MLB Grind Down: Sunday, May 11th - Page 3
Washington at Oakland
| Washington | Oakland | ||||||||
| Gio Gonzalez | Vegas Moneyline | Scott Kazmir | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-131) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.208 | 0.592 | 0.268 | 26.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.245 | 0.598 | 0.267 | 23.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.232 | 0.673 | 0.303 | 23.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.256 | 0.729 | 0.327 | 23.5% |
| Batter Splits | WSN BvP  | WSN vs L | Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Gio Gonzalez – Gio is having a very good start to the season as he holds a 2.91 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08. His walks are at about career average, but is just not allowing hits so far this year as his opponents are batting .208. He has a high K rate of 9.35 K/9, but does have a tough matchup against the A’s. He comes into this game as the underdog, but it has the makings of a low scoring affair. Rating = 7
Scott Kazmir – Kazmir has finally come back down to Earth in his last 2 starts. Even after the 7 earned runs in the last 2 he still holds a 2.84 ERA on the season and continues to hold a decent K rate. Kazmir has walked only 9 batters on the season which is an improvement, but will have a tough time today with a Nationals squad that is hitting .289 against LH batters. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
Washington
Anthony Rendon – It really is becoming something of an auto play for me this season. If the Nats are facing a LH pitcher, Rendon will be making it into a lineup of mine. He is hitting .429 against lefties with a 1.161 OPS on the season. Kazmir has struggled a bit lately and Rendon, hitting out of the 2 spot, could give him some trouble.
Oakland
Josh Donaldson – Donaldson is similar to Rendon as he jumps off the page when he gets a LH pitcher. His price may be a bit high considering the caliber of the opposing pitcher, but the power capabilities are always there for Donaldson.
Miami at San Diego
| Miami | San Diego | ||||||||
| Henderson Alvarez | Vegas Moneyline | Robbie Erlin | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIA (-102) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.676 | 0.306 | 13.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.274 | 0.738 | 0.325 | 19.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.607 | 0.282 | 15.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.251 | 0.688 | 0.307 | 17.8% |
| Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs L | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Henderson Alvarez – I really do not know what to think about Alvarez lately. He has put up two complete games now on the season, but as a few real poor performances as well. This has resulted in an overall 2.62 ERA on the season and gets the best matchup in the league against the Padres at Petco. This results in a good play itself and Alvarez could make a great second starter if cheap. Rating = 6
Robbie Erlin – Erlin has had a poor start to the season with a 4.95 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. His numbers at Petco have been much better, but are still nothing special (3.93 ERA). Petco does again factor into improving a pitchers rating, but Erlin has not shown that he can be trusted in even the best situations. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Miami
Giancarlo Stanton – Stanton against a sub par LH pitcher is a great play any day regardless of park.
San Diego
I will not be recommending any San Diego bats today. The 10 runs they scored yesterday will cover the next few games for this offense.
San Francisco at LA Dodgers
| San Francisco | LA Dodgers | ||||||||
| Tim Hudson | Vegas Moneyline | Clayton Kershaw | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-164) | LEFT | 6.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.230 | 0.637 | 0.289 | 15.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.167 | 0.461 | 0.212 | 40.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.229 | 0.596 | 0.265 | 20.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.207 | 0.531 | 0.241 | 22.3% |
| Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Tim Hudson – Hudson was a great pickup by the Giants as he has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball this year. He is top 10 in the league in ERA (1.99) and number 2 in WHIP (0.74). Hudson has never been a high K pitcher, but gets enough to make for a good starter today. He is a heavy underdog, but is playing in a game with a 6 over/under, which should make for a great pitchers battle. Rating = 7
Clayton Kershaw – Kershaw came back this week to allow 9 hits, but made up for it with 9 strike outs in the game as well. He is one of, if not the top pitcher in baseball when he gets going. This is a perfect place to use him as his salary may not be the highest on the board, but should be the highest scoring pitcher. He has always pitched well against this Giants squad and they have an overall BA of .199 against him. Kershaw should be used in all formats. Rating = 10
Batter Grind Down
This game could end up 2-0 and I don’t think it is necessary to make the guess on who will get those few runs today.
Kansas City at Seattle
| Kansas City | Seattle | ||||||||
| Jeremy Guthrie | Vegas Moneyline | Roenis Elias | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SEA (-119) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.321 | 0.884 | 0.387 | 11.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.212 | 0.714 | 0.316 | 26.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.224 | 0.607 | 0.277 | 13.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.677 | 0.314 | 20.3% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jeremy Guthrie – Guthrie is coming off his best start of the season, but it was against the lowly Padres. Prior to this, Guthrie had given up 14 earned runs in his last 4 starts. Guthrie’s low 4.50 K/9 and the possibility of a 4 earned run day, make him avoidable in all leagues. Rating = 4
Roenis Elias – The young Cuban has been a bit up and down this season. He either gives up 1 earned run on the season or 3+. Elias can K batters like crazy and put up 10 against the Yankees. The problem here for Elias, is Kansas City continues to be one of the lowest strike out teams in the Majors behind the Tigers this year. This may create problems for Elias and brings down his potential a bit. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Alex Gordon – Gordon has played a bit poorly recently which has dropped his price across the industry making a him a good cash game play today hitting usually out of the 5 spot.
Seattle
Robinson Cano – Guthrie has allowed LH batters a .387 wOBA and will have to face a number of them in this Seattle offense. Cano being the best they have to offer, I will be using him in both cash and GPP games today. Cano has yet to hit for the power he is capable of, but it is only a matter of time that a few go long.
- Additional Plays: Brad Miller Dustin Ackley Justin Smoak
St. Louis at Pittsburgh
| St. Louis | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| Shelby Miller | Vegas Moneyline | Charlie Morton | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PIT (-110) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.272 | 0.785 | 0.347 | 20.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.293 | 0.733 | 0.361 | 16.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.205 | 0.596 | 0.275 | 23.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.229 | 0.567 | 0.268 | 16.9% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Shelby Miller – Miller’s overall ERA looks decent (3.20), but his overall numbers are below average this season. The Cardinals to not allow him to pitch too deep into games as the most innings he has pitched are 6 this season. He also is allowing way to many base runners as he has a 1.47 WHIP. Miller is tough to trust in any type of format. Rating = 4
Charlie Morton – Even though he has an 0-4 record on the season, Morton has not pitched to poorly. Aside from 2 bad starts, Morton has allowed 7 earned runs in the other 5 starts. Morton does have a low K rate (5.68) and does struggle against LH batters which St. Louis has a few good ones. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
Matt Carpenter – Last year, Morton gave up a .312 AVG to lefties and Carpenter has always mashed non-elite RH pitching.
- Additional Plays: Matt Adams Matt Holliday
Pittsburgh
Pedro Alvarez – Miller has allowed a wOBA of .347 against LH bats, which puts Alvarez very much in play today. Add this to the fact that Pedro is 3 for 15 off Miller with 3 home runs and we have a great GPP play.
- Additional Plays: Andrew McCutchen