MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, July 29th Page Three
Oakland at Houston
| Oakland | Houston | ||||||||
| Jeff Samardzija | Vegas Moneyline | Scott Feldman | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | OAK (-220) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.749 | 0.332 | 23.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.694 | 0.318 | 15.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.651 | 0.301 | 22.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.689 | 0.311 | 16.7% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP  | OAK vs R | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeff Samardzija – Samardzija will likely be one of the highest owned pitchers of the night. Partly due to his matchup against the Astros and partly due to his extremely cheap salary on both FD and DK. Samardzija pitched a gem in his last outing against the Astros by striking out 6 batters while only giving up a single run over 8 innings of work. He’s the biggest favorite on the board and is facing the most strikeout happy team in baseball. Rating = 9
Salaries: $8200 FD, $18350 DD, $8600 DK, $98700 FF, $26500 SS, $17750 FTD
- Scott Feldman – Feldman can safely be avoided in all fantasy formats. He gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings of work against the A’s in his last start and we can expect a similar result this time around. The A’s draw a lot of walks, they are patient at the plate, and they are ranked 7th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5300 FD, $9200 DD, $4800 DK, $40000 FF, $13000 SS, $9200 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Stephen Vogt – “We believe in Vogt” is a popular saying in Oakland and I find myself chanting it every time he comes to the plate as well. What a season this guy is having. He’s sporting a .412 wOBA vs. RH pitching this season and draws a terrific matchup against Feldman. Until his price goes up, keep targeting him on both FD and DK.
Additional Plays: Brandon Moss, Coco Crisp, John Jaso
Houston
Chris Carter makes an interesting tournament play with the way he is swinging the bat, but you can safely avoid all Astros in cash games tonight against Samardzija.
Minnesota at Kansas City
| Minnesota | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Kyle Gibson | Vegas Moneyline | James Shields | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | KCR (-170) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.306 | 0.775 | 0.347 | 8.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.670 | 0.301 | 20.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.248 | 0.675 | 0.304 | 16.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.724 | 0.325 | 19.6% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Kyle Gibson – Gibson has pitched well at home, but he’s struggled to maintain that success on the road. He has a 4.97 ERA on the road this season with a K/9 of only 4.8. Even though the Royals don’t have the best offense, they don’t strike out often and Gibson is a sizable underdog. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5000 FD, $10550 DD, $5300 DK, $54900 FF, $13400 SS, $10550 FTD
- James Shields – Shields has had an excellent month of July (2.84 ERA with 33 K’s over 31 innings of work) and is a very good play tonight against the Twins. The Vegas run total has already come down and Shields is a big favorite at -190. I think he gets the run support that he need to get the win and puts up another quality start tonight. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $8300 FD, $16050 DD, $8400 DK, $106100 FF, $24800 SS, $16050 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
There aren’t any plays that stand out on the Twins tonight. Target the Shields’ side of this matchup.
Kansas City
Alex Gordon – Gibson has given up a .327 wOBA to LH hitters this season and Gordon has a .350 wOBA vs. RH pitching. Gordon is pretty cheap across the industry and is the best target on the Royals tonight.
Additional Plays: Salvador Perez
Atlanta at LA Dodgers
| Atlanta | LA Dodgers | ||||||||
| Aaron Harang | Vegas Moneyline | Josh Beckett | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-145) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.276 | 0.786 | 0.350 | 15.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.251 | 0.755 | 0.338 | 22.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.255 | 0.706 | 0.314 | 21.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.210 | 0.607 | 0.277 | 22.0% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Aaron Harang – Harang has pitched well this season. He has a 3.31 ERA, but his 4.14 xFIP suggests some regression. He’s not an overpowering pitcher, but he can hit his spots and can make it tough on opponents when he is locked in. That said, he draws a tough matchup tonight against the Dodgers who are ranked 5th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $14850 DD, $6900 DK, $92600 FF, $19400 SS, $14850 FTD
- Josh Beckett – Beckett is a sizable favorite in a game that features a run total of 7.0. Beckett has a 2.52 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 8.2. His xFIP of 3.63 suggests some regression, but he’s in a great spot tonight against the Braves who are ranked 27th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season. Rating = 7
Salaries: $8000 FD, $15900 DD, $7900 DK, $85100 FF, $22400 SS, $15900 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward are both decent plays tonight, but I think there are better options at both of their price points. I’ll be avoiding all of the Braves’ hitters tonight against Beckett.
LA Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez – Harang has struggled with LH hitters this season. He’s given up a .347 wOBA to lefties and Gonzalez owns a .371 wOBA vs. RH pitching.
Additional Plays: Dee Gordon, Hanley Ramirez
St. Louis at San Diego
| St. Louis | San Diego | ||||||||
| Lance Lynn | Vegas Moneyline | Tyson Ross | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-110) | RIGHT | 6.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.737 | 0.334 | 18.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.228 | 0.631 | 0.295 | 20.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.629 | 0.287 | 25.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.225 | 0.596 | 0.272 | 26.6% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Lance Lynn – Ladies and gentlemen, we have a game in Petco which means both pitchers are viable fantasy options tonight. Lynn has posted a 3.05 ERA this season while averaging 8.3 K’s per 9 innings. He does walk quite a few batters, but a matchup against the Padres in Petco is just too juicy to pass up. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $8200 FD, $18050 DD, $9000 DK, $102600 FF, $25200 SS, $17400 FTD
- Tyson Ross – Ross has been nearly unhittable at home this season. He has posted a 1.89 ERA at Petco while averaging 9.2 K’s per 9 innings. His matchup against the Cardinals is not a daunting one as the Cardinals are ranked 20th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season. Rating = 8
Salaries: $8300 FD, $17900 DD, $9700 DK, $110700 FF, $28100 SS, $17900 FTD
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis / San Diego
We have two cold offenses facing off against two good pitchers in the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in baseball. This game will likely be a pitcher’s duel and you can safely avoid both offenses for fantasy purposes.
Pittsburgh at San Francisco
| Pittsburgh | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Francisco Liriano | Vegas Moneyline | Tim Hudson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SFG (-131) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.190 | 0.504 | 0.231 | 27.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.257 | 0.692 | 0.311 | 13.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.240 | 0.685 | 0.310 | 23.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.610 | 0.275 | 20.2% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Francisco Liriano – Liriano has bounced back nicely after a subpar month of June. In July, he’s posted a 2.25 ERA while averaging a strikeout per inning of work. The Giants have a couple of hitters that are good against LH pitching (Posey, Pence), but as a team are only ranked 20th against LH pitching. There are probably safer options at his price point, but he’s not the worst play tonight. Rating = 5.5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $13150 DD, $8200 DK, $77300 FF, $22800 SS, $13150 FTD
- Tim Hudson – Hudson is hoping to have more success against the Pirates than Madison Bumgarner did last night. After a disappointing series offensively in Coors, the Pirates came out firing last night. The Pirates are a team that I just don’t want to mess with right now when it comes to starting pitching. For that reason, I’ll be avoiding Hudson tonight. Rating = 5.5
Salaries: $7500 FD, $16550 DD, $7600 DK, $97100 FF, $22400 SS, $16550 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
Even though I won’t be targeting Hudson tonight, I won’t be targeting any hitters against him either. He’s pitched well at home and the total is set at only 6.5 runs.
San Francisco
Buster Posey – Posey has always hit LH pitching well and this season is no different. He has a .383 wOBA vs. LH pitching and Liriano has given up 6 of his 9 HR’s to RH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Hunter Pence