MLB Grind Down: Saturday, April 30th
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.
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Detroit at Minnesota – 2:10 PM
| Detroit | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Jordan Zimmermann | | Tyler Duffey | ||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| DET -125 | 8.0 | ||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% | Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.321 | 13 | 19.4% | 6.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.318 | 2 | 26.4% | 8.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.271 | 11 | 19.0% | 2.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.308 | 3 | 15.2% | 8.3% |
Pitcher Grind Down
| Jordan Zimmermann | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$9,400 | Salary:$9,300 | ||||||
| FPPG:42.8 | FPPG:21.8 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:68.9 | Pitcher Rank:9 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 4 | 4.44 | 15.2% | 6.7% | 50.0% | 22.0% | 22 |
| 2015 | 33 | 3.83 | 19.7% | 4.7% | 42.0% | 29.5% | 22 |
Zimmermann has been brilliant in his new home in Detroit, opening the season 4-0 with an 0.35 ERA. While that type of run prevention is great, it’s mostly a fluke at this point, as he has a low .268 BABIP and has yet to allow a home run. Those numbers will even out, and when they do, his low strikeout rate could get him into occasional trouble. He has historically been in the 18%-20% range with his strikeouts, and he currently sits at just 15.2%. It’s probably reasonable to assume his strikeouts come back up to his normal level as his good luck evens out on the other end. I am considering him to be the same pitcher he always was, a below average strikeout, good control pitcher who will be good more often than not. The Twins present a decent matchup for him, and he is not a terrible play, but he looks overpriced for his skill set on most sites, due to the excellent surface stats.
| Tyler Duffey | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$6,200 | Salary:$7,000 | ||||||
| FPPG:12.0 | FPPG:4.8 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:56.4 | Pitcher Rank:18 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 1 | 6.18 | 5.3% | 10.5% | 43.8% | 25.0% | 28 |
| 2015 | 10 | 3.83 | 21.9% | 8.3% | 49.7% | 26.6% | 13 |
Duffey has made one start this season, and it was not good, with one strikeout and two walks in four innings before being hit in the shoulder. He was pretty good in 10 starts in his rookie season with a 3.83 SIERA, 21.9% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. This is not a lot of sample size to go on, and while his minor league numbers are solid, I don’t see any reason to risk using him against a loaded Tigers lineup.
Batter Grind Down
Detroit
Again taking into account that it is a very small sample size, Duffey has shown reverse splits in his limited time, with a much higher strikeout rate and ground ball rate against left-handed batters. That would bode well for this right-handed heavy Tigers lineup, but it is really too small of a sample to get overly excited about. I will be judging Detroit simply on their ability vs right-handed pitching, and assuming that Duffey will end up around average. The Tigers make for a viable GPP stack, and have several pieces you can consider in cash games.
- Tigers Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.317 (15 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.142 (22 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.77 (9 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.15 (10 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Kinsler | RIGHT | 0.333 | 0.130 | 2B | $4,000 | 2B | $4,600 |
| 2 | J.D. Martinez | RIGHT | 0.365 | 0.236 | OF | $3,300 | OF | $4,100 |
| 3 | Miguel Cabrera | RIGHT | 0.403 | 0.196 | 1B | $3,800 | 1B | $4,700 |
| 4 | Victor Martinez | SWITCH | 0.280 | 0.141 | C | $3,000 | 1B | $3,600 |
| 5 | Justin Upton | RIGHT | 0.345 | 0.213 | OF | $2,700 | OF | $4,100 |
| 6 | Nick Castellanos | RIGHT | 0.293 | 0.144 | 3B | $3,000 | 3B | $3,200 |
| 7 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | SWITCH | 0.334 | 0.241 | C | $2,800 | C | $3,700 |
| 8 | Jose Iglesias | RIGHT | 0.292 | 0.052 | SS | $2,300 | SS | $2,800 |
| 9 | Anthony Gose | LEFT | 0.305 | 0.116 | OF | $2,500 | OF | $3,300 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.328 | 0.163 | — | $3,044 | — | $3,789 |
Elite Plays –
Miguel Cabrera – 2015 vs RHP – .408 wOBA, 161 wRC+
J.D. Martinez – 2015 vs RHP – .369 wOBA, 134 wRC+
Secondary Plays –
Ian Kinsler – 2015 vs RHP – .332 wOBA, 109 wRC+
Justin Upton -2015 vs RHP – .362 wOBA, 135 wRC+
Anthony Gose -2015 vs RHP – .314 wOBA, 97 wRC+
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 2015 vs RHP – .301 wOBA, 85 wRC+
Victor Martinez – 2015 vs RHP – .264 wOBA, 62 wRC+
Nick Castellanos – 2015 vs RHP – .283 wOBA, 75 wRC+
Stackability – High
Minnesota
It’s hard to love the Twins bats today with the way Zimmermann has looked, but as I pointed out, his BABIP and HR/FB% are going to come back to earth at some point, and the Twins have plenty of power bats that could take advantage of his low strikeout rate. He has been a little worse against left-handed batters throughout his career, but the numbers are still solid. I wouldn’t recommend Twins in cash games, but there is tournament upside in this lineup.
- Twins Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.301 (26 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.152 (12 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.43 (26 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.85 (19 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Santana | SWITCH | 0.229 | 0.076 | OF | $2,600 | SS | $2,300 |
| 2 | Brian Dozier | RIGHT | 0.314 | 0.198 | 2B | $3,100 | 2B | $4,000 |
| 3 | Joe Mauer | LEFT | 0.322 | 0.116 | 1B | $3,400 | 1B | $3,500 |
| 4 | Miguel Sano | RIGHT | 0.380 | 0.236 | OF | $3,500 | 3B/OF | $4,000 |
| 5 | Byung Ho Park | RIGHT | 0.394 | 0.358 | 1B | $3,200 | 1B | $3,700 |
| 6 | Oswaldo Arcia | LEFT | 0.316 | 0.200 | OF | $2,700 | OF | $3,300 |
| 7 | Eduardo Nunez | RIGHT | 0.375 | 0.116 | SS | $2,900 | 3B/SS | $3,200 |
| 8 | Eduardo Escobar | SWITCH | 0.304 | 0.151 | SS | $2,200 | SS | $2,600 |
| 9 | Kurt Suzuki | RIGHT | 0.262 | 0.078 | C | $2,100 | C | $2,300 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.322 | 0.170 | — | $2,856 | — | $3,211 |
Elite Plays –
Miguel Sano – .397 wOBA, 154 wRC+
Secondary Plays –
Eduardo Nunez – .351 wOBA, 123 wRC+
Brian Dozier – .321 wOBA, 102 wRC+
Byung-Ho Park
Joe Mauer – .309 wOBA, 93 wRC+
Oswaldo Arcia – .306 wOBA, 91 wRC+
Danny Santana – .213 wOBA, 27 wRC+
Stackability – Medium
Washington at St. Louis – 2:15 PM
| Washington | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Joe Ross | | Jaime Garcia | ||||||
| RIGHT | LEFT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| STL -125 | 7.0 | ||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% | Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.345 | 4 | 15.6% | 10.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.265 | 2 | 22.8% | 4.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.190 | 3 | 26.3% | 3.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.250 | 4 | 19.9% | 7.3% |
Pitcher Grind Down
| Joe Ross | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$7,200 | Salary:$8,100 | ||||||
| FPPG:25.3 | FPPG:13.6 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:62.3 | Pitcher Rank:16 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 3 | 4.44 | 16.1% | 8.1% | 50.0% | 13.0% | 7 |
| 2015 | 13 | 3.66 | 22.0% | 6.7% | 49.8% | 30.2% | 11 |
Ross left his last start after two innings with a blister, but is expected to be back to normal today. His first two starts this season were excellent, allowing just one run in 15 innings with a 10/4 K/BB ratio. His strikeout rate was above average at 22% in his rookie season, which was similar to his minor league track record. He is a ground ball pitcher who has big success against right-handed batters, but has been very hittable against lefties. The Cardinals have a few lefties who could cause him trouble, but for the most part, this looks like a decent matchup for him. There are enough good pitchers today, that he comes in pretty far down the list, but is certainly not a bad choice where appropriately priced.
| Jaime Garcia | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$8,300 | Salary:$9,100 | ||||||
| FPPG:36.8 | FPPG:22.0 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:77.3 | Pitcher Rank:6 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 4 | 3.27 | 28.2% | 10.7% | 58.7% | 23.8% | 20 |
| 2015 | 20 | 3.39 | 19.0% | 5.9% | 61.2% | 27.1% | 14 |
Garcia has been a consistent pitcher when healthy throughout his career. He typically posts a slightly below average strikeout rate with excellent control and a high ground ball rate, 56.5% for his career. This season, he has one huge start, when he struck out 13 Brewers, that is skewing his overall stat line. Unless he shows that sort of dominance again, we should assume that game was the outlier, and consider him exactly the same as we always have. A very good real life pitcher, who should limit the damage against him and put up a solid, but unspectacular stat line. This game has a low total, and Garcia is favored, which certainly puts him in play, just be realistic with your expectations.
Batter Grind Down
Washington
The left-handed Garcia has allowed a higher wOBA to lefties throughout his career, though nothing in the peripherals suggest that he should. He has always had a higher strikeout rate and ground ball rate to lefties, but for some reason consistently allows a higher BABIP. It’s possible there’s something to that, but I lean towards thinking it’s more of a fluke, as he doesn’t tend to face many lefties, and the ones he does face are the opposing teams best hitters. Garcia is a tough pitcher to play against with his high ground ball rate and strong control. I would reserve Nationals bats for tournaments, and even then, use them very sparingly.
- Nationals Offense
Team wOBA vs. LHP — 0.329 (3 of 30)
Team ISO vs. LHP — 0.156 (7 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.95 (16 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.35 (27 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. LHP | ISO vs. LHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Taylor | RIGHT | 0.282 | 0.150 | OF | $2,400 | OF | $3,100 |
| 2 | Anthony Rendon | RIGHT | 0.327 | 0.080 | 3B | $2,600 | 3B | $3,500 |
| 3 | Bryce Harper | LEFT | 0.433 | 0.265 | OF | $5,500 | OF | $5,000 |
| 4 | Ryan Zimmerman | RIGHT | 0.425 | 0.346 | 1B | $2,500 | 1B | $4,100 |
| 5 | Daniel Murphy | LEFT | 0.305 | 0.117 | 2B | $3,400 | 2B | $3,100 |
| 6 | Jayson Werth | RIGHT | 0.335 | 0.281 | OF | $2,700 | OF | $3,900 |
| 7 | Wilson Ramos | RIGHT | 0.269 | 0.138 | C | $2,800 | C | $3,000 |
| 8 | Danny Espinosa | SWITCH | 0.310 | 0.127 | SS | $2,100 | SS | $2,500 |
| 9 | Joe Ross | RIGHT | 0.483 | 0.000 | P | $7,200 | P | $8,100 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.352 | 0.167 | — | $3,000 | — | $3,525 |
Elite Plays –
Secondary Plays –
Bryce Harper – 2015 vs LHP – .421 wOBA, 170 wRC+
Ryan Zimmerman – 2015 vs LHP – .439 wOB, 182 wRC+
Stackability – Low
St. Louis
For the Cardinals, it’s pretty simple – play the left-handers and sit the right-handers. Through his first 93 career innings, he has allowed a .345 wOBA to lefties and a .190 wOBA to righties. His strikeout rate is 15.6% to lefties and 26.3% to righties. Hard hit rate is 35.6% to lefties and 18.8% to righties. Do I need to go on?
- Cardinals Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.318 (3 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.148 (9 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 6.13 (2 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.65 (23 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Carpenter | LEFT | 0.392 | 0.252 | 3B | $4,000 | 3B | $4,100 |
| 2 | Stephen Piscotty | RIGHT | 0.357 | 0.192 | OF | $3,500 | OF | $4,000 |
| 3 | Matt Holliday | RIGHT | 0.366 | 0.176 | OF | $3,100 | 1B/OF | $3,700 |
| 4 | Brandon Moss | LEFT | 0.315 | 0.217 | 1B | $2,900 | 1B/OF | $3,300 |
| 5 | Yadier Molina | RIGHT | 0.314 | 0.102 | C | $3,100 | C | $3,200 |
| 6 | Matt Adams | LEFT | 0.293 | 0.156 | 1B | $2,000 | 1B | $2,900 |
| 7 | Jedd Gyorko | RIGHT | 0.293 | 0.162 | SS | $2,300 | 2B/SS | $2,900 |
| 8 | Aledmys Diaz | RIGHT | 0.549 | 0.340 | SS | $3,300 | SS | $3,600 |
| 9 | Jaime Garcia | LEFT | 0.124 | 0.000 | P | $8,300 | P | $9,100 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.334 | 0.177 | — | $3,025 | — | $3,463 |
Elite Plays –
Matt Carpenter – 2015 vs RHP – .394 wOBA, 154 wRC+
Brandon Moss – 2015 vs RHP – .360 wOBA, 130 wRC+
Secondary Plays –
Stackability – Low/Medium
Atlanta at Chicago Cubs – 2:20 PM
| Atlanta | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Julio Teheran | | John Lackey | ||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| CHC -230 | 7.0 | ||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% | Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.388 | 22 | 14.9% | 11.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.329 | 12 | 14.5% | 8.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.257 | 10 | 25.3% | 5.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.274 | 12 | 25.0% | 3.5% |
Pitcher Grind Down
| Julio Teheran | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$7,700 | Salary:$7,800 | ||||||
| FPPG:23.6 | FPPG:12.4 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:42.6 | Pitcher Rank:25 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 5 | 4.36 | 19.5% | 8.6% | 41.6% | 41.3% | 14 |
| 2015 | 33 | 4.24 | 20.3% | 8.7% | 39.5% | 31.4% | 30 |
The weather makes this game very questionable to play. If it does, the wind blowing in is a boost to pitchers, but there is no merit to playing pitchers here with all the rain, even if they are able to start.
| John Lackey | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$9,000 | Salary:$9,600 | ||||||
| FPPG:37.8 | FPPG:19.1 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:80.5 | Pitcher Rank:4 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 4 | 3.19 | 26.5% | 5.9% | 38.2% | 40.6% | 18 |
| 2015 | 33 | 3.90 | 19.5% | 5.9% | 46.0% | 30.1% | 2 |
See above, can’t risk pitchers with this weather.
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
- Braves Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.300 (27 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.109 (30 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.26 (30 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 2.75 (30 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Markakis | LEFT | 0.352 | 0.099 | OF | $3,300 | OF | $3,700 |
| 2 | Daniel Castro | RIGHT | 0.230 | 0.024 | 2B | $2,000 | 2B/3B | $2,200 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | LEFT | 0.372 | 0.217 | 1B | $3,000 | 1B | $3,900 |
| 4 | Adonis Garcia | RIGHT | 0.309 | 0.147 | 3B | $2,100 | 3B | $2,600 |
| 5 | A.J. Pierzynski | LEFT | 0.338 | 0.134 | C | $2,100 | C | $2,900 |
| 6 | Kelly Johnson | LEFT | 0.313 | 0.163 | 3B | $2,100 | 2B/OF | $2,700 |
| 7 | Jace Peterson | LEFT | 0.297 | 0.094 | 2B | $2,200 | 2B/OF | $2,800 |
| 8 | Mallex Smith | LEFT | 0.241 | 0.069 | OF | $2,300 | OF | $3,200 |
| 9 | Julio Teheran | RIGHT | 0.094 | 0.000 | P | $7,700 | P | $7,800 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.283 | 0.105 | — | $2,388 | — | $3,000 |
Elite Plays –
Secondary Plays –
Stackability –
Chicago Cubs
- Cubs Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.316 (8 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.160 (7 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 6.18 (1 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.25 (8 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dexter Fowler | SWITCH | 0.340 | 0.183 | OF | $4,100 | OF | $4,900 |
| 2 | Jason Heyward | LEFT | 0.351 | 0.153 | OF | $3,400 | OF | $3,900 |
| 3 | Ben Zobrist | SWITCH | 0.325 | 0.153 | 2B | $3,200 | 2B | $3,700 |
| 4 | Anthony Rizzo | LEFT | 0.393 | 0.277 | 1B | $4,700 | 1B | $4,800 |
| 5 | Jorge Soler | RIGHT | 0.310 | 0.145 | OF | $2,400 | OF | $3,400 |
| 6 | Javier Baez | RIGHT | 0.265 | 0.103 | SS | $2,400 | 3B/SS | $2,900 |
| 7 | Addison Russell | RIGHT | 0.327 | 0.153 | SS | $3,100 | SS | $3,000 |
| 8 | David Ross | RIGHT | 0.231 | 0.099 | C | $2,400 | C | $2,900 |
| 9 | John Lackey | RIGHT | 0.142 | 0.034 | P | $9,000 | P | $9,600 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.298 | 0.144 | — | $3,213 | — | $3,688 |
Elite Plays –
Secondary Plays –
Stackability –
Houston at Oakland – 4:05 PM
| Houston | Oakland | ||||||||
| Chris Devenski | | Jesse Hahn | ||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| OAK -110 | 8.0 | ||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% | Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | SP vs. Left | 0.322 | 3 | 15.6% | 5.7% | ||||
| SP vs. Right | SP vs. Right | 0.228 | 2 | 16.0% | 6.7% | ||||
Pitcher Grind Down
| Chris Devenski | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$5,600 | Salary:$5,000 | ||||||
| FPPG:12.3 | FPPG:7.6 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:45.0 | Pitcher Rank:23 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 9 | ||||||
| 2015 | 4 | ||||||
Devenski makes his first career start, after 14 innings in the bullpen, and no AAA experience. He has an impressive 12/1 K/BB ration out of the bullpen, but it’s hard to trust such a small sample size. He is not a top prospect, and not someone that I am very familiar with. His minor league numbers look OK, but not outstanding, I don’t see any reason to take a risk here, unless you really want to take a longshot GPP play if your site has him at minimum salary.
| Jesse Hahn | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$7,800 | Salary:$7,500 | ||||||
| FPPG:27.9 | FPPG:0.0 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:57.7 | Pitcher Rank:17 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 29 | ||||||
| 2015 | 16 | 4.01 | 15.8% | 6.2% | 52.6% | 23.3% | 29 |
It was a bit of a surprise when Hahn was sent down to the minors to open the season, but it didn’t take long for him to make it up. He looked decent in his 2014 rookie season in San Diego with a 3.73 SIERA, and with Oakland in 2015, his strikeout rate dropped to 15.8% and his SIERA rose to 4.01, but a 52.6% ground ball rate kept him viable. We know the deal with pitchers facing Houston, lots of risk, but more strikeouts available than with most other teams. Given that Hahn is not a high strikeout guy, and relies more on ground balls and soft contact, I don’t see much reason to take a chance on him today. He doesn’t have the kind of upside you need in tournaments, and isn’t safe enough for cash games.
Batter Grind Down
Houston
You know the deal with Houston. It hardly matters who they’re facing, and Jesse Hahn, while a decent pitcher, is not someone to be afraid of. Their bats have been mostly cold, but they can explode at any time. Left-handers have hit Hahn harder in his career, but the big righties are all in play for tournaments.
- Astros Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.324 (6 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.188 (2 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.91 (17 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.94 (17 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Altuve | RIGHT | 0.338 | 0.165 | 2B | $4,500 | 2B | $5,100 |
| 2 | George Springer | RIGHT | 0.335 | 0.159 | OF | $3,700 | OF | $4,600 |
| 3 | Carlos Correa | RIGHT | 0.358 | 0.204 | SS | $4,100 | SS | $4,900 |
| 4 | Colby Rasmus | LEFT | 0.348 | 0.263 | OF | $3,600 | OF | $4,200 |
| 5 | Evan Gattis | RIGHT | 0.322 | 0.225 | C | $2,500 | OF | $3,800 |
| 6 | Carlos Gomez | RIGHT | 0.302 | 0.143 | OF | $2,600 | OF | $3,900 |
| 7 | Marwin Gonzalez | SWITCH | 0.289 | 0.126 | 1B | $2,100 | 1B/3B | $2,800 |
| 8 | Luis Valbuena | LEFT | 0.336 | 0.212 | 3B | $2,100 | 3B | $3,300 |
| 9 | Jason Castro | LEFT | 0.304 | 0.184 | C | $2,300 | C | $3,000 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.326 | 0.187 | — | $3,056 | — | $3,956 |
Elite Plays –
Colby Rasmus – 2015 vs RHP – .329 wOBA, 107 wRC+
Carlos Correa – 2015 vs RHP – .359 wOBA, 128 wRC+
George Springer – 2015 vs RHP – .336 wOBA, 113 wRC+
Jose Altuve – 2015 vs RHP – .319 wOBA, 101 wRC+
Secondary Plays –
Luis Valbuena – 2015 vs RHP – .348 wOBA, 121 wRC+
Stackability – High
Oakland
Rather than trying to guess how Devenski is going to handle his first start, I am going to just look at Oakland’s numbers overall against right-handed pitching, and not be afraid to use the guys like Reddick and Vogt who have a good history, and assume that the 14 bullpen innings from Devenski are mostly a fluke. Because of the uncertaintly, the A’s are not a safe cash game offense, though viable, but an intriguing GPP stack.
- Athletics Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.307 (22 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.146 (21 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.52 (25 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.06 (13 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Burns | SWITCH | 0.305 | 0.102 | OF | $3,100 | OF | $4,300 |
| 2 | Jed Lowrie | SWITCH | 0.285 | 0.123 | 2B | $2,800 | 2B | $3,200 |
| 3 | Josh Reddick | LEFT | 0.360 | 0.199 | OF | $3,400 | OF | $4,000 |
| 4 | Khris Davis | RIGHT | 0.357 | 0.250 | OF | $3,000 | OF | $3,600 |
| 5 | Stephen Vogt | LEFT | 0.349 | 0.206 | C | $3,000 | C | $3,500 |
| 6 | Mark Canha | RIGHT | 0.348 | 0.217 | OF | $2,400 | 1B/OF | $3,800 |
| 7 | Chris Coghlan | LEFT | 0.348 | 0.217 | 3B | $2,400 | 2B/3B | $3,400 |
| 8 | Yonder Alonso | LEFT | 0.313 | 0.099 | 1B | $2,100 | 1B | $3,200 |
| 9 | Marcus Semien | RIGHT | 0.285 | 0.143 | SS | $2,500 | SS | $3,300 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.328 | 0.173 | — | $2,744 | — | $3,589 |
Elite Plays –
Josh Reddick – 2015 vs RHP – .356 wOBA, 129 wRC+
Stephen Vogt – 2015 vs RHP – .353 wOBA, 128 wRC+
Chris Coghlan – 2015 vs RHP – .355 wOBA, 125 wRC+
Secondary Plays –
Khris Davis – 2015 vs RHP – .367 wOBA, 130 wRC+
Billy Burns – 2015 vs RHP – .308 wOBA, 96 wRC+
Jed Lowrie – 2015 vs RHP – .273 wOBA, 69 wRC+
Stackability – Medium
San Francisco at NY Mets – 4:05 PM
| San Francisco | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Matt Cain | | Jacob deGrom | ||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| NYM -180 | 7.0 | ||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% | Stats | wOBA | HR All. | K% | BB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.391 | 7 | 13.1% | 7.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.280 | 12 | 25.7% | 4.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.361 | 7 | 17.9% | 7.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.219 | 4 | 28.2% | 5.3% |
Pitcher Grind Down
| Matt Cain | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$5,900 | Salary:$6,600 | ||||||
| FPPG:16.5 | FPPG:7.1 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:36.6 | Pitcher Rank:28 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 4 | 4.71 | 16.8% | 8.4% | 34.8% | 28.2% | 22 |
| 2015 | 11 | 4.78 | 15.1% | 7.4% | 35.8% | 36.4% | 15 |
Cain has shown no signs that he is going to be able to turn his career back around. After a 15.1% strikeout rate and 4.78 SIERA in 2015, he sits at 16.8% K and a 4.68 SIERA in the early going. There is no case to be made for using Cain in any format.
| Jacob deGrom | |||||||
| FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$9,900 | Salary:$10,800 | ||||||
| FPPG:40.0 | FPPG:20.2 | ||||||
| Pitcher Rating:88.2 | Pitcher Rank:2 | ||||||
| Statistics | Starts | SIERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HH% | O-K% |
| 2016 | 2 | 3.22 | 19.6% | 0.0% | 48.6% | 29.7% | 1 |
| 2015 | 30 | 2.99 | 27.3% | 5.1% | 44.4% | 26.3% | 6 |
deGrom is an ace, and a heavy favorite in a home game with a low total. Sure the Giants are a tough opponent, but deGrom should be at or near the top of your list. He has only made two starts this season, so we can’t dig into the numbers too much, but he hasn’t walked a batter in his first 12 innings and has only allowed two runs. Through his first two major league seasons, he posted a 3.08 SIERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. Very safe cash game play and comes with strikeout upside for tournaments.
Batter Grind Down
San Francisco
deGrom has allowed a .284 wOBA to left-handed bats and a .240 wOBA to righties in his career. There is really no reason to look towards Giants bats today against a top pitcher.
- Giants Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.321 (6 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.146 (17 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.96 (6 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.04 (29 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denard Span | LEFT | 0.382 | 0.153 | OF | $3,500 | OF | $3,600 |
| 2 | Kelby Tomlinson | RIGHT | 0.300 | 0.066 | 2B | $2,200 | 2B | $2,500 |
| 3 | Matt Duffy | RIGHT | 0.340 | 0.150 | 3B | $2,700 | 3B | $3,100 |
| 4 | Brandon Belt | LEFT | 0.363 | 0.196 | 1B | $3,600 | 1B | $3,600 |
| 5 | Brandon Crawford | LEFT | 0.345 | 0.218 | SS | $2,800 | SS | $3,000 |
| 6 | Hunter Pence | RIGHT | 0.371 | 0.209 | OF | $3,500 | OF | $3,900 |
| 7 | Angel Pagan | SWITCH | 0.273 | 0.082 | OF | $2,700 | OF | $3,000 |
| 8 | Trevor Brown | RIGHT | 0.368 | 0.217 | C | $2,200 | C | $2,700 |
| 9 | Matt Cain | RIGHT | 0.000 | 0.000 | P | $5,900 | P | $6,600 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.305 | 0.143 | — | $2,900 | — | $3,175 |
Elite Plays –
Secondary Plays –
Stackability – Extremely Low
NY Mets
The Mets can be loaded up early and often against Cain. He allows a lot of hard contact and fly balls to both right and left-handed batters. In 2015, he allowed a .404 wOBA to lefties and a .357 wOBA to righties, and as I mentioned, he has shown no signs of improvement. All Mets are in play, and the big left-handed bats are especially strong high upside options.
- Mets Offense
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.308 (18 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.152 (10 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.81 (8 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.96 (15 of 30)
Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Bats | wOBA vs. RHP | ISO vs. RHP | FD Position | FD Salary | DK Position | DK Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis Granderson | LEFT | 0.382 | 0.226 | OF | $3,700 | OF | $4,500 |
| 2 | Asdrubal Cabrera | SWITCH | 0.327 | 0.164 | SS | $2,700 | SS | $3,300 |
| 3 | Michael Conforto | LEFT | 0.395 | 0.274 | OF | $3,900 | OF | $3,600 |
| 4 | Yoenis Cespedes | RIGHT | 0.387 | 0.272 | OF | $4,400 | OF | $4,800 |
| 5 | Lucas Duda | LEFT | 0.348 | 0.229 | 1B | $3,300 | 1B | $4,000 |
| 6 | Neil Walker | SWITCH | 0.340 | 0.192 | 2B | $3,800 | 2B | $4,000 |
| 7 | Wilmer Flores | RIGHT | 0.272 | 0.102 | SS | $2,000 | 2B/SS | $3,000 |
| 8 | Kevin Plawecki | RIGHT | 0.261 | 0.057 | C | $2,100 | C | $2,500 |
| 9 | Jacob deGrom | RIGHT | 0.194 | 0.018 | P | $9,900 | P | $10,800 |
| Team Averages | — | 0.323 | 0.170 | — | $3,238 | — | $3,713 |
Elite Plays –
Yoenis Cespedes – 2015 vs RHP – .383 wOBA, 146 wRC+
Curtis Granderson – 2015 vs RHP – .384 wOBA, 151 wRC+
Michael Conforto – 2015 vs RHP – .371 wOBA, 142 wRC+
Lucas Duda – 2015 vs RHP – .354 wOBA, 130 wRC+
Neil Walker – 2015 vs RHP – .340 wOBA, 119 wRC+
David Wright – 2015 vs RHP – .334 wOBA, 116 wRC+
Secondary Plays –
Asdrubal Cabrera – 2015 vs RHP – .323 wOBA, 107 wRC+