MLB Grind Down: Friday, August 15th Page Three
Kansas City at Minnesota
| Kansas City | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Danny Duffy | Vegas Moneyline | Ricky Nolasco | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | KCR (-141) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.145 | 0.393 | 0.184 | 19.80% | SP vs. Left | 0.346 | 0.954 | 0.414 | 12.70% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.214 | 0.650 | 0.292 | 19.70% | SP vs. Right | 0.304 | 0.855 | 0.368 | 18.80% |
| 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
- Danny Duffy – Duffy continues to pitch much better than his peripheral stats would suggest. Despite an xFIP of 4.27, Duffy has a 2.57 ERA this season with a K/9 of 7.0. He has held RH hitters in check and is holding lefties to an incredibly low .136 batting average. Tonight he faces a Twins offense that 1. is ranked 23rd against LH pitching and 2. no longer has Josh Willingham. I still think there are safer options at his price point, but he’s certainly in play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7100 FD, $11850 DD, $7400 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $11850 FTD
- Ricky Nolasco – Nolasco will come off of the DL to make the start tonight against the Royals. He hasn’t pitched since July 4th and will likely be either rusty, on a pitch count, or both. Even if he wasn’t on a pitch count, he has been awful this season with a 5.90 ERA which is almost as high as his K/9. Avoid him tonight against the Royals who are the 9th best offense over the last 30 days. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5000 FD, $8950 DD, $5900 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $8950 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Alex Gordon – Nolasco has really given it up to LH hitters this season. He has given up a .413 wOBA to batters from the left side of the plate. Gordon doesn’t have a ton of HR-power, but makes a nice cash game play tonight.
Additional Plays: Norichika Aoki, Salvador Perez, Billy Butler
Minnesota
Danny Santana – The speedy youngster is having a terrific season, especially against southpaws. He’s batting .346 with a .390 wOBA against lefties. He also has stolen base potential which never hurts a player’s fantasy value.
Additional Plays: None
San Diego at St. Louis
| San Diego | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Tyson Ross | Vegas Moneyline | Lance Lynn | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-140) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.211 | 0.600 | 0.274 | 24.20% | SP vs. Left | 0.227 | 0.666 | 0.303 | 18.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.233 | 0.645 | 0.289 | 25.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.238 | 0.645 | 0.287 | 23.90% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Tyson Ross – Ross is an artist when it comes to striking batters out. He is averaging 9 K’s per 9 innings and is generating one of the highest swinging strike rates in baseball at 12.4%. He obviously has better numbers at home in Petco, but he’s been pretty solid on the road with a 3.48 ERA. Tonight he faces a Cardinals offense that is the definition of average. Lynn likely has a better chance of picking up the win, but Ross has better strikeout potential. Rating = 7
Salaries: $8500 FD, $18100 DD, $9600 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $18100 FTD
- Lance Lynn – After 4 months of historically bad offense, the Padres appear to have found a magic potion. Over the last 30 days, they are the best offense in all of baseball. That said, they are still ranked near the bottom of almost every offensive category. Lynn has been terrific since the start of July. He has an ERA just north of 2.00 over that stretch with 42 K’s over 44 innings of work. His price has come up a bit, but he’s still one of the top options on the schedule tonight. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $8300 FD, $17200 DD, $8900 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $17200 FTD
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
With a full slate of games and plenty of other options, I’ll be avoiding all Padres hitters against Lynn.
St. Louis
The same goes for the Cardinals. I’ll be avoiding them against Ross as I’m expecting a pitcher’s duel in this one.
Cincinnati at Colorado
| Cincinnati | Colorado | ||||||||
| Johnny Cueto | Vegas Moneyline | Franklin Morales | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-145) | LEFT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.189 | 0.531 | 0.244 | 25.10% | SP vs. Left | 0.224 | 0.691 | 0.308 | 13.20% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.172 | 0.539 | 0.243 | 26.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.305 | 0.928 | 0.403 | 16.10% |
| Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs L | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Johnny Cueto – As I’m sure most of you know, I do not target pitchers in Coors Field unless that pitcher is Clayton Kershaw. I always stick to this rule of thumb and will be doing so again tonight even with Cueto on the mound. The total is set at 9.0 runs and you are going to have to pay up for Cueto. I’ll pass. Rating = 6
Salaries: $10600 FD, $19700 DD, $9900 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $19700 FTD
- Franklin Morales – I’ll keep this one short. Morales is a subpar lefty pitching in Coors Field which is the best hitter’s park in baseball. Avoid! Rating = 2
Salaries: $5200 FD, $9900 DD, $6200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
Devin Mesoraco / Todd Frazier – I couldn’t decide which player to highlight so why not include both? Morales has given up a .400 wOBA to RH hitters this season and both of these guys crush LH pitching. Get them both in as many lineups as you can.
Additional Plays: Any other RH hitter that is in the Reds lineup tonight.
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – The name Johnny Cueto is going to scare almost everyone off of the Rockies tonight and rightly so with the way that he has pitched this season. That said, this is still Coors Field and the Rockies will likely do what they do best at home which is scoring runs. Dickerson has mashed RH pitching all season long.
Additional Plays: Charlie Blackmon
Milwaukee at LA Dodgers
| Milwaukee | LA Dodgers | ||||||||
| Jimmy Nelson | Vegas Moneyline | Zack Greinke | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-168) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.234 | 0.748 | 0.332 | 22.50% | SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.666 | 0.294 | 23.50% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.654 | 0.301 | 18.00% | SP vs. Right | 0.234 | 0.655 | 0.288 | 29.20% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP | MIL vs R | Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jimmy Nelson – Nelson is one of the Brewers top pitching prospects and he’s looked pretty good through his first 6 major league starts. He has a 4.00 ERA with a K/9 of 7.5. He’s not a recommended option tonight though. The Dodgers are ranked 6th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season and he’ll likely see little run support with Greinke on the mound for the Dodgers. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5600 FD, $11150 DD, $6800 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $11150 FTD
- Zack Greinke – The list of viable options on the mound just keeps getting longer. Greinke has been extremely consistent all season long and is often an afterthought on the Dodgers with Kershaw in the rotation. Greinke owns a 2.84 ERA (2.58 xFIP) with a K/9 of 9.7. He has always pitched well in Dodgers Stadium and will have the platoon advantage over a Brewers offense that consists mainly of RH hitters. Greinke has held righties to a .241 batting average this season. Expect 7+ innings, 7+ strikeouts, and a win from Greinke tonight. Rating = 9
Salaries: $9700 FD, $19250 DD, $10600 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $19250 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee
Avoid all Brewers against Greinke. He has held both LH and RH hitters under a .300 wOBA this season.
LA Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez – Gonzalez has been swinging a hot bat. He has 15 hits and 11 RBI’s over his last 10 games. He’s always hit RH pitching well and gets to face a rookie righty in Jimmy Nelson.
Additional Plays: Dee Gordon, Yasiel Puig
Philadelphia at San Francisco
| Philadelphia | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Cole Hamels | Vegas Moneyline | Madison Bumgarner | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SFG (-141) | LEFT | 6.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.212 | 0.598 | 0.274 | 23.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.598 | 0.262 | 32.10% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.222 | 0.624 | 0.277 | 25.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.685 | 0.303 | 22.00% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs L | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Cole Hamels – Surprise, surprise, we have two more aces on the mound tonight. Hamels will likely be the lowest owned of the big names tonight because he is pitching on the road and he’s an underdog. That said, he could make a terrific contrarian play. The Giants are ranked 23rd in wOBA vs. RH pitching and this game will be played in the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park. Rating = 7
Salaries: $9700 FD, $20950 DD, $11100 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $20950 FTD
- Madison Bumgarner – In his last 2 starts, Bumgarner has pitched 17 innings, struck out 15 batters, and has only given up 3 earned runs. He owns a 3.22 ERA this season with a K/9 of 8.8. He has a terrific matchup against the Phillies who are ranked 21st in wOBA vs. LH pitching. One very surprising stat with Bumgarner is that he has struggled mightily at home this season. He has a 5.60 ERA while giving up a .300 batting average to opponents in his home starts. I like to think that it’s more of an aberration than anything else, but it’s worth noting. Rating = 8.5
Salaries: $9200 FD, $19400 DD, $9700 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $19400 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia / San Francisco
With Hamels and Bumgarner on the mound, you can safely avoid all hitters in this game.