MLB Daily Grind Down May 23rd
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)
It is a very short day in baseball with only four night games. There will be a ton of overlay particularly on multiple pitcher sites. Most of the pitchers going tonight are average to not good so there will be a ton of offense to be had. This makes tonight a total crap shot so I imagine some players will simply be looking to tomorrow. I, however, feel the need for action so I will be shooting out some GPPs. Here is today’s Daily Grind Down to get your research started, not that it will do you any good because if you play tonight you will only be gambling no matter who you take.
Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh
| Chicago Cubs | Pittsburgh | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNC Park | 12:35 PM | ||||||
| Edwin Jackson – (1-6), 5.76 ERA, 8.28 K/9, 1.52 WHIP | Jeanmar Gomez – (2-0), 2.78 ERA, 5.33 K/9, 1.21 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (35-141 H/AB) 0.248 BA-A, 18.44 K%, 0.695 OPS-A | PvB | (2-7 H/AB) 0.286 BA-A, 0 K%, 0.857 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-2), 3.22 ERA, 2 HRA, 6.4 K/9, 1.075 WHIP | HOME | (1-0), 1.88 ERA, 1 HRA, 6.3 K/9, 1.256 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
CHC BvP  | CHC vs R | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7.5
- Favored PIT -140
Pitchers
With this being the only day game going in a very short day, It will be completely ignored by the daily fantasy world and not included in any GPPs. If for some reason you need to get into some early start action then the OU is very low so this is a great place to chose a pitcher but a horrible spot to pick batters.
Minnesota at Detroit
| Minnesota | Detroit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comerica Park | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Scott Diamond – (3-3), 4.08 ERA, 3.85 K/9, 1.3 WHIP | Rick Porcello – (2-2), 5.92 ERA, 6.39 K/9, 1.32 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (22-106 H/AB) 0.208 BA-A, 17.92 K%, 0.557 OPS-A | PvB | (42-132 H/AB) 0.318 BA-A, 8.33 K%, 0.917 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (3-0), 1.42 ERA, 0 HRA, 4.7 K/9, 0.737 WHIP | HOME | (1-0), 4.67 ERA, 0 HRA, 6.2 K/9, 1.212 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| MIN BvP | MIN vs R | DET BvP | DET vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9
- Favored DET -169
Pitchers
- Home Rick Porcello is like the ugly girl in high school who was best friends with all of the cheerleaders. You go from Verlander, to Scherzer, to Sanchez, all of which are supermodels in the world of daily fantasy. Even Drew Smyly has a 2.48 ERA on the year and then you have Rick Porcello and his very hefty ERA 5.92 that gives him too much weight to carry around and low K/9 ratio which means he has no personality either. You decide to become really good friends with him anyway thinking that one of these other much cuter girls will think you are a nice guy and maybe go out with you. This is Daily Fantasy, however, so you do not need to play Rick in order to get to all these other players. You can take them anytime you like or you can play Matt Harvey who is like that freshman who is hotter than any senior but your friends make fun of you for dating her because she is only 15. You can even play Tim Lincecum who is like that gothic girl in Theater Arts who you know is more trouble than she is worth but damn if she can’t work a Betsy Johnson dress so you hang out with her anyway smoking pot and listening to Indie Rock because she has really cute face under all that black makeup and she smokes so you know what else that means she does. If you want to play Rick Porcello go ahead. I am not judging you. I just think you can do better. Avoid
- Away Scott Diamond has had DET number. He remains the same player, low K/9 but decent ERA and WHIP. It is hard to gamble against a team that is batting .307 at home, .285 versus left-handers, and .269 over the last 7 days. I has also had to bad starts in a row so he is not trendy in the right direction so I will stay away since the BAL rookie will probably be cheaper with much more upside. Avoid
Batters
- Home Something tells me DET gets to Diamond today. Everyone with DET is always in play. Miguel Cabrera is 8-16 versus Diamond. He crushes lefties and is on a tear get him in your LU.
- Away The OU of this game is not over 10 only because MIN has been struggling. I think they get on track today. Everyone from MIN is playable. Josh Willingham is 6-10 versus Porcello. I like the lefty/righty splits of Morneau and Mauer. Chris Colabello could be an interesting cheap play.
Baltimore at Toronto
| Baltimore | Toronto | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers Centre | 7:07 PM | ||||||
| Kevin Gausman – | Brandon Morrow – (1-3), 5.16 ERA, 6.98 K/9, 1.46 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (0-0 H/AB) 0 BA-A, 0 K%, 0 OPS-A | PvB | (43-166 H/AB) 0.259 BA-A, 22.89 K%, 0.861 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | NO DATA | HOME | (1-1), 4.07 ERA, 4 HRA, 10 K/9, 1.438 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| BAL BvP | BAL vs R | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9
- Favored TOR -127
Pitchers
- Home Brandon Morrow is really struggling with fly balls so far year. Many of those have turned into homeruns. He is the slight favorite in this one but I do not trust him in this park even though his ERA is lower at home. His K/9 is also down from a year ago so if he gets hit hard by this BAL team he could end up yielding you negative points. BAL is batting .273 on the road, .278 versus right-handers, and .297 over the last 7 days with 13 HRs. Avoid
- Away It seems that we have been over saturated this year by rookie prospects hitting the big leagues. Kevin Gausman is the next in line. Everyone in the Orioles orginazation is high on this kid even the guy who sales peanuts in section 127. You know how it works. He is cheap and has GPP upside. A start in TOR is not the best place, however. TOR is batting .248 at home, .241 versus right-handers, and .227 over the last 7 days. In Play
Batters
- Home The kid could pitch well but he could also pitch bad, real bad. A TOR stack is playable. Jose Bautista has been hot producing 24.5 fp. I also like Adam Lind because he turns into the best player in baseball every time he gets sent down to the triple As. This kid is a triple A pitcher.
- Away Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Nate McLouth have all produced over 20 fp in the last 7 days. Adam Jones is 12-31 with 3 HRs versus Morrow. Chris Dickerson has been a nice value play the last couple of days and has 20 fp over the last week.
Cleveland at Boston
| Cleveland | Boston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenway Park | 7:10 PM | ||||||
| Zach McAllister – (3-3), 2.65 ERA, 6 K/9, 1.18 WHIP | Ryan Dempster – (2-4), 3.75 ERA, 11.44 K/9, 1.15 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (15-59 H/AB) 0.254 BA-A, 33.9 K%, 0.847 OPS-A | PvB | (26-102 H/AB) 0.255 BA-A, 26.47 K%, 0.765 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-2), 3.57 ERA, 2 HRA, 6.1 K/9, 1.528 WHIP | HOME | (1-3), 3.89 ERA, 7 HRA, 11.9 K/9, 1.054 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| CLE BvP | CLE vs R | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9.5
- Favored BOS -144
Pitchers
- Home Ryan Dempster had that great start to the year but has come unglued in his last two starts. CLE offense is clicking. The OU of 9.5 in this game should tell you all you need to know even though Dempster is the favorite. Normally I would say to avoid him but the lack of pitchers going makes him playable. He should get you Ks and holding CLE to only 1 or 2 ER is not impossible or unlikely. CLE is batting .274 on the road, .254 versus right-handers, and .270 over the last 7 days with 12 HR. In Play
- Away Zach McAllister has been fantastic at home. His ERA dips a little on the road to 3.57 which is not great but certainly still playable. His Ks are a little on the low side and the OU of this game is high but I feel like every pitcher is in play today simply because the few easy choices will produce to much overlay. BOS is batting .264 at home, .274 versus right-handers, and .246 over the last 7 days.
Batters
- Home The BvPs are neither positive nor negative for anyone involved. Dustin Pedroia has had a nice week producing 25 fp. He is 3-9 versus McAllister. The high OU means everyone is playable especially the left-handed bats. Jonny Gomes has been starting versus righties lately also. He makes a nice value play who could go yard.
- Away Michael Bourn is 10-32 versus Dempster. Nick Swisher has 2 HR in 8 AB. Carlos Santana BvPs are positive also. Michael Bourn has been the hottest Indian and he draws the lefty righty matchup today.
LA Angels at Kansas City
| LA Angels | Kansas City | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kauffman Stadium | 8:10 PM | ||||||
| Joe Blanton – (0-7), 6.46 ERA, 5.67 K/9, 1.87 WHIP | Ervin Santana – (3-2), 2.79 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 1.1 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (26-64 H/AB) 0.406 BA-A, 17.19 K%, 1.016 OPS-A | PvB | (15-62 H/AB) 0.242 BA-A, 11.29 K%, 0.726 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-4), 5.64 ERA, 7 HRA, 7.7 K/9, 1.746 WHIP | HOME | (2-1), 1.84 ERA, 3 HRA, 6.1 K/9, 1.125 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| LAA BvP | LAA vs R | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
- OU 8.5
- Favored KAN -131
Pitchers
- Home Ervin Santana has been a 1.84 pitcher at home this year. That number was much lower before his last start versus NYY at home in which he gave up 4 ER in 6.1 IP. With limited options today, he is on a short list of players to use. LAA is batting .234 on the road, .270 versus right-handers, and .298 over the last 7 days. In Play
- Away Joe Blanton 6.62 ERA and 1.97 WHIP are bad enough for me to simply say to avoid but the .406 BAA KAN has against him as a team make me think of him as daily fantasy suicide today. He is a play so bad that he will probably end up in a least one of my rosters today because I figure no one in their right mind would play him besides me. Avoid
Batters
- Home Gentlemen start your KAN stacks.
- Away Josh Hamilton numbers versus Santana are pretty good. He is 10-37 with 2 HR. He has been hot also producing 20.75 fp and is undervalued after his poor start to the season. Mike Trout is red hot producing 31.5 fp over the last 7 days and hits righties better than lefties.