MLB Grind Down: Friday, June 6th
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
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh
| Milwaukee | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| Kyle Lohse | Vegas Moneyline | Brandon Cumpton | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIL (-111) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.715 | 0.318 | 16.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.283 | 0.693 | 0.314 | 17.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.628 | 0.278 | 16.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.250 | 0.578 | 0.273 | 12.9% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP  | MIL vs R | Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Kyle Lohse – Lohse is having a terrific season and is coming off of arguably his best performance of the year. He threw a complete game shutout against the Cubs in his last outing and has lowered his ERA to 2.60 on the season. Tonight he faces a Pirates offense that is pretty average against RH pitching with a team .312 wOBA. Lohse makes a nice tournament play tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7000 FD, $18009 DS, $14800 DD, $9700 DK, $126600 FF, $28500 SS, $13800 FTD
- Brandon Cumpton – Cumpton was rocked in his last outing. He gave up 10 earned runs in less than 4 innings of work. Before that start, he had given up 2 or less earned runs in 3 of his previous 4 outings. Tonight he faces a Brewers’ offense that is ranked 11th against RH pitching and is finally starting to get healthy. Of the two SP’s in this game, Lohse is the preferred play. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4000 FD, $10400 DS, $9350 DD, $5500 DK, $72100 FF, $13000 SS, $11200 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee
Ryan Braun – Braun has a .391 wOBA against RH pitching this season and has a nice matchup against the rookie Cumpton. Braun is also swinging a hot bat with 13 hits (2 HR’s) in his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Carlos Gomez, Jonathan Lucroy
Pittsburgh
Andrew McCutchen – Cutch has hit RH pitching very well this season. He has a .382 wOBA against righties and has terrific splits at home. His price is very affordable on a few sites which boosts his value even more.
Additional Plays: Neil Walker
Oakland at Baltimore
| Oakland | Baltimore | ||||||||
| Tommy Milone | Vegas Moneyline | Wei-Yin Chen | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-105) | LEFT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.295 | 0.781 | 0.342 | 14.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.748 | 0.330 | 16.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.702 | 0.312 | 18.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.281 | 0.766 | 0.336 | 18.2% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs L | Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Tommy Milone – Milone has really struggled on the road this season. In 5 road starts, he has posted a 5.60 ERA with a 1.46 WHIP and only 18 K’s over 27 innings of work. He has an extremely tough matchup against the Orioles who have been one of the hottest teams in baseball. Milone can safely be avoided in all leagues. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5800 FD, $13313 DS, $10500 DD, $7700 DK, $83700 FF, $20300 SS, $10500 FTD
- Wei-Yin Chen – Through 11 starts this season, Chen has a 4.26 ERA with a 1.38 WHIP and a K/9 of 6.6. Taking pitchers against the A’s is not a great long-term strategy and I try to avoid it whenever possible. The A’s are ranked 12th against LH pitching this season and only have a 19.4% K-rate against southpaws. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6000 FD, $13397 DS, $12700 DD, $6500 DK, $76500 FF, $17000 SS, $11600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Josh Donaldson – Donaldson is one of the top 3B options available tonight. He has a great matchup against Chen who has given up a .336 wOBA to RHB’s this season. Donaldson has been crushing LH pitching to a tune of a .463 wOBA.
Additional Plays: Yoenis Cespedes, Derek Norris
Baltimore
Adam Jones / Nelson Cruz – The last time the Orioles faced a lefty I featured both Jones and Cruz and they both hit HR’s in that game. Let’s hope for a similar result tonight. Both of these guys have been crushing LH pitching all season (Jones .574 wOBA, Cruz, .539 wOBA) and have a terrific matchup tonight against Milone.
Additional Plays: Manny Machado, Chris Davis
St. Louis at Toronto
| St. Louis | Toronto | ||||||||
| Lance Lynn | Vegas Moneyline | Marcus Stroman | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-128) | RIGHT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.743 | 0.337 | 17.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.379 | 1.008 | 0.448 | 6.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.247 | 0.630 | 0.289 | 26.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.280 | 0.669 | 0.282 | 30.8% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Lance Lynn – Lynn is looking to bounce back tonight after getting shelled by the Giants at home in his last start. That’s going to be a tough task though as he faces the Blue Jays in the Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays are the AL’s version of the Rockies when they are at home. This is a tough matchup with more risk than upside. Rating = 4
Salaries: $7700 FD, $14731 DS, $13900 DD, $8300 DK, $98600 FF, $22500 SS, $14300 FTD
- Marcus Stroman – Stroman struggled out of the bullpen, but looked good in his first career start. He struck out 6 batters over 6 innings and only gave up 1 earned run. That said, Stroman is still unproven at the major league level and I will side with the Cardinals’ batters in this matchup. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4600 FD, $12943 DS, $9600 DD, $6000 DK, $67000 FF, $15500 SS, $9500 FTD
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
Matt Carpenter – I’ve been waiting for a nice matchup for this offense for a while now and it’s finally here. The total is set at 9.5 runs and the Cardinals’ offense should be in for a productive series. Carpenter has a .353 wOBA against RH pitching this season and has 18 hits over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Allen Craig, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina
Toronto
Adam Lind – I’ve been bullish on the Blue Jays when they are playing at home and that will continue tonight against the RHP Lance Lynn who has given up a .337 wOBA to LHB’s. Lind has a .472 wOBA against RH pitching and offers some salary cap relief at 1B.
Additional Plays: Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Juan Francisco, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion
Boston at Detroit
| Boston | Detroit | ||||||||
| Rubby De La Rosa | Vegas Moneyline | Drew Smyly | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | DET (-123) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.233 | 0.550 | 0.262 | 21.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.173 | 0.465 | 0.207 | 27.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.286 | 0.765 | 0.355 | 15.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.269 | 0.777 | 0.343 | 23.2% |
| Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs L | Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Rubby De La Rosa – Rubby was dominant in his first start of the season. He held the Rays to only 4 hits and didn’t allow a single run while striking out 8 batters over 7 innings of work. Something tells me that tonight may be a different story though. Rubby faces the Tigers who are ranked 6th against RH pitching this season with a team .328 wOBA. The Tigers are also a stingy team when it comes to strikeouts which hurts Rubby’s cause even more. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6500 FD, $13229 DS, $9800 DD, $7400 DK, $67000 FF, $17500 SS, $NA FTD
- Drew Smyly – Smyly is a high strikeout pitcher with nice upside. On the season he has a 4.10 ERA with a K/9 of 8.4. The Red Sox have been pretty average against LH pitching this season and I think Smyly could make a nice tournament play tonight. Rating = 6
Salaries: $6500 FD, $12650 DS, $11900 DD, $5700 DK, $52900 FF, $13400 SS, $11700 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Boston
Jonny Gomes – Gomes and Pedroia are my go-to guys when the Red Sox are facing a lefty. Both have terrific numbers against lefties and typically bat 3rd and 5th in the order. Gomes has a .397 wOBA against southpaws this season and is a cheap option in the OF.
Additional Plays: Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts
Detroit
Miguel Cabrera – I don’t have to say much about Miggy to recommend him as a daily play. He’s the best hitter in baseball and it seems like even his outs make a lot of noise. He has a .417 wOBA against RH pitching this season and is the top 1B on the board tonight.
Additional Plays: Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler
Philadelphia at Cincinnati
| Philadelphia | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Cole Hamels | Vegas Moneyline | Johnny Cueto | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | CIN (-146) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.700 | 0.312 | 24.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.179 | 0.489 | 0.224 | 22.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.245 | 0.684 | 0.309 | 21.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.172 | 0.533 | 0.246 | 25.8% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Cole Hamels – Hamels has pitched better than his ERA will suggest, at least from a daily fantasy baseball perspective. He has at least 6 K’s in 5 of his last 6 starts and he’s held both LHB’s and RHB’s under a .315 wOBA this season. Hamels is a sizable underdog tonight with Cueto pitching opposite him, but I still think he makes a terrific play on multi-pitcher sites and GPP’s. The Reds are ranked 27th against LH pitching this season and have a 23.4% K-rate against southpaws. Rating = 8
Salaries: $8400 FD, $16820 DS, $15650 DD, $8900 DK, $87200 FF, $24200 SS, $12600 FTD
- Johnny Cueto – Cueto has been terrific all season long. He is sporting a 1.68 ERA with an incredible 0.78 WHIP while averaging just over a strikeout per inning. He is facing a Phillies’ offense that is ranked 27th against RH pitching this season with a team .287 wOBA. You will be hard pressed to find a better play than Cueto tonight. Rating = 10
Salaries: $9900 FD, $22769 DS, $20150 DD, $12400 DK, $122700 FF, $33000 SS, $16800 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia / Cincinnati
With a full slate of games on tap tonight, you don’t need to waste any roster spots on the Phillies or Reds’ batters. This should be a pitcher’s duel and with the total set at only 6.5 runs, you can safely avoid all batter from this game.