MLB Grind Down: Friday, May 30th
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
NY Mets at Philadelphia
| NY Mets | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Rafael Montero | Vegas Moneyline | A.J. Burnett | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PHI (-125) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 1.141 | 0.472 | 17.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.271 | 0.757 | 0.354 | 20.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.176 | 0.557 | 0.255 | 28.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.209 | 0.561 | 0.252 | 27.6% |
| Batter Splits | NYM BvP  | NYM vs R | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Rafael Montero – Montero is coming off of his best big league start. He struck out 10 batters over 6 innings while only giving up 1 earned run to the D-Backs. Montero has high K-potential, but he is still largely unproven at this level. He is a GPP option at best tonight against the Phillies. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4600 FD, $12902 DS, $9600 DD, $5900 DK, $65200 FF, $15400 SS, $9600 FTD
- A.J. Burnett – Burnett hasn’t been sharp in his last 4 starts, but still owns a 3.51 ERA on the season with a 1.43 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.2. This is a nice spot for Burnett to right the ship as he is facing a Mets’ offense that is ranked 27th against RH pitching with a team .282 wOBA and a 20.9 K-percentage. Burnett is in play on multi-pitcher sites and GPP’s. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7000 FD, $15053 DS, $13600 DD, $7000 DK, $70900 FF, $20400 SS, $13100 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Mets
David Wright – After a slow start to the season, Wright has had a terrific month of May. He’s batting .339 with an OPS of .879 this month. While Burnett gives up a much higher wOBA and OPS to LHB’s, Wright is still in play at 3B at his depressed price tag.
Additional Plays: Daniel Murphy
Philadelphia
Chase Utley – The sample size is small, but Montero has given up a .472 wOBA to LHB’s in his 3 starts. Utley continues to crush RH pitching with a .352 batting average and an OPS of .986.
Additional Plays: Ryan Howard, Domonic Brown
Minnesota at NY Yankees
| Minnesota | NY Yankees | ||||||||
| Ricky Nolasco | Vegas Moneyline | Vidal Nuno | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYY (-150) | LEFT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.279 | 0.775 | 0.345 | 17.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.333 | 0.944 | 0.417 | 17.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.690 | 0.308 | 20.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.249 | 0.724 | 0.316 | 14.7% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | Batter Splits | NYY BvP | NYY vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ricky Nolasco – Nolasco has given up 3+ runs in 9 of his 10 starts this season. He has a 6.12 ERA with a 1.58 WHIP and a K/9 of only 6.0. Even though this Yankees’ lineup doesn’t look great on paper, I will not be targeting Nolasco against them. The Yankees have a lot of LHB’s with power that should make this another rough outing for Nolasco. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5300 FD, $10388 DS, $9600 DD, $4800 DK, $51700 FF, $13000 SS, $10600 FTD
- Vidal Nuno – Nuno has a 5.49 ERA on the season with a 1.51 WHIP and a K/9 of 6.8. He does have a pretty nice matchup tonight though. After getting off to a hot start this season, the Twins’ offense has fallen all the way down to 25th against LH pitching with a 24.0 K-percentage. He’s still a risky option, but I like his upside as a tournament play. Rating = 5
Salaries: $4600 FD, $10744 DS, $10800 DD, $5900 DK, $59500 FF, $14000 SS, $9600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
Joe Mauer – Nuno has given up a higher wOBA to LHB’s than he has to RHB’s in each of the last 2 seasons. Mauer is a LHB that has always been able to hit LH pitching. Over the last 3 seasons, Mauer has hit for a .283 average against southpaws. He’s a nice value option at 1B.
Additional Plays: Brian Dozier, Josh Willingham
NY Yankees
Jacoby Ellsbury – I’ve been high on Ellsbury for the last couple of weeks. His price is extremely cheap across the industry and it finally looks like he is breaking out of his slump with 7 hits and 6 RBI’s over his last 5 games. He is a threat to steal 2nd every time he reaches 1st base.
Additional Plays: Brian McCann, Yangervis Solarte
Colorado at Cleveland
| Colorado | Cleveland | ||||||||
| Juan Nicasio | Vegas Moneyline | Corey Kluber | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CLE (-140) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.240 | 0.757 | 0.341 | 16.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.270 | 0.721 | 0.322 | 23.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.283 | 0.782 | 0.348 | 16.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.267 | 0.684 | 0.307 | 24.1% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Juan Nicasio – Nicasio hasn’t been a viable fantasy option all season long and it doesn’t look like that is going to change anytime soon. While he has a 3.61 ERA, he has a low K-rate of only 5.8 per 9 innings. He has given up a .340+ wOBA to both LHB’s and RHB’s this season and should be avoided in all leagues. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5400 FD, $10523 DS, $12400 DD, $6600 DK, $71500 FF, $17500 SS, $11300 FTD
- Corey Kluber – Kluber is one of my top plays tonight. He has been terrific at home this season with a 2.70 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and an impressive K/9 of 10.4. He is facing a Rockies’ team whose offensive production really dips on the road. The Rockies are ranked 16th in wOBA on the road. Kluber’s high K-rate combined with the fact that he should see plenty of run support puts him in play in all leagues. Rating = 8
Salaries: $8700 FD, $18448 DS, $16000 DD, $10300 DK, $129800 FF, $29000 SS, $12700 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – Dickerson may only be in the lineup if Carlos Gonzalez is still out, but he is a nice value play if he does get the start. He’s batting .338 with an OPS of 1.04 and has a decent matchup against Kluber who has struggled with LHB’s at times.
Additional Plays: None
Cleveland
Michael Brantley – The LHB’s of the Indians are in a terrific spot tonight against Nicasio. He’s given up a .341 wOBA to lefties this season and the Indians have been terrific as a team against RH pitching. Brantley has terrific power against RH pitching and should see plenty of RBI opportunities.
Additional Plays: Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, David Murphy
Texas at Washington
| Texas | Washington | ||||||||
| Colby Lewis | Vegas Moneyline | Stephen Strasburg | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | WAS (-168) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.340 | 0.877 | 0.385 | 19.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.224 | 0.617 | 0.285 | 22.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.333 | 0.775 | 0.360 | 17.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.224 | 0.582 | 0.274 | 29.8% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Colby Lewis – Lewis has a 5.10 ERA on the season with a 1.76 WHIP and averaging only 5 innings per start. He does have a nice matchup against the Nationals who are ranked 23rd against RH pitching, but he’s likely going to be on the hook for the loss with Strasburg pitching opposite him. Rating = 3
Salaries: $6800 FD, $10498 DS, $12300 DD, $6100 DK, $59400 FF, $14700 SS, $9800 FTD
- Stephen Strasburg – Strasburg continues to pitch well at Nationals Park. In his 6 starts at home this season, he has posted a 2.35 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP and a K/9 of 11.4. He is facing a Rangers’ offense that has more bark than it does bite. They are ranked 18th against RH pitching this season which isn’t enough to scare me off of THE BURG tonight. Rating = 9
Salaries: $9900 FD, $20778 DS, $16200 DD, $10400 DK, $106700 FF, $28200 SS, $18600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Texas
Strasburg has held both LHB’s and RHB’s under a .285 wOBA this season. He has been terrific at home throughout his career and the Rangers are an easy team to avoid with all of the other options available tonight.
Washington
Jayson Werth – Werth has been much better against LH pitching than he has against RH pitching, but I like the matchup for him tonight against Lewis. Lewis has given up a .360 wOBA to RHB’s and Werth is a cheap source of power in the OF.
Additional Plays: Adam LaRoche, Anthony Rendon
Kansas City at Toronto
| Kansas City | Toronto | ||||||||
| Jason Vargas | Vegas Moneyline | J.A. Happ | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | TOR (-137) | LEFT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.295 | 0.720 | 0.317 | 15.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.290 | 0.781 | 0.349 | 19.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.257 | 0.738 | 0.332 | 17.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.732 | 0.327 | 18.8% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jason Vargas – Vargas has had some terrific starts this season, but there is no point in talking him up here as he is not a viable fantasy option against this red hot Blue Jays’ offense. Vargas is an underdog in tonight’s game that features a total of 9.0 runs. The Blue Jays are also ranked 4th against LH pitching this season with a team .344 wOBA. Rating = 2
Salaries: $6100 FD, $12704 DS, $11050 DD, $6900 DK, $91400 FF, $20700 SS, $11400 FTD
- J.A. Happ – Happ is one of those interesting GPP options. He has a decent K-rate and can have those big outings every once in a while, but he’s still a bit too inconsistent to trust in cash games. Not only that, but he will be pitching in the Rogers Centre which is one of the best hitter’s parks in baseball. He’s a decent tournament play, but too risky for cash games tonight against the Royals. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6000 FD, $12354 DS, $11950 DD, $6300 DK, $74900 FF, $16800 SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Salvador Perez – Perez is only batting .229 against LH pitching this season, but he does have an OPS of .786 against southpaws. Perez has always hit LH pitching well and it’s only a matter of time before his numbers this season go up. He homered in last night’s game and makes a terrific value option at Catcher tonight.
Additional Plays: Lorenzo Cain
Toronto
Jose Bautista – Bautista and E5 are 1A and 1B options here. Bautista is batting .420 against LH pitching this season with an OPS of 1.32. He has a ton of power and should come up to bat with runners in scoring position at least a couple of times.
Additional Plays: Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Dioner Navarro