MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, August 20th
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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Tampa Bay vs. Baltimore
| 7:05 PM | Tampa Bay – ROAD | Baltimore – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.263 | 0.749 | 18.60% | 0.63 | 0.265 | 0.757 | 18.30% | 0.63 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.251 | 0.733 | 18.80% | 0.48 | 0.271 | 0.774 | 17.80% | 0.52 | |
| SP STATS | Cobb – RHP | Gonzalez – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.16 | 2.94 | 8.37 | 12.09 | 1.25 | 3.84 | 6.63 | 9.57 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.00 | 1.80 | 10.80 | 14.00 | 1.00 | 3.46 | 7.62 | 9.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
TBR vs R  | TBR BvP | BAL vs R | BAL BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – BAL -110
Pitcher Grind Down
BAL – Miguel Gonzalez is a very serviceable pitcher. He has a 3.84 ERA on the season with a pretty decent K rate of 6.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. He is usually in play against bad opponents, but his matchup with the Rays is less than appealing. Gonzalez has very limited upside tonight. Rating = 4
TB – Alex Cobb pitched well in his first start back since getting hit in the head with a ball and being out for a couple of months. Cobb has had an excellent season with an ERA under 3.00 and over 8 K’s per 9 innings. To me, he is in the same boat as Miguel Gonzalez, the matchup just isn’t good enough to consider taking him. The Orioles are a tough lineup. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
BAL – The Orioles are a good offensive team at home with a .262 average and an OPS of .752. While Cobb has been good, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Nate McLouth all hit righties very well.
TB – Evan Longoria has been red hot over the past week with 8 hits in his last 5 games including 3 HR’s. I heard last night that Longo has one HR every 4 games he has played against the Orioles including 3 HR’s in Camden Yards this season. He’s in play as is Ben Zobrist who hits righties well.
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Toronto vs. NY Yankees
| 7:05 PM | Toronto – ROAD | NY Yankees – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.254 | 0.741 | 18.20% | 0.63 | 0.240 | 0.669 | 19.60% | 0.52 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.749 | 18.00% | 0.50 | 0.250 | 0.680 | 18.90% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Buehrle – LHP | Hughes – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.34 | 4.29 | 6.07 | 8.96 | 1.38 | 4.97 | 7.56 | 7.70 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.74 | 2.92 | 6.69 | 12.55 | 1.39 | 6.10 | 9.80 | 7.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TOR vs R | TOR BvP | NYY vs L | NYY BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – NYY -124
Pitcher Grind Down
NYY – Phil Hughes has not looked very sharp, over his last 5 starts he has a 6.75 ERA while giving up a .344 batting average. He hasn’t been able to find success at Yankee Stadium all season long and I doubt that he finds it tonight against the powerful Blue Jays lineup. Rating = 2
TOR – Mark Buehrle on the other hand is trending in the right direction. In his last 6 starts, he has posted a 2.61 ERA. If he were facing the Yankees lineup from a month or so ago, I would say that he is in play, but the Yankees have a bunch of right handed bats to throw at him now. He’s a better option than Hughes, but not by much. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
NYY – Buehrle is giving up a .290 batting average to right hand hitters and there isn’t a hotter bat in baseball than Alfonso Soriano. He has been on fire and feasts on left hand pitching. I hate to say it, but Alex Rodriguez could actually be in play today too, he has been very good against lefties throughout his career.
TOR – Hughes is giving up a .299 batting average to lefties this season, so if you like Adam Lind at all, I highly recommend taking him tonight. I think the right hand bats also have value, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion should benefit from this matchup.
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Minnesota vs. Detroit
| 7:05 PM | Minnesota – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.241 | 0.695 | 22.00% | 0.54 | 0.279 | 0.783 | 17.50% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.239 | 0.698 | 21.70% | 0.44 | 0.284 | 0.786 | 16.50% | 0.52 | |
| SP STATS | Pelfrey – RHP | Porcello – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.57 | 5.26 | 5.44 | 6.01 | 1.30 | 4.33 | 6.73 | 8.78 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.53 | 5.56 | 4.86 | 5.05 | 1.82 | 4.91 | 8.18 | 9.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| MIN vs R | MIN BvP | DET vs R | DET BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – DET -205
Pitcher Grind Down
DET – Rick Porcello is usually ignored by most daily fantasy baseball players because he’s not a top pitcher, but he has been surprisingly consistent fantasy-wise. He is a pitcher that will give up a couple runs, pick up 5-6 K’s, and usually be in line for the win thanks to his offense. I like his matchup against the Twins and recommend taking him on multiple pitcher sites. Rating = 6
MIN – Mike Pelfrey aka the gas can should be ignored for our purposes. He owns a 5.26 ERA on the season with a low K rate. The Tigers should feast on his pitching tonight. Rating = 1
Batter Grind Down
DET – Miguel Cabrera is expensive, but if you can somehow find a way to get him on your team, I don’t think you will regret taking him. He has HR’s in back to back games and has a dream matchup against Pelfrey. I also like the left hand bats of Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez, both have great power against righties.
MIN – Porcello’s biggest weakness is his inability to get left hand hitters out. He is giving up a .301 batting average to lefties so target both Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau tonight.
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Colorado vs. Philadelphia
| 7:05 PM | Colorado – ROAD | Philadelphia – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.262 | 0.734 | 19.80% | 0.60 | 0.253 | 0.704 | 19.90% | 0.53 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.267 | 0.754 | 19.90% | 0.49 | 0.234 | 0.681 | 21.20% | 0.40 | |
| SP STATS | De La Rosa – LHP | Cloyd – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.37 | 3.22 | 6.21 | 9.48 | 1.53 | 3.41 | 4.75 | 7.85 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.67 | 2.25 | 6.75 | 13.00 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| COL vs R | COL BvP | PHI vs L | PHI BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – COL -110
Pitcher Grind Down
PHI – Tyler Cloyd is a young pitcher that the Phillies are very hopeful about. Last year, he posted a very impressive K rate of 8 strikeouts per 9 innings and even though that number has dropped this season, he only has 6 starts under his belt. The Rockies are a much different team away from home so if you can take Cloyd for minimum salary or anything close to it, I think he is worth the gamble. Rating = 4
COL – Jorge De La Rosa pitches for the Rockies, and for whatever reason, that immediately tells my brain to avoid taking him. De La Rosa has posted some good numbers with a 3.22 ERA on the season. The Phillies are only batting .232 against lefties as a team this year. The numbers suggest that he is a decent play, but for some reason I’m just not seeing it. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
PHI – I would avoid all of the left hand bats of the Phillies today as De La Rosa is holding lefties to a .231 batting average. I do however think that both Jimmy Rollins and Darin Ruf are in play. And don’t forget about old man Carlos Ruiz, he is swinging a hot bat and has always been good against lefties.
COL – For the Rockies, I just don’t know what to expect anymore. I like the matchup for both Corey Dickerson and Troy Tulowitzki, but both of them had a similarly good matchup last night and didn’t do much with it.
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Arizona vs. Cincinnati
| 7:10 PM | Arizona – ROAD | Cincinnati – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.257 | 0.713 | 18.50% | 0.55 | 0.250 | 0.723 | 20.10% | 0.58 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.265 | 0.724 | 17.00% | 0.43 | 0.244 | 0.709 | 19.80% | 0.43 | |
| SP STATS | Corbin – LHP | Cingrani – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.04 | 2.48 | 7.73 | 12.75 | 1.07 | 2.78 | 10.63 | 10.00 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.31 | 4.15 | 7.62 | 9.00 | 0.81 | 0.79 | 11.35 | 14.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| ARI vs L | ARI BvP | CIN vs L | CIN BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – CIN -145
Pitcher Grind Down
CIN – Tony Cingrani has an average of 8 K’s in his last 4 starts. This kid really has some impressive stuff and he has big upside thanks to his K potential. The problem with Cingrani tonight is that he is running to a red hot D-Backs offense that’s best two hitters crush lefties. If he can pitch around Goldy and Hill, I think he will have another great start. Rating = 7
ARI – Patrick Corbin has had a terrific season, he has great numbers at home and pretty solid numbers on the road. I expect this game to be more about pitching than hitting. One reason why I really like Corbin tonight is that the Reds best hitters are left handed and will have to deal with the lefty/lefty matchup. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
CIN – Corbin is holding lefties to a .182 batting average so I think it’s safe to avoid Choo, Votto, and Bruce today. That doesn’t leave you with many other options so I would just avoid the team as a whole.
ARI – Aaron Hill has been red hot and is in play against the lefty, and anytime you have Goldschmidt in a hitter’s park against a lefty I think you have to at least take a look at him.
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