MLB Grind Down: Friday, May 9th - Page 2
Philadelphia at NY Mets
| Philadelphia | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Roberto Hernandez | Vegas Moneyline | Jenrry Mejia | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYM (-120) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.288 | 0.843 | 0.382 | 16.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.230 | 0.639 | 0.292 | 21.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.687 | 0.313 | 19.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.288 | 0.741 | 0.325 | 25.5% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP  | PHI vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Roberto Hernandez – Hernandez has a 4.50 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP and 29 K’s over 34 innings of work. He is a very boom or bust option, but he does have a nice matchup against the Mets who are ranked 28th against RH pitching this season (team .277 wOBA). Hernandez could be a nice flier in a GPP. Rating = 6
Jenrry Mejia – Mejia has been rocked in each of his last two starts, but he does have a K/9 over 9.0 this season. He has great stuff, but has had trouble with his command this season and that’s not something that you want to see from your starting pitcher in daily fantasy. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia
Chase Utley – Even though this is a very pitcher-friendly ballpark, Utley makes a nice play at 2B tonight. He is batting .342 against RH pitching this season with 12 XBH’s.
Additional Plays: Domonic Brown
N.Y. Mets
Curtis Granderson – The Grandy Man is starting to heat up and has a nice matchup against Hernandez who gave up a .389 wOBA to LH batters last season. His price is still cheap across the industry and Granderson will make his way onto quite a few of my rosters.
Additional Plays: Daniel Murphy
Colorado at Cincinnati
| Colorado | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Jhoulys Chacin | Vegas Moneyline | Johnny Cueto | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-165) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.278 | 0.736 | 0.328 | 11.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.158 | 0.462 | 0.212 | 22.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.238 | 0.650 | 0.292 | 18.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.185 | 0.588 | 0.266 | 26.3% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jhoulys Chacin – Chacin gave up 8 hits, 5 walks, and 4 earned runs in his first start of the season. He is a quality RH starter, but has a tough matchup against the Reds in the hitter friendly Great American Ballpark. I will be avoiding Chacin in all leagues tonight, especially with Cueto pitching opposite him.
Johnny Cueto – Cueto has been dominant this season with a 1.31 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP, and a K/9 of 9.8. This is the case of a red hot offense going up against a red hot pitcher. I am going to side with Cueto in this matchup. When he is on, there are few teams that can hit him and the Rockies haven’t been nearly as good offensively on the road as they have at home. Rating 9
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
I will be avoiding all Rockies’ bats tonight and I am going to make the bold prediction that Nolan Arenado hitting streak comes to an end tonight.
Cincinnati
Joey Votto – Last season Chacin gave up a .328 wOBA to LH batters and Votto has always hit well at Great American. Votto’s numbers are down a bit this season, but all that means is that his price is down as well. Target him tonight against the RH Chacin.
Additional Plays: Brandon Phillips
Chicago Cubs at Atlanta
| Chicago Cubs | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Jason Hammel | Vegas Moneyline | Julio Teheran | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ATL (-180) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.287 | 0.841 | 0.370 | 14.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.266 | 0.759 | 0.337 | 16.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.229 | 0.628 | 0.282 | 19.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.209 | 0.558 | 0.262 | 25.2% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jason Hammel – Hammel has really pitched well for the Cubs this season and is following a familiar trend of getting off to hot starts in April and May. On the season he has a 2.43 ERA with a 0.82 WHIP and 32 K’s over 40 innings of work. Tonight he faces a very boom or bust Braves’ offense that is near the top of the league in both HR’s and strikeouts. I don’t like him for cash games, but will use him on a few tournament teams. Rating = 6
Julio Teheran – Teheran is one of the best young pitchers in baseball. He has been terrific for the tribe this season with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. His K/9 is down a bit at 5.9, but he is getting outs and that K-rate should get better as the season progresses. I love the matchup against the Cubs who are ranked 29th against RH pitching this season (team .276 wOBA). Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
I’ll be avoiding all Cubbies’ batters tonight, even after a solid performance offensively in last night’s game.
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman – If you are targeting any Braves’ batters tonight, target the ones that can hit from the left side of the plate as Hammel gave up a .370 wOBA to LH batters last season. Freeman has great power against RH pitching and makes a decent play tonight.
Additional Plays: Jason Heyward
Boston at Texas
| Boston | Texas | ||||||||
| Clay Buchholz | Vegas Moneyline | Yu Darvish | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TEX (-145) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.204 | 0.569 | 0.260 | 21.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.219 | 0.651 | 0.295 | 29.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.258 | 0.668 | 0.300 | 20.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.176 | 0.546 | 0.253 | 36.5% |
| Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Clay Buchholz – Buchholz is starting to piece things together. He has now pitched well in back to back starts against two tough offenses in the A’s and the Blue Jays. His K-rate is still way down though and it’s going to take more than 2 decent starts before I start to consider him in cash games. Rating = 4
Yu Darvish – Darvish has been very good this season with a 2.87 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP. His K/9 is pretty mediocre by his standards at only 10.2. This is one of those situations where he could either dominate the Red Sox lineup or get knocked around a bit. There are certainly better options for cash games, but there aren’t many pitchers in baseball with as much upside as Darvish. Use him as a GPP play, but target one of the other aces with a better matchup in cash games. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Boston
Even though this game will be played in the hitter friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington, I will not be using any Red Sox batters. They could put up some runs here, but no player in particular stands out as a great fantasy play.
Texas
Adrian Beltre – Buchholz is giving up a .379 batting average with a 1.00 OPS to RH batters this season. Beltre has 2 HR’s over his last 3 games and should have plenty of RBI opportunities tonight. Vegas expects the Rangers to score some runs here and so do I.
Additional Plays: Alex Rios, Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder
NY Yankees at Milwaukee
| NY Yankees | Milwaukee | ||||||||
| Masahiro Tanaka | Vegas Moneyline | Yovani Gallardo | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYY (-125) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.195 | 0.495 | 0.224 | 23.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.245 | 0.698 | 0.314 | 16.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.805 | 0.346 | 36.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.270 | 0.700 | 0.313 | 18.6% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP | NYY vs R | Batter Splits | MIL BvP | MIL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Masahiro Tanaka – Tanaka had his worst outing of the season in his last start, but that would still be a very nice start for most pitchers in baseball. He struck out 5 batters over 7 innings and gave up 3 earned runs while picking up the win. Tonight he faces a Brewers’ offense that is ranked 17th against RH pitching. I’m not sure that Tanaka is the safest cash game play, but I get the feeling that he throws a gem tonight. Rating = 8
Yovani Gallardo – Gallardo has pitched well this season with a 2.47 ERA and a 1.2 WHIP. His strikeouts have been down a little this season and for some reason I just can’t trust Gallardo in cash games. He’s given up 7 earned runs in his last 2 starts and I’m not sure the run support will be there tonight with Tanaka pitching for the Yankees. I’ll be avoiding Gallardo tonight. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
New York Yankees
Jacoby Ellsbury – Miller Park is a very HR friendly ballpark and even though Ellsbury doesn’t have a ton of power, he can run into a HR every now and then. He is batting .317 on the season and has already stolen 10 bases. He’s a solid cash game option in the OF.
Additional Plays: Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann
Milwaukee
With all of the aces on the mound tonight, there are a lot of teams with less than favorable matchups. That includes the Brewers who I will also be avoiding tonight.