MLB Daily Grind Down: Tuesday, September 17th
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
Seattle vs. Detroit
| 7:05 PM | Seattle – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.243 | 0.706 | 21.70% | 0.54 | 0.282 | 0.785 | 16.90% | 0.65 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.246 | 0.723 | 21.40% | 0.47 | 0.293 | 0.796 | 16.20% | 0.53 | |
| SP STATS | Maurer – RHP | Sanchez – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.69 | 7.18 | 6.61 | 4.38 | 1.15 | 2.50 | 9.70 | 13.58 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.68 | 16.62 | 8.78 | 0.05 | 1.21 | 0.63 | 9.57 | 18.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
SEA vs R  | SEA BvP | DET vs R | DET BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brandon Maurer – His ERA is above 7 on the season and over 16 for the past 14 days. Avoid against a potent Tigers offense. Starter Rating: 0 out of 10
- Anibal Sanchez – With Maurer on the opposition and facing a K-happy Seattle offense, Sanchez has to be one of the best plays available today. He’s averaging 10.3 K/9 at home this season and is worth paying up for this evening. Starter Rating: 9 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Maurer’s OPS vs. righties is .948 and .925 against lefties. He’s bad. Target any Detroit hitter tonight.
- Andy Dirks might be a nice value play at the OF slot for Detroit
- I’m avoiding Mariners bats, but the one guy with any history vs. Anibal is Ibanez who is 6 for 25 lifetime.
Atlanta vs. Washington
| 7:05 PM | Atlanta – ROAD | Washington – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.252 | 0.731 | 22.40% | 0.59 | 0.247 | 0.700 | 20.20% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.252 | 0.735 | 22.60% | 0.48 | 0.258 | 0.734 | 19.90% | 0.46 | |
| SP STATS | Garcia – RHP | Roark – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.27 | 4.86 | 4.49 | 5.28 | 0.94 | 1.30 | 6.84 | 7.20 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.91 | 1.32 | 4.77 | 5.55 | 0.92 | 1.50 | 5.25 | 12.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| ATL vs R | ATL BvP | WSN vs R | WSN BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Freddy Garcia – Garcia looked good against the Marlins but hey, it’s the Marlins. He’s not worth using today with a full slate of games. Starter Rating: 1 out of 10
- Tanner Roark – In 2 starts against the Mets and Marlins he’s gone 12 IP with just 2 ER. The downside is only 7 strikeouts combined and a tough matchup against Atlanta tonight. He’s someone I’ll be avoiding, but only because of the limited upside. Starter Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Lefties are hitting .285 with an .903 OPS against Garcia. Harper, LaRoche and Span are all in play.
- Denard Span is sneakily in the middle of a 26 game hit streak, but is just 2-18 lifetime against Garcia
- Roark has been strong vs. both lefties and righties and threw well in one start vs. ATL. Not sure who to target for ATL bats.
- Freddie Freeman is 13 for his last 26 with 2 HR
San Diego vs. Pittsburgh
| 7:05 PM | San Diego – ROAD | Pittsburgh – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.247 | 0.693 | 20.90% | 0.54 | 0.245 | 0.705 | 22.40% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.727 | 21.20% | 0.46 | 0.263 | 0.740 | 22.00% | 0.47 | |
| SP STATS | Stults – LHP | Locke – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.27 | 4.03 | 5.74 | 8.40 | 1.34 | 3.14 | 6.69 | 9.40 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.47 | 7.59 | 7.94 | 5.10 | 0.92 | 2.25 | 6.75 | 11.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| SDP vs L | SDP BvP | PIT vs L | PIT BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Eric Stults – Stults has really struggled recently (7.49 ERA over past 14 days) and faces a Pittsburgh offense that can hit lefties hard. His road ERA is also approaching 5. Avoid. Starter Rating: 3 out of 10
- Jeff Locke – I love targeting the Padres but not against left handed pitching. With Blanks back, they have a number of hitters who can smack lefties around and I don’t think Locke has enough K-upside to outweigh a couple of earned runs allowed. Starter Rating: 5 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Stults has been near unhittable vs. lefties (.181 BA-A) but the .303 average against righties is disturbing.
- Target McCutchen tonight, whose wOBA at home is .435 and .492 against lefties. I have him down as one of my top-3 plays of all hitters today.
- Marlon Byrd is 11 for his last 30 and is hitting .340 against left handed pitching this year with a .957 OPS. I love this value play
- Kyle Blanks of SDP is hitting for an .861 OPS against lefties. Gyorko is at .780 as well. Both are strong options tonight.
Miami vs. Philadelphia
| 7:05 PM | Miami – ROAD | Philadelphia – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.231 | 0.623 | 19.80% | 0.43 | 0.248 | 0.694 | 19.90% | 0.52 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.230 | 0.613 | 19.70% | 0.31 | 0.235 | 0.680 | 20.60% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Flynn – LHP | Halladay – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 2.63 | 10.13 | 6.75 | 2.50 | 1.49 | 7.28 | 7.99 | 6.47 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.63 | 10.13 | 6.75 | 2.50 | 1.68 | 4.35 | 9.80 | 8.05 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| MIA vs R | MIA BvP | PHI vs L | PHI BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brian Flynn – Flynn’s first start went…poorly. 4 IP, 6 ER and 6 WALKS! That’s way too high and I’m not touching him, period. Starter Rating: 1 out of 10
- Roy Halladay – Halladay has the best possible matchup against Miami, but his 2 starts earlier this year against the Marlins were train wrecks. They sent him to the DL back in May and Halladay isn’t the doctor of old. Avoid except in GPPs. Starter Rating: 5 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Kevin Frandsen has an .891 OPS against lefties and is a great option tonight. Be wary of Darin Ruf though, the L/R matchup is juicy but he’s hitting under .200 against left handed pitching.
- Halladay has allowed lefties to an .875 OPS against and righties are at .800
- Giancarlo is 7-22 with 2 HR off Halladay. Adeiny Hechavarria is 3-5 with a HR
- Really like the value on Christian Yelich tonight as well from the left side.
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 | 0.245 | 0.694 | 19.80% | 0.42 | 0.241 | 0.682 | 17.80% | 0.42 | |
| SP STATS | Pettitte – LHP | Dickey – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.41 | 4.04 | 6.21 | 8.93 | 1.28 | 4.36 | 6.90 | 9.91 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.38 | 3.93 | 6.96 | 8.03 | 1.52 | 5.40 | 4.82 | 7.10 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| NYY vs R | NYY BvP | TOR vs L | TOR BvP | ||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Andy Pettitte – 3 starts against Toronto and he has a 1.73 ERA with a .216 BA-against. I think he’s definitely in play on a night where starting pitching seems hard to come by. Starter Rating: 7 out of 10
- R.A. Dickey – Dickey pitches at that pesky Rogers Centre again. He has a 5.29 ERA there but has just a 3.26 ERA against the Yanks on the season and almost a K per inning pitched. Overall, I don’t trust him in that dome which will be the deciding factor. Starter Rating: 4 out of 10
Batter Grind Down
- Rajai Davis is 11 for 20 with a HR and 2 SB against Pettitte. The remainder of the Jays have struggled though. Encarnacion is 7-36, Arencibia is 2-12, Reyes is 6 for 28 and Lawrie is 2-12.
- Pettitte has really struggled against righties, allowing an .820 OPS against. Despite bad BvP, I’d consider Lawrie and Arencibia tonight.
- Dickey has allowed 20 HRs to lefties this year (about 1 per 20 ABs against).
- A-Fraud is 8-19 with 2 HR off Dickey and, if healthy, is a good play today. Soriano is 4-12 with 2 HR
