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

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2015-04-18 16:22:17

San Diego at Chicago Cubs

Pitcher Grind Down

Tyson Ross – Ross has pitched alright over his first two starts of the year. He has lasted just six innings in both starts while giving up five total earned runs against the Giants and Dodgers. When starting Ross in DFS, you are usually going to benefit from some added strikeouts as he had a 8.97 K/9 in 2014 and has already struck out twelve batters in twelve innings this year. His matchup is alright against the Cubs. Rating = 7

Salaries: $8700 FD, $8400 DK, $6500 FA, $14350 DD, $122900 FF

Kyle Hendricks – The young Cubs’ pitcher had the misfortune of making his first start this year at Coors. This resulted in a five earned run, four-inning performance that he would like to forget. He should be in line to bounce back from that performance as he had a stellar 2014 that included a 2.46 ERA. His advanced numbers show that there may be a bit of regression (3.83 xFIP), but should still make a decent real life starter. With all that said, he was never a major strikeout pitcher in the minors and only had a 5.27 K/9 in 13 starts last year. This limits his fantasy potential a bit, even in the best of matchups. Rating = 6

Salaries: $6700 FD, $7000 DK, $5100 FA, $8500 DD, $90800 FF

Batter Grind Down

San Diego

At this point, the total is not out. Obviously, things can change big time at Wrigley depending if the wind is blowing out or not. This is a solid pitching matchup and that wind is going to be dependent on whether we throw some position players out there today. If it is a high total, I like Justin Upton and Matt Kemp.

Secondary Plays:

None

Chicago Cubs

The same goes for the Cubs as they have a tough matchup against Ross. If the total is high today, I can see taking Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler as well as Jorge Soler.

Secondary Plays:

None

Baltimore at Boston

Pitcher Grind Down

Chris Tillman – Tillman was the Opening Day starter for the Orioles and pitched well in his first start. He then had to go up against the Toronto offense and only last two innings while giving up seven runs (three earned). Tillman will now have to face another potent offense in the Red Sox and should safely be avoided for the early slate of games. Rating = 4

Salaries: $7700 FD, $6500 DK, $11800 DD, $109100 FF

Clay Buchholz – Buchholz showed a lot of us why we avoided him in his first matchup of the year as no one really expected him to go seven with nine strikeouts, even with that solid matchup against the Phillies. He was blown up badly in his second start against the Yankees where he allowed nine earned runs in only three innings of work. He has another tough matchup today against the Orioles in what is expected to be a high-scoring game. If you want to gamble, take a flyer on him, but I will not be. Rating = 4

Salaries: $7500 FD, $6800 DK, $13900 DD, $94900 FF

Batter Grind Down

Baltimore

Chris Davis – Buchholz was hit very hard by lefties last year and allowed a wOBA of .351 over the season. Davis has had three hits in his last two games, including two doubles. This game should be high scoring and Davis should be a big part of it.

Secondary Plays:

Alejandro De Aza, Travis Snider, Adam Jones

Boston

David Ortiz – Ortiz has started off a bit slow so far this year as well, but he has a career wOBA of .420 lefties. With Tillman’s groundball rate of around 40% (16.7% this year) he could give up a long ball to Ortiz this afternoon.

Secondary Plays:

Mookie Betts, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh

Pitcher Grind Down

Kyle Lohse – Lohse has had a real rough start to the season. He was blown up in his first start against the Rockies on Opening Day and then pitched a bit better, but allowed four earned runs over six innings to the Pirates in his second start. With that said, there is nothing in his numbers that state he shouldn’t bounce back and return to form as he had an xFIP of 4.05 and actually still holds a xFIP of under four despite his ridiculous ERA of 11.17. I am not sure I could jump on his bandwagon at the moment, but we should expect him to pitch much better and soon. Rating = 5

Salaries: $6500 FD, $6900 DK, $5400 FA, $10900 DD, $99900 FF

Jeff Locke – Locke is now slated to start tonight after a weird mix-up seemed to have happened yesterday with him and Worley. Locke is not a pitcher I would like to target on this slate as he is coming off a year where he held a 3.90 xFIP and is a low strikeout pitcher at a 6.10 K/9 in 2014. He has a tough matchup against the Brewers who have a bunch of solid righties that should be able to attack him. Rating = 4

Salaries: $7100 FD, $6100 DK, $5250 FA, $8500 DD, $110200 FF

Batter Grind Down

Milwaukee

Ryan Braun – Braun is just too cheap right now across the major sites to pass up on in a L/R matchup. Braun has crushed lefties throughout his career and Locke allowed a wOBA of .342 to RH batters last year.

Secondary Plays:

Jean Segura, Jonathan Lucroy, Aramis Ramirez

Pittsburgh

Gregory Polanco – Polanco is another guy that is pretty cheap at some sites. He is under 4k at DraftKings, hitting third in the order and could take advantage of a struggling Lohse.

Secondary Plays:

Josh Harrison, Pedro Alvarez

LA Angels at Houston

Pitcher Grind Down

C.J. Wilson – Wilson has had the tale of two starts, as he went eight strong of two-hit ball in his first start against the Mariners, but followed it up with a six earned run performance against the Royals in his last outing. Coming off his worst season as a starter, the Angels are hoping Wilson makes a bounce back this year. I would take a wait and see approach for what Wilson we are going to get this year. Rating = 5

Salaries: $8000 FD, $7200 DK, $6250 FA, $12950 DD, $95600 FF

Dallas Keuchel – Keuchel was a big time bright spot for the Astros last season. He has continued that success into this year as he has gone 14 innings and given up only two earned runs during his first two starts. Keuchel was not a huge strikeout pitcher last year, which limits his value a bit and he has a tough matchup against the Angels tonight. This brings him down to a bit of a tournament play tonight. Rating = 7

Salaries: $8300 FD, $7100 DK, $6150 FA, $13150 DD, $125800 FF

Batter Grind Down

LA Angels

Mike Trout – It is simple, Trout against a lefty is a prime matchup, even with a good one taking the mound. Trout won some people some money last night with his first multi-homerun game of the season. He gets a lefty matchup in his next game who he has a career wOBA of .387 against.

Secondary Plays:

None

Houston

Jose Altuve – Even if you just started playing DFS this year, you probably already have heard that when Altuve has a matchup against a non-elite lefty, you target him. He had a wOBA of .440 against lefties in 2014, and has a solid matchup against Wilson tonight. He is a top player at the second base position in this game.

Secondary Plays:

Jed Lowrie, George Springer, Evan Gattis

Oakland at Kansas City

Pitcher Grind Down

Jesse Hahn – Hahn is coming off a solid 12 start season for the Padres in pitchers’ friend Petco in 2014. He has made two starts so far for the A’s where he has allowed four total earned runs in 11 innings of work. His strikeouts have not been there yet this year as he had a 8.59 K/9 last year, but he has pitched pretty well. If he can put it all together for a full outing, he has pretty solid upside, but is facing a tough Royals squad who notoriously do not strike out at a high rate. He should have a decent season, but I am not sure tonight is the night to go after him. Rating = 5

Salaries: $7600 FD, $5800 DK, $5500 FA, $12800 DD, $90300 FF

Yordano Ventura – Ventura is another young starter with a lot of potential. Yordano has not yet met that strikeout potential that we saw from his minor league numbers, but he has proven to be a quality big league starter. He had a xFIP of 3.49 in 2014 in his first full season in the majors and has continued to pitch well in the first two games this year. Oakland has been one of the best offenses early in the season, but Ventura should make for a decent option tonight. Rating = 6

Salaries: $8500 FD, $7800 DK, $6600 FA, $13550 DD, $ FF

Batter Grind Down

Oakland

Ben Zobrist – Zobrist hit better last year against lefties, but still was able to have a +.300 wOBA against righties as well. This is more opportunity as Zobrist continues to bat in the three spot and his price is not too much to pay at certain sites.

Secondary Plays:

None

Kansas City

Mike Moustakas – The taco man is thriving this year and has been even hitting in the two spot for the Royals lineup that has been rolling along. It is being led at the moment by Moustakas, who is hitting .359 over the first two weeks of the season. His price has not risen too much yet for the spot he is in.

Secondary Plays:

Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain

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