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MLB Grind Down: Sunday, May 18th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2014-05-19 04:14:43

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

Pittsburgh at NY Yankees

Pittsburgh NY Yankees
Charlie Morton Vegas Moneyline Hiroki Kuroda Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT PIT (-115) RIGHT 9.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.288 0.719 0.353 16.2% SP vs. Left 0.263 0.743 0.327 16.5%
SP vs. Right 0.236 0.577 0.273 16.4% SP vs. Right 0.242 0.618 0.275 20.3%
Batter Splits PIT BvP pop up 2 PIT vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits NYY BvP pop up 2 NYY vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Charlie Morton – Morton has turned in 3 solid outings in a row as he has not given up more than 2 earned runs in each. He holds a very good 3.22 ERA, but does not make a great fantasy start due to the fact that he doesn’t strike too many batters out (5.54 K/9). He has a tough matchup at Yankee Stadium and all their lefty bats, making Morton not a great fantasy option today. Rating = 3

Hiroki Kuroda – Kuroda has struggled so far this season and has really struggled at Yankee Stadium. In 5 starts at home he holds a 5.83 ERA and has allowed hitters to bat .304 against him. Kuroda has also given up way to many home runs at home (5 in 5 starts). He needs to be avoided until he can look like the Kuroda of last year. Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

Pittsburgh

Pedro Alvarez – Alvarez makes a great play at Yankee Stadium today. Kuroda has allowed lefties to SLG .470 against him on the season and Alvarez should be able to hit for power today if he can get a hold of one.

New York Yankees

Jacoby Ellsbury – Ellsbury always makes a great cash game play against an average RH pitcher. His price is a bit down as he is in a week slump, but it only makes him more enticing for cash games today. He can put up points in so many different ways and should get on base multiple times against Morton.

Oakland at Cleveland

Oakland Cleveland
Jesse Chavez Vegas Moneyline Justin Masterson Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT OAK (-117) RIGHT 7.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.241 0.612 0.290 21.6% SP vs. Left 0.261 0.715 0.328 18.5%
SP vs. Right 0.193 0.556 0.249 25.5% SP vs. Right 0.180 0.479 0.244 31.3%
Batter Splits OAK BvP pop up 2 OAK vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits CLE BvP pop up 2 CLE vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Jesse Chavez – Chavez has been one of the best young pitchers in the majors this year. He comes into this matchup with a 2.44 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 8 starts this year. He also boasts a nice 8.88 K/9, which helps his fantasy value as well. He does allow LH bats to hit for a .290 wOBA against him which seems to be his only downside this year. I still think he makes a good play today depending on price. Rating = 6

Justin Masterson – Masterson is extremely difficult to trust at this point in the season. He has given up 5 earned runs or more in 4 of his 9 starts, but has also given up 2 or less in the other 5 starts. His ERA of 4.31 is a full point higher than his ending ERA from last year and command has become a bit of an issue with 7 walks in his last 2 starts. We have seen what this Oakland offense can do when they are hot, and I would be avoiding Masterson until he starts springing a few good games together. Rating = 4

Batter Grind Down

Oakland

Brandon Moss – Masterson is getting hit hard by LH bats giving up a .310 AVG so far on the season. Moss hits the majority of his power against RH pitching and gets to move up in the lineup to the cleanup spot. This offense could be a nice mini-stack as we have seen them put up 17 runs in the first two games of this series.

Cleveland

Carlos Santana – Now may be the time to jump on Santana as his price is still low due to his rough start. It is only a matter of time before he can get it going and continues to hit cleanup for the Indians.

Cincinnati at Philadelphia

Cincinnati Philadelphia
Tony Cingrani Vegas Moneyline Cliff Lee Vegas Over/Under
LEFT PHI (-146) LEFT 7.0
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.185 0.547 0.251 30.7% SP vs. Left 0.211 0.511 0.240 21.6%
SP vs. Right 0.208 0.670 0.302 26.3% SP vs. Right 0.253 0.685 0.298 25.6%
Batter Splits CIN BvP pop up 2 CIN vs L pop up 2 Batter Splits PHI BvP pop up 2 PHI vs L pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Tony Cingrani – Cingrani has not pitched since April 30th due to shoulder tendinitis. Cingrani was pitching well prior to the injury with a 3.34 ERA in 6 starts. His strike out numbers are a bit down, but are still at a very respectable 8.91 K/9 on the year. He faces the lefty-heavy lineup of the Phillies today, but I would like to see him pitch before using him in cash games as well as the fact that a win may be hard to come by due to Lee on the mound against him. Rating = 6

Cliff Lee – Other than the two blowout performances against the Rangers and the Blue Jays, Lee has been very good on the season. Even with the 14 combined runs in those two outings, Lee has just a 3.23 ERA and brings good strike out potential (8.51 K/9) into the matchup against the Reds. Votto’s and Bruce’s absence gives a big boost to Lee’s fantasy potential and should make for a great start today.Rating = 8

Batter Grind Down

Cincinnati

Brandon Phillips – The one guy that has really stepped up due to the injuries in Cincinnati is Brandon Phillips. He has 7 hits in his last 5 games and has great numbers against Lee in his career (10/31, 1 home run).

Philadelphia

Carlos Ruiz – Ruiz makes a good catcher today as he usually hits high in the lineup against LH pitching. Ruiz currently has an OPS of 1.065 against LH pitching and a .348 AVG.

NY Mets at Washington

NY Mets Washington
Zack Wheeler Vegas Moneyline Jordan Zimmermann Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT WAS (-160) RIGHT 7.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.284 0.820 0.366 18.5% SP vs. Left 0.262 0.697 0.308 17.4%
SP vs. Right 0.231 0.614 0.283 21.2% SP vs. Right 0.234 0.632 0.286 21.4%
Batter Splits NYM BvP pop up 2 NYM vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits WSN BvP pop up 2 WSN vs R pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Zack Wheeler – Wheeler has not had a good start to the season this year and is simply allowing way to many base runners. He holds a 1.60 WHIP and has walked 11 batters in his last 2 starts and has more hits against him than innings pitched (46 in 43.2 innings). Until he can get his control issues together, he should be avoided in all leagues. Rating = 3

Jordan Zimmermann -Zimmerman is coming off a rough performance in hitter friendly Arizona. He really has not been the starter that we expect him to be as he has not pitched 7 innings in any of his last 4 starts. His price is still at ace level, but is not performing anywhere near that at the moment. He could make a good GPP play as he has a great matchup against the Mets and their .217 team average against RH pitching. Rating = 6

Batter Grind Down

New York Mets

David Wright – Zimmerman has allowed RH bats to hit .326 against him so far this year. Wright does have 2 home runs against Zimmerman in 34 at bats and makes a great play today.

Washington

Denard Span – Span hits leadoff against Wheeler today and should be on base a few times against the young righty. Wheeler is allowing LH bats a .961 OPS, which means Span should be able to get on base, steal a bag or two, and get driven in.

Chicago White Sox at Houston

Chicago White Sox Houston
John Danks Vegas Moneyline Brad Peacock Vegas Over/Under
LEFT CWS (-105) RIGHT 9.5
Stats Avg OPS wOBA K% Stats Avg OPS wOBA K%
SP vs. Left 0.289 0.811 0.355 12.5% SP vs. Left 0.276 0.855 0.379 18.3%
SP vs. Right 0.264 0.771 0.338 16.6% SP vs. Right 0.211 0.675 0.302 25.9%
Batter Splits CHW BvP pop up 2 CHW vs R pop up 2 Batter Splits HOU BvP pop up 2 HOU vs L pop up 2
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

John Danks – Danks has struggled so far this season as he comes into this matchup with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. His strike out numbers are low and has allowed way to many base runners. He does get to pitch against the Astros today, but I can not trust him in any type of format. Rating = 3

Brad Peacock – Peacock has been even worse than Danks on the season as he has an ERA over 5 and has allowed at least 3 earned runs in his last 4 games. At the moment, Peacock is just allowing way to many home runs and has let opponents hit 5 in his last 3 games. This White Sox offense has a few guys that could take him yard and add to this total today.Rating = 3

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

Jose Abreu – Peacock has allowed RH bats to slug over .500 against him on the year and Abreu has hit 11 of home runs against RH pitching. Look out today for number 12.

Houston

Jose Altuve – Altuve is now hitting in the leadoff spot for the Astros and should be able to get on base today against Danks who has allowed a wOBA of .338. Altuve is hitting lefties for .449 and an OPS of 1.042.

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.