MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, September 10th
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
San Diego vs. Philadelphia
| 7:05 PM | San Diego – ROAD | Philadelphia – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.247 | 0.693 | 20.90% | 0.54 | 0.248 | 0.694 | 19.90% | 0.52 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.244 | 0.677 | 20.80% | 0.39 | 0.254 | 0.702 | 19.60% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Cashner – RHP | Cloyd – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.24 | 3.45 | 6.37 | 8.29 | 1.51 | 3.57 | 5.59 | 7.89 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.86 | 1.29 | 9.00 | 13.00 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
SDP vs R  | SDP BvP | PHI vs R | PHI BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Andrew Cashner – Cashner has been a much tougher play on the road than he has at home this season. Cashner’s road ERA is 4.61 with a 1.45 WHIP. He does have a decent matchup against the Phillies though, since the start of August, as a team they are batting below .230. It’s a bit of a risk, but he won’t be very highly owned tonight. Starter Rating = 5
- Tyler Cloyd – Cloyd looked good in his last start, but he’s still a bit of a wildcard. He’s expected to be a big league pitcher, but he just hasn’t been able to show any consistency. He has a 3.57 ERA in 7 games started this season and has a good matchup tonight against the Padres. I think he is still a wildcard, but there are spots for you to use him. Starter Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
SD – The Padres bats have gone cold over the last 7 games with only a .217 batting average. There really isn’t anyone on the Padres that you get excited to take and I feel the same way about it tonight.
PHI – The Phillies bats have been cold as well and they are missing their biggest power hitter not being in the lineup. Chase Utley has a lefty/righty matchup though, I think he is a good option at 2B.
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 | 0.688 | 16.60% | 0.54 | 0.253 | 0.732 | 21.10% | 0.63 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.257 | 0.687 | 16.70% | 0.40 | 0.248 | 0.723 | 21.70% | 0.48 | |
| SP STATS | Guthrie – RHP | McAllister – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.40 | 4.19 | 4.89 | 8.63 | 1.35 | 3.97 | 7.00 | 8.96 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.44 | 3.50 | 5.00 | 8.33 | 1.98 | 9.72 | 10.00 | 4.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| KCR vs R | KCR BvP | CLE vs R | CLE BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeremy Guthrie – Guthrie has a few things working against him as a daily fantasy player. He doesn’t strike out many batters, he has a very high WHIP of 1.4, and faces an Indians lineup that is full of lefties. Way too much risk for him tonight. Starter Rating = 3
- Zach McAllister – McAllister hasn’t given up more than 6 hits in any of his last 4 starts and has a solid 3.81 ERA at home. If the matchup were against a different offense, I think he would be in play, but the Royals are on a tear and they don’t strike out very often. Starter Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
KC – Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon both have the lefty/righty matchup against McAllister, but also look at Emilio Bonifacio, he has been great for the Royals and is still cheap on a lot of sites.
CLE – Guthrie is giving up a .328 batting average to lefties this season so this is a great spot for Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, and Michael Bourn. They all bat left handed and all hit righties well.
NY Yankees vs. Baltimore
| 7:05 PM | NY Yankees – ROAD | Baltimore – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.246 | 0.685 | 19.40% | 0.55 | 0.264 | 0.755 | 18.10% | 0.63 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.244 | 0.687 | 19.70% | 0.41 | 0.271 | 0.777 | 17.70% | 0.53 | |
| SP STATS | Nova – RHP | Gonzalez – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.28 | 3.02 | 7.96 | 10.90 | 1.28 | 3.98 | 6.43 | 8.58 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.85 | 2.08 | 5.54 | 11.00 | 1.35 | 6.35 | 4.86 | 4.37 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| NYY vs R | NYY BvP | BAL vs R | BAL BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ivan Nova – Nova has looked great this season, including his 3 starts against the Orioles. He’s 2-0 against them with a 1.52 ERA and has 20 K’s over 23 IP’s. It is really tough to take him against this offense in this park though. If you are going to spend a lot on a pitcher, you want to be confident that they will pitch well. Starter Rating = 5
- Miguel Gonzalez – Gonzalez hasn’t been great against the Yankees this season. In 4 starts, he is 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA. The Yankees have to make their move if they are going to try to sneak into the playoffs. Starter Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
BAL – This is one of those matchups where it may be best to avoid both the pitcher and the hitters he is facing. I think Nova should pitch well, but not well enough to be worth his price tag.
NYY – Gonzalez has been a little bit worse against left hand bats, but it’s not a huge difference. I think Robinson Cano and Alfonso Soriano are the guys to target tonight. Both have a ton of power.
LA Angels vs. Toronto
| 7:07 PM | LA Angels – ROAD | Toronto – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.263 | 0.743 | 18.90% | 0.61 | 0.252 | 0.733 | 18.00% | 0.62 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.243 | 0.714 | 19.20% | 0.47 | 0.255 | 0.748 | 17.90% | 0.50 | |
| SP STATS | Williams – RHP | Buehrle – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.38 | 4.60 | 5.91 | 5.79 | 1.29 | 3.88 | 6.18 | 9.52 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.19 | 2.93 | 6.56 | 8.37 | 0.92 | 1.35 | 6.18 | 12.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| LAA vs L | LAA BvP | TOR vs R | TOR BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jerome Williams – Williams is usually in play against the bad teams in baseball like the Astros, but I don’t think he is in play against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Even though their lineup doesn’t have a ton of big names, they still have Reyes, Encarnacion, Lawrie, and Lind. Starter Rating = 3
- Mark Buehrle – Since the All-Star break, Buehrle is 6-1 with 2.21 ERA. He has really found his rhythm and has pitched well at home all season. The Angels used to be a team that you would want to stay away from as far as pitchers, but that lineup just doesn’t scare me anymore. Buehrle makes a great play if you can get him at a decent price. Starter Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
LAA – Mike Trout is really the only Angels hitter that is worth a look. He is batting .333 against lefties and this is a very hitter friendly park.
TOR – The four guys I mentioned above all look like good plays against Williams tonight. The Blue Jays still have some pop in that lineup and I think that we see it tonight.
Boston vs. Tampa Bay
| 7:10 PM | Boston – ROAD | Tampa Bay – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.273 | 0.780 | 20.40% | 0.68 | 0.262 | 0.748 | 18.70% | 0.62 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.726 | 20.90% | 0.46 | 0.253 | 0.739 | 18.70% | 0.49 | |
| SP STATS | Buchholz – RHP | Price – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.02 | 1.71 | 8.67 | 15.43 | 1.12 | 3.51 | 7.27 | 11.19 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.36 | 5.79 | 7.07 | 8.00 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BOS vs L | BOS BvP | TBR vs R | TBR BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Clay Buchholz – Buchholz is making his very anticipated return from his injury. The Red Sox chances of winning the World Series may just hinge on his health. The Sox are definitely going to keep him on some kind of pitch limit though, so tonight isn’t the night to start him. Starter Rating = 4
- David Price – Price has pitched well against the Red Sox this year. He has a 2.55 ERA in 4 starts against them. This is one of the very few times I would ever consider taking a pitcher against that scary Red Sox lineup that can put up 20 runs in a single game. Price may not be the pitcher to go with on single pitcher sites, but he is in play on multi-pitcher sites. Starter Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
BOS – Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli, and Shane Victorino all hit lefties well, but this is one tough lefty that they are facing tonight.
TB – The Rays are in an interesting spot tonight. While they are facing Buccholz, he hasn’t pitched in over 3 months. Really hard to try to expect how it will turn out. I think the easy option is to avoid the Rays, but if you think Buchholz struggles, there are some sleeper plays to be had.
