MLB Daily Grind Down: Friday, September 13th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-09-13 21:37:38

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

Cleveland vs. Chicago White Sox

2:10 PM	Cleveland – ROAD					Chicago White Sox – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.253	0.732	21.10%	0.63		0.251	0.683	19.30%	0.51
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.263	0.751	19.90%	0.49		0.253	0.691	19.30%	0.40
SP STATS	Salazar – RHP					Santiago – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.05	2.92	10.95	10.57		1.39	3.44	8.66	7.32
LAST 14 DAYS	1.21	1.93	10.29	9.00		2.32	6.23	7.68	4.60
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CLE vs L		CLE BvP			CHW vs R		CHW BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Danny Salazar – Won’t go into too much detail here since there is only one day game, but Salazar has been good so far. High strikeout pitcher with a pretty low ERA. He faces a White Sox lineup that isn’t very intimidating. Starter Rating = 6

• Hector Santiago – Santiago has been a much better pitcher than most people would think. He has a 3.44 ERA on the season with almost 9 K’s per 9 innings pitched. Like the upside, but don’t love the matchup. Starter Rating = 5

Batter Grind Down

CLE – Santiago is only giving up a .235 batting average to lefties so I would try to avoid all of the left handed bats on the Indians. Swisher and Santana are both switch hitters though.

CWS – I just don’t love any of the options on the White Sox today. Paul Konerko has been playing better, but he’s still not a great option against Salazar.

Kansas City vs. Detroit

7:05 PM	Kansas City – ROAD					Detroit – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.258	0.688	16.60%	0.54		0.282	0.785	16.90%	0.65
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.257	0.687	16.70%	0.40		0.273	0.782	18.30%	0.53
SP STATS	Duffy – LHP					Verlander – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.37	1.85	8.22	9.82		1.34	3.64	8.52	11.47
LAST 14 DAYS	1.48	1.84	7.61	9.07		1.16	3.32	7.58	9.33
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	KCR vs R		KCR BvP			DET vs L		DET BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Bruce Chen – Danny Duffy got skipped in the rotation so it looks like Chen will get the start tonight against the Tigers. While Chen has been pretty good this season, he has struggled in both of his starts against the Tigers. He has a 5.84 ERA in those two starts and has to face Miggy who crushes left hand pitching. Starter Rating = 3

• Justin Verlander – Verlander is a risky pitcher to take these days. He has been getting shelled for 5 and 6 runs and it’s often by teams that don’t have very good offenses. Tonight he faces the red hot Royals. Not only that, but the Royals aren’t a team that strikes out often. I think the upside is very limited here. Starter Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

KC – Verlander has pitched well against these Royals in the past, but they are a scrappy bunch that finds ways to score runs. Billy Butler has decent BvP against him, but not good enough to make me want to take him tonight.

DET – Miguel Cabrera is 15/37 with 5 HR’s off of Chen. Those are the type of numbers that you have to trust. He has been crushing lefties all season and looks like he is worth his price tag tonight. I also like Victor Martinez who has really been playing well.

Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh

7:05 PM	Chicago Cubs – ROAD					Pittsburgh – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.240	0.702	20.10%	0.54		0.245	0.705	22.40%	0.55
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.244	0.707	19.40%	0.44		0.241	0.696	22.10%	0.41
SP STATS	Arrieta – RHP					Morton – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.45	5.49	7.57	7.46		1.36	3.44	6.22	9.20
LAST 14 DAYS	1.42	4.86	6.11	7.40		1.66	3.52	4.77	8.37
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CHC vs R		CHC BvP			PIT vs R		PIT BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jake Arrieta – The line of today’s game is almost the exact same line as it was yesterday with Rusin and Locke pitching. I think this game will look very similar to yesterday’s as well. Arrieta’s ERA is almost as high as his K rate, not something you like to see from your pitcher. Starter Rating = 3

• Charlie Morton – Morton has really pitched well at home this season with a 2.88 ERA. He’s not a high strikeout pitcher, but his K numbers have been up from past seasons. I really like the matchup for him at home against the Cubs. Starter Rating = 7

Batter Grind Down

CHC – Morton pitches well at home and this is a very pitcher friendly park. The Cubs are counting down the days until the end of the season.

PIT – Arrieta has given up at least 4 earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts. I like Andrew McCutchen as always and think that this is the perfect spot for Justin Morneau.

Philadelphia vs. Washington

7:05 PM	Philadelphia – ROAD					Washington – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.248	0.694	19.90%	0.52		0.247	0.700	20.20%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.254	0.702	19.60%	0.41		0.253	0.711	20.10%	0.44
SP STATS	Kendrick – RHP					Strasburg – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.38	4.51	5.43	8.11		1.04	2.96	9.58	11.54
LAST 14 DAYS	1.39	4.50	7.50	8.00		0.79	2.57	12.21	11.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	PHI vs R		PHI BvP			WSN vs R		WSN BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Kyle Kendrick – Kendrick just isn’t the same pitcher that he was earlier in the season and the Nats don’t have the same offense. This Nats team is locked in right now and keeps putting up huge run totals. I am staying far away from Kendrick tonight. Starter Rating = 2

• Stephen Strasburg – You know when I love to take Strasburg? When he is pitching at home. This year, he has a 1.55 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP at home. Those are numbers that would be hard to get if you were playing a video game. He is untouchable at home and has a favorable matchup against the Phillies. Starter Rating = 10

Batter Grind Down

PHI – If you don’t want to score positive fantasy points, may I suggest taking a few Phillies?

WAS – This game should be a blowout. All of the Nats are in play, but Ryan Zimmerman now has 6 HR’s in his last 6 games. If he isn’t too expensive, get him in your lineup. Also like Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche.

Baltimore vs. Toronto

7:07 PM	Baltimore – ROAD					Toronto – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.264	0.755	18.10%	0.63		0.252	0.733	18.00%	0.62
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.271	0.777	17.70%	0.53		0.255	0.748	17.90%	0.50
SP STATS	Hammel – RHP					Redmond – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.50	5.11	6.19	7.64		1.23	4.40	9.30	7.70
LAST 14 DAYS	1.00	0.00	4.50	3.00		1.08	4.22	7.94	11.10
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	BAL vs R		BAL BvP			TOR vs R		TOR BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jason Hammel – Vegas expects this one to be close and to be high scoring and that’s what I think we can expect as well. Hammel has a 5.11 ERA and is facing a Blue Jays offense that scores a good amount of runs at home. Much better options out there than Hammel. Starter Rating = 3

• Todd Redmond – Redmond could be a nice sleeper pick if he wasn’t facing the Orioles. He is averaging over 9 k’s per 9 innings, but I just don’t see him lasting long against this Orioles club. They are really good against right hand pitching and their lineup has no breaks for pitchers. Starter Rating = 3

Batter Grind Down

BAL – Redmond has struggled against right hand bats, but I’m certainly not ruling out Chris Davis against a right hand pitcher. Adam Jones hits righties well too and the team should benefit from this park where a lot of runs are scored.

TOR – Hammel is giving up a .297 average to left hand bats so maybe a guy like Adam Lind makes a good play. He has been batting clean up and hits right hand pitching well. Also like the way Jose Reyes and Brett Lawrie are both playing.

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