MLB Grind Down: Saturday, May 24th: Page Three
St. Louis at Cincinnati
| St. Louis | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Jaime Garcia | Vegas Moneyline | Tony Cingrani | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | CIN (-110) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.333 | 0.905 | 0.392 | 17.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.185 | 0.547 | 0.251 | 30.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.662 | 0.295 | 18.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.208 | 0.670 | 0.302 | 26.3% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP  | STL vs L | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jaime Garcia – Jaime looked impressive in his return from Tommy John’s surgery in his first start last week, allowing just five baserunners in seven innings against the Braves (he was burned by two homeruns). He’s dominated Cincinnati his entire career (posting a 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA in 13 starts) and the Reds own the 26th worst OPS (.663) against left-handed pitching so far in 2014. It’s worth noting that Garcia’s struggles away from Busch Stadium are well documented, making him a bit of a risk. With his pitch count restriction lifted, he’s a solid GPP target. Rating = 6
Salaries: $5100 FD, $13405 DS, $8650 DD, $7800 DK, $92800 FF, $17700 SS, $10300 FTD
- Tony Cingrani – Cingrani returned from a shoulder injury and threw 98 pitches last week against Philly. He was not quiet as sharp as we’ve grown occustomed to as he allowed three homeruns. The last time he welcomed the Cardinals to the Great American Ballpark he was dealing; tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just two hits and striking out nine. Despite possessing a dangerous lineup, the Cardinals rank near the bottom of the league in OPS versus left-handed pitching once again this season. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7900 FD, $16187 DS, $15350 DD, $8600 DK, $82700 FF, $21500 SS, $14600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
Yadier Molina – Molina is one of the most consistent hitting catchers in baseball and routinely hits in the middle of the order for the Cardinals. He hit .333 versus left-handed pitching last season and has a long history of bad feelings against the Reds.
Additional Plays: Jhonny Peralta, Allen Craig, Matt Holliday
Cincinnati
Devin Mesoraco – He’s cooled off a bit since returning to the lineup, but he owns a career .338 batting average against left-handed pitching and is 3 for 6 off of Garcia in their prior meetings. Since the beginning of last season, Mesoraco is hitting .297 at the Great American Ballpark.
- Additional Plays: Brandon Phillips
Kansas City at LA Angels
| Kansas City | LA Angels | ||||||||
| James Shields | Vegas Moneyline | Matt Shoemaker | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | KCR (-110) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.236 | 0.622 | 0.282 | 21.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.225 | 0.639 | 0.288 | 22.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.259 | 0.692 | 0.314 | 20.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.100 | 0.393 | 0.175 | 14.3% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- James Shields – Shields has had two rough outings this season, but he’s pitched very well in each of the other eight starts. He’ll enter tonight’s game sporting a 4-1 road record to go along with a 1.80 ERA and a strikeout per inning pitched. The matchup in Anahiem is not ideal here, but Big Game James Shields is still worth consideration. Rating = 6
Salaries: $9100 FD, $19191 DS, $17200 DD, $10700 DK, $102600 FF, $27200 SS, $15600 FTD
- Matt Shoemaker – Shoemaker has been great in his first two starts; winning both contest and allowing just nine baserunners in 11 innings. With that said, he’s spent the last four years in AAA for a reason and his current .188 BABIP is undoubtedly unsustainable. He’s too risky for my liking for cash games, but he’s a decent target for GPP’s if the asking price is cheap enough. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4900 FD, $10993 DS, $8150 DD, $7500 DK, $78000 FF, $17200 SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Alex Gordon – Gordon has been heating up a bit after a slow start to the season, going 7 for his last 15 with two homeruns and nine RBI’s. He’s well priced across the industry and is a strong play against the right handed Shoemaker.
Additional Plays: Norichika Aoki, Eric Hosmer
LA Angels
Howie Kendrick – Kendrick brings an eight game hitting streak into tonight’s game and is hitting .333 so far during the month of May. He has also destroyed James Shields in the past, going 13 for 24 with four doubles, a triple and a homerun.
Additional Plays: Mike Trout, Albert Pujols
Minnesota at San Francisco
| Minnesota | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Ricky Nolasco | Vegas Moneyline | Ryan Vogelsong | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SFG (-162) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.274 | 0.768 | 0.343 | 17.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.280 | 0.772 | 0.341 | 16.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.260 | 0.675 | 0.302 | 20.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.298 | 0.838 | 0.380 | 14.8% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Samuel Deduno – Deduno will start tonight for Minnesota (not Nolasco). He was terrific against Seattle in his last start, allowing just two hits over six innings. Through 35 innings this season, he owns a solid 3.53 ERA and has 29K’s. Pitching in AT&T Park, He’s a decent value option today to fill in your rotation on the multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5600 FD, $10736 DS, $10100 DD, $6500 DK, $74200 FF, $14400 SS, $10900 FTD
- Ryan Vogelsong – Vogelsong is proving difficult to predict as he’s been very hit-or-miss lately. He’s been fantastic in four of his last five starts and should have a solid outing against this Minnesota offense (now without a DH) in AT&T Park. He sports a 2.61 home ERA this season through five starts. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $5600 FD, $15846 DS, $12300 DD, $8500 DK, $65600 FF, $20900 SS, $10200 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
I will not be targeting any Minnesota players today
San Francisco
Pablo Sandoval – Pablo will be sad to see Nolasco’s start pushed back (as he owns him), but he’s still in a nice spot here against Deduno. He homered last night and now has three bombs over the last five games. As an added bonus, his slow start has kept down his asking price.
Houston at Seattle
| Houston | Seattle | ||||||||
| Dallas Keuchel | Vegas Moneyline | Brandon Maurer | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | HOU (-102) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.279 | 0.733 | 0.332 | 29.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.324 | 0.915 | 0.395 | 14.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.286 | 0.780 | 0.346 | 15.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.299 | 0.783 | 0.358 | 18.2% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Dallas Keuchel – Keuchel has been locked in lately, winning each of his last three starts and posting a 1.42 ERA and .75 WHIP over 25.1 innings in the process. He owns a 4-0 and a 2.15 ERA on the road so far in 2014. He’s already faced this Mariners team twice this year, and the results were respectable (1-1 record, 4.50 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12 innings). He’s inducing a ton of ground balls this season (68%) and yet still owns a solid 8.03 K’s/9. Rating = 6
UPDATE – Brett Oberholtzer will start for Houston. He’s similiar to Keuchel, but a slighly less appealing fantasy option. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $7700 FD, $17366 DS, $14800 DD, $9900 DK, $104600 FF, $25500 SS, $11500 FTD
- Brandon Maurer – He went out of his way to be nice to my son at a Cardinals game last season, so it pains me to say it, but Maurer is just not an effective MLB pitcher at this point in his career. He’s struggling with his command adn even when he’s pitching well he hasn’t been efficient enough with his pitch count to push deep into games. While it’s fun to pick on Houston in DFS, there are better options on the board today. He’s nothing more than an off-the-wall GPP flier. Rating = 3.5
Salaries: $4100 FD, $9889 DS, $9350 DD, $5500 DK, $40000 FF, $13000 SS, $10600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Houston
Jason Castro – Lefties own a .395 wOBA since the beginning of last season off of Maurer which will hopefully knock Castro out of his mini-slump. He’s reached base in two of the four meetings with Maurer in the past and should be hitting out of the cleanup spot
Additional Plays: Jose Altuve, Dexter Fowler
Seattle
This is a lineup loaded with left-handed batters, and while I think they’ll likely do some damage against Oberholtzer, it’s hard to pin-point where it will come from.
Chicago Cubs at San Diego
| Chicago Cubs | San Diego | ||||||||
| Travis Wood | Vegas Moneyline | Donn Roach | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SDP (-) | RIGHT | |||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.198 | 0.541 | 0.256 | 22.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.310 | 0.732 | 0.340 | 8.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.680 | 0.308 | 16.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.283 | 0.641 | 0.301 | 16.9% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Travis Wood – Wood was excellent in his last start; allowing just two runs on two hits through seven innings against the Brewers. He has struggled mighily on the road so far this season (8.02 ERA) but owned a 3.45 road ERA the three years prior. He has a dream matchup on tap tonight against a rather punchless San Diego team in Petco park. He’s stuck out nearly a batter per inning so far this season and is a solid option today where he’s priced right. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7000 FD, $14710 DS, $12800 DD, $7700 DK, $87000 FF, $19400 SS, $12100 FTD
- Donn Roach – As a fill-in for the injured Andrew Cashner, this will only be the second start of the season for Roach. The first start was not fantastic as he allowed four runs in just three innings against the Rockies in Coors Field. A bad start in Coors Field is nothing to over-react to, but the fact that he’s been groomed as a relief pitcher during his time in San Diego and was yanked after tossing just 46 pitches is a big red flag. A home matchup against the Cubbies is promising, but I want to see him pitch deep into a game before I trust him in my lineups. Rating = 3
Salaries: $4000 FD, $13241 DS, $9700 DD, $5000 DK, $67000 FF, $13000 SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – I don’t love taking hitters in Petco, but Rizzo is definitely in play tonight against Roach. He homered the other night and is the Cubbies most dangerous hitter.
San Diego
Chris Denorfia – Denorfia is a DFS special as he has very little season long league value, but can be a great value play against left-handed pitching. He posted an .834 OPS versus southpaws last season so give him a look if he’s dirt cheap.
Additional Plays: Everth Cabrera, Chase Headley