MLB Grind Down: Saturday, July 21st

by Taylor Smith (tcsmith031) Last Updated 2018-07-21 16:42:33

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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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code, FanDuel promo code, and FantasyDraft promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Stackability Rating System:

GREEN – A viable full stack in cash games and GPPs.
YELLOW – A viable mini-stack in cash games and full stack in GPPs.
ORANGE – A viable stack in large field GPPs.
RED – Not a recommended stack for cash games or GPPs.

Implied Run Totals

Ballpark Ratings

NY Mets at NY Yankees – 1:05 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%	Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%
NY Mets								NY Yankees
			Steven Matz							Sonny Gray
			LEFT							RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline							Vegas Over/Under
			NYY-240							9.5
SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.288	0.275	7.9%	82.6	19.0%	75.4%	SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.343	0.369	39.5%	89.0	19.1%	45.0%
SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.328	0.325	38.3%	88.3	21.5%	44.9%	SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.342	0.314	30.1%	89.5	22.3%	49.7%

Pitcher Grind Down

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Steven Matz
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$7,800	Salary:			$6,600	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			10 of 29	Salary Rank:			21 of 29	Salary Rank:
	2017	13	4.71	6.08	16.1%	6.4%	47.1%	32.9%	21.9%	93.1	7.1%
	2018	18	4.28	3.38	20.9%	9.1%	51.9%	31.4%	17.3%	93.2	8.0%
	L14	2	4.85	2.84	15.8%	8.8%	48.8%	26.2%	16.7%	94.0	6.7%

Steven Matz has pitched pretty well this season, but he’s also a lefty with a wide split going into the Bronx today. On the year he has a 20.9% strikeout rate along with a walk rate over 9%. His 4.29 SIERA suggests there’s been a bit of luck in that 3.38 ERA, and he gets a negative league and park shift going into the AL and the bandbox known as Yankee Stadium. Matz is cheap, and there are some Ks in the Yankee order, but there’s an awful lot of downside given NYY’s right-handed thunder.

Quick Breakdown: I’ll be fading Matz in a tough matchup this afternoon.

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Sonny Gray
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$8,000	Salary:			$8,700	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			9 of 29	Salary Rank:			7 of 29	Salary Rank:
	2017	27	4.08	3.55	22.6%	8.4%	52.8%	28.0%	16.8%	93.0	11.9%
	2018	18	4.35	5.46	20.9%	9.6%	47.6%	34.3%	16.3%	93.4	10.2%
	L14	2	2.99	5.63	32.4%	8.1%	47.6%	23.8%	28.6%	94.4	11.8%

Sonny Gray has a bloated 5.46 ERA, but his 4.35 SIERA is a bit more friendly. Gray has the same K-rate as Matz (20.9%) with a slightly higher 9.6% BB-rate. Gray has been a strong ground ball guy over the course of his career that has seen his ground ball rate dip a bit so far in 2018. Today he’ll be going up against a Mets lineup adding a DH that just got Yoenis Cespedes back. Gray is a tad overpriced, but it’s a fine matchup overall and the early slate doesn’t come with a ton of options. As a result, Gray is a strong option in all formats.

Quick Breakdown: Gray is right there with Marcus Stroman as the top option on the early slate.

Batter Grind Down

NY Mets

Gray is a solid pitcher with reverse splits and a strong ground ball lean. There isn’t a whole lot to like about the Mets lineup, but they do get to add a DH and get a serious park upgrade going from Citi to Yankee. I think this is a spot that profiles pretty well for Yoenis Cespedes, while Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are still playable despite Gray’s unfavorable splits for left-handed hitters. Asdrubal Cabrera is also worth a mention with that short porch in right field. In general, though, I’m lukewarm on stacking the Mets.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Brandon Nimmo	LEFT	0.373	90.2	0.259	37.0%	12.6%	26.1%	35.7%	OF	$3,200	OF	$5,100	N/A	N/A
2	Yoenis Cespedes	RIGHT	0.312	91.0	0.241	36.5%	4.3%	31.0%	29.7%	OF	$2,900	OF	$4,000	N/A	N/A
3	Asdrubal Cabrera	SWITCH	0.372	90.2	0.241	44.0%	8.2%	20.1%	40.5%	2B	$3,200	2B	$4,500	N/A	N/A
4	Wilmer Flores	RIGHT	0.328	87.0	0.226	36.2%	7.2%	9.2%	37.0%	1B	$2,600	1B/3B	$3,700	N/A	N/A
5	Michael Conforto	LEFT	0.350	87.6	0.142	34.9%	17.6%	21.2%	39.0%	OF	$2,700	OF	$4,000	N/A	N/A
6	Jose Bautista	RIGHT	0.354	90.5	0.187	43.2%	15.0%	26.8%	31.1%	OF	$2,700	3B/OF	$4,000	N/A	N/A
7	Kevin Plawecki	RIGHT	0.319	88.6	0.173	43.9%	12.5%	25.0%	52.6%	C	$2,200	C	$3,600	N/A	N/A
8	Amed Rosario	RIGHT	0.288	87.1	0.133	28.8%	5.7%	19.6%	47.9%	SS	$2,300	SS	$3,500	N/A	N/A
9	Matt den Dekker	LEFT			0.000	14.3%	8.3%	33.3%	28.6%	OF	$2,000	OF	$3,300	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.337	89.0	0.178	35.4%	10.2%	23.6%	38.0%

Elite Plays – Yoenis Cespedes

Secondary Plays – Michael Conforto, Asdrubal Cabrera, Brandon Nimmo

Stackability – ORANGE

NY Yankees

Steven Matz isn’t a bad pitcher by any means, but the Yankees are always a pretty appealing stack, especially when they’re at home and facing a lefty. With all of those boxes checked, the Yanks are one of the top overall offenses on the Saturday slate. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez are your prime targets, followed by secondary options like Aaron Hicks and Miguel Andujar. Didi Gregorius might be contrarian in a lefty-lefty matchup, as well.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Brett Gardner	LEFT	0.293	86.3	0.088	19.7%	10.0%	16.7%	58.1%	OF	$3,400	OF	$4,600	N/A	N/A
2	Aaron Judge	RIGHT	0.437	95.2	0.272	47.3%	22.5%	30.8%	32.7%	OF	$4,400	OF	$5,200	N/A	N/A
3	Giancarlo Stanton	RIGHT	0.492	98.5	0.398	63.8%	10.4%	24.5%	36.2%	OF	$4,200	OF	$5,000	N/A	N/A
4	Gary Sanchez	RIGHT	0.434	91.0	0.304	33.3%	17.6%	20.6%	33.3%	C	$3,300	C	$4,100	N/A	N/A
5	Aaron Hicks	SWITCH	0.447	92.3	0.354	52.4%	11.0%	18.7%	29.0%	OF	$3,500	OF	$4,400	N/A	N/A
6	Miguel Andujar	RIGHT	0.313	90.7	0.270	34.7%	6.2%	18.6%	44.4%	3B	$3,100	3B	$3,800	N/A	N/A
7	Didi Gregorius	LEFT	0.277	79.6	0.101	27.4%	8.3%	14.7%	45.7%	SS	$3,900	SS	$4,600	N/A	N/A
8	Brandon Drury	RIGHT	0.345	87.1	0.071	20.0%	12.5%	25.0%	50.0%	1B	$2,100	2B/3B	$3,000	N/A	N/A
9	Neil Walker	SWITCH	0.233	86.2	0.028	36.0%	7.7%	28.2%	44.0%	2B	$2,300	1B/2B	$3,500	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.363	89.7	0.210	37.2%	11.8%	22.0%	41.5%

Elite Plays – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton

Secondary Plays – Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius

Stackability – GREEN

Baltimore at Toronto – 1:07 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%	Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%
Baltimore								Toronto
			Alex Cobb							Marcus Stroman
			RIGHT							RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline							Vegas Over/Under
			TOR-185							9.0
SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.381	0.364	34.4%	88.4	18.5%	41.2%	SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.347	0.383	41.3%	90.4	16.1%	60.8%
SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.376	0.354	32.8%	90.1	11.6%	56.8%	SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.312	0.320	39.1%	88.7	20.2%	62.2%

Pitcher Grind Down

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Alex Cobb
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$5,900	Salary:			$5,500	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			25 of 29	Salary Rank:			25 of 29	Salary Rank:
	2017	29	4.48	3.66	17.3%	5.9%	47.8%	36.9%	14.9%	91.7	6.7%
	2018	17	4.58	6.41	15.0%	6.0%	49.7%	33.5%	19.2%	92.0	7.1%
	L14	3	4.49	5.00	16.9%	5.2%	43.6%	32.8%	15.5%	92.1	8.3%

Alex Cobb has struggled in his first season as an Oriole. The veteran has an ugly 6.41 ERA, though his 4.60 SIERA is quite a bit better. His ground ball rate near 50% is still decent and he’s allowed 33.5% hard hits to this point. Cobb’s strikeout rate has dipped to just 15% and he has already allowed 17 homers across his 17 starts. Today he’s going on the road to face a solid Blue Jays offense. Cobb is cheap, but that’s about the only compliment I can come up with at this point.

Quick Breakdown: Cobb makes for an easy fade.

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Marcus Stroman
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$6,600	Salary:			$8,500	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			19 of 29	Salary Rank:			8 of 29	Salary Rank:
	2017	33	3.85	3.09	19.7%	7.4%	62.1%	31.4%	20.4%	93.3	10.0%
	2018	12	4.11	5.86	17.9%	8.9%	61.4%	40.4%	19.7%	92.3	9.2%
	L14	3	4.73	5.40	15.7%	10.0%	56.9%	28.9%	26.9%	92.4	8.1%

Marcus Stroman is the right-handed Dallas Keuchel. The Jays’ righty gets plenty of ground balls without many punchouts. So far this season, he has a stellar ground ball rate over 61% along with a middling strikeout rate nearing 18%. While those are fine enough attributes in real life, it’s not exactly an ideal mixture for DFS purposes. Stroman’s strikeout upside does come up a bit today against a K-happy Orioles lineup that just got a whole lot worse by trading Manny Machado. Again, the early slate is short and without much in terms of pitching, so Stroman is arguably the best option on the board. This is more than I’d normally like to pay for him, but he’s in a solid spot today.

Quick Breakdown: Stroman is the top pitching option of the early slate.

Batter Grind Down

Baltimore

Some Orioles players got stuck in an elevator last night after the game. If that isn’t a microcosm of their season, I don’t know what is. Today the O’s draw a mediocre matchup against Marcus Stroman, a reverse splits right-hander that generates tons of ground balls. Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones are the team’s best right-handed bats these days, so they’re playable in tournaments. Chris Davis has also started to hit the ball better of late, so feel free to deploy him if you’re hunting a cheap home run. Otherwise, there isn’t a whole lot to like here, so a stack looks highly unnecessary.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Tim Beckham	RIGHT	0.264	86.2	0.063	27.8%	5.2%	27.6%	47.2%	3B	$2,500	3B	$2,900	N/A	N/A
2	Jonathan Schoop	RIGHT	0.253	85.6	0.192	26.5%	2.2%	22.4%	47.9%	2B	$3,000	2B	$3,600	N/A	N/A
3	Adam Jones	RIGHT	0.326	88.3	0.178	31.4%	3.2%	18.0%	41.7%	OF	$2,800	OF	$3,500	N/A	N/A
4	Mark Trumbo	RIGHT	0.362	93.4	0.216	41.7%	6.7%	26.1%	37.5%	OF	$3,100	1B/OF	$3,600	N/A	N/A
5	Chris Davis	LEFT	0.291	87.6	0.099	34.4%	7.7%	35.2%	42.6%	1B	$2,200	1B	$2,900	N/A	N/A
6	Danny Valencia	RIGHT	0.329	90.8	0.117	30.4%	6.2%	23.1%	46.7%	OF	$2,500	3B/OF	$3,200	N/A	N/A
7	Trey Mancini	RIGHT	0.362	90.4	0.158	31.9%	9.2%	24.5%	51.5%	OF	$2,500	1B/OF	$3,200	N/A	N/A
8	Renato Nunez	RIGHT	0.237	94.8	0.053	30.8%	5.0%	30.0%	46.2%	3B	$2,000	3B/OF	$2,800	N/A	N/A
9	Chance Sisco	LEFT	0.287	88.2	0.080	32.9%	6.9%	35.2%	46.9%	C	$2,000	C	$2,700	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.301	89.5	0.128	32.0%	5.8%	26.9%	45.4%

Elite Plays – Jonathan Schoop

Secondary Plays – Adam Jones, Chris Davis

Stackability – ORANGE / RED

Toronto

Alex Cobb has been one of the most hittable pitchers in baseball this season, which makes the Jays’ offense look quite appealing. I’d start with those holding the platoon edge against the righty, which puts Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales, Yangervis Solarte and Curtis Granderson on my radar. Cobb is still vulnerable against right-handers too, so Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Russell Martin register as solid plays, too. Toronto is a bit behind the Yankees in terms of an offense to prioritize today, but they’re still near the top when it comes to teams you want to stack on this slate.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Curtis Granderson	LEFT	0.339	87.9	0.204	35.5%	13.0%	28.5%	32.8%	OF	$2,600	OF	$3,700	N/A	N/A
2	Teoscar Hernandez	RIGHT	0.379	92.0	0.222	39.1%	5.4%	25.6%	37.1%	OF	$3,500	OF	$4,200	N/A	N/A
3	Yangervis Solarte	SWITCH	0.331	88.1	0.158	31.0%	7.6%	16.0%	42.5%	3B	$2,600	2B/3B	$3,500	N/A	N/A
4	Justin Smoak	SWITCH	0.404	92.3	0.271	38.0%	17.9%	26.0%	32.1%	1B	$3,800	1B	$4,700	N/A	N/A
5	Kendrys Morales	SWITCH	0.409	93.5	0.212	45.3%	10.3%	22.4%	42.7%	1B	$2,600	1B	$4,000	N/A	N/A
6	Russell Martin	RIGHT	0.311	90.7	0.134	30.6%	16.2%	24.1%	46.8%	C	$2,200	C	$3,100	N/A	N/A
7	Randal Grichuk	RIGHT	0.331	91.2	0.256	38.5%	7.4%	25.7%	42.7%	OF	$2,700	OF	$3,800	N/A	N/A
8	Aledmys Diaz	RIGHT	0.348	89.2	0.183	36.2%	3.4%	11.9%	44.3%	SS	$2,500	SS	$3,500	N/A	N/A
9	Devon Travis	RIGHT	0.293	88.7	0.123	26.0%	6.0%	22.5%	61.5%	2B	$2,500	2B	$3,800	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.349	90.4	0.196	35.6%	9.7%	22.5%	42.5%

Elite Plays – Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales, Curtis Granderson, Yangervis Solarte

Secondary Plays – Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, Russell Martin

Stackability – GREEN

St. Louis at Chicago Cubs – 1:05 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%	Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%
St. Louis								Chicago Cubs
			Luke Weaver							Tyler Chatwood
			RIGHT							RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline							Vegas Over/Under
			CHC -120
SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.350	0.359	35.4%	86.8	19.4%	37.3%	SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.391	0.403	35.1%	88.8	16.1%	50.7%
SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.272	0.300	32.9%	86.3	24.3%	43.0%	SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.285	0.322	22.0%	84.7	23.7%	63.2%

Pitcher Grind Down

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Luke Weaver
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$7,000	Salary:			$8,000	Salary:		$14,500
	Salary Rank:			13 of 27	Salary Rank:			10 of 27	Salary Rank:		12 of 27
	2017	10	3.29	3.88	28.6%	6.8%	49.4%	25.9%	19.1%	93.2	9.7%
	2018	19	4.22	4.72	21.8%	8.2%	40.0%	34.2%	18.9%	93.8	10.0%
	L14	2	3.14	1.93	29.2%	4.2%	31.3%	25.0%	15.6%	94.2	13.0%

Luke Weaver has pitched well in his last couple of outings, so perhaps he’s rounding into form. The young right-hander has a 4.24 SIERA along with a K-rate of 21.8% so far this season. The strikeouts are down considerably from where they were last year, while the hard contact is up about 9% to 34.2%. Unlike yesterday when the wind was howling toward the outfield, the win will be blowing in with some gusto at Wrigley today. That strongly favors pitchers, so Weaver grades out as a solid overall play today. He’s priced a bit awkwardly on the early slate, however, so I’d rather just pay the extra $1,000 or so required to get either Stroman or Gray. Weaver has enough strikeout upside to warrant GPP consideration, however.

Quick Breakdown: Weaver is a GPP-only play for me on the early slate.

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Tyler Chatwood
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$6,000	Salary:			$4,600	Salary:		$9,200
	Salary Rank:			22 of 27	Salary Rank:			24 of 27	Salary Rank:		19 of 27
	2017	25	4.78	4.69	19.0%	12.2%	58.1%	29.1%	22.1%	94.7	9.9%
	2018	17	5.84	5.04	19.3%	18.6%	55.4%	30.1%	18.0%	93.1	8.2%
	L14	2	5.63	8.44	11.3%	13.2%	60.5%	35.9%	10.3%	93.6	7.2%

Tyler Chatwood had an ERA under 4.00 for a while, but that was always going to catch up to him. His ERA now stands at 5.04 alongside his gross 5.86 SIERA. The right-hander has a 19.3% strikeout rate along with an 18.6% walk rate. The walks have been out of control for him this season, which explains why he’s struggled to much. Walks have a way of running up your pitch count, which means Chatwood has rarely gone beyond the sixth inning this season. He does have a ground ball rate over 55%, however, and the wind today in Chicago should help him. If he can just avoid walking people, he’s in a pretty favorable spot today against a righty-heavy Cardinals lineup. I don’t see any reason to go here on a single-pitcher site, but Chatwood is cheap enough to warrant SP2 consideration in multi-pitcher formats. You don’t need him to dominate, but if he can give you 5 solid innings at this price he should pay off for you.

Quick Breakdown: Chatwood is a solid SP2 option on multi-pitcher sites.

Batter Grind Down

St. Louis

The Cardinals (Matt Carpenter, in particular) went crazy on Friday with the wind blowing out, but things figure to change considerably with the wind blowing in today. I’m still fine with taking a shot on Carpenter as the best left-handed hitter in the lineup against Chatwood, but my overall interest in bats in this game is lacking today. Yadier Molina and Marcell Ozuna are fair values, but I will otherwise be ignoring St. Louis in this spot.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Matt Carpenter	LEFT	0.430	91.1	0.270	50.6%	14.0%	23.3%	20.0%	3B	$3,900	1B/3B	$4,500	3B	$8,700
2	Yadier Molina	RIGHT	0.361	89.3	0.211	47.1%	5.1%	14.3%	45.9%	C	$2,900	C	$3,800	C	$7,800
3	Paul DeJong	RIGHT	0.365	90.1	0.176	39.0%	7.6%	26.6%	33.0%	SS	$3,100	SS	$3,900	SS	$7,300
4	Marcell Ozuna	RIGHT	0.352	91.7	0.113	47.0%	5.5%	19.5%	47.9%	OF	$2,800	OF	$3,600	LF	$7,600
5	Jedd Gyorko	RIGHT	0.274	87.5	0.118	36.9%	8.3%	25.0%	37.8%	2B	$3,000	2B/3B	$4,000	3B	$6,300
6	Kolten Wong	LEFT	0.302	84.5	0.174	30.2%	7.1%	15.7%	48.2%	2B	$2,400	2B	$3,300	2B	$7,400
7	Dexter Fowler	SWITCH	0.279	84.5	0.134	33.6%	10.4%	19.9%	37.5%	OF	$2,700	OF	$3,400	CF	$6,300
8	Tommy Pham	RIGHT	0.347	91.9	0.163	47.4%	10.2%	26.9%	51.7%	OF	$3,100	OF	$4,100	CF	$7,300
9	Luke Weaver	RIGHT	0.124	64.2	0.000	14.3%	3.8%	42.3%	77.8%	P	$7,000	P	$8,000	P	$14,500
	Team Averages		0.315	86.1	0.151	38.5%	8.0%	23.7%	44.4%

Elite Plays – Matt Carpenter

Secondary Plays – Marcell Ozuna, Yadier Molina

Stackability – ORANGE

Chicago Cubs

Luke Weaver has allowed a .350 wOBA with 9 home runs to lefties so far this season. That said, he’s a solid talent overall and the conditions at Wrigley aren’t particularly conducive to great hitting today. Anthony Rizzo is a fine option at first base, while Ian Happ and Jason Heyward are decent values in the outfield. Tommy La Stella is also in the lineup today if you need an infield punt. As is the case with the Cardinals, though, I don’t see much reason to go wild with rostering Cubs bats.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Anthony Rizzo	LEFT	0.384	90.6	0.184	33.3%	11.1%	9.3%	39.0%	1B	$3,900	1B	$4,100	1B	$8,400
2	Kris Bryant	RIGHT	0.358	86.3	0.151	32.5%	11.2%	21.3%	37.3%	3B	$4,000	3B	$4,400	IF/OF	$9,000
3	Jason Heyward	LEFT	0.363	89.2	0.165	33.5%	8.4%	10.1%	40.5%	OF	$3,000	OF	$4,200	RF	$8,100
4	Javier Baez	RIGHT	0.344	90.3	0.277	38.8%	3.3%	27.9%	42.0%	2B	$4,100	2B/SS	$5,200	2B	$9,700
5	Ben Zobrist	SWITCH	0.360	88.9	0.153	34.9%	14.6%	12.7%	45.4%	OF	$2,900	2B/OF	$4,100	IF/OF	$8,000
6	Willson Contreras	RIGHT	0.308	87.3	0.149	30.9%	7.5%	19.8%	50.6%	C	$3,000	C	$4,000	IF/OF	$8,400
7	Kyle Schwarber	LEFT	0.388	89.7	0.298	43.3%	16.5%	25.8%	42.9%	OF	$3,100	OF	$4,400	IF/OF	$8,100
8	Addison Russell	RIGHT	0.296	86.3	0.102	31.1%	9.1%	22.3%	38.9%	SS	$3,000	SS	$3,700	SS	$7,700
9	Tyler Chatwood	RIGHT	0.144	74.3	0.000	0.0%	0.0%	23.8%	69.2%	P	$6,000	P	$4,600	P	$9,200
	Team Averages		0.327	87.0	0.164	30.9%	9.1%	19.2%	45.1%

Elite Plays – Anthony Rizzo

Secondary Plays – Jason Heyward, Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber, Tommy La Stella

Stackability – ORANGE

Boston at Detroit – 6:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%	Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%
Boston								Detroit
			Brian Johnson							Mike Fiers
			LEFT							RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline							Vegas Over/Under
			BOS-155							9.5
SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.278	0.267	27.5%	84.3	20.7%	46.2%	SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.334	0.347	36.5%	88.2	18.0%	36.3%
SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.348	0.351	31.0%	89.0	19.1%	36.5%	SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.317	0.340	36.1%	89.6	16.5%	41.0%

Pitcher Grind Down

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Brian Johnson
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$5,700	Salary:			$7,200	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			27 of 29	Salary Rank:			16 of 29	Salary Rank:
	2017	5	4.89	4.33	17.4%	6.6%	35.9%	35.9%	26.1%	87.3	7.8%
	2018	4	4.26	4.20	19.5%	7.9%	39.0%	30.1%	22.4%	88.6	8.3%
	L14	2	5.97	3.86	16.3%	14.0%	31.0%	40.0%	13.3%	88.9	9.9%

Brian Johnson threw a season-high 84 pitches in his last start against the Jays. He’s a middling lefty in terms of strikeouts that won’t likely pitch deep into this one. While the Tigers have a mediocre lineup, Johnson is also hilariously overpriced on DraftKings at $7,200. Johnson probably won’t top 90 pitches at the max and the Tigers have quietly hit lefties well this season.

Quick Breakdown: Johnson is overpriced and he doesn’t pitch all that deep to begin with.

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Mike Fiers
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$6,700	Salary:			$7,400	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			18 of 29	Salary Rank:			14 of 29	Salary Rank:
	2017	28	4.52	5.22	21.8%	9.2%	42.9%	30.1%	20.1%	89.7	9.1%
	2018	18	4.48	3.70	17.2%	4.8%	38.8%	36.3%	17.7%	88.8	8.2%
	L14	3	4.29	2.25	16.7%	2.6%	42.9%	33.3%	17.5%	90.1	6.1%

Mike Fiers has pitched well for the Tigers this season, which is annoying from a DFS standpoint given his track record. His 3.70 ERA looks solid, while his 4.49 SIERA says it’s a bit phony. Fiers doesn’t miss many bats (17.2% strikeout rate this season) and he has allowed a hard-hit rate north of 36%. There aren’t many matchups in which it’s viable to consider rostering him, and a date with the Red Sox is no exception. Boston has been crushing right-handed pitching all year long, and Fiers’ reverse split, fly ball ways don’t really bode well for him here.

Quick Breakdown: Playing Fiers against the Red Sox is asking for trouble.

Batter Grind Down

Boston

Stacking against Mike Fiers hasn’t worked as well as we may have liked so far, but the numbers say he’s going to regress at some point. That may as well be tonight with the Red Sox coming to town. Righties are the top targets against the reverse splits of Fiers, so we can go right back to the well with guys like Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts. Andrew Benintendi is the top option from the left side, followed by Mitch Moreland. Steve Pearce is another decent option, especially since few people bother playing him against a right-handed pitcher.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Mookie Betts	RIGHT	0.472	92.9	0.292	44.9%	12.1%	12.5%	32.0%	OF	$5,100	OF	$5,800	N/A	N/A
2	Andrew Benintendi	LEFT	0.419	89.3	0.228	30.7%	13.1%	15.0%	35.6%	OF	$4,300	OF	$5,400	N/A	N/A
3	J.D. Martinez	RIGHT	0.469	94.0	0.352	49.5%	10.5%	21.7%	45.6%	OF	$4,800	OF	$5,100	N/A	N/A
4	Mitch Moreland	LEFT	0.437	92.8	0.238	37.8%	11.8%	18.4%	40.5%	1B	$3,500	1B	$4,100	N/A	N/A
5	Xander Bogaerts	RIGHT	0.402	91.9	0.286	40.5%	6.4%	16.5%	46.7%	SS	$4,300	SS	$4,800	N/A	N/A
6	Rafael Devers	LEFT	0.337	92.0	0.206	38.1%	7.9%	24.1%	43.3%	3B	$3,000	3B	$3,800	N/A	N/A
7	Brock Holt	LEFT	0.326	86.9	0.104	28.5%	8.1%	15.0%	55.4%	2B	$2,500	2B/SS	$3,400	N/A	N/A
8	Blake Swihart	SWITCH	0.312	90.3	0.051	37.2%	6.3%	25.4%	39.5%	C	$2,100	1B/OF	$2,900	N/A	N/A
9	Jackie Bradley	LEFT	0.366	92.7	0.156	41.0%	9.8%	22.1%	40.0%	OF	$3,000	OF	$3,600	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.393	91.4	0.213	38.7%	9.6%	19.0%	42.1%

Elite Plays – Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts

Secondary Plays – Mitch Moreland, Andrew Benintendi, Steve Pearce, Eduardo Nunez

Stackability – GREEN

Detroit

Brian Johnson has held his fellow lefties in check, but right-handed hitters have a collective wOBA of .348 at his expense. All 6 homers he’s allowed this season have also come against righties. So, feel free to deploy some right-handed Tigers against him. Nick Castellanos is atop the list, as usual, followed by Jeimer Candelario. Mikie Mahtook and JaCoby Jones are in play, and whichever of them hits leadoff is an elite option. You can also fill a thin catcher position with a John Hicks or a James McCann. Stacking the Tigers looks gross, but it’s not the worst idea today.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Niko Goodrum	SWITCH	0.364	88.2	0.141	37.3%	9.9%	18.3%	52.9%	2B	$3,200	2B/OF	$4,000	N/A	N/A
2	Jeimer Candelario	SWITCH	0.322	86.4	0.211	37.1%	9.0%	28.0%	48.4%	3B	$3,100	3B	$3,700	N/A	N/A
3	Nick Castellanos	RIGHT	0.432	90.3	0.275	50.0%	8.9%	18.8%	33.3%	OF	$3,500	OF	$4,600	N/A	N/A
4	John Hicks	RIGHT	0.382	91.4	0.179	33.3%	11.7%	22.1%	39.2%	1B	$2,800	1B/C	$3,800	N/A	N/A
5	James McCann	RIGHT	0.384	86.4	0.155	35.2%	7.8%	22.1%	44.4%	C	$2,300	C	$3,300	N/A	N/A
6	Victor Martinez	SWITCH	0.311	85.7	0.085	24.3%	5.7%	10.2%	41.9%	C	$2,200	1B	$2,800	N/A	N/A
7	Mikie Mahtook	RIGHT	0.237	88.7	0.059	34.8%	2.9%	31.4%	34.8%	OF	$2,300	OF	$3,200	N/A	N/A
8	Ronny Rodriguez	RIGHT	0.252	86.3	0.000	33.3%	0.0%	30.8%	62.5%	3B	$2,200	2B/3B	$2,800	N/A	N/A
9	JaCoby Jones	RIGHT	0.294	90.4	0.145	50.9%	5.9%	24.7%	45.5%	OF	$2,400	OF	$3,200	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.331	88.2	0.139	37.4%	6.9%	22.9%	44.8%

Elite Plays – Nick Castellanos, Jeimer Candelario, Mikie Mahtook / JaCoby Jones

Secondary Plays – John Hicks, James McCann

Stackability – YELLOW

Miami at Tampa Bay – 6:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%	Stats	wOBA	HC%	K%	GB%
Miami								Tampa Bay
			Pablo Lopez						**
			RIGHT						**
			Vegas Moneyline						Vegas Over/Under
			TBD
SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.307	0.389	39.1%	86.0	21.2%	59.1%	SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.000	100.0%	0.0%	100.0%
SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.346	0.351	34.5%	85.5	18.0%	55.2%	SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.319	33.3%	30.0%	66.7%

Pitcher Grind Down

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Pablo Lopez
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$5,600	Salary:			$7,000	Salary:
	Salary Rank:			28 of 29	Salary Rank:			18 of 29	Salary Rank:

	2018	3	4.09	6.35	19.4%	8.3%	56.9%	36.5%	23.1%	92.4	10.3%
	L14	2	4.40	8.18	19.2%	10.6%	57.6%	30.3%	24.2%	92.5	11.8%

Pablo Lopez has made 3 starts at the major league level this season. So far, he’s posted a middling strikeout rate around 19% along with a hard-hit rate over 36%. He has never shown overwhelming strikeout stuff at the lower levels, and he instead relies on generating soft contact and ground balls. The soft contact hasn’t been there so far, but the ground ball rate of 56.9% looks nice. Lopez isn’t in an ideal spot today going into the American League to take on the Rays, but Tropicana Field is still a nice, spacious park in which to pitch. Lopez is a fine if unspectacular option in this spot.

Quick Breakdown: Lopez is a strong option on the small turbo slate but a mediocre option overall today.

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
#VALUE!
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$5,600	Salary:			$7,800	Salary:		$8,000
	Salary Rank:			of 29	Salary Rank:			of 29	Salary Rank:		of 29
	2017	0	8.34	0.00	0.0%	16.7%	25.0%	25.0%	0.0%	83.3	3.9%
	2018	0	7.33	0.00	0.0%	0.0%	33.3%	33.3%	0.0%	78.0	0.0%
	L14	0	4.73	0.00	37.5%	25.0%	66.7%	0.0%	33.3%	92.8	12.5%

Ryne Stanek is slated to serve as the Rays’ opener today, but we know Stanek won’t pitch more than 2 innings, tops. A min-priced pitcher against the Marlins would normally carry tons of appeal, but not today. Someone like Ryan Yarbrough might be playable if we hear before the game that he’s going to come in after Stanek, but we have no word on that yet.

Quick Breakdown: Never play Stanek.

Batter Grind Down

Miami

The Marlins get to add a DH to their lineup today, but that just likely means someone like Garrett Cooper will crack their lineup. That’s…not all that exciting. This looks like another bullpen game for the Rays, which makes things complicated. Justin Bour is the best hitting option here, as usual, while Derek Dietrich is also a playable bat, especially if he hits high in the order. J.T. Realmuto is expensive, but he’s also a good hitter at a weak catcher position. There’s no reason to load up on Marlins hitters today, however.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Starlin Castro	RIGHT	0.321	87.7	0.120	37.1%	5.7%	18.8%	48.1%	2B	$3,300	2B	$3,900	N/A	N/A
2	Brian Anderson	RIGHT	0.359	89.7	0.124	37.4%	7.5%	17.6%	51.8%	OF	$3,400	3B/OF	$4,100	N/A	N/A
3	J.T. Realmuto	RIGHT	0.396	91.3	0.256	42.8%	6.1%	15.6%	43.4%	C	$3,400	C	$4,600	N/A	N/A
4	Justin Bour	LEFT	0.384	90.4	0.241	42.2%	16.8%	25.8%	39.7%	1B	$3,300	1B	$3,800	N/A	N/A
5	Starlin Castro	RIGHT	0.321	87.7	0.120	37.1%	5.7%	18.8%	48.1%	2B	$3,300	2B	$3,900	N/A	N/A
6	Martin Prado	RIGHT	0.288	89.2	0.070	28.8%	4.8%	19.0%	46.3%	3B	$2,400	3B	$3,500	N/A	N/A
7	JT Riddle	LEFT	0.317	87.8	0.183	33.0%	4.7%	19.5%	47.4%	SS	$2,600	SS	$3,200	N/A	N/A
8	Garrett Cooper	RIGHT	0.266	86.9	0.043	20.0%	11.1%	29.6%	66.7%	OF	$2,100	1B/OF	$3,300	N/A	N/A
9	Cameron Maybin	RIGHT	0.318	88.4	0.089	36.6%	12.7%	22.3%	50.0%	OF	$2,500	OF	$3,600	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.330	88.8	0.138	35.0%	8.3%	20.8%	49.1%

Elite Plays – Justin Bour

Secondary Plays – J.T. Realmuto, Derek Dietrich

Stackability – ORANGE / RED

Tampa Bay

The Rays draw a mediocre matchup at home today against Pablo Lopez, who projects to be a decent pitcher at this level. Lopez has shown some early reverse splits, so you can take a GPP shot on a power hitter like C.J. Cron. This lineup looks quite a bit less imposing without Wilson Ramos, so there isn’t much else to like. Kevin Kiermaier is a viable option from the left side assuming he’s leading off. This isn’t a game with much DFS appeal overall.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Kevin Kiermaier	LEFT	0.248	86.3	0.072	34.9%	9.1%	29.1%	53.1%	OF	$3,200	OF	$3,900	N/A	N/A
2	Matt Duffy	RIGHT	0.327	86.9	0.103	30.9%	6.2%	15.2%	51.1%	3B	$2,900	3B	$4,200	N/A	N/A
3	Jake Bauers	LEFT	0.391	90.5	0.263	47.2%	16.5%	20.0%	34.7%	1B	$3,400	1B	$4,500	N/A	N/A
4	C.J. Cron	RIGHT	0.352	87.5	0.226	36.8%	5.3%	25.2%	44.3%	1B	$3,600	1B	$4,800	N/A	N/A
5	Ji-Man Choi	LEFT	0.300	88.3	0.243	50.0%	5.1%	43.6%	30.0%	1B	$2,300	1B	$3,600	N/A	N/A
6	Daniel Robertson	RIGHT	0.320	86.1	0.109	35.7%	12.9%	28.2%	48.7%	2B	$3,100	2B/SS	$3,800	LF	$3,900
7	Joey Wendle	LEFT	0.302	89.8	0.110	37.0%	5.8%	21.5%	48.9%	2B	$2,800	2B	$4,100	N/A	N/A
8	Jesus Sucre	RIGHT	0.265	83.4	0.029	25.8%	5.3%	12.0%	36.7%	C	$2,300	C	$2,600	N/A	N/A
9	Mallex Smith	LEFT	0.288	84.3	0.114	27.1%	8.8%	18.9%	45.8%	OF	$2,500	OF	$4,200	N/A	N/A
	Team Averages		0.310	87.0	0.141	36.2%	8.3%	23.7%	43.7%

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – C.J. Cron, Kevin Kiermaier

Stackability – ORANGE / RED

Atlanta at Washington – 7:05 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%	Stats	wOBA	xwOBA	HC%	aEV	K%	GB%
Atlanta								Washington
			Sean Newcomb							Gio Gonzalez
			LEFT							LEFT
			Vegas Moneyline							Vegas Over/Under
			WAS-135							8.5
SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.318	0.356	37.3%	89.9	22.5%	49.0%	SP vs. Left (2016-17)	0.242	0.237	25.0%	85.8	30.5%	48.1%
SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.286	0.288	30.7%	86.0	22.1%	45.5%	SP vs. Right (2016-17)	0.340	0.340	31.1%	87.2	19.1%	50.4%

Pitcher Grind Down

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Sean Newcomb
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$7,000	Salary:			$7,300	Salary:		$14,700
	Salary Rank:			15 of 29	Salary Rank:			15 of 29	Salary Rank:		11 of 29
	2017	19	4.71	4.32	23.7%	12.5%	43.8%	27.0%	17.5%	93.7	11.2%
	2018	19	4.60	3.51	22.2%	11.9%	46.2%	31.8%	23.2%	92.8	9.9%
	L14	3	7.33	9.75	11.7%	20.0%	41.5%	34.2%	24.4%	93.2	6.3%

Sean Newcomb has a SIERA of 4.61 that is over a full run higher than his ERA. While he’s still a solid talent, that’s still not ideal. The young lefty’s 22.2% strikeout rate is passable, but his 11.9% walk rate is ugly. He’s been in ragged form overall and today he goes into D.C. to take on a stout Nationals lineup. Newcomb also has reverse splits, which won’t do him many favors against a lineup featuring Bryce Harper, Matt Adams, Adam Eaton and a few other strong left-handed hitters. This game also has serious weather concerns, so don’t risk it with Newcomb today.

Quick Breakdown: There are an awful lot of factors going against Newcomb tonight.

	Stats	Starts	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	GB%	HC%	SC%	aFV	SwS%
Gio Gonzalez
	FanDuel				DraftKings				FantasyDraft
	Salary:			$7,400	Salary:			$8,000	Salary:		$15,400
	Salary Rank:			14 of 29	Salary Rank:			11 of 29	Salary Rank:		9 of 29
	2017	32	4.41	2.96	22.7%	9.6%	45.8%	29.3%	21.7%	89.9	8.8%
	2018	19	4.46	3.72	21.2%	10.8%	50.0%	30.0%	18.0%	89.5	9.6%
	L14	2	4.96	3.27	16.7%	10.4%	46.9%	29.4%	20.6%	90.5	8.4%

Gio Gonzalez is a bit like Sean Newcomb without the reverse splits. He has a 21.2% strikeout rate alongside a high 10.8% walk rate. He keeps the ball on the ground at a clip north of 50%, but his 4.47 SIERA is also quite a bit higher than that 3.72 ERA. Gio does fare well against his fellow lefties, and some of ATL’s best bats swing it from the same side. I would normally have a bit of interest in a cheap Gonzalez as an SP2, but, again, the weather here looks problematic.

Quick Breakdown: Gonzalez is a sneaky option for tournaments if the weather cooperates, but there are better SP2s for cash games.

Batter Grind Down

Atlanta

Gio Gonzalez has smothered lefties this season, but righties have a .340 wOBA against him. RHBs have also accounted for 9 of the 10 dingers he’s served up on the year. I don’t have a ton of interest in an Atlanta stack, but you can pick your spots if this game gets the green light. Ronald Acuna stands out from the right side, while whomever between Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers draws the start behind the plate would also grade out as an elite play. Ozzie Albies is fine hitting from the right side, but he doesn’t come cheap and this isn’t a great park for hitting in the first place. I’d limit my exposure to Albies to GPPs.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Ronald Acuna	RIGHT	0.316	91.9	0.163	38.2%	9.1%	27.3%	47.1%	OF	$3,000	OF	$4,000	LF	$7,500
2	Ozzie Albies	SWITCH	0.354	90.0	0.241	44.0%	4.1%	13.9%	41.4%	2B	$4,200	2B	$4,800	2B	$8,600
3	Freddie Freeman	LEFT	0.402	88.4	0.283	38.9%	9.6%	22.8%	41.1%	1B	$4,100	1B	$4,500	1B	$9,100
4	Nick Markakis	LEFT	0.339	90.3	0.190	40.6%	8.6%	15.0%	47.2%	OF	$3,600	OF	$4,000	RF	$7,200
5	Kurt Suzuki	RIGHT	0.386	87.6	0.250	43.5%	9.7%	16.1%	39.1%	C	$2,800	C	$3,600	C	$7,200
6	Charlie Culberson	RIGHT	0.295	83.3	0.154	25.0%	7.1%	18.6%	60.0%	OF	$2,300	3B/OF	$3,000	SS	$5,800
7	Johan Camargo	SWITCH	0.365	89.5	0.239	39.0%	6.6%	15.8%	39.0%	3B	$2,700	3B/SS	$3,400	3B	$6,800
8	Dansby Swanson	RIGHT	0.283	89.9	0.206	43.2%	7.4%	27.9%	41.9%	SS	$2,900	SS	$3,500	SS	$6,600
9	Sean Newcomb	LEFT	0.172	41.0	0.000	0.0%	20.0%	60.0%	0.0%	P	$7,000	P	$7,300	P	$14,700
	Team Averages		0.324	83.5	0.192	34.7%	9.1%	24.2%	39.6%

Elite Plays – Kurt Suzuki / Tyler Flowers, Ronald Acuna

Secondary Plays – Ozzie Albies

Stackability – ORANGE

Washington

If you want some bats from this game, you should probably be shopping on the Nationals side first. Newcomb is a reverse splits lefty, which plays right into the hands of some of Washington’s most potent bats. Bryce Harper has been scuffling, but he’s a bit underpriced given his talent level. Matt Adams, Juan Soto and Adam Eaton also look strong if they’re in the lineup. I also wouldn’t talk you out of either Anthony Rendon or Trea Turner from the right side against Newcomb. You can stack the Nats or fire off a few of them as one-offs in any format.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

#	Player	Bats	xwOBA	aEV	ISO	HC%	BB%	K%	GB%	FD Pos.	FD Sal.	DK Pos.	DK Sal.	FDRFT Pos.	FDRFT Sal.
1	Trea Turner	RIGHT	0.378	87.9	0.118	34.1%	12.1%	12.1%	40.7%	SS	$3,600	SS	$4,100	IF/OF	$8,500
2	Juan Soto	LEFT	0.384	89.1	0.286	36.8%	14.0%	19.3%	56.8%	OF	$3,700	OF	$4,300	LF	$8,200
3	Anthony Rendon	RIGHT	0.477	93.2	0.308	48.4%	9.2%	19.5%	19.4%	3B	$4,100	3B	$4,500	3B	$9,000
4	Bryce Harper	LEFT	0.393	89.1	0.212	36.5%	19.4%	23.9%	45.9%	OF	$4,100	OF	$4,400	RF	$8,500
5	Ryan Zimmerman	RIGHT	0.373	93.0	0.216	40.6%	11.9%	11.9%	43.8%	1B	$3,000	1B	$3,400	1B	$6,500
6	Daniel Murphy	LEFT	0.363	81.5	0.048	15.0%	8.3%	8.3%	40.0%	1B	$2,800	1B/2B	$3,800	2B	$7,700
7	Michael Taylor	RIGHT	0.270	86.8	0.159	38.2%	7.3%	35.4%	53.7%	OF	$2,700	OF	$3,800	CF	$7,700
8	Matt Wieters	SWITCH	0.445	92.9	0.150	46.2%	20.0%	28.0%	30.8%	C	$2,200	C	$3,000	C	$5,800
9	Gio Gonzalez	LEFT	0.167	78.0	0.000	25.0%	0.0%	55.6%	100.0%	P	$7,400	P	$8,000	P	$15,400
	Team Averages		0.361	87.9	0.166	35.6%	11.4%	23.8%	47.9%

Elite Plays – Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Matt Adams, Anthony Rendon

Secondary Plays – Trea Turner, Adam Eaton, Daniel Murphy

Stackability – GREEN

Note: Unless noted, all statistics in the Grind Down are from the 2018 season.

MLB Grind Down: Saturday, July 21st

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Stackability Rating System:

Implied Run Totals

Ballpark Ratings

NY Mets at NY Yankees – 1:05 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

NY Mets

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

NY Yankees

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

Baltimore at Toronto – 1:07 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Baltimore

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

Toronto

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

St. Louis at Chicago Cubs – 1:05 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

St. Louis

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

Chicago Cubs

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

Boston at Detroit – 6:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Boston

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

Detroit

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

Miami at Tampa Bay – 6:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Miami

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

Tampa Bay

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

Atlanta at Washington – 7:05 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Atlanta

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

Washington

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

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