MLB Grind Down: Saturday, May 17th - Page 3
Toronto at Texas
| Toronto | Texas | ||||||||
| Mark Buehrle | Vegas Moneyline | Robbie Ross | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | TOR (-102) | LEFT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.248 | 0.690 | 0.318 | 13.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.312 | 0.856 | 0.391 | 22.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.279 | 0.737 | 0.327 | 16.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.651 | 0.304 | 17.3% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP  | TOR vs L | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Mark Buehrle – Major League’s only seven game winner will be looking to improve on his 7-1 record and 2.04 ERA today in Texas. Aside from one abysmal start against the Red Sox, Buehrle has recorded a win in each start and sports a slick 1.07 ERA in those seven starts. He was also dominant in his two starts against the Rangers last season, allowing just one run over 14 innings in two wins. His strikeout numbers leave a bit to be desired and a small regression is enivitable, but Buehrle is still a professional pitcher capable of another solid outing. Rating = 6
- Robbie Ross – Ross was great in his first three starts of 2014, but things have quickly turned ugly for the left-hander. He has been absolutely blasted in each of his last three starts and sports a 7.76 ERA and 1.76 WHIP over his las five starts. Toronto ranks at the top of the AL in runs scored and there are certainly better options on the board today than Ross. Rating = 2.5
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Edwin Encarnacion – E5 blasted a pair of homeruns on Thursday night and now has six homeruns and 15 RBI’s during the month of may. He owns a .939 OPS against left-handed pitching over the last three years and should feast on a struggling Robbie Ross.
- Additional Plays: Jose Bautista
Texas
Adrian Beltre – Beltre has a long track record of success against left-handed pitching (.947 OPS last year) and he’s been swinging the bat very well over the last four games. He’s had success against Mark Buehrle in the past (12 for 33)
- Additional Plays: Alex Rios
San Diego at Colorado
| San Diego | Colorado | ||||||||
| Robbie Erlin | Vegas Moneyline | Jordan Lyles | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | COL (-132) | RIGHT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.268 | 0.717 | 0.316 | 19.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.714 | 0.324 | 12.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.249 | 0.675 | 0.302 | 18.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.281 | 0.781 | 0.350 | 17.8% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Robbie Erlin – I’ll keep this one short, Erlin hasn’t been all that great at Petco, so don’t even consider him at Coors Field. Raing = 2
- Jordan Lyles – Lyles has been very effective lately, posting five straight quality starts. He owns a 5-0 record and has handled the transistion to Coors Field well; owning a 1.25 ERA in his three home starts. The Padres are the league’s lowest scoring team by a decent margin and Lyles could make for an exception to the “don’t use pitchers in Coors Field” rule today. Keep your expectations in check though, as he has had plenty of trouble in the past against these Padres batters. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
Chase Headley – Headley is 2 for 6 with a pair of doubles off of Lyles in his career and gets a nice fantasy boost from playing in Coors Field rather than Petco Park.
- Additional Plays: Everth Cabrera, Carlos Quentin
Colorado
Troy Tulowitzki – Troy Tulowitzki – Tulo is head-and-shoulders above the competition at shortstop right now, specially at Coors Field where he’s hitting .593 so far in 2014. Fade him at your own risk.
- Additional Plays: All of them; specifically their RHB.
LA Dodgers at Arizona
| LA Dodgers | Arizona | ||||||||
| Clayton Kershaw | Vegas Moneyline | Josh Collmenter | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAD (-150) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.167 | 0.461 | 0.212 | 40.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.703 | 0.327 | 18.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.209 | 0.538 | 0.244 | 22.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.210 | 0.645 | 0.291 | 21.1% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs R | Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Clayton Kershaw – Let’s face it, he’s the best pitcher in baseball and has dominated the Diamondbacks in his career (2.17 ERA in 18 starts). The only thing keeping him from getting a rating of 10 is the fact that the game is being played in Chase Field. Rating = 9.5
- Josh Collmenter – The wheels appear to be falling off a bit for Collmenter as he’s surrendered 13 runs and allowed four long balls in his last three starts. He’s already seen the Dodgers twice this season and was knocked around a bit in both appearances. He’s by no means terrible, but with Kershaw on the mound against him, securing a “W” seems like a longshot for Collmenter here. Rating = 4.5
EDITOR NOTE: While ESPN has Collmenter noted as the starter, MLB.com and a few others sites have Chase Anderson getting the start. Regardless of the starter, nothing really changes for Dodger bats to target and neither Arizona pitcher should be heavily owned in cash games or GPPs.
Batter Grind Down
Los Angeles Dodgers
Yasiel Puig – Puig is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now, with a 15 game hitting streak and at least one RBI in seven straight games. He’s 2 for 6 with a double and a homerun in his career against Collmenter.
- Additional Plays: Hanley Ramirez, Matt Kemp
Arizona Diamondbacks
An argument could be made for Goldy/Ross/Hill, but I’m avoiding all Arizona batters.
Miami at San Francisco
| Miami | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Tom Koehler | Vegas Moneyline | Tim Lincecum | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SFG (-134) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.219 | 0.644 | 0.294 | 13.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.249 | 0.690 | 0.316 | 22.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.268 | 0.756 | 0.342 | 17.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.264 | 0.751 | 0.337 | 23.7% |
| Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Tom Koehler – On the surface, his 2.57 ERA through his first eight starts this season looks great. However, he’s been an entirely different pitcher on the road, where he’s 0-3 with a 5.14 ERA. He’s had trouble with his command all season (22 free bases) and his .211 BABIP won’t stay that low for long. He doesn’t have great fantasy appeal to me tonight in cash games or GPP’s. Rating = 3.5
- Tim Lincecum – Lincecum has evolved into the protypical GPP-only pitcher as he seems to either get destroyed or pitch a gem. He was fantastic in his last start, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out seven Braves. He has another great home matchup against a very strikeout-happy Marlins team today. I can’t trust him much in cash games, but his ceiling is ripe for GPP usage. Rating = 5.5
Batter Grind Down
Miami
Christian Yelich – Yelich did it all last night, scoring four runs, stealing a base and hitting a homerun. The lefty has pounded right handed pitching this season to the tune of a .368 batting average. Lefties are hitting .316 off of Lincecum so far this season and Yelich has the power and speed to burn him.
- Additional Plays: Giancarlo Stanton
San Francisco
Hunter Pence – Pence is seeing the ball well right now, racking up 10 hits (3 doubles and a homerun) over the last four games. He’s 2 for 6 in his career against Koehler with one of the hits leaving the yard.
- Additional Plays: Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval
Tampa Bay at LA Angels
| Tampa Bay | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Cesar Ramos | Vegas Moneyline | C.J. Wilson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAA (-150) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.270 | 0.689 | 0.312 | 19.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.170 | 0.481 | 0.224 | 29.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.232 | 0.681 | 0.313 | 17.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.264 | 0.725 | 0.329 | 19.2% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs L | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Cesar Ramos – If you watched Ramos in his last start, then you’ll likely just be skipping right over this paragraph as he was rocked for 9 runs (“only” five earned) on 11 hits through 6.2 innings. He doesn’t appear to be fully adjusted to life as a starting pitcher just yet and there are better options on the board. Rating = 3.5
- C.J. Wilson – Wilson was beat up in his last outing, giving up five earned runs to the Blue Jays in just six innings. He also struggled a bit with this Tampa team in their only meeting last year. However, he has pitched exceptionally well at home during his time with the Angels (3.22 ERA in 33 starts) and this Tampa team has really struggled to hit on the road (.652 team OPS in 2014). Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
Evan Longoria – While Longo hasn’t had much success against C.J. Wilson in the past, he does have a long track record of destroying left-handed pitching. He owns a 1.148 career OPS at Angel Stadium.
- Additional Plays: Yunel Escobar, WIl Myers
Anahiem
Mike Trout – Trout busted out of his mini slump with a walkoff three run bomb on Thursday and followed it up with a three walk performance last night. He finds himself in perfect situation today, at home (where he owns a 1.062 OPS this season) and versus a very hittable left-handed pitcher (1.055 OPS versus lefties)
- Additional Plays: Howie Kendrick, Albert Pujols