MLB Grind Down: Saturday, May 10th - Page 2

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2014-05-10 18:44:32

Cleveland at Tampa Bay

Cleveland					Tampa Bay
Zach McAllister		Vegas Moneyline			Erik Bedard		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		TBR (-116)			LEFT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.251	0.735	0.328	18.0%	SP vs. Left	0.304	0.801	0.360	18.3%
SP vs. Right	0.253	0.681	0.306	18.8%	SP vs. Right	0.248	0.743	0.332	20.4%
Batter Splits	CLE BvP		CLE vs L		Batter Splits	TBR BvP		TBR vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Zach McAllister – McAllister was impressive in his last outing, tossing 6.2 shutout innings against the Twins while fanning 8 batters. He now owns a 3.18 ERA through his first seven starts and is averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. He struggled against Tampa last season but he’s still an interesting contrarian play today. Rating = 5.

• Erik Bedard – Bedard enters tonight’s game on the heels of back-to-back solid starts that saw him allow just one run in each game. Cleveland owns the second worst OPS in baseball versus left-handed pitching this season, but strangely led MLB in that same stat last season. There are too many question marks (and not enough strikeout potential) for me to trust him in cash games but you could do worse as a GPP flier. Rating = 4.5

Batter Grind Down

Cleveland

Yan Gomes – Gomes had a pair of hits in last night’s game and already owns a triple and a homerun in just four prior AB’s against Bedard. He posted a .934 OPS against left-handed pitching last season.

Ryan Raburn – He may be extremely cold at the plate, but he’s also dirt cheap and only has a job in MLB due to his abilities to hit left-handed pitching (1.020 OPS last season). He’s a decent punt option at 2B.

• Additional Plays: Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Swisher, Carlos Santana

Tampa Bay

David DeJesus – Dejesus was a beast last night, going 4 for 5 with three doubles. He currently owns a five game hitting streak and is a nice value play anytime he’s facing a right handed pitcher. He’s been far more productive on the turf at Tropicana Field this season.

• Additional Plays: Evan Longoria, Wil Myers

Philadelphia at NY Mets

Philadelphia					NY Mets
Kyle Kendrick		Vegas Moneyline			Dillon Gee		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		NYM (-133)			RIGHT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.263	0.731	0.325	14.5%	SP vs. Left	0.276	0.776	0.343	15.8%
SP vs. Right	0.301	0.752	0.341	13.1%	SP vs. Right	0.242	0.644	0.290	18.0%
Batter Splits	PHI BvP		PHI vs R		Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Kyle Kendrick – Kendrick has gotten off to a solid start to 2014 and he had plenty of success against the Mets last season; 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in four starts. He may be 0-3 this season to date, but he sports a strong 3.68 ERA. With that said, he doesn’t strike many batters out (5.5 K’s per 9) and his 1.41 WHIP suggests that trouble is on the horizon. Rating = 4

• Dillon Gee – He’s not that flashy of a pitcher and doesn’t rack up strikeout numbers like many of the games elite aces, but Gee has been terrific since last year’s All-Star break (2.70 ERA in 20 starts) and thrives at Citi Field (2.75 ERA last season). His low strikeout totals and some struggles against Philly last season and the only things holding him back from a much higher rating. Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

Ryan Howard – To say Ryan Howard owns Dillon Gee would be an understatement. In 15 career AB’s against the right-hander, Howard is 7 for 15 with SIX homeruns.

• Additional Plays: Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley

New York

Daniel Murphy – While he hasn’t had success against Kendrick so far in his career, lefties are crushing Kendrick so far this season (1.069 OPS against). Murphy has been swinging a hot bat lately.

• Additional Plays: David Wright

Colorado at Cincinnati

Colorado					Cincinnati
Jordan Lyles		Vegas Moneyline			Alfredo Simon		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		CIN (-113)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.262	0.711	0.323	11.7%	SP vs. Left	0.205	0.652	0.302	15.3%
SP vs. Right	0.284	0.787	0.352	17.3%	SP vs. Right	0.206	0.527	0.252	17.3%
Batter Splits	COL BvP		COL vs R		Batter Splits	CIN BvP		CIN vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jordan Lyles – Lyles has been a ground ball machine this year, and it shows in his 2.62 ERA through his first seven games. However, his extremely low fly ball rate is likely unsustainable as his .260 BABIP. While it’s a bit more friendly than pitching at Coors Field, The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati is still tough on pitchers and the Reds lineup has plenty of firepower. Lyles likes to pitch to contact and therefor rarely racks up strikeouts making him a less than appealing fantasy option tonight. Rating = 4

• Alfredo Simon – Simon has recorded a quality start in each of his six starts this season and holds a very impressive 1.99 ERA coming into tonight. With that said, his opposition prior to tonight has been rather weak and his .192 BABIP won’t hold up for long. The end results were decent in his last start, but the fact that he recorded zero strikeouts through seven innings is a concern. We all know what kind of damage this Rockies lineup is capable of and I won’t be rostering Simon anywhere tonight.

Batter Grind Down

Colorado

Troy Tulowitzki – Fade him at your own risk right now. He’s completely locked in at the plate and is head-and-shoulders above the other SS options tonight.

• Additional Plays: Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon

Cincinnati

Joey Votto – Votto hit a walkoff homerun last night (on a 3-0 count nonetheless) and has destroyed Jordan Lyles in their previous meetings; going 6 for 9 with a pair of doubles, a homerun and three walks.

• Additional Plays: Todd Frazier

Chicago Cubs at Atlanta

Chicago Cubs					Atlanta
Jeff Samardzija		Vegas Moneyline			Ervin Santana		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		ATL (-141)			RIGHT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.266	0.772	0.342	23.1%	SP vs. Left	0.246	0.675	0.303	18.1%
SP vs. Right	0.237	0.642	0.295	22.2%	SP vs. Right	0.225	0.631	0.282	22.1%
Batter Splits	CHC BvP		CHC vs R		Batter Splits	ATL BvP		ATL vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jeff Samardzija – Only a Cubs pitcher can have an 0-3 record after seven starts despite owning a 1.62 ERA. The Shark was dealing in his last start, tossing a complete game three hitter against the White Sox (and yet losing). Obviously it’s going to be tough for him to walk away with a “W” which limits his value in cash games to some degree, but his high ceiling makes him an ideal target for GPP’s against this Braves team that likes to swing and miss. Rating = 6.5

• Ervin Santana – After a very impressive start with his new ball club this year, things have gone down hill a bit for Santana over the last two weeks. After two consecutive mediocre starts, he was then forced to miss his turn in the rotation with a jammed thumb. He appears to be back to full health and, despite his recent “struggles” it’s hard not to like him with a home start against the feeble hitting Cubbies on tap. Rating = 6.5

Batter Grind Down

Chicago

Anthony Rizzo – Rizzo was held hitless last night, but had hits in seven of eight games prior to that. He’s the most dangerous batter in this Cubs lineup.

Atlanta

Freddie Freeman – Freeman appears to be getting back into a groove after a short slump, as he had a walk-off RBI last night and now has eight hits over the last four games. He’s hitting .333 against right handed pitching so far in 2014 which is right in line with the .334 average he posted against them in 2013.

• Additional Plays: Justin Upton

NY Yankees at Milwaukee

NY Yankees					Milwaukee
CC Sabathia		Vegas Moneyline			Kyle Lohse		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		MIL (-140)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.231	0.626	0.290	29.9%	SP vs. Left	0.261	0.741	0.328	17.7%
SP vs. Right	0.289	0.816	0.359	17.3%	SP vs. Right	0.245	0.622	0.277	15.9%
Batter Splits	NYY BvP		NYY vs R		Batter Splits	MIL BvP		MIL vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• C.C. Sabathia – Sabathia is nowhere near the same quality of pitcher he was years ago and it’s showing in his numbers. He brings a 5.75 ERA and 1.45 WHIP into tonight’s game against a Milwaukee team loaded with batters who feast on left-handed pitching. Sabathia has allowed 20 baserunners over his last two starts (just 8.2 innings) and simply shouldn’t be trusted in cash games. He still has high strikeout potential, so could be worth a flier as a GPP option. Rating = 4.5

• Kyle Lohse – He’s not the most exciting pitcher, but he’s certainly effective. He brings a 4-1 record and very solid 2.72 ERA into tonight’s game with the Yankees. His strikeout rate is way up this year at 8.16 K’s/9, but it usually sits in the mid 5’s and I expect some regresion there. I don’t like his upside in this one, but he’s in play on the multi-pitcher sites if the asking price is reasonable. Rating = 5.5

Batter Grind Down

New York

Carlos Beltran – Beltran has had Lohse’s number his entire career, going 25 for 51 with four homeruns.

• Additional Plays: Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira

Milwaukee

Aramis Ramirez – Ramirez has been ice-cold at the plate, but his asking price has never been lower. He has a long history of mashing left-handed pitching, has always swung the bat well at Miller Park, and has beat up on C.C. Sabathia in his career (10 for 19).

• Additional Plays: Jonathon Lucroy, Carlos Gomez

MLB Grind Down Page 2 – Page 3