MLB Grind Down: Saturday, May 3rd - Page 3
LA Dodgers at Miami
| LA Dodgers | Miami | ||||||||
| Paul Maholm | Vegas Moneyline | Jacob Turner | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAD (-112) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.238 | 0.577 | 0.263 | 19.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.249 | 0.692 | 0.319 | 12.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.298 | 0.819 | 0.371 | 12.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.278 | 0.782 | 0.353 | 16.4% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP  | LAD vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Paul Maholm – Maholm and his 86 MPH heater offers almost zero strikeout potential and is therefore a mediocre at best fantasy option. The Marlins bats have been red-hot lately and even Maholm’s best pitching performances aren’t overly appealing by fantasy standards. Rating = 3
- Jacob Turner – A once very promising prospect, Turner has been rather disappointing for the Marlins. He’ll return to the rotation tonight after a shoulder injury forced him to miss nearly a month. He may be worth a flier in a GPP, but it’s just way too hard to trust him in your cash game lineups. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Los Angeles
Adrian Gonzalez – A-Gon had his seven game hitting streak snapped last night, but finds himself in a nice situation to get a new one started. He has a long track record of destroying right-handed pitching and is 2 for 3 with a double off of Turner in their past meetings.
- Additional Plays: Yasiel Puig
Miami
Giancarlo Stanton – Stanton is one of my favorite plays of the day. He crushes left-handed pitching and has is 3 for 6 off of Maholm (with four walks) in their prior meetings.
- Additional Plays: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jeff Baker
Detroit at Kansas City
| Detroit | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Drew Smyly | Vegas Moneyline | Danny Duffy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | DET (-105) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.174 | 0.451 | 0.203 | 26.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.243 | 0.560 | 0.248 | 18.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.261 | 0.754 | 0.333 | 27.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.183 | 0.548 | 0.281 | 25.5% |
| Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs L | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Drew Smyly – Smyly has been a bit rusty since being inserted back into the starting rotation, but seemed to get into a groove in his last start. The Royals have mightily struggled against left-handed pitching so far this season, posting a .594 OPS which ranks them 29th in the league. A nice matchup and his high strikeout potential (190 K’s in 190.1 career innings) makes Smyly a great GPP target. Rating = 6
- Danny Duffy – Duffy will draw the start for injured Bruce Chen today but will be on a limited pitch count and has been very hittable in his short career. Barring a pricing mistake, you’d be wise to avoid him today. Rating = 2.5
Batter Grind Down
Detroit
Ian Kinsler – Kinsler has hammered left-handed pitching his entire career and already owns a career homerun against Duffy in just four prior meetings. He’s grabbed a pair of hits in each of the last two games and looks to be locked in at the plate right now.
- Additional Plays: Rajai Davis, Miguel Cabrera
Kansas City
Billy Butler – Butler finally hit his first homerun of the season last night and is currently riding a seven game hitting streak. His slow start has really brought down his asking price, but it was only a matter of time before he started to heat up. Since the beginning of 2011 he owns a .919 OPS versus left-handed pitching.
- Additional Plays: Salvador Perez, Danny Valencia
NY Mets at Colorado
| NY Mets | Colorado | ||||||||
| Jenrry Mejia | Vegas Moneyline | Franklin Morales | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | COL (-134) | LEFT | 10.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.220 | 0.603 | 0.280 | 21.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.197 | 0.474 | 0.243 | 24.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.264 | 0.679 | 0.294 | 27.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.295 | 0.888 | 0.397 | 15.5% |
| Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs L | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jenrry Mejia and Franklin Morales – There just isn’t a compelling reason to take either of these two guys in Coors Field. Combined Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
New York Mets
David Wright – Wright had a pair of hits last night and is in a great spot tonight against lefty Franklin Morales in Coors Field. Wright is a career .338 hitters against left-handed pitching and is a terrific option at third base tonight.
- Additional Plays: Chris Young
Colorado
Troy Tulowitzki – This is a bit of a “no-brainer” but he’s simply the best option at SS and should be considered for all lineups tonight. He’s hitting a disgusting .575 so far this season at Coors Field so pass on him at your own risk.
- Additional Plays: Charlie Blackmon, Justin Morneau, Corey Dickerson
Arizona at San Diego
| Arizona | San Diego | ||||||||
| Brandon McCarthy | Vegas Moneyline | Ian Kennedy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-133) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.296 | 0.751 | 0.332 | 17.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.249 | 0.778 | 0.341 | 23.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.293 | 0.775 | 0.349 | 12.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.249 | 0.692 | 0.321 | 19.4% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brandon McCarthy – McCarthy fanned 12 Phillies in his last start, but received no run support and pushed his record to 0-5 on the season. The Diamondbacks are off to a terrible start and have lost each of the six games McCarthy has started despite him pitching well in each of his last three starts. While I wouldn’t trust him in cash games, the combo of a matchup against the lowest scoring team in the MLB this season, pitching in the Petco Park and his recent strikeout numbers make him an interesting GPP option. Rating = 5
- Ian Kennedy – Once the Ace of this Arizona team, Kennedy will look to show his old team that he can still pitch at an All-Star level. He posted a very solid 3.06 ERA at Petco Park last season and has been fantastic in each of his last two starts. Rating = 5.5
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
**Gerardo Parra* – Kennedy has had his struggles against lefties in his career and Parra has crushed him in the past (3 for 5 with a double and a homerun). He’ll likely be hitting at the top of the order and right in the middle of any Arizona damage.
- Additional Plays: Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Montero
San Diego
Yasmani Grandal – Lefties are hitting .347 off of McCarthy so far this season, and Grandal has been swinging the bat better from the left side of the plate this season. He homered in his last game and is a solid value option behind the plate tonight.
- Additional Plays: Will Venable
Texas at LA Angels
| Texas | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Matt Harrison | Vegas Moneyline | Garrett Richards | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAA (-139) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.222 | 0.578 | 0.266 | 50.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.253 | 0.690 | 0.313 | 18.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.283 | 0.864 | 0.397 | 10.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.602 | 0.275 | 17.1% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Matt Harrison – Harrison looked to be back into All-Star form against the Mariners in his first start since April 6th of last season. However, the fact that he lacks extreme strikeout potential and that the Angels have had his number over the last few years makes him a bit risky for use in cash games. Rating = 5
- Garrett Richards – Since last season’s All-Star break, Richards somewhat Inconspicuously owns a 7-4 record to go along with a very solid 3.28 ERA. He managed to keep the Yankees hitters off balance in Yankee Stadium in his last outing and draws another tough matchup today against Texas. Rating = 5.5
Batter Grind Down
Texas
Shin-Soo Choo – Choo looked fully recovered from his ankle injury last night, smacking a homerun while collecting three hits. He can rack up fantasy points in a number of ways and is reasonably priced across the industry.
- Additional Plays: Prince Fielder
Los Angeles
Albert Pujols – Pujols looks to be back to his old ways, as he’s driving the baseball and already has nine homeruns on the young season. He’s always had success against left-handed pitching and is 3 for 9 with a homerun in his career against Harrison.
- Additional Plays: Mike Trout, Chris Iannetta, David Freese