MLB Grind Down: Monday, May 18 - Page Two
Oakland at Houston – 8:10 PM EST
| Oakland | Houston | ||||||||
 | Drew Pomeranz |  | Lance McCullers | ||||||
| LEFT | Right | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| HOU (-118) | 8.5 | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.147 | 0.323 | 0.147 | 0.171 | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.276 | 0.799 | 0.349 | 0.191 | SP vs. Right | ||||
| Batter Splits | OAK vs R | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs L | |||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Drew Pomeranz (FD: $6400, DK: $5900)
Pitching Stats:
2015: SIERA: 4.18 — K Rate: 18.6% — K/9: 6.98 — BB Rate: 6.8% — FB Rate: 39.2% — HR/FB: 8.5%
2014: SIERA: 3.62 — K Rate: 23.0% — K/9: 8.35 — BB Rate: 9.4% — FB Rate: 36.0% — HR/FB: 10.4%
Houston Astros vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.308 (Rank: 22)
Strikeout Rate: 23.4% (Rank: 25)
Pitches per Plate Appearance: 3.81 (Rank: 15)
Analysis: After five straight subpar fantasy outings, Pomeranz bounced back against the Red Sox, giving up a single earned run in seven innings of work. On the season, he has a 4.18 SIERA with a K/9 of 7.0. This will be the third time this season that Pomeranz will face the Astros and they have had his number in the first two meetings, scoring a combined nine runs in his ten innings of work. Minute Maid Park is not a pitcher’s favorite venue to see on the schedule and the Astros hit a of lot home runs.
Pitcher Rating:54.8
Lance McCullers (FD: $4600, DK: $5700)
Oakland Athletics vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.330 (Rank: 4)
Strikeout Rate: 16.7% (Rank: 3)
Pitches per Plate Appearance: 3.85 (Rank: 10)
Analysis: McCullers will make his first career major-league start tonight. He has dominated at the AA level this season, posting a 2.21 FIP with a K/9 of 13.3. He has averaged at least ten strikeouts per nine innings in each of the last three seasons, but there’s no guarantee that it will translate to a high strikeout rate in the majors. Pitchers making their major league debuts are always unpredictable and while I like the high strikeout potential, he’s best suited as a GPP play tonight against the A’s.
Pitcher Rating: 55.7
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Josh Reddick (FD: $3900, DK: $4200)
Position Eligibility: FD: OF — DK: OF
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.470 — ISO: 0.283 — wRC+: 210
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.367 — ISO: 0.239 — wRC+: 140
Analysis: The A’s are a great team to stack tonight. They are ranked 4th in wOBA against right-handed pitching this season and they are facing a pitcher that has never started a game in AAA, let alone in the majors. Reddick gets the nod as the featured play, as he has been terrific against right-handed pitching this season with a .470 wOBA and a .283 ISO. He also sees a ballpark boost playing in Minute Maid Park, which grades out as the 5th best ballpark for left-handed hitters.
Secondary Plays:
Stephen Vogt (FD: $3900, DK: $4100)
Position Eligibility: FD: C — DK: 1B/C
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.467 — ISO: 0.341 — wRC+: 208
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.337 — ISO: 0.148 — wRC+: 119
Marcus Semien (FD: $3400, DK: $4700)
Position Eligibility: FD: SS — DK: 3B/SS
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.364 — ISO: 0.233 — wRC+: 137
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.288 — ISO: 0.130 — wRC+: 79
Billy Burns (FD: $2500, DK: $2800)
Position Eligibility: FD: OF — DK: OF
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.355 — ISO: 0.051 — wRC+: 131
Houston
George Springer (FD: $3700, DK: $4700)
Position Eligibility: FD: OF — DK: OF
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.370 — ISO: 0.278 — wRC+: 139
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.342 — ISO: 0.194 — wRC+: 121
Analysis: Springer’s price continues to come down, which only makes him a better play in daily fantasy. He has great power against both left and right-handed pitching and he can steal a base every now and then as well. He has a .370 wOBA and a .278 ISO against southpaws this season and he draws a decent matchup against Drew Pomeranz. All of the right-handed bats in this Astros’ lineup are in play tonight at home.
Secondary Plays:
Jose Altuve (FD: $4600, DK: $4800)
Position Eligibility: FD: 2B — DK: 2B
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.448 — ISO: 0.140 — wRC+: 193
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.440 — ISO: 0.151 — wRC+: 189
Evan Gattis (FD: $3300, DK: $3700)
Position Eligibility: FD: C — DK: C/OF
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.209 — ISO: 0.175 — wRC+: 27
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.419 — ISO: 0.271 — wRC+: 171
Chris Carter (FD: $3000, DK: $4100)
Position Eligibility: FD: 1B — DK: 1B/OF
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.243 — ISO: 0.146 — wRC+: 51
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.370 — ISO: 0.274 — wRC+: 140
Philadelphia at Colorado – 8:40 PM EST
| Philadelphia | Colorado | ||||||||
 | Cole Hamels |  | Jordan Lyles | ||||||
| LEFT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| PHI (-105) | 9 | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.143 | 0.485 | 0.248 | 0.25 | SP vs. Left | 0.29 | 0.81 | 0.363 | 0.145 |
| SP vs. Right | 0.231 | 0.745 | 0.319 | 0.259 | SP vs. Right | 0.253 | 0.686 | 0.302 | 0.121 |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Cole Hamels (FD: $9600, DK: $8900)
Pitching Stats:
2015: SIERA: 3.69 — K Rate: 25.7% — K/9: 9.71 — BB Rate: 10.3% — FB Rate: 34.8% — HR/FB: 17.4%
2014: SIERA: 3.29 — K Rate: 23.9% — K/9: 8.71 — BB Rate: 7.1% — FB Rate: 31.1% — HR/FB: 8.2%
Colorado Rockies vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.295 (Rank: 24)
Strikeout Rate: 25.5% (Rank: 28)
Pitches per Plate Appearance: 3.80 (Rank: 17)
Analysis: Hamels has pitched well recently and he gets to face a Rockies’ offense that can’t seem to buy a run. If this game was being played in Philadelphia, Hamels would be a top pitching target tonight. Unfortunately, this game is being played in Coors Field. Avoiding pitchers in Coors Field is one of the few hard-and-fast rules that I never break in daily fantasy baseball.
Pitcher Rating:52.4
Jordan Lyles (FD: $5900, DK: $4500)
Pitching Stats:
2015: SIERA: 5.02 — K Rate: 13.2% — K/9: 5.02 — BB Rate: 10.7% — FB Rate: 27.0% — HR/FB: 6.5%
2014: SIERA: 4.10 — K Rate: 16.5% — K/9: 6.39 — BB Rate: 8.4% — FB Rate: 25.7% — HR/FB: 11.9%
Philadelphia Phillies vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.274 (Rank: 29)
Strikeout Rate: 19.4% (Rank: 10)
Pitches per Plate Appearance: 3.62 (Rank: 29)
Analysis: Lyles has a favorable matchup against the Phillies, but he has to face them in Coors Field. I could dive further into the analysis, but do you really want to target a low strikeout pitcher in Coors Field? I didn’t think so!
Pitcher Rating:38.1
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia
Freddy Galvis (FD: $3300, DK: $4100)
Position Eligibility: FD: SS — DK: 3B/SS
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.342 — ISO: 0.062 — wRC+: 113
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.260 — ISO: 0.147 — wRC+: 62
Analysis: Galvis has been one of the only Phillies’ hitters that has been on my radar in recent weeks. He is cheap and he has hit both left and right-handed pitching well this season. He has a .342 wOBA and a wRC+ of 113 against right-handed pitching this season. He also sees a huge ballpark boost playing in Coors Field, which is the most hitter-friendly venue in all of baseball. A Phillies’ stack tonight is in play in both cash games and tournaments.
Secondary Plays:
Ryan Howard (FD: $3400, DK: $4500)
Position Eligibility: FD: 1B — DK: 1B
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.364 — ISO: 0.287 — wRC+: 128
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.292 — ISO: 0.132 — wRC+: 84
Ben Revere (FD: $3000, DK: $4300)
Position Eligibility: FD: OF — DK: OF
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.297 — ISO: 0.093 — wRC+: 84
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.290 — ISO: 0.050 — wRC+: 82
Maikel Franco (FD: $2200, DK: $3800)
Position Eligibility: FD: 3B — DK: 3B
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.365 — ISO: 0.455 — wRC+: 129
2014 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.245 — ISO: 0.083 — wRC+: 52
Colorado
Wilin Rosario (FD: $3500, DK: $3300)
Position Eligibility: FD: C — DK: 1B/C
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.408 — ISO: 0.250 — wRC+: 141
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.422 — ISO: 0.327 — wRC+: 156
Analysis: Rosario has been playing 1B and he’s still listed as a catcher. Take advantage of that while you still can. He has always had good power against left-handed pitching, posting a .420 wOBA and a .314 ISO since the start of 2014. He obviously sees a major ballpark boost playing in Coors Field and for some reason, he is still listed at a bargain-bin price of $3,500 on FanDuel and $3,300 on DraftKings.
Secondary Plays:
Nolan Arenado (FD: $4000, DK: $4200)
Position Eligibility: FD: 3B — DK: 3B
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.318 — ISO: 0.100 — wRC+: 81
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.414 — ISO: 0.286 — wRC+: 150
Carlos Gonzalez (FD: $3300, DK: $4200)
Position Eligibility: FD: OF — DK: OF
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.154 — ISO: 0.000 — wRC+: -26
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.277 — ISO: 0.138 — wRC+: 57
Nick Hundley (FD: $2700, DK: $3200)
Position Eligibility: FD: C — DK: C
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.205 — ISO: 0.000 — wRC+: 7
2014 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.259 — ISO: 0.030 — wRC+: 62