MLB Daily Grind Down: Monday, August 12th

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-08-12 19:04:57

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

________________________________________________________________________________________

Oakland vs. Toronto

12:37 PM	Oakland – ROAD					Toronto – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.244	0.717	19.40%	0.60		0.254	0.741	18.20%	0.63
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.239	0.717	20.30%	0.47		0.255	0.755	18.20%	0.51
SP STATS	Straily – RHP					Happ – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.22	4.41	7.20	8.61		1.65	5.84	6.81	6.13
LAST 14 DAYS	1.83	4.15	5.49	4.60		2.50	13.50	4.50	0.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	OAK vs L		OAK BvP			TOR vs R		TOR BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs –9.5

• Favored Team – TOR -110

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home What’s the over under set at for balls that are going to bounce off of J.A. Happ ‘s head? What? Too Soon? Happ made his return last time out and got shield by TOR but he left the game not on a stretcher so all and all things were a success. Happ was not that great of a pitcher before the injury and you never know how things like this are going to miss with a player’s head, all puns intended. Let’s take a wait a see approach. OAK is batting .251 on the road, .241 versus left-handers, and .273 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 1

• Away This game is early so we will not look to deep into things. You have better options later in the day than Dan Straily on the road in TOR. No need to waste your time on a pitcher in a game that is headed towards offense RG Start-Ability 4

Batter Grind Down

• Home Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, and Jose Reyes have been hot for TOR. Adam Lind is still hitting right-handers for a high average. RG Stack Rating 6

• Away Load up on OAK right-handed bats. Yoenis Cespedes looks like a real nice option in this dome that produces quite a few HRs. RG Stack Rating 7

________________________________________________________________________________________

Texas vs. Houston

2:10 PM	Texas – ROAD					Houston – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.263	0.742	16.90%	0.61		0.237	0.675	25.60%	0.53
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.262	0.732	17.00%	0.46		0.233	0.669	25.10%	0.40
SP STATS	Darvish – RHP					Oberholtzer – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.05	2.72	11.90	15.33		0.95	2.53	5.12	7.02
LAST 14 DAYS	1.15	1.80	13.95	18.33		0.64	0.00	5.14	15.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	TEX vs L		TEX BvP			HOU vs R		HOU BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5

• Favored Team – TEX -220

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home This game is early and will not be in to many GPPs so I will not waste too much time on it. Brett Oberholtzer has looked good but are you really think about using him against Yu? RG Start-Ability 2

• Away Yu Darvish is a high K pitcher facing the team with the league’s highest Ks. Huge upside! Fire away! It is a good thing this game is early because everyone would be using Yu tonight, which is no fun. RG Start-Ability 10

Batter Grind Down

• Home This Astros LU is not much different than the one Yu almost threw a perfect game against earlier in the year. RG Stack Rating 1

• Away Left-hander on the mound means, Kinsler, Andrus, Beltre, Rios, and Baker are your plays. RG Stack Rating 6

________________________________________________________________________________________

LA Angels vs. NY Yankees

7:05 PM	LA Angels – ROAD					NY Yankees – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.265	0.750	18.30%	0.61		0.240	0.669	19.60%	0.52
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.274	0.767	17.90%	0.50		0.240	0.675	19.80%	0.39
SP STATS	Richards – RHP					Kuroda – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.26	4.20	6.44	3.19		1.05	2.45	6.34	10.83
LAST 14 DAYS	1.00	2.50	6.50	10.00		1.14	1.93	7.71	11.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	LAA vs R		LAA BvP			NYY vs R		NYY BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5

• Favored Team – NYY -150

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Hiroki Kuroda has been fantastic at home with a 1.74 ERA and .220 BAA. He has been on a roll since the All-Star Break with a 1.61 ERA. He is holding right-handed batters to a .217 BAA, which should help him greatly today versus this heavily left-handed LU. LAA is batting .252 on the road, .273 versus right-handers, and .237 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 8

• Away Garrett Richards has a dismal 4.89 ERA on the road. The main reason you cannot play him is his pitch count, however. This NYY team is struggling but a pitcher like Richards is just what they need to get things back on track and I cannot see him out performing Kuroda at home. NYY is batting .245 at home, .240 versus left-handers, and .231 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 2

Batter Grind Down

• Home NYY offense looks much better since Arod and Curtis Granderson have returned. Granderson is 2-3 with 2 HRs versus Richards. Brett Gardner and Robinson Cano have been producing. Ichiro Suzuki is batting over .300 the last 7 days. RG Stack Rating 6

• Away Mike Trout is always playable. He has 33.75 fp over the last 7 days. If you are playing the fade then I would take a shot on Kole Calhoun or Josh Hamilton since the park favors left-handed power. Mark Trumbo is 3-9 with 2 HR versus Kuroda. RG Stack Rating 3

________________________________________________________________________________________

Philadelphia vs. Atlanta

7:10 PM	Philadelphia – ROAD					Atlanta – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.253	0.704	19.90%	0.53		0.254	0.742	22.20%	0.61
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.257	0.706	19.60%	0.42		0.248	0.715	21.40%	0.46
SP STATS	Hamels – LHP					Teheran – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.22	3.81	7.90	10.13		1.18	2.96	7.95	11.32
LAST 14 DAYS	0.93	1.20	4.80	10.50		0.89	1.00	10.50	15.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	PHI vs R		PHI BvP			ATL vs L		ATL BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7

• Favored Team – ATL -175

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Julio Teheran has been fantastic at home with a 2.66 ERA and .244 BAA. Vegas did the math for us on this one, he is the heavy favorite in a game with a low OU. The thing I do not like about him today is his .281 BAA versus left-handers and Hamels could outpitch him. PHI is batting .253 on the road, .256 versus left-handers, and .243 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 8

• Away Do not overlook Cole Hamels today. I know he is still on pace to lose 20 games but he is in a great spot today to perform. His numbers actually get slightly better on the road and he faces an ATL team that is dangerous but also Ks at the second highest rate in the league. Hamels has a 2.57 ERA since the All-Star Break. The HR problems that plague him earlier in the year have vanished and he has given up just 1 HR since the break. ATL is batting .267 at home, .248 versus left-handers, and .265 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 8

Batter Grind Down

• Home The left-handed bats of Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman have had the best success versus Hamels. Justin Upton (if he plays) has been the hottest Brave with 27.5 fp over the last 7 days and is 6-18 with 1 HR versus Hamels. RG Stack Rating 3

• Away The left-handed bats of Domonic Brown and Chase Utley are your best bets. Both have been hot and hit right-handers at a high average. Darin Ruf has been hot as well and is batting .312 versus right-handers Cody Asche is another left-handed bat to consider. He is 6-19 with 3 XBH over the last 7 days. RG Stack Rating 2

________________________________________________________________________________________

Cincinnati vs. Chicago Cubs

8:05 PM	Cincinnati – ROAD					Chicago Cubs – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.250	0.723	20.10%	0.58		0.241	0.704	19.70%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.248	0.714	20.00%	0.43		0.244	0.708	18.80%	0.44
SP STATS	Latos – RHP					Wood – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.27	3.21	8.94	12.30		1.13	3.04	6.46	9.91
LAST 14 DAYS	1.15	1.35	6.18	12.05		1.67	3.78	8.89	9.73
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CIN vs L		CIN BvP			CHC vs R		CHC BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5

• Favored Team – CIN -140

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Travis Wood is having a great year and few people have taken notice because he pitches for the Cubs. I like him as a sneaky GPP play today because he is holding left-handers to a mere .183 BAA and he has 14 Ks in 19 IP with a .221 BAA against this Reds team in 3 starts this year. He gave up 2 big HRs that ballooned his ERA against them. CIN is batting .246 on the road, .248 versus left-handers, and .208 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 7

• Away There is not a statistical reason not to take Mat Latos today. He is 3-0 since the break with a 1.73 ERA. Mat Latos and catches a Cubs team that has scored the 6th fewest runs since the break. Latos’s numbers are the same on the road as they are at home. CHC is batting .254 at home, .245 versus right-handers, and .228 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 9

Batter Grind Down

• Home David Dejesus is 5-13 with 1 HR versus Latos if you are playing the fade. Wellington Castillo and Donnie Murphy have been hot for CHC. RG Stack Rating 1

• Away Todd Frazier is 6-12 with 2 HRs versus Wood. Jay Bruce also has 2 HR in 11 AB versus him and is the hottest Red. He hits left-handers for a .275 average. RG Stack Rating 3

________________________________________________________________________________________

Grind Down: Page 1 – Page 2