MLB Daily Grind Down: Thursday, June 20th

by Kyle Koch (Jackandsoda) Last Updated 2013-06-20 20:24:02

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.

I am a baseball first guy but tonight I am going to be watching the game 7 of NBA Finals. I will be playing some GPPs but they will not be garnering much attention from me today. I am torn because I want the Spurs to win but I have a money riding on the Heat. Will at least I will be happy no matter what happens.

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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Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati

12:35 PM	Pittsburgh – ROAD					Cincinnati – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.238	0.684	22.50%	0.53		0.252	0.728	20.00%	0.60
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.241	0.690	22.70%	0.41		0.251	0.722	20.20%	0.47
SP STATS	Cumpton – RHP					Bailey – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.60	5.40	9.00	7.00		1.14	3.80	8.70	11.07
LAST 14 DAYS	1.60	5.40	9.00	7.00		1.00	3.60	7.20	12.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	PIT vs R		PIT BvP			CIN vs R		CIN BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8
• Favored Team – CIN -200

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home We will start the day off with a layup. Homer Bailey had a rough outing last time versus MIL but that is good for us because all those people who got burned by him last time will be laying off of him today. He has been a 3.40 pitcher at home and his already great K/9 of 8.70 will certainly get a boost from a PIT team that is horrible on the road and 4th in the league in Ks. PIT is batting .227 on the road, .241 versus right-handers, and .245 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 9

• Away The only thing you need to know about Brandon Cumpton is that he only threw 76 pitches in his last outing and left after exactly 5 IP. Most likely, he will be treated with the same set of kid gloves today. I would not recommend him on the road versus a tough home CIN team anyway. CIN is batting ..256 at home, .251 versus right-handers, and .221 over the last 7 days

Batter Grind Down

• Home The left-handed bats are always playable at home versus a righty. I think this could be rough day for the kid so I like everyone Stack-ability 6

• Away Andrew McCuthchen is 10-29 versus Bailey, Garrett Jones is 10-33 with 1 HR. Russell Martin, Gaby Sanchez, and Neil Walker have positive BvPs as well. Martin has been PIT’s most productive player with 19 fp over the last 7 days. Alex Presley is batting .324 versus right-handed pitching. Stack-ability 3

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Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota

1:10 PM	Chicago White Sox – ROAD					Minnesota – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.239	0.664	21.40%	0.50		0.244	0.695	20.70%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.233	0.639	21.30%	0.35		0.253	0.680	20.70%	0.39
SP STATS	Danks – LHP					Diamond – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	0.97	4.50	6.90	8.40		1.50	5.29	4.08	6.09
LAST 14 DAYS	0.71	3.21	7.07	12.00		1.88	8.71	3.56	2.05
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	CHW vs L		CHW BvP			MIN vs L		MIN BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8
• Favored Team – MIN -110

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Scott Diamond was a matchup play until he started pitching poorly. Now he is a bad play no matter whom he faces. He has a very low K/9 and is not worth a look unless you think he can blank this struggling CHW team. CHW is batting .247 on the road, .228 versus left-handers, and .249 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 1

• Away John Danks has put together 1 good start since returning so I am not very high on him today. His other starts have not been horrible, they’re just not fantasy worthy. Since there are no many options in the early start games I might be willing to gamble on him because Diamond is pitching horrible, but understand the play has limited upside. MIN is batting .262 at home, .257 versus left-handers, and .261 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 4

Batter Grind Down

• Home Justin Morneau is 11-35 with 3 HRs versus Danks. Joe Mauer is 18-48 versus him also. Brian Dozer has been hot producing 24 fp over the last 7 days. Trevor Plouffe is batting .400 versus left-handers.

• Away Alejandro De Aza is batting .322 versus left-handers and is 7-14 versus Diamond. Dayan Viciedo is 7-16 with 1 HR versus him and Alex Rios is 7-19 with 1 HR. Alexi Ramirez is batting .302 versus left-handers. It might be time to jump on the cheap bat of Paul Konerko who seems to be heating up with 15.75 fp over the last 7 days. Stack-ability 6

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Milwaukee vs. Houston

2:10 PM	Milwaukee – ROAD					Houston – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.261	0.729	19.30%	0.58		0.241	0.685	25.60%	0.52
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.255	0.717	18.40%	0.44		0.232	0.665	25.70%	0.39
SP STATS	Gallardo – RHP					Harrell – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.35	4.41	7.12	9.15		1.57	4.48	5.24	7.41
LAST 14 DAYS	0.85	2.25	5.85	12.00		0.99	1.98	5.45	11.10
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	MIL vs R		MIL BvP			HOU vs R		HOU BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
• Favored Team – MIL -140

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Lucas Harrell has been up and down on the year. I am back on the bandwagon after he held COL to only 3 ER in COL and then held BAL to only 1 ER at home. MIL has not looked like the same team since Braun has been out. MIL is batting .253 on the road, .254 versus right-handers, and .255 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 5

• Away Over his last 3 starts, Yovani Gallardo has recorded 39 ground ball outs to only 15 Fly ball outs. and only given up 13 hits in 20 IP. He is on a roll. He draws a HOU team the leads the leagues in Ks so his numbers will get a boost today. HOU is batting .238 at home, .233 versus right-handers, and .231 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 10

Batter Grind Down

• Home Jason Castro has been hot over the past week with 20.75 fp. He is 4-10 with 1 HR versus Gallardo.

• Away When Harrell is bad, he is real bad so consider everyone playable. It is a short fly ball to the Crawford boxes. I think the odds are good that Aramis Ramirez or Carlos Gomez get ahold of one. Stack-ability 4

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Oakland vs. Texas

3:05 PM	Oakland – ROAD					Texas – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.245	0.722	19.60%	0.61		0.262	0.752	17.80%	0.61
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.240	0.700	19.70%	0.44		0.267	0.769	17.60%	0.51
SP STATS	Griffin – RHP					Lindblom – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.18	3.93	6.97	9.94		1.24	5.94	6.67	5.73
LAST 14 DAYS	1.37	5.40	5.50	6.55		0.92	5.25	6.00	6.50
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	OAK vs R		OAK BvP			TEX vs R		TEX BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 10
• Favored Team – OAK -115

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Josh Lindblom has not pitched particullary good in his first 3 starts. 1 of those starts was against this OAK team that knocked him out of the game after 4.2 IP. The high OU and his track record are enough for me to simply avoid him Start-ability 2

• Away A.J. Griffin is making a tough start on the road where he is only a 4.03 pitcher but TEX has been slumping as of late and there are not many options to go with this morning. He is a risky play but seems a lock to get the win against Lindblom. TEX is batting .273 at home, .267 versus right-handers, and .245 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 5

Batter Grind Down

• Home Nelson Cruz and Leonys Martin have both been hot producing over 25 fp each. A.J. Pierzynski is batting .322 versus right-handers.

• Away Stack away my friends! Stack away! Stack-ability 7

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Colorado vs. Washington

7:05 PM	Colorado – ROAD					Washington – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.276	0.789	18.40%	0.68		0.233	0.668	21.80%	0.50
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.279	0.808	18.50%	0.57		0.240	0.689	21.80%	0.42
SP STATS	Oswalt – RHP					Zimmermann – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON						0.94	2.44	6.08	12.51
LAST 14 DAYS						1.08	4.50	10.50	12.00
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	COL vs R		COL BvP			WSN vs R		WSN BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 7
• Favored Team – WAS -175

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home The best day to see Jordan Zimmermann pitching is actually on a Monday or Thursday because the shorten schedule diminishes the impact of his low K/9 and makes him more playable. His 1.06 home ERA is as good as anyone’s and he draws a COL team that is not as potent without Troy Tulowitzki in the middle of the lineup. COL is batting .256 on the road, .275 versus right-handers, and .255 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 8

• Away Roy Oswalt has actually looked really good in the minors this year. In his last outing, he went 8.1 IP and surrendered no ER so the upside is there if he can pitch well. An anemic WAS team makes for a nice first start for the 35 year old. As bad as he looked in TEX last year his K/9 ratio was a 9.00. Though, that was helped by a move to the bullpen. WAS is batting .257 at home, .239 versus right-handers, and .210 over the last 7 days. I think he is worth a gamble if he is cheap enough. Start-ability 5

Batter Grind Down

• Home This might also be a good spot to grab some WAS bats because Oswalt could struggle. Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, and Jayson Werth have all been hot. Stack-ability 5

• Away Zimmermann has been great at home so do not dig to deep into COL. If you are playing the fade then Carlos Gonzalez has been very hot with 36.5 fp over the last 7 days. Wilin Rosario has been hot also with 26.5 fp. Stack-ability 1

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Tampa Bay vs. NY Yankees

7:05 PM	Tampa Bay – ROAD					NY Yankees – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.259	0.754	18.10%	0.65		0.240	0.686	20.20%	0.54
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.291	0.812	18.10%	0.55		0.240	0.666	20.00%	0.40
SP STATS	Moore – LHP					Pettitte – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.40	4.12	8.26	10.01		1.31	3.95	6.87	10.01
LAST 14 DAYS	2.38	11.32	8.91	3.55		1.06	3.14	6.38	11.55
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	TBR vs L		TBR BvP			NYY vs L		NYY BvP

What Vegas Says

• Over/Under Total Runs – 8
• Favored Team – NYY -120

Pitcher Grind Down

• Home Andy Pettitte is a noteworthy starter again. He has been consistent on the year. He has given up more than 3 ER in 3 of his 11 starts. His K/9 is just good enough to make him playable in a single pitcher format. TAM is batting.246 on the road, .285 versus left-handers, and .227 over the last 7 days. However, he does have a scary 5.74 ERA at home. Start-ability 4

• Away Matt Moore has held NYY to only 2 ER in 14 IP with 11 Ks. He has been struggling so far in June with 19 ER in 12.1 IP and 11 Ks. I think we see a bounce back performance today. He has been a high K/9 player on the year and was a 2.12 pitcher just 3 starts ago before throwing against BAL, DET and KAN. NYY is a tough park to pitch in, but the Yankees have been slumping as well. NYY is batting .245 at home, .239 versus left-handers, and .181 over the last 7 days. Start-ability 7

Batter Grind Down

• Home Robinson Cano is 4-12 versus Moore with 1 HR. Ichiro Suzuki has been hot over the last week with 23.75 fp. He is batting .370 versus left-handed pitching on the year. Stack-ability 3

• Away Evan Longoria, James Loney and Ryan Roberts are all batting over .300 versus left-handers as are the two catchers. Ben Zobrist is 9-22 with 2 HRs versus Pettitte. and Matt Joyce has been hot over the past 7 days with 17.8 fp. Stack-ability 4

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