MLB Grind Down: Friday, May 9th - Page 3
Arizona at Chicago White Sox
| Arizona | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||
| Brandon McCarthy | Vegas Moneyline | Andre Rienzo | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ARI (-108) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.289 | 0.737 | 0.325 | 18.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.258 | 0.800 | 0.353 | 14.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.289 | 0.765 | 0.344 | 12.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.248 | 0.742 | 0.342 | 14.3% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP  | ARI vs R | Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Brandon McCarthy – McCarthy has a 4.67 ERA on the season, but it’s worth noting that he has pitched 3 quality starts in a row. That’s something to monitor moving forward, but he is not a recommended play tonight against the White Sox who are ranked 6th against RH pitching. Rating = 4
Andre Rienzo – With all of the aces on the mound tonight, we don’t have to spend too much time on Rienzo. He is an average RH pitcher with an average K-rate. He likely won’t pitch too deep into this game and I will certainly not be targeting him against this powerful D-Backs lineup. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
Paul Goldschmidt – The total for this game is set at 9.0 runs so this is a very sneaky game to target some batters from. Rienzo is giving up a .742 OPS to RH batters this season and we all know the type of power that Goldy possesses.
Additional Plays: Miguel Montero, Gerardo Parra, Aaron Hill
Chicago White Sox
Alejandro De Aza – McCarthy has been pretty good at containing RH batters this season, but is giving up a .311 batting average and an OPS of .807 to LH batters. De Aza hasn’t been great this season, but he has decent power and decent speed and makes a nice value play in the OF.
Additional Plays: Jose Abreu, Alexei Ramirez
Washington at Oakland
| Washington | Oakland | ||||||||
| Doug Fister | Vegas Moneyline | Tommy Milone | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | OAK (-120) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.263 | 0.674 | 0.305 | 19.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.294 | 0.786 | 0.344 | 14.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.304 | 0.712 | 0.329 | 16.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.251 | 0.731 | 0.324 | 19.0% |
| Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs L | Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Doug Fister – Fister will be making his first start of the season. Last year he posted a 3.67 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP and a K/9 of 6.9. He has a tough matchup against the A’s who are ranked 5th against RH pitching this season (team .334 wOBA). Let’s give Fister a start or two before targeting him. Rating = 4
Tommy Milone – Milone has a 5.86 ERA with a 1.58 WHIP this season. He’s given up 10 earned runs over his last 2 starts and draws an extremely tough matchup against the Nationals who are ranked 2nd against LH pitching this season (team .379 wOBA). He is not a recommended play tonight. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Washington
Jayson Werth – Werth is batting .444 against LH pitching and has hit southpaws well throughout his career. He has nice power and makes a terrific play against the struggling Milone.
Additional Plays: Anthony Rendon
Oakland
Coco Crisp – Over the last 3 seasons, Fister’s splits against RH and LH batters are almost identical so batters from both sides of the plate are in play tonight. I think Fister will be a little rusty in his first start of the season and love targeting Crisp at his currently depressed price.
Additional Plays: Brandon Moss, Jed Lowrie
San Francisco at LA Dodgers
| San Francisco | LA Dodgers | ||||||||
| Madison Bumgarner | Vegas Moneyline | Paul Maholm | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SFG (-115) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.190 | 0.529 | 0.240 | 35.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.575 | 0.262 | 19.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.228 | 0.625 | 0.288 | 21.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.302 | 0.834 | 0.376 | 12.9% |
| Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Madison Bumgarner – Bumgarner is one of many aces that will take the mound tonight, but he has arguably the toughest matchup (with the exception of Darvish). The Dodgers are currently 25th against LH pitching as a team, but they have a few batters that really hit LH pitching well (Han-Ram, Puig, A-Gon). I see Bumgarner as a tournament play, but there are better options for cash games. Rating = 7
Paul Maholm – Maholm is not a great daily fantasy baseball pitcher because he doesn’t have a high K-rate and he has had an ERA well above 4.00 over the last two seasons. The Giants are ranked 8th against LH pitching this season (.343 wOBA). He’s a below average fantasy option tonight. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
San Francisco
Buster Posey – Posey is very good against LH pitching. Over the last 3 seasons Posey has an OPS close to 1.00 against LH pitching. He is the top Catcher option on the board tonight.
Additional Plays: Hunter Pence
L.A. Dodgers
The Dodgers have struggled against Bumgarner in the past. I don’t mind Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig as GPP plays, but neither make great plays in cash games.
Kansas City at Seattle
| Kansas City | Seattle | ||||||||
| Jason Vargas | Vegas Moneyline | Brandon Maurer | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | KCR (-111) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.312 | 0.767 | 0.337 | 15.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.326 | 0.943 | 0.406 | 15.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.261 | 0.739 | 0.332 | 16.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.286 | 0.767 | 0.351 | 20.2% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jason Vargas – Vargas has a 3.50 ERA on the season with a 1.35 WHIP. Those are solid numbers, but he only has 26 K’s over 46 innings pitched. He does have a favorable matchup against the Mariners who are ranked 23rd against LH pitching, but there is not enough upside for me to target Vargas tonight. Rating = 5
Brandon Maurer – Maurer has a 6.92 ERA on the season and should be ignored for our purposes until he can prove that he has turned things around. The Royals aren’t a great team offensively, but they do not strike out very often. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Eric Hosmer – Hosmer is batting .326 against RH pitching this season and has a terrific matchup against the struggling Maurer. He makes a great value play if you are looking to save some money at 1B.
Additional Plays: Alex Gordon
Seattle
Robinson Cano – Even though this is a lefty/lefty matchup, Cano can hit LH pitching well and has hit Vargas well in the past going 9/20 against him.
Additional Plays: Corey Hart
Miami at San Diego
| Miami | San Diego | ||||||||
| Jose Fernandez | Vegas Moneyline | Tyson Ross | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIA (-137) | RIGHT | 5.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.200 | 0.563 | 0.263 | 26.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.683 | 0.318 | 18.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.161 | 0.444 | 0.207 | 32.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.218 | 0.608 | 0.277 | 26.8% |
| Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jose Fernandez – Fernandez’s price may be a bit too much on a couple of sites, but he’s certainly in play on sites where you can afford him. He is facing the league’s worst offense in the Padres in the most pitcher friendly ballpark in all of baseball. He has more upside than any pitcher on the schedule tonight and should be targeted in all leagues if you can find a way to fit him in your lineup. Rating = 10
Tyson Ross – Ross is my favorite GPP play tonight. With Fernandez pitching opposite him, I doubt many people will be looking at Ross. He has been close to unhittable at Petco over the last two seasons with an ERA under 2.00. He has a nice K-rate too. This Marlins offense really struggles on the road and I think Ross will have a terrific outing. The only concern here is run support. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Miami / San Diego
If you are thinking about taking any batters in this game, you may want to try the free leagues because you should not waste your bankroll on any of these batters. The total is set at 5.5 runs, 5.5 RUNS! That’s the lowest total I have ever seen.