MLB Grind Down: Thursday, April 7th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2016-04-08 02:33:30

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down will give you an in-depth analysis into the upcoming 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: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati – 12:35 PM ET

Philadelphia					Cincinnati
			Charlie Morton					Robert Stephenson
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			CIN -135					8.5
Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%
SP vs. Left	0.384	8	17.5%	9.1%	SP vs. Left
SP vs. Right	0.275	5	16.6%	5.3%	SP vs. Right
Batter Splits					Batter Splits
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Note: This game is not included on DraftKings.

Charlie Morton
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$5,600		Salary:N/A
				FPPG:25.0		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:51.6
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	3.89	17.1%	7.3%	21.2%	57.3%	24	13

Now that most teams are playing their third or fourth game of the season, we are going to start seeing some more exploitable matchups in terms of offensive production. Morton is making his first start with the Phillies, after spending the last six years in Pittsburgh. His move to Philadelphia shouldn’t have big impact on his numbers, although Citizens Bank Park is better for hitters than PNC park. Morton is a high ground-ball pitcher with limited upside in terms of strikeouts. With the Phillies being underdogs and the total being set at 8.5 runs, there are enough red flags to avoid Morton.

Robert Stephenson
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$4,600		Salary:N/A
				FPPG:0.0		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:55.6
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015						29	21

Stephenson is making his major league debut today. He is one of the Reds’ top prospects and there are reasons to be excited about this young right-hander. His fastball typically lands in the low to mid-90s and he mixes in a terrific curveball that should get plenty of hitters to swing and miss this season. In 11 starts at the Triple-A level last season, he posted a 3.35 FIP with a strikeout rate of 21.1%. Given his price of $4,600 on FanDuel, he makes a strong GPP play, as you can basically take your pick of the litter when it comes to hitters.

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

My favorite Phillies hitter – Cesar Hernandez, is not in the lineup today, which makes them an even less appealing offense to target. However, if you are playing the all-day slate on FanDuel and want some exposure to the first game, I would look to the left-handed hitters in this offense. They will have the platoon advantage over Robert Stephenson, who is making his first career major league start.

Elite Plays

NONE

Secondary Plays

Odubel Herrera
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,500		Salary:N/A
			Position:OF		Position:N/A
			FPPG:6.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	537	0.333	0.121	110	8	24.0%	5.2%
vs.RH Pitching	403	0.339	0.132	114	7	23.1%	5.5%

Andres Blanco
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,100		Salary:
			Position:3B		Position:
			FPPG:5.7		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	261	0.372	0.210	136	7	16.9%	8.0%
vs.RH Pitching	166	0.345	0.204	118	4	18.7%	9.0%

Cincinnati

The Reds have been a bit of a disappointment in the first two games, despite some favorable pitching matchups against the Phillies. They draw another nice matchup today against Charlie Morton, who allowed one of the highest wOBAs to left-handed hitters (.385) of any pitcher in baseball last season. Morton is tough on right-handed bats though, so try to avoid them.

Elite Plays

Joey Votto
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,900		Salary:N/A
			Position:1B		Position:N/A
			FPPG:6.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	695	0.427	0.228	172	29	19.4%	20.6%
vs.RH Pitching	485	0.423	0.235	170	22	19.8%	21.0%

Jay Bruce
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,100		Salary:N/A
			Position:OF		Position:N/A
			FPPG:7.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	649	0.309	0.209	91	26	22.3%	8.9%
vs.RH Pitching	464	0.317	0.232	97	22	22.4%	9.5%

Scott Schebler
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,200		Salary:N/A
			Position:OF		Position:N/A
			FPPG:10.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	40	0.348	0.250	124	3	32.5%	7.5%
vs.RH Pitching	35	0.379	0.281	146	3	31.4%	5.7%

Secondary Plays

NONE

Chicago White Sox at Oakland – 3:35 PM ET

Chicago White Sox					Oakland
			Mat Latos					Kendall Graveman
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			OAK -113					8.5
Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%
SP vs. Left	0.344	8	18.0%	6.4%	SP vs. Left	0.324	4	14.3%	9.6%
SP vs. Right	0.298	5	22.2%	6.5%	SP vs. Right	0.342	11	16.3%	5.6%
Batter Splits					Batter Splits
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Mat Latos
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$6,200		Salary:$7,400
				FPPG:21.0		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:55.5
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	3.88	20.2%	6.5%	24.2%	43.9%	21	4

Latos has bounced around the majors over the last couple of seasons. He will start his 2016 campaign with the White Sox and he’ll open up with a matchup against the A’s in Oakland. Latos has seen a steep decline in his strikeout rate over the last few years, but he still struck out just over 20% of the hitters that he faced last season. While the A’s may not have the most talented lineup in baseball, they are a patient team at the plate that always seems to get the most out of their hitters. As a small underdog on the road, Latos is not on my radar.

Kendall Graveman
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$5,000		Salary:$5,900
				FPPG:23.5		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:53.2
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	4.43	15.3%	7.6%	21.4%	50.0%	25	16

Graveman is the polar opposite of the type of pitcher that we are looking to target in DFS. He had one of the lowest strikeout rates of any starting pitcher in baseball last season and he posted a mediocre 4.43 SIERA to go along with it. His price is obviously low, but whenever you have a pitcher that doesn’t get many outs by the way of the K, he has to have a near perfect outing for him to pay off his salary. Even if he manages to pitch six innings, that won’t translate to a great fantasy outing if he isn’t striking out batters along the way.

Batter Grind Down

Chicago White Sox

While Kendall Graveman has the advantage of pitching in the O.Co Coliseum, he was a below-average pitcher in 2015. Hitters from both sides of the plate fared well against him, as he allowed a .324 wOBA to left-handed hitters and a .342 wOBA to right-handed hitters. The White Sox have the seventh highest team total of the 18 teams in action today.

Elite Plays

Jose Abreu
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,600		Salary:$5,100
			Position:1B		Position:1B
			FPPG:9.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	668	0.361	0.212	129	30	21.0%	5.8%
vs.RH Pitching	511	0.384	0.240	144	27	21.3%	5.3%

Secondary Plays

Todd Frazier
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,800		Salary:$4,600
			Position:3B		Position:3B
			FPPG:13.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	678	0.342	0.242	114	35	20.2%	6.5%
vs.RH Pitching	515	0.331	0.208	107	21	19.4%	6.8%

Adam Eaton
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,200		Salary:$4,600
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:16.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	689	0.346	0.144	118	14	19.0%	8.4%
vs.RH Pitching	504	0.367	0.179	133	14	19.4%	9.9%

Jimmy Rollins
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,700		Salary:$4,000
			Position:SS		Position:SS
			FPPG:15.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	563	0.283	0.133	80	13	15.3%	7.8%
vs.RH Pitching	444	0.270	0.135	71	11	15.8%	8.3%

Oakland

The A’s are slight favorites today at home with the fourth highest team total on the board. Mat Latos is a hittable pitcher that allowed a .344 wOBA to left-handed hitters last season. The A’s are a great source of value today – their lineup lineup is priced at $3,000 or less on FanDuel.

Elite Plays

Josh Reddick
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,000		Salary:$4,100
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:4.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	582	0.338	0.177	117	20	11.2%	8.4%
vs.RH Pitching	433	0.356	0.189	129	16	10.4%	8.3%

Secondary Plays

Jed Lowrie
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,500		Salary:$3,400
			Position:2B		Position:3B/SS
			FPPG:13.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	263	0.305	0.178	91	9	16.3%	10.6%
vs.RH Pitching	191	0.273	0.147	69	5	17.3%	9.4%

Billy Burns
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,400		Salary:$4,400
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:3.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	555	0.317	0.098	102	5	14.6%	4.7%
vs.RH Pitching	378	0.308	0.099	96	3	14.6%	4.8%

Houston at NY Yankees – 4:05 PM ET

Houston					NY Yankees
			Michael Fiers					Nathan Eovaldi
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			NYY -122					8.0
Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%
SP vs. Left	0.287	10	22.5%	7.5%	SP vs. Left	0.345	4	17.0%	8.3%
SP vs. Right	0.325	14	24.6%	9.2%	SP vs. Right	0.290	6	18.9%	6.3%
Batter Splits					Batter Splits
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Michael Fiers
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$8,700		Salary:$9,000
				FPPG:30.4		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:48.5
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	3.84	23.7%	8.4%	20.3%	37.6%	5	12

Fiers has to be a little nervous for his first start of the season, after the Yankees put up 16 runs last night against Colin McHugh and the Astros’ bullpen. When Fiers came back to the majors in 2014, he was striking out hitters left and right. The crazy part is that his fastball doesn’t even top 90 MPH. His strikeout rate came back down to Earth last season, but he still struck out 23.7% of the batters that he faced. The issue with Fiers is that he is a fly ball pitcher that is facing a potent Yankees’ offense in a hitter-friendly ballpark. That’s more than enough reason to avoid him today.

Nathan Eovaldi
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$9,100		Salary:$8,200
				FPPG:28.8		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:68.5
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	3.99	18.0%	7.3%	21.8%	52.2%	4	29

Eovaldi has the exact opposite problem as Mike Fiers. He has all of the velocity in the world, but he hasn’t been able to turn that into an elite strikeout rate. In his 27 starts last season, his fastball sat at around 97 MPH. While that’s great, he was only able to strike out 18% of the batters that he faced. He has developed some better offspeed pitches throughout the years though, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him post a career-high strikeout rate this season. He draws a boom or bust matchup against the Astros, but they aren’t really a team that I am going to pick on when they are playing in hitter’s parks.

Batter Grind Down

Houston

The Astros put up six runs against the Yankees last night, but still managed to lose by double digits. They are a young offense that will have a lot of success this season. They will also strike out at one of the highest rates of any team in baseball. The way to attack Nathan Eovaldi is from the left side of the plate, but I wouldn’t count out some of the talented right-handed hitters in this lineup.

Elite Plays

Colby Rasmus
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,000		Salary:$3,400
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:9.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	485	0.339	0.236	115	25	31.8%	9.7%
vs.RH Pitching	345	0.329	0.243	107	18	32.5%	7.8%

Secondary Plays

Carlos Correa
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$4,600		Salary:$4,800
			Position:SS		Position:SS
			FPPG:39.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	432	0.365	0.233	133	22	18.1%	9.3%
vs.RH Pitching	292	0.359	0.209	128	13	19.5%	8.9%

George Springer
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,400		Salary:$4,900
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:16.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	451	0.360	0.183	129	16	24.2%	11.1%
vs.RH Pitching	291	0.336	0.154	113	8	26.5%	10.3%

NY Yankees

The Yankees offense went bananas last night and their players were all fairly low owned. I bring this up for two reasons. First, the variance in baseball is high, which makes predicting outcomes on a nightly basis difficult. It also means that offenses that we project to be in mediocre matchups could break out and have huge outings. The second reason is from a stacking perspective. When you can stack offenses that will be low-owned, you will put yourself significantly ahead of the field in GPPs when that offense performs well. If you stack the Rockies in Coors Field, you will likely still have to beat out a number of lineups because they are going to be so highly owned.

Now, back to the Yankees. They draw a favorable matchup against Mike Fiers, who did not pitch well away from home last year. He is a fly ball pitcher and the Yankees get to face him in a home run-friendly ballpark. There are a number of ways you can go with the Yankees’ offense.

Elite Plays

Mark Teixeira
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,800		Salary:$4,400
			Position:1B		Position:1B
			FPPG:18.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	462	0.381	0.293	143	31	18.4%	12.8%
vs.RH Pitching	312	0.399	0.339	155	25	21.2%	10.3%

Brian McCann
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,900		Salary:$3,800
			Position:C		Position:C
			FPPG:18.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	535	0.327	0.204	105	26	18.1%	9.7%
vs.RH Pitching	402	0.325	0.212	104	20	17.7%	10.0%

Secondary Plays

Jacoby Ellsbury
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,200		Salary:$4,600
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:7.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	501	0.294	0.088	83	7	17.2%	7.0%
vs.RH Pitching	328	0.294	0.097	82	5	15.5%	7.0%

Brett Gardner
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,800		Salary:$4,300
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:9.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	656	0.327	0.140	105	16	20.6%	10.4%
vs.RH Pitching	456	0.323	0.147	102	13	20.6%	10.5%

Carlos Beltran
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,200		Salary:$3,900
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:16.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	531	0.346	0.195	119	19	16.0%	8.5%
vs.RH Pitching	377	0.358	0.196	127	14	15.9%	9.3%

Miami at Washington – 4:05 PM ET

Miami					Washington
			Adam Conley					Tanner Roark
			LEFT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			WAS -140					8.0
Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%
SP vs. Left	0.344	1	20.5%	15.9%	SP vs. Left	0.369	9	12.4%	7.1%
SP vs. Right	0.308	6	21.1%	5.9%	SP vs. Right	0.304	8	17.4%	4.1%
Batter Splits					Batter Splits
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Adam Conley
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$6,200		Salary:$7,300
				FPPG:22.8		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:48.6
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	3.98	21.0%	7.5%	18.8%	40.6%	3	14

Conley was never considered a top prospect, but he made the most of his opportunities to start in the majors last season, posting a 3.98 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 21%. The sample size is still small on Conley and at best he is a third or fourth member of a starting rotation. He opens his season in a difficult matchup against the Nationals. While the ballpark does help his appeal, he is a sizable underdog pitching on the road. He may struggle with all of the quality right-handed hitters in this Nationals’ lineup.

Tanner Roark
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$6,700		Salary:$7,000
				FPPG:10.7		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:62.2
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	4.16	15.0%	5.6%	21.7%	47.8%	29	6

Roark is an automatic fade for me every time I see him listed as a starter. I have nothing against him personally, but he has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any starting pitcher in baseball. In 2015, he finished with a 4.16 SIERA and a strikeout rate of only 15%. The worst part is that a lot of his work last season was out of the bullpen. Roark has a decent chance of picking up a win at home, but his upside is severely limited. He is a decent SP2, but not a pitcher that I will be using on single-pitcher sites.

Batter Grind Down

Miami

The Marlins are small underdogs on the road today, but all is not lost. Tanner Roark has a very low strikeout rate and he allowed a .359 wOBA to left-handed hitters last season. Giancarlo Stanton is always worth a look in tournaments, but the left-handed bats in this lineup are the safest targets.

Elite Plays

NONE

Secondary Plays

Giancarlo Stanton
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$4,900		Salary:$5,500
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:15.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	318	0.394	0.341	152	27	29.9%	10.7%
vs.RH Pitching	251	0.375	0.291	139	18	29.5%	10.8%

Dee Gordon
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,800		Salary:$5,000
			Position:2B		Position:2B
			FPPG:19.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	653	0.337	0.085	113	4	13.9%	3.8%
vs.RH Pitching	484	0.329	0.079	108	2	13.8%	4.1%

Washington

The Nationals were a popular offense last night, but they failed to get much of anything going against Bud Norris and the Braves. They should have a better outing today, as they are one of the best offenses in baseball against left-handed pitching. In 2015, Adam Conley allowed a .305+ wOBA to both left and right-handed hitters.

Elite Plays

Ryan Zimmerman
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,700		Salary:$4,500
			Position:1B		Position:1B
			FPPG:7.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	390	0.329	0.217	107	16	20.3%	8.5%
vs.LH Pitching	101	0.439	0.352	182	7	19.8%	7.9%

Anthony Rendon
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,800		Salary:$4,400
			Position:3B		Position:2B/3B
			FPPG:3.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	355	0.315	0.100	97	5	19.7%	10.1%
vs.LH Pitching	67	0.334	0.066	110	0	11.9%	9.0%

Secondary Plays

Bryce Harper
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$5,100		Salary:$5,200
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:16.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	654	0.461	0.319	197	42	20.0%	19.0%
vs.LH Pitching	189	0.421	0.234	170	7	18.0%	16.9%

Daniel Murphy
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,100		Salary:$4,000
			Position:2B		Position:2B/3B
			FPPG:16.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	538	0.325	0.168	110	14	7.1%	5.8%
vs.LH Pitching	134	0.275	0.095	76	1	9.7%	3.0%

Michael Taylor
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,200		Salary:
			Position:OF		Position:
			FPPG:1.5		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	511	0.274	0.129	69	14	30.9%	6.8%
vs.LH Pitching	113	0.285	0.135	77	4	31.9%	7.1%

LA Dodgers at San Francisco – 4:35 PM ET

LA Dodgers					San Francisco
			Alex Wood					Jake Peavy
			LEFT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			SF -113					7.5
Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR Allowed	K%	BB%
SP vs. Left	0.228	1	20.8%	2.7%	SP vs. Left	0.280	8	18.8%	6.7%
SP vs. Right	0.343	14	16.3%	8.7%	SP vs. Right	0.312	4	16.1%	4.5%
Batter Splits					Batter Splits
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

Alex Wood
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$7,800		Salary:$6,600
				FPPG:27.7		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:58.5
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	4.17	17.4%	7.4%	23.0%	49.5%	17	5

Wood is a pitcher that is not afraid to attack hitters. He has never had the most electric stuff though, and he is coming off of a season where he only struck out 17.4% of the hitters that he faced. Wood will be playable at times this season, thanks to the fact that he has a potent offense supporting him and that half of his starts will be in Dodger Stadium. I’m not looking to target him out of the gates though, as the Giants are an offense that is always near the bottom of the league in strikeouts.

Jake Peavy
				FanDuel:		DraftKings:
				Salary:$7,500		Salary:$8,000
				FPPG:27.9		FPPG:N/A
				Pitcher Rating:59.8
Statistics	SIERA	K%	BB%	LD%	GB%	O-wOBA	O-K%
2015	4.33	17.4%	5.6%	17.0%	37.9%	8	17

Peavy is getting up there in age. He is slowly morphing into one of those guys that you would consider a better real-life pitcher than for fantasy baseball. His strikeout rate has declined over the last few seasons and there is nothing to suggest that the trend won’t continue in 2016. His limited strikeout potential gives him limited upside, even though he gets to play half of his games in the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Peavy can be avoided today against the Dodgers, who have one of the best offenses in the National League.

Batter Grind Down

LA Dodgers

The Dodgers are small underdogs in a game that features a mediocre total of 7.5 runs. Their offense has been on fire out of the gates though, and they statistically match up well against Jake Peavy. They have a number of quality left-handed bats to throw at Peavy. Given the low team total, the Dodgers’ bats are secondary options.

Elite Plays

NONE

Secondary Plays

Adrian Gonzalez
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,400		Salary:$4,400
			Position:1B		Position:1B
			FPPG:18.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	643	0.354	0.205	129	28	16.6%	9.6%
vs.RH Pitching	464	0.360	0.230	133	24	17.2%	11.0%

Corey Seager
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,700		Salary:$4,200
			Position:SS		Position:3B/SS
			FPPG:15.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	113	0.421	0.224	175	4	16.8%	12.4%
vs.RH Pitching	66	0.437	0.259	186	2	16.7%	10.6%

Chase Utley
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$2,500		Salary:$3,700
			Position:2B		Position:2B
			FPPG:12.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	423	0.274	0.131	71	8	15.1%	7.6%
vs.RH Pitching	308	0.282	0.145	76	7	14.0%	7.5%

San Francisco

The Giants are an interesting offense today. While they don’t have the highest team total, they hit left-handed pitching well as a team. I never try to target lefty/lefty matchups unless I have to, but all of the right-handed bats are in play here. Alex Wood allowed a .343 wOBA to hitters from the right side of the plate last season.

Elite Plays

Buster Posey
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$4,000		Salary:$4,500
			Position:C		Position:1B/C
			FPPG:11.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	623	0.363	0.153	138	19	8.3%	9.0%
vs.LH Pitching	148	0.366	0.182	140	5	6.1%	6.1%

Secondary Plays

Hunter Pence
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,000		Salary:$4,600
			Position:OF		Position:OF
			FPPG:5.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	223	0.347	0.203	127	9	21.5%	7.2%
vs.LH Pitching	41	0.245	0.150	57	1	19.5%	2.4%

Matt Duffy
			FanDuel:		DraftKings:
			Salary:$3,300		Salary:$3,900
			Position:3B		Position:1B/3B
			FPPG:17.0		FPPG:N/A
Statistics	PA	wOBA	ISO	wRC+	HR	K%	BB%
Overall (2015)	612	0.331	0.133	116	12	15.7%	4.9%
vs.RH Pitching	2	0.440	0.000	185	0	50.0%	0.0%

Have a question for our experts about today’s games? Check out Expert Chat

Monday through Friday for FanDuel and DraftKings Incentives Members – 5:00 PM EST

Jump to Page 1 2