You must be a member to view this Article.

MLB Grind Down: Sunday, June 26th

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down will give you an in-depth analysis into the upcoming 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: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Minnesota at NY Yankees – 1:05 PM ET

Minnesota NY Yankees
minnesotamlb Tyler Duffey nyyankeesmlb Nathan Eovaldi
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
NYY -220 9.5
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.322 4 23.5% 6.4% SP vs. Left 0.356 10 18.4% 8.7%
SP vs. Right 0.355 11 16.7% 6.8% SP vs. Right 0.296 13 19.1% 5.4%

Pitcher Grind Down

Tyler Duffey
tyler-duffey-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $5,200 Salary: $4,000
FPPG: 20.6 FPPG: 9.2
Pitcher Rating: 41.3 Pitcher Rank: 25
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 90.7 4.28 9.10 16.6% 5.5% 7.5% 44.6% 26.8% 36.3%
2016 11 94.0 4.12 6.18 18.0% 5.1% 7.9% 45.6% 30.1% 33.2%
2015 10 90.8 3.83 3.10 21.9% 8.3% 9.8% 49.7% 30.9% 26.6%

Tyler Duffey: It has been a rough road for Duffey, who is getting hit hard pretty routinely, and the numbers show it. He does not walk a ton of guys, but also has a less than ideal strikeout rate, making him someone we can fade today without issue.

Nathan Eovaldi
nathan-eovaldi-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $7,600 Salary: $5,200
FPPG: 27.8 FPPG: 13.5
Pitcher Rating: 68.8 Pitcher Rank: 6
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 94.8 4.50 5.91 17.1% 7.5% 8.6% 46.8% 31.2% 36.4%
2016 14 96.7 3.87 5.02 20.3% 6.1% 8.8% 51.2% 30.2% 33.2%
2015 27 97.7 3.99 4.20 18.0% 7.3% 8.7% 52.2% 26.0% 28.0%

Nathan Eovaldi: If it were not for the fact that he is facing the Twins, Eovaldi would not be someone we are considering today as a secondary option. Even though there are some top-tier pitchers going today, we do not exactly have the greatest pitchers pool when it comes to second and third pitchers on multiple-pitcher sites. Eovaldi should be able to handle this right-handed heavy lineup, and while the upside is not tremendous, his price makes up for that some.

Batter Grind Down

Minnesota

Twins: They rank in the bottom third of most offensive categories and are a team that by now you should know we can target with pitching. Eovaldi does have a weakness with left-handed hitters so Robbie Grossman and Max Kepler should be on your radar but outside of that I do not want much exposure here.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Eduardo Nunez RIGHT 0.339 0.117 0.259 SS $3,300 3B/SS $4,800
2 Robbie Grossman SWITCH 0.355 0.211 0.348 OF $2,900 OF $3,600
3 Joe Mauer LEFT 0.324 0.117 0.268 1B $2,800 1B $3,700
4 Brian Dozier RIGHT 0.314 0.188 0.415 2B $3,400 2B $4,700
5 Trevor Plouffe RIGHT 0.305 0.175 0.275 3B $2,600 3B $3,700
6 Byung-Ho Park RIGHT 0.308 0.232 0.161 1B $2,800 1B $3,300
7 Max Kepler LEFT 0.344 0.211 0.377 OF $3,100 OF $3,200
8 Kurt Suzuki RIGHT 0.270 0.081 0.484 C $2,500 C $3,100
9 Byron Buxton RIGHT 0.289 0.156 0.205 OF $2,900 OF $3,800
Team Averages 0.316 0.165 0.310

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – Robbie Grossman , Max Kepler

Stackability – None

NY Yankees

Yankees: Duffey has allowed a high wOBA to both left and right-handed hitters, but we should expect to see the lefty-heavy lineup that will get to him here today. Although they are not exactly tearing the cover off the ball, this Yankees squad is one that should put up some runs today and Carlos Beltran continues to be the most consistent fantasy player on the team.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Jacoby Ellsbury LEFT 0.312 0.110 0.238 OF $3,400 OF $4,200
2 Brett Gardner LEFT 0.337 0.147 0.336 OF $3,600 OF $4,100
3 Carlos Beltran SWITCH 0.359 0.219 0.401 OF $3,800 OF $5,200
4 Alex Rodriguez RIGHT 0.329 0.206 0.226 3B $3,400 1B/3B $4,000
5 Mark Teixeira SWITCH 0.347 0.270 1B $2,400 1B $3,100
6 Brian McCann LEFT 0.326 0.208 0.342 C $3,100 C $4,200
7 Starlin Castro RIGHT 0.290 0.133 0.267 2B $2,900 2B $3,700
8 Chase Headley SWITCH 0.305 0.109 0.402 3B $2,900 3B $3,400
9 Didi Gregorius LEFT 0.306 0.127 0.450 SS $2,900 SS $4,300
Team Averages 0.323 0.170 0.333

Elite Plays – Carlos Beltran

Secondary Plays – Brett Gardner , Brian McCann , Alex Rodriguez

Stackability – None

Cleveland at Detroit – 1:08 PM ET

Cleveland Detroit
clevelandmlb Josh Tomlin detroitmlb Justin Verlander
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
DET -135 8.5
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.244 11 17.1% 1.9% SP vs. Left 0.267 11 23.3% 6.6%
SP vs. Right 0.337 17 20.4% 3.1% SP vs. Right 0.295 14 22.7% 5.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Josh Tomlin
josh-tomlin-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $8,500 Salary: $8,900
FPPG: 31.5 FPPG: 15.9
Pitcher Rating: 49.5 Pitcher Rank: 18
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 95.3 4.26 3.05 14.5% 1.3% 6.6% 43.5% 35.1% 33.1%
2016 13 91.2 4.23 3.32 16.0% 2.1% 6.8% 41.5% 38.1% 36.1%
2015 10 94.9 3.46 3.02 22.7% 3.2% 9.4% 37.5% 46.2% 33.2%

Josh Tomlin: While Tomlin is a pretty solid real-life pitcher, I do not think it translates all that well to fantasy necessarily. We have seen him pitch very well in June and this will be the third time facing a Tigers squad that he has handled pretty well. This is a pitcher you can use as a fringe secondary option or tournament play, but not in cash games.

Justin Verlander
justin-verlander-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $9,300 Salary: $10,700
FPPG: 37.6 FPPG: 20.6
Pitcher Rating: 77.4 Pitcher Rank: 5
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 107.2 3.40 2.72 25.5% 3.6% 11.5% 33.9% 46.4% 26.1%
2016 15 107.3 3.67 3.78 25.4% 6.5% 11.4% 35.1% 46.8% 27.5%
2015 20 107.5 3.95 3.37 21.1% 6.0% 10.0% 34.6% 45.5% 23.0%

Justin Verlander: Verlander has been great ever since his last outing with Cleveland in which he gave up seven runs in just five innings. On one hand it would be easy to say he has turned the corner, but when a team rocks a pitcher like that you have to at least pay attention to it. The strikeout rate and hard hit percentages are exactly where we want them, but you will have to pay for Verlander, and as such, I expect him to hold a lower ownership making him a fantastic tournament starter.

Batter Grind Down

Cleveland

Indians: The Indians continue to be a team that fly under the radar by most in terms of fantasy production. With Verlander on the hill for Detroit, I would be surprised to see any of these guys with a high percentage of ownership, and that makes them dangerous in tournaments. Loading up might not be the best strategy, but some exposure is probably warranted the way they have played.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Carlos Santana SWITCH 0.344 0.223 0.410 1B $4,000 1B $3,700
2 Jason Kipnis LEFT 0.376 0.176 0.351 2B $3,800 2B $3,800
3 Francisco Lindor SWITCH 0.347 0.152 0.389 SS $3,900 SS $3,600
4 Mike Napoli RIGHT 0.292 0.175 0.271 1B $3,100 1B $2,700
5 Jose Ramirez SWITCH 0.317 0.142 0.284 P $4,000 3B/OF $3,100
6 Juan Uribe RIGHT 0.303 0.147 0.400 3B $2,800 3B $2,400
7 Lonnie Chisenhall LEFT 0.299 0.128 0.290 OF $3,300 OF $2,500
8 Yan Gomes RIGHT 0.265 0.175 0.244 C $2,600 C $2,500
9 Tyler Naquin LEFT 0.386 0.221 0.432 OF $3,100 OF $2,800
Team Averages 0.325 0.171 0.341

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – Carlos Santana , Jason Kipnis , Francisco Lindor

Stackability – None

Detroit

Tigers: This game is very interesting in that both of these pitchers are capable of shutting down these lineups, but the exact opposite is true as well. The Tigers have been pretty good on offense, ranking in the top third of the league in both wOBA and ISO with Miggy leading the way in the three hole.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Ian Kinsler RIGHT 0.338 0.151 0.320 2B $3,600 2B $4,200
2 Cameron Maybin RIGHT 0.305 0.082 0.231 OF $3,100 OF $3,800
3 Miguel Cabrera RIGHT 0.420 0.227 0.425 1B $3,900 1B $4,100
4 Victor Martinez SWITCH 0.297 0.145 0.318 C $3,100 1B $3,300
5 Nick Castellanos RIGHT 0.313 0.167 0.306 3B $3,400 3B $3,500
6 Justin Upton RIGHT 0.338 0.201 0.381 OF $3,000 OF $4,100
7 Steven Moya LEFT 0.365 0.257 0.516 OF $2,700 OF $2,400
8 Jarrod Saltalamacchia SWITCH 0.317 0.210 0.261 C $2,100 C $3,100
9 Jose Iglesias RIGHT 0.292 0.059 0.380 SS $2,600 SS $2,900
Team Averages 0.332 0.167 0.349

Elite Plays – Miguel Cabrera

Secondary Plays – Ian Kinsler , Justin Upton , Steven Moya

Stackability – None

Chicago Cubs at Miami – 1:10 PM ET

Chicago Cubs Miami
cubsmlb Jason Hammel miamimlb Jose Fernandez
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
MIA -155 6.5
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.311 10 22.4% 9.3% SP vs. Left 0.320 6 27.4% 8.9%
SP vs. Right 0.287 21 23.6% 3.9% SP vs. Right 0.206 3 39.6% 4.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Jason Hammel
jason-hammel-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $8,400 Salary: $7,600
FPPG: 28.8 FPPG: 15.2
Pitcher Rating: 66.7 Pitcher Rank: 9
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 6 81.5 4.33 2.86 17.9% 5.2% 10.0% 41.4% 40.4% 33.7%
2016 14 87.6 4.21 2.55 20.6% 7.7% 10.0% 44.4% 36.3% 29.3%
2015 31 88.7 3.45 3.74 24.2% 5.6% 10.9% 38.3% 37.2% 32.9%

Jason Hammel: Cubs pitching, for the most part this season, has been absolutely fantastic and it gets lost behind the fact that the offense is so good most of the time. Hammel is a guy I like a lot as a secondary option on DK specifically because of his price and the win being something we worry less about. He is coming off of a poor outing against the Cardinals, but look for a solid bounce back against a Miami squad that we can target with solid pitching.

Jose Fernandez
jose-fernandez-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $10,900 Salary: $13,100
FPPG: 48.4 FPPG: 27.4
Pitcher Rating: 96.5 Pitcher Rank: 2
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 5 96.6 1.90 1.32 38.2% 2.4% 14.5% 45.7% 34.3% 33.3%
2016 14 100.0 2.58 2.36 36.8% 7.9% 14.5% 41.7% 31.7% 33.5%
2015 11 90.2 2.77 2.92 29.8% 5.3% 13.3% 40.1% 31.1% 29.4%

Jose Fernandez: It will be very interesting to see how people treat Fernandez today with Kershaw also on the board and a Cubs team in town that can hit just about anyone. When a guy flashes a 36.8% strikeout rate you have to pay attention, and in my mind, if he is going to be skipped over for Kershaw then we need to grab a healthy amount of exposure to Jose, who has plenty of upside and is pitching deeper into games now.

Batter Grind Down

Chicago Cubs

Cubs: For as good as this offense is they do strike out a lot and that worries me a bit. With Fernandez on the hill, this is not a place I am looking to load up on bats and you want to choose them sparingly. The one good thing about facing an elite pitcher is you are able to roster them at some of their cheapest prices in quite some time.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Jason Heyward LEFT 0.337 0.146 0.330 OF $2,200 OF $2,500
2 Kris Bryant RIGHT 0.374 0.216 0.342 3B $2,500 3B/OF $3,500
3 Anthony Rizzo LEFT 0.397 0.268 0.508 1B $2,800 1B $3,900
4 Ben Zobrist SWITCH 0.348 0.171 0.288 2B $2,400 2B $3,000
5 Willson Contreras RIGHT 0.804 1.000 0.650 C $2,100 C $3,600
6 Chris Coghlan LEFT 0.324 0.189 0.344 OF $2,400 2B/OF $2,100
7 Addison Russell RIGHT 0.326 0.151 0.395 SS $2,200 SS $2,600
8 Javier Baez RIGHT 0.271 0.132 0.319 SS $2,200 3B/SS $2,600
9 Jason Hammel RIGHT 0.185 0.038 0.146 P $8,400 P $7,600
Team Averages 0.374 0.257 0.369

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – Anthony Rizzo , Willson Contreras , Kris Bryant

Stackability – None

Miami

Marlins: Miami is the reverse of Chicago in that they cannot hit as well but do not strikeout a ton. This is a less than stellar lineup that really should be avoided on most full slates such as this but you still have some options in guys like Bour and Yelich who are a bit under rated.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Ichiro Suzuki LEFT 0.266 0.036 0.449 OF $2,800 OF $3,600
2 Martin Prado RIGHT 0.311 0.096 0.401 3B $2,900 3B $3,400
3 Christian Yelich LEFT 0.367 0.153 0.343 OF $3,500 OF $4,000
4 Marcell Ozuna RIGHT 0.311 0.147 0.467 OF $3,500 OF $4,800
5 Giancarlo Stanton RIGHT 0.344 0.249 0.297 OF $3,500 OF $3,700
6 Justin Bour LEFT 0.363 0.254 0.535 1B $3,400 1B $4,000
7 J.T. Realmuto RIGHT 0.311 0.129 0.379 C $3,000 C $3,500
8 Adeiny Hechavarria RIGHT 0.273 0.083 0.267 SS $2,300 SS $2,700
9 Jason Hammel RIGHT 0.185 0.038 0.146 P $8,400 P $7,600
Team Averages 0.303 0.132 0.365

Elite Plays – None

Secondary Plays – Christian Yelich , Justin Bour , Marcell Ozuna , Giancarlo Stanton

Stackability – None

San Diego at Cincinnati – 1:10 PM ET

San Diego Cincinnati
sandiegomlb Luis Perdomo cincinnatimlb Anthony DeSclafani
RIGHT RIGHT
Vegas Moneyline Vegas Over/Under
CIN -135 10.0
Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB% Stats wOBA HR All. K% BB%
SP vs. Left 0.398 6 12.9% 7.8% SP vs. Left 0.347 14 18.6% 9.4%
SP vs. Right 0.438 3 22.6% 11.3% SP vs. Right 0.302 5 19.1% 4.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Luis Perdomo
luis-perdomo-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $6,700 Salary: $4,000
FPPG: 7.7 FPPG: 2.2
Pitcher Rating: 48.5 Pitcher Rank: 20
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 3 162.0 3.25 8.89 22.1% 7.1% 12.8% 61.4% 20.5% 30.7%
2016 4 222.3 4.08 9.00 17.9% 9.6% 10.6% 56.2% 21.3% 32.9%

Luis Perdomo: If you just look at his ERA, then he is a guy who you would want to completely avoid today. The thing is, he has given up some timely home runs and actually offers a decent strikeout rate. I would not go near him in cash, but at this price you can pair him with one of the top tier arms and still get plenty of bats, making him a tournament worthy play. Just understand the risk that comes with it too.

Anthony DeSclafani
anthony-desclafani-300x200 FanDuel DraftKings
Salary: $6,500 Salary: $8,100
FPPG: 25.7 FPPG: 11.7
Pitcher Rating: 49.4 Pitcher Rank: 19
Statistics Starts PitchPS SIERA ERA K% BB% SS% GB% FB% HH%
L30 Days 3 94.7 5.18 2.30 14.3% 10.0% 9.5% 44.0% 28.0% 26.9%
2016 3 94.7 5.17 2.30 14.3% 10.0% 9.5% 44.0% 28.0% 26.9%
2015 31 94.0 4.08 4.05 19.2% 7.0% 9.5% 45.1% 33.6% 31.4%

Anthony DeSclafani: Everyone knows that you can attack the Padres with right handed pitching but there is no way I am doing it with DeSclafani in Great American Ballpark at his price point. The walks are happening too often and the strikeouts are not taking him off the board for me even in a high risk gpp lineup.

Batter Grind Down

San Diego

Padres: Even with the recent signs of life in the San Diego offense, they still rank near the bottom of the league against righties, so we probably do not want to get too crazy here. Wil Myers continues to hit the ball hard and is priced to the point where most do not want to go. I believe they will put up some runs, but at the same time do not trust that many bats.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Travis Jankowski LEFT 0.292 0.117 0.303 OF $2,700 OF $3,200
2 Wil Myers RIGHT 0.339 0.215 0.393 1B $4,400 1B $5,300
3 Matt Kemp RIGHT 0.305 0.168 0.431 OF $3,800 OF $4,200
4 Yangervis Solarte SWITCH 0.327 0.158 0.185 3B $2,700 2B/3B $3,400
5 Melvin Upton RIGHT 0.299 0.140 0.375 OF $3,300 OF $4,900
6 Derek Norris RIGHT 0.286 0.156 0.307 C $3,500 C $3,600
7 Alexei Ramirez RIGHT 0.265 0.102 0.242 SS $2,700 SS $2,600
8 Ryan Schimpf LEFT 0.284 0.125 0.269 3B $2,200 2B/3B $2,000
9 Luis Perdomo RIGHT 0.176 0.000 0.585 P $6,700 P $4,000
Team Averages 0.286 0.131 0.343

Elite Plays – Wil Myers

Secondary Plays – Travis Jankowski , Matt Kemp , Melvin Upton

Stackability – None

Cincinnati

Reds: The Reds are sneaky in that they do not consistently hit and then all the sudden lay a big number on a team with the power early in the lineup. I like Perdomo a lot at his price point,but he is a bit susceptible to the long ball, making guys like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Adam Duvall attractive here.

Projected Lineup

# Player Bats wOBA vs. RHP ISO vs. RHP wOBA L14 FD Position FD Salary DK Position DK Salary
1 Zack Cozart RIGHT 0.323 0.191 0.295 SS $3,800 SS $5,000
2 Joey Votto LEFT 0.407 0.227 0.388 1B $3,400 1B $4,900
3 Brandon Phillips RIGHT 0.309 0.115 0.234 2B $3,000 2B $3,800
4 Jay Bruce LEFT 0.337 0.261 0.399 OF $3,900 OF $5,400
5 Adam Duvall RIGHT 0.370 0.357 0.316 OF $3,600 OF $5,600
6 Eugenio Suarez RIGHT 0.301 0.161 0.292 3B $3,100 3B $4,400
7 Billy Hamilton SWITCH 0.253 0.061 0.125 OF $2,800 OF $4,400
8 Tucker Barnhart SWITCH 0.285 0.083 0.214 C $2,200 C $2,800
9 Anthony DeSclafani RIGHT 0.156 0.020 0.000 P $6,500 P $8,100
Team Averages 0.305 0.164 0.251

Elite Plays – Jay Bruce

Secondary Plays – Joey Votto , Adam Duvall , Zack Cozart

Stackability – None


Jump to Page 1 2 3

About the Author

louiescards
Andrew Cook (louiescards)

Andrew “LouiesCards” Cook is a DFS veteran who has been playing since 2009. You will see him grinding MLB, NBA, and NFL with a main focus on DraftKings. Over the years he has held several roles at RotoGrinders helping write articles and features, both in-front and behind-the-scenes. Andrew was able to throw the first pitch out at a St. Louis Cardinals game, courtesy of DraftKings. You can follow Andrew on twitter @louiescards