MLB First Look: Friday, September 1st (Early)

The MLB First Look, complete with sortable odds, a pitcher breakdown, and team offense rankings, will help you get an early start on the upcoming slate.

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MLB Schedule & Vegas Lines

Away Pitcher Home Pitcher Vegas Line Run Total Ballpark LHB Rating RHB Rating Time (ET)
Cleveland Indians Carlos Carrasco – R at Detroit Tigers Matt Boyd – L CLE-220 9.0 Comerica Park 93 91 1:10 PM
Atlanta Braves Mike Foltynewicz – R at Chicago Cubs John Lackey – R CHC-200 8.0 Wrigley Field 79 88 2:20 PM

Starting Pitchers

Pitcher Team Matchup Opp. K% Line FD DK FDRFT SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% HC% HR/FB Time (ET)
Carlos Carrasco CLE at DET 22.2% -220 $9,500 $12,200 N/A 3.48 3.78 27.6% 6.3% 13.2% 44.4% 31.0% 13.7% 1:10 PM
John Lackey CHC ATL 19.4% -200 $7,400 $9,200 N/A 4.44 4.98 20.4% 7.3% 10.3% 42.1% 34.0% 19.6% 2:20 PM
Mike Foltynewicz ATL at CHC 22.3% 200 $6,700 $6,200 N/A 4.56 4.84 20.9% 8.7% 9.0% 38.8% 28.4% 12.3% 2:20 PM
Matt Boyd DET CLE 17.7% 220 $5,500 $5,700 N/A 5.05 6.13 17.6% 9.3% 9.7% 38.5% 36.7% 11.2% 1:10 PM

Note: All statistics in the pitching table are from the 2017 season.

Offenses

Offense IRT RPG +/- Opp. Pitcher L/R P vs. LHB P vs. RHB T-wOBA T-ISO Time (ET)
Cleveland Indians 5.19 4.91 0.28 Matt Boyd LEFT 0.308 0.361 0.326 0.159 1:10 PM
Chicago Cubs 4.58 4.98 -0.40 Mike Foltynewicz RIGHT 0.355 0.322 0.327 0.192 2:20 PM
Detroit Tigers 3.81 4.77 -0.96 Carlos Carrasco RIGHT 0.324 0.284 0.314 0.154 1:10 PM
Atlanta Braves 3.42 4.57 -1.15 John Lackey RIGHT 0.339 0.286 0.312 0.151 2:20 PM

Note: All statistics in the team offense table are from the 2017, season with the exception of the pitcher splits by handedness. They are from the last two seasons combined.

First Look Legend

Term Description
LHB Rating The ballpark rating for left-handed hitters
RHB Rating The ballpark rating for left-handed hitters
Opp. K% Strikeout rate of the opposing offense against the handedness of the pitcher
SIERA Skill-Interactive Earned Run Average – A good predictor of future ERA
ERA Earned Run Average
K% Percentage of batters a pitcher strikes out
BB% Percentage of batters that a pitcher walks
SS% Swinging Strike Percentage
GB% Ground Ball Percentage
HC% Hard Contact Percentage
HR/FB Percentage of fly balls a pitcher gives up a home run
IRT Implied run total based on the Vegas line and over/under
RPG Average runs scored per game
+/- The difference between a team’s implied run total and their average runs scored per game
P vs. LHB The wOBA a pitcher allows to left-handed hitters
P vs. RHB The wOBA a pitcher allows to right-handed hitters
T-wOBA A team’s wOBA vs. the handedness of the pitcher they are facing
T-ISO A team’s ISO vs. the handedness of the pitcher they are facing

About the Author

Notorious
Derek Farnsworth (Notorious)

Derek Farnsworth (aka Notorious) is a lead RotoGrinders Expert and one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of DFS. Before joining the RotoGrinders team, Derek received a Master’s Degree from the University of Utah. When he’s not busy providing content, he’s dominating the DFS industry as evidenced by his consistent top rankings in several sports and multiple Live Final appearances. Noto provides expert NBA, NFL, MLB, and PGA analysis for RotoGrinders Premium members on a daily basis and has also been nominated for five different Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA) awards. Follow Noto on X – @RG_Notorious