MLB Grind Down: Thursday, May 29th
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
Texas at Minnesota
| Texas | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Nick Martinez | Vegas Moneyline | Samuel Deduno | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIN (-113) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.288 | 0.834 | 0.369 | 11.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.222 | 0.603 | 0.282 | 17.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.665 | 0.291 | 14.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.301 | 0.780 | 0.356 | 13.3% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP  | TEX vs R | Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Nick Martinez – Martinez will get the start for the Rangers today against the Twins. He has made 4 starts this season and has also made 5 appearances out of the bullpen. On the season he has a 2.15 ERA with 18 K’s over 33 innings of work. He has a somewhat limited upside as his max pitch count this season has been 92 pitches. Rating = 4
Salaries: $4300 FD, $10917 DS, $9050 DD, $6700 DK, $NA FF, $14500 SS, $9500 FTD
- Samuel Deduno – Deduno started the season coming out of the bullpen, but his last 4 appearances have all been starts. On the season he has a 3.48 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.2. While the Rangers have been pretty average against RH pitching this season with a team .307 wOBA, they are not a team that I like to target pitchers against. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5700 FD, $11468 DS, $9450 DD, $6200 DK, $78900 FF, $13600 SS, $9500 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Texas
Alex Rios – Deduno is a RHP, but has given up a much higher wOBA and OPS to RHB’s (.356) than he has to LHB’s (.282) this season. Rios is locked in right now as he is batting .484 with an OPS of 1.24 over the last 7 days. He has a nice combination of power (3 HR’s) and speed (10 SB’s).
Additional Plays: Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Shin-Soo Choo
Minnesota
Joe Muaer – Mauer often flies under the radar in daily fantasy baseball because he plays a position that is stacked with powerful bats. While he doesn’t hit a ton of HR’s, he’s still batting .306 against RH pitching and offers great value at 1B against Martinez who has given up a .369 wOBA to LHB’s this season.
Additional Plays: Oswaldo Arcia, Trevor Plouffe, Josh Willingham
Detroit at Oakland
| Detroit | Oakland | ||||||||
| Rick Porcello | Vegas Moneyline | Jesse Chavez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | OAK (-145) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.290 | 0.773 | 0.344 | 14.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.262 | 0.676 | 0.315 | 20.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.247 | 0.633 | 0.280 | 22.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.188 | 0.551 | 0.247 | 26.3% |
| Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs R | Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Rick Porcello – Porcello is looking to bounce back after giving up 8 earned runs in his last start against the Rangers. With the exception of that start, Porcello has pitched pretty well this season. He owns a 3.88 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP and a K/9 of 5.9. This is a bad matchup for Porcello though as he struggles against LHB’s and the A’s have a lineup full of good LH hitters. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7100 FD, $14591 DS, $15350 DD, $8800 DK, $90100 FF, $21000 SS, $12100 FTD
- Jesse Chavez – Chavez has been a tough pitcher to predict this season. He seems to pitch well in tough matchups and struggle with the easier opponents. While I typically don’t like to target pitchers against the Tigers, Chavez brings a K/9 of 8.8 to the table. He’s a sizable favorite today and makes a decent play if you are playing the early slate. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7900 FD, $17106 DS, $14700 DD, $10400 DK, $83500 FF, $24400 SS, $14400 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Detroit
Victor Martinez – I love Martinez in spots where he is catcher eligible. I also love the fact that he is a switch hitter as he will always have the splits in his favor. Chavez has given up a .315 wOBA to LHB’s this season and Martinez is batting .309 against RH pitching.
Additional Plays: Miguel Cabrera
Oakland
Brandon Moss – If you are playing in the early slate, Moss is a no-brainer at 1B. Porcello has given up a .344 wOBA to LHB’s this season and Moss is batting .260 with an OPS of .881 against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Coco Crisp, John Jaso
NY Mets at Philadelphia
| NY Mets | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Zack Wheeler | Vegas Moneyline | David Buchanan | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PHI (-115) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.282 | 0.812 | 0.363 | 19.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.222 | 0.444 | 0.197 | 11.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.233 | 0.616 | 0.287 | 20.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.273 | 0.636 | 0.277 | 9.1% |
| Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Zack Wheeler – Wheeler’s K/9 has been solid this season (8.5), but he has struggled to build on his rookie season. Through his first 10 starts in 2014, he has an ERA of 4.63 with a 1.53 WHIP. He does draw a nice matchup against the Phillies though. The Phillies are ranked 26th against RH pitching with a team .291 wOBA. He carries some value as an upside play in a GPP, but is a little too risky for cash games. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6600 FD, $13804 DS, $12250 DD, $7200 DK, $65600 FF, $17800 SS, $12200 FTD
- David Buchanan – Buchanan was called up to fill in for the injured Cliff Lee. He has pitched well in the minors this season (1.57 ERA with 31 K’s over 40 innings of work) and was pretty good in his debut outing as he only gave up 2 earned runs in 5 innings of work. He has a nice matchup against the Mets who are ranked 27th against RH pitching, but he has a limited upside and will likely be on a short leash. Rating = 4
Salaries: $3000 FD, $12305 DS, $9350 DD, $6300 DK, $67000 FF, $15300 SS, $9500 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Mets
David Wright – Wright is starting to heat up. Over the last 7 days, he is batting .385 with an OPS of 1.10. He has a nice matchup against a rookie RHP in Buchanan and he has an extremely cheap price tag across the industry.
Additional Plays: Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy
Philadelphia
Chase Utley – Utley has one of the best matchups on the board. He has been crushing RH pitching this season (.364 batting average and an OPS of 1.02) and has a nice matchup against Wheeler who has given up a .363 wOBA to LHB’s this season.
Additional Plays: Ryan Howard
Kansas City at Toronto
| Kansas City | Toronto | ||||||||
| James Shields | Vegas Moneyline | R.A. Dickey | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-115) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.236 | 0.628 | 0.285 | 20.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.247 | 0.733 | 0.325 | 17.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.267 | 0.707 | 0.319 | 20.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.228 | 0.670 | 0.305 | 19.7% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- James Shields – This is the wrong time to pay up for Shields. Not only does he have an extremely tough matchup against the Blue Jays who are ranked 2nd against RH pitching, but he has given up 7 earned runs in his last 2 starts. The Rogers Centre has been a hitter’s paradise this season and there is more risk than upside with Shields tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $8800 FD, $18836 DS, $17350 DD, $10300 DK, $108800 FF, $24300 SS, $15100 FTD
- R.A. Dickey – Dickey hasn’t given up more than 3 earned runs in any of his last 7 starts. That’s a huge step in the right direction as he has been extremely inconsistent ever since joining the Blue Jays. Dickey has a 3.95 ERA on the season with a 1.31 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.1. While the Royals don’t strike out often, they are ranked 25th against RH pitching this season. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7600 FD, $15176 DS, $14950 DD, $9000 DK, $84800 FF, $21400 SS, $13500 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Omar Infante – BvP doesn’t carry a ton of weight in my eyes, but I do like to look at it in certain situations. Dickey is such an unorthodox pitcher with his knuckleball, that I think BvP against him is worth looking at. Infante has had no problems with Dickey as he is 16/31 with 4 XBH’s off him in his career.
Additional Plays: Eric Hosmer
Toronto
Adam Lind – Lind is batting .382 against RH pitching this season with an OPS of 1.13. He also has 5 HR’s off of Shields in his career.
Additional Plays: Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista
Atlanta at Boston
| Atlanta | Boston | ||||||||
| Mike Minor | Vegas Moneyline | Jake Peavy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | BOS (-115) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.223 | 0.591 | 0.266 | 26.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.232 | 0.724 | 0.317 | 21.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.694 | 0.304 | 20.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.262 | 0.739 | 0.326 | 18.7% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Mike Minor – Through his first 5 starts, Minor has a 3.90 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP and a K/9 of 8.1. He draws a tough matchup tonight against the Red Sox who are ranked 11th against LH pitching with a team .326 wOBA. There are better options on the board tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7900 FD, $15424 DS, $14800 DD, $9800 DK, $97600 FF, $22000 SS, $11200 FTD
- Jake Peavy – The Red Sox have taken 3 straight from the Braves and will go for the series sweep tonight with Peavy on the mound. Peavy has posted a 4.65 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 7.2. He has nice upside in this matchup as the Braves are susceptible to big strikeout games, but Peavy has been struggling in his last 3 starts and I think I’d rather target a few batters on the Braves. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6600 FD, $13688 DS, $12500 DD, $7500 DK, $49300 FF, $17000 SS, $12900 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman – Freeman is always in play against RH pitching. This season he’s batting .308 with an OPS of .906 against righties. Peavy hasn’t been particularly good against either LHB’s or RHB’s, especially in his last few starts.
Additional Plays: Jason Heyward, Justin Upton
Boston
Jonny Gomes – Gomes at home against a LHP is a regular appearance in my lineups. Gomes is batting .308 with an OPS of .950 against LH pitching this season and is always an extremely affordable option in the OF. He should be batting in the heart of the order tonight against Minor.
Additional Plays: Dustin Pedroia