MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, April 15th
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
Atlanta at Philadelphia
| Atlanta | Philadelphia |
| David Hale | Vegas Moneyline | Cliff Lee | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | PHI (-152) | LEFT | 7.5 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.608 | 0.280 | 25.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.223 | 0.533 | 0.252 | 18.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.647 | 0.280 | 29.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.247 | 0.675 | 0.294 | 26.4% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP  | ATL vs L | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
UPDATE: Tread lightly with this game. 80% chance of rain tonight in Philadelphia
- David Hale – Hale has a 2.89 ERA in his first two starts of the season, but has only 6 strikouts in 9 innings of work. Hale is a pitcher that has limited upside because he is not going to pitch deep into games and he doesn’t have a high K-rate. Hale is a sizable underdog tonight (+135) and with the weather issues, is an easy avoid. Rating = 4
- Cliff Lee – Lee could make a great play tonight if you are willing to brave the weather elements. Lee is probably best suited as a tournament play though because even if this game gets played, he may have to deal with rain delays and his outing could be a short one. Lee has given up at least 8 hits in each of his first 3 starts this season, but does have 15 K’s over 18 innings of work. Lee is a tournament play at best tonight. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
- Justin Upton – Upton is a very streaky hitter and when he is seeing the ball well, you really want to get him in your lineups. Upton has 11 hits in his last 4 games including 3 HR’s. Last season Upton had 34 hits against LH pitching and 18 of them went for extra bases.
Philadelphia
- Chase Utley – Utley may have outpriced himself on a few sites with his recent level of production, but is still in play on the sites that haven’t adjust his price. Utley is batting .489 this season and has had 5 straight multi-hit games. He has a nice LH/RH matchup against Hale.
Chicago Cubs at NY Yankees
| Chicago Cubs | NY Yankees |
| Jason Hammel | Vegas Moneyline | Masahiro Tanaka | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | NYY (-200) | RIGHT | 8.0 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.291 | 0.856 | 0.377 | 14.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.167 | 0.460 | 0.205 | 19.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.243 | 0.656 | 0.295 | 18.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.320 | 0.840 | 0.363 | 48.0% |
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | NYY BvP | NYY vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
This game has been postponed due to rain
Tampa Bay at Baltimore
| Tampa Bay | Baltimore |
| Jake Odorizzi | Vegas Moneyline | Miguel Gonzalez | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | TBR (-108) | RIGHT | 8.5 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.300 | 0.830 | 0.369 | 15.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.246 | 0.706 | 0.315 | 17.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.644 | 0.285 | 19.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.258 | 0.765 | 0.338 | 15.4% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs R | Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jake Odorizzi – Odorizzi pitched well in his first start of the season and then got shelled by the Royals. He gave up 10 hits and 7 earned runs in only 5 innings. Tonight he travels to Baltimore to take on the Orioles in Camden Yards. This game is set as a pick ‘em, but the run total is set at 8.5 runs and Odorizzi just doesn’t provide a high enough K-rate to make up for the bad matchup against the Orioles. Rating = 3
- Miguel Gonzalez – Gonzalez has looked awfully rusty in his first two starts this season. He is sporting a 9.64 ERA with only 4 K’s over 9 innings of work. The Rays aren’t the best offensive team in the American League, but they are certainly capable of putting up a big number against Gonzalez. Gonzalez pitched slightly better at home (3.48 ERA) than he did on the road (4.06 ERA), but should be avoided until he can get things turned around. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
- Evan Longoria – Last season Gonzalez actually gave up a higher wOBA to RH batters (.338) than he did to LH batters (.315). Longoria is off to a hot start this season and has always hit RH pitching well. He makes a solid play at 3B if the price is right.
Baltimore
- Chris Davis – Odorizzi really struggled to get LH batters out last season. He gave up a .369 wOBA and an OPS of .830 to LH batters. We all know the type of power that Davis has in his bat. Even though he only has 1 HR this season, he has still been a very productive fantasy player. Last season he had an OPS of 1.14 against RH pitching.
Cleveland at Detroit
| Cleveland | Detroit |
| Zach McAllister | Vegas Moneyline | Anibal Sanchez | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | DET (-160) | RIGHT | 8.0 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.744 | 0.333 | 17.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.686 | 0.308 | 26.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.259 | 0.698 | 0.315 | 17.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.196 | 0.523 | 0.237 | 28.0% |
| Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs R | Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Zach McAllister – McAllister is one of those pitchers that never seems to be rostered even though he puts up solid numbers. Last season he posted a 3.75 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP and a K/9 of 6.8. While I will not be using him tonight against Sanchez and the Tigers, he is worth keeping an eye on moving forward. Rating = 4
- Anibal Sanchez – Sanchez has not had typical Sanchez type of starts this season. He hasn’t pitched more than 5 innings in either game and hasn’t struck out more than 6 batters. I think both of those change tonight against the Indians. Last season Sanchez posted a 2.70 ERA with a K/9 of 10.6 in 14 starts at Comerica Park. He also pitched well against the Indians who have a very similar lineup to last season Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Cleveland
- Last season Sanchez held LH batters to a .308 wOBA and RH batters to a .237 wOBA. He had an ERA under 3 in 3 starts against them and is a dominant pitcher at home. I’m avoiding all Indians bats tonight.
Detroit
- Miguel Cabrera – Miggy’s price has come down across the industry and tonight is a great time to buy low on the MVP. He’s only batting .225 on the season, but that number will come up soon enough. McAllister gave up a .315 wOBA to RH batters last season and Miggy was a beast at home as he hit for a .366 average in Comerica last season.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
| Pittsburgh | Cincinnati |
| Gerrit Cole | Vegas Moneyline | Mike Leake | Vegas Over/Under |
| RIGHT | PIT (-105) | RIGHT | 7.5 |
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
| SP vs. Left | 0.251 | 0.623 | 0.283 | 22.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.261 | 0.721 | 0.320 | 13.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.251 | 0.631 | 0.286 | 19.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.254 | 0.679 | 0.308 | 16.5% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R |
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window |
Pitcher Grind Down
- Gerrit Cole – Last night was a great example of why it can be tough to target pitchers in Great American Ballpark. It gave up the 2nd most HR’s last season and will be near the top of the league again this season. That said, Cole is a pitcher with tremendous upside. In his last 14 starts, he has an ERA under 3.00 with a K/9 of 9.1. He’s definitely my favorite of the two starters here and I’ll have a decent amount of exposure to him in tournaments. Rating = 7
- Mike Leake – Leake has had some back assward starts this season. He struggled against the Mets in Citi Field and then threw an 8 inning shutout against the Cardinals in St. Louis. Leake was not great at home last season with a 4.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.23. His K-rate last season was only 5.7 per 9 innings and I’m not sold on the matchup against the Pirates who prove time and time again that they are extremely tough outs. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
- Andrew McCutchen – Cutch has more power against LH pitching, but still hit for a .302 average against RH pitching last season. He also enjoyed playing in Great American where he posted an OPS of .937 in 36 at-bats.
Cincinnati
- Joey Votto – While I don’t love the matchup against Cole who held LH batters to a .283 wOBA last season, Votto is one of the few players that is close to matchup proof. He has 3 HR’s in his last 4 games and a nice RH/LH matchup tonight.
MLB Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2
