MLB Daily Grind Down: Saturday, September 14th Part Two

by Ethan Haskell (Ethan) Last Updated 2013-09-14 05:23:09

Kansas City vs. Detroit

7:05 PM	Kansas City – ROAD					Detroit – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.258	0.688	16.60%	0.54		0.282	0.785	16.90%	0.65
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.257	0.687	16.70%	0.40		0.286	0.787	16.30%	0.52
SP STATS	Santana – RHP					Fister – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.17	3.33	6.99	10.39		1.30	3.77	6.53	10.03
LAST 14 DAYS	1.58	5.23	5.35	5.05		1.66	5.89	4.97	6.70
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	KCR vs R		KCR BvP			DET vs R		DET BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Ervin Santana – He’s not what he was early in the year but has still been solid for KCR of late. His one start against DET was great but I don’t know if he can shut down the Tigers again, especially at Comerica. Starter Rating: 5 out of 10
• Doug Fister – He’s really up and down and given a tough matchup with Santana, his win probability is fairly low. He’s been OK at home with a 3.66 ERA but his K-potential is really low and he can’t provide a ton of value. Starter Rating: 4 out of 10

Batter Grind Down

• Prince Fielder owns Ervin. 6-13 with 3 HR. V-Mart is also 6-19 with a HR
• Torii Hunter had a huge night Friday and is a streaky hitter, it may be a good time to hop on board.
• Eric Hosmer, Mike MooseTacos and Billy Butler all hit over .300 against Fister
• Alcides Escobar came into Friday riding a 6-game hit streak

Miami vs. NY Mets

7:10 PM	Miami – ROAD					NY Mets – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.231	0.623	19.80%	0.43		0.239	0.683	22.20%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.232	0.619	19.20%	0.31		0.237	0.679	22.00%	0.41
SP STATS	Turner – RHP					Torres – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.43	3.43	5.71	8.12		1.08	2.89	6.67	3.58
LAST 14 DAYS	2.17	6.52	6.85	4.60		0.85	2.51	7.66	8.70
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	MIA vs R		MIA BvP			NYM vs R		NYM BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jacob Turner – His last 6 starts have been a train wreck where he hasn’t thrown over 6 IP and the make-shift Mets may not score a ton of runs but they’re still decent enough to hit this guy around. Starter Rating: 3 out of 10
• Carlos Torres – Not much to go on with this guy other than a couple of solid starts against the Phillies but against Miami I like his chances to strike a few guys out and use the spacious CitiField to his advantage. Starter Rating: 6 out of 10

Batter Grind Down

• Righties have a .785 OPS against Turner this year compared to just .670 for left handed batters.
• Daniel Murphy has the only BvP history vs. Turner, and he’s 3-10
• Like Turner, Torres has struggled more getting righties out than left handers. Giancarlo double donged on Friday and is one of the hottest hitters in the game right now.
• I can’t emphasize enough that you should ride Stanton when he’s hot. He can be a difference maker in any GPP

Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota

7:10 PM	Tampa Bay – ROAD					Minnesota – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.262	0.748	18.70%	0.62		0.241	0.698	22.20%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.280	0.764	18.80%	0.49		0.251	0.708	22.60%	0.43
SP STATS	Moore – LHP					Albers – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.24	3.18	8.39	11.74		1.00	3.35	3.98	8.03
LAST 14 DAYS	1.43	0.77	7.23	11.60		1.25	4.02	5.33	5.73
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	TBR vs L		TBR BvP			MIN vs L		MIN BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Matt Moore – I love that he made it through 6 1/3 in his last start and he seems to be finally getting back to where he was early in the year. The Twins are a nice soft opponent and he struck out 10 of them in 7 1/3 earlier this season. Starter Rating: 8 out of 10
• Andrew Albers – He occasionally spins a gem and has big upside when making batters missed but against a Rays team that hits lefties extremely well, I don’t like the play. Starter Rating: 5 out of 10

Batter Grind Down

• My only target for Minnesota today is Brian Dozier, who is hitting .330 with a 1.009 OPS against left handed pitching this season.
• For Tampa, there’s not much to go off of from Albers. Instead we’ll focus on the Rays abilities and Desmond Jennings hits .305 with an .872 OPS against left handed pitching.
• Longo hits .314 with an OPS over .950 against lefties as well

LA Angels vs. Houston

7:10 PM	LA Angels – ROAD					Houston – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.263	0.743	18.90%	0.61		0.239	0.683	25.60%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.243	0.714	19.20%	0.47		0.237	0.678	25.30%	0.41
SP STATS	Weaver – RHP					Oberholtzer – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.13	3.33	6.99	10.77		1.07	2.65	5.82	8.91
LAST 14 DAYS	1.00	2.08	4.15	10.00		1.05	2.21	5.82	10.70
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	LAA vs L		LAA BvP			HOU vs R		HOU BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jered Weaver – His hot streak of early August was followed by some struggles in late August against the Twins and Rays. But this is still an Astros lineup that has been without their best hitter for awhile now. He hasn’t faced them this season but should be able to make quite a few miss on Saturday. Starter Rating: 7 out of 10
• Brett Oberholtzer – He’s only allowed 1 ER in his last 2 starts over 15 IP with 10 K’s. I want to hate on this play more because…come on, it’s Brett Oberholtzer?! But the fact is that the Angels bottom half of the lineup is awful and he’s been good lately. Starter Rating: 6 out of 10

Batter Grind Down

• Houston seems to be hitting well but I still don’t see a ton of great plays against Weaver. But if you want to dig deep, look at Marc Krauss for Houston
• Oberholtzer is a reverse splits guy, allowing lefties to hit .311 this year. Josh Hamilton is in play as a GPP threat
• Kole Calhoun is another Angels left handed option. He was riding a 6 game hit streak hitting over .500 during it coming into Friday night’s games

San Diego vs. Atlanta

7:10 PM	San Diego – ROAD					Atlanta – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.247	0.693	20.90%	0.54		0.252	0.731	22.40%	0.59
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.244	0.677	20.80%	0.39		0.247	0.715	21.70%	0.46
SP STATS	Erlin – LHP					Medlen – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.47	5.56	6.09	5.50		1.28	3.48	7.13	10.14
LAST 14 DAYS	1.44	2.38	5.68	9.55		0.93	0.64	9.64	18.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SDP vs R		SDP BvP			ATL vs L		ATL BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Robbie Erlin – He’s unlikely to go more than 6 IP and has limited upside, on the road against an above average offense. Starter Rating: 2 out of 10
• Kris Medlen – His 2.66 ERA at home is a great start and the Padres don’t hit righties well. They strike out a bunch (see David Hale and his 9 K’s in 5 IP Friday) and Medlen has as much upside as any pitcher tonight. Starter Rating: 9 out of 10

Batter Grind Down

• Erlin has been REALLY bad against lefties, and just plain bad against righties. All ATL bats are in play today. My favorite might be Gattis though, who is gaining his confidence back in the middle of that lineup.
• The line is really low here, and with Medlen being a big favorite that tells me that it’s best to just AVOID the San Diego bats tonight
• If you do want to target SDP, Venable and Amarista from the left side are options. Medlen is allowing lefties to hit for an OPS of .756 on the season

Grind Down: Page 2 – Page 3