MLB Grind Down: Thursday, June 12th
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
LA Dodgers at Cincinnati
| LA Dodgers | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Zack Greinke | Vegas Moneyline | Alfredo Simon | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-135) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.699 | 0.314 | 20.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.237 | 0.730 | 0.329 | 14.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.226 | 0.599 | 0.273 | 24.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.209 | 0.542 | 0.259 | 17.9% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP  | LAD vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Zack Greinke – Greinke is an easy choice at SP in this early slate of games. While the Reds do have Joey Votto back in their lineup, they are still only ranked 24th against RH pitching this season. Meanwhile, Greinke continues to dominate his opponents with a 2.62 ERA and a K/9 of 10.3. As long as he can keep it in the ballpark, he should have an excellent outing. Rating = 9
Salaries: $9900 FD, $20202 DS, $20150 DD, $11600 DK, $111800 FF, $NA SS, $17900 FTD
- Alfredo Simon – Simon has pitched well this season, but is trending in the wrong direction as he has given up 11 earned runs in his last 3 starts. His strikeout rate is below average at only 5.4 per 9 innings pitched. Today he faces a tough Dodgers’ offense that is ranked 4th against RH pitching with a team .334 wOBA this season. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6100 FD, $12395 DS, $14550 DD, $7500 DK, $74100 FF, $ SS, $12400 FTD
Batter Grind Down
LA Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez – This is a nice matchup for Gonzalez. Not only will it be played in the HR-friendly Great American Ballpark, but he will be facing Simon who has given up a .321 wOBA to LHB’s. Gonzalez has a .393 wOBA against RH pitching.
Additional Plays: Dee Gordon, Matt Kemp
Cincinnati
Joey Votto – Even though it’s a tough matchup on paper, Votto has always hit RH pitching well and he does have a nice track record against Greinke. He is 8/21 with 3 HR’s off of Greinke in his career.
Additional Plays: None
San Diego at Philadelphia
| San Diego | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Eric Stults | Vegas Moneyline | Kyle Kendrick | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | PHI (-112) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.215 | 0.592 | 0.265 | 15.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.268 | 0.746 | 0.332 | 14.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.309 | 0.812 | 0.357 | 14.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.288 | 0.732 | 0.333 | 13.1% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Eric Stults – Stults will not be one of my recommended plays today. On the season he has a 5.68 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP and a K/9 of only 4.7. Sure the Phillies have some LHB’s in their lineup, but they hit LH pitching well as a team as they are ranked 6th with a team .333 wOBA. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5000 FD, $8333 DS, $7550 DD, $5300 DK, $40000 FF, $13000 SS, $9900 FTD
- Kyle Kendrick – Kendrick is similarly priced to Stults, but is the much better fantasy option. While Kendrick hasn’t been great this season with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP, he does draw a nice matchup against the Padres who are ranked dead last against RH pitching this season while striking out at a 22.7% clip. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5300 FD, $9127 DS, $10000 DD, $6800 DK, $51700 FF, $13000 SS, $9500 FTD
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
Seth Smith – Smith has a favorable matchup against the RHP Kendrick. Smith has crushed RH pitching to a tune of a .412 wOBA this season.
Additional Plays: Everth Cabrera
Philadelphia
Marlon Byrd – Byrd has a terrific matchup against Stults and has really hit LH pitching well this season with a .397 wOBA.
Additional Plays: Carlos Ruiz
Atlanta at Colorado
| Atlanta | Colorado | ||||||||
| Ervin Santana | Vegas Moneyline | Jhoulys Chacin | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ATL (-121) | RIGHT | 10.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.257 | 0.697 | 0.311 | 17.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.269 | 0.725 | 0.322 | 11.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.642 | 0.287 | 21.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.672 | 0.301 | 18.8% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ervin Santana – After an incredible start to the season, Santana has cooled off since. His ERA has risen to 3.69 and his K/9 has dipped to 7.6. Those are much more realistic numbers to expect for the rest of the season. This start is an outlier though as he has to face the Rockies in Coors. Rating = 3
Salaries: $8200 FD, $13865 DS, $15150 DD, $8200 DK, $84800 FF, $NA SS, $13600 FTD
- Jhoulys Chacin – Chacin has only given up more than 4 earned runs once in his last 10 starts, but he has only given up less than 3 earned runs twice during that stretch. This Braves’ offense can put up runs quickly with all of the power in their lineup. As always with Coors, avoid the starting pitchers. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5200 FD, $8822 DS, $8150 DD, $5500 DK, $59200 FF, $ SS, $12000 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman – Freeman has already homered once in this series and I think he gets another one today. He has a .371 wOBA against RH pitching this season and a favorable matchup against Chacin who has struggled with LHB’s.
Additional Plays: Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton, Chris Johnson
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – I keep targeting Dickerson against RH pitching (.451 wOBA) and he keeps producing. He has a nice matchup against Santana who has given up a .349 wOBA to LHB’s this season.
Additional Plays: Troy Tulowitzki, Justin Morneau, Charlie Blackmon
Washington at San Francisco
| Washington | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Blake Treinen | Vegas Moneyline | Tim Hudson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SFG (-144) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.340 | 0.745 | 0.332 | 7.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.647 | 0.295 | 14.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.231 | 0.562 | 0.274 | 19.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.237 | 0.605 | 0.271 | 20.6% |
| Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Blake Treinen – Treinen has pitched well this season, but has limited upside as he has yet to pitch more than 6 innings or strike out more than 4 batters in any of his starts. The Giants are pretty average against RH pitching this season, but Treinen is nothing more than a deep GPP play. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4200 FD, $11241 DS, $8400 DD, $6000 DK, $69700 FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Tim Hudson – If you aren’t playing Greinke in the early slate, then you are likely going to be playing Hudson. He has been terrific for the Giants this season with a 1.96 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a K/9 of 6.0. The only downside here is that he is facing a surging Nationals’ offense that has caused problems for this Giants’ pitching staff. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7600 FD, $17250 DS, $18850 DD, $9700 DK, $117000 FF, $ SS, $15600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Washington
Jayson Werth – Not only is Werth swinging a hot bat with 10 hits over his last 6 games, but he also has a great track record against Hudson. In his career, he is 15/39 against him with 3 HR’s.
Additional Plays: None
San Francisco
Pablo Sandoval – The sample size is small, but Treinen has given up a .332 wOBA to LHB’s so far in his young career. Pablo has really hit RH pitching well with a .347 wOBA this season. He’s cheap and has decent upside at 3B.
Additional Plays: Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford
Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh
| Chicago Cubs | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| Jeff Samardzija | Vegas Moneyline | Edinson Volquez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PIT (-115) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.262 | 0.763 | 0.338 | 22.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.281 | 0.814 | 0.361 | 17.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.236 | 0.633 | 0.291 | 23.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.254 | 0.722 | 0.326 | 17.6% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeff Samardzija – Samardzija has really only had one bad outing all season long. He is boasting a 2.54 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.9. His K-rate is down this season, but it is by design as he is trying to pitch more to contact this season. Tonight he faces a Pirates’ offense that is ranked 12th against RH pitching. It’s a decent matchup in a pitcher’s park. He is in play on multi-pitcher sites and in GPP’s. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7700 FD, $17259 DS, $16150 DD, $8900 DK, $96200 FF, $NA SS, $13100 FTD
- Edinson Volquez – Volquez has had a roller coaster type of season. He has a low K/9 of 6.1 and has only recorded 5 quality starts in 13 outings. The Cubs are one of the worst offenses in baseball though and can make an average pitcher look great. I’ll be using Volquez as a tournament play only tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5600 FD, $11298 DS, $11300 DD, $6600 DK, $66400 FF, $ SS, $10700 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – Rizzo has great upside and is looking to end this series on a high note. Volquez has given up a .329 wOBA to LHB’s this season and Rizzo has a .374 wOBA against RH pitching.
Additional Plays: Starlin Castro
Pittsburgh
Andrew McCutchen – I mentioned this in yesterday’s column, but in case you haven’t noticed, McCutchen is red hot right now. If he was on NBA Jam, he would be on fire knocking down no look half-court shots. Over his last 10 games he has 16 hits (6 HR’s) and 12 RBI’s.
Additional Plays: None