MLB Daily Grind Down May 18th Night 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. (any fp listed uses Fanduel’s scoring system)
I hope your early action is going well. I dumped a heavy amount of my action into the day games because they seemed to be headed to overlay but the night time is where the real fun starts. Tonight we have a very lackluster set of pitching options. That makes A.J. Burnett the play of the day since he is going against the Astros and their league leading 417 Ks on the year. Here is tonight’s Grind Down to get you ready for a second wave of Saturday Action.
Houston at Pittsburgh
| Houston | Pittsburgh | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNC Park | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Erik Bedard – (0-2), 6.67 ERA, 10.33 K/9, 1.67 WHIP | A.J. Burnett – (3-4), 2.73 ERA, 11.57 K/9, 1.07 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (10-26 H/AB) 0.385 BA-A, 15.38 K%, 0.962 OPS-A | PvB | (17-86 H/AB) 0.198 BA-A, 31.4 K%, 0.616 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-2), 11.91 ERA, 6 HRA, 8.7 K/9, 2.382 WHIP | HOME | (2-2), 2.48 ERA, 3 HRA, 12.1 K/9, 0.888 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
HOU BvP  | HOU vs R | PIT BvP | PIT vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7.5
- Favored PIT -260
Pitchers
- Home A.J. Burnett has been a K machine and the Astros have been strikingout at a record rate. His home ERA has been a very good 2.72. If you are playing on a single pitcher site then look no farther because this is your man. They only thing you have to worry about is overlay but Burnett should get the win and Ks you need tonight. Target
- Away Erik Bedard made it 5 IP in his last start, which was the only time he has done that in his eight starts on the year. I could not recommend him even if he was pitching well because of that fact. He is not pitching well and has a 6.67 ERA on the year Avoid
Batters
- Home Andrew McCutchen has been hot producing 32.25 fp over the last 7 days. It is hard not to like him with the splits in his favor today. Everyone is playable despite the low OU and I think a PIT stack is useful.
- Away I am not trying to be lazy with the Astros but they are just not very good. They are scrappy and have produced runs but the production is not predictable so you cannot target players. Jose Altuve is good but overpriced.
Boston at Minnesota
| Boston | Minnesota | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target Field | 7:10 PM | ||||||
| Ryan Dempster – (2-4), 3.75 ERA, 11.44 K/9, 1.15 WHIP | Scott Diamond – (3-3), 4.08 ERA, 3.85 K/9, 1.3 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (23-108 H/AB) 0.213 BA-A, 25.93 K%, 0.565 OPS-A | PvB | (3-27 H/AB) 0.111 BA-A, 11.11 K%, 0.259 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-1), 3.27 ERA, 2 HRA, 9.8 K/9, 1.455 WHIP | HOME | (0-2), 5.91 ERA, 2 HRA, 4.2 K/9, 1.875 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| BOS BvP | BOS vs L | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9
- Favored BOS -122
Pitchers
- Home Scott Diamond just gets it done. He is unplayable most days in daily fantasy because of his low K/9 ratio but he is pitching really well to start the season outside of his last outing. He has held BOS to a .111 BAA. BOS is batting .256 on the road, .231 versus left-handers, and .234 over the last 7 days. Given the limited amount of games, he is playable in a multiple pitcher format. In Play
- Away Ryan Dempster ad a bad last outing but he has produced like an Ace on the year. He has been a bit of a hard look pitcher but has held the Twins to a .213 BAA. MIN is batting .238 on the road, .241 versus right-handers, and .253 over the last 7 days.
Batters
- Home Justin Morneau is 4-9 versus Dempster with an HR. Joe Mauer is batting .345 versus right-handers. Vegas expects runs in this game so there might be some runs to be had by BOS but I do not see it in the numbers.
- Away Dustin Pedroia kills left-handers batting .378 on the year. He has been hot producing 20.75 fp. Johnny Gomes is another solid option versus the left-hander.
Arizona at Miami
| Arizona | Miami | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlins Park | 7:10 PM | ||||||
| Brandon McCarthy – (0-3), 5.63 ERA, 6 K/9, 1.54 WHIP | Tom Koehler – (0-1), 3.31 ERA, 5.59 K/9, 1.16 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (16-50 H/AB) 0.32 BA-A, 10 K%, 0.88 OPS-A | PvB | (1-2 H/AB) 0.5 BA-A, 50 K%, 1 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-1), 5.51 ERA, 3 HRA, 5 K/9, 1.714 WHIP | HOME | (0-0), 0 ERA, 0 HRA, 11.3 K/9, 0.5 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| ARI BvP | ARI vs R | MIA BvP | MIA vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8
- Favored ARI -155
Pitchers
- Home Tom Koehler is making his second start after moving out of the pen. He threw less than 80 pitches in his first start and his k/9 ratio is very poor. HE PLAYS FOR THE MARLINS also. ARI is batting .260 on the road, .267 versus right-handers, and .277 over the last 7 days. Avoid
- Away Brandon McCarthy has not been sharp on the year but that is okay because he faces a very poor MIA team today. He was really sharp in his last outing going 8 IP with 0 ER and 5 Ks and there is no reason to believe that MIA will bat around on him today. MIA is batting .230 on the road, .225 versus right-handers and .217 over the last 7 days.
Batters
- Home MIA offers value. If you are trying to free up salary than the heart of their order is not a bad play. Hechavarria, Pierre, Dietrich and Ozuna are the players to target.
- Away Didi Gregorius ia batting .413 versus right-handers. Paul Goldschmidt is hot producing 33.5 fp. The only player hotter in ARI is Eric Chavez producing 46.5 fp.
LA Dodgers at Atlanta
| LA Dodgers | Atlanta | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turner Field | 7:10 PM | ||||||
| Chris Capuano – (1-2), 6.6 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 1.73 WHIP | Kris Medlen – (1-5), 3.44 ERA, 6.04 K/9, 1.41 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (25-96 H/AB) 0.26 BA-A, 33.33 K%, 0.771 OPS-A | PvB | (13-41 H/AB) 0.317 BA-A, 26.83 K%, 0.878 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-0), 0 ERA, 0 HRA, 13.5 K/9, 1.125 WHIP | HOME | (0-2), 2.84 ERA, 1 HRA, 7.6 K/9, 1.368 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| LAD BvP | LAD vs R | ATL BvP | ATL vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
It looks like this game is going to get rained out. I have had some people upset at me for not pointing this out in the past so I am not going to offer any plays for this game because the smart play is to avoid everyone involved.
Milwaukee at St. Louis
| Milwaukee | St. Louis | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busch Stadium | 7:15 PM | ||||||
| Marco Estrada – (3-2), 5.32 ERA, 8.76 K/9, 1.36 WHIP | Lance Lynn – (6-1), 2.88 ERA, 9.72 K/9, 1.08 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (35-102 H/AB) 0.343 BA-A, 19.61 K%, 1.01 OPS-A | PvB | (9-50 H/AB) 0.18 BA-A, 36 K%, 0.56 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-1), 2.79 ERA, 3 HRA, 7.4 K/9, 1.086 WHIP | HOME | (3-0), 1.35 ERA, 0 HRA, 10.8 K/9, 0.85 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| MIL BvP | MIL vs R | STL BvP | STL vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8
- Favored STL -160
Pitchers
- Home Lance Lynn has continued his dominance at home. His home ERA is a very nice 2.00. He is a legitimate Ace with an elite K/9 and WHIP. Plus, he has held the current Brewers to a .180 BAA. MIL is batting .323 on the road, .247 versus right-handers, and .236 over the last 7 days. Target
- Away Marco Estrada might not be off to as a good of start as Lynn but he has the same upside. The numbers are not there for him, especially his .343 BAA vs STL, but if you are looking for a high risk/reward pick in a GPP he is your guy because he is capable of big game performances. STL is batting .270 at home, .279 versus right-handers, and .292 over the last 7 days. In Play
Batters
- Home Matt Holiday and Yadier Molina ‘s BvPs are the best but almost everyone numbers are encouraging because even if they do not have a high average then they have taken Estrada deep in the past. Matt Carpenter is hot again producing 26.5 fp over the last 7 days and is batting .339 versus right-handers.
- Away Ryan Braun is for 2-7 versus Lynn with 1 HR. Carlos Gomez is batting .337 versus right-handed pitching. Jean Segura remains red hot producing 40.5 fp over the last 7 days.
