MLB Grind Down: Sunday, July 13th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-07-13 15:41:53

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the MLB schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy baseball, there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, weather, and salaries.

The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. No sport has more variance than baseball. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.

Note: Any Fantasy Point Average Listed Uses FanDuel Scoring. For more info on FanDuel’s MLB Scoring System,check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland

Chicago White Sox					Cleveland
John Danks		Vegas Moneyline			Trevor Bauer		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		CLE (-158)			RIGHT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.278	0.787	0.346	11.3%	SP vs. Left	0.255	0.772	0.347	16.8%
SP vs. Right	0.263	0.770	0.340	17.2%	SP vs. Right	0.269	0.762	0.334	21.9%
Batter Splits	CHW BvP		CHW vs R		Batter Splits	CLE BvP		CLE vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• John Danks – Danks continues to be an average pitcher on the year. He brings his 4.15 ERA into a matchup with a lefty heavy Cleveland squad. Danks has struggled against Cleveland allowing 11 earned runs in 2 starts this year. He is allowing a batting average of .299 to the Cleveland starters and can be avoided today. Rating = 3

Salaries: $6300 FD, $11522 DS, $12800 DD, $7200 DK, $78200 FF, $18600 SS, $12800 FTD

• Trevor Bauer – Bauer has been pretty consistent at giving up 2-4 earned runs in each start. He does not go too deep into starts as he has gone only 7 innings in 1 of his 11 starts, but does have a decent K rate of 8.18. The White Sox strike out 3rd most in the league this year making Bauer a GPP option only.Rating = 5

Salaries: $5800 FD, $12135 DS, $12950 DD, $6800 DK, $78200 FF, $17400 SS, $12950 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

Jose Abreu – We get one more chance to play Abreu before the All-Star break and he has a nice matchup. Bauer is giving up a wOBA of .333 to RH batters and Abreu has 22 home runs against righties on the year.

Additional Plays: Adam Eaton Alexei Ramirez

Cleveland

Ryan Raburn – Raburn has really struggled on the year, but if he gets a start he is in play as a great, cheap GPP option. He has crushed Danks in his career for 14/39 with 3 home runs.

Additional Plays: Asdrubal Cabrera Jason Kipnis Carlos Santana Yan Gomes

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

Pittsburgh					Cincinnati
Francisco Liriano		Vegas Moneyline			Johnny Cueto		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		CIN (-150)			RIGHT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.188	0.503	0.230	26.5%	SP vs. Left	0.199	0.542	0.248	22.9%
SP vs. Right	0.243	0.683	0.309	23.8%	SP vs. Right	0.181	0.533	0.249	24.6%
Batter Splits	PIT BvP		PIT vs R		Batter Splits	CIN BvP		CIN vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Francisco Liriano – Today lefty Francisco Liriano takes on Johnny Cueto and the Cincinnati Reds. Lirano has struggled all year and is now returning to the mound after a month long stint on the DL. We may see a new, refreshed Lirano, but I would wait to see him pitch again first. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6700 FD, $13850 DS, $12050 DD, $7800 DK, $74200 FF, $21500 SS, $12050 FTD

• Johnny Cueto – Cueto had been absolutely rolling along all year long, but has struggled a bit recently against the terrible offenses of the Cubs and Padres. He has given up 5 earned runs in these starts and will look to bounce back today against the Pirates. Cueto has a 1.72 ERA at home and will look to continue his dominance today. He is a top option on the slate depending on price. Rating = 8

Salaries: $10200 FD, $23502 DS, $18600 DD, $10800 DK, $135700 FF, $30800 SS, $18600 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Pittsburgh

I will be avoiding all the Pirates bats today with Cueto on the mound.

Cincinnati

Devin Mesoraco – Mesoraco has been a great catcher play against LH pitching all season. He is batting .300 against lefties with a SLG of .500.

Additional Plays: Ryan Ludwick Todd Frazier

Miami at NY Mets

Miami					NY Mets
Brad Hand		Vegas Moneyline			Jacob Degrom		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		NYM (-140)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.219	0.624	0.282	19.5%	SP vs. Left	0.233	0.681	0.312	22.9%
SP vs. Right	0.273	0.802	0.359	15.7%	SP vs. Right	0.277	0.724	0.324	22.7%
Batter Splits	MIA BvP		MIA vs R		Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Brad Hand – Hand is a recent bullpen guy who is now starting for Miami due to injuries. He is on a short leash and will most likely not pitch past the 6th inning. He has a 5.09 ERA on the year with a very high 1.73 WHIP. He can safely be avoided. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5100 FD, $13702 DS, $8650 DD, $5500 DK, $59400 FF, $13300 SS, $NA FTD

• Jacob Degrom – DeGrom has actually pitched pretty well in his 11 starts this year. He is coming off by far his best start of the year going 7 innings, with 11 strikeouts against the Braves. He holds a 3.38 ERA so far and takes on a Miami squad that strikes out the most in the league. DeGrom makes a good GPP play today. Rating = 6

Salaries: $7300 FD, $16953 DS, $13750 DD, $7500 DK, $104800 FF, $21400 SS, $13750 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Miami

Christian Yelich – Yelich will be leading off against Degrom today and bringing his wOBA of .347 into the matchup. He is hitting well recently with 9 hits in his last 26 at bats (.346 AVG).

Additional Plays: Garrett Jones

NY Mets

David Wright – Wright is a top 3rd basemen play today as he takes on Hand. Hand is allowing a wOBA of .405 to RH batters on the year and Wright is crushing lefties for a .400+ average.

Additional Plays: Daniel Murphy Travis d’Arnaud

Washington at Philadelphia

Washington					Philadelphia
Tanner Roark		Vegas Moneyline			Kyle Kendrick		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		WAS (-132)			RIGHT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.234	0.644	0.292	15.8%	SP vs. Left	0.277	0.764	0.339	14.7%
SP vs. Right	0.231	0.536	0.243	21.1%	SP vs. Right	0.285	0.720	0.329	13.3%
Batter Splits	WSN BvP		WSN vs R		Batter Splits	PHI BvP		PHI vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tanner Roark – Roark has pitched very well for the Nationals this year. He has a 3.12 ERA and 1.17 WHIP and takes on a Phillies squad who is terrible against RH pitching with a team wOBA of .288 (29th in the league). The problem with Roark is he is a much better pitcher at home where is ERA is 2.02 compared to 4.44 on the road. This depresses his fantasy value a bit today, but still is in play due to the matchup. Rating = 6

Salaries: $6600 FD, $14225 DS, $14600 DD, $7700 DK, $88200 FF, $20800 SS, $14600 FTD

• Kyle Kendrick – Kendrick has been a pitcher I have really like to target batters against on the year. He has a 4.46 ERA on the year and is getting crushed by lefty bats this year for a wOBA of .403. He is an easy avoid today. Rating = 3*

Salaries: $5800 FD, $10333 DS, $11000 DD, $6700 DK, $55700 FF, $16100 SS, $11000 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Washington

Adam LaRoche – LaRoche has a SLG of .528 against RH pitching and should be able to take advantage of Kendrick who allows lefties to hit him very well. (.335 AVG, .546 SLG).

Additional Plays: Ian Desmond Bryce Harper Denard Span

Philadelphia

Chase Utley – Utley is starting to heat up before the break making him a good play against Roark today. Utley is hitting RH pitcher for over .300 and is 10/24 with 2 home runs in his last 7 games.

Additional Plays: Ryan Howard

Toronto at Tampa Bay

Toronto					Tampa Bay
R.A. Dickey		Vegas Moneyline			David Price		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		TBR (-162)			LEFT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.250	0.739	0.330	17.8%	SP vs. Left	0.217	0.569	0.258	23.9%
SP vs. Right	0.232	0.697	0.312	20.1%	SP vs. Right	0.259	0.690	0.303	23.6%
Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs L		Batter Splits	TBR BvP		TBR vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• R.A. Dickey – Dickey comes into this matchup coming off a very strong performance against the Angels (7 innings, 0 earned runs). He has a 3.86 ERA of the year, with a 1.32 WHIP. He has a great matchup against the Rays who are 24th in the league in runs scored and have struggled to hit Dickey over the last 3 years. I could never trust him in cash games, but he is a good GPP play today. Rating = 5

Salaries: $7800 FD, $15416 DS, $13950 DD, $7800 DK, $84500 FF, $22400 SS, $13950 FTD

• David Price – Price’s start was pushed back due to illness, so if hopefully will not effect his start today either. Price is a good option due to the fact that the Rays allow him to pitch so deep into games. He has gone at least 8 innings in 5 of his last 6 starts and brings a good 3.42 ERA and 1.09 WHIP into the game today. Due to his matchup against the Blue Jays, he is a bit tough to pay up for, but could easily come through. Rating = 7

Salaries: $10700 FD, $25158 DS, $21250 DD, $12100 DK, $147700 FF, $32100 SS, $21250 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Toronto

Jose Bautista – He may be the BvP play of the day. He is 14/41, with 5 home runs against Price.

Additional Plays: Melky Cabrera

Tampa Bay

Matt Joyce – Any time Joyce gets a RH pitcher he is in play. He should be batting in the 3 spot and continues to hit righties well this year. He has a great matchup against Dickey who he has a couple bombs in his career against.

Additional Plays: Kevin Kiermaier Evan Longoria

MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2

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