MLB Grind Down: Friday, April 4th - Page 3
Cincinnati at NY Mets
| Cincinnati | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Mike Leake | Vegas Moneyline | Jenrry Mejia | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-129) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.263 | 0.710 | 0.316 | 13.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.261 | 0.683 | 0.300 | 16.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.706 | 0.320 | 16.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.276 | 0.609 | 0.263 | 29.7% |
| Batter Splits | CIN BvP  | CIN vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Mike Leake – Leake doesn’t seem to be getting very much love from the fantasy experts around the industry, but he is certainly on my radar tonight. Leake is coming off of a very solid season and he really pitched well away from Great American Ballpark. In 16 road starts, he posted a 2.81 ERA. His K-rate is fairly average at 5.7/9 IP, but he threw a shutout against this Mets lineup in Citi Field last season. I think he makes a solid cash game play. Rating = 7
- Jennry Mejia – Mejia made 5 starts for the Mets last season and he really made the most of them. He posted a 2.30 ERA while striking out 27 batters in 27 innings of work. Mejia beat out Dice-K for the 5th spot in the rotation and makes a decent tournament play tonight as Citi Field is one of the more pitcher friendly ballparks in baseball. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
- I’m not crazy about any of the Reds’ bats today. Citi Field surrendered the 2nd fewest runs in baseball last season and the total for this game is only set at 7.5 runs. Joey Votto and Jay Bruce have the splits in their favor, but they are GPP options at best.
- Additional Plays: None
New York
- Leake gave up a .316 wOBA to LH bats and a .320 wOBA to RH bats last season. While neither are great, this Mets offense is slumping and I would rather be on the Leake side of this matchup.
- Additional Plays: None
Texas at Tampa Bay
| Texas | Tampa Bay | ||||||||
| Joe Saunders | Vegas Moneyline | Jake Odorizzi | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | TBR (-134) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.214 | 0.563 | 0.252 | 22.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.293 | 0.816 | 0.369 | 13.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.337 | 0.944 | 0.415 | 10.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.208 | 0.627 | 0.273 | 23.2% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Joe Saunders – Saunders is a very popular target to stack against and for good reason. Last season, he posted a 5.11 ERA while giving up a .311 batting average to opponents. Saunders is one of the cheapest pitching options available today, but should be avoided in all leagues. The Rays hit LH pitching well and Saunders has a low K%. Rating = 2
- Jake Odorizzi – Odorizzi has looked good in Spring ball and was rewarded with the 5th spot in the rotation. Over 4 starts last season, he posted a 3.94 ERA with 22 K’s over 29 innings of work. He is a decent favorite tonight, but has to face the buzz saw that is the Rangers’ lineup. I will have very little exposure to him tonight.
Batter Grind Down
Texas
- Prince Fielder – Odorizzi gave up a .369 wOBA to LH batters last season and Fielder makes a solid play tonight. He is off to a slow start, but his price has come down on a few sites and he has hit RH pitching well throughout his career.
- Additional Plays: Shin-Soo Choo
Tampa Bay
- Evan Longoria – Longoria homered last night for the Rays and draws another nice matchup tonight against Saunders who gave up a .415 wOBA to RH batters last season. I definitely don’t mind a mini RH bat stack from the Rays tonight.
- Additional Plays: Wil Myers (if healthy), Ben Zobrist, Desmond Jennings
San Diego at Miami
| San Diego | Miami | ||||||||
| Eric Stults | Vegas Moneyline | Tom Koehler | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SDP (-105) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.185 | 0.543 | 0.244 | 18.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.703 | 0.316 | 14.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.301 | 0.776 | 0.341 | 14.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.283 | 0.780 | 0.350 | 15.9% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Eric Stults – I didn’t think I’d be saying this a few days ago, but the Marlins offense is on fire right now. Stults has a tough matchup against the fish who really hit LH pitching well. Stults was solid at Petco Park last season, but really struggled on the road with a 4.77 ERA while allowing opponents to hit for a .311 batting average. Rating = 3
- Tom Koehler – Koehler posted a 4.47 ERA in 23 starts last season. He had a K-rate of 5.8/9 IP. While I’m not crazy about the Padres offense this season, Koehler just doesn’t provide much upside. This game is basically a pick ‘em game and neither pitcher should be heavily targeted tonight.
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
- Jedd Gyorko – Gyorko is off to a slow start, but he has a nice matchup against Koehler who gave up a .350 wOBA to RH batters last season. Gyorko has a lot of power and makes for a nice tournament play tonight.
- Additional Plays: Everth Cabrera
Miami
- Giancarlo Stanton – The Stanton bandwagon is packed right now. He has gotten off to a red hot start and draws another favorable matchup against an average LH pitcher in Stults. Stanton has an OPS over 1.00 against LH pitching over the last few seasons and makes a great play again tonight.
- Casey McGehee – McGehee is also off to a fast start. He is 6/13 with 8 RBI’s and has been batting clean-up for the Marlins. His price is still cheap across the industry and he makes a great punt option at 3B.
- Additional Plays: Jeff Baker
LA Angels at Houston
| LA Angels | Houston | ||||||||
| Garrett Richards | Vegas Moneyline | Lucas Harrell | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-134) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.281 | 0.747 | 0.337 | 16.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.768 | 0.347 | 12.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.617 | 0.279 | 16.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.329 | 0.888 | 0.400 | 12.8% |
| Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Garrett Richards – Richards will draw the start tonight for the Angels. Last season he posted a 4.16 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP. His K-rate is pretty average at 6.3/9 IP. Richards is your average big league starter with a decent matchup against the Astros. He has limited upside and makes a decent play if you want to punt one of your pitchers. Rating = 5
- Lucas Harrell – Harrell had a season to forget last year with a 5.86 ERA and an insanely high WHIP of 1.71. Harrell sort of won the 5th spot in rotation by default. The Astros had to pick someone. Harrell looks like he may pick up right where he left off as he had a rough Spring and faces a stacked Angels lineup. There is little to no fantasy value here. Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
Los Angeles
- Mike Trout – Trout is in play every night that he has an average matchup. Tonight he has a great matchup. These look like video game numbers, but Harrell gave up a .888 wOBA to RH batters last season. Trout has both speed and power and is the top OF on the board today.
- Josh Hamilton – Hamilton is hoping to have a bounce back season and Harrell may give him a nice confidence boost tonight. Hamilton crushes RH pitching and could easily drive one out of the ballpark tonight.
- Additional Plays: Kole Calhoun, Albert Pujols
Houston
- Dexter Fowler – Fowler continues his hot start as he is 6/12 with a HR and 5 runs scored. He is still close to minimum salary on most sites across the industry and makes a decent play against Richards.
- Additional Plays: Jason Castro
Seattle at Oakland
| Seattle | Oakland | ||||||||
| Chris Young | Vegas Moneyline | Dan Straily | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | OAK (-128) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | SP vs. Left | 0.244 | 0.707 | 0.316 | 17.5% | ||||
| SP vs. Right | SP vs. Right | 0.221 | 0.595 | 0.279 | 21.5% | ||||
| Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs R | Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Chris Young – Young did not pitch in the majors last season, but started 20 games in 2012 and posted a 4.15 ERA. He is a very tall pitcher at 6’10” which can create some unique angles, but he’s still a 34 year old pitcher that is barely clinging onto a spot in the rotation. The A’s are a very good hitting team at home and this is an easy avoid tonight. Rating = 3
- Dan Straily – Straily has one of the highest K-rates of the available pitchers in the evening leagues which does make him an attractive option. Last season he posted an ERA under 4 and a K-rate of 7.3/9 IP. Straily also posted a 1.15 WHIP at home which bodes well for tonight. He’s an above average play on a night without many pitching options. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
Seattle
- Robinson Cano – Cano is always in play against RH pitching. He is off to a nice start this season and makes a great play if you want to pay up for a superstar at 2B. Straily was considerably worse against LH batters than RH batters last season.
- Additional Plays: Brad Miller
Oakland
- Brandon Moss – Moss should be in the lineup tonight against the RH Young. Moss crushes RH pitching and Young has given up a .750 OPS to LH batters over the previous 3 seasons.
- Additional Plays: Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie