MLB Grind Down: Sunday, June 29th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-06-29 14:55:31

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 Toronto

Chicago White Sox					Toronto
Jose Quintana		Vegas Moneyline			Mark Buehrle		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		TOR (-144)			LEFT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.262	0.725	0.321	20.2%	SP vs. Left	0.249	0.685	0.313	13.8%
SP vs. Right	0.250	0.673	0.301	19.4%	SP vs. Right	0.277	0.732	0.325	15.9%
Batter Splits	CHW BvP		CHW vs L		Batter Splits	TOR BvP		TOR vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jose Quintana – Quintana has been consistently decent this year for the White Sox. He holds a 3.69 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP on the season while striking out batters at a 7.65 K/9 rate. Quintana has a tough matchup today against the Blue Jays in Rogers Park who have a .425 SLG against LH pitching and have scored the 3rd most runs in the league this year. Due to the matchup and park, Quintana is safe to avoid. Rating = 3

Salaries: $6700 FD, $11410 DS, $13450 DD, $7200 DK, $76200 FF, $19400 SS, $13450 FTD

• Mark Buehrle – Buehrle is on the worst stretch of the year giving up 10 runs in his last 3 starts. The fact that this is the worst stretch speaks volumes about the kind of year Buehrle is having. He still has a 2.52 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP. He continues to be tough to trust for me, especially in Rogers Centre (even though he has a 2.94 ERA there), but has a decent matchup against the White Sox who continue to strike out the 3rd most in the league. Buehrle makes a decent GPP play today. Rating = 6

Salaries: $7700 FD, $13567 DS, $14450 DD, $6900 DK, $87800 FF, $18800 SS, $14450 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

Jose Abreu – There is no better time to take Abreu then a R/L matchup in a hitters park like today. He already has 3 extra base hits in the first 3 games at Rogers Centre and has a very good chance of going deep again today. Over his last week of play, he has 4 bombs and is batting .357. Abreu is a top option at first today.

Additional Plays: Dayan Viciedo* Gordon Beckham

Toronto

Edwin Encarnacion – This game really does feature the top two first basemen of the day with two lefties taking the mound. Encarnacion has a wOBA of .428 against LH pitching this year. This game features a high total and EE should have a lot to do with the runs scored for the Blue Jays.

Additional Plays: Jose Reyes* Melky Cabrera Dioner Navarro

Oakland at Miami

Oakland					Miami
Tommy Milone		Vegas Moneyline			Andrew Heaney		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		OAK (-135)			LEFT		8.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.289	0.793	0.345	13.4%	SP vs. Left
SP vs. Right	0.245	0.705	0.313	18.6%	SP vs. Right
Batter Splits	OAK BvP		OAK vs L		Batter Splits	MIA BvP		MIA vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tommy Milone – Milone has a 3.89 ERA on the season, but is easily avoidable for daily fantasy purposes. He has only gone more than 7 innings one time this season and has been very susceptible to the long ball giving up 11 home runs in 14 starts. His low K rate of 5.62 takes him out of GPP play status even with a matchup against the Marlins. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6000 FD, $13402 DS, $11350 DD, $6500 DK, $78400 FF, $16600 SS, $11350 FTD

• Andrew Heaney – All the hype about Heaney in his first two starts have resulted in one decent start and one struggling start against the Phillies. He now has to take on a high-powered Oakland offense who have a number of power RH bats. Oakland is in the top 5 in the league in runs scored against LH pitching, making the young Heaney an easy avoid today. Rating = 3

Salaries: $5000 FD, $12020 DS, $9250 DD, $6300 DK, $64000 FF, $16000 SS, $ FTD

Batter Grind Down

Oakland

Yoenis Cespedes – Usually a spot reserved for Josh Donaldson when the Oakland bats get a LH pitcher, Cespedes will get my top play due to the recent performances of the two. Donaldson has been struggling a bit while Cespedes continues his good season.

Additional Plays: Craig Gentry Josh Donaldson

Miami

Giancarlo Stanton – Any time the Marlins are facing a non elite LH pitcher, Stanton is in play. Stanton is crushing LH pitching for a .403 AVG and a ridiculous 1.244 OPS.

Additional Plays: Casey McGehee

Atlanta at Philadelphia

Atlanta					Philadelphia
Aaron Harang		Vegas Moneyline			David Buchanan		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		ATL (-117)			RIGHT		8.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.270	0.795	0.352	16.7%	SP vs. Left	0.277	0.724	0.327	14.0%
SP vs. Right	0.261	0.710	0.317	22.1%	SP vs. Right	0.300	0.907	0.399	18.7%
Batter Splits	ATL BvP		ATL vs R		Batter Splits	PHI BvP		PHI vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Aaron Harang – Harang continues to impress this year having only two major blowups on the year. Other then an 8 earned run and 9 earned run performances, he has allowed 3 or less earned runs in 13 of his 16 starts. The problem today will be the lefty heavy lineup of the Phillies, which could mean problems for Harang who has struggled against LH batters this year. Rating = 5

Salaries: $6600 FD, $13431 DS, $13250 DD, $7100 DK, $74600 FF, $19500 SS, $13250 FTD

• David Buchanan – Buchanan has been an average starting pitcher since joining the rotation in late May. He has a 4.79 ERA in 7 starts with a 1.31 WHIP. He has had some issues with giving up home runs as he has allowed 7 already this year. He does get to take on the Braves who strike out at a very high rate which adds a bit of fantasy value, making him a punt option, GPP play only. Rating = 5*

Salaries: $5500 FD, $9260 DS, $11800 DD, $6600 DK, $79000 FF, $17400 SS, $11800 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Atlanta

Justin Upton – In his short career, Buchanan has been hit very well by RH batters (.399 wOBA). Upton is hot right now with 10 hits, 2 home runs and 9 RBIs in his last 7 games.

Additional Plays: Freddie Freeman Tommy La Stella Jason Heyward

Philadelphia

Chase Utley – Harang has struggled against LH batters and is giving up a wOBA of .352 against them. Utley has done well against Harang in his career hitting 12/26 with a home run.

Additional Plays: Ryan Howard

NY Mets at Pittsburgh

NY Mets					Pittsburgh
Bartolo Colon		Vegas Moneyline			Edinson Volquez		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		PIT (-118)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.266	0.700	0.306	15.4%	SP vs. Left	0.280	0.809	0.359	17.6%
SP vs. Right	0.263	0.642	0.286	16.8%	SP vs. Right	0.261	0.731	0.330	17.5%
Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs R		Batter Splits	PIT BvP		PIT vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Bartolo Colon – Colon is on a stretch right now that is very impressive. He has allowed 2 or less earned runs in 7 straight starts this year while striking out at least 5 batters in 5 of those starts. No one knows if the 41 year old can continue to keep this up, but if he is cheap today, he could make a decent option in both cash and GPPs. Rating = 6

Salaries: $8400 FD, $14313 DS, $15800 DD, $7700 DK, $119200 FF, $23200 SS, $15800 FTD

• Edinson Volquez – Volquez was pitching very well, enough for everyone to jump on the Voltrain and then he blows up for a 2.1 inning, 8 earned run performance. He did bounce back to go 8 innings with 1 earned run in his last start against the Rays. This is the reason that Volquez will forever be a GPP play only, due to not being able to trust him. He makes a decent play today against the Mets who have a .232 team average against RH pitching. Rating = 5

Salaries: $5700 FD, $11515 DS, $11450 DD, $6800 DK, $61000 FF, $18200 SS, $11450 FTD

Batter Grind Down

NY Mets

Daniel Murphy – Murphy should be able to reach base today against Volquez and his .359 wOBA against LH hitters.

Additional Plays: Curtis Granderson

Pittsburgh

Andrew McCutchen – Colon has been very good, but McCutchen has been hitting RH pitching very well this year for a .315 AVG overall.

Additional Plays: Gregory Polanco

Tampa Bay at Baltimore

Tampa Bay					Baltimore
Alex Cobb		Vegas Moneyline			Miguel Gonzalez		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		TBR (-114)			RIGHT		8.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.224	0.641	0.287	23.8%	SP vs. Left	0.244	0.695	0.313	18.2%
SP vs. Right	0.232	0.626	0.289	22.1%	SP vs. Right	0.257	0.763	0.337	17.2%
Batter Splits	TBR BvP		TBR vs R		Batter Splits	BAL BvP		BAL vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Alex Cobb – Cobb has been very up and down this year. He has given up 6 or more runs on 3 separate starts, but has also given up 1 or less earned runs in 5 starts. The inconsistencies have resulted in a 4.10 ERA for Cobb on the season. His strikeouts have been up and down this year as well giving him a respectable 8.04 K/9. He has a tough matchup against the Orioles, but has pitched well against them in the past (.194 team BAA). Rating = 5

Salaries: $7200 FD, $16677 DS, $13300 DD, $8200 DK, $78400 FF, $22300 SS, $13300 FTD

• Miguel Gonzalez – Gonzalez has given up 2 or more earned runs in 9 of his 10 starts this year. He has a 4.48 ERA as a result with a 1.49 WHIP. He is giving up a .284 BAA on the year and has a K/BB of 2.15. Tampa’s offense has been struggling, but Gonzalez has such limited upside that he is tough to make even a GPP play today. Rating = 4

Salaries: $6000 FD, $10455 DS, $11300 DD, $6000 DK, $69300 FF, $13900 SS, $11300 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Tampa Bay

Desmond Jennings BvP alert! Jennings is 6 for 22 against Gonzalez with 4 home runs. He is coming off a home run last night, so he could look to go yard again.

Additional Plays: Matt Joyce Evan Longoria

Baltimore

Chris Davis – I like Crush today against Cobb who has been blown up on a few different occasions this year. Cobb can buckle down and throw a gem though, so the Baltimore bats should be a GPP only decision today.

Additional Plays: J.J. Hardy Nick Markakis

MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2