MLB Daily Grind Down May 14th
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. (any fp listed uses Fanduel’s scoring system)
Tuesdays are now my second favorite day of the week next to Friday thanks to all of the wonderful tournaments and qualifiers that sites have every Tuesday. I have yet to claim a spot in any of the championships, but plenty of Grinders have marked their seats which is always good news to hear. Let’s continue that trend tonight. Today’s Grind Down is highlighted by C.C. Sabathia going up against Felix and the M’s.
Houston at Detroit
| Houston | Detroit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comerica Park | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Lucas Harrell – (3-3), 4.67 ERA, 5.71 K/9, 1.76 WHIP | Doug Fister – (4-1), 3.14 ERA, 6.91 K/9, 1.26 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (21-49 H/AB) 0.429 BA-A, 12.24 K%, 1.163 OPS-A | PvB | (10-38 H/AB) 0.263 BA-A, 15.79 K%, 0.632 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-0), 1.5 ERA, 1 HRA, 6.8 K/9, 1.333 WHIP | HOME | (3-0), 3.15 ERA, 1 HRA, 6.8 K/9, 1.15 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
HOU BvP  | HOU vs R | DET BvP | DET vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.5
- Favored DET -300
Pitchers
- Home We had a -300 line yesterday that went exactly how you thought it would with a big win from the Tigers and now we have another -300 line today and I expect it to go much like it did yesterday. Doug Fister gets the start today and he is surprisingly cheap on quite a few sites so expect everyone to play him tonight. He has a 1.150 WHIP at home and is a decent strikeout pitcher with the dream matchup against the Astros. Target
- Away Anytime you see a pitcher that is this big of an underdog, just pretend like he is not available as an option. Lucas Harrell hasn’t been good this year anyway. Avoid
Batters
- Home The Tigers have limited at bats against Harrell, but in those at bats they have really hit him well. I think you can expect another big night from the Tigers offense and they are all in play. Something tells me Prince is going to bomb one tonight and Jhonny Peralta is also a guy I would look at with his hot play of late.
- Away The Astros bats are always a bit too risky for my tastes. You never know if they are going to forget to show up and they strike out more than any other team in the league. I’m avoiding.
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh
| Milwaukee | Pittsburgh | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNC Park | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Kyle Lohse – (1-4), 3.53 ERA, 6.26 K/9, 1.2 WHIP | Jeff Locke – (3-1), 2.95 ERA, 5.05 K/9, 1.21 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (63-191 H/AB) 0.33 BA-A, 14.66 K%, 0.948 OPS-A | PvB | (3-11 H/AB) 0.273 BA-A, 18.18 K%, 1.455 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-2), 2.37 ERA, 3 HRA, 4.7 K/9, 0.895 WHIP | HOME | (1-0), 4.91 ERA, 4 HRA, 3.7 K/9, 1.636 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| MIL BvP | MIL vs L | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7.5
- Favored Pick ‘Em
Pitchers
- Home Jeff Locke takes the mound for the Pirates and it looks like Vegas has a lot more faith in him than I do. He hasn’t pitched that well at home this season with a WHIP of 1.640 and he faces a tough Brewers lineup that is finally healthy and is really good against lefties. Avoid
- Away Quite a few experts were on Estrada last night and they were certainly spot on with that pick. I’m going to go ahead and say that Kyle Lohse will be a solid play as well tonight against the Pirates. I expect him to get quite a bit of run support and the pitcher friendly park only helps his value. In Play
Batters
- Home Jose Tabata has some nice BvP numbers against Lohse going 10/21 against him. Andrew McCutchen has been hot recently and is batting a solid .333 at home. I don’t think the Pirates will score more than 3 or 4 runs though, so temper those expectations.
- Away Call me crazy, but I’m just not a big believer in Jeff Locke and the Brewers all hit lefties well. Carlos Gomez, Jonathan Lucroy, and Ryan Braun all are solid against lefties and make good plays tonight.
San Diego at Baltimore
| San Diego | Baltimore | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden Yards | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Andrew Cashner – (2-2), 3.23 ERA, 7.15 K/9, 1.27 WHIP | Chris Tillman – (3-1), 3.76 ERA, 6.72 K/9, 1.38 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (0-0 H/AB) 0 BA-A, 0 K%, 0 OPS-A | PvB | (2-5 H/AB) 0.4 BA-A, 20 K%, 1 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-2), 5.79 ERA, 2 HRA, 8.4 K/9, 1.571 WHIP | HOME | (1-1), 5.48 ERA, 5 HRA, 6.3 K/9, 1.594 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| SDP BvP | SDP vs R | BAL BvP | BAL vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.0
- Favored BAL -134
Pitchers
- Home I think Chris Tillman is in a great spot tonight against the Padres at home. Tillman has been solid this year, he has a 3.76 ERA on the year and has looked really sharp in each of his last 4 outings. He is a decent favorite and certainly makes a good play tonight if the price is right. In Play
- Away Andrew Cashner is a guy that I’m just not sold on yet. I think his stats are a bit inflated thanks to half of his starts being in Petco. I think the Orioles knock him around a bit tonight and I doubt he makes it past 5 innings. Avoid
Batters
- Home The left hand bats of the Orioles are all in play today as Cashner allows lefties to hit .271 off of him. Nick Markakis, Nate McLouth, and Chris Davis are the guys you want to target here. I always like Adam Jones as well so don’t forget about him.
- Away The Padres have been scoring a decent amount of runs lately, but it’s hard to rely on production from any of them with the exception of Chase Headley. Headley could have a decent game, but I still think you can find better options.
Cleveland at Philadelphia
| Cleveland | Philadelphia | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank Park | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Scott Kazmir – (2-1), 4.87 ERA, 11.19 K/9, 1.43 WHIP | Jonathan Pettibone – (2-0), 3.63 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 1.39 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (9-35 H/AB) 0.257 BA-A, 25.71 K%, 0.771 OPS-A | PvB | (0-0 H/AB) 0 BA-A, 0 K%, 0 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-1), 8.64 ERA, 3 HRA, 8.6 K/9, 2.16 WHIP | HOME | (1-0), 2.31 ERA, 3 HRA, 6.9 K/9, 0.943 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| CLE BvP | CLE vs R | PHI BvP | PHI vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.5
- Favored CLE -108
Pitchers
- Home Jonathan Pettibone is off to a pretty decent start to his career. He has a 3.63 ERA and a WHIP of 0.94 at home this season. But two things I don’t love about him are the fact that he is a young young pitcher and the fact that he isn’t a high K pitcher. He may be worth a shot, but don’t take him if you are only allowed one pitcher. In Play
- Away Scott Kazmir has had two great starts in a row against the A’s and the Twins but both of those games were at home. On the road this season, Kazmir has an ERA over 8 and a WHIP over 2. I don’t expect him to get blasted, but I think there is little reward and high risk here. Avoid
Batters
- Home The Phillies are only batting .228 against lefties this season, mostly due to the fact that they have so many left handed bats. I wouldn’t take any lefty/lefty matchups, but I think all of the right hand bats are in play.
- Away The Indians can get hot at anytime and I really like the way Jason Kipnis is playing right now. He has really come alive the last couple of weeks and has high upside against Pettibone. As for the rest of the Indians, I think there could be a couple of good plays, maybe take a shot on Cabrera and or Bourn.
Seattle at NY Yankees
| Seattle | NY Yankees | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankee Stadium | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Felix Hernandez – (5-2), 1.53 ERA, 8.66 K/9, 0.9 WHIP | CC Sabathia – (4-3), 3.23 ERA, 7.47 K/9, 1.21 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (100-376 H/AB) 0.266 BA-A, 23.4 K%, 0.803 OPS-A | PvB | (49-197 H/AB) 0.249 BA-A, 25.38 K%, 0.787 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (4-1), 1.25 ERA, 1 HRA, 8 K/9, 0.833 WHIP | HOME | (3-2), 3.34 ERA, 4 HRA, 7.7 K/9, 1.314 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| SEA BvP | SEA vs L | NYY BvP | NYY vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 6.5
- Favored NYY -118
Pitchers
- Home This should be a fun game to watch. CC vs. Felix. Over his last 6 starts against the Mariners, CC is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA and 42 K’s over 45 innings of work. CC has always pitched better at home than he has on the road and I think this is a great spot for him. I’m calling double digit strikeouts tonight. Target
- Away King Felix takes the mound for the Mariners and he is also a good play today, but I am going to give the slight edge to CC. Felix has been dominant all season long, but I think the Yanks find a way to score a run or two to help CC get the win. However, if you want to go against the grain, Felix is a great option. In Play
Batters
- *A pitchers duel usually means that you should stay away from the bats in this one. If you have to take someone, maybe take a shot on Ichiro, he typically doesn’t strike out a lot.
