MLB Daily Grind Down May 9th
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.
Thursday offers us just enough day games to play on most sites and 7 night games to keep us interested in the evening. The schedule may be a little lite as far as games but there well be no shortage of action in daily fantasy. Jose Bautista gets my nod as the player of day today against a struggling David Price. He has been hot and Price has been ice cold. Here is today’s Daily Grind Down to help guide you as you construct another winner.
Oakland at Cleveland
| Oakland | Cleveland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Field | 12:05 PM | ||||||
| Bartolo Colon – (3-1), 3.62 ERA, 5.58 K/9, 1.04 WHIP | Scott Kazmir – (1-1), 6.28 ERA, 9.57 K/9, 1.67 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (23-95 H/AB) 0.242 BA-A, 30.53 K%, 0.737 OPS-A | PvB | (16-49 H/AB) 0.327 BA-A, 24.49 K%, 1 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (2-0), 2.08 ERA, 1 HRA, 6.2 K/9, 0.923 WHIP | HOME | NO DATA | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
OAK BvP  | OAK vs L | CLE BvP | CLE vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.5
- Favored OAK -118
Pitchers
- Home Scott Kazmir first start was horrible but his last two have been pretty good. He has always been a better pitcher at home and gets enough Ks to consider. The OU in this game is high and OAK offense is clicking right now but I trust his potential to produce. OAK is batting .260 on the road, .280 versus left-handers, and .220 over the last 7 days. In Play
- Away Bartolo Colon has reinvented himself as the results are working. He has a 1.04 WHIP on the season and has actually pitched better on the road than at home. His K/9 totals have dropped, though, which is bad for daily fantasy and even though he is the favorite today do you really trust him against this hot CLE offense on the road? CLE is batting .257 at home, .266 versus right-handers, and .281 over the last 7 days with 10 Hrs.
Batters
- Home Jason Giambi is 8-30 versus Colon with 2 Hrs. Nick Swisher is 5-10 versus him with 1 HR and Mark Reynolds is 5-15. Jeff Kipnis is hot producing 26.5 fp and is still underpriced on some sites because of his slow start.
- Away The road splits actually favor OAK players. Cespedes, Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie look in a good spot to produce in a game with a high OU. Yoenis Cespedes has been hot over the last 7 days producing 2 HRs.
NY Yankees at Colorado
| NY Yankees | Colorado | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coors Field | 3:10 PM | ||||||
| CC Sabathia – (4-3), 3.31 ERA, 7.71 K/9, 1.27 WHIP | Jeff Francis – (1-2), 7.27 ERA, 7.27 K/9, 1.81 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (21-99 H/AB) 0.212 BA-A, 25.25 K%, 0.586 OPS-A | PvB | (15-60 H/AB) 0.25 BA-A, 15 K%, 0.783 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-1), 3.21 ERA, 3 HRA, 7.7 K/9, 1.143 WHIP | HOME | (1-1), 6.98 ERA, 4 HRA, 7.9 K/9, 1.707 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| NYY BvP | NYY vs L | COL BvP | COL vs L | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9
- Favored NYY -125
Pitchers
- Home Jeff Francis is a lefty so he has that working for him against NYY. His 7.27 ERA is enough to scare me off. Have you seen what his start have looked like in Coors Field? NYY is batting .253 on the road, .215 versus left-handers, and .221 over the last 7 days*Avoid*
- Away C.C. Sabathia home road splits make him a shaky proposition outside of NYY. They make him pretty much unplayable today in COL. For his price, you need a near perfect performance and that is unlikely in Coors Field. COL is batting .285 at home, .285 versus left-handers, and .274 over the last 7 days. Avoid
Batters
- Home Troy Tulowitzki is 2-3 versus Sabathia and has the splits in his favor today if he plays. Sabathia is a scary opponent but if COL can hang 4 ER on Matt Moore then they should be able to get to him also.
- Away Ichiro Suzuki has the team’s best batting average versus left-handed pitching at .359. Vernon Wells is also batting .326 versus left-handers. The Yankees have been slumping as of late but everyone is in play versus Francis in COL.
Detroit at Washington
| Detroit | Washington | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals Park | 4:10 PM | ||||||
| Doug Fister – (4-0), 2.48 ERA, 6.53 K/9, 1.12 WHIP | Dan Haren – (3-3), 5.01 ERA, 6.73 K/9, 1.45 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (16-59 H/AB) 0.271 BA-A, 11.86 K%, 0.678 OPS-A | PvB | (35-129 H/AB) 0.271 BA-A, 22.48 K%, 0.705 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-0), 1.8 ERA, 0 HRA, 6.3 K/9, 1.1 WHIP | HOME | (2-1), 4.5 ERA, 1 HRA, 7.3 K/9, 1.563 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| DET BvP | DET vs R | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 7.5
- Favored DET -120
Pitchers
- Home Dan Haren is the next pitcher to get the tough assignment of facing a DET offense that has 5 starters batting over .300 on the year. DET has been lthe best offensive team by far on the year. Haren looked sharp in his last outing but you would have to be crazy to take him today even at home. DET is batting .258 on the road, .283 versus right-handers, and .287 over the last 7 days. He has GPP upside but would be a huge gamble today. Avoid
- Away Doug Fister is the favorite on the road and has been impressive on the year but that line has more to do with DET offense than it has to do with his arm. His K totals are low but WAS is struggling to produce runs so he should be in line for a productive day. WAS is batting .239 at home, .241 versus right-handers, and .221 over the last 7 days. Target
Batters
- Home Bryce Harper is batting .375 versus right-handed pitching. Adam LaRoche has been swinging the bat better over the last week producing 19.5 fp. Denard Span has the only positive BvP numbers versus Fister if you feel like playing the fade.
- Away Omar Infante is 7-15 versus Haren. Prince Fielder is 3-5 versus him. Victor Martinex is 9-25 with an HR. Miguel Cabrera and Torii Hunter have been DET best hitters versus right-handers. Miguel Cabrera has been DET hottest hitter producing 30 fp over the last week. He might not play today, though.
Kansas City at Baltimore
| Kansas City | Baltimore | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden Yards | 7:05 PM | ||||||
| Jeremy Guthrie – (4-0), 2.4 ERA, 5.91 K/9, 1.11 WHIP | Freddy Garcia – (0-0), 2.7 ERA, 2.9 K/9, 0.6 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (8-48 H/AB) 0.167 BA-A, 20.83 K%, 0.479 OPS-A | PvB | (33-115 H/AB) 0.287 BA-A, 13.04 K%, 0.852 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (1-0), 3.32 ERA, 3 HRA, 8.1 K/9, 1.316 WHIP | HOME | NO DATA | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| KCR BvP | KCR vs R | BAL BvP | BAL vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 8.5
- Favored BAL -110
Pitchers
- Home Freddy Garcia flirted with a no-no in his first start of the season. Do not be fooled by that. He is not that good. The high OU and his lackluster K/9 ratio should be enough to get you off of him today even though he is the slight favorite. KAN is batting .264 on the road, .255 versus right-handers, and .273 over the last 7 days. Avoid
- Away Jeremy Guthrie was a player that I really liked when I first started playing daily fantasy. His ERA and K/9 totals are just good enough that on his best days he can get you there in a GPP. He had a horrible year last year in COL but is back to his old self again with a 2.40 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. BAL is batting .252 at home, .268 versus right-handers, and .224 over the last 7 days. He has held them as a team to a .167 BAA. In Play
Batters
- Home Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Nate McLouth all have batting average over .300 versus right-handed pitching. J.J. Hardy has been hot over the last 7 days producing 21.25 fp.
- Away Jeff Francoeur, Billy Butler, and Chris Getz have positive BvPs versus Garcia. Alex Gordon has been the hottest Royal. The OU is high so I also like the left-handed bats of Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas for their upside.
Minnesota at Boston
| Minnesota | Boston | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenway Park | 7:10 PM | ||||||
| Kevin Correia – (3-2), 2.83 ERA, 4.16 K/9, 1.14 WHIP | John Lackey – (1-1), 2.61 ERA, 10.69 K/9, 1.26 WHIP | ||||||
| PvB | (23-89 H/AB) 0.258 BA-A, 16.85 K%, 0.708 OPS-A | PvB | (18-63 H/AB) 0.286 BA-A, 22.22 K%, 0.778 OPS-A | ||||
| ROAD | (0-1), 3.68 ERA, 0 HRA, 1.2 K/9, 1.227 WHIP | HOME | (1-0), 1.5 ERA, 0 HRA, 6 K/9, 1.167 WHIP | ||||
| BATTER SPLITS BREAKDOWN | |||||||
| MIN BvP | MIN vs R | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | ||||
| Note: Batter Splits Above Open in Pop Up Window | |||||||
Las Vegas
- OU 9.5
- Favored BOS -160
Pitchers
- Home John Lackey takes the hill as the huge favorite in this game but the OU is 9.5, which means even if he gets the win it will probably come with a few ERs attached to it. MIN has been hot lately and they hung double digits on BOS yesterday. MIN is batting .244 on the road, .239 versus right-handers, and .278 over the last 7 days. Lackey has had great success on the year, though. In Play
- Away Kevin Correia has only 19 Ks in 6 starts. His 2.83 ERA is awesome but the lack of Ks give him limited upside and he takes the mound as the huge dog in this one. He has pitched really bad on the road with a 5.11 ERA. BOS is batting .269 at home, .282 versus right-handers, and .262 over the last 7 days with 13 HRS. Avoid
Batters
- Home David Ortiz is hit streak may have ended but a new one should start today. He is batting .462 versus right-handers on the year. The OU is high and there are a lot of left-handed bats in BOS LU so feel free to play them. Stephen Drew has been producing and is cheap at SS.
- Away Joe Mauer is 10-23 versus Lackey with 2 HRs. He is batting .315 versus right-handed pitching. Trevor Plouffe, Joe Mauer, and Ryan Doumit have been the hottest Twins all producing over 20 fp over the last 7 days.
