MLB Grind Down: Monday, July 4th

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down will give you an in-depth analysis into the upcoming 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: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Milwaukee at Washington – 11:05 AM ET

Milwaukee Washington
milwaukeemlb Junior Guerra washingtonmlb Max Scherzer
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
WAS -240 7.0
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.285 3 21.5% 10.4% SP vs. Left 0.299 23 27.0% 7.0%
SP vs. Right 0.288 5 21.5% 4.7% SP vs. Right 0.225 24 36.5% 2.0%

Pitcher Grind Down

Junior Guerra
junior-guerra-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $8,100 Salary:
FPPG: 33.9 FPPG:
Pitcher Rating: 53.6 Pitcher Rank: 18
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 5 95.0 4.37 3.00 18.6% 7.0% 9.5% 47.3% 35.5% 36.8%
2016 11 92.8 4.14 3.25 21.8% 7.6% 11.1% 43.1% 37.8% 36.8%
2015 0 0.0 3.28 6.75 16.7% 5.6% 10.6% 57.1% 21.4% 21.4%

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Guerra takes the mound for the Brewers in a game that starts bright and early in the morning. This game is only included in the all-day slate on FanDuel, so most of you can just scroll down to the next game. Guerra’s ERA is much lower than his SIERA this season, which suggests some regression moving forward. He has a mediocre strikeout rate and he’s the largest underdog on the schedule. With Max Scherzer pitching opposite him, run support could be very limited.

Max Scherzer
max-scherzer-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $12,000 Salary:
FPPG: 45.3 FPPG:
Pitcher Rating: 99.5 Pitcher Rank: 1
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 107.0 2.26 1.96 37.9% 4.6% 16.0% 33.3% 50.6% 30.7%
2016 17 104.8 2.88 3.30 33.1% 6.5% 15.2% 34.5% 46.7% 28.0%
2015 33 101.8 2.63 2.79 30.7% 3.8% 15.3% 35.8% 45.4% 28.1%

Scherzer has been dominant in close to every facet this season. He is one of the only pitchers in baseball whose pitching table is completely filled with blue boxes. He owns a 2.88 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 33.1%. To make matters even better, he is pitching at home against a Brewers’ offense that leads the majors in strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season. Scherzer does allow a ton of home runs, but the strikeout potential more than makes up for it.

Batter Grind Down

Milwaukee

It should come as no surprise that the Brewers have the lowest team total on the board. They draw an awful matchup against Max Scherzer, who has been tough on both left and right-handed hitters. While Scherzer has allowed 47 home runs in the last two seasons combined, I will not be targeting any Brewers’ hitters in this one.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Jonathan Villar SWITCH 0.338 0.118 0.333 SS $3,500
2 Scooter Gennett LEFT 0.308 0.131 0.358 2B $3,000
3 Ryan Braun RIGHT 0.359 0.211 0.497 OF $4,200
4 Jonathan Lucroy RIGHT 0.351 0.168 0.293 C $2,800
5 Chris Carter RIGHT 0.325 0.245 0.347 1B $3,400
6 Kirk Nieuwenhuis LEFT 0.315 0.183 0.387 OF $2,900
7 Aaron Hill RIGHT 0.316 0.140 0.383 3B $2,300
8 Ramon Flores LEFT 0.260 0.061 0.257 OF $2,100
9 Junior Guerra RIGHT 0.126 0.000 0.293 P $8,100
Team Averages 0.300 0.140 0.350

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – NONE

Stackability – NONE

Washington

The Nationals have a mediocre offense against right-handed pitching this season and they come into today’s game with a mediocre team total of 4.31 runs. They draw an average matchup against Junior Guerra at home. While the sample size is still small (11 starts), Guerra has held both left and right-handed hitters under a .290 wOBA this season.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Ben Revere LEFT 0.300 0.068 0.249 OF $3,700
2 Jayson Werth RIGHT 0.285 0.128 0.351 OF $3,900
3 Bryce Harper LEFT 0.446 0.315 0.386 OF $4,300
4 Daniel Murphy LEFT 0.374 0.220 0.383 2B $4,000
5 Wilson Ramos RIGHT 0.318 0.159 0.406 C $3,600
6 Ryan Zimmerman RIGHT 0.291 0.166 0.224 1B $3,300
7 Anthony Rendon RIGHT 0.310 0.129 0.325 3B $3,200
8 Danny Espinosa SWITCH 0.307 0.167 0.420 SS $3,200
9 Max Scherzer RIGHT 0.188 0.014 0.000 P $12,000
Team Averages 0.313 0.152 0.305

Elite Plays – Bryce Harper

Secondary Plays – Daniel Murphy, Wilson Ramos

Stackability – NONE

LA Angels at Tampa Bay – 1:10 PM ET

LA Angels Tampa Bay
laangelsmlb Nick Tropeano tampabaymlb Matt Moore
RIGHT LEFT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
TB -130 8.0
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.331 3 25.6% 11.9% SP vs. Left 0.317 7 16.6% 6.2%
SP vs. Right 0.334 7 19.4% 6.5% SP vs. Right 0.348 18 21.0% 7.9%

Pitcher Grind Down

Nick Tropeano
nick-tropeano-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $7,000 Salary: $9,200
FPPG: 30.4 FPPG: 15.2
Pitcher Rating: 56.5 Pitcher Rank: 16
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
2016 10 97.8 4.70 3.25 22.1% 11.5% 12.8% 34.4% 46.5% 35.4%
2015 7 93.0 3.58 3.82 23.6% 6.2% 11.5% 38.5% 40.4% 24.8%

Tropeano is making his 11th start of the season, posting a 4.70 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 22.1% in his first ten outings. He comes into today’s game as a small favorite on the road, although his matchup against the Rays is somewhat appealing. On the season, Tampa Bay is ranked 24th in team wOBA and 29th in team ISO against right-handed pitching this season. While Tropeano does provide decent upside at his price point, he is best suited as a deep GPP play.

Matt Moore
matt-moore-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $7,800 Salary: $7,200
FPPG: 28.6 FPPG: 14.6
Pitcher Rating: 60.3 Pitcher Rank: 12
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 104.0 4.19 3.72 21.7% 5.7% 11.5% 31.1% 50.9% 30.4%
2016 16 100.8 4.09 4.67 22.0% 6.8% 10.8% 38.3% 41.5% 33.7%
2015 12 88.0 4.67 5.43 16.6% 8.3% 9.9% 39.2% 38.7% 31.7%

Moore is coming off of his best start in the better part of a month. He struck out six batters over seven shutout innings against a tough Red Sox lineup. Moore is one of those pitchers that is streaky, so this could be a good time to hop on while his price is still low. He draws a decent matchup against the Angels, who are ranked at or below the major league average in both team wOBA and team ISO against left-handed pitching this season.

Batter Grind Down

LA Angels

The Angels are coming off of a huge offensive series against the Red Sox. We shouldn’t put too much stock into it though, as facing a few mediocre pitchers in Fenway Park isn’t exactly the worst stretch of matchups. They draw a boom or bust type of matchup against Matt Moore today. While he is coming off of a strong start, Moore has allowed a .348 wOBA to right-handed hitters over the last two seasons.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. LHP ISO vs. LHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Yunel Escobar RIGHT 0.360 0.124 0.311 3B $3,300 3B $3,000
2 Kole Calhoun LEFT 0.315 0.165 0.323 OF $3,800 OF $3,500
3 Mike Trout RIGHT 0.414 0.247 0.502 OF $4,300 OF $5,200
4 Albert Pujols RIGHT 0.336 0.266 0.387 1B $3,300 1B $4,100
5 Jefry Marte RIGHT 0.307 0.226 0.167 3B $2,200 1B/3B $3,700
6 C.J. Cron RIGHT 0.283 0.130 0.377 1B $3,100 1B $4,300
7 Johnny Giavotella LEFT 0.285 0.067 0.294 2B $2,700 2B $3,000
8 Jett Bandy RIGHT 0.607 0.667 0.304 C $2,000 C $2,200
9 Andrelton Simmons RIGHT 0.250 0.053 0.237 SS $2,500 SS $2,400
Team Averages 0.351 0.216 0.322

Elite Plays – Mike Trout

Secondary Plays – Yunel Escobar, Albert Pujols, C.J. Cron

Stackability – NONE

Tampa Bay

The Rays have a slightly below-average team total, as they square off against Nick Tropeano at home. This isn’t a great matchup by any means, but Tropeano has allowed a .330+ wOBA to both left and right-handed hitters over the last two seasons. I don’t mind their offense as a whole, but see their hitters as secondary plays in this slate.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Logan Forsythe RIGHT 0.325 0.113 0.335 2B $3,400 2B $3,600
2 Brad Miller LEFT 0.339 0.193 0.421 SS $3,700 SS $4,000
3 Evan Longoria RIGHT 0.320 0.186 0.322 3B $3,800 3B $3,600
4 Logan Morrison LEFT 0.316 0.180 0.271 1B $3,100 1B $3,500
5 Brandon Guyer RIGHT 0.302 0.130 0.815 OF $2,900 OF $3,300
6 Steven Souza RIGHT 0.317 0.175 OF $2,600 OF $3,400
7 Corey Dickerson LEFT 0.350 0.280 0.245 OF $3,400 OF $3,200
8 Oswaldo Arcia LEFT 0.308 0.183 0.484 OF $2,500 OF $3,400
9 Hank Conger SWITCH 0.328 0.195 0.301 C $2,200 C $2,500
Team Averages 0.323 0.182 0.399

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Logan Forsythe, Brad Miller, Evan Longoria

Stackability – NONE

Miami at NY Mets – 1:10 PM ET

Miami NY Mets
miamimlb Tom Koehler nymetsmlb Matt Harvey
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
NYM -150 7.5
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.342 18 18.7% 11.3% SP vs. Left 0.322 19 22.6% 7.2%
SP vs. Right 0.308 10 16.6% 9.6% SP vs. Right 0.254 7 23.2% 3.6%

Pitcher Grind Down

Tom Koehler
tom-koehler-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $7,200 Salary: $6,800
FPPG: 26.4 FPPG: 12.3
Pitcher Rating: 52.3 Pitcher Rank: 19
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 95.0 3.99 4.36 23.9% 8.5% 10.5% 39.6% 34.1% 25.8%
2016 16 95.0 5.03 4.45 18.9% 12.1% 9.0% 43.9% 32.9% 24.4%
2015 31 96.0 4.67 4.08 17.1% 9.6% 7.3% 46.0% 35.6% 34.5%

Koehler has seen a nice boost in his strikeout rate over the last month of play, but is still an average right-handed pitcher in terms of his fantasy value. In 16 starts this season, he has a 5.03 SIERA with a strikeout rate just under 20%. He draws an exploitable matchup against the Mets, but he is listed as a sizable underdog on the road. Given his command issues, I will be avoiding Koehler in both cash games and GPPs.

Matt Harvey
matt-harvey-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $8,400 Salary: $7,000
FPPG: 24.8 FPPG: 12.2
Pitcher Rating: 76.6 Pitcher Rank: 7
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 5 87.4 4.33 2.83 19.3% 6.1% 9.6% 37.8% 40.2% 29.4%
2016 16 89.9 4.37 4.55 18.9% 6.6% 10.1% 39.7% 35.3% 30.4%
2015 29 96.5 3.23 2.71 24.9% 4.9% 11.6% 46.0% 36.1% 26.7%

Harvey has a low ERA over the last month of play, but his peripheral statistics suggest that he really hasn’t pitched that much better during that stretch. He is having a disappointing season overall with a 4.37 SIERA and a strikeout rate of only 18.9%. The velocity has been there, but he isn’t generating as many swings and misses and he isn’t getting into enough favorable counts. Now, with all of that said, he is worth a look today against the Marlins at home. If he can pitch around the left-handed hitters in this lineup, he will have a good shot at picking up the win.

Batter Grind Down

Miami

The Marlins have the third lowest team total on the board today, as they square off against Matt Harvey. This isn’t a great matchup by any means, but he has struggled a bit with left-handed hitters in his career. The lefties in his lineup could be worth a look as one-offs in GPPs, but the rest of the Marlins can be avoided.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Derek Dietrich LEFT 0.377 0.193 0.395 2B $2,500 2B $3,700
2 Martin Prado RIGHT 0.308 0.095 0.272 3B $3,000 3B $3,400
3 Christian Yelich LEFT 0.367 0.151 0.342 OF $3,600 OF $4,000
4 Marcell Ozuna RIGHT 0.311 0.144 0.464 OF $2,900 OF $5,000
5 Giancarlo Stanton RIGHT 0.350 0.251 0.423 OF $3,200 OF $4,000
6 Justin Bour LEFT 0.365 0.260 0.543 1B $3,600 1B $4,500
7 J.T. Realmuto RIGHT 0.310 0.128 0.344 C $3,300 C $3,600
8 Adeiny Hechavarria RIGHT 0.271 0.081 0.244 SS $2,000 SS $2,600
9 Tom Koehler RIGHT 0.112 0.016 0.000 P $7,200 P $6,800
Team Averages 0.308 0.147 0.336

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Derek Dietrich, Christian Yelich, Justin Bour

Stackability – NONE

NY Mets

The Mets may be favorites in this one, but they come into the game with the 11th lowest team total on the board. They draw a decent matchup against Tom Koehler, who has a high walk rate and a high SIERA. He has also had problems with left-handed hitters, allowing a .342 wOBA and 18 home runs over the last two seasons.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Curtis Granderson LEFT 0.371 0.225 0.328 OF $3,100 OF $3,600
2 Neil Walker SWITCH 0.328 0.172 0.227 2B $3,200 2B $3,600
3 Yoenis Cespedes RIGHT 0.375 0.259 0.358 OF $3,600 OF $4,400
4 James Loney LEFT 0.315 0.096 0.406 1B $2,600 1B $3,300
5 Asdrubal Cabrera SWITCH 0.315 0.163 0.321 SS $2,900 SS $3,600
6 Wilmer Flores RIGHT 0.283 0.116 0.279 3B $2,000 3B $2,500
7 Brandon Nimmo LEFT 0.251 0.000 0.220 OF $2,300 OF $2,000
8 Travis D’Arnaud RIGHT 0.305 0.153 0.191 C $2,200 C $2,900
9 Matt Harvey RIGHT 0.086 0.033 0.000 P $8,400 P $7,000
Team Averages 0.292 0.135 0.259

Elite Plays – Curtis Granderson

Secondary Plays – Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera

Stackability – NONE

Texas at Boston – 1:35 PM ET

Texas Boston
texasmlb Nick Martinez bostonmlb Rick Porcello
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
BOS -165 10.5
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.310 7 12.4% 11.1% SP vs. Left 0.320 21 21.2% 5.5%
SP vs. Right 0.383 12 13.6% 7.2% SP vs. Right 0.336 17 20.0% 4.6%

Pitcher Grind Down

Nick Martinez
nick-martinez-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $5,900 Salary: $4,000
FPPG: 11.4 FPPG: 3.5
Pitcher Rating: 21.9 Pitcher Rank: 29
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 3 96.7 6.21 4.58 8.6% 12.4% 7.9% 52.5% 34.4% 29.5%
2016 3 103.7 6.48 5.00 8.1% 14.0% 7.7% 54.0% 33.3% 28.6%
2015 21 100.9 4.92 3.96 13.8% 8.2% 7.4% 42.3% 33.7% 30.1%

Martinez has a few too many red boxes in his pitching table above. On the season, he owns a 6.48 SIERA with a strikeout rate of only 8.1%. He has a BB:K ratio close to 2.00. That is one of the worst in baseball. He should obviously be avoided today against the Red Sox, who just so happen to lead the majors in both team wOBA against right-handed pitching and in runs scored per game.

Rick Porcello
rick-porcello-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $8,700 Salary: $8,000
FPPG: 34.3 FPPG: 17.6
Pitcher Rating: 63.4 Pitcher Rank: 10
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 95.3 4.02 3.96 19.7% 4.6% 7.0% 44.5% 37.3% 30.4%
2016 16 102.0 3.84 3.78 21.5% 5.1% 7.4% 46.2% 35.5% 29.7%
2015 28 98.0 3.73 4.92 20.2% 5.2% 8.5% 45.7% 32.5% 32.8%

Porcello hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations after signing that big contract with the Red Sox. Over the last two seasons, he has a SIERA just under 4.00 with a strikeout rate around 21%. He doesn’t walk a ton of batters, but he pitches in a bad ballpark and he generally faces a tough opponent in most of his starts. The Rangers qualify as another bad matchup, as they are ranked above the major league average in team wOBA, team ISO, and team K% against right-handed pitching this season.

Batter Grind Down

Texas

The Rangers may be underdogs today, but they are still one of the top offenses to target. They see a major ballpark boost playing in the hitter-friendly Fenway Park and they draw a decent matchup against Rick Porcello. Over the last two seasons, Porcello has allowed a .320+ wOBA to both left and right-handed hitters.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Shin-Soo Choo LEFT 0.384 0.195 0.346 OF $3,800 OF $3,600
2 Ian Desmond RIGHT 0.312 0.165 0.502 OF $3,600 OF $4,600
3 Nomar Mazara LEFT 0.358 0.189 0.264 OF $2,800 OF $3,400
4 Adrian Beltre RIGHT 0.311 0.144 0.368 3B $3,000 3B $3,600
5 Prince Fielder LEFT 0.357 0.155 0.408 1B $2,700 1B $3,500
6 Rougned Odor LEFT 0.325 0.215 0.341 2B $2,800 2B $3,700
7 Elvis Andrus RIGHT 0.281 0.079 0.302 SS $2,700 SS $3,300
8 Mitch Moreland LEFT 0.349 0.220 0.249 OF $2,300 1B $2,800
9 Robinson Chirinos RIGHT 0.307 0.195 0.182 C $2,200 C $2,700
Team Averages 0.332 0.173 0.329

Elite Plays – Shin-Soo Choo

Secondary Plays – Ian Desmond, Nomar Mazara, Adrian Beltre, Prince Fielder, Rougned Odor

Stackability – GPP

Boston

The Red Sox allowed the Angels to score 20 runs against them on Saturday night. They turned around and score ten runs against them yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if they put up double-digit runs again today. They draw the best matchup on the board, as they take on the very hittable Nick Martinez. Hitters from both sides of the plate are in play here and I like loading up on Boston bats in both cash games and GPPs.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Mookie Betts RIGHT 0.357 0.204 0.288 OF $4,000 OF $5,400
2 Dustin Pedroia RIGHT 0.354 0.147 0.279 2B $3,600 2B $4,400
3 Xander Bogaerts RIGHT 0.342 0.118 0.298 SS $3,500 SS $4,900
4 David Ortiz LEFT 0.436 0.342 0.412 1B $4,800 1B $5,500
5 Hanley Ramirez RIGHT 0.309 0.142 0.343 1B $3,500 1B $4,800
6 Jackie Bradley LEFT 0.385 0.290 0.363 OF $3,600 OF $5,100
7 Brock Holt LEFT 0.305 0.105 OF $2,600 OF $3,400
8 Travis Shaw LEFT 0.341 0.185 0.296 3B $2,700 1B/3B $3,800
9 Christian Vazquez RIGHT 0.221 0.070 0.287 C $2,200 C $2,800
Team Averages 0.339 0.178 0.321

Elite Plays – Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz

Secondary Plays – Hanley Ramirez, Jackie Bradley, Brock Holt

Stackability – Cash & GPP

NY Yankees at Chicago White Sox – 2:10 PM ET

NY Yankees Chicago White Sox
nyyankeesmlb CC Sabathia whitesoxmlb James Shields
LEFT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
NYY -125 9.5
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.260 4 26.7% 6.7% SP vs. Left 0.378 29 19.8% 11.3%
SP vs. Right 0.343 28 17.0% 7.8% SP vs. Right 0.318 19 25.8% 8.1%

Pitcher Grind Down

CC Sabathia
cc-sabathia-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $6,900 Salary: $7,600
FPPG: 30.2 FPPG: 15.2
Pitcher Rating: 52.0 Pitcher Rank: 21
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 100.5 4.97 3.57 16.5% 9.9% 10.1% 48.6% 34.3% 28.4%
2016 13 95.2 4.65 3.17 18.7% 9.2% 9.7% 45.7% 35.4% 25.2%
2015 29 93.2 4.08 4.73 18.9% 6.9% 9.1% 45.9% 32.4% 29.1%

Sabathia has transformed into a different pitcher at this stage in his career. He is no longer going to blow his fastball by hitters. While he is having a better season than most expected, regression could be coming in the second half of the season. His ERA is much lower than his SIERA and it’s going to be tough for him to continue to pitch out of trouble. He is an easy fade today against the White Sox in what is expected to be one of the highest scoring games of the day.

James Shields
james-shields-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $7,100 Salary: $4,600
FPPG: 21.1 FPPG: 9.2
Pitcher Rating: 49.7 Pitcher Rank: 23
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 85.7 6.45 13.70 10.8% 13.9% 5.5% 37.5% 38.5% 40.8%
2016 16 94.8 4.92 5.85 17.8% 10.4% 9.4% 44.4% 33.9% 34.4%
2015 33 101.1 3.72 3.91 25.1% 9.4% 12.4% 44.9% 34.4% 31.2%

Shields wasn’t awful in his last start, but that was the exception rather than the rule. So far this season, he has a 4.92 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 17.8% and a walk rate of 10.4%. The Yankees haven’t been great offensively, but it’s going to take a lot more than one decent outing for me to consider using Shields in anything other than a lowball DFS contest.

Batter Grind Down

NY Yankees

The Yankees haven’t been great against right-handed pitching this season, but they come into this game with the fifth highest team total on the board. They draw a favorable matchup against James Shields, who has allowed a .370+ wOBA to both left and right-handed hitters over the last two seasons.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Jacoby Ellsbury LEFT 0.313 0.107 0.248 OF $3,500 OF $4,100
2 Brett Gardner LEFT 0.335 0.143 0.297 OF $3,800 OF $3,700
3 Alex Rodriguez RIGHT 0.324 0.202 0.227 3B $3,400 1B/3B $3,600
4 Brian McCann LEFT 0.329 0.209 0.452 C $3,700 C $4,600
5 Mark Teixeira SWITCH 0.353 0.278 0.460 1B $3,100 1B $3,100
6 Starlin Castro RIGHT 0.290 0.129 0.259 2B $3,100 2B $3,400
7 Chase Headley SWITCH 0.302 0.112 0.358 3B $2,800 3B $3,100
8 Didi Gregorius LEFT 0.307 0.130 0.395 SS $3,100 SS $3,900
9 Aaron Hicks SWITCH 0.285 0.125 0.190 OF $2,300 OF $2,700
Team Averages 0.315 0.159 0.321

Elite Plays – Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann

Secondary Plays – Brett Gardner, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Starlin Castro

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are small underdogs at home, but this is still an exploitable matchup. Over the last two seasons, CC Sabathia has allowed a .343 wOBA and 28 home runs to right-handed hitters. He has been very tough on lefties, but right-handed hitters continue to have great success against Sabathia.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. LHP ISO vs. LHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Tim Anderson RIGHT 0.088 0.000 0.326 SS $2,900 SS $3,600
2 Adam Eaton LEFT 0.318 0.066 0.330 OF $2,600 OF $3,400
3 Jose Abreu RIGHT 0.291 0.128 0.349 1B $3,700 1B $3,500
4 Todd Frazier RIGHT 0.370 0.349 0.300 3B $3,100 3B $4,300
5 Brett Lawrie RIGHT 0.349 0.192 0.407 2B $3,100 2B $4,500
6 Alex Avila LEFT 0.239 0.027 0.316 C $2,600 C $2,600
7 Avisail Garcia RIGHT 0.306 0.111 0.245 OF $2,100 OF $3,000
8 Tyler Saladino RIGHT 0.275 0.111 0.399 SS $2,800 3B/SS $3,500
9 J.B. Shuck LEFT 0.286 0.080 0.255 OF $2,700 OF $3,000
Team Averages 0.280 0.118 0.325

Elite Plays – Jose Abreu

Secondary Plays – Tim Anderson, Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie

Stackability – GPP


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About the Author

Notorious
Derek Farnsworth (Notorious)

Derek Farnsworth (aka Notorious) is a lead RotoGrinders Expert and one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of DFS. Before joining the RotoGrinders team, Derek received a Master’s Degree from the University of Utah. When he’s not busy providing content, he’s dominating the DFS industry as evidenced by his consistent top rankings in several sports and multiple Live Final appearances. Noto provides expert NBA, NFL, MLB, and PGA analysis for RotoGrinders Premium members on a daily basis and has also been nominated for five different Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA) awards. Follow Noto on X – @RG_Notorious