MLB Daily Grind Down: Wednesday, September 18th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-09-18 16:31:13

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

Minnesota vs. Chicago White Sox

2:10 PM	Minnesota – ROAD					Chicago White Sox – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.241	0.698	22.20%	0.54		0.251	0.683	19.30%	0.51
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.253	0.706	22.80%	0.42		0.243	0.659	19.70%	0.38
SP STATS	Diamond – LHP					Danks – LHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.56	5.61	3.69	5.15		1.30	4.73	5.97	7.86
LAST 14 DAYS	1.91	7.71	2.14	1.20		2.20	9.64	4.95	2.05
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	MIN vs L		MIN BvP			CHW vs L		CHW BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Scott Diamond – Diamond has an ERA of 5.61 on the season and has only made it further than 5 innings pitched in 1 of his last 5 starts. He’s facing an average White Sox offense, but I have a feeling he is going to make them look like a very good offense. Starter Rating = 2

• John Danks – Danks is about the most inconsistent pitcher that you are going to find. He is just as likely to throw 8 shutout innings as he is to give up 6 runs. I think he has decent value on multiple pitcher sites thanks to his cheap price and his matchup against the Twins. Starter Rating = 5

Batter Grind Down

MIN – Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe are two guys that both hit over .300 against lefties. I said earlier that Danks is a very good candidate to blow up and give up 5-6 runs. If you want to take hitters from the early game, they are both good plays.

CHI – The White Sox look like a great team to either stack or mini-stack today. Diamond has not pitched well and the White Sox have a few players that really hit lefties well. Alexei Ramirez, Paul Konerko, and Dayan Viciedo should all be targeted.

LA Angels vs. Oakland

3:37 PM	LA Angels – ROAD					Oakland – HOME
TEAM BATTING	AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB		AVG	OPS	K%	FPAB
SEASON	0.263	0.743	18.90%	0.61		0.244	0.718	19.40%	0.59
VS. LEFT/RIGHT	0.270	0.753	19.10%	0.48		0.257	0.759	19.00%	0.51
SP STATS	Vargas – LHP					Griffin – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.44	4.20	6.67	9.30		1.14	3.81	7.52	10.77
LAST 14 DAYS	1.99	9.42	9.57	4.70		0.85	2.70	10.80	16.67
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	LAA vs R		LAA BvP			OAK vs L		OAK BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jason Vargas – Vargas hasn’t pitched very well away from him and his one start against the A’s earlier in the year didn’t go that well. He gave up 10 hits and 4 earned runs over 5 innings pitched. This A’s team is scrappy and I don’t like taking pitchers against them. Starter Rating = 4

• A.J. Griffin – Griffin has pitched well at home where he has a 3.57 ERA on the season. He has also had 3 straight starts where he has pitched at least 6 innings and struck out at least 7 batters. He’s a decent favorite against the Angels and should pitch well if he can pitch around Mike Trout.

Batter Grind Down

LAA – Mike Trout continues to rack up the fantasy points night in and night out. He’s homered in both games in this series and is matchup-proof at this point. The rest of the team I don’t like the matchup for though.

OAK – Josh Donaldson, Yoenis Cespedes, and Jed Lowrie all hit lefties well and are in play today against Vargas who struggles on the road.

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	Iwakuma – RHP					Verlander – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.03	2.87	7.53	11.49		1.34	3.66	8.54	11.58
LAST 14 DAYS	1.15	1.37	6.09	9.73		1.19	3.05	8.91	12.40
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SEA vs R		SEA BvP			DET vs R		DET BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Hisashi Iwakuma – Iwakuma is a great pitcher, but he has looked hittable lately. He’s given up 3 earned runs in 3 of his last 5 starts and has to travel to Detroit to face the Tigers tonight. This is an easy one to avoid, that Tigers offense is just too risky to take a pitcher against. Starter Rating = 4

• Justin Verlander – Verlander has always pitched well at home and if he can find some of the success that his teammate pitchers have had against these Mariners, he should be in for a big night. The one stat that really jumps out to me in this matchup is that Verlander is holding lefties to a .240 batting average which should help with his matchup tonight. Starter Rating = 8

Batter Grind Down

SEA – The Mariners bats have gone cold. They are only batting .196 over their last 6 games. Now is a perfect time to take a pitcher against them.

DET – I had a feeling Miguel Cabrera was going to end his homer-less streak last night. The matchup was just too good. However, tonight’s matchup is a lot tougher and I’m not sure he will be worth his price tag. I think the Tigers will score a few runs, but for the most part they are overpriced for their matchup.

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	0.242	0.671	20.90%	0.38		0.242	0.700	21.80%	0.42
SP STATS	Ross – RHP					Morton – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.22	3.29	8.57	5.53		1.35	3.54	6.36	9.07
LAST 14 DAYS	1.48	4.97	12.54	7.40		1.74	5.93	7.50	6.40
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	SDP vs R		SDP BvP			PIT vs R		PIT BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tyson Ross – Ross has been really good in Petco and pretty average when he pitches away from Petco. He is coming off of his worst game of the season in which he gave up 6 earned runs in only two-thirds of an inning. I think he will pitch better than he did in his last start, but I’m not buying him as a top pitching play. Starter Rating = 5

• Charlie Morton – Morton has really struggled against left hand bats this season. He is giving up a .327 batting average to lefties. He’s pitched well at home this season though and luckily for him, the Padres only have a few left hand bats to throw at him. I think he pitches well enough to give his team a chance to win. Starter Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

SD – With Morton giving up that .327 batting average to lefties, I really like Will Venable today. He should be leading off and can get you those extra points by stealing bases. Chase Headley and Yonder Alonso are also in play if they are in the lineup.

PIT – Andrew McCutchen continues to be hot, but Ross is holding right hand hitters to a .215 batting average. If you are going to play any Pirates, I would take either one of these two left hand bats: Justin Morneau or Pedro Alvarez.

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		0.234	0.669	20.50%	0.40
SP STATS	Wood – LHP					Ohlendorf – RHP
	WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG		WHIP	ERA	K/9	FPPG
SEASON	1.31	3.45	9.24	5.08		1.22	3.15	6.49	6.01
LAST 14 DAYS	3.14	14.14	7.71	1.00		1.73	5.73	4.09	4.33
BATTER SPLITS	Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window
	ATL vs R		ATL BvP			WSN vs L		WSN BvP

Pitcher Grind Down

• Alex Wood – Wood’s price tag has been a roller coaster so far in his young career. He started off cheap, quickly rose up to almost an ace price tag, and now has fallen all the way back down to dirt cheap again. I love the price for him today, but I don’t love the matchup. The Nationals are red hot batting over .300 as a team over the last 7 games. Starter Rating = 5

• Ross Ohlendorf – Ohlendorf has very limited upside. He usually doesn’t pitch more than 5 innings and he doesn’t strike out very many batters. I like to take pitchers that can score more fantasy points than that. Starter Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

ATL – Ohlendorf is giving up a .297 batting average to left hand bats so the hitters to target here are Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman.

WAS – When the Nats face a lefty, there are three names that come to mind. Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, and Jayson Werth all hit lefties well. However, all of their prices have risen thanks to this hot streak they have been on so I’m not sure that they are all playable.

Grind Down: Page 1 – Page 2