MLB Grind Down: Saturday, September 20th Page Three
NY Mets at Atlanta
| NY Mets | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Jonathon Niese | Vegas Moneyline | Mike Minor | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | ATL (-130) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | SP vs. Left | 0.352 | 0.885 | 0.390 | 20.30% | ||||
| SP vs. Right | SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.775 | 0.341 | 18.60% | ||||
| Batter Splits | NYM BvP  | NYM vs L | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jonathon Niese – Niese came out the gates nicely this season, posting a 5-4 record and 2.96 ERA during the first half of the season. However, things have turned south on him in the second half as he owns a 3-7 record with a 4.40 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in eleven second half starts. He’ll leave Citi Field where he owns a 4.07 road ERA (versus 2.93 ERA at home) to take on a Braves team ranked #6 in MLB in wOBA against left-handed pitching. He has pitched rather well in both prior meetings against the Braves this season, but took a loss in both outings. He’s clearly not the most exciting pitcher on the board, but he’s still a viable secondary optionson multi-pitcher sites that don’t put too much emphasis on the win. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7200 FD, $13000 DD, $7700 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $11250 FTD
- Mike Minor – Minor struggled mightily in his last start, allowing five earned runs and letting eleven baserunners reach base before being yanked after 4.2 innings of work but he’ll look to bounce back tonight at Turner Field against the New York Mets. The Mets rank #28th in MLB in wOBA against left-handed pitching (.288 wOBA) and also own MLB’s second highest strikeout rate (24.1%) against southpaws this season. Now, with David Wright on the shelf, lefties should have even more success against them. Prior to his his ugly last start, Minor seemed to have settled into a groove, posting a 2.59 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in his previous six outings. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7000 FD, $13250 DD, $7900 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $12950 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Mets
This Mets offense lacks any firepower and I won’t be targeting anyone here.
Atlanta
Justin Upton – Upton has been awfully quiet at the plate recently, but things are looking promising for him tonight. He owns an impressive .431 wOBA off of left-handed pitching today and he’s crushed Jonathon Niese in the past, going 9 for 20 off of the southpaw.
Additional Plays: Chris Johnson
Washington at Miami
| Washington | Miami | ||||||||
| Jordan Zimmermann | Vegas Moneyline | Jarred Cosart | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | WAS (-155) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.670 | 0.296 | 19.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.251 | 0.684 | 0.311 | 15.50% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.243 | 0.645 | 0.286 | 25.70% | SP vs. Right | 0.243 | 0.620 | 0.277 | 15.30% |
| Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jordan Zimmermann – After tossing 6.2 shutout innings against the Mets in his last start, Zimmermann is now 12-5 with a 2.83 ERA through 30 starts this season. He’s posted 10 straight quality starts and owns a 6-0 record, 2.16 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and nearly a strikeout per inning over that stretch. While he’s admitadely struggled with Miami this season, the whole landscape of their batting order changes with Giancarlo Stanton out of the lineup. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $9400 FD, $18950 DD, $11100 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $17800 FTD
- Jarred Cosart – Cosart has taken life in the National League quiet well, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.05 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in eight starts with the Marlins. He’s posted seven consecutive quality starts and pitched ver well against these Nationals as a member of the Astros earlier this season. However his strikeout rate of 5.86 K’s/9 is less than ideal and he’ll be hard pressed to pick up a “W” with Zimmermann on the opposing mound which definitely hurts his fantasy appeal. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7000 FD, $12750 DD, $7600 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $11150 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Washington
Ian Desmond – Desmond’s bat is heating up, as he owns a .375 average and 1.108 OPS over the last week. With 23 homeruns on the season he’s proven to have as much upside as just about any shortstop not named Tulowitzki in MLB this season. Jump on board before he cools off.
Additional Plays: Adam LaRoche, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon
Miami
Christian Yelich – While I’m expecting a nice outing from Zimmermann, a case can be made for Yelich tonight. He owns a very respectable .345 wOBA against right-handed pitching and is 5 for 11 off of Zimmermann in the past.
Additional Plays: Garrett Jones
Cincinnati at St. Louis
| Cincinnati | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Mike Leake | Vegas Moneyline | Michael Wacha | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-185) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.291 | 0.800 | 0.351 | 13.60% | SP vs. Left | 0.221 | 0.584 | 0.268 | 19.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.238 | 0.672 | 0.296 | 21.10% | SP vs. Right | 0.233 | 0.677 | 0.302 | 24.90% |
| Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Mike Leake – Mike Leake will head into Busch Stadium to take on the Cardinals for the fifth time this season, and he’s faired quiet well in against them so far. In those four games he owns a 2-1 record and 2.67 ERA. While he hasn’t been as sharp as he’d like to be lately, he’s a nice secondary play on multi-pitcher sites for those a bit less risk-adverse as his floor is fairly high while his modest strikeout numbers hold down his ceiling. With the Cardinals offense sputtering and lacking much raw power, he may be an even safer play today than usual. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7400 FD, $12850 DD, $7300 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $14150 FTD
- Michael Wacha – Wacha will once again rejoin the Cardinals rotation this evening with hopes the he’s fully healthy and that a few successful bullpen sessions have the mechanical flaws he showed in his last start. He’ll face a Reds team that owns the leagues worst wOBA since the All-Star break (.272) and have routinely thrown out AAA quality lineups over the last few weeks. He’s been dominant at Busch Stadium this season, posting a 5-0 record and 2.31 ERA in eight home starts. However, with question marks around his health/mechanics and the fact that he’ll be on a pitch count “north of 70” it’s probably wise to take a wait-and-see approach with him. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7600 FD, $15900 DD, $7800 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $17000 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
Devin Mesoraco – Mesoraco hasn’t done much at the plate recently, but he still owns a .396 wOBA against right-handed pitching and has the power that few catchers can match.
Additional Plays: Billy Hamilton, Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier
St. Louis
Matt Holliday – Holliday has put this team on his back down the stretch and carried them into the playoffs. He homered again last night and now owns a .927 OPS during the month of September. He’s also had plenty of success against Mike Leake int he past, going 13 for 33 with three doubles and a homerun.
Additional Plays:Matt Adams, Yadier Molina, Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong
San Francisco at San Diego
| San Francisco | San Diego | ||||||||
| Yusmeiro Petit | Vegas Moneyline | Andrew Cashner | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-107) | RIGHT | 6.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.750 | 0.323 | 20.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.239 | 0.672 | 0.293 | 20.10% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.196 | 0.510 | 0.224 | 35.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.223 | 0.555 | 0.249 | 16.20% |
| Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Yusmeiro Petit – Petit took his first loss since May 31st in his last start where he fought through seven innings against the Dodgers. He’s been effective for the Giants this year both as a starter and out of the bullpen as evidenced by his 3.64 ERA over 106.1 innings. His 10.76 K’s/9 since the All-Star break ranks him #2 in MLB among pitchers who have tossed at least 40 innings. He has a date with MLB’s weakest offense in MLB’s most pitcher friendly park, and he’s dominated the Padres when he’s faced them this season, so he’s a nice play in all formats. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $8100 FD, $10400 DD, $7100 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Andrew Cashner – Fresh off of a two-hit shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cashner will turn his attention to the San Francisco Giants tonight. Cashner has been dominant at Petco Park this season, posting a 1.34 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in ten home starts. He also owns a 2-1 record with a 1.85 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in five starts since returning from a shoulder injury. The only knock on Cashner here is his modest 6.69 K’s/9 but he’s still one of the top options on the board. Rating = 8
Salaries: $8500 FD, $13950 DD, $8200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $13000 FTD
Batter Grind Down
San Francisco and San Diego
I’m quite high on both of these pitchers and Vegas has set the O/U for this game at just 6 runs. I’ll be looking elsewhere.
Texas at LA Angels
| Texas | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Colby Lewis | Vegas Moneyline | Jered Weaver | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-200) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.327 | 0.886 | 0.385 | 15.40% | SP vs. Left | 0.251 | 0.705 | 0.314 | 19.60% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.264 | 0.764 | 0.332 | 19.90% | SP vs. Right | 0.205 | 0.623 | 0.278 | 17.50% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Colby Lewis – Lewis takes the mound sporting an ugly 10-13 record and 5.12 ERA, but he’s actually pitched rather well in each of his last two starts (one of which was against the Anaheim team). He’s pitched much better away from Texas this season, owning a 7-4 record and 3.82 ERA in his 12 road starts. His advanced stats (.341 BABIP and 4.29 xFIP) both indicate that he’s been slightly unlucky this season, but it’s hard to find much to like about him against MLB’s best team. Rating = 3.5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $11850 DD, $6200 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $10750 FTD
- Jered Weaver – With a couple extra days of rest under his belt, Weaver will take the mound tonight against MLB’s worst team this season, the Texas Rangers. Weaver made fairly easy work of them in both of their prior meetings (1-0 record, 1.80 ERA and 0.87 WHIP over 15 innings). He has also been excellent at Angels Stadium, where he’s posted a 9-4 record with a 2.60 ERA in 17 home starts. The Rangers own just a .296 team wOBA against right-handed pitching which further implants Weaver as a solid option in all formats tonight. Rating = 7
Salaries: $8100 FD, $16000 DD, $9000 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $14550 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Texas
I’m expecting a nice outing from Weaver and, aside from Adrian Beltre, there just isn’t much to like about this Texas offense.
LA Angels
Kole Calhoun – Lefties own a .385 wOBA off of Colby Lewis and Calhoun sports a .352 wOBA against right-handed pitching. He’s worn out Lewis in their prior meetings, going 6 for 10 with a pair of doubles, a triple and a homerun.
Additional Plays: Mike Trout, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar