYM is batting .248 on the road, .235 versus right-handers, and .272 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 4
- Away You will not here me say this often but I think there are better options then Matt Harvey today. First, his July ERA is a nice but not dominant 3.60 in July, which is not worth his price. Second, his numbers take a slight dip on the road and WAS is a much better offense team at home. Of course, all of this is simply “ESPN style” hype banter that is designed to make you look deeper into your options for a GPP and get off of the obvious play of the day. He has huge GPP upside and if you can make him work in your salary then he is worth a strong look. It is a strong sign to me though that Vegas has him listed only as a slight favorite. WAS is batting .261 at home, .251 versus right-handers, and .229 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 8
Batter Grind Down
- Home If you are playing the fade then Jayson Werth has been super hot over the last 7 days with 36.5 fp. Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman have both taken Harvey deep once in limited Abs. RG Stack Rating 1
- Away The 30 year old pitcher is having a nice year but I am sure that if given enough starts his numbers will go back up to his career averages of a 4.92 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Marlon Byrd, David Wright, Daniel Murphy, and Juan Lagares have all been hot for NYM. NYM offers a nice sneaky load today because they are hot and I do not think Ohlendorf is as good as his numbers on the year. RG Stack Rating 7
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Boston vs. Baltimore
| 7:05 PM | Boston – ROAD | Baltimore – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.276 | 0.792 | 20.70% | 0.70 | 0.267 | 0.763 | 18.40% | 0.64 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.285 | 0.819 | 20.00% | 0.58 | 0.275 | 0.789 | 18.10% | 0.54 | |
| SP STATS | Lackey – RHP | Tillman – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.17 | 2.95 | 8.47 | 11.72 | 1.34 | 3.84 | 7.25 | 10.61 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.30 | 4.05 | 8.24 | 11.55 | 1.29 | 3.21 | 7.71 | 14.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BOS vs R | BOS BvP | BAL vs R | BAL BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9
- Favored Team – BAL -130
Pitcher Grind Down
- Home Chris Tillman takes the mound in a matchup that features the league’s number 1 and number 2 higgest scoring offense. Tillman is the slight favorite today but this game’s score could easily resemble a football game’s before the night is over. Tillman has been hit pretty hard at times at home and BOS feeds on right-handed pitching. BOS .268 on the road, .288 versus right-handers, and .232 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 4
- Away John Lackey jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire with the rainout yesterday. As bad as a start versus a hot TAM team at home would have been, a start in BAL on the road is much worse for him. He has been running poorly but yesterday, he at least had some splits in his favor. Now he is just running bad with unfavorable splits against a very tough team. BAL is batting .267 at home, .276 versus right handers, and .287 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 4
Batter Grind Down
- Home BAL as a team has a .270 BAA versus Lackey so much players have positive BvPs. Nick Markakis and Chris Davis numbers stand out the most. Nate Mclouth, Matt Wieters and Brian Roberts have all been producing for BAL. RG Stack Rating 7
- Away Dustin Pedroia has the best BvPs versus Tillman with a 5-17, 1 HR line. Mike Napoli has been hot with 28.25 fp over the last 7 days. All of the left-handed bats are playable. RG Stack Rating 6
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Tampa Bay vs. NY Yankees
| 7:05 PM | Tampa Bay – ROAD | NY Yankees – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.262 | 0.754 | 18.30% | 0.64 | 0.244 | 0.683 | 19.50% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.289 | 0.791 | 18.40% | 0.52 | 0.247 | 0.699 | 19.30% | 0.42 | |
| SP STATS | Hellickson – RHP | Sabathia – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.22 | 4.62 | 7.36 | 9.76 | 1.27 | 4.37 | 7.73 | 11.00 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.27 | 4.09 | 9.00 | 10.50 | 1.67 | 6.50 | 8.00 | 7.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TBR vs L | TBR BvP | NYY vs R | NYY BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – NYY -130
Pitcher Grind Down
- Home CC Sabathia at home is normally a pretty tasty option. I am not sure I trust him today versus this TAM team that crushes left-handed pitching. CC is allowing right-handers to bat .274 on the year. Not a good combination. TAM is batting .258 on the road, .288 versus left-handers, and .283 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 6
- Away Jeremy Hellickson has been awful on the road with a 5.10 ERA. He has also not faired well versus left-handers with a .272 BAA. This is not a good combination in a park that favors left-handed power versus a team loaded with deadly lefties. RG Start-Ability 5
Batter Grind Down
- Home All of the left-handed bats are playable today. Robinson Cano and Brett Garner have the best numbers versus Hellickson. Imagine that. RG Stack Rating 7
- Away The rays have been hot and CC has not looked like the same pitcher. I think you can feel safe playing Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, and Wil Myers. Evan Longoria ‘s 18-47 with 6 HRs and Sean Rodriguez ‘s 11-36 with 2 HRs versus CC are worth strong consideration for the day. RG Stack Rating 6
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Texas vs. Cleveland
| 7:05 PM | Texas – ROAD | Cleveland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.261 | 0.738 | 17.30% | 0.59 | 0.256 | 0.744 | 21.50% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.264 | 0.752 | 17.30% | 0.48 | 0.261 | 0.754 | 20.10% | 0.51 | |
| SP STATS | Perez – LHP | Kluber – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.38 | 3.40 | 5.34 | 9.01 | 1.23 | 3.69 | 9.09 | 10.44 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.33 | 5.50 | 6.50 | 8.00 | 0.90 | 0.00 | 11.07 | 15.60 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TEX vs R | TEX BvP | CLE vs L | CLE BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – CLE -131
Pitcher Grind Down
- Home Corey Kluber has been fantastic at home with a 2.53 ERA and a K/9 over 9. The nagging injury worries me a but, though. TEX does not K all that much and can be a potent offense even if they have been slumping. There is too much risk involved for my taste. TEX is batting .254 on the road, .262 versus right-handers, and .254 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 5
- Away Martin Perez just moved into the rotation so it is probably to soon to make a big deal about the fact that his ERA is 3 points higher on the road than it is at home but I still do not like it. We saw what this CLE offense did to another subpar left-hander a couple of days ago and I think we can see similar results today. CLE is batting .252 at home, .263 versus left-handers, and .239 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 3
Batter Grind Down
- Home Michael Bourn, Jason, Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Drew Stubbs, Nick Swisher, and Yan Gomes are all batting over .280 versus left-handers on the year. Bourn and Kipnis have been hot for CLE although not as hot as Betty White. RG Stack Rating 7
- Away A.J. Pierzinski is 2-7 with 1 HR versus Kluber. Outside of him the only bats that are producing for TEX are the right-handed bats and none of them hit right-handers all that well. RG Stack Rating 3
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