MLB Grind Down: Friday, May 23rd - Page 3
NY Yankees at Chicago White Sox
| NY Yankees | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||
| Hiroki Kuroda | Vegas Moneyline | Hector Noesi | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYY (-127) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.263 | 0.743 | 0.327 | 16.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.347 | 0.969 | 0.430 | 18.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.618 | 0.275 | 20.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.336 | 0.911 | 0.400 | 16.2% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP  | NYY vs R | Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Hiroki Kuroda – Kuroda has been pitching better than his ERA suggests. He’s got a respectable WHIP of 1.23 and a K/9 of 7.2. He’s a small favorite tonight against the White Sox, but the high total in this game does not bode well for his fantasy value. The White Sox are also ranked 8th against RH pitching this season. There are better options tonight at his price point. Rating = 5
Hector Noesi – Since the start of 2013, Noesi has an ERA close to 7.00. He is the underdog in a game that is expected to have plenty of runs scored. I suggest staying far away from Noesi in all leagues. Rating = 1
Batter Grind Down
N.Y. Yankees
Jacoby Ellsbury – Ellsbury has been in a slump over the last couple of weeks and his price has come down across the board. I love targeting players at low price points and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing tonight with Ellsbury. Dollar for dollar, he’s my top OF play on most sites.
Additional Plays: Brett Gardner, Yangervis Solarte, Mark Teixeira
Chicago White Sox
Alexei Ramirez – Despite having a tremendous season, I rarely see Alexei on many fantasy rosters. He’s batting .338 with an OPS of .886 against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Gordon Beckham, Dayan Viciedo
Kansas City at LA Angels
| Kansas City | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Danny Duffy | Vegas Moneyline | C.J. Wilson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAA (-162) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.180 | 0.438 | 0.217 | 16.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.169 | 0.477 | 0.222 | 29.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.171 | 0.510 | 0.258 | 21.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.261 | 0.716 | 0.326 | 19.3% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Danny Duffy – Duffy has been a highly touted pitcher for a few years now and we are finally starting to see him pitch as he has dealt with numerous injuries. Duffy threw 97 pitches in his last outing so it looks like the Royals are loosing the reigns on him a bit. He has great K-potential and makes an interesting tournament play against the Angels. Rating = 5
C.J. Wilson – Wilson is one of my favorite pitchers available tonight. While the Royals strike out fewer than any team in baseball, they are ranked 25th against LH pitching this season with a team .294 wOBA. Wilson has pitched well at home, he pitches deep into games (8+ innings in 3 of his last 4 starts), and he has a nice K-rate. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
With Wilson being one of my top plays, I will not be targeting any Royals’ batters tonight.
L.A. Angels
Mike Trout – Trout is batting .321 against LH pitching this season with an OPS of .985. We know the upside that he brings to the table and he’s always in play against LH pitchers.
Additional Plays: Albert Pujols
Houston at Seattle
| Houston | Seattle | ||||||||
| Brad Peacock | Vegas Moneyline | Felix Hernandez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SEA (-260) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.855 | 0.379 | 18.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.657 | 0.294 | 24.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.211 | 0.675 | 0.302 | 25.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.606 | 0.271 | 27.5% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Brad Peacock – Peacock is not a recommended play tonight for a few reasons. First, and most importantly, is the fact that he is the biggest underdog on the schedule. Second, he’s just not that good of a pitcher. He has a 5.20 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP.
UPDATE: Peacock has been scratched from his start tonight. LHP Rudy Owens will start in his place
Felix Hernandez – King Felix has given up 26 hits in his last 3 games, but that doesn’t concern me. He is the top pitching option across the board. He faces the Astros who are ranked 23rd against RH pitching with a 24.4 K%. Rating = 10
Batter Grind Down
Houston
This one is pretty obvious, but I will not be recommending any Astros’ batters tonight against Hernandez.
Seattle
UPDATE – Now that LHP Rudy Owens is starting for the Astros, this certainly changes the suggested plays. Any RH batter in the Mariners’ lineup makes a nice play tonight as well as the LHB’s that hit LH pitching well.
Chicago Cubs at San Diego
| Chicago Cubs | San Diego | ||||||||
| Edwin Jackson | Vegas Moneyline | Tim Stauffer | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CHC (-145) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.290 | 0.788 | 0.357 | 19.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.188 | 0.512 | 0.236 | 24.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.266 | 0.716 | 0.321 | 17.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.272 | 0.735 | 0.341 | 20.2% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Edwin Jackson – Jackson is coming off of his best start of the season. He threw 7 shutout innings against the D-Backs while striking out 11 batters. Tonight he gets an even better matchup against the Padres in Petco. There aren’t many games where Jackson is the favorite and the total is set at only 7.5 runs so we have to take advantage while we can. I think Jackson makes a terrific 2nd or 3rd SP on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 7
Tim Stauffer – Stauffer has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen this season, but will be making his first start of the season tonight. He picked a good matchup for his first start as the Cubs are ranked 27th against RH pitching this season. If the price is cheap enough, he could make a nice tournament play. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – Targeting batters in Petco is a little bit like targeting pitchers in Coors. I typically try to avoid it if possible. That said, Rizzo has a nice lefty/righty matchup against Stauffer and he has great power in his bat.
Additional Plays: None
San Diego
Seth Smith – Smith has been on fire in recent weeks. He is now batting .345 with an OPS of 1.06 against RH pitching this season. His price is going up, but it’s still affordable on a couple of sites.
Additional Plays: None
Minnesota at San Francisco
| Minnesota | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Kyle Gibson | Vegas Moneyline | Tim Lincecum | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SFG (-156) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.321 | 0.795 | 0.359 | 8.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.694 | 0.317 | 22.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.258 | 0.717 | 0.326 | 16.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.756 | 0.339 | 23.8% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Kyle Gibson – Gibson has either pitched really well or been blown up. There haven’t been many average starts from him this season. His inconsistency and low K/9 (4.2) make him an easy pitcher to avoid tonight. He’s a sizable underdog and has really struggled on the road. Rating = 3
Tim Lincecum – Lincecum has been in perfect Lincecum form this season. He’ll throw a gem every now and then that comes out of nowhere, but is a pretty average RHP in the rest of his starts. He’s a big favorite tonight though and the total is only set at 7.0 runs. This is a nice spot to use him in GPP’s. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
Even though I won’t be using Lincecum in cash games, I won’t likely be using any hitters against him either. AT&T Park is a pitcher friendly ballpark and Brian Dozier is really the only name that stands out in this lineup tonight.
San Francisco
Buster Posey – Posey hits both LH and RH pitching well. He’s batting .293 with 5 HR’s against RH pitching this season and he has a nice matchup against Gibson who has an ERA over 4.00 on the road this season.
Additional Plays: Hunter Pence