MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, June 14th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2016-06-15 02:37:41

The RotoGrinders MLB Grind Down will give you an in-depth analysis into the upcoming 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: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Philadelphia at Toronto – 12:37 PM ET

Stats	K%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Philadelphia		Toronto
	Zach Eflin				Marcus Stroman
	RIGHT				RIGHT
	Vegas Moneyline				Vegas Over/Under
	TOR -260				8.5
SP vs. Left		SP vs. Left	0.303	5	16.1%	8.2%
SP vs. Right		SP vs. Right	0.310	4	16.0%	5.2%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	K%	SS%	GB%	HH%
Zach Eflin
	FanDuel		DraftKings
	Salary:	$5,500	Salary:	$4,000
	FPPG:	0.0	FPPG:	0.0
	Pitcher Rating:	35.0	Pitcher Rank:	30

Eflin is making his major league debut, but the Phillies did him no favors by choosing today as his first start. Not only will this be played in an American League ballpark, but he has to face a loaded Blue Jays’ lineup on the road. In 11 minor league starts this season, Eflin posted a 2.90 ERA with a strikeout rate just over 20%. Given the fact that he is a huge underdog in a difficult matchup, he is an easy fade in all league formats.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Marcus Stroman
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$7,400	Salary:		$5,900
					FPPG:		26.7	FPPG:		12.4
					Pitcher Rating:		74.3	Pitcher Rank:		11
L30 Days	5	97.8	4.55	7.58	11.5%	7.9%	8.0%	54.5%	15.5%	41.8%
2016	13	99.5	4.02	4.94	15.7%	7.1%	8.2%	59.2%	20.6%	32.4%
2015	4	93.3	3.28	1.67	17.5%	5.8%	7.2%	64.1%	17.9%	21.8%

Stroman hasn’t been sharp over the last month of play, posting a 7.58 ERA with a strikeout rate of only 11.5%. He is still producing a lot of ground balls, but he is getting less outs by the way of the strikeout this season and his hard hit contact rate is way up. He draws a potential bounce back matchup today against the Phillies, who are ranked 28th in team wOBA against right-handed pitching this season. Stroman should be able to pick up a win here and could make sense as an SP2 on DraftKings if you are playing in the all-day slate.

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

The Phillies played well last night against R.A. Dickey, but are still one of the worst offenses in baseball. Even though an American League ballpark bump, they still have the third lowest team total on the board. Marcus Stroman has been struggling a bit recently, but he still induces an elite ground ball rate. He has also held both left and right-handed hitters under a .310 wOBA over the last two seasons.

Phillies Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.287 (28 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.146 (19 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 22.3% (18 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.27 (29 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.33 (28 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Odubel Herrera	LEFT	0.354	0.131	0.356	OF	$3,600	OF	$4,100
2	Freddy Galvis	SWITCH	0.289	0.124	0.134	SS	$2,500	SS	$3,000
3	Andres Blanco	SWITCH	0.348	0.209	0.274	SS	$2,000	2B/SS	$2,900
4	Tommy Joseph	RIGHT	0.362	0.340	0.387	1B	$2,800	1B	$5,100
5	Ryan Howard	LEFT	0.314	0.230	0.265	1B	$2,400	1B	$3,300
6	Cameron Rupp	RIGHT	0.287	0.141	0.343	C	$2,500	C	$2,800
7	Cody Asche	LEFT	0.304	0.159	0.298	OF	$2,500	OF	$3,100
8	Cesar Hernandez	SWITCH	0.290	0.083	0.273	2B	$2,200	2B	$2,800
9	Peter Bourjos	RIGHT	0.238	0.112	0.243	OF	$2,000	OF	$2,600
	Team Averages	—	0.310	0.170	0.286	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Odubel Herrera, Tommy Joseph

Stackability – NONE

Toronto

The Blue Jays were a complete bust on a night where basically every offense was scoring ten or more runs. They will look to bounce back today against Zach Eflin, who is making his major league debut. Eflin is a right-handed pitcher that didn’t show a ton of strikeout upside in the minors. The Blue Jays should be able to make good contact against him, especially the second time through the order.

Blue Jays Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.318 (9 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.175 (9 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 22.5% (20 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.32 (15 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 5.17 (3 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Jose Bautista	RIGHT	0.387	0.286	0.328	OF	$4,500	OF	$5,000
2	Josh Donaldson	RIGHT	0.382	0.258	0.371	3B	$4,300	3B	$5,400
3	Edwin Encarnacion	RIGHT	0.372	0.264	0.451	1B	$4,200	1B	$5,200
4	Michael Saunders	LEFT	0.345	0.172	0.487	OF	$3,700	OF	$5,300
5	Russell Martin	RIGHT	0.303	0.174	0.383	C	$2,900	C	$3,800
6	Ezequiel Carrera	LEFT	0.297	0.079	0.269	OF	$2,900	OF	$3,600
7	Kevin Pillar	RIGHT	0.306	0.127	0.355	OF	$3,000	OF	$4,500
8	Devon Travis	RIGHT	0.332	0.158	0.201	2B	$2,700	2B	$4,200
9	Ryan Goins	LEFT	0.294	0.119	0.314	2B	$2,200	2B/SS	$3,100
	Team Averages	—	0.335	0.182	0.351	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders

Secondary Plays – Jose Bautista, Russell Martin, Ezequiel Carrera

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Chicago Cubs at Washington – 7:05 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Chicago Cubs					Washington
			John Lackey					Gio Gonzalez
			RIGHT					LEFT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			CHC -115					8.0
SP vs. Left	0.312	13	16.3%	8.4%	SP vs. Left	0.273	1	17.8%	6.5%
SP vs. Right	0.264	15	25.7%	3.9%	SP vs. Right	0.318	15	23.9%	8.8%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
John Lackey
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$9,900	Salary:		$11,300
					FPPG:		42.5	FPPG:		23.8
					Pitcher Rating:		76.7	Pitcher Rank:		6
L30 Days	5	97.0	3.17	1.34	29.8%	7.3%	13.6%	37.3%	42.7%	30.3%
2016	12	97.3	3.31	2.63	27.1%	6.1%	12.8%	41.0%	37.5%	33.3%
2015	33	94.8	3.90	2.77	19.5%	5.9%	9.4%	46.0%	33.3%	30.1%

Lackey is having an incredible season for a pitcher at his age. In 12 starts, he owns a 3.31 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 27.1%. He has never been a pitcher that has struggled with his command and he is producing one of the highest swinging strike rates in his career. He is listed as a small favorite tonight against the Nationals, who are ranked right around the major league average in team wOBA and team K% against right-handed pitching. At his price, Lackey is more of a GPP play tonight.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Gio Gonzalez
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$8,800	Salary:		$8,000
					FPPG:		30.8	FPPG:		16.4
					Pitcher Rating:		69.0	Pitcher Rank:		13
L30 Days	6	100.7	3.03	5.82	28.1%	5.9%	9.9%	45.5%	25.3%	33.0%
2016	12	99.9	3.65	3.93	23.3%	6.2%	9.3%	46.1%	33.3%	32.9%
2015	31	95.1	3.77	3.79	22.3%	9.1%	9.8%	53.8%	26.6%	28.7%

Gonzalez got off to a rough start against the White Sox, but righted the ship and pitched well the rest of the game. Even though his ERA over the last month of play leaves a lot to be desired, he actually has a 3.03 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 28.1% during that stretch. He has just as much upside as John Lackey, but is considerably cheaper across the industry. Unfortunately, his matchup against the Cubs makes him more of a GPP play as well.

Batter Grind Down

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are ranked fifth in team wOBA against left-handed pitching this season. While that is promising, they draw a fairly difficult matchup against Gio Gonzalez and they have to face him in the pitcher-friendly Nationals Park. The right-handed hitters in this lineup could be worth a look in tournaments, as Gonzalez has allowed a .318 wOBA and 15 home runs to right-handed batters over the last two seasons.

Cubs Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. LHP — 0.343 (5 of 30)
Team ISO vs. LHP — 0.170 (10 of 30)
Team K% vs. LHP — 19.9% (11 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 5.42 (3 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.09 (13 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. LHP	ISO vs. LHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Dexter Fowler	SWITCH	0.380	0.158	0.256	OF	$3,700	OF	$4,400
2	Jason Heyward	LEFT	0.324	0.105	0.367	OF	$3,400	OF	$4,000
3	Kris Bryant	RIGHT	0.359	0.245	0.367	3B	$4,200	3B/OF	$4,800
4	Anthony Rizzo	LEFT	0.364	0.180	0.464	1B	$4,100	1B	$4,800
5	Ben Zobrist	SWITCH	0.394	0.182	0.250	2B	$3,600	2B	$4,300
6	Javier Baez	RIGHT	0.463	0.224	0.429	SS	$3,000	3B/SS	$3,400
7	Miguel Montero	LEFT	0.306	0.154	0.225	C	$2,500	C	$3,200
8	Addison Russell	RIGHT	0.238	0.130	0.207	SS	$2,400	SS	$2,600
9	John Lackey	RIGHT	0.159	0.000	0.000	P	$9,900	P	$11,300
	Team Averages	—	0.332	0.153	0.285	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez

Stackability – NONE

Washington

The Nationals are small underdogs tonight at home against John Lackey. They come into the game with the 12th lowest run projection of the 30 teams in action. This isn’t the most exploitable matchup on the board, especially when you see that there is a game in Coors Field. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy are always intriguing options against a right-handed pitcher, but I will likely limit them to GPPs.

Nationals Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.316 (12 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.169 (12 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 20.0% (14 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.63 (11 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.91 (19 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Ben Revere	LEFT	0.302	0.074	0.289	OF	$2,900	OF	$2,800
2	Jayson Werth	RIGHT	0.284	0.135	0.468	OF	$3,600	OF	$3,300
3	Bryce Harper	LEFT	0.453	0.328	0.327	OF	$3,700	OF	$4,400
4	Daniel Murphy	LEFT	0.379	0.222	0.365	2B	$3,600	2B	$4,100
5	Ryan Zimmerman	RIGHT	0.304	0.179	0.215	1B	$2,900	1B	$3,100
6	Wilson Ramos	RIGHT	0.303	0.147	0.492	C	$3,300	C	$3,200
7	Anthony Rendon	RIGHT	0.310	0.125	0.360	3B	$3,000	3B	$3,300
8	Danny Espinosa	SWITCH	0.302	0.175	0.483	SS	$2,900	SS	$3,000
9	Gio Gonzalez	LEFT	0.158	0.038	0.000	P	$8,800	P	$8,000
	Team Averages	—	0.311	0.158	0.333	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy

Stackability – NONE

Baltimore at Boston – 7:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Baltimore					Boston
			Chris Tillman					David Price
			RIGHT					LEFT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			BOS -170					8.5
SP vs. Left	0.310	8	19.1%	10.4%	SP vs. Left	0.288	6	20.3%	3.7%
SP vs. Right	0.332	21	17.9%	7.2%	SP vs. Right	0.277	21	27.2%	6.4%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Chris Tillman
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$8,600	Salary:		$7,400
					FPPG:		36.6	FPPG:		19.2
					Pitcher Rating:		39.3	Pitcher Rank:		26
L30 Days	6	106.0	3.93	2.97	22.3%	8.3%	9.9%	50.5%	31.8%	33.9%
2016	13	96.4	3.98	3.01	24.0%	9.3%	10.4%	44.1%	36.8%	31.1%
2015	31	94.9	4.69	4.99	16.2%	8.6%	7.1%	43.5%	35.4%	26.9%

Tillman is having his best season since 2012. In 13 starts, he owns a 3.98 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 24%. Typically, when a pitcher has that big of an increase in his strikeout rate, we like to look at velocity and his swinging strike rate to see if it is sustainable. In addition to a 3.3% increase in his swinging strike rate, Tillman is throwing a lot more sliders this season. While he is worth keeping an eye on moving forward, he is an easy fade tonight against the Red Sox in Fenway Park.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
David Price
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$10,500	Salary:		$9,700
					FPPG:		36.8	FPPG:		19.4
					Pitcher Rating:		89.3	Pitcher Rank:		4
L30 Days	5	108.4	4.41	2.78	18.6%	7.9%	10.3%	45.0%	35.0%	29.4%
2016	13	105.7	3.46	4.63	26.0%	6.9%	12.7%	42.2%	32.7%	34.8%
2015	32	105.9	3.27	2.45	25.3%	5.3%	11.9%	40.4%	36.4%	28.2%

Price isn’t have a great season by ERA standards, but he does own a 3.46 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 26%. Having half of his starts in Fenway Park isn’t helping the issue, but he still offers great upside for a pitcher at his price point. He draws a boom or bust matchup tonight against the Orioles, who are ranked fifth in team ISO and 17th in team K% against left-handed pitching this season. I don’t trust Price as much as Madison Bumgarner or Jacob deGrom, but he is still a top five pitching option tonight and is worth a look in all league formats.

Batter Grind Down

Baltimore

The Orioles have a lot of power against left-handed pitching, but they draw a tough matchup against David Price. The good news is that they get to face him in the hitter-friendly Fenway Park. I won’t be targeting any of the Orioles in cash games tonight, but Joey Rickard, Manny Machado, and Mark Trumbo all have a .350+ wOBA against southpaws over the last two seasons.

Orioles Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. LHP — 0.305 (24 of 30)
Team ISO vs. LHP — 0.179 (5 of 30)
Team K% vs. LHP — 21.5% (17 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.82 (6 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.84 (21 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. LHP	ISO vs. LHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Adam Jones	RIGHT	0.279	0.145	0.382	OF	$3,400	OF	$3,900
2	Joey Rickard	RIGHT	0.368	0.218	0.327	OF	$2,500	OF	$2,900
3	Manny Machado	RIGHT	0.351	0.194	0.374	SS	$4,000	3B/SS	$4,100
4	Chris Davis	LEFT	0.345	0.215	0.448	1B	$4,000	1B	$4,000
5	Mark Trumbo	RIGHT	0.356	0.278	0.399	OF	$3,600	OF	$4,500
6	Matt Wieters	SWITCH	0.293	0.147	0.283	C	$2,900	C	$3,000
7	Nolan Reimold	RIGHT	0.335	0.143	0.279	OF	$2,500	OF	$2,700
8	Jonathan Schoop	RIGHT	0.261	0.102	0.320	2B	$3,300	2B	$2,400
9	Paul Janish	RIGHT	0.212	0.063	0.339			3B	$2,000
	Team Averages	—	0.311	0.167	0.350	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Joey Rickard, Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo

Stackability – NONE

Boston

There are a lot of reasons to like the Red Sox offense tonight. They are ranked first in team wOBA and third in team ISO against right-handed pitching. They average more runs than any other team in baseball. And finally, they have the fourth highest team total on the board. While Chris Tillman has been much better this season, he has still allowed a .310 wOBA to left-handed hitters and a .332 wOBA to right-handed hitters over the course of the last two years.

Red Sox Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.360 (1 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.192 (3 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 18.2% (3 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 5.95 (1 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 4.66 (4 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Mookie Betts	RIGHT	0.360	0.207	0.481	OF	$4,700	OF	$5,400
2	Dustin Pedroia	RIGHT	0.357	0.156	0.367	2B	$3,800	2B	$4,000
3	Xander Bogaerts	RIGHT	0.344	0.120	0.407	SS	$4,000	SS	$5,200
4	David Ortiz	LEFT	0.435	0.345	0.451	1B	$4,100	1B	$5,300
5	Hanley Ramirez	RIGHT	0.305	0.133	0.201	1B	$3,400	1B	$3,200
6	Jackie Bradley	LEFT	0.377	0.277	0.315	OF	$3,500	OF	$4,200
7	Chris Young	RIGHT	0.278	0.181	0.531	OF	$3,400	OF	$3,400
8	Travis Shaw	LEFT	0.342	0.189	0.176	3B	$2,700	1B/3B	$3,100
9	Christian Vazquez	RIGHT	0.240	0.087	0.195	C	$2,100	C	$2,500
	Team Averages	—	0.356	0.168	0.347	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – Mookie Betts, David Ortiz

Secondary Plays – Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez, Jackie Bradley

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Cincinnati at Atlanta – 7:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Cincinnati					Atlanta
			Brandon Finnegan					Julio Teheran
			LEFT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			ATL -125					7.5
SP vs. Left	0.310	3	14.8%	11.1%	SP vs. Left	0.370	25	15.9%	11.3%
SP vs. Right	0.311	15	20.2%	10.6%	SP vs. Right	0.250	14	26.1%	5.3%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Brandon Finnegan
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$6,100	Salary:		$8,100
					FPPG:		21.1	FPPG:		10.8
					Pitcher Rating:		57.6	Pitcher Rank:		15
L30 Days	6	102.0	5.21	3.38	16.5%	11.2%	8.7%	36.2%	38.1%	36.4%
2016	13	97.2	5.14	3.77	16.3%	10.8%	8.8%	39.0%	36.0%	34.9%
2015	4	187.8	3.77	3.56	22.8%	10.7%	9.7%	54.3%	29.1%	30.8%

Remember when I said that last night’s Reds/Braves game would be high scoring? Wow, I wasn’t expecting the two to combine for 17 runs. Tonight’s game should be much different, as the over/under is set at only 7.5 runs. Finnegan has had a couple of good starts this season, but has mostly been a disappointment. He owns a 5.14 SIERA with a strikeout rate of only 16.3%. He draws a great matchup against the Braves, but isn’t on my radar tonight. He needs to cut down on his walks before I consider targeting him in DFS.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Julio Teheran
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$8,500	Salary:		$9,500
					FPPG:		30.2	FPPG:		17.3
					Pitcher Rating:		79.1	Pitcher Rank:		5
L30 Days	6	102.0	3.54	2.21	24.4%	5.8%	10.3%	44.2%	37.5%	31.1%
2016	13	101.0	3.83	2.85	23.3%	7.0%	9.5%	42.5%	40.3%	35.7%
2015	33	99.2	4.24	4.04	20.3%	8.7%	10.8%	39.5%	36.2%	31.4%

The stars seem to be aligning for a strong performance from Teheran tonight. He comes into the game in great form, posting a 3.54 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 24.4% over the last month of play. He is also pitching at home, where his numbers are drastically better over the course of his career. The final piece of the puzzle is his matchup. On the season, the Reds are ranked 24th in team wOBA and 22nd in team K% against right-handed pitching. Teheran is a viable play in all league formats tonight.

Batter Grind Down

Cincinnati

The Reds have the fifth lowest implied run projection tonight, as they square off against Julio Teheran in the pitcher-friendly Turner Field. This is not the best matchup on the board, although Teheran has really struggled against left-handed hitters. Over the last two seasons, he has allowed a .370 wOBA and 25 home runs to lefties. You can give a look to Joey Votto and Jay Bruce in GPPs.

Reds Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.300 (24 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.176 (8 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 22.9% (22 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.38 (14 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.60 (26 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Zack Cozart	RIGHT	0.322	0.197	0.324	SS	$3,100	SS	$3,100
2	Joey Votto	LEFT	0.404	0.236	0.462	1B	$3,500	1B	$3,900
3	Brandon Phillips	RIGHT	0.313	0.121	0.276	2B	$3,200	2B	$3,000
4	Jay Bruce	LEFT	0.333	0.256	0.480	OF	$3,900	OF	$4,000
5	Adam Duvall	RIGHT	0.374	0.348	0.317	OF	$3,200	OF	$3,900
6	Eugenio Suarez	RIGHT	0.306	0.166	0.377	3B	$3,000	3B	$3,400
7	Tyler Holt	RIGHT	0.253	0.049	0.294	OF	$2,000	OF	$2,300
8	Tucker Barnhart	SWITCH	0.293	0.088	0.360	C	$2,300	C	$2,300
9	Brandon Finnegan	LEFT	0.183	0.042	0.000	P	$6,100	P	$8,100
	Team Averages	—	0.309	0.167	0.321	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Joey Votto, Jay Bruce

Stackability – NONE

Atlanta

While the Braves’ stack was a good play last night, the opportunity is long gone now. They are still one of the worst offenses in baseball, which helps explain why they have the 11th lowest team total on the board, despite a favorable matchup against Brandon Finnegan. There are too many yellow and red boxes in the projected lineup table below.

Braves Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. LHP — 0.256 (30 of 30)
Team ISO vs. LHP — 0.079 (30 of 30)
Team K% vs. LHP — 23.1% (21 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.17 (30 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.90 (20 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. LHP	ISO vs. LHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Ender Inciarte	LEFT	0.246	0.052	0.292	OF	$2,900	OF	$2,900
2	Chase d’Arnaud	RIGHT	0.335	0.138	0.280	2B	$3,000	2B/3B	$3,300
3	Freddie Freeman	LEFT	0.321	0.136	0.328	1B	$3,200	1B	$2,900
4	Jeff Francoeur	RIGHT	0.310	0.123	0.305	OF	$2,400	OF	$2,600
5	Nick Markakis	LEFT	0.274	0.051	0.218	OF	$2,600	OF	$2,700
6	Adonis Garcia	RIGHT	0.312	0.176	0.270	3B	$2,300	3B	$3,100
7	Tyler Flowers	RIGHT	0.320	0.103	0.255	C	$2,300	C	$2,800
8	Erick Aybar	SWITCH	0.232	0.044	0.402	SS	$2,100	SS	$2,300
9	Julio Teheran	RIGHT	0.158	0.000	0.377	P	$8,500	P	$9,500
	Team Averages	—	0.279	0.091	0.303	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Adonis Garcia

Stackability – NONE

Pittsburgh at NY Mets – 7:10 PM ET

Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%	Stats	wOBA	HR All.	K%	BB%
Pittsburgh					NY Mets
			Jameson Taillon					Jacob deGrom
			RIGHT					RIGHT
			Vegas Moneyline					Vegas Over/Under
			NYM -150					7.0
SP vs. Left	0.426	1	10.5%	10.5%	SP vs. Left	0.284	14	25.3%	5.2%
SP vs. Right	0.176	0	20.0%	0.0%	SP vs. Right	0.229	6	27.0%	5.7%

Pitcher Grind Down

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Jameson Taillon
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$4,600	Salary:		$8,600
					FPPG:		18.0	FPPG:		8.7
					Pitcher Rating:		47.6	Pitcher Rank:		20
L30 Days	1	91.0	5.12	4.50	12.5%	8.3%	5.5%	44.4%	27.8%	42.1%
2016	1	91.0	5.12	4.50	12.5%	8.3%	5.5%	44.4%	27.8%	42.1%

Taillon is making his second career major league start. In his first outing, he allowed three earned runs in six innings of work. He’s had quite a bit of success in the minors this season, posting 2.04 ERA with a strikeout rate of 25.9% in ten starts. He is still a wildcard for DFS at this point and given the fact that he is a large underdog on the road, he can be avoided in both cash games and GPPs.

Statistics	Starts	PitchPS	SIERA	ERA	K%	BB%	SS%	GB%	FB%	HH%
Jacob deGrom
					FanDuel			DraftKings
					Salary:		$9,800	Salary:		$10,100
					FPPG:		30.0	FPPG:		16.4
					Pitcher Rating:		97.4	Pitcher Rank:		2
L30 Days	5	103.8	3.46	3.45	28.4%	8.7%	11.0%	39.5%	36.8%	34.2%
2016	10	96.5	3.73	2.80	22.6%	6.5%	11.3%	46.2%	31.4%	32.6%
2015	30	99.2	2.99	2.54	27.3%	5.1%	12.7%	44.4%	34.7%	26.3%

After a slow start to the season, Jacob deGrom is really starting to turn it up. In his last five starts, he has a 3.46 SIERA with a strikeout rate of 28.4%. The velocity is back to where is was a season ago and we are slowly seeing more swings and misses. He grades out as the second best pitching option on the board tonight, but he is considerably cheaper than Madison Bumgarner. DeGrom is in play in all league formats and using him over Bumgarner allows you to fit a few more bats into your lineup.

Batter Grind Down

Pittsburgh

The Pirates hit right-handed pitching well as a team, but they are facing a tough matchup in Jacob deGrom. Not only that, but they are facing him in the pitcher-friendly Citi Field. Over the last two seasons, deGrom has held both left and right-handed hitters under a .285 wOBA. It’s no surprise that the Pirates have the second lowest team total on the board.

Pirates Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.330 (8 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.139 (23 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 19.0% (9 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 4.76 (7 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.21 (29 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	John Jaso	LEFT	0.358	0.157	0.261	1B	$2,900	1B	$2,700
2	Andrew McCutchen	RIGHT	0.362	0.190	0.213	OF	$3,000	OF	$3,100
3	Gregory Polanco	LEFT	0.344	0.163	0.300	OF	$3,600	OF	$4,500
4	David Freese	RIGHT	0.330	0.142	0.386	1B	$2,700	1B/3B	$3,500
5	Starling Marte	RIGHT	0.359	0.159	0.399	OF	$3,400	OF	$4,400
6	Josh Harrison	RIGHT	0.308	0.103	0.261	2B	$2,400	2B	$3,000
7	Jordy Mercer	RIGHT	0.264	0.064	0.308	SS	$2,500	SS	$2,500
8	Chris Stewart	RIGHT	0.284	0.071	0.254	C	$2,100	C	$2,000
9	Jameson Taillon	RIGHT	0.000	0.000	0.000	P	$4,600	P	$8,600
	Team Averages	—	0.290	0.117	0.265	—	—	—	—

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – NONE

Stackability – NONE

NY Mets

The Mets draw a boom or bust matchup tonight against Jameson Taillon, who is making his second career major league start. Taillon actually faced this same Mets’ offense in his first start and they were able to score three runs in his six innings. There aren’t any must plays on the Mets tonight, but you can look to the top three batters in the lineup for tournaments.

Mets Offense (2016)
Team wOBA vs. RHP — 0.314 (15 of 30)
Team ISO vs. RHP — 0.183 (6 of 30)
Team K% vs. RHP — 23.8% (26 of 30)
Runs Per Game — 3.69 (28 of 30)
Projected Run Total — 3.79 (24 of 30)

Projected Lineup

#	Player	Bats	wOBA vs. RHP	ISO vs. RHP	wOBA L14	FD Position	FD Salary	DK Position	DK Salary
1	Curtis Granderson	LEFT	0.375	0.234	0.365	OF	$3,700	OF	$4,600
2	Michael Conforto	LEFT	0.376	0.269	0.158	OF	$2,900	OF	$3,400
3	Yoenis Cespedes	RIGHT	0.377	0.267	0.317	OF	$3,700	OF	$4,400
4	Neil Walker	SWITCH	0.335	0.176	0.340	2B	$3,200	2B	$3,900
5	James Loney	LEFT	0.298	0.071	0.283	1B	$2,100	1B	$3,000
6	Asdrubal Cabrera	SWITCH	0.320	0.164	0.302	SS	$3,200	SS	$3,500
7	Wilmer Flores	RIGHT	0.282	0.109	0.381	3B	$2,400	3B	$3,000
8	Kevin Plawecki	RIGHT	0.262	0.059	0.275	C	$2,100	C	$2,400
9	Jacob deGrom	RIGHT	0.200	0.015	0.276	P	$9,800	P	$10,100
	Team Averages	—	0.314	0.152	0.300	—	—	—	—

MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, June 14th

Philadelphia at Toronto – 12:37 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Philadelphia

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Odubel Herrera, Tommy Joseph

Stackability – NONE

Toronto

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders

Secondary Plays – Jose Bautista, Russell Martin, Ezequiel Carrera

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Chicago Cubs at Washington – 7:05 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Chicago Cubs

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez

Stackability – NONE

Washington

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy

Stackability – NONE

Baltimore at Boston – 7:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Baltimore

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Joey Rickard, Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo

Stackability – NONE

Boston

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – Mookie Betts, David Ortiz

Secondary Plays – Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez, Jackie Bradley

Stackability – Cash & GPP

Cincinnati at Atlanta – 7:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Cincinnati

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Joey Votto, Jay Bruce

Stackability – NONE

Atlanta

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Adonis Garcia

Stackability – NONE

Pittsburgh at NY Mets – 7:10 PM ET

Pitcher Grind Down

Batter Grind Down

Pittsburgh

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – NONE

Stackability – NONE

NY Mets

Projected Lineup

Elite Plays – NONE

Secondary Plays – Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes

Stackability – NONE

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