MLB Grind Down: Sunday, June 22nd

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-06-22 17:21:36

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

Detroit at Cleveland

Detroit					Cleveland
Max Scherzer		Vegas Moneyline			Josh Tomlin		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		DET (-108)			RIGHT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.236	0.681	0.301	25.2%	SP vs. Left	0.266	0.763	0.333	18.8%
SP vs. Right	0.187	0.540	0.246	32.4%	SP vs. Right	0.252	0.680	0.298	19.1%
Batter Splits	DET BvP		DET vs R		Batter Splits	CLE BvP		CLE vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Max Scherzer – It has been an interesting stretch for Scherzer the last few weeks. He had a four game stretch of giving up four or more earned runs, came back to throw a CG against the Sox and then last start gave up 10 earned runs. Even with this, he has a 3.84 ERA on the season. He is always in play due to his 10.16 K/9, but due to consistency problems recently, I think he is GPP only. Rating = 7

Salaries: $9900 FD, $20797 DS, $17050 DD, $10200 DK, $109400 FF, $27300 SS, $17050 FTD

• Josh Tomlin – Tomlin has been decent on the season with a 3.86 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, but does not give us anything that really makes him a good fantasy starter. He has a tough matchup against the Tigers who have a lot of power bats and Tomlin has allowed 9 home runs in 8 starts. He does not strike out many batters and is not an option today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5000 FD, $11252 DS, $12050 DD, $6400 DK, $76700 FF, $19600 SS, $12050 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Detroit

Miguel Cabrera – Miggy continues to crush all types of pitching and is actually mashing RH pitching much better than LH this year. He has a .347 AVG and .579 SLG against righties and has hit 10 of his 12 home runs off of them.

Additional Plays: Alex Avila Austin Jackson Torii Hunter

Cleveland

Michael Brantley – Scherzer has given up a .301 wOBA to LH hitters this year and Brantley has huge upside for the Indians. Brantley is hitting RH pitching for a .335 AVG and .530 SLG.

Additional Plays: Asdrubal Cabrera

Toronto at Cincinnati

Toronto					Cincinnati
R.A. Dickey		Vegas Moneyline			Johnny Cueto		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		CIN (-118)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.252	0.748	0.333	17.4%	SP vs. Left	0.185	0.508	0.233	23.3%
SP vs. Right	0.233	0.689	0.311	19.7%	SP vs. Right	0.183	0.548	0.254	25.7%
Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs R		Batter Splits	CIN BvP		CIN vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• R.A. Dickey – Dickey has had his start pushed back to today due to a groin issue which is a bit concerning, but reports have said he was fine and it is just precautionary. Dickey comes into this matchup with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. His 7.17 K/9 gives him a bit of a fantasy boost, but he continues to put too many people on base to trust for cash games. Rating = 5

Salaries: $7300 FD, $12869 DS, $12900 DD, $7300 DK, $66900 FF, $18900 SS, $12900 FTD

• Johnny Cueto – After going at last 8 innings in his first 4 starts this year, Cueto has not gone 8 in the last 6 starts since. This really hurts his fantasy value along with the fact that he has also had some very low strike out performances as well. He still is giving up very few runs (1.92 ERA) or many base runners (.83 WHIP). This alone and the fact that we have seen his upside makes him a great GPP play, but it will be tough to spend the money on him against the Blue Jays today. Rating = 8

Salaries: $10000 FD, $21102 DS, $19300 DD, $10600 DK, $128000 FF, $30500 SS, $19300 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Toronto

With the high cost and Cueto’s .169 BAA, I will not be paying up for any Toronto bats today.

Cincinnati

Joey Votto – Over the last 3 years, Votto has hit RH pitching for a .325 AVG and .537 SLG. He has gotten on base in every game since returning from injury 11 games ago.

Additional Plays: Jay Bruce Brandon Phillips

NY Mets at Miami

NY Mets					Miami
Jonathon Niese		Vegas Moneyline			Anthony Desclafani		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		NYM (-105)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.242	0.629	0.286	18.0%	SP vs. Left	0.250	0.735	0.331	21.1%
SP vs. Right	0.274	0.717	0.323	16.8%	SP vs. Right	0.286	0.830	0.352	15.8%
Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs R		Batter Splits	MIA BvP		MIA vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jonathon Niese – Niese has been good for the Mets this year with a 2.67 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Due to playing for the Mets, he only has 3 wins on the year which really depresses his fantasy value on win dependent sites. Niese is an average strike out pitcher and does have a decent matchup against the Marlins today. Rating = 6

Salaries: $7300 FD, $15604 DS, $12950 DD, $7800 DK, $89000 FF, $20900 SS, $12950 FTD

• Anthony Desclafani – DeSclafani has struggled in his 3 starts this year and has a 5.60 ERA to show for it. He is going up against a poor offense of the Mets, but is still difficult to trust in any type of league. Rating = 3

Salaries: $5000 FD, $10797 DS, $9050 DD, $7000 DK, $68800 FF, $16200 SS, $9050 FTD

Batter Grind Down

NY Mets

David Wright – Wright has 7 hits and 2 home runs in the last seven days and it could lead to build some momentum for him at the plate. DeSclafani has given up a wOBA of .352 to RH batters this year.

Additional Plays: Curtis Granderson Daniel Murphy

Miami

Giancarlo Stanton – Any time Stanton gets a LH pitching matchup he is in play. He has mashed them for a .377 AVG and .717 SLG.

Atlanta at Washington

Atlanta					Washington
Ervin Santana		Vegas Moneyline			Tanner Roark		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		WAS (-128)			RIGHT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.267	0.736	0.327	16.8%	SP vs. Left	0.212	0.609	0.278	17.0%
SP vs. Right	0.224	0.628	0.282	22.5%	SP vs. Right	0.231	0.533	0.243	21.6%
Batter Splits	ATL BvP		ATL vs R		Batter Splits	WSN BvP		WSN vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Ervin Santana – Santana has really been bad lately and has given up 3 or more earned runs in 6 of his last 7 starts. He has allowed a .270 BAA which has resulted in a 4.12 ERA. At this point we need to avoid him until he shows us what he did at the beginning of the season. Rating = 3

Salaries: $8000 FD, $16161 DS, $13850 DD, $7900 DK, $76300 FF, $21300 SS, $13850 FTD

• Tanner Roark – Roark has been a good pitcher overall on the season with a 2.85 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. Where he has been exceptional though is at Nationals Park where he sports a 1.58 ERA. He has a 7.03 K/9 and gets a matchup against the strikeout happy Braves lineup. He makes a great cheap option today. Rating = 7*

Salaries: $6700 FD, $16456 DS, $15400 DD, $8500 DK, $124500 FF, $22800 SS, $15400 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Atlanta

Freddie Freeman – Freeman is swinging a hot bat right now with 13 hits in his last 7 games. He has 8 extra base hits during that span as well.

Washington

Adam LaRoche – Lefties are crushing Santana this year as he is giving up a .325 AVG to them. LaRoche is hitting very well this year with his .300 AVG and 8 home runs, all off of RH pitching.

Additional Plays: Jayson Werth Denard Span

Houston at Tampa Bay

Houston					Tampa Bay
Dallas Keuchel		Vegas Moneyline			Erik Bedard		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		TBR (-200)			LEFT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.253	0.665	0.302	28.2%	SP vs. Left	0.301	0.822	0.367	19.6%
SP vs. Right	0.278	0.752	0.335	16.0%	SP vs. Right	0.245	0.720	0.322	20.1%
Batter Splits	HOU BvP		HOU vs L		Batter Splits	TBR BvP		TBR vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Dallas Keuchel – Keuchel is coming off his worst start of the season, but continues to be the bright spot in the Astros rotation. He has a 2.63 ERA on the season with a 1.06 WHIP as well. He gets a great matchup today against Rays who are in the bottom third of the league in runs scored and team average against lefties. He makes a good option. Rating = 7

Salaries: $8100 FD, $17596 DS, $17600 DD, $9500 DK, $104200 FF, $26400 SS, $17600 FTD

• Erik Bedard – Bedard is never a good fantasy option regardless of opponent due to the fact that he rarely goes deep into games. In 12 starts this year, he has only gone 6 innings 3 times and has a number of starts where he didn’t make it into the 5th for the win. His offense behind him should struggle to score runs and you can safely avoid Bedards 1.46 WHIP and over 4 ERA today. Rating = 3

Salaries: $5000 FD, $11999 DS, $10950 DD, $6000 DK, $57000 FF, $13800 SS, $10950 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Houston

Jose Altuve – Altuve has mashed LH pitching this year for a .427 average and 1.002 OPS. He is on absolute fire right now as he is 11/19 in the last seven days.

Additional Plays: Matt Dominguez Dexter Fowler

Tampa Bay

Evan Longoria – He is still cheap at some sites and can always be good for a big game, especially faceing a LH pitcher on the mound.

MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2