MLB Grind Down: Saturday, April 12th - Page 2

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-04-12 17:42:04

Colorado at San Francisco

Colorado					San Francisco
Brett Anderson		Vegas Moneyline			Matt Cain		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		SFG (-133)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.262	0.744	0.327	24.2%	SP vs. Left	0.213	0.631	0.287	21.2%
SP vs. Right	0.303	0.815	0.368	17.6%	SP vs. Right	0.248	0.726	0.321	19.4%
Batter Splits	COL BvP		COL vs R		Batter Splits	SFG BvP		SFG vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Brett Anderson – Anderson really struggled on the road last season with a 8.62 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. While that was only over 7 games, this is not a favorable matchup for Anderson as the Giants hit LH pitching well. He is a decent sized underdog and should be avoided in all leageus. Rating = 3

• Matt Cain – While Cain has not looked great in his first two starts of the season, he faced two of the best NL offenses in the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks and he faced them both on the road. Tonight he faces a Rockies lineup that is a much different offense away from Coors. Cain has pitched well in AT&T Park throughout his career and managed to hold the Rockies to a .181 batting average in his starts against them last season. Rating = 7

Batter Grind Down

Colorado

• I really think Cain pitches well here, but there is certainly the chance that he could get shelled by this Rockies’ lineup. I think Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki both make nice tournament plays.

• Additional Plays: None

San Francisco

• Buster Posey – Posey got the night off last night and should be back in the lineup today. Posey is one of the best hitters in the game against LH pitching and has 5 hits over his last 3 games. He’s the top catcher on the board.

• Additional Plays: Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval

Toronto at Baltimore

Toronto					Baltimore
Drew Hutchison		Vegas Moneyline			Bud Norris		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		BAL (-118)			RIGHT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.294	1.043	0.449	27.3%	SP vs. Left	0.312	0.872	0.383	16.0%
SP vs. Right	0.250	0.590	0.297	22.2%	SP vs. Right	0.254	0.652	0.297	22.3%
Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs R		Batter Splits	BAL BvP		BAL vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Drew Hutchison – Hutchison gave up 6 earned runs in only 3 innings in his last start and looks like he could be in for another short outing tonight against the Orioles. Hutchison is a border-line starter in the majors and does not appear to be a viable fantasy option anytime soon. The total of this game is set at 9.0 runs which is a bit high for a game to target pitching in. Rating = 2

• Bud Norris – Norris is one of those pitchers that has a high ERA, a high WHIP, and a decent K-rate. He can be targeted when the matchup is right, but I don’t love the matchup against this Blue Jays lineup that has power littered throughout their lineup. Again, for cash games you want to target pitchers that are large favorites in games that feature low run totals. Rating= 4

Batter Grind Down

Toronto

• Melky Cabrera – I love targeting the LH batters in this lineup today. Norris gave up an extremely high wOBA of .383 to LH batters last season. Melky is off to a hot start for the Blue Jays and is one of the more powerful leadoff hitters in baseball.

• Additional Plays: Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus

Baltimore

• Chris Davis – Basically the entire Orioles’ lineup is in play tonight. After a subpar outing last night, they should be chomping at the bit to face Hutchison. Davis crushes RH pitching and Hutchison gave up a 1.04 OPS to LH batters last season. Get him in all of your lineups.

• Additional Plays: Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz

Miami at Philadelphia

Miami					Philadelphia
Nathan Eovaldi		Vegas Moneyline			Jonathan Pettibone		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		PHI (-110)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.259	0.683	0.318	15.4%	SP vs. Left	0.306	0.805	0.366	14.3%
SP vs. Right	0.240	0.650	0.289	20.7%	SP vs. Right	0.261	0.719	0.328	16.0%
Batter Splits	MIA BvP		MIA vs R		Batter Splits	PHI BvP		PHI vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Nathan Eovaldi – Eovaldi has given up 2+ runs in each of his first two starts, but has an impressive 14 K’s over 13 innings. Eovaldi has a lot of velocity on his fastball and will likely fly under the radar of most DFS players today. I don’t recommend him as a cash game play because he may not be in line for the win, but he is cheap and makes for a great tournament play against the Phillies. Rating = 6

• Jonathan Pettibone – This will be Pettibone’s first start of the season and for any of you that watched Grinders Live last season he is also known as “Pettibone Junction.” In 18 starts, he posted a 4.04 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP. He has a K rate right around 6 per 9 innings. I do like the matchup against the Marlins, but I am taking a wait and see approach on Pettibone this season. Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

Miami

• Christian Yelich – Pettibone gave up a .366 wOBA to LH batters last season and Yelich should be batting leadoff once again. Yelich is batting .346 against RH pitching this season and has already stolen 3 bases. He makes a solid punt play today.

• Additional Plays: Derek Dietrich

Philadelphia

• Chase Utley – Utley was back in the lineup yesterday and continued his hot start to the season. He is batting .469 with 5 runs scored and 7 RBI’s. He has always hit RH pitching well and is really seeing the ball well right now as he has only struck out 2 times all season.

• Additional Plays: Ryan Howard

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee

Pittsburgh					Milwaukee
Edinson Volquez		Vegas Moneyline			Yovani Gallardo		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		MIL (-150)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.290	0.822	0.363	17.7%	SP vs. Left	0.251	0.721	0.324	17.8%
SP vs. Right	0.264	0.741	0.333	19.0%	SP vs. Right	0.266	0.687	0.307	18.7%
Batter Splits	PIT BvP		PIT vs R		Batter Splits	MIL BvP		MIL vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Edison Volquez – For those of you that played daily fantasy basketball this season, I like to compare Volquez to Jeff Green. In other words, you never quite know which version you are going to get. Volquez had a number of quality starts last season, but also had a number of starts where he was absolutely rocked. Volquez posted a 5.71 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP last season and even though he looked good in his first start, I have learned my lesson and will not take the bait. Rating = 3

• Yovani Gallardo – Gallardo seems to have that swagger back and it has really shown in his first two starts of the season. He has yet to give up a run in over 12 innings of work. Gallardo is a decent favorite (-150) and I am finally starting to drink the Gallardo Kool-Aid. I think he keeps it up tonight and picks up his 3rd win of the season. Rating = 7

Batter Grind Down

Pittsburgh

• Pedro Alvarez – Alvarez is worth mentioning here because Gallardo isn’t great against LH batters and Miller Park is a very HR friendly ballpark. It also doesn’t hurt that Alvarez hit 33 HR’s off of RH pitching last season.

• Additional Plays: None

Milwaukee

• Ryan Braun – Over his last 5 games, Braun has 9 hits, 9 RBI’s, and 3 HR’s. He is locked in right now and I love the matchup against Volquez who gave up a .333 wOBA to RH batters last season.

• Additional Plays: Jean Segura, Aramis Ramirez

Washington at Atlanta

Washington					Atlanta
Taylor Jordan		Vegas Moneyline			Alex Wood		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		ATL (-128)			LEFT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.299	0.732	0.325	4.9%	SP vs. Left	0.250	0.568	0.263	28.6%
SP vs. Right	0.279	0.639	0.299	18.8%	SP vs. Right	0.251	0.669	0.302	20.4%
Batter Splits	WSN BvP		WSN vs L		Batter Splits	ATL BvP		ATL vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Taylor Jordan – The Nats and Braves game last night turned into a shootout as both pitchers struggled to get outs in the early going. I’m expecting this game to be quite a bit different. The total is set at only 7.0 runs and both of these young pitchers have been impressive thus far in their careers. Over 10 starts, Jordan has an ERA under 3.50 with a WHIP right around 1.31. He doesn’t have the highest K-rate, but he is one of the cheapest pitcher options available and will allow you to stack the other positions in your lineup. Rating = 5

• Alex Wood – Wood has struck out 9 batters in 14 innings in his first two starts. He has looked good to start the season and has a pretty favorable matchup against the Nationals tonight. Wood faced this same Nats lineup twice last season and posted an ERA of 0.82 while striking out 11 batters in 12 innings of work. I give Wood the slight edge over Jordan in this matchup. Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

Washington

• Ryan Zimmerman – Zimmerman is batting .355 this season with 2 HR’s including a 3 run shot last night against the Braves. Zimmerman has always hit LH pitching well and makes a nice play at 3B tonight.

• Additional Plays: None

Atlanta

• Freddie Freeman – Freeman is riding a 7 game hitting streak and has recorded multiple hits in 4 of those games. He is locked in right now and has a nice matchup against Jordan who gave up a .325 wOBA to LH batters last season.

• Additional Plays: Justin Upton

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