MLB Daily Grind Down: Monday, September 23rd Part Two

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-09-23 21:37:00

Pittsburgh vs. Chicago Cubs

8:05 PM	Pittsburgh – ROAD					Chicago Cubs – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.245	0.705	22.40%	0.55		0.240	0.702	20.10%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.242	0.700	21.80%	0.42		0.241	0.702	19.40%	0.43
SP STATS	Morton – RHP					Samardzija – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.30	3.35	6.65	9.46		1.35	4.42	9.08	10.88
LAST 14 DAYS	1.34	5.52	8.87	6.40		1.48	6.39	9.59	8.10
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	PIT vs R		PIT BvP			CHC vs R		CHC BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Charlie Morton – Morton has had 3 quality starts in his last 5 outings but has struggled against left hand hitters all throughout his career. Morton is giving up a .319 batting average and an OPS of .853 to left hand bats. The Cubbies have plenty of lefties to throw at him so I don’t know if I would trust Morton in this matchup. Rating = 5

• Jeff Samardzija – Samardzija’s numbers fascinate me. If you just look at his fantasy points each game, he’s been pretty good. But if you were to just look at his game logs and how many runs he has been giving up, you would think he’s been terrible in fantasy baseball. At the end of the day, he is a high strikeout pitcher that is better than his ERA suggests. I think he’s a nice under the radar play against the Pirates. Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

PIT – Andrew McCutchen is 8/22 with 3 doubles off of Samardzija, but the rest of the team has really struggled against him. This makes it easy, consider Cutch and don’t waste your time on the rest of the Pirates.

CHC – Like we said earlier, the bats to target here are the left handed bats. Anthony Rizzo, Nate Schierholtz, Dioner Navarro, and Luis Valbuena are all in play.

Detroit vs. Minnesota

8:10 PM	Detroit – ROAD					Minnesota – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.282	0.785	16.90%	0.65		0.241	0.698	22.20%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.293	0.796	16.20%	0.53		0.237	0.692	22.40%	0.43
SP STATS	Verlander – RHP					Pelfrey – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.33	3.66	8.52	11.53		1.56	5.34	5.91	6.26
LAST 14 DAYS	1.24	4.35	8.91	11.40		2.06	10.13	10.31	4.37
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	DET vs R		DET BvP			MIN vs R		MIN BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Justin Verlander – Verlander has had a tough season by his standards. His ERA and WHIP are both way up from years past and even his K rate has dropped off a little. He’s not the same pitcher as he used to be, but you don’t have to pay the same price that you used to either. I think he has a nice matchup against the Twins, he’s pitched well against them this season and the Twins lineup just isn’t very good. Rating = 7

• Mike Pelfrey – Pelfrey is largely ignored in the daily fantasy baseball world because even if he pitches well, he doesn’t strike out enough batters for it to be a good fantasy performance. Pelfrey has a 5.34 ERA and a tough matchup against the Tigers. Easy to avoid him tonight. Rating = 2

Batter Grind Down

DET – Prince Fielder and Andy Dirks each have at least 2 HR’s off of Pelfrey. They are in play as are Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera who both hit right hand pitching well.

MIN – If you look at the BvP numbers off of Verlander, you are likely going to take Verlander as your pitcher tonight. The only Twins batter that has a decent average against him is Joe Mauer and he won’t be in the lineup.

Washington vs. St. Louis

8:15 PM	Washington – ROAD					St. Louis – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.247	0.700	20.20%	0.54		0.272	0.743	17.90%	0.61
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.258	0.734	19.90%	0.46		0.277	0.747	17.70%	0.47
SP STATS	Roark – RHP					Wainwright – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	0.85	1.08	6.99	8.02		1.08	2.98	8.21	13.44
LAST 14 DAYS	0.74	0.95	6.16	14.00		1.04	1.59	8.92	16.07
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	WSN vs R		WSN BvP			STL vs R		STL BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tanner Roark – I keep waiting for Roark to have a bad outing, but his first 3 starts have been great. He’s pitched 19 innings while only allowing a combined 2 earned runs. Today’s matchup will be his toughest test to date though so we will see how he reacts. I’m going to give it one more start before I’m sold on him. Rating = 3

• Adam Wainwright – Wainwright has been dominant in his last 3 starts including one in the very tough Coors Field. He is facing a Nationals team that has also been red hot so something has to give in this matchup. If the Cards beat the Nats tonight, it pretty much locks up a Wild Card spot and Wainwright has always pitched well in big games. Rating = 7

Batter Grind Down

WAS – Even though Wainwright has an ERA close to 4 since the All-Star break, I’m not going to take any hitters against him, especially when he is pitching at home.

STL – This is the most interesting matchup for me tonight. The young pitcher Roark against this tough Cardinals lineup. It’s going to be fun to watch, but it’s hard to break down. The safest option is to avoid all hitters from this game, but I would certainly understand if you wanted to take Matt Carpenter or Matt Holliday.

Oakland vs. LA Angels

10:05 PM	Oakland – ROAD					LA Angels – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.244	0.718	19.40%	0.59		0.263	0.743	18.90%	0.61
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.250	0.730	19.00%	0.48		0.270	0.753	19.10%	0.48
SP STATS	Griffin – RHP					Richards – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.12	3.78	7.57	10.74		1.31	3.77	6.49	4.56
LAST 14 DAYS	0.74	3.32	10.89	14.33		1.29	2.18	6.68	12.73
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	OAK vs R		OAK BvP			LAA vs R		LAA BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tommy Milone – Milone is getting the start for Griffin tonight and has not been a good fantasy option this season. He’s been bad on the road and he should struggle tonight against the Angels. Rating = 3

• Garrett Richards – Richards has also been good in his last 4 starts, but his matchup is tough than Griffin’s. I typically avoid any pitcher against the A’s because they are such a tough team that often gets production from the bottom of their lineup.Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

OAK – Brandon Moss should be batting clean up tonight and makes a great GPP play as always. Coco Crisp continues to hit HR’s and should also be on your radar.

LAA – Mike Trout crushes left hand pitching and Milone has really struggled on the road this season. Looks like a great matchup for him. I also like Erick Aybar as a cheap play at SS.

Arizona vs. San Diego

10:10 PM	Arizona – ROAD					San Diego – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.259	0.717	18.30%	0.56		0.247	0.693	20.90%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.263	0.708	17.20%	0.40		0.242	0.671	20.90%	0.38
SP STATS	McCarthy – RHP					Stults – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.37	4.57	5.39	7.65		1.28	4.02	5.82	8.52
LAST 14 DAYS	1.40	2.70	4.95	11.00		1.27	3.27	8.18	10.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	ARI vs L		ARI BvP			SDP vs R		SDP BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Brandon McCarthy – McCarthy hasn’t been in play often this season, but this is one of those times. The Padres have struggled against right hand pitching and McCarthy gets to face them in Petco, the pitcher’s paradise. Rating = 6

• Eric Stults – Stults pitches well at home but he hasn’t been great against the D-Backs this season. Much of that has to do with having to face Goldschmidt, Hill, and Prado who all hit lefties well. I think Stults is in play for his price, but I’s rather have McCarthy in this one. Rating = 5

Batter Grind Down

ARI – The three D-Backs mentioned above are all decent options against the lefty Stults. Prado, Goldy, and Hill all hit lefties well.

SD – Will Venable is the only Padres bat that really stands out to me tonight. He has hit righties well this season and has the ability to both hit a HR and steal a base in the same game.

Kansas City vs. Seattle

10:10 PM	Kansas City – ROAD					Seattle – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.258	0.688	16.60%	0.54		0.243	0.706	21.70%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.261	0.696	17.00%	0.40		0.246	0.723	21.40%	0.47
SP STATS	Ventura – RHP					Maurer – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.35	1.59	5.19	7.20		1.67	6.95	6.88	4.61
LAST 14 DAYS	1.35	1.59	5.19	7.20		1.98	9.64	9.89	3.03
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	KCR vs R		KCR BvP			SEA vs R		SEA BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Yordano Ventura – Ventura is a rookie pitcher that is supposed to make some noise in the majors. He is a big prospect and he looked good in his first career start. I don’t know if I would trust him in H2H and 50/50 play, but he’s worth a shot in GPP’s. Rating = 5

• Brandon Maurer – Maurer is basically minimum salary across the board. I definitely wouldn’t recommend him on single pitcher sites, but he’s barely more expensive than relief pitchers on multi-pitcher sites. The run total in this game is only set at 7.5 so if he can manage to last 5-6 innings, he should make his value.

Batter Grind Down

KC – I never love taking the Royals bats, I’m not sure why but they always seem a bit too expensive. Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, and Mike Moustakas all have the lefty/righty matchup though.

SEA – Hard to know what to expect from Ventura, but he is a right hand pitcher so if you want to take a shot on the Mariner’s hitters, pick a left handed batter such as Raul Ibanez.