MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, June 18th
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 | 0.233 | 0.668 | 21.80% | 0.50 | 0.251 | 0.708 | 19.70% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.212 | 0.609 | 21.70% | 0.33 | 0.241 | 0.718 | 21.30% | 0.45 | |
| SP STATS | Detwiler – LHP | Lee – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.43 | 3.02 | 4.48 | 7.36 | 0.98 | 2.55 | 7.85 | 13.86 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.20 | 5.40 | 3.60 | 4.00 | 1.04 | 3.32 | 11.04 | 15.73 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
WSN vs L  | WSN BvP | PHI vs L | PHI BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – PHI – 157
Pitcher Grind Down
PHI – Cliff Lee is churning out another great season and even though he hasn’t been as great as home as he has on the road, today he faces a Nationals offense that ranks in the bottom third of the league in most offensive categories. Look for Lee to pitch another strong game and go deep into this one. Target
WAS – I’m surprised that this line is only at -157. The fact is that Ross Detwiler just isn’t that good. Sure the Phillies aren’t very good against lefties, but I don’t think this game will be within a couple of runs. I’m usually not a fan of Detwiler and I’m certainly not one tonight with Cliff Lee as the opposing pitcher. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
PHI – John Mayberry is one of the few Phillies that is actually better against left hand pitching. He is batting .293 against lefties this year and is a good option tonight against Detwiler. I also like the bats of Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins and they both give you the added bonus of stolen bases.
WAS – Not a lot to like here. A few Nats batters hit lefties well but this is Cliff Lee we are talking about. Much better options elsewhere.
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LA Dodgers vs. NY Yankees
| 7:05 PM | LA Dodgers – ROAD | NY Yankees – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.254 | 0.694 | 18.80% | 0.51 | 0.240 | 0.686 | 20.20% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.247 | 0.681 | 19.90% | 0.39 | 0.240 | 0.666 | 20.00% | 0.40 | |
| SP STATS | Ryu – LHP | Hughes – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.19 | 2.85 | 7.93 | 12.08 | 1.40 | 4.89 | 8.36 | 8.38 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.52 | 2.63 | 5.45 | 8.60 | 1.26 | 2.38 | 8.11 | 11.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| LAD vs R | LAD BvP | NYY vs L | NYY BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.0
- Favored Team – NYY -105
Pitcher Grind Down
NYY – Phil Hughes has really struggled at Yankee Stadium this season with an ERA over 6 and a WHIP of 1.660. He has a good matchup against the Dodgers though so he could be a risk that could pay off. Hughes is definitely a guy that can go 7 strong innings, but he could also only last a couple. I think he is a good risk to take. In Play
LAD – Yankee Stadium is a tough place to pitch and he has to face a pretty tough lineup. You would think that the good news for Ryu is that most of the Yankees bats are left handed, but he has actually allowed lefties to hit much better off of him than righties. They are batting .288 against him. Either way, it’s hard to recommend him against the Yanks. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
NYY – Not a lot of BvP to go off here, but the left hand bats of Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier both make decent plays against the righty Hughes. I like Mr. Puig as well, but he is priced a little too high for me.
LAD – Like I said, Ryu is allowing lefties to get hits off of him and while I wouldn’t go crazy on the Yankee bats today, I think both Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki make good value plays. They both get on base and score runs.
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Kansas City vs. Cleveland
| 7:05 PM | Kansas City – ROAD | Cleveland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.258 | 0.682 | 17.60% | 0.53 | 0.256 | 0.749 | 22.60% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.249 | 0.661 | 17.80% | 0.36 | 0.252 | 0.741 | 23.50% | 0.50 | |
| SP STATS | Santana – RHP | Jimenez – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.00 | 2.74 | 6.95 | 11.92 | 1.38 | 4.79 | 8.97 | 9.09 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.71 | 0.83 | 5.94 | 13.73 | 2.25 | 4.50 | 7.88 | 7.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| KCR vs R | KCR BvP | CLE vs R | CLE BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – CLE – 111
Pitcher Grind Down
CLE – Ubaldo Jimenez continues his roller coaster season, but he has been pitching much better of late. The problem is that the Royals offense has been much better of late too and they are not a team that strikes out very often. In fact there is only one team with less K’s. I think Ubaldo could pitch decent, but don’t expect a ton of K’s. In Play
KC – Ervin Santana has been really good for the Royals this season. His WHIP and ERA are lower than they have been in years and while I think he pitches well tonight, the Indians are too big of a risk to take a pitcher against. They can blow up for a good number of runs on any night. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
CLE – This should be a pretty low scoring game so I’m not too confident in any hitters. But Jason Kipnis has been hot lately and could make a good play.
KC – Eric Hosmer is riding a nice hitting streak and actually has had some power against Ubaldo hitting two HR’s off of him. You don’t usually get much power out of Hosmer, so maybe this is a good spot to use him. Billy Butler is also a good value play.
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Baltimore vs. Detroit
| 7:05 PM | Baltimore – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.271 | 0.774 | 17.20% | 0.66 | 0.279 | 0.772 | 16.80% | 0.64 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.275 | 0.782 | 17.20% | 0.52 | 0.284 | 0.788 | 18.50% | 0.53 | |
| SP STATS | Britton – LHP | Verlander – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 2.00 | 9.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 1.30 | 3.41 | 10.45 | 13.36 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.00 | 1.93 | 9.00 | 14.50 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BAL vs R | BAL BvP | DET vs L | DET BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.0
- Favored Team – DET – 235
Pitcher Grind Down
DET – It’s almost not fair how good Detroit is. Their offense is one of the best in the league and they roll out a great pitcher every night. Tonight that pitcher is Justin Verlander. While he has a tough matchup against the Orioles, he is such a big favorite that I think you can almost pencil him in for a win. Expect around 7 innings, 7 K’s, and a couple of earned runs. Target
BAL – Zach Britton is not a great pitcher and I do not expect him to pitch well tonight against the Tigers. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
DET – All of the Tigers bats are in play tonight and I mean all of them. Austin Jackson is back and playing well, Miggy is ballin as usual, Fielder is actually hitting lefties well, V-Mart is cheap, and Peralta has been crushing lefties.
BAL – I expect the Orioles to score a couple of runs, but I have no idea where it will come from and you can expect a few K’s along the way. I think there are better options.
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Colorado vs. Toronto
| 7:07 PM | Colorado – ROAD | Toronto – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.276 | 0.789 | 18.40% | 0.68 | 0.252 | 0.731 | 19.10% | 0.61 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.279 | 0.808 | 18.50% | 0.57 | 0.246 | 0.659 | 17.40% | 0.37 | |
| SP STATS | Francis – LHP | Rogers – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.54 | 5.87 | 8.02 | 6.50 | 1.29 | 3.21 | 5.36 | 2.31 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.40 | 5.40 | 9.00 | 7.00 | 0.85 | 1.38 | 4.85 | 7.33 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| COL vs R | COL BvP | TOR vs L | TOR BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – TOR – 157
Pitcher Grind Down
TOR – Esmil Rogers numbers don’t look bad, but he is not a high strikeout pitcher and he rarely even makes it 5 innings. That typically means that he is not in line for a win even when he is pitching well. The Rockies are shorthanded, but Rogers isn’t a great option. Avoid
COL – I like to think that Vegas knows what they are doing and I rarely ever take an underdog pitcher. And I am not going to change my thinking for Jeff Francis. Should be a big night, but a big night for the Jays offense, not Francis. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
TOR – Melky Cabrera and J.P. Arencibia both have HR’s off of Francis and make good plays today. Even though Bautista continues to let me down, I think he makes a solid play tonight. He is a boom or bust type of player, but I think we get the boom tonight. Last but not least is Edwin Encarnacion, great option at 1B today.
COL – This is a tough one, the Rockies bats are in a good spot, but they are short handed and are a much different team on the road than at home. I don’t know if I will be rolling with any Rockie not named Carlos Gonzalez.
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