MLB Daily Grind Down: Wednesday, July 3rd
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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Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh
| 7:05 PM | Philadelphia – ROAD | Pittsburgh – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.255 | 0.716 | 19.60% | 0.56 | 0.242 | 0.703 | 22.50% | 0.55 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.259 | 0.716 | 18.90% | 0.43 | 0.231 | 0.683 | 23.40% | 0.44 | |
| SP STATS | Lannan – LHP | Gomez – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.35 | 4.83 | 4.62 | 5.70 | 1.14 | 2.76 | 5.14 | 5.38 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.41 | 3.71 | 4.76 | 7.67 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
PHI vs R  | PHI BvP | PIT vs L | PIT BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – PIT -155
Pitcher Grind Down
PIT – Jeff Locke has his start pushed back to today so I feel like I will just be repeating my analysis from yesterday. Locke has been solid this season with a 2.06 ERA and a 1.116 WHIP. He has a good matchup against the Phillies whose best bats are all left handed in Brown, Utley, and Howard. He still makes me a bit nervous, but he gets my nod today. Target
PHI – John Lannan is a below average pitcher with a below average K rate. At this point, I don’t really think he is a great fantasy option and the Pirates hit lefties well. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
PIT – Andrew McCutchen has been on a roll lately and even though his price is steadily rising, I think he will be worth it tonight. Cutch is batting .315 against lefties this season with 10 XBH’s. Marte, Sanchez, and Martin all hit lefties well too and are also in play.
PHI – The Phillies are only batting .242 against lefties this season and Locke has been solid in almost every start. I’m avoiding the Phils tonight.
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Detroit vs. Toronto
| 7:07 PM | Detroit – ROAD | Toronto – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.281 | 0.779 | 16.50% | 0.64 | 0.250 | 0.731 | 19.10% | 0.62 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.280 | 0.771 | 16.20% | 0.51 | 0.250 | 0.751 | 19.50% | 0.52 | |
| SP STATS | Scherzer – RHP | Johnson – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 0.90 | 3.10 | 10.71 | 15.69 | 1.60 | 5.21 | 9.17 | 8.12 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.00 | 2.70 | 11.25 | 17.00 | 1.54 | 4.86 | 11.11 | 10.40 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| DET vs R | DET BvP | TOR vs R | TOR BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – DET -122
Pitcher Grind Down
TOR – Josh Johnson has been very up and down this season. He will have his moments where he looks like the pitcher that he was a couple of years ago and then he will have his moments where he looks awful. His one start against Detroit earlier in the year yielded an ERA of 40 that game. I think he obviously pitches better than the first game, but the Tigers aren’t a great team to take a pitcher against. Avoid
DET – Max Scherzer has been arguably one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season. He owns a 3.10 ERA, a 0.899 WHIP, and a K rate of almost 11 per 9 innings. He always has high upside regardless of his matchup thanks to his strike outs. I think he is a bit overpriced, but worth a shot in a GPP. In Play
Batter Grind Down
TOR – Jose Bautista has had some success against Scherzer in the past going 6/11 with a HR and 3 doubles. He is about the only Jays bat I would take a shot on tonight.
DET – Johnson got lit up by the Tigers earlier this season and Toronto has a hitter’s park. I wouldn’t pay for Miggy if his price is outrageous, but if you can afford him he is always a threat for a huge game. Prince Fielder is running cold, I would stay away from him.
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Baltimore vs. Chicago White Sox
| 7:10 PM | Baltimore – ROAD | Chicago White Sox – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.272 | 0.775 | 17.80% | 0.66 | 0.245 | 0.679 | 20.60% | 0.53 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.252 | 0.724 | 18.50% | 0.46 | 0.250 | 0.689 | 20.40% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Feldman – RHP | Santiago – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.14 | 3.46 | 6.63 | 10.07 | 1.35 | 3.59 | 9.38 | 6.11 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.44 | 6.35 | 5.68 | 7.05 | 1.51 | 5.17 | 10.66 | 9.40 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BAL vs L | BAL BvP | CHW vs R | CHW BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.0
- Favored Team – BAL -135
Pitcher Grind Down
CWS – Big ups to bigwilliestyle for calling out John Danks last night. Danks came through with a very solid game and picked up the win against this tough Orioles team. That said, I don’t think Hector Santiago is going to have the same success that Danks did last night. High over/under and he is an underdog. Avoid
BAL – The Orioles traded for Scott Feldman and he will be making his first start for them tonight. He has had a pretty good season, but I think he will struggle more now that he is in the AL. His struggles this season have been on the road and I just can’t trust him tonight. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
CWS – I think the White Sox are in a good spot tonight against Feldman. He is making his first start as an Oriole and he has to be a bit dazed after the trade. Look for the left hand bats of Alejandro De Aza and Adam Dunn to have good games.
BAL – Santiago is really a relief pitcher and I don’t trust relief pitchers when they make starts. Like I said yesterday, Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy both hit lefties well. It didn’t pan out yesterday, but today is a new day. Target them again.
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Miami vs. Atlanta
| 7:10 PM | Miami – ROAD | Atlanta – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.233 | 0.625 | 18.80% | 0.43 | 0.245 | 0.728 | 23.40% | 0.59 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.223 | 0.633 | 21.30% | 0.34 | 0.249 | 0.740 | 23.60% | 0.49 | |
| SP STATS | Nolasco – RHP | Minor – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.25 | 3.93 | 7.11 | 9.30 | 1.06 | 2.98 | 8.37 | 12.20 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.51 | 4.58 | 5.76 | 7.73 | 1.67 | 5.25 | 7.50 | 7.50 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| MIA vs L | MIA BvP | ATL vs R | ATL BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – ATL -210
Pitcher Grind Down
ATL – Kris Medlen was such a disappointment last night, he doesn’t get a single strike out, come on Medlen. Let’s hope that Mike Minor can have more success than Medlen did. Atlanta is a huge favorite once again and Minor has been solid at home with a 3.33 ERA and a 0.920 WHIP. I think it’s a big night for the Braves. Target
MIA – Ricky Nolasco has the impression of being a bad pitcher, but I think he is fairly underrated. He has had two bad starts in a row, but his ERA is still only at 3.93. If I had more confidence in his offense, I would recommend him as a sneaky play, but the Braves lineup looks tough right now and you can’t really count on the Marlins scoring runs. Avoid
Batter Grind Down
ATL – BvP play of the day is Brian McCann. He is 19/55 with 7 HR’s against Nolasco. Not only that, but McCann has been red hot lately. I also think that Jason Heyward is in play, especially on FD where he is under $3000, at least he was last night.
MIA – Giancarlo Stanton is the only Marlins player worth taking a look at today. We all know how much power he hits with when he faces lefties.
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