MLB Daily Grind Down: Monday, September 16th Part 2

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-09-16 17:06:39

Cleveland vs. Kansas City

8:10 PM	Cleveland – ROAD					Kansas City – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.253	0.732	21.10%	0.63		0.258	0.688	16.60%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.245	0.717	21.70%	0.47		0.263	0.697	16.40%	0.41
SP STATS	Kazmir – LHP					Shields – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.34	4.24	8.68	9.27		1.27	3.38	7.56	11.20
LAST 14 DAYS	1.30	2.70	14.40	13.50		1.37	5.79	10.88	12.07
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CLE vs R		CLE BvP			KCR vs L		KCR BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Scott Kazmir – Kazmir is a wild card everytime he takes the mound, it’s fitting that his team is fighting for that last Wild Card spot. While you would normally like to see Kazmir when he faces a team full of lefties, all of the lefties on the Royals actually hit left hand pitching well. I’m not a big fan of his upside today. Starter Rating = 4

• James Shields – Shields has had 3 amazing starts in his last 4. The other start was amazingly bad. I think his matchup today is decent, but I don’t love it. He has an ERA over 4 against the Indians this season and the Indians are scrapping for that last playoff spot. Starter Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

CLE – Jason Kubel and Mike Aviles both have good numbers against Shields, but they aren’t players that you typically look at taking. Carlos Santana has been swinging a hot bat but will likely be pricey.

KC – Here is a list of Royals that hit lefties well: Perez, Butler, Gordon, Hosmer, Maxwell, and Escobar. Definitely could be a good spot for the Royals against Kazmir.

Minnesota vs. Chicago White Sox

8:10 PM	Minnesota – ROAD					Chicago White Sox – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.241	0.698	22.20%	0.54		0.251	0.683	19.30%	0.51
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.237	0.692	22.40%	0.43		0.251	0.682	19.50%	0.39
SP STATS	Hendriks – RHP					Johnson – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.50	5.25	4.75	5.43		2.17	4.66	4.89	4.60
LAST 14 DAYS	1.85	5.59	8.80	6.10		2.17	4.66	4.89	4.60
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	MIN vs R		MIN BvP			CHW vs R		CHW BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Liam Hendriks – Hendriks has an ERA that is higher than his K rate. You never want to take a pitcher with those kind of stats. Starter Rating = 3

• Erik Johnson – Johnson is a right hand pitcher making his 3rd career start. The matchup against the Twins is a good one, I just don’t know how deep into this game he is going to pitch. In his first two starts, he pitched less than 10 innings combined. At this point in the season, take the smart plays, not the risky ones. Starter Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

MIN – This game has a high total and is basically a pick ‘em game. That means there should be some good options on offense. Oswaldo Arcia could be a nice value play, he has been batting clean up against right hand pitching.

CWS – Hendriks is giving up a .300 batting average to both lefties and righties so the White Sox could be a nice team to choose a few bats from. Alejandro De Aza gets the lefty righty matchup, Paul Konerko has been playing well, and Adam Dunn is always a shot at a home run. In fact, I am calling for Dunn HR tonight.

Cincinnati vs. Houston

8:10 PM	Cincinnati – ROAD					Houston – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.249	0.718	20.10%	0.58		0.239	0.683	25.60%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.242	0.709	20.30%	0.43		0.239	0.679	25.20%	0.41
SP STATS	Leake – RHP					Bedard – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.24	3.35	5.63	9.66		1.52	4.47	7.67	6.86
LAST 14 DAYS	1.34	4.08	7.85	10.73		1.45	2.70	1.45	4.60
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CIN vs L		CIN BvP			HOU vs R		HOU BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Johnny Cueto – Cueto hasn’t made a start since June 28. He is facing an Astros team that has had their best offensive month of their season batting .285 in September. I’m never a fan of taking pitchers in their first start back from injury. Starter Rating = 5

• Erik Bedard – You could make an argument for playing Bedard in a GPP tonight. He has a 3.00 ERA at home and faces a Reds team whose best bats are left handed. Bedard just doesn’t pass the eye test though and playing him is a big risk. Starter Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

CIN – Reds that hit lefties well include Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier, and Ryan Ludwick. They are all going to be pretty cheap options and their matchup is favorable.

HOU – Hard to know what to expect from Cueto. Whether or not he will be rusty is anyone’s guess. In these situations I like to avoid both the pitcher and the hitter.

St. Louis vs. Colorado

8:40 PM	St. Louis – ROAD					Colorado – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.272	0.743	17.90%	0.61		0.264	0.735	19.80%	0.60
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.234	0.666	19.00%	0.40		0.268	0.748	19.70%	0.48
SP STATS	Lynn – RHP					De La Rosa – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.34	4.23	8.75	10.90		1.39	3.49	6.03	9.27
LAST 14 DAYS	1.64	3.27	13.09	11.50		1.75	6.75	5.63	5.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	STL vs L		STL BvP			COL vs R		COL BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Lance Lynn – Lance Lynn has great home numbers, but has struggled on the road and now has to play in the most hitter friendly park in baseball. Never taking a pitcher in Coors in my rule of thumb and I’m sticking to it today. Starter Rating = 3

• Collin McHugh – McHugh has an ERA over 10 and is not a great prospect. He is facing a very tough Cardinals lineup in Coors Field. There is nothing to like about this matchup. Starter Rating = 0

Batter Grind Down

STL – There are 8 Cardinals bats that I like tonight. They are all 8 that will be in the lineup. I think you have to at least think about a stack or mini-stack of these Cardinals.

COL – These games in Coors make it tough to put a team together because you almost have to take a few players from this game. Troy Tulowitzki and Wilin Rosario look like the plays against Lynn.

LA Dodgers vs. Arizona

9:40 PM	LA Dodgers – ROAD					Arizona – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.266	0.723	18.40%	0.56		0.259	0.717	18.30%	0.56
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.270	0.730	18.30%	0.44		0.263	0.708	17.20%	0.40
SP STATS	Ryu – LHP					Cahill – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.24	3.07	7.28	11.33		1.42	4.22	6.23	7.96
LAST 14 DAYS	1.67	4.50	1.50	4.00		1.64	2.45	4.09	8.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	LAD vs R		LAD BvP			ARI vs L		ARI BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Hyun-Jin Ryu – Ryu gave up 10 hits and only struck out 1 batter in his last start. That start was against the D-Backs and it was at home. Now he has to face them in the much more hitter friendly Chase Field. Very limited upside here. Starter Rating = 5

• Trevor Cahill – Cahill is a pitcher with low upside, low downside. He isn’t going to pitch deep into games or get a lot of strikeouts, but he usually keeps his ERA fairly low and puts his team in a position to win. For that reason, he gets a very average ranking. Starter Rating = 5

Batter Grind Down

LAD – This Dodgers lineup has been very bad over the last few days as they have been resting their studs a bit. Take a look at their lineup before making your decision on if you want any of them.

ARI – Three players on the D-Backs that bat 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are on my radar. Aaron Hill, Paul Goldschmidt, and Martin Prado all hit lefties well and are all coming into this game swinging hot bats.

LA Angels vs. Oakland

10:07 PM	LA Angels – ROAD					Oakland – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.263	0.743	18.90%	0.61		0.244	0.718	19.40%	0.59
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.270	0.753	19.10%	0.48		0.257	0.759	19.00%	0.51
SP STATS	Wilson – LHP					Gray – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.37	3.44	7.87	11.63		1.04	2.63	9.56	10.78
LAST 14 DAYS	1.20	4.12	5.16	11.07		1.15	2.77	9.69	13.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	LAA vs R		LAA BvP			OAK vs L		OAK BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• C.J. Wilson – Wilson has been one of the few pitchers this season that has been able to figure out this A’s offense. He has faced them 4 times, has an ERA under 3, and has 26 K’s over 27 innings pitched. However, at this point in the season, motivation comes in to play. The Angels have nothing to play for and the A’s are still trying to lock up their division. Starter Rating = 5

• Sonny Gray – Check out Gray’s numbers at home this season: 1.21 ERA with 30 K’s over 29 innings pitched. While the Angels have been scoring some runs, they have been playing in hitter’s parks. I think Gray outpitches Wilson and picks up a very big win. Starter Rating = 7

Batter Grind Down

LAA – Mike Trout always is in play if his price is right, depending on the site you play on, he may be too expensive considering his matchup. The rest of the team I’m not too high on.

OAK – The A’s have not fared well against Wilson, but as a team they hit lefties well. Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Donaldson, and Jed Lowrie could be good options if you don’t like Wilson.