MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, August 27th
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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Milwaukee vs. Pittsburgh
| 7:05 PM | Milwaukee – ROAD | Pittsburgh – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.254 | 0.714 | 19.70% | 0.57 | 0.245 | 0.705 | 22.40% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.261 | 0.718 | 22.00% | 0.42 | 0.241 | 0.696 | 22.10% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Lohse – RHP | Locke – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.16 | 3.22 | 5.94 | 9.35 | 1.36 | 3.01 | 6.66 | 9.49 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.31 | 2.77 | 5.54 | 10.50 | 2.40 | 8.76 | 5.95 | 2.70 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
MIL vs L  | MIL BvP | PIT vs R | PIT BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – PIT -150
Pitcher Grind Down
PIT – Jeff Locke has had a very improbable season. I don’t think anyone could have guess that at this point in the season he would have a 9-4 record with a 3.01 ERA. All of the experts (including myself) have been waiting for him to come crashing down. While that hasn’t happened quite yet, his numbers have taken a bit hit this month. In 4 starts, he has a 7.50 ERA while giving up a .360 batting average. He appears to be pitching more like what we have come to expect. But before you completely jump off ship, I think he might be in play against the Brewers. Rating = 5
MIL – Kyle Lohse is the opposite of Jeff Locke, he is trending in the right direction, but he is on a losing team. Since the All-Star Break, Lohse has been among the league leaders in ERA with a 2.05 ERA while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. The line in this game does not pass the eye test, if I had to pick between the two pitchers, I think I would rather have Loshe. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
PIT – Lohse has been pretty good against both left and right handed bats. I think he will pitch well again tonight, but it’s hard to avoid Andrew McCutchen tonight. In the month of August, Cutch has a .423 batting average and an OPS of 1.108.
MIL – Locke has actually been much worse against left hand hitters giving up a .285 batting average on the season. Nori Aoki could be a nice sleeper pick that most people don’t think of. I actually really like Carlos Gomez in this one, he is batting .308 against lefties.
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Miami vs. Washington
| 7:05 PM | Miami – ROAD | Washington – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.231 | 0.623 | 19.80% | 0.43 | 0.247 | 0.700 | 20.20% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.232 | 0.619 | 19.20% | 0.31 | 0.253 | 0.711 | 20.10% | 0.44 | |
| SP STATS | Eovaldi – RHP | Ohlendorf – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.30 | 3.82 | 6.28 | 8.10 | 1.13 | 2.58 | 7.32 | 6.01 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.10 | 9.90 | 7.20 | 3.50 | 1.95 | 8.31 | 4.39 | 2.10 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| MIA vs R | MIA BvP | WSN vs R | WSN BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.0
- Favored Team – WAS -158
Pitcher Grind Down
WAS – I don’t know if I ever thought that I would see Ross Ohlendorf as this big of a favorite, but I think that says more about his matchup than his pitching. Ohlendorf has a 2.58 ERA on the season, but only has 3 starts under his belt. If you play on a single pitcher site, I think it’s smart to spend more on a pitcher, but Ohlendorf is in play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 5
MIA – Nate Eovaldi has much better numbers than you would expect. That being said, I still don’t have very much faith in him even though he is facing one of the worst offenses in baseball. Eovaldi has a 3.28 ERA on the road though so if you really feel like rolling the dice in a GPP, I suppose he could be a good pick. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
WAS – Eovaldi has been pretty good this season, but I do like the matchup for the left hand bats of the Nationals. Bryce Harper has really been playing well and should be taken all day against Eovaldi. Also, look to a hot Denard Span as a value play.
MIA – Over the last 3 seasons, Ohlendorf has given up a batting average over .290 to both left and right handed hitters. Even though his numbers are better this year, I don’t expect them to last. I think a hot Giancarlo Stanton makes a good pick.
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Oakland vs. Detroit
| 7:05 PM | Oakland – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.244 | 0.718 | 19.40% | 0.59 | 0.282 | 0.785 | 16.90% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.244 | 0.710 | 19.10% | 0.46 | 0.273 | 0.782 | 18.30% | 0.53 | |
| SP STATS | Milone – LHP | Verlander – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.30 | 4.30 | 6.85 | 9.26 | 1.36 | 3.68 | 8.63 | 11.71 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.67 | 1.93 | 10.71 | 8.20 | 1.36 | 4.91 | 8.59 | 10.33 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| OAK vs R | OAK BvP | DET vs L | DET BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – *DET -190
Pitcher Grind Down
DET – Last night was a great example of how potent this A’s offense can be. They really knocked around Anibal Sanchez. Now they get to face a struggling Justin Verlander. While Vegas really likes the Tigers, I hate taking pitchers against the A’s because they are such a scrappy team. I think Verlander is overpriced for what you are going to get tonight. Rating = 6
OAK – Tommy Milone should be in for a long night, or maybe a short one. Either way, I don’t think it’s looking very good for his fantasy outlook. Milone has a 5.00 ERA on the road and the Tigers crush left hand pitching, especially one Miguel Cabrera who is locked in right now. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
DET – You can pretty much lock in Miguel Cabrera as a good pick every day, but today he is a great pick. Miggy is batting .402 against lefties this season and goes up against one that struggles on the road. Definitely in play if you want to pay for him. I also like Prince Fielder even though it’s a lefty/lefty matchup.
OAK – The A’s are typically a team that I like to avoid on both ends. I don’t like taking pitchers against them, but I can never seem to pick the right A’s to play each night. Coco Crisp is seeing the ball well right now though.
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NY Yankees vs. Toronto
| 7:07 PM | NY Yankees – ROAD | Toronto – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.246 | 0.685 | 19.40% | 0.55 | 0.252 | 0.733 | 18.00% | 0.62 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.249 | 0.681 | 18.90% | 0.41 | 0.244 | 0.685 | 18.10% | 0.42 | |
| SP STATS | Pettitte – LHP | Happ – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.43 | 4.26 | 6.24 | 8.83 | 1.48 | 5.10 | 7.14 | 7.11 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.47 | 1.06 | 5.82 | 11.33 | 1.11 | 3.57 | 7.85 | 9.73 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| NYY vs L | NYY BvP | TOR vs L | TOR BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – NYY -120
Pitcher Grind Down
TOR – J.A. Happ gets a lot of strikeouts, but he also gives up a good amount of runs. He has a 5.10 ERA on the season with a 1.476 WHIP. He is pitching in a very hitter friendly ballpark against a Yankees offense that has really hit left hand pitching well over the last few weeks. There are better options out there. Rating = 2
NYY – At this point, I just don’t know how much Andy Pettitte has left in the tank. It’s most likely his last season and I’m sure he wants to go out in a good way, but he just hasn’t been pitching very good. That said, once you look at the Blue Jays lineup, you may want to think about taking him. Last night you could barely recognize half of their lineup. He’s a risk, but it could pay off. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
TOR – Pettitte is giving up a .318 batting average to right hand bats this season so look to both Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion. I think Reyes has a multi-hit game coming and Encarnacion has a multi-RBI game coming.
NYY – Happ has given up a pretty high average to right hand hitters throughout his career and Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Reynolds are all righties that hit lefties well. I think the Yankees are a pretty good stack team considering the matchup.
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Baltimore vs. Boston
| 7:10 PM | Baltimore – ROAD | Boston – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.264 | 0.755 | 18.10% | 0.63 | 0.273 | 0.780 | 20.40% | 0.68 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.251 | 0.708 | 19.10% | 0.44 | 0.254 | 0.726 | 20.90% | 0.46 | |
| SP STATS | Chen – LHP | Doubront – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.16 | 3.19 | 5.60 | 9.76 | 1.40 | 3.79 | 7.84 | 9.96 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.15 | 4.05 | 6.87 | 10.55 | 1.33 | 5.25 | 5.25 | 8.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BAL vs L | BAL BvP | BOS vs L | BOS BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – BOS -130
Pitcher Grind Down
BOS – This should be a fun series to watch as they battle for the top spot in the AL East. Felix Doubront is a pitcher that has pretty high upside thanks to his K rate of almost 8 per 9 innings, but he is a pitcher that you like to take against bad opponents. The Orioles have some power bats that could turn a good start into a bad start really quickly. Rating = 4
BAL – Wei-Yin Chen usually flies under the fantasy radar unless he is facing a team like the Astros. Chen has a solid 3.10 ERA, but his K rate really limits his potential. Then factor in his matchup against Boston in Fenway where the Red Sox have a .286 batting average and I think it’s safe to avoid Chen tonight. Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
BOS – Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli, and Shane Victorino are all right handed hitters that really hit lefties well. Pedroia and Victorino are guys that can get on base and Napoli seems to have found his power again.
BAL – Doubront has only given up 1 HR to left hand bats all season so if you were thinking about Chris Davis, he may not be worth the price tag. The right hand bats of Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are in play though in this hitter’s park.
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