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MLB Grind Down: Sunday, May 11th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-05-11 13:35:13

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

LA Angels at Toronto

LA Angels Toronto
Jered Weaver Vegas Moneyline Drew Hutchison Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT TOR (-114) RIGHT 9.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.229 0.633 0.287 19.6% SP vs. Left 0.248 0.716 0.313 22.7%
SP vs. Right 0.249 0.710 0.313 17.1% SP vs. Right 0.281 0.780 0.349 30.6%
Batter Splits LAA BvP pop up 2 LAA vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits TOR BvP pop up 2 TOR vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Jered Weaver – Weaver has began to look a bit better after having a very poor start to the season. He has not given up more than 2 earned runs in his last 4 starts and seems to have his command back as his walks have been down as well. He will bring his 3.48 ERA into Rogers Center, which has eaten up some pitchers as of late. The matchup and stadium make Weaver a GPP only play. Rating = 5

Drew Hutchison – Hutchison’s poor numbers are due to the fact that in his 2 starts at home, he has allowed 8 earned runs and a .300 AVG to opponents. Hutchison does bring a 9.66 K/9 into this game, but is still very tough to trust. He will have a tough day today against a good Angels team and I will be avoiding him. Rating = 3

Batter Grind Down

Anaheim Angels

Erick Aybar – Aybar has been hitting leadoff lately, which is great for his fantasy potential. He has gotten hot recently with 5 hits in his last 2 games. Aybar is hitting .304 against RH pitching and should be driven in a few times today.

Toronto

Melky Cabrera – Melky has continued his extremely hot season with 10 hits in his last 6 games. He is an absolute on-base machine this year and if Weaver struggles he should have a big part in it.

Minnesota at Detroit

Minnesota Detroit
Samuel Deduno Vegas Moneyline Robbie Ray Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT DET (-175) LEFT 8.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.223 0.601 0.282 17.3% SP vs. Left 0.333 0.667 0.296 66.7%
SP vs. Right 0.318 0.807 0.369 12.6% SP vs. Right 0.222 0.541 0.243 15.8%
Batter Splits MIN BvP pop up 2 MIN vs L pop up 2 Batter Splits DET BvP pop up 2 DET vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Samuel Deduno – Deduno only went 77 pitches in his first start of the season this week. Due to the low pitch count and non-elite K potential (7.61 K/9) in the few innings he will pitch, Deduno can be safely avoided everywhere. Rating = 2

Robbie Ray – Ray was able to get a win in his first start of the season while only pitching 5.1 innings. He was held to a 86 pitch count, which hampers his fantasy potential a bit. He did strikeout 5 batters in the 5.1 innings, but we have to remember his opponent being the strikeout happy Astros. Since Detroit is such a large favorite and Ray’s price is low, he makes a decent GPP play. Rating = 5

Batter Grind Dow n

Minnesota

Chris Colabello – Colabello hits LH pitching well at a .294 AVG and .441 SLG. He will be up against a young LH pitcher that we could see struggle.

Detroit

Victor Martinez – Vmart has had a great start to the season leading this Tigers team in batting average, home runs and OPS. Hitting in the cleanup spot in a lineup that could feast on Deduno today makes Martinez a great play.

Philadelphia at NY Mets

Philadelphia NY Mets
Cole Hamels Vegas Moneyline Jonathon Niese Vegas Over/Under
LEFT NYM (-125) LEFT 7.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.274 0.742 0.331 23.9% SP vs. Left 0.224 0.590 0.269 18.9%
SP vs. Right 0.249 0.695 0.313 21.4% SP vs. Right 0.281 0.730 0.328 16.9%
Batter Splits PHI BvP pop up 2 PHI vs L pop up 2 Batter Splits NYM BvP pop up 2 NYM vs L pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Cole Hamels – Hamels has looked terrible in his first 3 starts back from the DL. He has an over 7.00 ERA on the season and has allowed 31 base runners. Cole has struggled against the bats of the Mets in the past as he has given up a combined .300 AVG to the current Mets lineup. Hamels is completely avoidable for any type of league today even while facing the Mets. Rating = 3

Jon Niese – Niese is on a great run at the moment and has allowed only 3 earned runs in his last 4 stars. His low K potential of 6.81 K/9 does not make him a top option, but he does face a LH filled lineup of the Phillies that he could take advantage of today with his 1.82 ERA. Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

Marlon Byrd – If I were to take any Phillies today, it would be Marlon Byrd. Byrd has been one of the most consistent bats in this lineup and has been mashing LH pitching for .375 AVG and a 1.054 OPS.

New York Mets

David Wright – Wright has crushed Hamels in his career and gets to face a struggling version of him today. Wright is 22 for 66 with 5 home runs against Hamels and I think he could make it 6 today.

Colorado at Cincinnati

Colorado Cincinnati
Juan Nicasio Vegas Moneyline Homer Bailey Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT CIN (-114) RIGHT 8.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.241 0.761 0.343 17.4% SP vs. Left 0.284 0.781 0.351 21.0%
SP vs. Right 0.286 0.785 0.350 16.3% SP vs. Right 0.216 0.598 0.272 24.8%
Batter Splits COL BvP pop up 2 COL vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits CIN BvP pop up 2 CIN vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Juan Nicasio – Nicasio is that rare pitcher whose numbers away from Coors are what is bringing down his ERA. Nicasio has had two great starts in a row, but struck out only 1 and 2 batters in those two starts. He has never been a pitcher to use in any type of fantasy situation and should be avoided against the Cincinnati bats today. Rating = 3

Homer Bailey – Homer Bailey has had a rough season so far with a 5.36 ERA and a WHIP of 1.64. Bailey has been absolutely crushed by LH hitters to start the season and this Rockies team has a few real good lefties that should get to Bailey early and often today. Rating = 3

Batter Grind Down

Colorado

Carlos Gonzalez – Bailey has allowed LH batters to hit for a .410 AVG on the season and an OPS of 1.085. Gonzalez had really turned his power game on as of late and has 2 games in a row with a home run at Great American Ballpark. This Rockies offense is just to hot all around to ignore the bats today.

Cincinnati

Joey Votto – Nicasio is allowing a wOBA of .343 against LH bats. Votto’s numbers are down, which has dropped his price below some of the top first basemen. Votto is a career .300 batter and it is a matter of time before he starts to get the bat going.

Houston at Baltimore

Houston Baltimore
Jarred Cosart Vegas Moneyline Chris Tillman Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT BAL (-163) RIGHT 8.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.193 0.581 0.269 19.2% SP vs. Left 0.251 0.736 0.327 19.6%
SP vs. Right 0.250 0.713 0.330 9.0% SP vs. Right 0.229 0.701 0.309 22.7%
Batter Splits HOU BvP pop up 2 HOU vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits BAL BvP pop up 2 BAL vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Jarred Cosart – Cosart has had a run of decent starts only giving up 4 earned runs in his last 3. The problem is he has a lot of things going against him as he has a low strike out rate and plays for the Astros, which do not give much run support. Even if he is able to pitch a good game today, fantasy points may not be produced. Rating = 3

Chris Tillman – Tillman has really been struggling as of late. He has given up at least 3 earned runs in each of his last 4 games while giving up 4 home runs along the way. Prior to this recent run, Tillman had shut down 3 very good offenses so the potential is there. Anytime someone gets the Astros, it bumps them higher than normal and the same applies here. Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

Houston

Jason Castro – Tillman has struggled a bit against LH bats as his wOBA is currently .327 against them. Castro should be in the cleanup role and continues to be cheap. He does not hit for average, so plug him in a GPP and hope that he goes yard.

Baltimore

Nick Markakis – Cosart has pitched pretty well, but Markakis makes a good play due to his order in the lineup and price drop at most sites. Markakis has been consistently getting on base since Davis went down and is currently riding a 17 game hit streak.

MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2

About the Author

Ryan138
Ryan138

Ryan (Ryan138) is from Chicago and has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. He has been playing daily fantasy sports for over 2 years since he was introduced to Daily Joust in late 2010. In the last year, Ryan has risen into the Top 100 of the RotoGrinders leaderboards by playing at DraftDay, DraftKings and FanDuel in all the major sports.