MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, July 9th
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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Washington vs. Philadelphia
| 7:05 PM | Washington – ROAD | Philadelphia – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.240 | 0.684 | 21.30% | 0.53 | 0.258 | 0.717 | 19.50% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.215 | 0.612 | 21.30% | 0.33 | 0.261 | 0.717 | 19.00% | 0.43 | |
| SP STATS | Jordan – RHP | Hamels – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.30 | 2.70 | 3.60 | 5.50 | 1.27 | 4.38 | 8.52 | 9.83 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.30 | 2.70 | 3.60 | 5.50 | 1.08 | 3.46 | 9.00 | 12.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
WSN vs L  | WSN BvP | PHI vs R | PHI BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – PHI -140
Pitcher Grind Down
PHI – Cole Hamels is coming off one of his best pitching outings of the season against the Pirates in which he struck out 8 batters over 7 innings and only allowed one earned run. His matchup today against the Nationals is one that I can’t quite figure out. The Nats have been red hot lately with Harper back in the lineup, but they have struggled as a team against lefties this season. I think Hamels puts it together and has his second straight dominant start. Target
WAS – Taylor Jordan gets the start for the Nats and in his first two career starts, he has pitched OK, but nothing to go crazy about. He isn’t a high K rate pitcher as he only had 73 K’s in 90 innings in double-A ball this season. I think the risk outweighs the reward with Jordan today. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
PHI – Jordan is a right hand pitcher that is not going to strike out a lot of hitters. Cue the lefty bats from the Phillies. Domonic Brown, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins are all in play tonight. Vegas likes them to score some runs tonight and so do I.
WAS – Hamels has enjoyed some good success against the Nats in the past and as a team they struggle against lefties. I wouldn’t pay full price for any of their bats tonight, so unless you can find one at a steep discount, just avoid the Nats.
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Toronto vs. Cleveland
| 7:05 PM | Toronto – ROAD | Cleveland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.249 | 0.727 | 19.00% | 0.61 | 0.257 | 0.751 | 21.90% | 0.66 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.250 | 0.744 | 19.40% | 0.51 | 0.255 | 0.747 | 22.40% | 0.51 | |
| SP STATS | Johnson – RHP | Jimenez – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.62 | 4.89 | 9.15 | 8.21 | 1.47 | 4.67 | 8.98 | 9.07 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.92 | 6.28 | 9.57 | 7.70 | 2.05 | 4.70 | 10.13 | 9.37 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TOR vs R | TOR BvP | CLE vs R | CLE BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – CLE -115
Pitcher Grind Down
CLE – Ubaldo Jimenez hasn’t had a blow-up in a while which is good news, but he hasn’t had any spectacular outings either. He hasn’t made it a full 6 innings in any of his last 5 starts and faces a Blue Jays offense that has really been heating up lately. The BvP numbers favor Ubaldo, but everything else points to steer clear and that’s what I’m going to do. Avoid
TOR – Josh Johnson is another one of these big name pitchers that just can’t seem to put it together. He will show flashes of it, but then get shelled in his next outing. His road ERA of 9.26 make me want to stay far away from him tonight, especially since he is facing the Indians who can really string together hits. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
CLE – The Indians are a tough team to predict, especially on an individual level. Michael Bourn could provide some good value tonight as the leadoff man. Outside of Bourn, maybe take a shot on Carlos Santana if his price is around the middle range for catchers.
TOR – Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista have both been on fire over the last couple of weeks and I don’t see a reason that it should stop tonight against Ubaldo. Adam Lind is another guy to consider, he is batting .309 against RHP’s this season with 10 HR’s.
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Texas vs. Baltimore
| 7:05 PM | Texas – ROAD | Baltimore – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.260 | 0.741 | 17.50% | 0.60 | 0.268 | 0.766 | 18.40% | 0.64 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.253 | 0.705 | 17.70% | 0.42 | 0.248 | 0.708 | 19.30% | 0.44 | |
| SP STATS | Perez – LHP | Britton – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.41 | 1.85 | 4.48 | 9.78 | 1.55 | 4.03 | 3.72 | 7.20 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.42 | 0.00 | 5.25 | 11.50 | 1.45 | 3.06 | 4.71 | 8.07 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TEX vs L | TEX BvP | BAL vs L | BAL BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – BAL -125
Pitcher Grind Down
BAL – Zach Britton is not the type of pitcher that I like to take. He has a low upside with a big chance of getting shelled. His WHIP of 1.552 is way too high for my tastes and the matchup against the Rangers isn’t a good one. Avoid
TEX – Martin Perez has turned in two shutout performances in a row. That streak will end tonight against the Orioles and I doubt it will take more than an inning or two. Perez has been good at home, but pretty average on the road and this Orioles team is tough to get outs against. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
BAL – Lot of bats in play in this game. For the Orioles, you have to love the usual suspects of Manny Machado and Chris Davis. Both are raking against RHP this season. The rest of the bats are also in play, but those two get a slight nod above the rest.
TEX – Whenever a lefty is facing the Rangers I like to take Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler. Both of their numbers are down a bit against lefties this season, but they both still have good numbers against lefties. Adrian Beltre is also someone you want to roster: 10 hits over his last 5 games.
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Chicago White Sox vs. Detroit
| 7:05 PM | Chicago White Sox – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.245 | 0.676 | 20.70% | 0.51 | 0.281 | 0.783 | 17.10% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.249 | 0.686 | 20.80% | 0.41 | 0.274 | 0.776 | 18.70% | 0.53 | |
| SP STATS | Quintana – LHP | Verlander – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.20 | 3.69 | 7.02 | 8.76 | 1.36 | 3.54 | 9.56 | 12.39 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.85 | 2.77 | 9.69 | 11.50 | 1.40 | 2.70 | 5.85 | 10.33 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| CHW vs R | CHW BvP | DET vs L | DET BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.0
- Favored Team – DET -250
Pitcher Grind Down
DET – Justin Verlander has not had the season that he was hoping to have. His numbers are down across the board and his sabermetrics prove that it’s not just bad luck. That said, he is coming off of a great start against the Blue Jays and now gets to face a slumping White Sox lineup that has quite a few AAA players on it. I think Verlander pitches a strong game and picks up the win. Target
CWS – Jose Quintana has been a nice surprise for the White Sox this season and he has really yet to have a terrible start. That could change tonight against this Tigers lineup though. They just demolish left hand pitching. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
DET – Batting average against lefties: Fielder (.314), Peralta (.361), Cabrera (.431), and Hunter (.275). Not a bad idea to roll with a couple of these guys.
CWS – Even though Verlander hasn’t been the same Verlander that we’ve seen in the past, I’m not taking any hitter’s against him.
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Kansas City vs. NY Yankees
| 7:05 PM | Kansas City – ROAD | NY Yankees – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.258 | 0.690 | 17.10% | 0.55 | 0.242 | 0.686 | 19.80% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.269 | 0.703 | 17.10% | 0.41 | 0.245 | 0.703 | 19.40% | 0.43 | |
| SP STATS | Shields – RHP | Sabathia – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.21 | 3.23 | 7.88 | 10.96 | 1.21 | 4.06 | 7.69 | 11.67 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.79 | 6.48 | 6.67 | 6.73 | 1.07 | 3.86 | 9.64 | 13.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| KCR vs L | KCR BvP | NYY vs R | NYY BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – NYY -145
Pitcher Grind Down
NYY – You don’t see a game being played in Yankee Stadium with an over/under this low very often. That says a lot about the pitching and about these two offenses. CC Sabathia is always a good fantasy option because he has a high K rate and he usually throws 110+ pitches before he is pulled. The only problem tonight is that the Royals don’t strike out a lot. Least in the league in fact. I still think CC has some value, but don’t pay top dollar for him. In Play
KC – James Shields seems to be forgotten now that he is in Kansas City, but he has had a very good season. His ERA is at a solid number of 3.23 and he is striking out around 8 batters per 9 innings. This Yankees lineup has been feast or famine lately so Shields could be a very sneaky play in these qualifiers. In Play
Batter Grind Down
NYY – Robinson Cano gave us a big let down last night when he went 1/3 with a single and a walk against Guthrie. He can’t let us down two nights in a row though right? If you believe in BvP, then you certainly have to have high hopes for Cano tonight: 31/79 with 14 XBH’s against Shields for an OPS of 1.111.
KC – Butler, Escobar, and Perez all fare well against lefties, but I don’t see much upside taking them against CC.
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