MLB Grind Down: Monday, June 13th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2016-06-14 03:54:24

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.

Chicago Cubs at Washington – 7:05 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Chicago Cubs					Washington
			Kyle Hendricks					Max Scherzer
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			WAS -125					7.0
SP vs. Left	0.323	14	21.2%	6.7%	SP vs. Left	0.311	22	25.9%	7.4%
SP vs. Right	0.251	7	23.2%	5.0%	SP vs. Right	0.223	21	35.9%	1.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Kyle Hendricks
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$8,400	Salary:		$9,400
					FPPG:		29.8	FPPG:		16.8
					Pitcher Rating:		73.2	Pitcher Rank:		5
L14 Days	2	91.0	3.26	2.77	25.0%	6.3%	8.8%	54.8%	25.8%	28.1%
2016	11	89.0	3.48	2.90	21.4%	5.6%	8.6%	56.8%	25.1%	23.6%
2015	32	87.3	3.37	3.95	22.6%	5.8%	8.1%	51.3%	26.9%	25.8%

Hendricks is coming off of another nice fantasy outing, but once again, we saw Joe Maddon pinch hit for him in the fifth inning. Hendricks had only thrown 81 pitches, but we have seen Maddon pinch hit for him time and time again when the situation presents itself in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Hendricks has a strikeout rate above 20% and he is facing a Nationals’ offense that is ranked between 12th and 14th in team wOBA, team ISO, and team K% against right-handed pitching. He is a nice contrarian play for tournaments, as most people will lean to Max Scherzer in cash games.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Max Scherzer
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$11,300	Salary:		$12,200
					FPPG:		43.5	FPPG:		24.3
					Pitcher Rating:		94.0	Pitcher Rank:		1
L14 Days	2	104.0	3.11	1.20	29.8%	5.3%	16.4%	30.6%	52.8%	16.2%
2016	13	103.7	3.13	3.57	30.5%	7.1%	14.9%	34.3%	46.2%	24.9%
2015	33	101.8	2.63	2.79	30.7%	3.8%	15.3%	35.8%	45.4%	28.1%

Scherzer has been terrific this season, posting a 3.13 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 30.5%. He owns an elite swinging strike rate and he doesn’t walk many batters. The one weakness to his game is that he is prone to give up home runs. He has allowed 43 home runs in his last 46 starts. That could potentially cause a problem tonight against the Cubs, but he is still the clear number one pitching option in this slate. There is one red flag, but we should be willing to overlook it in this slate.

Batter Grind Down

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are not an offense that I am looking to stack tonight. They draw the worst matchup on the board and they have the lowest run projection of any team on the schedule. As I mentioned above, the only weakness for Max Scherzer has been the long ball. He has allowed 22 home runs to left-handed hitters and 21 home runs to right-handed hitters over the last two seasons.

Cubs Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.331 (7 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.169 (14 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 21.9% (18 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 5.37 (3 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.35 (20 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Dexter Fowler	SWITCH	0.340	0.178	0.301	OF	$3,900	OF	$3,400
2	Jason Heyward	LEFT	0.335	0.147	0.337	OF	$3,300	OF	$3,300
3	Kris Bryant	RIGHT	0.378	0.216	0.391	3B	$4,100	3B/OF	$4,200
4	Anthony Rizzo	LEFT	0.393	0.268	0.477	1B	$4,100	1B	$4,000
5	Ben Zobrist	SWITCH	0.352	0.171	0.276	2B	$3,400	2B	$3,300
6	Chris Coghlan	LEFT	0.323	0.192	0.123	3B	$2,200	2B/OF	$2,000
7	Miguel Montero	LEFT	0.323	0.157	0.323	C	$2,500	C	$2,500
8	Addison Russell	RIGHT	0.318	0.141	0.172	SS	$2,400	SS	$2,200
9	Kyle Hendricks	RIGHT	0.061	0.000	0.000	P	$8,400	P	$9,400
	Team Averages	—	0.314	0.163	0.267	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Kris Bryant (GPP), Anthony Rizzo (GPP)

Stackability – NONE

Washington

The Nationals would love to sweep the Cubs and put their name in the hat for the best team in the National League. They enter tonight’s game as small favorites against Kyle Hendricks, who presents a less than ideal fantasy matchup. While he has been an above-average pitcher over the last two seasons, he has allowed a .323 wOBA and 14 home runs to left-handed hitters.

Nationals Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.316 (12 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.171 (12 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 20.2% (14 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.63 (10 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.65 (17 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Ben Revere	LEFT	0.302	0.074	0.263	OF	$3,100	OF	$3,100
2	Jayson Werth	RIGHT	0.284	0.135	0.464	OF	$3,600	OF	$3,500
3	Bryce Harper	LEFT	0.453	0.328	0.315	OF	$3,900	OF	$4,500
4	Daniel Murphy	LEFT	0.379	0.222	0.432	2B	$4,000	2B	$4,800
5	Ryan Zimmerman	RIGHT	0.304	0.179	0.298	1B	$3,100	1B	$3,400
6	Wilson Ramos	RIGHT	0.303	0.147	0.528	C	$3,600	C	$3,800
7	Anthony Rendon	RIGHT	0.310	0.125	0.363	3B	$3,300	3B	$3,700
8	Danny Espinosa	SWITCH	0.302	0.175	0.419	SS	$2,900	SS	$3,200
9	Max Scherzer	RIGHT	0.210	0.015	0.000	P	$11,300	P	$12,200
	Team Averages	—	0.316	0.156	0.342	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Daniel Murphy

Secondary Plays – Ben Revere, Bryce Harper

Stackability – NONE

Philadelphia at Toronto – 7:07 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Philadelphia					Toronto
			Jerad Eickhoff					R.A. Dickey
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			TOR -195					9.0
SP vs. Left	0.343	9	17.5%	6.1%	SP vs. Left	0.305	17	13.1%	8.8%
SP vs. Right	0.246	5	27.1%	5.0%	SP vs. Right	0.317	18	16.1%	6.2%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Jerad Eickhoff
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$7,300	Salary:		$8,700
					FPPG:		29.3	FPPG:		15.7
					Pitcher Rating:		49.2	Pitcher Rank:		18
L14 Days	2	99.5	3.44	1.98	23.5%	5.9%	13.1%	55.6%	33.3%	33.3%
2016	12	94.1	3.82	3.68	20.7%	5.0%	9.7%	44.7%	33.6%	30.8%
2015	8	92.4	3.56	2.65	24.1%	6.4%	10.4%	37.9%	40.0%	36.2%

Eickhoff has pitched well in each of his first two major league seasons. Through 12 starts in 2016, he has a 3.82 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 20.7% and a walk rate of 5.0%. Unfortunately, he is catching the Blue Jays at the exact wrong time. After struggling offensively for most of the season, Toronto has scored 21 runs in their last two games. As a large underdog in a game that features an over/under of 9.0 runs, Eickhoff is an easy fade in all league formats.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
R.A. Dickey
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$7,000	Salary:		$7,400
					FPPG:		23.8	FPPG:		11.6
					Pitcher Rating:		66.6	Pitcher Rank:		6
L14 Days	3	99.7	6.51	2.60	8.0%	13.3%	4.0%	43.9%	31.6%	29.8%
2016	13	98.2	4.79	4.15	16.0%	8.8%	8.9%	45.5%	32.1%	28.3%
2015	33	98.9	4.76	3.91	14.3%	6.9%	9.1%	41.9%	37.2%	23.9%

I’ve mentioned before that it would take an aligning of the stars for me to consider using Dickey in DFS. Those stars appear to be on the move, as he draws a favorable matchup against the Phillies on a night where pitching options are extremely scarce. Philadelphia is currently ranked 28th in team wOBA and 21st in team ISO against right-handed pitching this season. I’m not recommending Dickey on single pitcher sites like FanDuel, but he is in the mix as an SP2 on DraftKings.

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

The Phillies have the eighth lowest team projection on the board tonight, but they are still projected to score well above their average runs per game on the season. They draw a favorable matchup against R.A. Dickey in the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre. If you don’t trust Dickey (and I certainly wouldn’t blame you), you can look at a few Phillies’ batters for value in this one.

Phillies Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.286 (28 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.141 (21 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 22.1% (19 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.19 (29 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.95 (13 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Odubel Herrera	LEFT	0.354	0.131	0.298	OF	$3,500	OF	$3,800
2	Freddy Galvis	SWITCH	0.289	0.124	0.192	SS	$2,500	SS	$2,800
3	Maikel Franco	RIGHT	0.335	0.187	0.275	3B	$3,000	3B	$3,300
4	Tommy Joseph	RIGHT	0.362	0.340	0.469	1B	$2,800	1B	$4,700
5	Cody Asche	LEFT	0.304	0.159	0.251	OF	$2,300	OF	$2,900
6	Cameron Rupp	RIGHT	0.287	0.141	0.369	C	$2,600	C	$2,600
7	Jimmy Paredes	SWITCH	0.321	0.160	0.240	2B	$2,000	2B	$2,900
8	Cesar Hernandez	SWITCH	0.290	0.083	0.272	2B	$2,300	2B	$2,800
9	Peter Bourjos	RIGHT	0.238	0.112	0.092	OF	$2,000	OF	$2,500
	Team Averages	—	0.309	0.160	0.273	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Maikel Franco

Secondary Plays – Odubel Herrera, Tommy Joseph, Cody Asche

Stackability – NONE

Toronto

The Blue Jays’ offense is finally gaining traction, scoring at least ten runs in each of their last two games. They have the highest team total on the board tonight, as they square off against Jerad Eickhoff. While the matchup may not look great on paper, the Blue Jays should have another big night at home in the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre. Jose Bautista is expected to return to the lineup tonight, which only adds another threat to their offense.

Blue Jays Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.316 (12 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.174 (9 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 22.4% (20 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.30 (15 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 5.05 (1 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Jose Bautista	RIGHT	0.387	0.286	0.326	OF	$4,500	OF	$3,900
2	Josh Donaldson	RIGHT	0.382	0.258	0.331	3B	$4,200	3B	$4,400
3	Edwin Encarnacion	RIGHT	0.372	0.264	0.452	1B	$4,000	1B	$4,500
4	Michael Saunders	LEFT	0.345	0.172	0.428	OF	$3,600	OF	$3,900
5	Justin Smoak	SWITCH	0.337	0.221	0.304	1B	$3,200	1B	$3,100
6	Russell Martin	RIGHT	0.303	0.174	0.328	C	$2,900	C	$2,900
7	Kevin Pillar	RIGHT	0.306	0.127	0.322	OF	$3,000	OF	$3,200
8	Devon Travis	RIGHT	0.332	0.158	0.169	2B	$2,600	2B	$3,200
9	Darwin Barney	RIGHT	0.343	0.141	0.342	SS	$2,400	2B/SS	$2,400
	Team Averages	—	0.345	0.200	0.334	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders

Secondary Plays – Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak, Russell Martin

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Cincinnati at Atlanta – 7:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Cincinnati					Atlanta
			Daniel Wright					Aaron Blair
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			ATL -107					9.0
SP vs. Left	0.453	1	10.3%	3.5%	SP vs. Left	0.402	2	7.3%	15.9%
SP vs. Right	0.424	1	15.0%	0.0%	SP vs. Right	0.362	2	16.5%	9.4%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Daniel Wright
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$4,400	Salary:		$5,500
					FPPG:		8.0	FPPG:		2.2
					Pitcher Rating:		41.2	Pitcher Rank:		20
L14 Days	0	0.0	4.62	9.64	7.7%	0.0%	8.1%	43.5%	34.8%	50.0%
2016	1	87.0	4.69	7.20	12.2%	2.0%	6.9%	34.1%	43.9%	47.6%

Wright is making his second career major league start. He hasn’t fared well in his first three appearances (one start, two out of the bullpen), posting a 4.69 SIERA with a strikeout rate of only 12.2%. Wright had a low ERA in the minors, but he never flashed great strikeout potential. The one positive is that he gets to face a Braves’ offense that is ranked dead last in both team wOBA and team ISO against right-handed pitching this season. Unfortunately, that’s not enough of a reason to roster Wright tonight.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Aaron Blair
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$4,700	Salary:		$5,200
					FPPG:		10.3	FPPG:		2.8
					Pitcher Rating:		49.9	Pitcher Rank:		17
L14 Days	2	85.5	5.90	8.64	15.9%	15.9%	11.7%	50.0%	39.3%	28.6%
2016	8	79.9	5.89	7.13	12.0%	12.6%	8.1%	43.8%	33.9%	26.0%

Blair has really struggled in his eight starts this season, posting a 5.89 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 12.0%. To give you an idea of how bad these two pitchers are, typically games in Turner Field have a maximum over/under of around 8.0 runs. Tonight’s game features a total of 9.0 runs and both of these offenses struggle against right-handed pitching. It’s a strange night where we may want to load up on hitters in Turner Field.

Batter Grind Down

Cincinnati

The Reds are small underdogs tonight, but this game is basically set as a pick ‘em. As I mentioned above, this is expected to be a high-scoring affair, which is a bit strange given the ballpark and the two offenses that are facing off. In his eight starts this season, Aaron Blair has allowed a .402 wOBA to left-handed hitters and a .362 wOBA to right-handed hitters.

Reds Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.300 (26 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.179 (8 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 23.2% (24 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.35 (13 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.45 (7 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Zack Cozart	RIGHT	0.322	0.197	0.377	SS	$3,200	SS	$3,600
2	Joey Votto	LEFT	0.404	0.236	0.431	1B	$3,400	1B	$4,500
3	Brandon Phillips	RIGHT	0.313	0.121	0.293	2B	$3,300	2B	$3,500
4	Jay Bruce	LEFT	0.333	0.256	0.503	OF	$3,900	OF	$4,900
5	Adam Duvall	RIGHT	0.374	0.348	0.382	OF	$3,400	OF	$4,600
6	Eugenio Suarez	RIGHT	0.306	0.166	0.407	3B	$2,900	3B	$4,000
7	Tyler Holt	RIGHT	0.253	0.049	0.350	OF	$2,000	OF	$2,700
8	Tucker Barnhart	SWITCH	0.293	0.088	0.399	C	$2,300	C	$2,600
9	Daniel Wright	RIGHT	0.000	0.000	0.000	P	$4,400	P	$5,500
	Team Averages	—	0.289	0.162	0.349	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Adam Duvall

Secondary Plays – Zack Cozart, Brandon Phillips, Eugenio Suarez

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Atlanta

I’m sure it has happened this season, but I can’t remember a game where the Braves were projected to score 4.55 runs. They have the worst offense in baseball, yet they have the sixth highest team total on the board. They draw an excellent matchup against the inexperienced Daniel Wright. They are still the Braves and could certainly disappoint, but I will be looking at a few hitters here.

Braves Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.277 (30 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.095 (30 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 19.5% (11 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.11 (30 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.55 (6 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Ender Inciarte	LEFT	0.342	0.120	0.294	OF	$2,900	OF	$3,800
2	Chase d’Arnaud	RIGHT	0.309	0.058	0.261	2B	$2,900	3B/SS	$3,400
3	Freddie Freeman	LEFT	0.362	0.211	0.266	1B	$3,100	1B	$3,900
4	Nick Markakis	LEFT	0.338	0.097	0.259	OF	$2,600	OF	$3,500
5	Adonis Garcia	RIGHT	0.297	0.136	0.244	3B	$2,400	3B	$2,900
6	A.J. Pierzynski	LEFT	0.316	0.125	0.120	C	$2,200	C	$2,900
7	Jace Peterson	LEFT	0.302	0.092	0.592	2B	$2,300	2B/OF	$3,100
8	Aaron Blair	RIGHT	0.176	0.000	0.000	P	$4,700	P	$5,200
9	Mallex Smith	LEFT	0.380	0.212	0.361	OF	$2,500	OF	$3,700
	Team Averages	—	0.314	0.117	0.266	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Freddie Freeman

Secondary Plays – Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis, Adonis Garcia, A.J. Pierzynski

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Detroit at Chicago White Sox – 8:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Detroit					Chicago White Sox
			Matt Boyd					James Shields
			LEFT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			CWS -105					9.5
SP vs. Left	0.428	6	14.0%	5.8%	SP vs. Left	0.379	29	19.8%	10.8%
SP vs. Right	0.365	14	18.9%	9.5%	SP vs. Right	0.302	16	27.8%	8.1%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Matt Boyd
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$6,100	Salary:		$6,200
					FPPG:		22.8	FPPG:		12.6
					Pitcher Rating:		53.0	Pitcher Rank:		15
L14 Days	2	90.0	5.45	3.86	16.0%	12.0%	5.0%	31.4%	40.0%	36.1%
2016	3	91.3	4.67	3.38	19.3%	10.2%	8.8%	35.0%	41.7%	32.3%
2015	12	83.6	4.83	7.53	17.1%	7.9%	8.2%	31.9%	51.9%	34.0%

Boyd has a fairly low ERA this season, but that’s really the only statistic that stands out. Outside of that, he has a 4.67 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 19.3% and a walk rate of 10.2%. He draws a decent matchup tonight against the White Sox, but he is facing them on the road in a game that features an over/under of 9.5 runs. If you need a cheap pitcher tonight, I would rather target R.A. Dickey or Colin Rea.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
James Shields
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$6,700	Salary:		$4,800
					FPPG:		24.3	FPPG:		11.7
					Pitcher Rating:		61.0	Pitcher Rank:		9
L14 Days	2	81.5	6.97	32.79	8.3%	16.7%	4.3%	46.2%	30.8%	48.2%
2016	12	97.1	4.43	5.06	19.7%	9.7%	10.4%	47.8%	31.4%	33.2%
2015	33	101.1	3.72	3.91	25.1%	9.4%	12.4%	44.9%	34.4%	31.2%

Welcome to Chicago, James Shields! In his first start with the team, he gave up eight hits, three home runs, and seven earned runs in only two innings of work against the Nationals. That was quite possibly the worst possible start that Shields could have had. Until he can find his footing in Chicago, we should continue to avoid him for DFS purposes. I know that he has been tough on right-handed hitters (which is good for tonight’s matchup), but there are too many red flags with Shields right now.

Batter Grind Down

Detroit

The Tigers come into tonight’s game with the third-highest team total on the board. While their lineup consists primarily of right-handed hitters, I still consider this a favorable matchup. James Shields has really been struggling this season and he has allowed 45 home runs over the last two seasons.

Tigers Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.331 (7 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.172 (10 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 23.2% (24 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.61 (11 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.72 (3 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Ian Kinsler	RIGHT	0.341	0.149	0.373	2B	$4,200	2B	$5,300
2	Cameron Maybin	RIGHT	0.307	0.082	0.317	OF	$2,900	OF	$3,900
3	Miguel Cabrera	RIGHT	0.408	0.210	0.258	1B	$3,500	1B	$4,300
4	Victor Martinez	SWITCH	0.302	0.147	0.356	C	$3,100	1B	$4,100
5	J.D. Martinez	RIGHT	0.365	0.242	0.381	OF	$4,000	OF	$5,000
6	Nick Castellanos	RIGHT	0.317	0.173	0.282	3B	$3,300	3B	$4,100
7	Justin Upton	RIGHT	0.335	0.195	0.298	OF	$2,900	OF	$4,400
8	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	SWITCH	0.319	0.222	0.303	C	$2,000	C	$3,400
9	Jose Iglesias	RIGHT	0.284	0.055	0.363	SS	$2,600	SS	$3,100
	Team Averages	—	0.331	0.164	0.326	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez

Secondary Plays – Ian Kinsler, Cameron Maybin, Nick Castellanos, Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are ranked 19th or worse in team wOBA, team ISO, and team K% against left-handed pitching this season, yet they come into tonight’s game with the second highest team total on the board. They draw a favorable matchup against Matt Boyd, who has allowed a .428 wOBA to left-handed hitters and a .365 wOBA to right-handed hitters this season.

White Sox Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. LHP — 0.310 (19 of 30)
Team ISO vs. LHP — 0.137 (25 of 30)
Team K% vs. LHP — 23.5% (22 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.02 (22 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.78 (2 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. LHP	ISO vs. LHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Adam Eaton	LEFT	0.311	0.065	0.289	OF	$3,300	OF	$3,200
2	Jose Abreu	RIGHT	0.285	0.117	0.324	1B	$3,400	1B	$4,000
3	Melky Cabrera	SWITCH	0.286	0.121	0.345	OF	$3,100	OF	$4,000
4	Todd Frazier	RIGHT	0.370	0.344	0.307	3B	$3,400	3B	$4,900
5	Brett Lawrie	RIGHT	0.352	0.193	0.214	2B	$2,800	2B	$3,600
6	Avisail Garcia	RIGHT	0.311	0.114	0.215	OF	$2,600	OF	$3,400
7	Dioner Navarro	SWITCH	0.317	0.192	0.139	C	$2,300	C	$3,300
8	Jason Coats	RIGHT	0.344	0.000	0.210	OF	$3,000	OF	$2,000
9	Tim Anderson	RIGHT	0.000	0.000	0.354	SS	$2,200	SS	$2,700
	Team Averages	—	0.286	0.127	0.266	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie

Secondary Plays – Adam Eaton, Jose Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Dioner Navarro

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Cleveland at Kansas City – 8:15 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Cleveland					Kansas City
			Carlos Carrasco					Edinson Volquez
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			CLE -133					8.0
SP vs. Left	0.285	13	26.7%	6.9%	SP vs. Left	0.300	14	17.9%	8.7%
SP vs. Right	0.284	12	29.6%	4.8%	SP vs. Right	0.314	10	18.9%	8.3%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Carlos Carrasco
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$9,400	Salary:		$10,800
					FPPG:		28.3	FPPG:		15.2
					Pitcher Rating:		82.1	Pitcher Rank:		3
L14 Days	2	89.0	3.53	5.40	16.3%	4.1%	10.1%	63.2%	23.7%	42.1%
2016	6	81.8	3.61	3.48	20.9%	5.2%	10.6%	53.6%	29.9%	39.8%
2015	30	92.6	2.74	3.63	29.6%	5.9%	14.0%	51.2%	29.8%	27.5%

Carrasco only threw 78 pitches in his first start back from injury, but threw 99 pitches in his last outing. Even if he is on a pitch count, he will likely throw around 100 pitches, so we no longer have to factor that in. Carrasco has pitched well this season, posting a 3.61 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 20.9%. Tonight he faces a Royals’ offense that is ranked 20th in team wOBA and 13th in team K% against right-handed pitching this season. If you want to pay up at pitcher, Max Scherzer makes a lot more sense at home. However, Carrasco could be worth a look in GPPs.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Edinson Volquez
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$8,100	Salary:		$8,200
					FPPG:		28.9	FPPG:		14.1
					Pitcher Rating:		56.3	Pitcher Rank:		12
L14 Days	3	101.0	4.10	6.35	20.6%	9.6%	9.6%	54.9%	25.5%	31.4%
2016	13	102.2	4.29	4.25	18.9%	8.6%	8.9%	52.7%	30.7%	23.7%
2015	33	99.9	4.35	3.55	18.2%	8.5%	9.5%	46.0%	32.9%	30.4%

Volquez has a lot of yellow boxes in his pitching table above. He doesn’t do anything that really stands out, but he doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses either. When he is on the mound, I usually end up avoiding him and the offense that he is facing. He draws a fairly difficult matchup tonight against the Indians, who are ranked inside the top ten in both team wOBA and team ISO against right-handed pitching this season.

Batter Grind Down

Cleveland

The Indians have a mediocre team total tonight, but don’t really stand out from a DFS perspective. They draw an average matchup against Edinson Volquez and they have to face him in one of the best pitcher’s parks in the American League. I don’t hate the spot for the Indians, but I am not going to be actively targeting their hitters tonight.

Indians Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.318 (9 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.172 (10 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 21.4% (17 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.69 (9 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.19 (10 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Rajai Davis	RIGHT	0.311	0.146	0.324	OF	$3,400	OF	$3,500
2	Jason Kipnis	LEFT	0.374	0.167	0.313	2B	$3,200	2B	$3,700
3	Francisco Lindor	SWITCH	0.341	0.149	0.321	SS	$3,500	SS	$4,100
4	Mike Napoli	RIGHT	0.295	0.178	0.409	1B	$3,500	1B	$3,600
5	Carlos Santana	SWITCH	0.338	0.214	0.291	1B	$3,500	1B	$3,600
6	Lonnie Chisenhall	LEFT	0.295	0.132	0.345	OF	$2,600	OF	$2,900
7	Juan Uribe	RIGHT	0.292	0.125	0.120	3B	$2,000	3B	$2,100
8	Tyler Naquin	LEFT	0.392	0.221	0.528	OF	$2,800	OF	$3,100
9	Chris Gimenez	RIGHT	0.283	0.159	0.128	C	$2,100	C	$2,100
	Team Averages	—	0.325	0.166	0.309	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana

Stackability – NONE

Kansas City

The Royals draw one of the most difficult matchups on the schedule tonight. Over the last two seasons, Carlos Carrasco has held both left and right-handed hitters under a .285 wOBA. The Royals are an easy team to fade on a night where there should be a lot of high scoring games.

Royals Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.310 (20 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.129 (29 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 19.7% (13 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.82 (25 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.81 (16 of 20)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Whit Merrifield	RIGHT	0.312	0.085	0.275	OF	$3,100	2B/OF	$3,200
2	Alcides Escobar	RIGHT	0.263	0.059	0.154	SS	$2,700	SS	$2,200
3	Eric Hosmer	LEFT	0.391	0.196	0.431	1B	$3,500	1B	$3,700
4	Lorenzo Cain	RIGHT	0.325	0.128	0.334	OF	$3,000	OF	$3,300
5	Kendrys Morales	SWITCH	0.338	0.213	0.351	1B	$2,900	1B	$2,900
6	Salvador Perez	RIGHT	0.333	0.193	0.295	C	$2,800	C	$3,000
7	Paulo Orlando	RIGHT	0.313	0.173	0.238	OF	$2,600	OF	$2,400
8	Cheslor Cuthbert	RIGHT	0.309	0.136	0.362	3B	$2,500	3B	$2,500
9	Jarrod Dyson	LEFT	0.301	0.117	0.297	OF	$2,400	OF	$3,100
	Team Averages	—	0.321	0.144	0.304	—	—	—	—

MLB Grind Down: Monday, June 13th

Chicago Cubs at Washington – 7:05 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Chicago Cubs

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Kris Bryant (GPP), Anthony Rizzo (GPP)

Stackability – NONE

Washington

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Daniel Murphy

Secondary Plays – Ben Revere, Bryce Harper

Stackability – NONE

Philadelphia at Toronto – 7:07 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Maikel Franco

Secondary Plays – Odubel Herrera, Tommy Joseph, Cody Asche

Stackability – NONE

Toronto

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders

Secondary Plays – Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Justin Smoak, Russell Martin

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Cincinnati at Atlanta – 7:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Cincinnati

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Adam Duvall

Secondary Plays – Zack Cozart, Brandon Phillips, Eugenio Suarez

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Atlanta

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Freddie Freeman

Secondary Plays – Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis, Adonis Garcia, A.J. Pierzynski

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Detroit at Chicago White Sox – 8:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Detroit

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez

Secondary Plays – Ian Kinsler, Cameron Maybin, Nick Castellanos, Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Chicago White Sox

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie

Secondary Plays – Adam Eaton, Jose Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Dioner Navarro

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Cleveland at Kansas City – 8:15 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Cleveland

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana

Stackability – NONE

Kansas City

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – NONE

Stackability – NONE

Are you an incentives member? Come check out the MLB Expert Chat from 5:30 – 6:00 PM ET.

Jump to Page 1 2

About the Author