MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, April 29th - Page 2
Tampa Bay at Boston
| Tampa Bay | Boston | ||||||||
| Erik Bedard | Vegas Moneyline | John Lackey | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | BOS (-160) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.314 | 0.825 | 0.371 | 17.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.241 | 0.666 | 0.295 | 21.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.744 | 0.333 | 21.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.757 | 0.334 | 21.8% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP  | TBR vs R | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Erik Bedard – Bedard has not pitched well in his stint with the Rays and it doesn’t look like it will get any better with a matchup against a tough Red Sox lineup in Fenway tonight. He has made appearances in 3 games this season and has posted a 7.45 ERA and an even worse 2.17 WHIP. He should not be on your fantasy radar tonight other than to target batters against him. Rating = 2
John Lackey – Lackey is coming off of his best start of the season. After struggling in his first few starts, Lackey held the Yankees to 1 earned run and struck out 11 batters in 8 innings of work. Lackey has had great home splits over the last two seasons, but did struggle against the Rays in his 2 starts against them last season. I don’t think he will be a popular play tonight, but I do think he carries some value as a tournament play. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
Matt Joyce – Joyce is off to a great start against RH pitching this season with a .375/.494./1.10 BA/OBP/OPS. He also has good numbers off of Lackey and has taken him deep twice in only 18 career at bats.
Additional Plays: Evan Longoria
Boston
Mike Napoli – The entire Red Sox lineup is in play tonight as Bedard gave up a .333+ wOBA to both LH and RH batters last season. The Red Sox are one of my favorite teams to stack in both GPP’s and cash games. Napoli has great power against LH pitching and his price is depressed across the industry.
Additional Plays: David Ortiz, Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, Jonny Gomes
Oakland at Texas
| Oakland | Texas | ||||||||
| Scott Kazmir | Vegas Moneyline | Martin Perez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-105) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.232 | 0.575 | 0.253 | 24.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.264 | 0.678 | 0.311 | 19.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.255 | 0.729 | 0.326 | 23.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.677 | 0.301 | 15.2% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs L | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Scott Kazmir – Kazmir is an extremely high strikeout pitcher that is very boom or bust in terms of his fantasy production. This season he has a 1.62 ERA with 31 K’s over 31 innings pitched. He has a tough matchup against the Rangers in Globe Life Park, but he does carry value as a GPP play thanks to his high upside. Rating = 5
Martin Perez – Perez has been pitching over his head this season. He has had more timely double-plays than anyone in the majors. Through 5 starts, he has an ERA of 1.42 with a 0.92 WHIP. While he is a solid young lefty, I don’t know how much longer those numbers will last. Even though he threw a complete game shutout against this A’s lineup already this season, I think the A’s knock him around a bit tonight. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Josh Donaldson – I will likely be one the only people in the industry that likes the A’s bats, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Donaldson is batting .318 against LH pitching this season with a 1.10 OPS. He has always fared well against lefties and he has been terrific on the road batting .333.
Additional Plays: Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, Yoenis Cespedes (if he returns to the lineup)
Texas
Adrian Beltre – For the most part, Kazmir has had his way with this Rangers’ lineup, but I think Beltre makes a solid play at 3B. His price is depressed across the industry and he is batting .375 with a .975 OPS against LH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Alex Rios
Toronto at Kansas City
| Toronto | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Dustin McGowan | Vegas Moneyline | Jason Vargas | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | KCR (-138) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.237 | 0.706 | 0.329 | 17.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.319 | 0.770 | 0.338 | 14.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.735 | 0.341 | 22.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.701 | 0.316 | 16.9% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs L | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Dustin McGowan – McGowan has made 4 starts this season, but has only pitched a total of 17 innings. He has a 6.88 ERA and has only managed to strike out 3 batters per start. Tonight he faces a Royals lineup that likes to work deep into the count and they are a team that strikes out as few as any team in baseball. There is little upside here with a lot of risk. Rating = 2
Jason Vargas – Vargas has really pitched well for the Royals this season. He has a 1.54 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. He only has 18 K’s over 35 innings of work, but if he isn’t allowing many earned runs, he still carries some fantasy value. Vargas has always pitched well at home and makes a decent cash game play if the price is right. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Edwin Encarnacion – E5 is finally starting to heat up. He has 6 hits and 7 RBI’s in his last 6 games. He also has hit Vargas well in his career with 2 HR’s and 2 doubles off of him. There are a lot of good 1B options available today though so he is probably better served as a tournament play.
Additional Plays: Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera
Kansas City
Billy Butler – Even though the sample size is small, McGowan has given up a .393 average and a 1.13 OPS to RH batters this season. I also like the LH batters here, but I love Butler as a punt play tonight. He should be batting clean-up and he is close to minimum salary across the industry.
Additional Plays: Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Salvador Perez, Norichika Aoki
Washington at Houston
| Washington | Houston | ||||||||
| Gio Gonzalez | Vegas Moneyline | Jarred Cosart | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | WAS (-154) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.204 | 0.576 | 0.261 | 26.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.197 | 0.592 | 0.273 | 19.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.235 | 0.683 | 0.307 | 22.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.257 | 0.741 | 0.337 | 6.6% |
| Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Gio Gonzalez – Gonzalez has been very Gio-like in his first 5 starts this season. He has an ERA of 3.00 with a 1.13 WHIP and a K/9 of 8.7. He has a nice matchup against the Astros who strike out as often as any team in baseball. The only issue here is his price tag. If you want to take Gio, you are going to have to pay up for him. I think there are similar options at lower price points. Rating = 8
Jarred Cosart – Cosart has had a very disappointing start to the season. After looking great in his 10 starts last season, he has posted a 6.12 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP. I think that it’s only a matter of time before he turns things around, but until he does, I will be avoiding him in all leagues. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Washington
Adam LaRoche – Cosart is giving up an OPS of .806 to LH batters this season. LaRoche is a guy that strikes out a lot, but he has great power against RH pitching. He is batting .310 against righties this season with 4 HR’s.
Additional Plays: Denard Span, Ian Desmond
Houston
- The Astros’ offense has been putting runs on the board lately, but I don’t like their matchup against Gonzalez. I’ll be avoiding them in all leagues tonight.
Detroit at Chicago White Sox
| Detroit | Chicago White Sox | ||||||||
| Justin Verlander | Vegas Moneyline | Jose Quintana | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | DET (-142) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.234 | 0.645 | 0.291 | 23.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.754 | 0.332 | 20.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.282 | 0.742 | 0.329 | 22.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.243 | 0.680 | 0.304 | 19.0% |
| Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs L | Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Justin Verlander – Verlander has a 2.18 ERA on the season, but his 1.36 WHIP suggests that hasn’t pitched as well as his ERA says he has. Verlander faced this same White Sox lineup in his last start and while he only gave up 2 earned runs, he gave up 8 hits and 2 walks. This White Sox lineup has scored more runs than any team in baseball and I will not be paying up for Verlander in cash games. Rating = 7
Jose Quintana – Quintana has a 3.90 ERA on the season with a 1.33 WHIP. He is a pitcher that I like to target when the matchup is favorable and that is not the case tonight against the Tigers. Quintana is a +132 underdog tonight and is a below average fantasy option. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Detroit
Miguel Cabrera – Cabrera is really starting to heat up. He now has 9 hits and 8 RBI’s in his last 6 games. Miggy is the the top 1B option on the board today and should be targeted in all leagues if you can manage to fit him in your lineups.
Additional Plays: Victor Martinez, Rajai Davis, Ian Kinsler
Chicago White Sox
- Even though I’m not crazy about Verlander against this White Sox lineup, I’m not crazy about this White Sox lineup against Verlander either. I will be avoiding the situation altogether and be targeted batters with more favorable matchups.