MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, August 6th
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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Miami vs. Pittsburgh
| 7:05 PM | Miami – ROAD | Pittsburgh – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.231 | 0.624 | 19.50% | 0.43 | 0.244 | 0.702 | 22.40% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.226 | 0.642 | 21.80% | 0.35 | 0.242 | 0.695 | 22.00% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Alvarez – RHP | Locke – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.18 | 2.61 | 4.03 | 8.67 | 1.22 | 2.36 | 6.76 | 10.58 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.84 | 1.35 | 4.12 | 12.55 | 2.45 | 5.06 | 13.24 | 9.60 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
MIA vs L  | MIA BvP | PIT vs R | PIT BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – PIT -186
Pitcher Grind Down
PIT – The Marlins bats have been ice cold lately. They are only batting .212 with an OPS of .566. That’s great news for Jeff Locke tonight who has been excellent at home all season long. I know it’s hard to put your trust in Locke, but he just faced the Marlins and struck out 9 while only giving up two runs. He is a big favorite and makes a good start. Rating = 8
MIA – Henderson Alvarez has pitched well and has only allowed 2 earned runs over his last 3 starts combined. One of those starts was against the Pirates. I don’t think he will have the same success as he did a week ago as this game is in Pittsburgh. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
PIT – Not much BvP to go off of, but both Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte have been swinging hot bats. With those two, you get the potential for both HR’s and stolen bases which is always a bonus. I don’t love the Pirates today, but taking one or two could work out well.
MIA – Giancarlo Stanton is always in play against lefties, but I really don’t see the Marlins bats heating up at all in this one. Locke has been good all season long against much tougher opponents.
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Atlanta vs. Washington
| 7:05 PM | Atlanta – ROAD | Washington – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.253 | 0.741 | 22.30% | 0.61 | 0.241 | 0.686 | 20.40% | 0.52 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.245 | 0.712 | 21.70% | 0.46 | 0.251 | 0.708 | 20.10% | 0.43 | |
| SP STATS | Teheran – RHP | Gonzalez – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.18 | 3.02 | 8.04 | 11.24 | 1.25 | 3.57 | 9.39 | 11.24 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.89 | 1.00 | 11.50 | 14.33 | 2.67 | 13.00 | 14.00 | 5.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| ATL vs L | ATL BvP | WSN vs R | WSN BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – WAS -115
Pitcher Grind Down
WAS – Gio Gonzalez got rocked for 10 earned runs in his last outing, but that was in Detroit so I think you can give him a pass on that one. He has been good at home all season long and now faces a hot Braves offense. Good news for Gio is that the Braves only bat .245 against lefties and most of their power bats are left handed. This should be a low scoring game, but Gio could find himself without a win if neither offense shows up. Rating = 7
ATL – Julio Teheran continues his great season. He has a great ERA of around 3, a solid WHIP of 1.18, and a very good K rate to boot. The Nationals are one of the worst offenses in baseball, so I think Teheran is in play. Teheran has 20 K’s in three starts against the Nats this year and should pitch another good game. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
WAS – I don’t love either offense in this one. Teheran has been striking everyone out lately and the Nats offense just hasn’t been very good. Maybe take a shot on Bryce Harper for the lefty/righty matchup, but I think there are better options.
ATL – The Braves draw a tough matchup, especially considering the face that Heyward, Freeman, and McCann are all left handed. I think it’s safe to avoid batters from this one.
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Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia
| 7:05 PM | Chicago Cubs – ROAD | Philadelphia – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.242 | 0.705 | 19.70% | 0.54 | 0.251 | 0.698 | 19.90% | 0.53 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.245 | 0.708 | 18.80% | 0.44 | 0.255 | 0.698 | 19.60% | 0.40 | |
| SP STATS | Jackson – RHP | Kendrick – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.35 | 4.65 | 7.45 | 8.95 | 1.33 | 4.29 | 5.34 | 8.64 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.99 | 1.84 | 5.70 | 12.10 | 2.00 | 10.13 | 1.13 | 0.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| CHC vs R | CHC BvP | PHI vs R | PHI BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.0
- Favored Team – PHI -116
Pitcher Grind Down
PHI – Kyle Kendrick has really been bad after starting off the season very well. Kendrick has given up at least 3 earned runs in 4 of his last 5 starts and has really struggled at home where he now has a 4.28 ERA on the season. The matchup is there for him tonight against the Cubs, but I just don’t see him having a big night. Rating = 5
CHC – Edwin Jackson has thrown 5 straight quality starts which is really impressive considering one of his biggest issues is his consistency. The Phillies are a tough team to figure out right now because they are short handed offensively, but will still have big games every so often. I think Jackson has the better matchup of the two pitchers tonight though. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
PHI – Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz have both had good success off of Jackson in the past and will both be really cheap options at their respective positions. Chase Utley is also in play as he is really good against right hand pitching.
CHC – Kendrick has been bad and the Cubs offense is trending in the right direction. Anthony Rizzo is a great play at 1B, he is good against right hand pitching. Junior Lake is the other guy to keep on your radar, he is batting .333 on the season.
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Detroit vs. Cleveland
| 7:05 PM | Detroit – ROAD | Cleveland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.279 | 0.782 | 17.40% | 0.66 | 0.259 | 0.745 | 21.20% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.283 | 0.780 | 16.60% | 0.52 | 0.254 | 0.736 | 21.90% | 0.49 | |
| SP STATS | Verlander – RHP | Masterson – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.42 | 3.88 | 8.67 | 11.44 | 1.16 | 3.33 | 9.22 | 13.49 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.83 | 6.00 | 7.50 | 9.00 | 0.99 | 0.63 | 9.57 | 18.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| DET vs R | DET BvP | CLE vs R | CLE BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – CLE -115
Pitcher Grind Down
CLE – There aren’t many pitchers that I will take against this Tigers offense, but Justin Masterson at home just may be one of them. Masterson has a 2.54 ERA at home this season and is facing a Tigers team that is now without Jhonny Peralta and has a banged up Miggy. Rating = 8
DET – It doesn’t seem like Detroit is ever the underdog anymore, but the Indians are not favored by much. I typically don’t like to take pitchers against the Indians because they are a team that strings hits and runs together really quickly and can easily turn a good outing by a pitcher into a bad one. Throw in the fact that Verlander has a 5.82 ERA against the Indians this season and it’s a situation I’m going to avoid. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
CLE – It seems like whenever the Indians face a really good pitcher, Michael Brantley is the one that has a big game. He had a very good game against Sanchez last night and could do so again tonight against Verlander. I also like the splits for Jason Kipnis and Michael Bourn.
DET – Victor Martinez and Prince Fielder have both had decent success against Masterson in the past, but Masterson is a different pitcher at home and I think he shows up big tonight.
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Colorado vs. NY Mets
| 7:10 PM | Colorado – ROAD | NY Mets – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.263 | 0.738 | 20.00% | 0.60 | 0.237 | 0.682 | 22.40% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.268 | 0.762 | 20.10% | 0.50 | 0.235 | 0.679 | 22.10% | 0.42 | |
| SP STATS | Chatwood – RHP | Mejia – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.40 | 3.15 | 6.34 | 9.55 | 1.08 | 2.08 | 7.62 | 12.50 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.87 | 8.68 | 11.87 | 8.05 | 1.08 | 2.08 | 7.62 | 12.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| COL vs R | COL BvP | NYM vs R | NYM BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – COL -125
Pitcher Grind Down
NYM – Jennry Mejia gets the start tonight for the Mets as they take on the Rockies. Mejia has made two road starts this season and has looked pretty good so far. He now faces a cold Rockies offense at home. There is still a lot of uncertainty taking a young pitcher, but I think Mejia is in a good spot, and he is so cheap that there isn’t a ton of downside. Rating = 5
COL – Tyler Chatwood finally had the big blowup that we were all expecting to come all season long. Now it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from it. He has a good matchup against the Mets in a very pitcher friendly park. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
NYM – Two cold offenses against two pretty decent pitchers. Not the recipe for a ton of runs. Daniel Murphy and Eric Young are in play but only if they are really cheap.
COL – Carlos Gonzalez is in play against the young right handed pitcher, but like I said, there are better games to find hitters from.
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