MLB Grind Down: Saturday, April 18th - Page Three

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2015-04-18 19:50:49

Oakland at Kansas City

Pitcher Grind Down

Mat Latos – Latos’ start of the season for his new squad has not gone well at all. Against what shouldn’t be a high-powered offensive Braves squad, Latos has only lasted 4.2 innings and allowed nine earned runs in two starts against them. Latos does get another decent matchup tonight against the Mets, but DeGrom may not allow much run support. I would avoid Latos at the moment until he shows a bounce back. Rating = 4

Salaries: $7600 FD, $8300 DK, $6250 FA, $13700 DD, $101300 FF

Jacob deGrom – deGrom had a very solid season last year and makes for a great fantasy play due to his solid strikeout rate (9.24 K/9). He has pitched well so far this year without the strikeouts, as he has allowed only two earned runs over his first 12 innings of the season. He has a solid matchup against the Marlins and I think should see a few runs on his side and should get the win today. He makes for a great choice tonight. Rating = 8

Salaries: $9400 FD, $8400 DK, $6000 FA, $16350 DD, $132800 FF

Batter Grind Down

Miami

None

Secondary Plays:

Giancarlo Stanton

NY Mets

Lucas Duda – Latos has struggled against everyone so far this year, so I am going to go with Duda who is playing really solid at the plate right now. Duda is hitting .381 early in the season with eight RBIs already. Add that to the fact that he had a wOBA of .394 against righties last year and you have a solid play.

Secondary Plays:

Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy

NY Yankees at Tampa Bay

Pitcher Grind Down

Masahiro Tanaka – I am not sure if it is time to start worrying about Tanaka coming off his UCL tear in 2014. He has started off the year terribly as he has given up seven earned runs in only nine innings of work over his first two starts. He is clearly not the same pitcher that came into the league last year and is not a trustable option at this point. He does continue to strike batters out at a high clip (over 9 K/9 last year and this year), which puts him into a long shot tournament play, as I do not think he will be owned by too many. Rating = 5

Salaries: $8700 FD, $10200 DK, $6900 FA, $16400 DD, $146500 FF

Jake Odorizzi – Odorizzi has had a lot to be happy about over his first two starts this year. He has pitched extremely well against two tough divisional foes. He is coming off an eight-inning gem against a very tough Blue Jays squad in a hitters’ park at Toronto. He will look to continue this momentum against another tough matchup against the Yankees. He had a rough time with this Yankees team last year, allowing 12 earned runs (including five home runs) in only four starts. With that said, if he pitches remotely close to how he has so far, he should make a fine play tonight. Rating = 6

Salaries: $8500 FD, $7600 DK, $6250 FA, $ Vic, $14750 DD, $88700 FF

Batter Grind Down

NY Yankees

Jacoby Ellsbury – Before last nights’ game, Ellsbury had a hit in each of his last seven games. That is the type of player you want in your cash games as he gets on base usually a few times a game, can steal a base, and usually has a few RBI opportunities. The latter has yet to happen this year and has kept his price down a bit. Take advantage as he will turn it up soon enough.

Secondary Plays:

Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann

Tampa Bay

Kevin Kiermaier – If Kiermaier is in the leadoff position, his price and production make him a great play. Kiermaier crushed RH pitching last year for a wOBA of .362 and I am happy to see him get a leadoff chance.

Secondary Plays:

Asdrubal Cabrera, David DeJesus

Arizona at San Francisco

Pitcher Grind Down

Rubby De La Rosa – Rubby has a 2-0 record so far this year, but that is only because he has had 15 runs in support of his efforts. He comes into this game with a 7.15 ERA, and while he has been able to keep his walk rate down a bit from his 3.10 BB/9 it was last year, he has allowed three home runs so far. He should not be looked at as a reliable fantasy starter at this moment and can be avoided tonight. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6400 FD, $6700 DK, $4750 FA, $9700 DD, $70500 FF

Chris Heston – Heston has surprised a few people so far this year. He has had two tough matchups this year (one being in a hitters’ park) and has come away with only allowing one earned run in 13 innings pitched. He has exceeded expectations as he has struck out ten batters over those two starts as well. His minor league numbers are nothing spectacular which leads me to believe he will get hit hard a few times this year. He is facing a Diamondbacks squad that he pitched very well against in his first start, but having to go back through this lineup may cause him some problems, as they will be able to see this young pitcher twice in two weeks. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5000 FD, $5400 DK, $4600 FA, $8500 DD, $ FF

Batter Grind Down

Arizona

Paul Goldschmidt – Another guy that has started off the season pretty quickly is Goldy. He is batting over .300, has four home runs and is leading the league with 13 RBIs already. Goldy is showing signs of being the player he was before the injury last year, which is a top tier first baseman any time he takes the field.

Secondary Plays:

David Peralta

San Francisco

Angel Pagan – While Pagan’s price has risen from where it started the year, it is for good reason. He is batting .378 on the year and hitting in the three spot for this Giants squad. His matchup today is nice as De La Rosa gave up a wOBA of .364 to lefties in 2014.

Secondary Plays:

Nori Aoki, Buster Posey

Texas at Seattle

Pitcher Grind Down

Colby Lewis – Colby continues to be the man that every DFS player has stacked against, and been disappointed by the results. His numbers are always average to below average, but he doesn’t seem to blow up like a lot of us feel he will. He pitched very well against a solid Oakland squad in his first game and came back with a four earned run performance against the Astros. This is not to say I would ever trust playing him as my pitcher, but at some point we may have to lessen our expectations for him to allow a huge number on the board. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6700 FD, $7100 DK, $5000 FA, $12750 DD, $74700 FF

Felix Hernandez – King Felix got knocked around harder than I have seen in a while. He ended up only allowing three earned runs against the A’s, but struggled the entire game as he only went five innings and allowed ten baserunners. I fully expect a bounce back from Felix, who is coming off arguably his best year in the majors (2.51 xFIP). He has a career 8.52 K/9, which bodes well for fantasy purposes and should have a great game at home. He makes for the top pitcher of the night slate in a game where I expect Lewis to give up a few runs. Rating = 9

Salaries: $11400 FD, $11200 DK, $7700 FA, $19950 DD, $ FF

Batter Grind Down

Texas

No elite plays.

Secondary Plays:

None

Seattle

Robinson Cano – Even with what I said, I will still look to target hitters against Colby Lewis as I will continue to go to the well tonight. Robinson Cano is a top option tonight against Lewis as Cano crushes all pitching and Lewis allowed a wOBA of .373 against LH batters in 2014. This is a great matchup to take advantage of tonight.

Secondary Plays:

Kyle Seager, Seth Smith, Nelson Cruz, Logan Morrison

Colorado at LA Dodgers

Pitcher Grind Down

Jordan Lyles – Lyles has benefited so far this year from the fact that he has not had to pitch at his home field at Coors. He will continue that trend tonight as he takes on a tough Dodgers squad and Greinke. Lyles is a below average pitcher with a career ERA of over five and a career FIP of 4.44. His low strikeout rate of 6.18 K/9 and the matchup tonight make him an easy avoid. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6200 FD, $5800 DK, $4900 FA, $9450 DD, $76200 FF

Zack Greinke – Greinke will always be overshadowed by Kershaw in this Dodgers’ rotation, but he has done nothing but pitch well for them. He has had sub three ERAs in both seasons for the Dodgers and had an xFIP of 2.72 in 2014. His K rate of 9.21 K/9 was the highest in his last three seasons, which gives some added value. He does face a tough Rockies squad that features a number of solid lefties, but away from Coors they are a lot less potent. He makes a decent start, especially for tournaments when guys like DeGrom and Felix should be much higher owned. Rating = 8

Salaries: $10100 FD, $9600 DK, $7150 FA, $17600 DD, $138800 FF

Batter Grind Down

Colorado

No elite plays.

Secondary Plays:

None

LA Dodgers

Adrian Gonzalez – This guy is playing lights out as well to start the year with big time home run numbers (5), RBIs (10) and a ridiculous .526 average to start the year. His price is rising, but he is my favorite first base play tonight.

Secondary Plays:

Jimmy Rollins, Carl Crawford, Yasmani Grandal