MLB Grind Down: Thursday, August 2nd
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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, FanDuel promo code, and FantasyDraft promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.
Stackability Rating System:
GREEN – A viable full stack in cash games and GPPs.
YELLOW – A viable mini-stack in cash games and full stack in GPPs.
ORANGE – A viable stack in large field GPPs.
RED – Not a recommended stack for cash games or GPPs.
Implied Run Totals
Ballpark Ratings
LA Angels at Tampa Bay – 1:10 PM ET
| LA Angels | Tampa Bay | ||||||||||||||
 | Andrew Heaney |  | Hunter Wood | ||||||||||||
| LEFT | RIGHT | ||||||||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||||||||
| TBD | |||||||||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.221 | 0.260 | 25.0% | 0.00 | 24.0% | 54.8% | SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.328 | 0.264 | 28.6% | 1.13 | 27.0% | 50.0% | ||
| SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.316 | 0.341 | 41.7% | 1.51 | 22.9% | 36.8% | SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.314 | 0.291 | 34.4% | 1.69 | 23.9% | 43.8% | ||
Pitcher Grind Down
| Andrew Heaney | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $9,000 | Salary: | $9,600 | Salary: | $18,800 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 5 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 5 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 5 of 22 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 | 4.05 | 7.06 | 26.7% | 8.9% | 30.2% | 50.8% | 12.3% | 91.9 | 13.5% | |
| 2018 | 19 | 3.90 | 3.64 | 23.2% | 6.7% | 40.9% | 37.9% | 20.6% | 91.7 | 11.6% | |
| L14 | 2 | 4.28 | 2.57 | 16.7% | 3.7% | 42.9% | 52.4% | 19.1% | 91.6 | 8.7% | |
As someone that plays DFS and provides fantasy sports content for a living, I try to be as transparent as possible. There is no nice way to put this — my recommendations were atrocious for yesterday’s baseball slates. I can’t remember another time all season where I was so wrong about the players and games. I’ll go ahead and give myself an “F” for those selections. While I’m sorry that I led my loyal readers astray, just know that I was right there with you. My lineups bombed in both the early and main slates and I’m not talking about the good “you da bomb” saying from the 90s. Cheers to a new day and a new slate because I am ready to move on from that nightmare of a Wednesday.
We have a split schedule on Thursday with three early games and nine late games. Heaney is easily the most talented pitcher to take the mound in the three early games and he’s fared well in ballparks that suppress home run production. He’s a fly-ball pitcher that gives up a lot of hard contact, so it makes sense why he’s had such good splits at home (Angels Stadium is one of the toughest ballparks on home run production). He is susceptible to right-handed power, but there aren’t many batters in the Rays’ offense that we need to worry about. As a whole, their projected lineup has a 25% strikeout rate against left-handed pitching.
Quick Breakdown: Heaney is the number one pitching option in the early slate and an elite play in all formats.
| Hunter Wood | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $5,500 | Salary: | $4,300 | Salary: | $8,200 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 23 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 22 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 23 of 24 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 0 | 13.42 | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 90.0 | 0.0% | |
| 2018 | 3 | 3.83 | 3.38 | 25.3% | 10.8% | 46.2% | 32.1% | 20.8% | 94.0 | 13.8% | |
| L14 | 2 | 2.89 | 4.91 | 36.1% | 11.1% | 42.1% | 21.1% | 10.5% | 94.4 | 15.0% | |
Wood’s statistics look solid across the board, but keep in mind that he is racking up these statistics while only pitching an inning or two at a time. He may be a starter in name, but for our purposes he should be treated as a reliever. He’s not going to pitch deep enough into today’s game to be eligible for the win. In order for this play to pay off, you would need a perfect two or three innings from Wood with all of the other pitchers in the early slate not living up to their salary-based expectations. That’s a lot to ask, even in large-field tournaments.
Quick Breakdown: Wood doesn’t have a high enough floor or ceiling to warrant consideration in any format.
Batter Grind Down
LA Angels
The Angels haven’t fared well against left-handed pitching this season, but they have quietly mashed righties. Some of this is inflated by the small sample size for Francisco Arcia, but their projected lineup has an average xwOBA of .390 with a strikeout rate of only 16% against right-handed pitching. They’ll face Hunter Wood to start this game and it sounds like he will be followed by Jalen Beeks (lefty). Mike Trout remains an elite play in all formats. He has speed, he has power, and he mashes both left and right-handed pitching. Kole Calhoun, Shohei Ohtani, and Justin Upton are also viable, but I see them as secondary options at their respective positions.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kole Calhoun | LEFT | 0.333 | 0.204 | 39.6% | 5.8% | 24.7% | 47.9% | OF | $3,200 | OF | $4,100 | RF | $8,500 |
| 2 | Shohei Ohtani | LEFT | 0.419 | 0.304 | 45.1% | 10.0% | 24.3% | 41.8% | OF | $3,100 | OF | $4,700 | N/A | N/A |
| 3 | Mike Trout | RIGHT | 0.446 | 0.326 | 47.6% | 20.8% | 19.1% | 33.0% | OF | $5,300 | OF | $6,000 | CF | $11,300 |
| 4 | Justin Upton | RIGHT | 0.396 | 0.221 | 46.9% | 12.2% | 26.4% | 42.7% | OF | $3,600 | OF | $4,900 | LF | $8,800 |
| 5 | Albert Pujols | RIGHT | 0.374 | 0.182 | 42.4% | 4.2% | 12.5% | 37.7% | 1B | $3,000 | 1B | $4,400 | 1B | $8,600 |
| 6 | Andrelton Simmons | RIGHT | 0.352 | 0.121 | 36.6% | 5.4% | 4.7% | 47.9% | SS | $3,100 | SS | $4,000 | SS | $7,200 |
| 7 | Kaleb Cowart | SWITCH | 0.290 | 0.125 | 42.9% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 28.6% | 3B | $2,100 | 3B | $3,300 | 3B | $6,700 |
| 8 | Francisco Arcia | LEFT | 0.615 | 1.000 | 71.4% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 28.6% | C | $2,200 | C | $3,400 | C | $6,500 |
| 9 | David Fletcher | RIGHT | 0.286 | 0.079 | 27.3% | 6.0% | 11.9% | 30.9% | 2B | $2,900 | 3B | $3,500 | 3B | $6,300 |
| Team Averages | 0.390 | 0.285 | 44.4% | 9.6% | 16.2% | 37.7% |
Elite Plays – Mike Trout
Secondary Plays – Kole Calhoun, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton
Stackability –
Tampa Bay
The Rays’ lineup isn’t all that intimidating at this point of the season, even though they tend to get the most out of their players. While there are only three games in the early slate, we shouldn’t feel obligated to target anyone from this offense. We have two hittable pitchers squaring off in Chicago in a potential shootout. Andrew Heaney does allow a lot of hard contact to right-handed hitters if you want to give Daniel Robertson (.387 xwOBA against lefties) or Tommy Pham (.448 xwOBA against lefties) a look in tournaments.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. LH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Kiermaier | LEFT | 0.239 | 0.200 | 17.2% | 10.0% | 32.0% | 48.3% | OF | $2,900 | OF | $3,900 | CF | $7,500 |
| 2 | Matt Duffy | RIGHT | 0.319 | 0.077 | 31.9% | 8.0% | 19.0% | 59.7% | 3B | $2,800 | 3B | $3,400 | 3B | $6,300 |
| 3 | Daniel Robertson | RIGHT | 0.387 | 0.187 | 33.9% | 15.1% | 15.1% | 50.0% | 2B | $2,800 | 2B/SS | $3,700 | LF | $3,900 |
| 4 | C.J. Cron | RIGHT | 0.334 | 0.210 | 38.8% | 8.0% | 30.1% | 41.8% | 1B | $3,600 | 1B | $4,100 | 1B | $8,200 |
| 5 | Jake Bauers | LEFT | 0.290 | 0.250 | 46.7% | 9.1% | 22.7% | 50.0% | 1B | $3,400 | 1B/OF | $4,300 | 1B | $8,100 |
| 6 | Tommy Pham | RIGHT | 0.448 | 0.101 | 49.2% | 12.9% | 19.4% | 54.1% | OF | $2,700 | OF | $4,600 | CF | $8,900 |
| 7 | Carlos Gomez | RIGHT | 0.304 | 0.157 | 30.5% | 5.3% | 25.3% | 27.1% | OF | $2,500 | OF | $3,600 | CF | $7,500 |
| 8 | Jesus Sucre | RIGHT | 0.287 | 0.036 | 40.0% | 9.4% | 12.5% | 48.0% | C | $2,000 | C | $2,700 | C | $5,500 |
| 9 | Willy Adames | RIGHT | 0.233 | 0.133 | 35.7% | 6.3% | 50.0% | 28.6% | SS | $2,300 | 2B/SS | $3,300 | SS | $6,800 |
| Team Averages | 0.316 | 0.150 | 36.0% | 9.3% | 25.1% | 45.3% |
Elite Plays – None
Secondary Plays – Daniel Robertson (GPP), Tommy Pham (GPP)
Stackability – ORANGE
Colorado at St. Louis – 1:15 PM ET
| Colorado | St. Louis | ||||||||||||||
 | Antonio Senzatela |  | Miles Mikolas | ||||||||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||||||||
| STL-145 | 8.5 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.304 | 0.304 | 32.7% | 0.53 | 17.8% | 50.0% | SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.301 | 0.326 | 38.7% | 0.79 | 15.9% | 46.0% | ||
| SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.326 | 0.352 | 42.3% | 0.74 | 17.9% | 50.0% | SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.221 | 0.268 | 27.3% | 0.43 | 19.1% | 58.8% | ||
Pitcher Grind Down
| Antonio Senzatela | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $7,100 | Salary: | $6,600 | Salary: | $12,900 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 12 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 13 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 12 of 22 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 20 | 4.55 | 4.68 | 18.1% | 8.3% | 50.1% | 29.4% | 18.5% | 94.3 | 6.9% | |
| 2018 | 4 | 4.38 | 5.01 | 17.9% | 8.4% | 50.0% | 38.5% | 16.9% | 94.2 | 7.3% | |
| L14 | 2 | 4.40 | 4.09 | 25.5% | 12.8% | 35.7% | 44.8% | 13.8% | 93.9 | 7.3% | |
Senzatela has spent most of his time in the minors this season where he has accumulated a 2.92 FIP with a strikeout rate of 28% and a walk rate of 8%. That has yet to translate to success at the major league level, but he’s still only 23 years young. I’m encouraged by the high k-rate in the minors and by the fact that he’s had an above-average ground ball rate at every level that he’s pitched at. He sees a significant ballpark boost pitching in St. Louis and he gets to face a right-handed heavy Cardinals’ lineup that has a 25% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season.
Quick Breakdown: Senzatela is still unproven at the major league level, but there are more positives than negatives in a matchup against the Cardinals.
| Miles Mikolas | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $7,800 | Salary: | $9,100 | Salary: | $17,700 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 9 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 7 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 7 of 22 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 21 | 3.99 | 2.83 | 17.3% | 4.4% | 51.5% | 33.7% | 19.2% | 94.0 | 8.8% | |
| L14 | 2 | 3.51 | 3.27 | 18.2% | 6.8% | 64.5% | 45.5% | 6.1% | 93.7 | 12.2% | |
Mikolas is a better pitcher in real life than he is in daily fantasy baseball. Pitchers that get a lot of outs (by ways other than the strikeout) tend to be more valuable to a real baseball team than a fantasy baseball team. In 21 starts this season, he owns a 3.99 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 17%. Those are mediocre numbers on the surface, but he throws a lot of strikes and induces a lot of ground balls (52%). This allows him to pitch well and to pitch deep into games. He typically doesn’t pique my interest in most slates, but he sees a strikeout boost thanks to a matchup against the Rockies. They have struggled away from home this season and their projected lineup has a 27% strikeout rate against right-handed pitching this season.
Quick Breakdown: I’ll take Mikolas as my number two behind Heaney in the early slate.
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Once again, Luke Weaver chalk busted. You would think that we would eventually learn our lesson. It wasn’t even that the Rockies’ offense scored a lot of runs, they just took a lot of pitches and the Cardinals ended up taking him out in the third inning. Today’s matchup against Miles Mikolas is significantly more difficult. Miles Mikolas may not have a high strikeout rate, but he induces a lot of ground balls and rarely gives up home runs. Add the poor matchup to the negative ballpark shift playing in St. Louis and the Rockies become a tough sell in anything outside of tournaments.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DJ LeMahieu | RIGHT | 0.339 | 0.137 | 35.4% | 6.5% | 16.8% | 47.9% | 2B | $3,000 | 2B | $3,500 | 2B | $6,700 |
| 2 | Charlie Blackmon | LEFT | 0.366 | 0.263 | 35.6% | 9.7% | 19.5% | 40.9% | OF | $4,100 | OF | $5,000 | CF | $9,700 |
| 3 | Nolan Arenado | RIGHT | 0.349 | 0.201 | 40.2% | 10.5% | 19.9% | 40.7% | 3B | $4,100 | 3B | $5,100 | 3B | $9,500 |
| 4 | Carlos Gonzalez | LEFT | 0.323 | 0.225 | 36.0% | 8.2% | 23.6% | 43.6% | OF | $2,700 | OF | $4,800 | RF | $8,900 |
| 5 | Trevor Story | RIGHT | 0.352 | 0.226 | 44.7% | 7.4% | 25.3% | 35.4% | SS | $3,400 | SS | $4,500 | SS | $8,900 |
| 6 | Ian Desmond | RIGHT | 0.315 | 0.188 | 34.5% | 9.7% | 27.1% | 63.1% | 1B | $3,300 | 1B | $3,900 | LF | $7,800 |
| 7 | Gerardo Parra | LEFT | 0.338 | 0.118 | 39.0% | 7.4% | 16.9% | 40.9% | OF | $2,500 | OF | $3,600 | LF | $7,600 |
| 8 | Tom Murphy | RIGHT | 0.236 | 0.179 | 32.3% | 3.4% | 43.1% | 29.0% | C | $2,100 | C | $3,300 | C | $6,700 |
| 9 | Antonio Senzatela | RIGHT | 0.074 | 0.143 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 50.0% | 100.0% | P | $7,100 | P | $6,600 | P | $12,900 |
| Team Averages | 0.299 | 0.187 | 33.1% | 7.0% | 26.9% | 49.1% |
Elite Plays – None
Secondary Plays – Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez
Stackability – ORANGE
St. Louis
The Cardinals are facing a talented young pitcher in Antonio Senzatela, who has pitched well in the minors this season. While they are impressive, he hasn’t been able to sustain anywhere near that level of success in the majors. If we look at his career splits, he has allowed a .315 xwOBA to lefties and a .327 xwOBA to righties with a ground ball rate of 49%+ against both. I’m not seeing this as a great spot to load up on the Cardinals’ offense. We have two hittable pitchers to attack in the next game in a more hitter-friendly ballpark.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Carpenter | LEFT | 0.430 | 0.284 | 49.3% | 14.1% | 23.0% | 19.4% | 3B | $4,000 | 1B/3B | $5,200 | 3B | $9,800 |
| 2 | Yadier Molina | RIGHT | 0.368 | 0.202 | 46.5% | 5.2% | 13.7% | 41.7% | C | $2,800 | C | $4,200 | C | $8,100 |
| 3 | Paul DeJong | RIGHT | 0.364 | 0.174 | 38.0% | 6.7% | 25.1% | 31.0% | SS | $3,000 | SS | $4,000 | SS | $7,700 |
| 4 | Marcell Ozuna | RIGHT | 0.348 | 0.113 | 45.0% | 5.7% | 18.6% | 47.4% | OF | $3,200 | OF | $3,900 | LF | $7,200 |
| 5 | Jedd Gyorko | RIGHT | 0.271 | 0.107 | 35.7% | 8.6% | 23.1% | 39.7% | 3B | $2,700 | 2B/3B | $3,700 | 3B | $7,500 |
| 6 | Tyler O’Neill | RIGHT | 0.337 | 0.256 | 37.5% | 2.4% | 38.1% | 33.3% | OF | $2,500 | OF | $4,000 | LF | $7,700 |
| 7 | Dexter Fowler | SWITCH | 0.273 | 0.118 | 30.6% | 11.4% | 21.2% | 39.4% | OF | $2,700 | OF | $3,700 | CF | $7,500 |
| 8 | Kolten Wong | LEFT | 0.302 | 0.162 | 28.8% | 7.1% | 15.6% | 47.7% | 2B | $2,000 | 2B | $3,200 | 2B | $6,800 |
| 9 | Miles Mikolas | RIGHT | 0.175 | 0.115 | 23.1% | 6.7% | 50.0% | 70.0% | P | $7,800 | P | $9,100 | P | $17,700 |
| Team Averages | 0.319 | 0.170 | 37.2% | 7.5% | 25.4% | 41.1% |
Elite Plays – Matt Carpenter (GPP)
Secondary Plays – Matt Carpenter (Cash), Paul DeJong
Stackability – ORANGE / YELLOW
Kansas City at Chicago White Sox – 2:10 PM ET
| Kansas City | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||||||||
 | Brad Keller |  | Reynaldo Lopez | ||||||||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||||||||
| CWS-126 | 9.5 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.316 | 0.345 | 31.2% | 0.30 | 14.8% | 56.2% | SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.327 | 0.364 | 34.5% | 1.32 | 14.4% | 31.1% | ||
| SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.279 | 0.322 | 34.0% | 0.39 | 13.6% | 55.8% | SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.341 | 0.378 | 32.6% | 1.48 | 18.2% | 36.1% | ||
Pitcher Grind Down
| Brad Keller | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $6,200 | Salary: | $6,800 | Salary: | $13,800 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 17 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 11 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 10 of 22 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 10 | 4.79 | 3.43 | 14.1% | 10.0% | 55.9% | 32.9% | 17.5% | 94.1 | 7.8% | |
| L14 | 2 | 4.59 | 4.97 | 17.0% | 9.4% | 51.4% | 39.5% | 7.9% | 93.5 | 7.3% | |
Keller is a 23-year old rookie that skipped the Triple-A level completely. In total, he has made ten major league starts and 21 relief appearances. He currently owns a 4.79 SIERA with an uninspiring strikeout rate of 14%. His biggest weapon is his high ground ball rate (56%), but that always puts him at the mercy of BABIP. On average, a ground ball goes for a hit more often than a fly ball. Keller is listed as an underdog in a game that features a total of 9.5 runs. This sets up as a potential shootout, which can’t be said about the other two games in the early slate.
Quick Breakdown: Avoid Keller in both cash games and tournaments.
| Reynaldo Lopez | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $6,000 | Salary: | $6,300 | Salary: | $12,800 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 19 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 14 of 22 | Salary Rank: | 13 of 22 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 8 | 5.44 | 4.72 | 14.5% | 6.8% | 30.2% | 27.8% | 17.9% | 94.5 | 9.0% | |
| 2018 | 21 | 5.38 | 4.57 | 16.3% | 10.4% | 33.5% | 33.6% | 20.2% | 95.3 | 8.5% | |
| L14 | 2 | 7.82 | 12.54 | 8.5% | 17.0% | 22.9% | 34.3% | 14.3% | 93.8 | 3.9% | |
Lopez has been a regression candidate all season. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned this every single time he takes the mound. Have no fear, the regression is here. After having a low ERA for the first couple months of the season, his bad peripheral statistics have finally caught up to him. He now owns a 4.57 ERA (5.38 SIERA) with a strikeout rate of 16% and a walk rate of 10%. It doesn’t really matter who the opponent is, I’ll take my chances with the offense that Lopez is facing each time he takes the mound.
Quick Breakdown: Lopez doesn’t have enough strikeout to warrant consideration, even in a matchup against the Royals.
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
The Royals scored ten runs last night. Sound the alarm. How many times have they had a high implied total this season, only to let us down in epic fashion? I’m not saying that they have turned a corner offensively, but they should be able to feast on Reynaldo Lopez and the White Sox bullpen. Lopez hasn’t been particularly effective against left or right-handed hitters, allowing a .360+ xwOBA and a 32%+ hard contact rate to both this season. The obvious plays here are the first four batters in the lineup — Whit Merrifield, Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez, and Lucas Duda. If you’d like to dive a little deeper, Brett Phillips and Ryan O’Hearn have both been swinging hot bats in this series and are cheap across the industry.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whit Merrifield | RIGHT | 0.337 | 0.088 | 37.7% | 10.1% | 17.7% | 36.2% | 2B | $3,600 | 2B/OF | $4,400 | IF/OF | $8,500 |
| 2 | Alex Gordon | LEFT | 0.372 | 0.131 | 39.6% | 6.9% | 21.6% | 47.3% | OF | $2,400 | OF | $3,300 | LF | $6,400 |
| 3 | Salvador Perez | RIGHT | 0.363 | 0.190 | 46.7% | 2.3% | 19.1% | 34.7% | C | $2,900 | C | $4,600 | C | $9,200 |
| 4 | Lucas Duda | LEFT | 0.365 | 0.194 | 42.1% | 8.5% | 26.0% | 28.9% | 1B | $2,600 | 1B | $4,200 | 1B | $8,400 |
| 5 | Rosell Herrera | SWITCH | 0.255 | 0.133 | 40.0% | 4.2% | 27.4% | 55.4% | OF | $2,300 | OF | $3,500 | 2B | $6,300 |
| 6 | Brett Phillips | LEFT | 0.365 | 0.238 | 54.6% | 8.7% | 43.5% | 36.4% | OF | $2,100 | OF | $3,700 | CF | $7,700 |
| 7 | Ryan O’Hearn | LEFT | 0.393 | 1.500 | 50.0% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 50.0% | 1B | $2,000 | 1B | $3,600 | 1B | $7,400 |
| 8 | Alcides Escobar | RIGHT | 0.265 | 0.050 | 32.8% | 4.6% | 12.1% | 45.3% | 3B | $2,000 | SS | $2,800 | SS | $5,700 |
| 9 | Adalberto Mondesi | RIGHT | 0.333 | 0.164 | 43.8% | 1.5% | 27.9% | 52.2% | SS | $2,700 | 2B/SS | $4,300 | 2B | $8,100 |
| Team Averages | 0.339 | 0.299 | 43.0% | 8.9% | 21.7% | 42.9% |
Elite Plays – Whit Merrifield, Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez (DK), Lucas Duda
Secondary Plays – Brett Phillips, Ryan O’Hearn
Stackability – YELLOW / GREEN
Chicago White Sox
My hope is that the lack of talent included in these two offenses will help keep ownership in this game at a reasonable level, because it is by far my favorite of the three in the early slate. Brad Keller hasn’t pitched well out of the bullpen or as a starter. He may have a high ground ball rate, but that comes with a low strikeout rate of 14% and a walk rate of 10%. Yoan Moncada was one of the few correct calls that I made yesterday and I’ll be going back to the well tonight. He has a high fly-ball rate against righties, stolen base upside, and plenty of power in his bat. Due to the small slate, I also consider Yolmer Sanchez, Jose Abreu, Daniel Palka, and Avisail Garcia as elite plays at their respective positions.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoan Moncada | SWITCH | 0.347 | 0.202 | 39.1% | 10.1% | 33.3% | 31.1% | 2B | $3,400 | 2B | $4,100 | 2B | $8,300 |
| 2 | Yolmer Sanchez | SWITCH | 0.313 | 0.172 | 28.3% | 6.3% | 17.8% | 46.3% | 3B | $2,600 | 3B | $3,600 | 2B | $7,400 |
| 3 | Jose Abreu | RIGHT | 0.373 | 0.191 | 35.0% | 6.5% | 17.6% | 44.6% | 1B | $3,800 | 1B | $4,700 | 1B | $9,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Palka | LEFT | 0.329 | 0.275 | 38.1% | 5.2% | 35.1% | 38.9% | OF | $2,800 | OF | $4,500 | IF/OF | $8,900 |
| 5 | Avisail Garcia | RIGHT | 0.372 | 0.254 | 41.0% | 1.4% | 22.7% | 47.6% | OF | $3,000 | OF | $4,200 | RF | $8,200 |
| 6 | Leury Garcia | SWITCH | 0.279 | 0.115 | 25.7% | 3.2% | 26.1% | 51.9% | OF | $2,400 | OF | $3,900 | IF/OF | $7,800 |
| 7 | Nick Delmonico | LEFT | 0.344 | 0.154 | 27.4% | 9.8% | 16.5% | 42.1% | OF | $2,200 | OF | $4,000 | IF/OF | $7,600 |
| 8 | Omar Narvaez | LEFT | 0.336 | 0.161 | 26.1% | 8.3% | 18.5% | 39.5% | C | $2,200 | C | $3,500 | C | $6,300 |
| 9 | Tim Anderson | RIGHT | 0.274 | 0.151 | 25.9% | 6.1% | 25.8% | 50.0% | SS | $2,900 | SS | $3,800 | SS | $7,200 |
| Team Averages | 0.330 | 0.186 | 31.8% | 6.3% | 23.7% | 43.6% |
Elite Plays – Yoan Moncada, Yolmer Sanchez, Jose Abreu, Daniel Palka, Avisail Garcia
Secondary Plays – Leury Garcia, Nick Delmonico
Stackability – GREEN
Cincinnati at Washington – 7:05 PM ET
| Cincinnati | Washington | ||||||||||||||
 | Tyler Mahle |  | Max Scherzer | ||||||||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||||||||
| WAS-280 | 8.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.414 | 0.379 | 45.0% | 2.66 | 23.0% | 28.3% | SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.260 | 0.250 | 27.1% | 0.94 | 32.7% | 35.8% | ||
| SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.287 | 0.307 | 38.4% | 0.95 | 20.5% | 46.4% | SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.241 | 0.284 | 34.4% | 0.87 | 36.2% | 36.3% | ||
Pitcher Grind Down
| Tyler Mahle | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $6,100 | Salary: | $6,000 | Salary: | $11,800 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 18 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 17 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 16 of 24 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4 | 5.53 | 2.70 | 15.2% | 12.0% | 52.5% | 23.8% | 22.2% | 92.9 | 6.8% | |
| 2018 | 21 | 4.46 | 4.53 | 21.8% | 9.9% | 37.9% | 41.5% | 13.6% | 92.5 | 10.1% | |
| L14 | 2 | 5.59 | 12.15 | 15.8% | 10.5% | 25.9% | 50.0% | 10.7% | 91.9 | 7.9% | |
We start tonight’s nine-game slate with two pitchers on opposite ends of the spectrum. In 21 starts this season, Mahle owns a 4.46 SIERA with a 10% walk rate. He has a high fly-ball rate and he allows a lot of hard contact, especially to left-handed hitters. A quick glance at the lineup for the Nationals and Mahle should be shaking in his cleats. Washington’s projected lineup has six lefties in it and five of them have xwOBA of at least .380 against right-handed pitching this season.
Quick Breakdown: This is an awful matchup for Mahle. He is an easy fade in all formats.
| Max Scherzer | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $11,800 | Salary: | $13,000 | Salary: | $25,000 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 1 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 1 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 1 of 24 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 31 | 2.98 | 2.51 | 34.4% | 7.1% | 36.5% | 26.5% | 19.5% | 94.1 | 15.5% | |
| 2018 | 22 | 2.73 | 2.30 | 34.4% | 6.2% | 36.0% | 30.5% | 24.6% | 94.2 | 16.6% | |
| L14 | 2 | 2.55 | 1.29 | 32.7% | 3.6% | 41.2% | 23.5% | 32.4% | 94.5 | 16.0% | |
Scherzer has been elite in every sense of the word. There is always the debate about who the best pitcher in baseball is. While I’ll concede that the honor belongs to Chris Sale, Scherzer isn’t far behind. In 22 starts this season, he has a 2.73 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 34%. The most impressive statistic this season has been his soft contact rate (24%). Pitchers with high velocity fastballs tend to give up a lot of hard contact, but that hasn’t been the case for Scherzer. While the Reds have some capable hitters in their lineup, I wouldn’t call this a bat matchup, especially in this ballpark. Scherzer deserves to be considered the top overall pitcher tonight.
Quick Breakdown: Scherzer is expensive, but he’s the number one arm on the schedule.
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
I often talk about creating leverage on the field in tournaments. You can do this in two ways — you can target low-owned plays or you can fade highly owned plays. To create real leverage, you can fade a highly owned pitcher and target hitters against him. If you stacked the Reds and they scored ten runs against Max Scherzer and company, you would be swimming in winnings. Does that mean we should take a shot on them? Of course not. There are better ways to create leverage than to target batters against elite pitchers.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Peraza | RIGHT | 0.304 | 0.109 | 31.6% | 6.4% | 11.9% | 37.0% | SS | $2,600 | SS | $3,300 | SS | $6,500 |
| 2 | Scooter Gennett | LEFT | 0.354 | 0.193 | 38.7% | 8.1% | 17.3% | 38.1% | 2B | $3,500 | 2B | $4,100 | 2B | $8,000 |
| 3 | Joey Votto | LEFT | 0.458 | 0.161 | 38.8% | 19.0% | 12.9% | 34.0% | 1B | $3,700 | 1B | $3,900 | 1B | $7,400 |
| 4 | Eugenio Suarez | RIGHT | 0.377 | 0.256 | 51.1% | 9.1% | 23.4% | 35.6% | 3B | $3,800 | 3B | $4,100 | 3B | $8,200 |
| 5 | Mason Williams | LEFT | 0.400 | 0.273 | 45.5% | 0.0% | 15.4% | 55.6% | OF | $2,100 | OF | $2,800 | CF | $5,600 |
| 6 | Tucker Barnhart | SWITCH | 0.339 | 0.112 | 40.1% | 10.5% | 16.8% | 41.3% | C | $2,600 | C | $3,000 | C | $6,000 |
| 7 | Phillip Ervin | RIGHT | 0.312 | 0.074 | 32.5% | 6.6% | 24.6% | 35.0% | OF | $2,400 | OF | $3,400 | RF | $6,600 |
| 8 | Tyler Mahle | RIGHT | 0.176 | 0.045 | 17.7% | 4.0% | 28.0% | 85.7% | P | $6,100 | P | $6,000 | P | $11,800 |
| 9 | Billy Hamilton | SWITCH | 0.247 | 0.071 | 19.8% | 10.0% | 24.1% | 45.3% | OF | $2,200 | OF | $2,800 | CF | $5,500 |
| Team Averages | 0.330 | 0.144 | 35.1% | 8.2% | 19.4% | 45.3% |
Elite Plays – None
Secondary Plays – None
Stackability – RED
Washington
The Nationals’ lefties should be licking their chops for tonight’s matchup against Tyler Mahle. Take a look at how he has fared against batters from the left side of the plate this season — .379 xwOBA allowed, 45% hard contact rate, and a 28% ground ball rate. The Nationals have no shortage of left-handed power. Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Matt Adams, and Daniel Murphy all own a .380+ xwOBA against right-handed pitching and outside of Harper, they all have low strikeout rates as well. You can play the Nationals in cash games and stack them in tournaments.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Eaton | LEFT | 0.400 | 0.119 | 43.9% | 10.9% | 13.5% | 45.1% | OF | $2,900 | OF | $4,800 | CF | $9,200 |
| 2 | Trea Turner | RIGHT | 0.323 | 0.146 | 32.4% | 8.1% | 21.3% | 51.5% | SS | $3,900 | SS | $5,200 | IF/OF | $9,400 |
| 3 | Anthony Rendon | RIGHT | 0.386 | 0.206 | 37.1% | 9.4% | 14.7% | 36.3% | 3B | $3,700 | 3B | $4,700 | 3B | $9,200 |
| 4 | Bryce Harper | LEFT | 0.390 | 0.272 | 42.7% | 18.7% | 26.6% | 36.5% | OF | $4,000 | OF | $5,400 | RF | $10,300 |
| 5 | Juan Soto | LEFT | 0.382 | 0.236 | 35.4% | 16.1% | 17.7% | 49.6% | OF | $3,800 | OF | $5,300 | LF | $9,800 |
| 6 | Matt Adams | LEFT | 0.400 | 0.295 | 39.2% | 9.7% | 19.4% | 31.5% | 1B | $2,900 | 1B/OF | $4,400 | 1B | $8,300 |
| 7 | Daniel Murphy | LEFT | 0.388 | 0.177 | 19.5% | 8.5% | 9.4% | 28.7% | 2B | $3,200 | 1B/2B | $4,500 | 2B | $9,000 |
| 8 | Matt Wieters | SWITCH | 0.278 | 0.101 | 28.0% | 9.9% | 14.9% | 40.5% | C | $2,400 | C | $3,200 | C | $6,700 |
| 9 | Max Scherzer | RIGHT | 0.231 | 0.026 | 15.6% | 0.0% | 17.1% | 71.0% | P | $11,800 | P | $13,000 | P | $25,000 |
| Team Averages | 0.353 | 0.175 | 32.6% | 10.1% | 17.2% | 43.4% |
Elite Plays – Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Matt Adams
Secondary Plays – Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, Daniel Murphy
Stackability – GREEN
Miami at Philadelphia – 7:05 PM ET
| Miami | Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||
 | Trevor Richards |  | Nick Pivetta | ||||||||||||
| RIGHT | RIGHT | ||||||||||||||
| Vegas Moneyline | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||||||||||
| PHI-180 | 9.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | Stats | wOBA | xwOBA | HC% | HR/9 | K% | GB% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.263 | 0.290 | 33.3% | 0.23 | 23.6% | 32.7% | SP vs. Left (2016-17) | 0.366 | 0.350 | 33.6% | 1.34 | 26.2% | 41.0% | ||
| SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.372 | 0.376 | 49.6% | 0.97 | 20.2% | 43.9% | SP vs. Right (2016-17) | 0.294 | 0.272 | 33.1% | 1.34 | 31.5% | 48.0% | ||
Pitcher Grind Down
| Trevor Richards | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $7,300 | Salary: | $6,700 | Salary: | $12,700 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 11 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 12 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 14 of 24 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 15 | 4.53 | 4.06 | 21.9% | 10.5% | 38.7% | 42.1% | 15.3% | 91.0 | 9.2% | |
| L14 | 2 | 3.05 | 0.71 | 30.4% | 6.5% | 48.1% | 39.3% | 7.1% | 90.7 | 10.9% | |
Richards has pitched at least six innings in three straight starts and has only allowed one earned run during that stretch. While it’s tempting to look at the recent form and an exploitable matchup against the Phillies, I’m trusting the long term form for Richards. On the season, he has a 4.53 SIERA with a high walk rate and a high fly-ball rate. That combination is always a risk in a home run-friendly ballpark. While there are some strikeouts to be had in the Phillies’ lineup, Richards looks a little too risky for my liking.
Quick Breakdown: Avoid Richards in cash games and only play him if you are building multiple tournament lineups.
| Nick Pivetta | |||||||||||
 | FanDuel | DraftKings | FantasyDraft | ||||||||
| Salary: | $8,300 | Salary: | $8,500 | Salary: | $16,200 | ||||||
| Salary Rank: | 7 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 8 of 24 | Salary Rank: | 8 of 24 | ||||||
| Stats | Starts | SIERA | ERA | K% | BB% | GB% | HC% | SC% | aFV | SwS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 26 | 4.32 | 6.02 | 24.0% | 9.8% | 43.8% | 35.5% | 15.9% | 94.4 | 8.7% | |
| 2018 | 21 | 3.27 | 4.85 | 29.0% | 6.9% | 44.7% | 33.3% | 16.2% | 94.8 | 12.1% | |
| L14 | 2 | 1.77 | 7.15 | 42.9% | 4.1% | 36.0% | 26.9% | 23.1% | 95.0 | 14.1% | |
You may not believe that luck plays a big role in baseball, but very few pitchers can sustain a BABIP of .344 and a HR/FB rate of 16%. For reference the major league averages for those two statistics are close to .300 and 10%. In other words, Pivetta hasn’t been very fortunate when it comes to batted balls this season. His advanced statistics suggest positive regression, as he currently owns a 3.27 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 29%. He’s been dominant against righties this season and there are really only two lefties (Derek Dietrich and Justin Bour) that we should be concerned with in this Marlins’ lineup.
Quick Breakdown: I love the upside and I love the price point. I’m in on Pivetta tonight.
Batter Grind Down
Miami
The Marlins are playing in a home run-friendly ballpark and they are facing a pitcher that has allowed a .350 xwOBA and a 34% hard contact rate to left-handed hitters. A case can certainly be made for Derek Dietrich (.343 xwOBA against righties) and Justin Bour (.366 xwOBA against righties) as one-offs tonight against Nick Pivetta. The righties in this lineup can safely be avoided with Pivetta’s high ground ball and strikeout rates.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek Dietrich | LEFT | 0.343 | 0.157 | 36.5% | 7.0% | 23.2% | 39.9% | OF | $2,600 | OF | $4,300 | IF/OF | $8,400 |
| 2 | Brian Anderson | RIGHT | 0.357 | 0.126 | 37.9% | 6.8% | 17.8% | 51.4% | OF | $3,000 | 3B/OF | $4,200 | IF/OF | $8,400 |
| 3 | J.T. Realmuto | RIGHT | 0.387 | 0.244 | 40.7% | 5.4% | 16.6% | 42.3% | C | $3,600 | C | $4,900 | C | $8,700 |
| 4 | Justin Bour | LEFT | 0.366 | 0.216 | 41.7% | 16.5% | 26.3% | 39.5% | 1B | $2,600 | 1B | $3,700 | 1B | $7,400 |
| 5 | Starlin Castro | RIGHT | 0.321 | 0.121 | 38.0% | 5.6% | 18.9% | 47.8% | 2B | $2,700 | 2B | $4,000 | 2B | $7,200 |
| 6 | Martin Prado | RIGHT | 0.283 | 0.079 | 28.7% | 3.8% | 19.7% | 47.5% | 3B | $2,300 | 3B | $3,100 | 3B | $5,700 |
| 7 | JT Riddle | LEFT | 0.307 | 0.161 | 33.6% | 4.8% | 21.9% | 48.6% | SS | $2,400 | SS | $3,100 | SS | $5,500 |
| 8 | Magneuris Sierra | LEFT | 0.098 | 0.000 | 28.6% | 0.0% | 46.2% | 60.0% | OF | $2,000 | OF | $3,500 | CF | $6,700 |
| 9 | Trevor Richards | RIGHT | 0.027 | 0.000 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 57.1% | 100.0% | P | $7,300 | P | $6,700 | P | $12,700 |
| Team Averages | 0.277 | 0.123 | 31.7% | 5.5% | 27.5% | 53.0% |
Elite Plays – None
Secondary Plays – Derek Dietrich (GPP), Justin Bour (GPP)
Stackability – ORANGE
Philadelphia
Trevor Richards has some awfully strange splits this season. It’s not odd to have a right-handed pitcher struggle against right-handed hitters, but Richards has a 16% higher ground ball rate against righties, yet he allows more hard contact (50%) and more home runs to batters from this side. I don’t know about you, but Rhys Hoskins facing a reverse-splits pitcher in a home run-friendly ballparks looks awfully enticing. I wouldn’t rule out the lefties here, but I see Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Nick Williams as secondary plays at their respective positions.
Projected Lineup (Splits vs. RH Pitching)
| # | Player | Bats | xwOBA | ISO | HC% | BB% | K% | GB% | FD Pos. | FD Sal. | DK Pos. | DK Sal. | FDRFT Pos. | FDRFT Sal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cesar Hernandez | SWITCH | 0.319 | 0.127 | 23.5% | 14.0% | 22.2% | 43.3% | 2B | $3,200 | 2B | $4,000 | 2B | $7,300 |
| 2 | Rhys Hoskins | RIGHT | 0.380 | 0.280 | 36.9% | 11.7% | 26.4% | 28.3% | OF | $4,600 | OF | $5,200 | IF/OF | $10,000 |
| 3 | Odubel Herrera | LEFT | 0.308 | 0.202 | 26.5% | 7.6% | 21.1% | 40.5% | OF | $3,400 | OF | $4,400 | IF/OF | $8,000 |
| 4 | Carlos Santana | SWITCH | 0.368 | 0.178 | 34.4% | 20.1% | 15.4% | 39.2% | 1B | $3,700 | 1B | $4,100 | 1B | $8,400 |
| 5 | Asdrubal Cabrera | SWITCH | 0.363 | 0.240 | 44.0% | 7.8% | 21.7% | 39.3% | SS | $3,200 | 2B/SS | $4,400 | SS | $8,300 |
| 6 | Nick Williams | LEFT | 0.377 | 0.213 | 34.4% | 8.6% | 23.7% | 43.6% | OF | $2,500 | OF | $4,100 | RF | $8,300 |
| 7 | Maikel Franco | RIGHT | 0.329 | 0.216 | 26.1% | 5.1% | 13.7% | 53.1% | 3B | $3,500 | 3B | $3,900 | 3B | $7,600 |
| 8 | Jorge Alfaro | RIGHT | 0.273 | 0.144 | 32.7% | 4.0% | 38.6% | 53.6% | C | $2,600 | C | $3,600 | C | $7,500 |
| 9 | Nick Pivetta | RIGHT | 0.178 | 0.045 | 15.4% | 4.0% | 44.0% | 72.7% | P | $8,300 | P | $8,500 | P | $16,200 |
| Team Averages | 0.322 | 0.183 | 30.4% | 9.2% | 25.2% | 46.0% |
Elite Plays – Rhys Hoskins
Secondary Plays – Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Williams
Stackability – YELLOW
Note: Unless noted, all statistics in the Grind Down are from the 2018 season.