MLB Daily Grind Down: Wednesday, July 31st
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. Detroit
| 1:05 PM | Washington – ROAD | Detroit – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.242 | 0.682 | 21.00% | 0.53 | 0.280 | 0.781 | 17.40% | 0.66 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.249 | 0.705 | 20.70% | 0.43 | 0.268 | 0.774 | 19.20% | 0.53 | |
| SP STATS | Gonzalez – LHP | Verlander – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.19 | 2.97 | 9.41 | 11.96 | 1.41 | 3.99 | 8.66 | 11.28 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.61 | 2.31 | 17.68 | 15.10 | 2.23 | 9.26 | 5.63 | 3.10 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
WSN vs R  | WSN BvP | DET vs L | DET BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – DET -135
Pitcher Grind Down
DET – Justin Verlander has really been struggling this season, maybe a matchup against one of the worst offenses in baseball will help. Verlander has given up at least 5 earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts and now has an ERA right around 4. Vegas expects this one to be a low scoring game and I think it could be a nice bounce back spot for Verlander. Rating = 7
WAS – Gio Gonzalez is having another great season, 15 of his 21 starts have been quality starts which means he has been pretty consistent. The Tigers are usually a very formidable offense, but without Miggy in the lineup today, I think Gio is playable. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
DET – For the Tigers, only two have had success against Gio in the past. Tuiasosopo has 2 HR’s off of him but the lefty/lefty matchup makes me want to avoid him today. Victor Martinez is 5/9 and is worth a look, probably the best bat on the Tigers today.
WAS – Verlander has had some great success against the Nationals batters, but most of them have a very small sample size against him. I could see Bryce Harper having a good game and you always get the bonus of a possible stolen base.
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Toronto vs. Oakland
| 3:37 PM | Toronto – ROAD | Oakland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.254 | 0.732 | 18.70% | 0.64 | 0.243 | 0.712 | 19.80% | 0.60 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.752 | 18.90% | 0.51 | 0.244 | 0.709 | 19.50% | 0.46 | |
| SP STATS | Dickey – RHP | Colon – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.31 | 4.86 | 6.93 | 9.28 | 1.10 | 2.54 | 4.91 | 11.15 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.42 | 6.75 | 12.00 | 9.50 | 0.93 | 1.20 | 4.20 | 14.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| TOR vs R | TOR BvP | OAK vs R | OAK BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – OAK -153
Pitcher Grind Down
OAK – Bartolo Colon has been good all season long, especially at home where he has a 2.54 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. But there is just something about him that makes me want to stay away. It could be the fact that A.J. Griffin and Dan Straily both struggled in their starts against the Blue Jays. Rating = 5
TOR – I think for the price, R.A. Dickey is a better pick today than Colon. Dickey is a lot more risky, but he has been striking out more batters over the last 3 games, he has also had a lot more success away from the Rogers Centre. I think he has a good game. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
OAK – Dickey has managed to stymie the A’s bats in the past and I think he does so again today. He could always get rocked though so it’s not the worst idea to take one or two of them. Yoenis Cespedes and Jed Lowrie have both been swinging a hot bat.
TOR – Colon has been giving up quite a few hits lately, so I would target the guys that Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera that can get on base and then hope that the guys behind them can knock them in.
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Cincinnati vs. San Diego
| 3:40 PM | Cincinnati – ROAD | San Diego – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.251 | 0.721 | 20.10% | 0.58 | 0.246 | 0.691 | 20.60% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.251 | 0.727 | 19.90% | 0.45 | 0.243 | 0.678 | 20.60% | 0.39 | |
| SP STATS | Bailey – RHP | Stults – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.16 | 3.77 | 9.13 | 11.29 | 1.20 | 3.65 | 5.61 | 9.09 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.22 | 3.38 | 11.68 | 12.55 | 1.91 | 6.55 | 5.73 | 5.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| CIN vs L | CIN BvP | SDP vs R | SDP BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.0
- Favored Team – CIN -129
Pitcher Grind Down
SD – There are a few things lining up for Eric Stults today. First off, the Reds as a team are only batting .248 against lefties and three of their best hitters are all left handed. He is also pitching at home where he has been good all season long with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.88. Dollar for dollar, I think he is the better play out of these two pitchers. Rating = 6
CIN – Homer Bailey has given up an average of 8.5 hits per game over his last 4 starts. That’s a bit worrisome, but he has been able to stay out of trouble for the most part. He has had his struggles on the road with a 4.52 ERA, but he gets to pitch in the very pitcher friendly Petco Park today. I think he is a bit overpriced, but he’s in play thanks to where he is pitching. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
SD – The Padres have actually had some good success against Bailey, but with a full slate of games, there are probably some better options out there. Everth Cabrera could be a good sleeper because he steals bases almost every time he gets on base.
CIN – Lefties are only hitting for a .191 average against Stults so you might want to avoid Choo and Bruce. Votto is another story though, he is good against lefties and righties.
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Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland
| 7:05 PM | Chicago White Sox – ROAD | Cleveland – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.248 | 0.687 | 20.30% | 0.52 | 0.258 | 0.744 | 21.50% | 0.66 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.697 | 20.00% | 0.41 | 0.265 | 0.763 | 20.00% | 0.51 | |
| SP STATS | Quintana – LHP | Kluber – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.21 | 3.55 | 7.06 | 9.30 | 1.24 | 3.74 | 8.83 | 10.21 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.56 | 2.13 | 6.64 | 11.10 | 1.18 | 2.45 | 8.18 | 9.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| CHW vs R | CHW BvP | CLE vs L | CLE BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.0
- Favored Team – CLE – 150
Pitcher Grind Down
CLE – Corey Kluber isn’t a household name but he has been very good at home this season with a 2.77 ERA and a K rate over 9 strikeouts per 9 innings. He has a really good matchup against the White Sox who are not one of the better offenses. He likely won’t be highly owned so he could be a great play, especially in GPP’s. Rating = 7
CWS – Dylan Axelrod gets the start for the White Sox tonight. He doesn’t get many K’s and he is a big underdog in this one. He is as cheap as he is for a reason. Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
CLE – The Indians have been in a good spot two nights in a row and have let me down. Tonight they are in an even better spot and I think they break out and put up a monster game. Axelrod is giving up an OPS of .851 to batters this season and has been equally as bad against lefties and righties. All Indians are in play.
CWS – The White Sox are in a tough spot tonight. Kluber is really good at home and they have been struggling.
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San Francisco vs. Philadelphia
| 7:05 PM | San Francisco – ROAD | Philadelphia – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.261 | 0.705 | 17.30% | 0.52 | 0.254 | 0.716 | 19.80% | 0.53 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.262 | 0.700 | 16.90% | 0.40 | 0.258 | 0.703 | 19.50% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Gaudin – RHP | Kendrick – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.19 | 2.77 | 7.76 | 5.05 | 1.28 | 3.96 | 5.42 | 9.24 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.47 | 5.06 | 7.94 | 8.60 | 1.52 | 6.94 | 6.43 | 7.10 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| SFG vs R | SFG BvP | PHI vs R | PHI BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – PHI -120
Pitcher Grind Down
PHI – Kyle Kendrick hasn’t been pitching as well as he did early on in the season, but he has been pretty good at home and is a small favorite today against the Giants. At home this season he has a 3.98 ERA which isn’t terrible. I think he is playable if he is cheap enough. Rating = 5
SF – Chad Gaudin has really surprised some people with the way he has pitched this season. His last outing was more of what I expected out him where he gave up 6 runs. But he has a 2.77 ERA on the season with a K rate close to 8 per 9 innings. I think he is a much better option at home though. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
PHI – Vegas expects some runs to be scored in this one and I do too. Gaudin has been very good against righties only allowing them to hit for a .178 average, but he has struggled a bit against lefties allowing them to hit for a .270 average. Look at Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins as good plays.
SF – If Buster Posey is in the lineup, he is certainly in play today as this is a hitter friendly park. I also like Mr. Panda tonight.
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