MLB Daily Grind Down: Monday, July 8th

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-07-08 21:35:40

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.

This Monday features a nearly full schedule of games. Enjoy all the GPPs you can because the All Star game is quickly approaching and for those of you new to the grinder’s lifestyle, it will show you how addicted you have become to daily fantasy. The pain and the agony that comes with the withdraws from the daily grind can bring about nervousness, anger, and extreme depression.

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

________________________________________________________________________________________

Kansas City vs. NY Yankees

7:05 PM	Kansas City – ROAD					NY Yankees – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.258	0.690	17.10%	0.55		0.242	0.686	19.80%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.253	0.685	17.00%	0.40		0.245	0.703	19.40%	0.43
SP STATS	Guthrie – RHP					Hughes – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.39	4.29	4.37	8.00		1.34	4.55	7.52	8.56
LAST 14 DAYS	1.31	4.97	5.16	6.10		0.93	1.80	4.80	12.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	KCR vs R		KCR BvP			NYY vs R		NYY BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 9

• Favored Team – NYY -145

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Phil Hughes has been pounded at home this year. He seems to be headed in the right direction but so does KAN as their bats have really come to life over the past couple of weeks. RG Start-Ability 3

• Away Jeremy Guthrie ERA is climbing upwards. He posted a 3.06 ERA in April, a 4.46 in May, a 4.82 in June and now a 7.11 ERA in July. The only saving grace for him is that NYY has been doing the same downward spiral with their bats. RG Start-Ability 3

Batter Grind Down

• Home What happens when a very moveable object meets an easily stopped force? We are about to find out this afternoon. I think the Yankees left-handed bats are all playable. A red hot Robinson Cano is a great play. RG Stack Rating 5

• Away Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are both super hot with over 40 fp in the last 15 days. If Hughes home woes continue then everyone is playable. RG Stack Rating 6

________________________________________________________________________________________

Texas vs. Baltimore

7:05 PM	Texas – ROAD					Baltimore – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.260	0.741	17.50%	0.60		0.268	0.766	18.40%	0.64
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.264	0.757	17.40%	0.49		0.248	0.708	19.30%	0.44
SP STATS	Holland – LHP					Feldman – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.23	3.13	8.60	12.00		1.13	3.43	6.77	10.06
LAST 14 DAYS	0.87	1.20	10.20	17.00		1.00	3.75	6.75	10.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	TEX vs R		TEX BvP			BAL vs L		BAL BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5

• Favored Team – BAL -115

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Scott Feldman win totals will go up but I do not expect him to maintain his ERA in Camden Yards. He is the slight favorite today but TEX does not K much and his K/9 is a little low so I think you can find better options. RG Start-Ability 5

• Away Derek Holland is having a great year but I would not trust him going into BAL. They are simply too good of an offense. RG Start-Ability 5

Batter Grind Down

• Home Nick Markakis is 4-11 versus Holland. Chris Davis is out of this world hot with 51.5 fp over the last 7. I also like the righty/lefty matchups for Machado, Jones, Wieters, Roberts and Hardy. RG Stack Rating 6

• Away TEX is firing on all cylinders right now so consider everyone playable. A super hot Adrian Beltre with 44.5 fp over the last week is the first place I would start looking. RG Stack Rating 5

________________________________________________________________________________________

Detroit vs. Cleveland

7:05 PM	Detroit – ROAD					Cleveland – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.281	0.783	17.10%	0.65		0.257	0.751	21.90%	0.66
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.274	0.776	18.70%	0.53		0.255	0.747	22.40%	0.51
SP STATS	Scherzer – RHP					Kazmir – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	0.92	3.09	10.77	15.72		1.41	4.86	8.39	8.50
LAST 14 DAYS	0.99	3.38	11.68	16.55		0.67	2.25	5.25	8.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	DET vs L		DET BvP			CLE vs R		CLE BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5

• Favored Team – DET -160

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Scott Kazmir has been up and down this year, spending more time down than up. He seems to be trending in the positive direction lately but I do not think he is worth a gamble against this potent DET offense. RG Start-Ability 4

• Away Max Scherzer shows you why a 30 game winner will most likely never happen again in baseball. He has won but 4 of his 17 starts on the year. He is slated to get about 17 more depending on how things transpire. That means he would have to run the table in the second half of the season in order to make it there. All that aside, he has established himself as a tier one pitcher capable of GPP winning performances every time he takes the mound. Today is no different and he has been pretty good on the road so far this year. RG Start-Ability 8

Batter Grind Down

• Home Nick Swisher is 5-10 versus Max if you are playing the fade. RG Stack Rating

• Away Kazmir has given up a .302 average and .928 OPS to right-handers so you have to like Miguel Cabrera, Tori Hunter, Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson today. All of them have produced over 30 fp in the past 15 days with Cabrera producing 72.75 fp over the last 15 days. RG Stack Rating 7

________________________________________________________________________________________

Washington vs. Philadelphia

7:05 PM	Washington – ROAD					Philadelphia – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.240	0.684	21.30%	0.53		0.258	0.717	19.50%	0.55
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.215	0.612	21.30%	0.33		0.261	0.717	19.00%	0.43
SP STATS	Haren – RHP					Lannan – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.44	6.15	7.35	7.27		1.55	5.15	5.22	5.74
LAST 14 DAYS						1.82	4.76	5.29	7.33
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	WSN vs L		WSN BvP			PHI vs R		PHI BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 9

• Favored Team – WAS -115

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home There is no reason to consider a player that has a K/9 in the low 5s especially a player like John Lannan who is struggling. Furthermore, WAS is clicking as an offense. They are batting .216 on the road, .218 versus left-handers, and .306 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 2

• Away I keep waiting for Dan Haren to turn the corner on his season. Instead, his year just keeps getting worse. How appealing is his 9.82 June ERA to you? You a better served waiting until he starts to pitch better before you take a chance on him. RG Start-Ability 3

Batter Grind Down

• Home Michael Young is 20-64 with 1 HR versus Haren. Delmon Young is 9-29 versus him as well. Ryan Howard has 2 HRs in 11 AB. Both Howard. Michael Young and Chase Utley are batting over .300 versus right handers. Carlos Ruiz has been hot with 23.75 fp over the last 7 days. RG Stack Rating 6

• Away Jayson Werth is 9-27 with 4 HRs versus Lannan. Ryan Zimmerman is batting .306 versus lefties. RG Stack Rating 5

________________________________________________________________________________________

Oakland vs. Pittsburgh

7:05 PM	Oakland – ROAD					Pittsburgh – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.248	0.726	19.60%	0.61		0.243	0.702	22.30%	0.55
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.246	0.740	20.30%	0.50		0.245	0.707	21.80%	0.42
SP STATS	Colon – RHP					Locke – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.11	2.78	4.85	10.77		1.15	2.12	6.09	10.53
LAST 14 DAYS	1.13	1.80	3.00	10.50		1.31	2.84	4.43	11.10
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	OAK vs L		OAK BvP			PIT vs R		PIT BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5

• Favored Team – PIT -120

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Jeff Locke had to stellar months back to back where he posted an ERA under 2. He is off to a good start in July and catches an OAK team that has cooled off after their hot start. RG Start-Ability 7

• Away Bartolo Colon has been pitching well. I keep waiting for him to hit a wall but he just keeps on producing. Today in PIT is going to be a tough test for him since they are such a great home team. RG Start-Ability 5

Batter Grind Down

• Home Andrew McCutchen is hot and crushes the ball at home. Starlin Marte, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez and Russell Martin have been producing as well. RG Stack Rating 3

• Away Josh Reddick had a great game yesterday and has showed signs of regaining his form. Could be a nice place to buy low. Jost Donaldson and Nate Freiman (who is batting 5th today) are both batting over .300 versus right-handers. Josh Donaldson has been steadilh producing all year and has 22.5 fp over the past 7 day. RG Stack Rating 2

________________________________________________________________________________________

Grind Down: Page 1 – Page 2