MLB Grind Down: Thursday, June 5th - Page 2

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-06-05 14:19:38

NY Mets at Chicago Cubs

NY Mets					Chicago Cubs
Jacob Degrom		Vegas Moneyline			Travis Wood		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		CHC (-110)			LEFT		7.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.191	0.658	0.297	25.9%	SP vs. Left	0.195	0.536	0.254	21.8%
SP vs. Right	0.171	0.627	0.286	23.9%	SP vs. Right	0.244	0.687	0.311	17.2%
Batter Splits	NYM BvP		NYM vs L		Batter Splits	CHC BvP		CHC vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Jacob Degrom – Degrom has 4 starts under his belt now and has pitched at least 6 innings and struck out at least 4 batters in each of his starts. That’s pretty impressive for a rookie. Tonight he travels to Chicago to take on the Cubs who are ranked dead last against RH pitching this season with a team .280 wOBA. The price is cheap and the matchup is favorable, but he is still a rookie. Rating = 6

Salaries: $6200 FD, $13136 DS, $13500 DD, $9500 DK, $78500 FF, $21600 SS, $9800 FTD

• Travis Wood – Wood has had some terrible outings this season. He has given up 5+ earned runs in 3 of his last 7 starts. That said, he is a much better pitcher than his numbers suggest and he has always been able to strike out batters. He has a nice matchup against the Mets who are ranked 20th against LH pitching this season. I’m going out on a limb and I’ll say that he bounces back and pitches a gem tonight. Rating = 8

Salaries: $7100 FD, $14564 DS, $12150 DD, $6800 DK, $73100 FF, $17400 SS, $12100 FTD

Batter Grind Down

NY Mets

David Wright – If you are not a believer in Wood tonight or you want to use him and hedge a little by using a Mets’ bat, take a look at Wright. He has a .458 wOBA against LH pitching this season.

Additional Plays: None

Chicago Cubs

Anthony Rizzo – Degrom has pitched well, but he is still largely unproven with only 4 career major league starts. I don’t mind the lefty/righty matchup for Rizzo.

Additional Plays: Luis Valbuena

LA Angels at Houston

LA Angels					Houston
Tyler Skaggs		Vegas Moneyline			Brad Peacock		Vegas Over/Under
LEFT		LAA (-137)			RIGHT		9.0
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.283	0.768	0.344	17.2%	SP vs. Left	0.277	0.842	0.374	18.8%
SP vs. Right	0.232	0.675	0.304	19.9%	SP vs. Right	0.209	0.652	0.293	25.8%
Batter Splits	LAA BvP		LAA vs R		Batter Splits	HOU BvP		HOU vs L
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Tyler Skaggs – Skaggs has a 4.14 ERA on the season with a 1.19 WHIP and a K/9 of 6.8. The Astros are always a tough team to predict and this series against the Angels is a perfect example. They knock C.J. Wilson around in the first game and then get shut out by Garrett Richards in the second game. At this point, I think Skaggs is a GPP option only. Rating = 5

Salaries: $6200 FD, $16778 DS, $14350 DD, $8000 DK, $79800 FF, $21900 SS, $11600 FTD

• Brad Peacock – Peacock is a high strikeout pitcher that has pitched well in each of his last 2 starts. He has a 4.76 ERA and a K/9 of 9.2 this season, but draws a tough matchup against the Angels who are ranked 9th against RH pitching. Keep an eye on him moving forward, but you can safely avoid him tonight. Rating = 4

Salaries: $5800 FD, $13223 DS, $10850 DD, $7600 DK, $76200 FF, $18000 SS, $10200 FTD

Batter Grind Down

LA Angels

Josh Hamilton – The wOBA machine loves J-Ham tonight. Not only is Peacock giving up a .374 wOBA to LHB’s this season, but Hamilton has been crushing RH pitching to a tune of a .579 wOBA.

Additional Plays: Albert Pujols, Kole Calhoun

Houston

George Springer – Love the matchup for Springer tonight. We all know the type of power that his kid has and he has been good against LH pitching this season with a .353 wOBA.

Additional Plays: Jose Altuve

Baltimore at Texas

Baltimore					Texas
Chris Tillman		Vegas Moneyline			Colby Lewis		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		TEX (-115)			RIGHT		9.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.253	0.741	0.330	18.8%	SP vs. Left	0.350	0.884	0.392	19.1%
SP vs. Right	0.230	0.711	0.314	22.0%	SP vs. Right	0.325	0.797	0.364	18.1%
Batter Splits	BAL BvP		BAL vs R		Batter Splits	TEX BvP		TEX vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Chris Tillman – Tillman has been extremely inconsistent this season and the a matchup against the Rangers in Globe Life Park is not exactly what he needs to turn things around. The total of this game is set at 9.5 runs which is more than enough for me to avoid Tillman in all leagues. Rating = 3

Salaries: $6600 FD, $NA DS, $13150 DD, $6900 DK, $80800 FF, $16500 SS, $11100 FTD

• Colby Lewis – I’ve been avoiding Lewis all season and that trend will continue tonight against the Orioles. Lewis has a 5.44 ERA this season and is averaging just over 5 innings per start. He has given up a .360+ wOBA to both LHB’s and RHB’s this season and faces an Orioles’ lineup that is stacked with power. Rating = 3

Salaries: $6800 FD, $10777 DS, $10800 DD, $5700 DK, $62900 FF, $13100 SS, $9800 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Baltimore

Chris Davis – Davis came through yesterday with a solo shot late in the game. He has another terrific matchup tonight against Lewis who has given up a .392 wOBA to LHB’s this season. Davis is cheap and should be used wherever possible tonight.

Additional Plays: Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Nelson Cruz

Texas

Adrian Beltre – Beltre has a .359 wOBA against RH pitching this season and has 3 HR’s in his last 2 games. He is locked in right now and should continue to be targeted tonight against Tillman.

Additional Plays: Shin-Soo Choo, Mitch Moreland, Alex Rios

Milwaukee at Minnesota

Milwaukee					Minnesota
Wily Peralta		Vegas Moneyline			Kevin Correia		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		MIL (-120)			RIGHT		8.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.264	0.736	0.330	16.6%	SP vs. Left	0.296	0.807	0.354	12.5%
SP vs. Right	0.259	0.673	0.309	16.9%	SP vs. Right	0.306	0.798	0.350	12.9%
Batter Splits	MIL BvP		MIL vs R		Batter Splits	MIN BvP		MIN vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Wily Peralta – Peralta has been terrific for the Brewers this season and is hoping to have a better outing than his teammate Estrada did last night. In his 4 road starts this season, Peralta has a 1.88 ERA with 23 K’s over 24 innings of work. I probably won’t be using him in cash games, but he does make a nice upside play in tournaments. Rating = 6

Salaries: $6700 FD, $16399 DS, $12900 DD, $8300 DK, $81900 FF, $22000 SS, $13900 FTD

• Kevin Correia – Correia is not a pitcher that you should be targeting in daily fantasy. He has an ERA close to 6.00 and his K/9 is extremely low at only 5.0. You never want a pitcher’s ERA to be higher than his K/9. Rating = 3

Salaries: $4700 FD, $7325 DS, $9350 DD, $5500 DK, $47400 FF, $13000 SS, $9500 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Milwaukee

Carlos Gomez – Gomez is one of those players that often flies under the radar because of the other big bats in this lineup. That said, he has a .403 wOBA against RH pitching this season and has 2 career HR’s off of Correia.

Additional Plays: Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy, Jean Segura

Minnesota

Joe Mauer – Mauer isn’t the best GPP play, but he always makes a safe cash game play because he always seems to score positive fantasy points. He is extremely cheap and has been good against RH pitching this season with a .355 wOBA.

Additional Plays: Oswaldo Arcia, Josh Willingham

St. Louis at Kansas City

St. Louis					Kansas City
Michael Wacha		Vegas Moneyline			Yordano Ventura		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		STL (-122)			RIGHT		7.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.205	0.517	0.238	22.1%	SP vs. Left	0.234	0.700	0.310	22.8%
SP vs. Right	0.231	0.645	0.293	28.0%	SP vs. Right	0.239	0.665	0.297	22.8%
Batter Splits	STL BvP		STL vs R		Batter Splits	KCR BvP		KCR vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Michael Wacha – Wacha is staking his name as one of the best pitchers in the National League. Through his first 12 starts this season, he has posted a 2.45 ERA with a K/9 of 9.2. I’m always on the fence with pitchers facing the Royals because on one hand the Royals’ offense is below average in most offensive categories, but on the other hand, they strike out fewer times than any team in baseball. Wacha is in play, but I’m not sure we can expect double-digit strikeouts. Rating = 7

Salaries: $8700 FD, $18889 DS, $18200 DD, $10700 DK, $126600 FF, $26500 SS, $15600 FTD

• Yordano Ventura – Ventura is trending in the wrong direction. In his last 2 starts he has given up 9 earned runs while only striking out 6 batters. He’s still an extremely talented pitcher, but I’m going to avoid him tonight against the Cardinals who are ranked 14th against RH pitching this season. Rating = 5

Salaries: $7500 FD, $17002 DS, $14600 DD, $8600 DK, $58100 FF, $23000 SS, $13400 FTD

Batter Grind Down

St. Louis

Matt Carpenter – Carpenter is finally starting to heat up. He has 18 hits over his last 10 games and his wOBA against RH pitching has risen all the way to .353. I like the matchup against the struggling Ventura.

Additional Plays: Matt Holliday

Kansas City

There aren’t any options that stand out on the Royals tonight. Wacha has held both LHB’s and RHB’s under a .300 wOBA this season.

Arizona at Colorado

Arizona					Colorado
Bronson Arroyo		Vegas Moneyline			Juan Nicasio		Vegas Over/Under
RIGHT		COL (-137)			RIGHT		10.5
Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%	Stats	Avg	OPS	wOBA	K%
SP vs. Left	0.278	0.787	0.343	12.1%	SP vs. Left	0.251	0.780	0.350	16.2%
SP vs. Right	0.252	0.666	0.300	17.3%	SP vs. Right	0.280	0.775	0.345	16.5%
Batter Splits	ARI BvP		ARI vs R		Batter Splits	COL BvP		COL vs R
Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window

Pitcher Grind Down

• Bronson Arroyo – Arroyo is typically not a recommended fantasy option even in a good matchup. He’s certainly not a recommended fantasy option tonight against the Rockies in Coors Field. Rating = 1

Salaries: $5900 FD, $10265 DS, $10900 DD, $7100 DK, $75700 FF, $16400 SS, $12000 FTD

• Juan Nicasio – Nicasio hasn’t been terrible this season with a 4.07 ERA, but this is Coors Field we are talking about. The total is set at 10.5 runs for a reason. Rating = 2

Salaries: $5400 FD, $10954 DS, $12000 DD, $6300 DK, $66700 FF, $15300 SS, $11200 FTD

Batter Grind Down

Arizona

Miguel Montero – As always, when a game is played in Coors, both lineups are littered with viable fantasy options. Montero takes the cake as the top play on the D-Backs though. He homered in last night’s win and has a .369 wOBA against LH pitching this season.

Additional Plays: Gerardo Parra, Paul Goldschmidt, Martin Prado, Aaron Hill

Colorado

Troy Tulowitzki – There aren’t many times when a team scores 8 runs and ends up losing by 8 runs but that’s what happened last night. I expect another big outing from the Rockies tonight. Tulo has been on fire at home all season and is worth the expensive price tag.

Additional Plays: Charlie Blackmon, Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, Corey Dickerson, Wilin Rosario