Sign In $

MLB Grind Down: Saturday, June 17th

by Seth Yates (sethayates) Last Updated 2017-06-18 05:51:13

Jump to Page 1 2 3

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.

Chicago White Sox at Toronto – 1:07 PM ET

Chicago White Sox Toronto
whitesoxmlb Mike Pelfrey torontomlb Marcus Stroman
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
TOR-165 9.0
Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB% Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB%
SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.371 0.390 36.4% 9.7% 12.5% 43.4% SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.315 0.312 33.6% 7.1% 18.8% 60.4%
SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.337 0.331 25.7% 7.8% 11.2% 58.3% SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.306 0.305 28.3% 5.4% 20.2% 60.4%

Pitcher Grind Down

Mike Pelfrey
mike-pelfrey-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $5,600 Salary: $4,600 Salary:
Salary Rank: 28 of 30 Salary Rank: 28 of 30 Salary Rank: of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 22 5.25 5.07 10.4% 8.5% 52.2% 31.2% 20.1%
2017 10 5.35 3.88 13.6% 9.9% 47.5% 30.2% 23.3%

Welcome to the MLB Grind Down. There are 15 games on the schedule today. The slate most people will pay is the 10 games starting at 2:10 on DraftKings or the nine games starting at 4:05 on FanDuel. This first game is only on the very early or all day slate but we’ll take a quick glance. No matter what slate you play, you probably aren’t using Mike Pelfrey. He has a 3.88 ERA this season but that’s really the only number that looks decent. His 13.8% K rate certainly isn’t enough to be worth the risk here.

Quick Breakdown: Mike Pelfrey can safely be avoided in any format. He is one of the better options to stack against though if this game is included in the slate you are playing.

Marcus Stroman
marcus-stroman-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Sala ry: $9,300 Salary: $10,100 Salary: Salary Rank: 4 of 30 Salary Rank: 4 of 30 Salary Rank: of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 32 3.62 4.37 19.4% 6.3% 60.1% 31.8% 18.3%
2017 13 3.61 3.09 19.8% 6.0% 61.2% 28.7% 21.3%

The White Sox are a below average offense against RH pitching with an 86 wRC+ and a .151 ISO. Marcus Stroman is a high ground ball pitcher at 61.2%. He’s perpetually overpriced due to his ability to generate ground balls. Ideally, we would want more than a 19.1% K rate when paying $10K+. Stroman is still the best option on FanDuel if playing the very early slate. The White Sox are unlikely to do much damage in this matchup.

Quick Breakdown: The problem with paying up for Stroman is going to be that he limits your ability to get much exposure to the game at Coors Field. He’s got a great matchup though and I won’t argue against him on the very early slate or all day slate.

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have the lowest implied team total of any team playing today. Stroman does have a .315 wOBA against LH and .305 against RH batters. His ability to generate ground balls though makes him tough to target. I don’t see anyone here that is worth using on the small early slate or even all day slate.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Leury Garcia SWITCH 0.354 0.315 0.206 30.5% 4.6% 19.0% 51.2% OF $2,900 OF $3,400 N/A N/A
2 Melky Cabrera SWITCH 0.329 0.326 0.135 28.8% 7.8% 10.1% 45.8% OF $3,500 OF $3,400 N/A N/A
3 Jose Abreu RIGHT 0.336 0.342 0.161 32.8% 5.9% 17.3% 46.1% 1B $3,600 1B $4,000 N/A N/A
4 Avisail Garcia RIGHT 0.323 0.328 0.167 31.8% 5.7% 25.1% 52.7% OF $3,500 OF $4,300 N/A N/A
5 Todd Frazier RIGHT 0.323 0.320 0.224 31.5% 9.9% 23.1% 39.0% 3B $3,100 3B $3,400 N/A N/A
6 Matt Davidson RIGHT 0.307 0.294 0.250 43.4% 4.5% 46.8% 28.3% 1B $3,000 1B/3B $4,300 N/A N/A
7 Tim Anderson RIGHT 0.295 0.276 0.152 30.5% 2.9% 26.7% 50.6% SS $3,000 SS $3,000 N/A N/A
8 Yolmer Sanchez SWITCH 0.301 0.279 0.150 21.7% 4.4% 24.6% 39.9% 2B $2,900 2B $2,700 N/A N/A
9 Kevan Smith RIGHT 0.258 0.293 0.122 41.0% 0.0% 23.1% 51.3% C $2,700 C $2,400 N/A N/A

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – None

Stackability – RED – Not a recommended stack for cash games or GPPs.

Toronto

The Blue Jays against Mike Pelfrey is one of the better matchups on the day. He owns a .371 wOBA vs. LH and .337 vs RH hitters. Josh Donaldson owns a .410 wOBA vs. RH pitching. Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar and Justin Smoak all stand out as well. You can certainly get away with a Blue Jays stack in all day contests and you want as many Blue Jays as you can get on the very early slate.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Kevin Pillar RIGHT 0.294 0.297 0.116 25.9% 5.1% 15.0% 48.2% OF $2,900 OF $3,600 N/A N/A
2 Josh Donaldson RIGHT 0.410 0.406 0.286 40.3% 14.6% 18.8% 40.5% 3B $4,100 3B $4,800 N/A N/A
3 Jose Bautista RIGHT 0.363 0.366 0.221 38.3% 16.2% 21.3% 36.5% OF $3,900 OF $4,500 N/A N/A
4 Kendrys Morales SWITCH 0.317 0.395 0.200 40.5% 8.7% 19.0% 49.2% 1B $3,300 1B $3,900 N/A N/A
5 Justin Smoak SWITCH 0.346 0.362 0.244 41.8% 10.9% 30.8% 29.9% 1B $3,700 1B $4,300 N/A N/A
6 Troy Tulowitzki RIGHT 0.320 0.349 0.183 34.0% 7.0% 18.2% 41.8% SS $2,800 SS $2,800 N/A N/A
7 Russell Martin RIGHT 0.327 0.320 0.167 31.0% 11.7% 27.0% 49.5% C $2,300 3B/C $3,600 N/A N/A
8 Steve Pearce RIGHT 0.327 0.338 0.160 29.8% 9.0% 18.0% 46.1% OF $2,800 OF $3,500 N/A N/A
9 Ryan Goins LEFT 0.260 0.276 0.143 28.9% 6.7% 22.0% 47.7% 2B $2,100 SS $2,300 N/A N/A

Elite Plays – Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista

Secondary Plays – Justin Smoak and Kevin Pillar

Stackability – GREEN – A viable full stack in cash games and GPPs.

Cleveland at Minnesota – 2:10 PM ET

Cleveland Minnesota
clevelandmlb Ryan Merritt minnesotamlb Adam Wilk
LEFT LEFT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
CLE-140 10.0
Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB% Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB%
SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.251 0.266 16.7% 0.0% 14.3% 66.7% SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.473 0.489 47.1% 14.3% 4.8% 41.2%
SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.134 0.258 24.0% 0.0% 16.7% 50.0% SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.474 0.460 41.7% 9.4% 15.6% 31.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Ryan Merritt
-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $6,400 Salary: $4,800 Salary: $9,600
Salary Rank: 23 of 30 Salary Rank: 27 of 30 Salary Rank: 24 of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 1 3.37 1.64 16.2% 0.0% 53.3% 22.6% 22.6%

Ryan Merrit has just one MLB start to his name. His ERA of 1.88 and ground ball rte of 53.1% look great. Even in the minor leagues, Merritt was not a high strikeout arm. There’s no reason to expect that to change here. The Twins have a 19.1% K rate, .311 wOBA and 91 wRC+ against LH pitching. If you are playing the early slate, there might be some merit (get it?) in punting pitcher. Using Merritt would get you more exposure to Coors and it’s not like the top pitching option (Stroman) is going to strikeout a lot of batters.

Quick Breakdown: Merritt is a viable punt option on the very early slate.

Adam Wilk
-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $5,500 Salary: $4,300 Salary: $8,400
Salary Rank: 30 of 30 Salary Rank: 30 of 30 Salary Rank: 26 of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2017 1 5.94 6.75 11.3% 11.3% 35.9% 43.9% 9.8%

Adam Wilk also has just one MLB start this season. It did not go well. His K rate and walk rate are the same at 11.3%. He has a .473 wOBA vs. LH and .474 vs. RH hitters. The Indians have one of the lowest K rates in the league against LH pitching at 17.5% and pack all kinds of firepower. There’s pretty much no reason to consider using Wilk on any slate.

Quick Breakdown: Adam Wilk can safely be avoided in all formats today.

Batter Grind Down

Cleveland

Feel free to fire up Indians from either side of the plate. Adam Wilk did nothing to scare anyone away in his only MLB start. He allowed hard contact at over 40% to hitters from both sides. Jason Kipnis, Daniel Robertson, Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion are all excellent options here. An Indians stack is also in play if you want to pivot off Coors Field.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Jason Kipnis LEFT 0.314 0.307 0.176 28.2% 6.0% 24.0% 42.9% 2B $3,100 2B $3,400 2B $6,600
2 Daniel Robertson RIGHT 0.386 0.287 0.132 22.2% 5.0% 5.0% 57.1% OF $2,800 OF $2,700 SS $4,800
3 Francisco Lindor SWITCH 0.336 0.336 0.162 33.5% 6.9% 14.2% 45.3% SS $3,400 SS $4,200 SS $8,000
4 Edwin Encarnacion RIGHT 0.381 0.383 0.229 41.2% 17.9% 22.2% 39.7% 1B $3,700 1B $4,700 1B $9,300
5 Carlos Santana SWITCH 0.300 0.325 0.125 30.9% 10.7% 9.7% 53.8% 1B $3,300 1B $3,200 1B $6,300
6 Jose Ramirez SWITCH 0.340 0.343 0.153 31.6% 7.4% 13.7% 43.1% 3B $3,700 2B/3B $4,200 IF/OF $8,000
7 Yan Gomes RIGHT 0.336 0.302 0.211 30.5% 7.4% 23.8% 42.0% C $2,500 C $2,900 C $5,700
8 Austin Jackson RIGHT 0.296 0.327 0.118 40.9% 10.4% 20.8% 41.5% OF $2,600 OF $3,100 CF $6,000
9 Bradley Zimmer LEFT 0.163 0.217 0.000 37.5% 6.7% 40.0% 57.1% OF $3,100 OF $3,700 CF $7,200

Elite Plays – Jason Kipnis and Daniel Robertson Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion

Secondary Plays – Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion

Stackability – GREEN – A viable full stack in cash games and GPPs.

Minnesota

The Twins are decent options today against Ryan Merritt but he has shown decent ground ball ability in the minors and his only MLB start. The Twins are not my favorite offense but they do have several hitters that hit LH pitching well. Brian Dozier is the top option with a .405 wOBA Against LH pitching. I wouldn’t go overboard with Twins bats though as there are several other great spots for hitting today. Eduardo Escobar at least deserves a mention here though as he’s been red hot this week.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Brian Dozier RIGHT 0.405 0.351 0.315 40.4% 10.7% 19.9% 33.6% 2B $3,700 2B $4,900 2B $9,600
2 Eduardo Escobar SWITCH 0.276 0.306 0.138 31.4% 6.1% 21.3% 40.7% SS $3,200 3B/SS $3,800 SS $7,600
3 Miguel Sano RIGHT 0.362 0.345 0.273 43.2% 14.3% 33.3% 33.0% 3B $4,200 3B $4,300 IF/OF $8,400
4 Robbie Grossman SWITCH 0.406 0.378 0.192 35.7% 15.5% 19.0% 43.8% OF $3,000 OF $3,900 LF $7,600
5 Kennys Vargas SWITCH 0.367 0.345 0.271 37.7% 10.1% 22.8% 54.7% 1B $2,900 1B $3,700 1B $7,200
6 Jorge Polanco SWITCH 0.308 0.288 0.161 29.1% 4.4% 18.4% 33.3% SS $3,000 SS $3,200 SS $6,300
7 Chris Gimenez RIGHT 0.305 0.349 0.150 42.1% 11.4% 32.9% 35.1% C $2,600 C $3,100 C $6,000
8 Eddie Rosario LEFT 0.273 0.228 0.056 18.6% 2.9% 24.3% 54.3% OF $2,700 OF $4,200 LF $8,100
9 Byron Buxton RIGHT 0.306 0.274 0.179 30.7% 11.0% 32.3% 32.9% OF $2,500 OF $3,700 CF $7,200

Elite Plays – Brian Dozier

Secondary Plays – Eduardo Escobar

Stackability – ORANGE – A viable stack in large field GPPs.

San Francisco at Colorado – 3:10 PM ET

San Francisco Colorado
sanfranciscomlb Matt Cain coloradomlb Kyle Freeland
RIGHT LEFT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
COL-109 11.0
Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB% Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB%
SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.371 0.347 30.8% 10.0% 16.1% 42.7% SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.316 0.291 36.2% 5.7% 25.7% 38.3%
SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.354 0.331 33.6% 7.8% 16.4% 39.6% SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.330 0.311 32.5% 10.1% 11.2% 62.6%

Pitcher Grind Down

Matt Cain
matt-cain-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $6,100 Salary: $4,400 Salary:
Salary Rank: 26 of 30 Salary Rank: 29 of 30 Salary Rank: of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 17 4.67 5.64 18.1% 8.1% 37.3% 31.4% 21.6%
2017 13 5.36 5.22 13.8% 9.7% 45.1% 33.6% 16.0%

DraftKings included Coors Field on their afternoon slate while FanDuel only included it on their very early slate. The over/under here is 11 which is the highest of the day. Matt Cain is certainly not a pitcher that anyone would want to use in Coors Field. He has a low K rate at 13.8%. He also doesn’t generate near enough ground balls at 45.1% to have any success at Coors.

Quick Breakdown: We can safely cross Matt Cain off the list of pitching options today.

Kyle Freeland
kyle-freeland-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $6,600 Salary: $6,800 Salary:
Salary Rank: 20 of 30 Salary Rank: 14 of 30 Salary Rank: of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2017 13 4.83 3.57 14.3% 9.2% 57.8% 33.2% 20.5%

Kyle Freeland is the type of pitcher the Rockies tend to draft and use. His 57.8% ground ball rate is what you need at Coors Field. The Giants are a below average offense against LH pitching with a .287 wOBA and 78 wRC+. The main problem with Freeland is that he doesn’t strike anyone out at just 14.3%. The walks are also a bit troublesome at 9.2%.

Quick Breakdown: Only the most contrarian players will consider Kyle Freeland today. The matchup is good against a poor Giants offense but this is an extreme long shot. I personally cannot recommend Freeland in any format.

Batter Grind Down

San Francisco

As usual, when Coors Field is on the menu you want to order it. Kyle Freeland is most targetable with RH hitters. He has an 11.2% K rate against RH compared to 25.7% against LH. Pretty much anyone who makes the Giants lineup is worth a look but the top options here are Aaron Hill, Hunter Pence, Denard Span and Buster Posey.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Denard Span LEFT 0.254 0.266 0.061 19.0% 7.2% 14.0% 59.6% OF $3,600 OF $4,200 N/A N/A
2 Eduardo Nunez RIGHT 0.315 0.290 0.162 29.0% 4.5% 10.7% 49.5% 3B $4,100 3B/OF $4,900 N/A N/A
3 Brandon Belt LEFT 0.349 0.362 0.181 31.7% 13.2% 24.1% 34.6% 1B $3,700 1B/OF $4,600 N/A N/A
4 Buster Posey RIGHT 0.400 0.397 0.191 36.0% 14.3% 9.7% 41.6% C $4,400 1B/C $4,600 N/A N/A
5 Hunter Pence RIGHT 0.334 0.335 0.209 37.2% 8.7% 21.0% 48.2% OF $3,700 OF $3,700 N/A N/A
6 Brandon Crawford LEFT 0.322 0.314 0.117 36.2% 7.8% 18.9% 43.4% SS $4,000 SS $3,800 N/A N/A
7 Austin Slater RIGHT 0.735 0.381 0.600 75.0% 0.0% 20.0% 50.0% OF $3,500 OF $3,400 N/A N/A
8 Aaron Hill RIGHT 0.331 0.343 0.123 36.1% 11.7% 12.8% 33.1% 2B $3,000 2B/OF $3,500 N/A N/A
9 Matt Cain RIGHT 0.148 0.115 0.182 28.6% 0.0% 69.6% 40.0% P $6,100 P $4,400 N/A N/A

Elite Plays – Aaron Hill and Hunter Pence

Secondary Plays – Denard Span and Buster Posey

Stackability – GREEN – A viable full stack in cash games and GPPs.

Colorado

The Rockies have the highest implied team total today an any offense going today. Matt Cain has a .371 wOBA vs. LH and .354 vs. RH hitting. If this game is on the slate you are playing you want as many Rockies as possible. That starts with Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado. Again, anyone in the lineup is viable though as the over/under here is 11.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Charlie Blackmon LEFT 0.413 0.371 0.283 38.9% 7.3% 18.9% 31.3% OF $5,000 OF $5,600 N/A N/A
2 DJ LeMahieu RIGHT 0.357 0.369 0.112 32.0% 9.1% 13.0% 53.8% 2B $3,900 2B $4,800 N/A N/A
3 Nolan Arenado RIGHT 0.374 0.345 0.264 36.9% 8.2% 14.9% 36.0% 3B $4,800 3B $5,500 N/A N/A
4 Mark Reynolds RIGHT 0.402 0.332 0.244 31.5% 9.4% 25.1% 39.5% 1B $4,100 1B $5,200 N/A N/A
5 Carlos Gonzalez LEFT 0.351 0.346 0.185 33.4% 10.3% 18.1% 44.0% OF $3,800 OF $3,600 N/A N/A
6 Ian Desmond RIGHT 0.318 0.297 0.146 30.5% 6.0% 25.1% 56.6% OF $4,000 1B/OF $4,800 N/A N/A
7 Trevor Story RIGHT 0.336 0.323 0.240 36.4% 8.4% 32.0% 29.3% SS $3,500 SS $3,900 N/A N/A
8 Tony Wolters LEFT 0.325 0.291 0.124 21.2% 11.7% 20.1% 44.3% C $3,300 C $3,400 N/A N/A
9 Kyle Freeland LEFT 0.437 0.244 0.286 30.0% 6.3% 31.3% 62.5% P $6,600 P $6,800 N/A N/A

Elite Plays – Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado

Secondary Plays – Mark Reynolds and D.J. LeMahieu

Stackability – GREEN – A viable full stack in cash games and GPPs.

St. Louis at Baltimore – 4:05 PM ET

St. Louis Baltimore
stlouismlb Adam Wainwright baltimoremlb Wade Miley
RIGHT LEFT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
STL-113 9.0
Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB% Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB%
SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.360 0.340 33.2% 8.9% 18.4% 42.9% SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.281 0.309 35.2% 9.1% 21.0% 56.0%
SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.318 0.313 28.8% 6.3% 19.6% 47.0% SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.357 0.347 33.3% 8.3% 19.0% 47.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Adam Wainwright
adam-wainwright-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $8,600 Salary: $7,000 Salary: $14,000
Salary Rank: 7 of 30 Salary Rank: 13 of 30 Salary Rank: 11 of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 33 4.31 4.62 19.0% 7.0% 43.8% 31.2% 19.1%
2017 13 4.49 4.73 19.1% 8.9% 48.9% 29.6% 20.6%

Adam Wainwright is a pretty boring option today against the Orioles. They own a 22.8% K rate, .312 wOBA and 91 wRC+ against RH pitching. Wainwright is a ground ball pitcher who mainly works the edges and bottom of the strike zone. He has a .360 wOBA vs. LH and .318 wOBA vs. RH hitting.

Quick Breakdown: Wainwright is mildly tempting on DraftKings at only $7,000. He’s best utilized in tournaments though and there is a considerable amount of risk here.

Wade Miley
wade-miley-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $6,900 Salary: $5,700 Salary: $11,200
Salary Rank: 17 of 30 Salary Rank: 19 of 30 Salary Rank: 17 of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 30 4.21 5.37 19.3% 6.9% 47.3% 33.3% 17.3%
2017 13 4.73 3.97 19.7% 12.2% 54.3% 34.5% 21.5%

Wade Miley is also a ground ball pitcher at 54.3%. He has about the same K rate as Wainwright at 19.7% but walks too many batters at 12.2%. Miley has really drastic splits with a .281 wOBA vs. LH and .357 vs. RH hitting. If you decide to use Cardinals bats today you want RH hitters who can avoid ground balls.

Quick Breakdown: Miley is probably a little bit too risky today. His K rate and ground ball rate are enticing but the walks are going to be a problem. It is also going to be an issue if the Cardinals load this lineup with eight Rh batters as expected.

Batter Grind Down

St. Louis

Even though Matt Carpenter doesn’t get the preferred split here he’s still the best option on this offense. He owns a .329 wOBA vs. LH pitching. Dexter Fowler is the next best option but he does hit into a lot more ground balls than we would like at 49.3%. Jedd Gyorko and Stephen Piscotty are also worth a look in tournaments but they are likely to make many lineups with so many other great hitting spots.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Matt Carpenter LEFT 0.329 0.357 0.166 33.1% 12.6% 20.9% 34.9% 1B $3,900 1B $4,400 1B $8,400
2 Dexter Fowler SWITCH 0.349 0.355 0.173 36.7% 13.0% 15.4% 49.3% OF $3,200 OF $4,200 CF $8,000
3 Stephen Piscotty RIGHT 0.379 0.358 0.225 30.9% 12.7% 16.7% 39.1% OF $3,200 OF $3,900 RF $7,800
4 Jedd Gyorko RIGHT 0.322 0.340 0.177 32.9% 8.5% 18.1% 36.3% 3B $2,900 3B $3,800 3B $7,600
5 Yadier Molina RIGHT 0.332 0.347 0.135 32.7% 6.7% 12.3% 45.8% C $2,500 C $3,600 C $7,200
6 Tommy Pham RIGHT 0.359 0.323 0.227 32.1% 14.3% 35.2% 42.3% OF $2,900 OF $3,600 CF $7,200
7 Aledmys Diaz RIGHT 0.313 0.295 0.125 27.4% 10.1% 14.5% 46.7% SS $3,100 SS $3,700 SS $7,200
8 Jose Martinez RIGHT 0.429 0.426 0.133 38.5% 0.0% 13.3% 42.3% OF $2,400 1B/OF $3,300 IF/OF $6,600
9 Paul DeJong RIGHT 0.499 0.226 0.167 20.0% 0.0% 16.7% 40.0% 2B $2,100 2B $3,100 3B $6,000

Elite Plays – Matt Carpenter

Secondary Plays – Dexter Fowler

Stackability – ORANGE – A viable stack in large field GPPs.

Baltimore

The Orioles have a similar outlook to the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright owns a .360 woBA vs. LH and .318 vs. RH hitting. Seth Smith is the ideal option here assuming that he’s batting leadoff. He owns a .336 wOBA vs. LH pitching. Manny Machado and Mark Trumbo are worth a mention but Wainwright certainly isn’t the most targetable pitcher going today.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Seth Smith LEFT 0.336 0.367 0.173 32.9% 11.0% 21.2% 46.0% OF $3,000 OF $3,800 LF $7,500
2 Adam Jones RIGHT 0.336 0.341 0.194 32.1% 5.3% 16.3% 43.6% OF $3,000 OF $3,600 CF $7,200
3 Manny Machado RIGHT 0.343 0.356 0.237 34.8% 6.8% 19.4% 37.9% 3B $3,400 3B $4,100 3B $8,100
4 Mark Trumbo RIGHT 0.371 0.379 0.260 37.3% 8.5% 23.4% 40.1% OF $3,500 OF $3,600 IF/OF $7,200
5 Trey Mancini RIGHT 0.383 0.358 0.261 38.1% 8.0% 27.0% 42.9% OF $3,100 1B/OF $4,300 1B $8,400
6 Jonathan Schoop RIGHT 0.338 0.315 0.200 29.2% 3.3% 19.9% 42.3% 2B $3,500 2B $4,400 2B $8,400
7 Welington Castillo RIGHT 0.304 0.296 0.130 33.5% 5.9% 26.9% 40.9% C $3,200 C $4,100 C $8,000
8 Hyun-Soo Kim LEFT 0.351 0.348 0.117 28.9% 9.4% 14.6% 51.7% OF $2,300 OF $3,200 IF/OF $6,400
9 J.J. Hardy RIGHT 0.279 0.286 0.110 29.2% 4.5% 17.0% 43.9% SS $2,100 SS $2,500 SS $4,800

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – Seth Smith

Stackability – ORANGE – A viable stack in large field GPPs.

NY Yankees at Oakland – 4:05 PM ET

NY Yankees Oakland
nyyankeesmlb Masahiro Tanaka oaklandmlb Jesse Hahn
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
NYY-119 8.0
Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB% Stats wOBA xwOBA HC% BB% K% GB%
SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.301 0.312 32.8% 4.2% 20.1% 50.9% SP vs. Left (2016-17) 0.381 0.387 35.9% 10.4% 13.7% 38.9%
SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.308 0.309 33.3% 5.7% 20.9% 45.5% SP vs. Right (2016-17) 0.281 0.284 25.5% 7.1% 16.6% 56.1%

Pitcher Grind Down

Masahiro Tanaka
masahiro-tanaka-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $8,400 Salary: $8,600 Salary: $16,800
Salary Rank: 8 of 30 Salary Rank: 6 of 30 Salary Rank: 5 of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 31 3.79 3.07 20.5% 4.5% 48.2% 32.5% 18.5%
2017 13 4.11 6.07 20.6% 6.2% 47.6% 34.5% 18.5%

If you want to use pitcher Masahiro Tanaka today, make sure that Austin Romine is catching. This season, Tanaka owns a 2.94 ERA when Romine is catching and 11.57 ERA when Gary Sanchez is catching. The Athetics are an offense that you can target with RH pitching as they own a 25.4% K rate, .318 wOBA and 101 wRC+.

Quick Breakdown: Tanaka is a wildy frustrating pitcher to roster. We should see his 6.07 ERA come down as his SIERA is only 4.11. Assuming that Romine is behind the plate the price is fair here and Tanaka can be used in any format.

Jesse Hahn
jesse-hahn-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings FantasyDraft
Salary: $7,100 Salary: $5,300 Salary: $10,500
Salary Rank: 16 of 30 Salary Rank: 22 of 30 Salary Rank: 20 of 30
Stats Starts SIERA ERA K% BB% GB% HC% SC%
2016 9 5.37 6.02 11.3% 9.4% 49.4% 31.7% 20.5%
2017 10 4.45 3.56 18.3% 8.0% 47.3% 29.0% 21.1%

Jesse Hahn can best be described as an average pitcher. He owns a 3.56 ERA, 18.3% K rate and 47.3% ground ball rate. The Yankess are one of the best offenses in baseball against RH pitching with a .362 wOBA and .206 ISO. There really isn’t any reason to consider Hahn in this matchup.

Quick Breakdown: Jess Hahn can safely be avoided in all formats.

Batter Grind Down

NY Yankees

Hahn is most targetable with LH hitters as he owns a .381 wOBA compared to .281 vs. RH hitters. The Yankees have a couple of LH bats to choose from but Brett Gardner is easily the top option here. He owns a .346 wOBA vs. RH pitching. The rest of the Yankees offense is less exciting given that they aren’t being offered at a discount. The are in interesting GPP stack but Hahn’s ground ball rate could limit the damage and Oakland is a pitcher’s park with an excessive amount of foul territory.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Brett Gardner LEFT 0.346 0.328 0.152 31.0% 12.4% 17.5% 47.8% OF $3,800 OF $4,300 LF $8,400
2 Aaron Hicks SWITCH 0.345 0.310 0.171 26.2% 12.7% 17.6% 45.8% OF $3,400 OF $4,300 CF $8,400
3 Aaron Judge RIGHT 0.428 0.393 0.336 51.0% 12.0% 32.8% 38.3% OF $4,900 OF $5,500 RF $10,800
4 Matt Holliday RIGHT 0.356 0.354 0.217 35.7% 9.7% 20.2% 49.8% 1B $3,600 1B $4,400 IF/OF $8,400
5 Starlin Castro RIGHT 0.337 0.303 0.185 31.6% 3.6% 18.8% 49.6% 2B $3,600 2B $4,400 2B $8,400
6 Gary Sanchez RIGHT 0.424 0.374 0.314 38.7% 8.4% 22.8% 47.1% C $4,300 C $5,000 C $9,900
7 Didi Gregorius LEFT 0.318 0.265 0.182 24.7% 3.2% 15.6% 41.2% SS $3,300 SS $4,200 SS $8,100
8 Chase Headley SWITCH 0.321 0.319 0.149 31.4% 11.2% 25.3% 44.2% 3B $3,200 3B $3,500 3B $6,900
9 Chris Carter RIGHT 0.335 0.350 0.243 39.0% 11.9% 33.7% 29.7% 1B $2,500 1B $3,300 1B $6,600

Elite Plays – Brett Gardner

Secondary Plays – Aaron Judge

Stackability – ORANGE – A viable stack in large field GPPs.

Oakland

Masahiro Tanaka has a bit of a home run problem this season but still owns a .308 wOBA vs. LH and .301 vs. RH hitters over the past two seasons. The Athletics have an offense built around a few players that can hit for power but this isn’t the ideal spot to deploy them. You could take a shot and use Matt Joyce (if he leads off) or Khris Davis but I probably won’t.

Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)

# Player Bats wOBA xwOBA ISO HC% BB% K% GB% FD Pos. FD Sal. DK Pos. DK Sal. FDRFT Pos. FDRFT Sal.
1 Matt Joyce LEFT 0.343 0.370 0.208 36.8% 17.9% 22.3% 41.3% OF $2,600 OF $3,300 RF $6,600
2 Chad Pinder RIGHT 0.331 0.373 0.266 34.4% 6.7% 29.8% 37.5% 2B $2,600 2B/SS $2,800 2B $5,400
3 Jed Lowrie SWITCH 0.326 0.324 0.138 32.8% 7.9% 16.5% 36.1% 2B $2,800 2B $3,700 2B $7,200
4 Khris Davis RIGHT 0.350 0.369 0.281 40.1% 7.1% 29.0% 42.7% OF $3,800 OF $4,000 LF $7,600
5 Yonder Alonso LEFT 0.341 0.371 0.173 35.2% 10.0% 16.1% 39.1% 1B $3,400 1B $3,900 1B $7,800
6 Ryon Healy RIGHT 0.337 0.332 0.208 34.1% 4.1% 24.6% 39.9% 3B $3,400 1B/3B $3,600 3B $7,200
7 Stephen Vogt LEFT 0.312 0.318 0.164 27.6% 6.9% 15.6% 30.4% C $2,300 C $3,000 C $6,000
8 0.878 0.000 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% P $7,000 P $7,900 P $8,400
9 Jaycob Brugman LEFT 0.321 0.000 38.5% 11.1% 16.7% 30.8% OF $2,200 OF $2,000 CF $4,000

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – None

Stackability – RED – Not a recommended stack for cash games or GPPs.

Jump to Page 1 2 3

About the Author

sethayates
Seth Yates (sethayates)

Seth Yates hails from Dayton, Ohio. Seth started playing DFS during the NBA Playoffs in 2012. Seth rose to stardom in 2014 when he won the NFL Preseason Bomb using picks he blogged about. When he isn’t playing DFS, Seth is a Financial Analyst for the Air Force. Even though paying taxes on DFS isn’t fun, Seth re-invests your taxes back into DFS for you.