MLB Daily Grind Down: Thursday, August 15th

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-08-15 19:09:58

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

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LA Angels vs. NY Yankees

1:05 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	0.657	19.20%	0.39
SP STATS	Wilson – LHP					Hughes – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.35	3.49	8.46	11.84		1.40	4.99	7.56	7.68
LAST 14 DAYS	1.56	3.55	9.59	12.10		2.29	11.57	9.00	2.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	LAA vs R		LAA BvP			NYY vs L		NYY BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 9

• Favored Team – Pick’em

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Phil Hughes has a 6.18 ERA and .309 BAA at home. Plus, he has given up 16 HRs in 12 starts there. He is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA in August and LAA owns a .413 BAA versus him. NO! NO! NO! LAA is batting .252 on the road, .273 versus right-handers, and .245 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 3

• Away C.J. Wilson numbers take a huge dip on the road where his ERA balloons to 4.64. However, he is holding left-handers to a very low .203 BAA on the year, which should serve him well today versus NYY. If he can dodge Alfonso Soriano and Arod then he should do okay. NYY is batting .251 at home, .242 versus left-handers, and .286 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 7

Batter Grind Down

• Home Alfonso Soriano has been super hot with 41.5 fp over the last 7 days and crushes left-handers. He is 2-5 with 1 HR versus Wilson. Robinson Cano has been hot also and is 9-26 versus Wilson as well. RG Stack Rating 4

• Away Start your LAA stacks! Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton have been hot for LAA. RG Stack Rating 8

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Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis

1:45 PM	Pittsburgh – ROAD					St. Louis – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.245	0.702	22.30%	0.55		0.273	0.741	18.00%	0.60
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.242	0.694	22.10%	0.41		0.284	0.764	17.70%	0.49
SP STATS	Burnett – RHP					Lynn – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.23	2.95	10.00	12.34		1.23	3.79	8.75	11.80
LAST 14 DAYS	1.41	3.68	10.77	14.60		0.99	3.07	10.14	14.60
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	PIT vs R		PIT BvP			STL vs R		STL BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7

• Favored Team – STL -130

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Lance Lynn struggled in July with a 4.84 ERA. His June was not any better. So far here in August, he has a 3.07 ERA and he has pitched well at home with a 2.78 ERA but he is a little too shaky right now for my taste. Still, Vegas has faith in him. PIT is batting .240 on the road, .241 versus right-handers, and .251 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 7

• Away A.J. Burnett great season continues. He got roughed up last time out but that start was in COL. A start in STL is not much easier since they are so a great home team and hit right-handers for a high average. Vegas has faith in him to keep in close and he has the K/9 upside that can get you there in a GPP. I give the edge to Lynn but this one should be close and either pitcher could walk away with the win. STL is batting .277 at home, .286 versus right-handers, and .258 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 6

Batter Grind Down

• Home Carlso Beltran is 11-39 with 2 HRs versus Burnett. Matt Holliday is 5-19 with 1 HR. Matt Carpenter is 5-15 versus him as well. Matt Holliday has been very hot producing 30.75 fp ove the last week. RG Stack Rating 3

• Away Starlin Marte has the best numbers versus Lynn. He also happens to be the hottest Pirate with 20 fp over the last 7 days. Andrew McCuthchen is batting .305 versus right-handers. RG Stack Rating 3

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Houston vs. Oakland

3:37 PM	Houston – ROAD					Oakland – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.237	0.675	25.60%	0.53		0.244	0.717	19.40%	0.60
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.233	0.669	25.10%	0.40		0.239	0.717	20.30%	0.47
SP STATS	Bedard – LHP					Gray – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.44	4.28	8.28	7.75		1.00	1.80	9.90	6.33
LAST 14 DAYS	1.39	4.26	8.11	8.60		1.17	3.00	7.50	9.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	HOU vs R		HOU BvP			OAK vs L		OAK BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8

• Favored Team – OAK -210

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home It is Christmas in August. Sonny Gray is a min salary pitcher with above average K/9 potential facing the best matchup of the day. On site where he is super cheap, I think you have to play him even with the overlay. Vegas has faith in him and listed him as the heavy favorite. He threw almost 100 pitches in his last start so the upside is there for him. HOU is batting .229 at home, .232 versus right-handers, and .221 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 9

• Away Erik Bedard pitches well enough for me to not be excited about the team he is facing but not well enough for me to consider taking him. He plays for HOU so his chances of pulling down the W or slim and he is almost always gone after 6 IP no matter how well he pitches. He could be throwing a no-hitter and be gone after 6 IP. Oak is batting .250 on the road, .247 versus left-handers, and .277 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 3

Batter Grind Down

• Home Josh Reddick has been super hot over the last 7 days with 41.5 fp. Yoenis Cespedes has been hot as well with 20.25 fp. It seems like a good spot to take a few of the right-handed bats. I think Bedard is due for a bad start at home. RG Stack Rating 4

• Away Chris Carter has 3 HRs over the last 7 days if you want a boom or bust sleeper. RG Stack Rating 1

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San Francisco vs. Washington

4:05 PM	San Francisco – ROAD					Washington – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.259	0.690	17.20%	0.51		0.241	0.687	20.40%	0.52
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.262	0.700	17.00%	0.40		0.249	0.703	20.30%	0.43
SP STATS	Vogelsong – RHP					Haren – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.71	6.71	7.60	6.51		1.28	4.99	8.02	8.90
LAST 14 DAYS	1.50	3.00	6.00	8.00		0.71	1.29	8.36	16.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SFG vs R		SFG BvP			WSN vs R		WSN BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8

• Favored Team – WAS -165

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Do not look now but Dan Haren has put together 3 strong outings in a row. Okay, they were against PHI, NYM and MIL but SFO is on par with those 3 given their struggles recently. Vegas has him listed as the heavy favorite. I do not trust him all the way but I think he is worth a serious look. He has been horrible at home so use with caution. SFO is batting .261 on the road, .262 versus right-handers, and .234 over the last 7 days. RG Start-Ability 7

• Away Ryan Vogelsong first start back was a success. He was by no means dominant but he pitched well and threw over a 100 pitches, which puts him back in play. He was pitching horrible to start the year. How much of that was injury related, we do not know. He will be cheap and cheap players always have the potential to greatly exceed their value. RG Start-Ability 5

Batter Grind Down

• Home I do not think Vogelsong will look that bad today but WAS is batting .301 as a team versus him. Ian Desmond, Jayson, Werth, Adam LaRoche, and Anthony Rendon have all been hot for WAS. Bryce Harper at home versus a struggling right-hander is always worth a look. RG Stack Rating 6

• Away Haren is allowing right-handers a .292 BAA. Pablo Sandoval is 5-13 with 1 HR versus him. Brandon Belt is super hot with 31.25 fp over the last 7 days. RG Stack Rating 5

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