MLB Grind Down: Saturday, August 22 - Page Three

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2015-08-22 21:59:10

NY Mets at Colorado – 8:10 PM EST

NY Mets					Colorado
			Jonathon Niese					Chris Rusin
			LEFT					LEFT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			NYM (-117)					10.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left					SP vs. Left	0.305	0.83	0.356	0.132
SP vs. Right					SP vs. Right	0.298	0.802	0.347	0.16
Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs L		Batter Splits			COL vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Jonathon Niese

Colorado Rockies vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.281 (Rank: 29)
Strikeout Rate: 23.9% (Rank: 28)

The week-long Coors home stand continues and that simply means avoiding pitching options in the game. Niese has pitched well on the season, but he is not playable here tonight. Rating = 3

Chris Rusin

New York Mets vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.299 (Rank: 22)
Strikeout Rate: 22.7% (Rank: 25)

Rusin has actually pitched pretty well at Coors this year. In seven starts, Rusin has a 3.13 ERA and has only allowed three home runs in 46 innings pitched. Yet, Vegas has the total of this game at 10 and a half with the Mets as favorites. Rusin is an easy avoid tonight. . Rating = 4

Salaries: $5,700 FD, $4,700 DK

Batter Grind Down

NY Mets

Rusin comes into this game allowing a wOBA of .394 to lefties and .332 to righties. All the hitters are in play today and especially Cespedes who is coming off that monster performance last night. This Mets squad has the highest team total of the night and should be targeted in all formats.

Elite Plays:

Yoenis Cespedes
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.302 — ISO: 0.167 — OBP: 0.333

Secondary Plays:

All 1-6 hitters are in play tonight

Colorado

Niese will try to limit the damage as much as possible, but it looks like the offenses are keyed in after the offensive explosion last night. Targeting guys from both sides of this game looks to be an easy option.

Elite Plays:

Nolan Arenado
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.281— ISO: 0.129 — OBP: 0.320

Secondary Plays:

All 1-6 hitters are in play tonight

St. Louis at San Diego – 8:40 PM EST

St. Louis					San Diego
			Carlos Martinez					Ian Kennedy
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			STL (-138)					6.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.271	0.815	0.351	0.18	SP vs. Left	0.237	0.742	0.322	0.244
SP vs. Right	0.232	0.604	0.27	0.277	SP vs. Right	0.254	0.745	0.326	0.227
Batter Splits	STL BvP		STL vs R		Batter Splits	SDP BvP		SD vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Carlos Martinez

San Diego Padres vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.298 (Rank: 26)
Strikeout Rate: 21.6% (Rank: 11)

Martinez has had a poor stretch recently as he has allowed 13 earned runs over only 23 innings. Diving in a bit more, his SIERA of 3.04 shows that he has been pitching just as well has he had all season (3.40 SIERA). He has the best matchup on the board in San Diego and solid upside due to a 24.2% strikeout rate. He is in play for both cash and tournament formats. Rating = 8.5

Salaries: $10,400 FD, $9,200 DK

Ian Kennedy

St. Louis Cardinals vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.312 (Rank: 14)
Strikeout Rate: 19.1% (Rank: 27)

Kennedy has been serviceable for the Padres as of late. Over the last month of play, he has a 3.57 SIERA, but more importantly, has seen a jump in his strikeout rate up to 24%. He has a decent matchup against the Cardinals tonight as they are a middle of the league offense, yet do not strikeout at a very high rate (19.1%). This game is being played at the most pitcher-friendly stadium in the league with the smallest total of the night. Kennedy is in play where cheap but is more of a tournament play than CMart. Rating = 6.5

Salaries: $7,900 FD, $8,100 DK

Batter Grind Down

St. Louis

With so many options tonight in good offensive spots, it is really hard to target any of the bats in this game. Yet, Kennedy has allowed a wOBA of .348+ to hitters from both sides of the plate, yet they are secondary plays only tonight.

Elite Plays:

None

Secondary Plays:

Kolten Wong
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.338 — ISO: 0.161 — OBP: 0.340

Matt Carpenter
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.375 — ISO: 0.212 — OBP: 0.382

San Diego

Attacking the Padres hitters in Petco against a solid pitcher does not equate to DFS success. Continue to avoid the bats in this spot against Martinez who has been solid all year long.

Elite Plays:

None

Secondary Plays:

None

Toronto at LA Angels – 9:05 PM EST

Toronto					LA Angels
			Marco Estrada					Andrew Heaney
			RIGHT					LEFT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			LAA (-105)					8
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.216	0.678	0.298	0.188	SP vs. Left	0.222	0.546	0.242	0.223
SP vs. Right	0.233	0.724	0.317	0.205	SP vs. Right	0.257	0.754	0.329	0.147
Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs L		Batter Splits	LAA BvP		ANA vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Marco Estrada

Los Angeles Angels vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.307 (Rank: 19)
Strikeout Rate: 19.6% (Rank: 17)

Estrada has been a solid starter for the Blue Jays as he does just enough to keep this big time offense in the game each and every start. He has allowed more than two earned runs only once in his last ten starts. Yet, his SIERA of 4.86 during that span shows some regression is in order and he is not a high upside pitcher as he has sported a 17.9% strikeout rate as well. The matchup is not terrible once you get past the three big bats, but he should not be at the top of your list for starters tonight. Rating = 5

Salaries: $8,600 FD, $7,400 DK

Andrew Heaney

Toronto Blue Jays vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.353 (Rank: 1)
Strikeout Rate: 16.9% (Rank: 2)

Heaney is another guy that does just enough to keep his team in the game. Like Estrada, he has only allowed more than two earned runs once in his last ten games. Yet, his strikeout rate is low (17.5%) and he has to face the best offense in baseball tonight. He is an easy avoid due to the matchup. Rating = 4.5

Salaries: $7,100 FD, $7,500 DK

Batter Grind Down

Toronto

Anytime this Blue Jays squad is matched up against a lefty, they are in play. Tonight, they face Heaney who has kept righties to a wOBA of .288 on the season, but the Toronto offense is a different animal. The top guys are clearly in play tonight, but paying their extreme prices in cash games may be difficult.

Elite Plays:

Josh Donaldson
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.445— ISO: 0.333— OBP: 0.398

Jose Bautista
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.334— ISO: 0.173— OBP: 0.357

Edwin Encarnacion
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.345— ISO: 0.154— OBP: 0.366

Secondary Plays:

Troy Tulowitzki
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.258— ISO: 0.000— OBP: 0.308

LA Angels

Estrada has not pitched as well as his ERA has shown over the last two months. Yet, he is keeping batters to a wOBA of under .283 from both sides of the plate. The big three are in play tonight for the Angels.

Elite Plays:

Mike Trout
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.410 — ISO: 0.291 — OBP: 0.390

Secondary Plays:

Albert Pujols
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.364— ISO: 0.262 — OBP: 0.327

Kole Calhoun
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.342 — ISO: 0.183 — OBP: 0.330

Tampa Bay at Oakland – 9:05 PM EST

Tampa Bay					Oakland
			Erasmo Ramirez					Sonny Gray
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			OAK (-117)					7
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.223	0.649	0.291	0.187	SP vs. Left	0.204	0.584	0.264	0.219
SP vs. Right	0.266	0.771	0.34	0.173	SP vs. Right	0.231	0.588	0.264	0.197
Batter Splits	TBR BvP		TB vs R		Batter Splits	OAK BvP		OAK vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Erasmo Ramirez

Oakland Athletics vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.305 (Rank: 22)
Strikeout Rate: 17.9% (Rank: 30)

Ramirez has pitched well over the last two months. Other than two starts where he struggled, he has allowed one or less earned runs in seven of his last ten. He will try to continue that against an Athletics offense that has struggled to put up runs, but also limits pitchers upside due to a 17.9% team strikeout rate. Erasmo’s 18.4% strikeout rate will not be helped by this, which makes him a tough play other than a SP2 tonight. Rating = 5

Salaries: $7,600 FD, $6,100 DK

Sonny Gray

Tampa Bay Rays vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: .297 (Rank: 28)
Strikeout Rate: 22.0% (Rank: 11)

Gray is definitely one of the top starters going tonight. He has a 3.50 SIERA on the season as well as a solid 21.6% strikeout rate. He gets a great matchup against the Rays offense who has struggled all year long and is a solid favorite with a Vegas total of seven. He is another top option on this slate and should be used in all formats. Rating = 8

Salaries: $10,700 FD, $11,600 DK

Batter Grind Down

Tampa Bay

Avoid the Tampa bats tonight against Gray who has held batters to a wOBA of under .241 from both sides of the plate.

Elite Plays:

None

Secondary Plays:

None

Oakland

This game is not the most ideal to target batters from, but both Reddick and Vogt are decent options at their price and their batting position against Erasmo tonight.

Elite Plays:

None

Secondary Plays:

Josh Reddick
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.366— ISO: 0.197 — OBP: 0.351

Stephen Vogt
2015 vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.362— ISO: 0.226 — OBP: 0.360

Chicago White Sox at Seattle – 9:10 PM EST

Chicago White Sox					Seattle
			Carlos Rodon					Vidal Nuno
			LEFT					LEFT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			SEA (-115)					7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.196	0.533	0.246	0.272	SP vs. Left	0.191	0.58	0.258	0.241
SP vs. Right	0.284	0.854	0.373	0.228	SP vs. Right	0.270	0.797	0.346	0.188
Batter Splits	CHW BvP		CWS vs L		Batter Splits			SEA vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Carlos Rodon

Seattle Mariners vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.306 (Rank: 20)
Strikeout Rate: 21.2% (Rank: 16)

Rodon flashes his potential here and there this season and that is exactly what he has done in his last two starts. Both against the Angels, Rodon went a total of 15 innings, two earned runs and 16 strikeouts. The upside is clearly there for Rodon who brings his 23.9% strikeout rate into this matchup against the Mariners. For his price, he makes a great SP2 for tournaments tonight. Rating = 6.5

Salaries: $6,800 FD, $7,100 DK

Vidal Nuno

Chicago White Sox vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.274 (Rank: 30)
Strikeout Rate: 21.6% (Rank: 19)

Nuno has a solid matchup against the White Sox who have been awful against left-handed pitching this year. Yet, Nuno is still not fully stretched out as a starter and would need a near perfect start to be used tonight. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5,500 FD, $4,200 DK

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

This White Sox team, even though has some solid right-handed bats, is the worst team in the league against lefty pitching. Nuno has allowed a wOBA of .344 to righties on the year, which puts Abreu into play as an elite option tonight and Garcia as a solid cheaper option.

Elite Plays:

Jose Abreu
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.317 — ISO: 0.146 — OBP: 0.352

Secondary Plays:

Avisail Garcia
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.329 — ISO: 0.116 — OBP: 0.358

Seattle

any time the Mariners face a left-handed pitcher, you have to take a flyer on Nelson Cruz who has absolutely mashed lefties all year long for a wOBA of .471 and a ridiculous ISO of .325. He is an elite play at the outfield position that features a ton of great plays tonight.

Elite Plays:

Nelson Cruz
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.471— ISO: 0.325 — OBP: 0.441

Secondary Plays:

Franklin Gutierrez
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.424 — ISO: 0.328 — OBP: 0.354

Ketel Marte
2015 vs. LH Pitching: wOBA: 0.348 — ISO: 0.125 — OBP: 0.378

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