MLB Grind Down: Friday, June 13th
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
Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia
| Chicago Cubs | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Jake Arrieta | Vegas Moneyline | Roberto Hernandez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PHI (-117) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.223 | 0.665 | 0.304 | 18.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.285 | 0.843 | 0.380 | 14.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.250 | 0.696 | 0.321 | 20.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.266 | 0.696 | 0.322 | 20.0% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP  | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jake Arrieta – Arrieta is having a very nice season for the Cubs. He owns a 2.50 ERA with a 1.42 WHIP and a K/9 of 8.7. Tonight he faces a Phillies’ offense that is ranked 27th against RH pitching this season while striking out at a 21.1% clip. The 8.5 run total is high, but Arrieta carries some value as a deep GPP play. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5800 FD, $12508 DS, $12550 DD, $7400 DK, $80000 FF, $18200 SS, $12550 FTD
- Roberto Hernandez – Roberto “don’t call me Fausto” Hernandez is having a pretty mediocre season. He has a 4.35 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP with a K/9 of 7.1. While the Cubs’ offense has struggled against RH pitching this season, Hernandez really struggles against LHB’s and I think he may struggle with the likes of Rizzo, Valubuena, and Schierholtz. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5200 FD, $10736 DS, $9500 DD, $5500 DK, $47200 FF, $13000 SS, $8350 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – As mentioned above, Hernandez has really struggled with LHB’s throughout his career (.380 wOBA given up to lefties since the start of 2013). Rizzo has a .374 wOBA against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Luis Valbuena, Nate Schierholtz
Philadelphia
Chase Utley – Utley is always a safe play against RH pitching. On the season he has a .387 wOBA against righties. He may not have a ton of upside tonight, but is a safe cash game play.
Additional Plays: Marlon Byrd
Toronto at Baltimore
| Toronto | Baltimore | ||||||||
| Drew Hutchison | Vegas Moneyline | Ubaldo Jimenez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-112) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.754 | 0.329 | 18.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.226 | 0.674 | 0.307 | 25.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.228 | 0.675 | 0.301 | 25.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.261 | 0.711 | 0.319 | 22.0% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Drew Hutchison – Hutchison is a high strikeout pitcher. He has a K/9 of 8.0 and his home/road splits have been very glaring. He has an ERA over 8.0 at home, but has an ERA close to 2.0 on the road. While this will be another road start, he draws a tough matchup against the Orioles who are ranked 9th against RH pitching. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5600 FD, $12776 DS, $13950 DD, $8300 DK, $78700 FF, $21100 SS, $13950 FTD
- Ubaldo Jimenez – Ubaldo has been an easy avoid all season long for me. While he still has a nice K-rate, he has an ERA over 5.0 with a WHIP over 1.50. Ubaldo has given up 5+ runs in 3 of his last 5 starts and should be avoided tonight against this stacked Blue Jays’ offense that is ranked 2nd against RH pitching this season with a team .342 wOBA. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5900 FD, $11125 DS, $11350 DD, $6900 DK, $59800 FF, $16800 SS, $11350 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Adam Lind – Ubaldo has struggled against LHB’s this season giving up a .344 wOBA to them. Lind on the other hand has been crushing RH pitching all season long with a .438 wOBA. He’s an affordable option at 1B with nice upside.
Additional Plays: Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera
Baltimore
Chris Davis – Davis has been extremely inconsistent of late and has been striking out in bunches. That said, I like the matchup tonight against the RHP Hutchison who has given up a .331 wOBA to LHB’s this season. Davis has multi-HR upside and has a depressed price tag on most sites.
Additional Plays: Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis
Minnesota at Detroit
| Minnesota | Detroit | ||||||||
| Kyle Gibson | Vegas Moneyline | Drew Smyly | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | DET (-159) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.309 | 0.786 | 0.352 | 8.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.172 | 0.461 | 0.206 | 27.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.678 | 0.306 | 17.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.270 | 0.780 | 0.343 | 22.7% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Kyle Gibson – Gibson has been the tale of two pitchers. At home he has a 1.54 ERA, but he has fallen apart on the road with a 7.39 ERA. Tonight he goes on the road to face a Tigers’ offense that is ranked 6th against RH pitching this season. Avoid Gibson in all leagues. Rating = 2
Salaries: $5000 FD, $10075 DS, $10350 DD, $7200 DK, $57900 FF, $15800 SS, $10350 FTD
- Drew Smyly – Smyly offers an impressive K/9 of 8.2 and you don’t have to pay up for him as his price is affordable across the industry. He has a decent matchup against the Twins who are ranked 21st against LH pitching with a 23.3% strikeout rate. Smyly should also see plenty of run support to help his cause. Rating = 7
Salaries: $6500 FD, $11610 DS, $11800 DD, $6400 DK, $61700 FF, $15100 SS, $11800 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
Josh Willingham – I like the Smyly side of this matchup more than the Twins’ bats, but Willingham has a wOBA over .400 against LH pitching and has great upside for a player at his price point.
Additional Plays: Brian Dozier
Detroit
Victor Martinez – Gibson has struggled with LHB’s all season long and V-Mart has been red hot of late. That’s a nice combination. V-Mart makes an extremely good play on sites where he is catcher eligible, but is also in play on sites where he is listed as a DH/1B.
Additional Plays: Miguel Cabrera, Don Kelly
Pittsburgh at Miami
| Pittsburgh | Miami | ||||||||
| Jeff Locke | Vegas Moneyline | Nathan Eovaldi | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | MIA (-121) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.282 | 0.700 | 0.337 | 12.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.740 | 0.336 | 16.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.231 | 0.654 | 0.298 | 19.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.225 | 0.607 | 0.273 | 21.0% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeff Locke – Locke has only made 2 starts this season, but pitched well in his last outing as he only gave up 1 earned run while striking out 5 batters over 7 innings of work. While Marlins Park is a pitcher’s ballpark, that hasn’t been the case for visiting pitchers this season as the Marlins continue to mash both LH and RH pitching at home. Locke has more downside than upside in this matchup. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4800 FD, $14222 DS, $10500 DD, $7200 DK, $69100 FF, $16400 SS, $9950 FTD
- Nathan Eovaldi – Eovaldi has one of the highest velocities of any starting pitcher in baseball. It has served him well this season as he is averaging 7.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. Tonight he faces a Pirates’ offense that is pretty average against RH pitching. He’s a slight favorite here and could be in play on multi-pitcher sites.
Salaries: $6800 FD, $16843 DS, $15450 DD, $8000 DK, $100600 FF, $23400 SS, $15450 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
Andrew McCutchen – Cutch has been red hot over his last 10 games and most of his AB’s during that stretch have been against RH pitching. Sometimes you have to target players that are locked in even when the matchup isn’t the best on the board.
Additional Plays: None
Miami
Giancarlo Stanton – Giancarlo has been terrific against LH pitching (.457 wOBA) and he’s been terrific at home (.437 wOBA). He is one of my favorite plays at any position tonight.
Additional Plays: Jeff Baker, Reed Johnson
San Diego at NY Mets
| San Diego | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Andrew Cashner | Vegas Moneyline | Bartolo Colon | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-105) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.243 | 0.678 | 0.303 | 20.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.271 | 0.708 | 0.310 | 15.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.222 | 0.563 | 0.257 | 17.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.269 | 0.654 | 0.290 | 16.5% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Andrew Cashner – Cashner pitched well in his first start back from the DL. The threw 6 scoreless innings while striking out 5 batters. You have to think that the Padres will let him throw a few more pitches here. It’s a terrific matchup as the Mets are ranked 28th against RH pitching with a team .288 wOBA. Rating = 7
Salaries: $8100 FD, $17555 DS, $14250 DD, $9500 DK, $80300 FF, $24100 SS, $14250 FTD
- Bartolo Colon – Colon has really pitched well at Citi Field this season. In 4 starts at home he has a 2.30 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP and a K/9 of 9.0. He also has a terrific matchup as the Padres are ranked dead last against RH pitching with a team .277 wOBA. I like both pitchers in this matchup and it may not be a bad idea to take both on multi-pitcher sites and hope for a pitcher’s duel. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7700 FD, $15778 DS, $14350 DD, $7300 DK, $102900 FF, $21000 SS, $14350 FTD
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
Seth Smith – Smith has been slumping of late, but still has a .412 wOBA against RH pitching this season. He offers a nice value play in the OF against Colon who throws primarily fastballs.
Additional Plays: None
NY Mets
Daniel Murphy – You can easily avoid both offenses in this game, but if you are looking for someone to target against the RHP Cashner, target Murphy who has a .342 wOBA against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: None