MLB Grind Down: Sunday, June 15th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-06-15 14:41:37

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

Minnesota at Detroit

Minnesota					Detroit
Ricky Nolasco		Vegas Moneyline			Rick Porcello		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		DET (-156)			RIGHT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.274	0.764	0.341	17.6%	SP vs. Left	0.291	0.786	0.350	14.8%
SP vs. Right	0.269	0.708	0.315	20.1%	SP vs. Right	0.248	0.640	0.283	22.2%
Batter Splits	MIN BvP		MIN vs R		Batter Splits	DET BvP		DET vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Ricky Nolasco – Nolasco has not been good all year for the Twins and has a very tough matchup against the Tigers today. He holds a 5.70 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP, while giving up 3 or more runs in 9 of his 10 starts. Nolasco makes a good stack against and should be avoided in all leagues. Rating = 2

Salaries: $5400 FD, $9259 DS, $10000 DD, $5900 DK, $66700 FF, $14600 SS, $10000 FTD

• Rick Porcello – Porcello has been struggling a bit as of late as he has given up 17 earned runs in his last 4 starts. This has given him a 4.04 ERA on the season, but had been pitching well prior to this streak. Porcello has never been a strikeout pitcher and his low K/9 of 5.83 on the season does not add to his value. He is a heavy favorite and should get the win today, but will most likely give up a few earned runs of his own in the process. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6900 FD, $14365 DS, $14700 DD, $7400 DK, $72000 FF, $18600 SS, $14700 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Minnesota

Josh Willingham – Willingham has had Porcello’s number in his career hitting 7/18 with 2 home runs.

Additional Plays: Joe Mauer

Detroit

*“Miguel Cabrera(player-profile)”:/players/Miguel_Cabrera-10323*– Most of the bats are in play today against Nolasco and Cabrera is the biggest of them all. Nolasco is allowing RH batters to hit over .300 and has given up 13 home runs overall on the season. Miggy should be able to continue his hot streak, as he his hitting .417 in the last 7 days.

Additional Plays: Victor Martinez Ian Kinsler Torii Hunter

San Diego at NY Mets

San Diego					NY Mets
Ian Kennedy		Vegas Moneyline			Daisuke Matsuzaka		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		SDP (-128)			RIGHT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.248	0.753	0.333	24.1%	SP vs. Left	0.197	0.626	0.297	24.5%
SP vs. Right	0.256	0.712	0.326	20.5%	SP vs. Right	0.186	0.582	0.296	18.6%
Batter Splits	SDP BvP		SDP vs R		Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Ian Kennedy – Kennedy is coming off a 5 earned run performance against the Phillies, but had been pitching well in his previous starts. He has a 3.83 ERA and a career high 9.45 K/9. The strikeout potential makes a great GPP play especially at sites where his price continues to be low. His matchup and park are in his favor as the Mets are in the bottom third of the league in both runs scored and team average. Rating = 7

Salaries: $6800 FD, $18397 DS, $17200 DD, $9100 DK, $104200 FF, $25300 SS, $17200 FTD

• Daisuke Matsuzaka – Daisuke has had three starts this year and has given up a total of 7 earned runs in 16.1 innings. He has only hit the 100 pitch mark in one of those outings and has walked 9 batters in them as well. He is tough to trust, even against the punch less Padres today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $4600 FD, $15325 DS, $11050 DD, $6900 DK, $44500 FF, $15200 SS, $ FTD

Batter Grind Down

San Diego

Seth Smith – Although Daisuke has held batters to a .154 average, the last three years of his career he was allowing lefties to SLG .475 against him. Smith continues to hit RH pitching well for an OBP of .922.

Additional Plays: Will Venable Chase Headley

NY Mets

David Wright – Kennedy is giving up a .326 wOBA to RH bats and Wright’s salary is extremely low due due to recent struggles. He could make a decent GPP play as few people will be on him due to the matchup and recent history.

Pittsburgh at Miami

Pittsburgh					Miami
Vance Worley		Vegas Moneyline			Henderson Alvarez		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		MIA (-145)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.368	0.997	0.441	14.2%	SP vs. Left	0.272	0.707	0.317	13.7%
SP vs. Right	0.396	0.985	0.434	6.5%	SP vs. Right	0.240	0.587	0.272	14.8%
Batter Splits	PIT BvP		PIT vs R		Batter Splits	MIA BvP		MIA vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Vance Worley – Worley is getting called up for the Pirates today and is coming off the worst season of his career. He had a 7.21 ERA and a 1-5 record in Minnesota and has not been fairing much better in Triple-A this year. He has a 4.30 record for his triple-A club and should be avoided this afternoon. Rating = 2

Salaries: $ FD, $11464 DS, $NA DD, $NA DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD

• Henderson Alvarez – Alvarez has only allowed 1 earned runs in his last 4 starts for the Marlins. He sports a 2.56 ERA, but also a low 5.56 K/9. This Pirates team’s bats are heating up a bit and the fact that Alvarez has averaged 73 pitches in his last 3 starts, makes him a GPP option only. Rating = 5

Salaries: $7100 FD, $14454 DS, $13550 DD, $7300 DK, $91400 FF, $19000 SS, $13550 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Pittsburgh

Gregory Polanco – McCutchen is in play as well, but with how low of a salary you are going to get Polanco for at most sites, he makes for a great start today. Buy low on this kid now, as we will only see his salary rise.

Additional Plays: Andrew McCutchen Starling Marte

Miami

Giancarlo Stanton – Last year, Worley was crushed by hitters from both sides of the plate. Stanton has as much upside as anyone in the league and if Worley struggles early, Stanton should be in the middle of it.

Additional Plays: Garrett Jones Casey McGehee

Toronto at Baltimore

Toronto					Baltimore
J.A. Happ		Vegas Moneyline			Chris Tillman		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		BAL (-116)			RIGHT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.288	0.799	0.356	19.5%	SP vs. Left	0.259	0.750	0.334	18.6%
SP vs. Right	0.251	0.750	0.333	17.9%	SP vs. Right	0.234	0.721	0.318	21.6%
Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs R		Batter Splits	BAL BvP		BAL vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• J.A. Happ – Happ brings his 4.37 ERA and 1.61 WHIP into a matchup against the Baltimore Orioles. This game has the highest Over/Under of the day and Happ has struggled in a few matchups against this Orioles squad. They have hit .292 against him in 72 at bats, which makes Happ an easy avoid today. Rating = 3

Salaries: $5900 FD, $10727 DS, $10950 DD, $6300 DK, $76000 FF, $14100 SS, $10950 FTD

• Chris Tillman – Tillman has been extremely inconsistent on the season. He has had 3 good starts mixed in with 7 bad starts giving him a 4.91 ERA this year. Tillman faced this Blue Jays team in the first game of the season and was lit up for 7 earned runs. Due to the matchup and the possibility of a blow up, Tillman in unplayable today. Rating = 3

Salaries: $6100 FD, $10298 DS, $10700 DD, $5800 DK, $65800 FF, $13700 SS, $10700 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Toronto

Jose Bautista – Joey Bats has a good history against Tillman as he is 7/22 with 2 home runs. Bautista has hit RH pitching well this year for a .281 Average and .461 SLG.

Additional Plays: Jose Reyes Edwin Encarnacion Melky Cabrera

Baltimore

Adam Jones – Jones against a subpar LH pitcher is almost automatic these days. He is batting .418 with a ridiculous .731 SLG and 1.204 OBP against them. His price is still reasonable and makes a great cash and GPP play today.

Additional Plays: Nelson Cruz Manny Machado Chris Davis

Cleveland at Boston

Cleveland					Boston
Corey Kluber		Vegas Moneyline			Brandon Workman		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		CLE (-105)			RIGHT		8.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.269	0.732	0.327	24.0%	SP vs. Left	0.236	0.642	0.287	22.7%
SP vs. Right	0.262	0.664	0.299	24.3%	SP vs. Right	0.240	0.670	0.303	24.1%
Batter Splits	CLE BvP		CLE vs R		Batter Splits	BOS BvP		BOS vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Corey Kluber – After a very good 4 start stretch, Kluber has hit a rough patch in his last two games. He has 7 earned runs and only 9 strike outs, but could be due to a good Boston offense and a low strikeout offense of the Royals. The problem here is he has to face the Red Sox again, which makes his recent price rise hard to pay up for. He has very good strike out potential (10.25 K/9), which always makes him a good GPP play, but the matchup/price depress his value a bit today. Rating = 5

Salaries: $8500 FD, $18856 DS, $18850 DD, $8800 DK, $115500 FF, $27500 SS, $18850 FTD

• Brandon Workman – Workman has been solid for the Red Sox in his 4 starts this season. The problem with Workman is he does not make for a good fantasy play as he does not pitch deep into games. He was pulled in his last start after only 67 pitches and has never pitched over 90 in any of his starts. This alone makes him a very risky fantasy option even with his 2.86 ERA and sub 1.00 WHIP. Rating = 4*

Salaries: $4600 FD, $9866 DS, $10050 DD, $6300 DK, $65100 FF, $14900 SS, $ FTD

Batter Grind Down

Cleveland

Lonnie Chisenhall – Chisenhall has a 1.005 OBP against RH ptichers and a .364 AVG as well. We have seen that his HRs can come in bunches and he could get a hold of one against a young pitcher today.

Additional Plays: Michael Brantley Asdrubal Cabrera

Boston

David Ortiz – Ortiz is a great buy low candidate today as his price has depressed due to recent struggles. Over the last 3 years, Ortiz has raked RH pitching for over .300 and a .601 SLG. He makes a good GPP play as he could get a hold of one on any day.

Additional Plays: Grady Sizemore

MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2