MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, August 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
NY Yankees at Baltimore
| NY Yankees | Baltimore | ||||||||
| Shane Greene | Vegas Moneyline | Wei-Yin Chen | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | BAL (-138) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.712 | 0.320 | 10.80% | SP vs. Left | 0.292 | 0.750 | 0.331 | 16.60% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.213 | 0.565 | 0.262 | 30.80% | SP vs. Right | 0.266 | 0.769 | 0.334 | 18.10% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP  | NYY vs L | Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Shane Greene – Greene has pitched well in his rookie season. He owns a 2.89 ERA (3.63 xFIP) with a K/9 of 7.0. Greene will be facing the Orioles for the 2nd time in Camden Yards. In his first outing against them, he threw 7 and 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out 9 batters. It was arguably the best start in his young career. I’m not sure that we can expect a repeat performance though. The Orioles have finally hit their way out of their slump and with a full slate, there are better options in both cash games and GPP’s. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $6300 FD, $9000 DD, $6800 DK, $NA FF, $18000 SS, $NA FTD
- Wei-Yin Chen – Chen is one of those pitchers that always gives his team a chance to win, yet he never has anyone of those completely dominant outings. On the season he is sporting a 3.90 ERA (3.70 xFIP) with a K/9 of 6.7. Chen also walks very few batters (1.6 per 9 innings) which is something that I like to target in daily fantasy baseball. He has a decent matchup tonight against the Yankees whose lineup is littered with LH hitters. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7000 FD, $13150 DD, $6800 DK, $ FF, $20600 SS, $13150 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Yankees
Martin Prado – Prado will likely be batting up in the order tonight as the Yankees will want to get their RH hitters higher up in the lineup. Prado is a very cheap option at 3B that draws a favorable matchup against Chen who has given up a .334 wOBA to RH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Carlos Beltran, Brett Gardner
Baltimore
Nick Markakis – Over his last 10 games, Markakis has reached base 25 times. He has 17 hits (5 XBH’s) and has drawn 5 walks. He’s been one of the more consistent cash game plays in baseball and should continue to be targeted tonight against Greene.
Additional Plays: Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz
Arizona at Cleveland
| Arizona | Cleveland | ||||||||
| Josh Collmenter | Vegas Moneyline | T.J. House | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CLE (-160) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.300 | 0.805 | 0.353 | 13.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.656 | 0.291 | 21.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.224 | 0.679 | 0.297 | 18.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.322 | 0.882 | 0.388 | 13.60% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs L | Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Josh Collmenter – Collmenter is an easy pitcher to avoid on all fronts tonight. He owns a 5.59 ERA on the road this season and has a low K-rate (5.9 per 9 innings). He also has to face an Indians offense that is ranked 3rd in wOBA (.329) vs. RH pitching and 5th in wOBA (.329) at home. It should be another big night for the Indians offense at Progressive Field. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6600 FD, $10950 DD, $6700 DK, $NA FF, $15400 SS, $10950 FTD
- T.J. House – House is enjoying a pretty solid rookie season. He has a 4.13 ERA (3.48 xFIP) with a K/9 of 6.5. He’s really pitched well in front of his home crowd with a 3.13 ERA at Progressive Field. While he doesn’t have the most upside of any pitcher tonight, he should see run support to back his cause to get the win. At his price, he’s in play on multi-pitcher sites and GPP’s. Rating = 6
Salaries: $5600 FD, $8750 DD, $5800 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $8750 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
Mark Trumbo – The one area where House has struggled this season has been against RH hitters. He has given up a .321 batting average and a wOBA of .385 to righties this season. Trumbo is finally starting to heat up with 13 hits (4 XBH’s) over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Alfredo Marte
Cleveland
Michael Brantley – If you read my MLB First Look column, then you know that Brantley is my wOBA Play of the Day. Collmenter has given up a .353 wOBA to LH hitters this season and Brantley is boasting a .420 wOBA vs. RH pitching. Brantley also has 16 hits and 10 RBI’s over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Lonnie Chisenhall
Detroit at Pittsburgh
| Detroit | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| Robbie Ray | Vegas Moneyline | Edinson Volquez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | PIT (-155) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | SP vs. Left | 0.244 | 0.754 | 0.330 | 16.60% | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.326 | 0.827 | 0.368 | 7.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.247 | 0.702 | 0.311 | 14.40% |
| Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs R | Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Robbie Ray – Ray my be my least favorite pitcher on the board tonight. He has a 4.70 ERA this season with a very low K-rate. There are few games played in PNC Park with a total set at 8.5 runs which should tell you what Vegas thinks about Ray’s performance tonight. The Pirates put up a huge night offensively in their win last night and I’m expecting similar results tonight. Rating = 3
Salaries: $6400 FD, $8150 DD, $6500 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Edinson Volquez – Even though his ERA is a full 2 runs lower than it was last season, Volquez has basically been the same pitcher. His xFIP and is actually a little higher than it was in 2013 and his K/9 has actually gone down. The peripheral stats don’t look great with Volquez and I’m not a big fan of his matchup against the Tigers who are ranked 7th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $7000 FD, $13750 DD, $6300 DK, $ FF, $17000 SS, $13750 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Detroit
Miguel Cabrera – Miggy is heating up with 6 hits over his last 2 games. He’s always a top option at 1B, especially when facing an average RH pitching. Miggy is batting .313 with a .377 wOBA against righties this season.
Additional Plays: Victor Martinez
Pittsburgh
Josh Harrison – Harrison continued his great play with 3 hits in last night’s win. He now has 20 hits over his last 10 games. His price has gone up across the industry, but as long as he is still producing, he will continue to reward owners who are willing to pay up for him.
Additional Plays: Starling Marte, Russell Martin, Gaby Sanchez
LA Dodgers at Atlanta
| LA Dodgers | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Dan Haren | Vegas Moneyline | Mike Minor | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ATL (-128) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.248 | 0.736 | 0.318 | 22.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.375 | 0.984 | 0.428 | 14.70% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.286 | 0.811 | 0.351 | 12.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.289 | 0.847 | 0.369 | 20.90% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs L | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Dan Haren – After 5 horrid starts in a row, Haren pitched an excellent game against the Angels in Anaheim. He only gave up 1 earned run over 7 and 1/3 innings while striking out 4 batters. That said, I’m going on his form over the last month rather than his form in his last start. Haren has now given up 27 earned runs over his last 6 starts.Rating = 4
Salaries: $6800 FD, $12850 DD, $5700 DK, $NA FF, $15200 SS, $12850 FTD
- Mike Minor – If you have rostered Minor at all this season, then you know that he often disappoints in favorable matchups. He gave up 5 earned runs to the Padres in Petco in his last outing which has boosted his ERA to 5.42 on the season. That said, his peripheral stats suggest that he is pitching much better. He has a 3.76 xFIP with a BABIP of .356 that is one of the highest you will find in baseball. I hate to say it, but I’m going to recommend taking him tonight against the Dodgers who are ranked 24th in wOBA against LH pitching this season. Rating = 6
Salaries: $6400 FD, $11950 DD, $6700 DK, $ FF, $17600 SS, $11950 FTD
Batter Grind Down
LA Dodgers
Matt Kemp – If you are not a fan of Minor tonight, there are a few Dodgers hitters that are in play. Minor has struggled with batters from both sides of the plate this season. Since the start of June, Kemp is batting over .300 with a wOBA over .370. He’s historically hit LH pitching well throughout his career.
Additional Plays: Dee Gordon, Hanley Ramirez
Atlanta
Justin Upton – J-Up is one of my favorite OF plays tonight. He draws a terrific matchup against Haren who is a reverse splits pitcher. Haren has given up a .351 wOBA against RH pitching and Upton has a .429 wOBA at home this season.
Additional Plays: Freddie Freeman, Evan Gattis
Boston at Cincinnati
| Boston | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Joe Kelly | Vegas Moneyline | Mat Latos | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-134) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.311 | 0.785 | 0.350 | 12.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.180 | 0.480 | 0.215 | 16.40% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.211 | 0.663 | 0.296 | 17.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.200 | 0.618 | 0.278 | 15.60% |
| Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Joe Kelly – Kelly is not a pitcher that I like to target in the wonderful world of daily fantasy baseball. Nothing against him, but he’s not a high strikeout pitcher (5.8 per 9 innings) and despite a 56% ground ball rate, he still owns an ERA close to 4.00. Kelly has struggled this season in his road starts and will face a Reds offense that has managed to keep the ship afloat even without two of their best hitters in the lineup. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $5600 FD, $11050 DD, $6400 DK, $NA FF, $16500 SS, $11050 FTD
- Mat Latos – Latos continues to defy the odds by pitching well. Not to say that he can’t pitch well, but his peripheral stats look much worse than they did last season. Latos has a 4.28 xFIP, a career low 35% ground ball rate, and a career low K/9 of 5.7. Somehow all of that adds up to a 3.12 ERA. At the end of the day, it’s all about the strikeouts in fantasy baseball and Latos just hasn’t been missing enough bats for my liking. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7900 FD, $15250 DD, $8900 DK, $ FF, $24600 SS, $15250 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Boston
Yoenis Cespedes – We typically prefer Cespedes against LH pitching, but I don’t mind the matchup against Latos who has given up a 42% fly ball rate this season. A high fly ball rate in a HR-friendly ballpark spells good things for the power hitters on the Red Sox.
Additional Plays: Mike Napoli, Brock Holt
Cincinnati
Jay Bruce – BRUCE! Bruce has had a nice month of August. He’s batting .279 with a .323 wOBA. He has a solid matchup tonight against Kelly who has given up a .350 wOBA to LH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Billy Hamilton