MLB Daily Grind Down: Wednesday, August 21st
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
________________________________________________________________________________________
Atlanta vs. NY Mets
| 1:10 PM | Atlanta – ROAD | NY Mets – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.254 | 0.742 | 22.20% | 0.61 | 0.237 | 0.681 | 22.20% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.249 | 0.721 | 21.30% | 0.47 | 0.246 | 0.694 | 22.70% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Wood – LHP | Niese – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.04 | 2.61 | 10.02 | 4.82 | |||||
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.66 | 0.73 | 11.90 | 13.55 | |||||
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
ATL vs L  | ATL BvP | NYM vs L | NYM BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – ATL -140
Pitcher Grind Down
NYM – Jonathan Niese owns a 3.16 ERA at home, but that seems a bit low for his 1.48 WHIP in those starts. Niese has really struggled against the Braves this year though, in two starts he has only managed to last a total of 7 innings and has an ERA of 12.27. Niese is on the wrong end of the Vegas line and is facing a Braves team that can’t stay quiet much longer. Rating = 3
ATL – Alex Wood has come out of the gates firing, his last 4 starts have all been quality starts and he is picking up his strikeout totals. The matchup with the Mets is a good one even though he did struggle a bit against them in his second career start. Wood owns a 2.61 ERA on the season with a 1.035 WHIP. I think those numbers get better after this start as the Mets are not a good offensive team at home. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
NYM – In their one game against Wood, Marlon Byrd went 3/4 and is coming off of a big game yesterday. I still have yet to take Byrd this year, but eventually I will have to start playing him if he keeps up this production. Ike Davis gets the lefty/righty matchup and is a cheap option with decent upside.
ATL – Even though the Braves have a lot of left hand bats, they have knocked around Niese this year. Jayson Heyward is 9/22 against him and Freddie Freeman is 8/24. I think Chris Johnson makes the best play because he is a righty, but they are all in play.
________________________________________________________________________________________
St. Louis vs. Milwaukee
| 2:10 PM | St. Louis – ROAD | Milwaukee – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.273 | 0.741 | 18.00% | 0.60 | 0.252 | 0.707 | 19.60% | 0.56 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.235 | 0.662 | 18.70% | 0.39 | 0.249 | 0.706 | 19.00% | 0.42 | |
| SP STATS | Westbrook – RHP | Gorzelanny – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.53 | 4.35 | 3.46 | 7.01 | 1.13 | 2.95 | 8.63 | 3.40 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.52 | 11.91 | 2.43 | -0.45 | 1.25 | 3.86 | 9.64 | 11.10 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| STL vs L | STL BvP | MIL vs R | MIL BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – STL -130
Pitcher Grind Down
MIL – Tom Gorzelanny is another guy that seems to be outpitching himself and you expect him to come back down to earth sooner or later. He owns a 2.95 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13. To be honest, I’m just not sold on him, but today will be a great test for himself as the Cardinals have some big bats that really hit lefties well. Rating = 3
STL – Jake Westbrook is the polar opposite of what you want out of your pitcher. He has a very low upside thanks to his 3.4 K’s per 9 innings and has a WHIP of 1.74 on the road. This one is pretty easy, don’t get caught up in the matchup and think he is a good play, just avoid him and move on. Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
MIL – Westbrook doesn’t give up a lot of HR’s, but the current Brewers lineup doesn’t hit that many anyway. What Westbrook does give up is hits to lefties. Lefties are batting .344 against him this year with an OPS over .900. Target Nori Aoki, Jean Segura, and maybe even Logan Schafer.
STL – I think the Cardinals get a hold of Gorzelanny today. Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Allen Craig, and David Freese are all really good against lefties.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Seattle vs. Oakland
| 3:37 PM | Seattle – ROAD | Oakland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.246 | 0.717 | 21.50% | 0.56 | 0.244 | 0.717 | 19.40% | 0.60 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.251 | 0.736 | 21.30% | 0.48 | 0.245 | 0.712 | 18.80% | 0.46 | |
| SP STATS | Iwakuma – RHP | Griffin – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.00 | 2.95 | 7.68 | 11.73 | 1.15 | 3.76 | 7.01 | 10.20 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.14 | 3.86 | 5.57 | 9.67 | 1.96 | 1.69 | 4.41 | 6.60 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| SEA vs R | SEA BvP | OAK vs R | OAK BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – OAK -134
Pitcher Grind Down
OAK – A.J. Griffin is the favorite in this one and I think that has more to do with the offenses than it does Mr. Griffin. Griffin has been pretty solid at home this season with a 3.40 ERA, but the Mariners hit righties well and their bats finally came alive last night. I think if he is really cheap, there is value, but I don’t expect a great game out of him. Rating = 5
SEA – Hisashi Iwakuma is a guy that I will take against anyone when he is pitching well and he has had only one bad start in his last 5. So far this season he has faced the A’s 4 times and owns a 3.96 ERA with an average of 6 K’s per start. Those numbers aren’t quite good enough to make him worth taking and the A’s are a very good team at home. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
OAK – Iwakuma is a guy that doesn’t give up many hits, but one guy that you may want to consider is Yoenis Cespedes, he has a good track record against Iwakuma and already has 3 HR’s off of him.
SEA – Three guys that you may want to target in this day game are Nick Franklin, Kyle Seager, and Brad Miller. Griffin is giving up a .293 batting average to lefties this season and has already given up 12 HR’s to lefties.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Boston vs. San Francisco
| 3:45 PM | Boston – ROAD | San Francisco – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.273 | 0.785 | 20.30% | 0.69 | 0.259 | 0.690 | 17.20% | 0.51 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.251 | 0.713 | 20.80% | 0.43 | 0.254 | 0.670 | 17.40% | 0.36 | |
| SP STATS | Doubront – LHP | Zito – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.44 | 3.95 | 8.11 | 9.78 | 1.70 | 5.34 | 5.97 | 5.60 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.50 | 10.13 | 7.88 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 10.80 | 7.20 | 0.75 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BOS vs L | BOS BvP | SFG vs L | SFG BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – BOS -130
Pitcher Grind Down
SF – It’s hard for me to believe that an over/under is set at only 7.5 in a game in which Barry Zito is pitching. Zito owns a 5.34 ERA and a WHIP close to 1.7 on the season. He has not been worth much fantasy wise other than taking hitters against him. I think that’s the same approach you should take today. Rating = 1
BOS – Felix Doubront draws a really good matchup against the struggling Giants. The Giants are only batting .253 as a team against lefties this season and most of that is thanks to Buster Posey. Doubront has been his usual up and down self, but if he can stay away from the walks, I think he will have a good game today, plus he gets the bonus of run support. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
SF – When it comes to the Giants against lefties, you have Buster Posey and then you have the rest of the team. Posey is batting .322 against lefties this season and is definitely in play, but the rest of the team can be avoided.
BOS – If you are looking for a team to stack here in these early games, you can’t go wrong with the Red Sox. Zito is a guy that gives up huge innings and the Red Sox can certainly string together the hits. I think both the lefties and righties are in play because I just don’t see Zito lasting that long.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Pittsburgh vs. San Diego
| 6:40 PM | Pittsburgh – ROAD | San Diego – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.245 | 0.702 | 22.30% | 0.55 | 0.245 | 0.690 | 20.60% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.243 | 0.700 | 21.90% | 0.42 | 0.242 | 0.672 | 20.80% | 0.39 | |
| SP STATS | Cole – RHP | Kennedy – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.14 | 3.88 | 6.50 | 9.75 | 1.41 | 5.12 | 7.85 | 8.38 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.27 | 4.91 | 7.36 | 9.00 | 1.31 | 4.97 | 7.38 | 7.60 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| PIT vs R | PIT BvP | SDP vs R | SDP BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – PIT -126
Pitcher Grind Down
SD – Ian Kennedy has given me quite a few fits this season. I keep waiting for him to turn a corner, but every time I take him he just lets me down over and over again. Petco Park is a good place for him to pitch, but these Pirates are a tough out. I’d rather go with Cole in this one. Rating = 5
PIT – So far the Pirates pitching staff has had their way with these Padres. Tonight Gerrit Cole gets a chance to do the same. Cole has a 3.88 ERA which isn’t too bad, but I like that his strikeout totals have slowly been creeping up. Cole gets to pitch in the pitcher-famous Petco Park against a very weak Padres lineup. There is value galore here. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
SD – The Padres bats have gone cold in this series. They have a better matchup today against Cole, but there aren’t any particular players that stand out. Maybe take a chance with Will Venable, he has 12 HR’s against righties.
PIT – Garrett Jones and Neil Walker both have good numbers against Ian Kennedy, but you know how I feel about BvP. I like Walker because he has been swinging a hot bat and his price is still fairly cheap.
________________________________________________________________________________________
