MLB Grind Down: Friday, April 11th - Page 2
Houston at Texas
| Houston | Texas | ||||||||
| Scott Feldman | Vegas Moneyline | Yu Darvish | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TEX (-230) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.656 | 0.299 | 17.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.212 | 0.645 | 0.293 | 29.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.233 | 0.657 | 0.297 | 17.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.165 | 0.534 | 0.248 | 38.5% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP  | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Scott Feldman – Feldman is not a pitcher that boasts a high K-rate, but he has managed to quiet two very tough offenses in his first two starts of the season. Tonight he will have an even bigger test as he faces the Rangers in Arlington which is one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball. I don’t recommend him as a pitching option, but I do think he will pitch better than most and I will not be employing any Rangers stacks against him. Rating = 3
- Yu Darvish – If you are looking for a cash game pitcher that boasts a high K-rate and should be in line for the win, you can’t go wrong with Darvish tonight. Darvish posted a K/9 of 11.9 last season which led the majors. Darvish should have no problem racking up the strikeouts against this Astros team who already have the 2nd most K’s in baseball this season. Rating = 10
Batter Grind Down
Houston
- AVOID all Astros tonight against Darvish unless the site that you are playing on awards points for batters striking out.
- Additional Plays: None
Texas
- Prince Fielder – Fielder has not gotten off to the start that he was hoping for, but is still expected to post monster numbers this season, especially at home. Feldman isn’t great against LH batters and Fielder should see plenty of RBI opportunities. Now is the time to buy low on Fielder.
- Additional Plays: Alex Rios, Adrian Beltre
Kansas City at Minnesota
| Kansas City | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Bruce Chen | Vegas Moneyline | Kyle Gibson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | KCR (-125) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.261 | 0.749 | 0.330 | 13.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.341 | 0.854 | 0.387 | 9.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.224 | 0.626 | 0.284 | 16.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.307 | 0.848 | 0.379 | 16.8% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Bruce Chen – Chen posted a 3.54 ERA on the road last season, but faces a Twins offense that leaves much to be desired. The Twins have one of the weakest lineups in baseball. That said, I certainly won’t be using Chen as a starting pitcher in my cash games. He has limited upside in a game that features an 8.5 run total. Rating = 5
- Kyle Gibson – Gibson is a young RH pitcher that has never pitched more than 6 innings in any of his 11 career starts. Gibson faces a Royals lineup that strikes out the least amount of times in baseball. Basically, that means that he’s not going to pitch deep into the game and he is going to have a trouble racking up K’s. Not a great combination. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
- Eric Hosmer – Last season Gibson gave up a .387 wOBA to LH batters last season and Hosmer has nice power against RH pitching. He should be batting 3rd and makes a nice contrarian play at 1B.
- Additional Plays: Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez
Minnesota
- Chris Colabello – Colabello already has 11 RBI’s this season and is batting .455 against LH pitching thus far. He is still dirt cheap across the industry and may be the cheapest clean-up hitter in daily fantasy baseball.
- Additional Plays: Brian Dozier
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee
| Pittsburgh | Milwaukee | ||||||||
| Francisco Liriano | Vegas Moneyline | Wily Peralta | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | MIL (-115) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.131 | 0.320 | 0.151 | 26.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.745 | 0.336 | 16.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.249 | 0.688 | 0.310 | 23.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.269 | 0.673 | 0.312 | 15.6% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | Batter Splits | MIL BvP | MIL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Francisco Liriano – Liriano is always going to be in play thanks to his high K-rate. Last season he posted a K/9 of 9.1 last sesson. Liriano was very hittable away from PNC Park last season though as he had a 4.33 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. This Brewers offense are certainly no slouches at the plate and I think Liriano is better suited as a GPP play. Rating = 6
- Wily Peralta – Peralta had a strong second half of the season last year and picked up where he left off in his first start against the Red Sox in Fenway. Peralta has a decent K/9 of 6.3 and a decent matchup against the Pirates. Overall, Peralta is a decent pitching option tonight. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
- Pedro Alvarez – I’ll take a HR hitter in a HR friendly ballpark any day of the week. Peralta gave up a .336 wOBA to LH batters last season and Pedro is locked in right now with 5 HR’s in his last 3 games.
- Additional Plays: None
Milwaukee
- Ryan Braun – Braun has 6 hits and 3 HR’s in his last 3 games and has a nice matchup against the LH pitcher Liriano. Braun crushes LH pitching and Miller Park is a very HR friendly ballpark.
- Additional Plays: Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox
| Cleveland | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||
| Carlos Carrasco | Vegas Moneyline | Chris Sale | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CWS (-170) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.351 | 0.976 | 0.427 | 8.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.135 | 0.327 | 0.174 | 29.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.309 | 0.732 | 0.330 | 18.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.686 | 0.309 | 25.3% |
| Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs L | Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Carlos Carrasco – Carrasco is not a pitcher that you should target tonight. He has a high ERA, a low K-rate, and is pitching on the road where he posted a 2.07 WHIP last season. It also doesn’t help that Chris Sale is the opposing pitcher. Rating = 2
- Chris Sale – Sale is off to a terrific start this season with 14 K’s over 15 innings of work while only allowing 3 earned runs. Tonight he faces the Indians who have quite a few LH batters in their lineup. Sale held LH batters to a ridiculous .174 wOBA last season. Sale is one of the biggest favorites on tonight’s schedule and is as safe of a cash game play as you are going to find. Rating = 10
Batter Grind Down
Cleveland
- This one is pretty obvious, but you should avoid all batters against Sale tonight.
- Additional Plays: None
Chicago
- Jose Abreu – Abreu is making an early case for rookie of the year. He is batting .300 and has already hit 4 HR’s. I love his matchup against Carrasco who is one of the worst starting pitchers on the schedule tonight.
- Additional Plays: Adam Dunn, Adam Eaton
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis
| Chicago Cubs | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Jeff Samardzija | Vegas Moneyline | Joe Kelly | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-150) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.266 | 0.780 | 0.344 | 23.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.245 | 0.691 | 0.309 | 16.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.679 | 0.311 | 23.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.270 | 0.677 | 0.316 | 13.8% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeff Samardzija – Samardzija has really pitched well in his first two starts of the 2014 season. He draws a very tough matchup against the Cardinals though. Samardjiza is a +140 underdog and will have a hard time picking up a win. Samardzija has a nice K-rate of 9 per 9 IP, but that’s just not enough for me to target him tonight. Rating = 5
- Joe Kelly – Kelly’s pitching stats astound me. He continues to give up a ton of hits and walks, yet he has a knack for pitching out of trouble. He posted a 2.69 ERA last season, but had a WHIP of 1.33. In his first start of the season he gave up 6 hits and 4 walks, but only allowed one earned run. While I like the matchup against the Cubs, it’s only a matter of time before all of these hits given up comes back to haunt him. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Chicago
- There aren’t any hitters that really stand out here. Emilio Bonifacio is off to a very hot start though and does have the ability to steal bases. He could be a nice play on sites where his price has yet to come up.
- Additional Plays: Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro
St. Louis
- Matt Carpenter – Last season Samardzija gave up a .344 wOBA to LH batters and Carpenter has always hit RH pitching well. Carpenter hit for a .360 average at Busch Stadium last season and should reach base a couple of times tonight.
- Additional Plays: Matt Adams, Yadier Molina