MLB Grind Down: Thursday, April 23 - Page Three
Boston at Tampa Bay
| Boston | Tampa Bay | ||||||||
 | Clay Buchholz |  | Jake Odorizzi | ||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| TBR (-105) | 7.5 | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.281 | 0.793 | 0.351 | 0.171 | SP vs. Left | 0.226 | 0.663 | 0.294 | 0.288 |
| SP vs. Right | 0.257 | 0.696 | 0.308 | 0.189 | SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.726 | 0.324 | 0.191 |
| Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | Batter Splits | TB BvP | TB vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Clay Buchholz (FD: $7700, DK: $7400)
Pitching Stats:
2015: xFIP: 2.74 — Strikeout Rate: 24.7% — Walk Rate: 5.2% — Ground Ball Rate: 54.7%
2014: xFIP: 4.04 — Strikeout Rate: 17.9% — Walk Rate: 7.3% — Ground Ball Rate: 46.6%
Tampa Bay Rays vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.309 (Rank: 14)
Strikoute Rate: 21.7% (Rank: 19)
Analysis: Outside of Chris Sale, Buchholz is my favorite pitcher tonight. How scary is that? He has pitched well this season with a 2.74 xFIP and a strikeout rate of 24.7%. He has improved his command and he is generating more ground ball outs. He draws a favorable matchup against a Rays’ offense that is lacks power. He should be able to mow through the bottom of the lineup. He also provides decent strikeout potential.
Pitcher Rating: 68.5
Jake Odorizzi (FD: $8300, DK: $8200)
Pitching Stats:
2015: xFIP: 3.37 — Strikeout Rate: 25.0% — Walk Rate: 6.6% — Ground Ball Rate: 43.1%
2014: xFIP: 3.90 — Strikeout Rate: 24.2% — Walk Rate: 8.2% — Ground Ball Rate: 29.9%
Boston Red Sox vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.305 (Rank: 16)
Strikoute Rate: 17.4% (Rank: 5)
Analysis: I can’t fault you if you want to target Odorizzi over Buchholz tonight. He has a higher strikeout rate and he’s more consistent game to game. He faces a much tougher lineup though. Even with Hanley Ramirez out, the Red Sox are still a very capable offense. Chris Sale should be your go-to guy on single-pitcher sites, but Buchholz and Odorizzi are both in play on multi-pitcher sites.
Pitcher Rating: 66.5
Batter Grind Down
Boston
David Ortiz (FD: $3500, DK: $4400)
Position Eligibility (FD: 1B, DK: 1B)
BA: 0.263 / wOBA: 0.369 / ISO: 0.255
vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.364 / ISO: 0.248
Ortiz is only 10-for-48 on the season, but he has already hit three home runs, including one last night against the Rays. Ortiz has always had great power against right-handed pitching and last season was no exception. He finished with a .364 wOBA and a .248 ISO against righties last season.
Secondary Plays:
Dustin Pedroia (FD: $3200, DK: $3800)
Position Eligibility (FD: 2B, DK: 2B)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.316 / ISO: 0.078
Mookie Betts (FD: $3400, DK: $4200)
Position Eligibility (FD: OF, DK: OF)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.358 / ISO: 0.153
Tampa Bay
NO ELITE PLAYS
Secondary Plays:
David Dejesus (FD: $2800, DK: $3300)
Position Eligibility (FD: OF, DK: OF)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.337 / ISO: 0.16
Asdrubal Cabrera (FD: $2400, DK: $3800)
Position Eligibility (FD: SS, DK: 2B/SS)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.310 / ISO: 0.144
Kansas City at Chicago White Sox
| Kansas City | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||
 | Yordano Ventura |  | Chris Sale | ||||||
| RIGHT | LEFT | ||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||
| CWS (-140) | 7 | ||||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.229 | 0.642 | 0.288 | 0.193 | SP vs. Left | 0.165 | 0.393 | 0.183 | 0.367 |
| SP vs. Right | 0.249 | 0.704 | 0.316 | 0.218 | SP vs. Right | 0.212 | 0.608 | 0.272 | 0.289 |
| Batter Splits | KC BvP | KC vs L | Batter Splits | CWS BvP | CWS vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Yordano Ventura (FD: $8400, DK: $7100)
Pitching Stats:
2015: xFIP: 4.10 — Strikeout Rate: 18.6% — Walk Rate: 8.5% — Ground Ball Rate: 51.2%
2014: xFIP: 3.74 — Strikeout Rate: 20.3% — Walk Rate: 8.8% — Ground Ball Rate: 47.6%
Chicago White Sox vs. RH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.327 (Rank: 8)
Strikoute Rate: 20.6% (Rank: 16)
Analysis: Ventura was thrown out of his last start, but his day was almost over anyway, as he had already given up five runs in only 3.1 innings of work. He is a hard-throwing right-hand pitcher with decent strikeout potential. He comes into tonight’s game as a sizable underdog though. Run support will be hard to come by with Chris Sale on the mound for the White Sox. Ventura is best suited as a tournament play tonight.
Pitcher Rating: 62.2
Chris Sale (FD: $10200, DK: $11000)
Pitching Stats:
2015: xFIP: 2.38 — Strikeout Rate: 29.8% — Walk Rate: 4.3% — Ground Ball Rate: 45.2%
2014: xFIP: 2.83 — Strikeout Rate: 30.4% — Walk Rate: 5.7% — Ground Ball Rate: 40.7%
Kansas City Royals vs. LH Pitching: (2015)
wOBA: 0.366 (Rank: 2)
Strikoute Rate: 11.0% (Rank: 1)
Analysis: With only four games on the slate tonight, Sale is the obvious choice in cash games. He’s expensive, but when he’s at his best he is typically priced in the $12,000 range, so we are basically getting him at a bit of a discount tonight. His matchup against the Royals is tough, as they are ranked 2nd in wOBA against left-handed pitching this season. Sale may not strike out as many batters as usual, but he should put his team in a good position to get the win.
Pitcher Rating: 80.0
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
NO ELITE PLAYS
Secondary Plays:
Lorenzo Cain (FD: $4000, DK: $3800)
Position Eligibility (FD: OF, DK: OF)
vs. LH Pitching wOBA: 0.362 / ISO: 0.157
Alcides Escobar (FD: $2900, DK: $3700)
Position Eligibility (FD: SS, DK: SS)
vs. LH Pitching wOBA: 0.342 / ISO: 0.129
Chicago White Sox
Jose Abreu (FD: $4400, DK: $5200)
Position Eligibility (FD: 1B, DK: 1B)
BA: 0.317 / wOBA: 0.411 / ISO: 0.264
vs. RH Pitching: wOBA: 0.394 / ISO: 0.250
I mentioned the other day that Abreu always seems to hit well against hard-throwing pitchers. He then homered against Carlos Carrasco. I could see the same thing happening tonight against Yordano Ventura. Abreu finished 2014 with a .394 wOBA and a .250 ISO against right-handed pitching.
Secondary Plays:
Adam LaRoche (FD: $3200, DK: $3800)
Position Eligibility (FD: 1B, DK: 1B)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.384 / ISO: 0.221
Adam Eaton (FD: $2500, DK: $3800)
Position Eligibility (FD: OF, DK: OF)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.344 / ISO: 0.119
Conor Gillaspie (FD: $2200, DK: $3100)
Position Eligibility (FD: 3B, DK: 3B)
vs. RH Pitching wOBA: 0.352 / ISO: 0.144