MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, June 24th
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
Miami at Philadelphia
| Miami | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Andrew Heaney | Vegas Moneyline | David Buchanan | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | MIA (-105) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | SP vs. Left | 0.277 | 0.724 | 0.327 | 14.0% | ||||
| SP vs. Right | SP vs. Right | 0.300 | 0.907 | 0.399 | 18.7% | ||||
| Batter Splits | MIA BvP  | MIA vs R | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Andrew Heaney – Heaney’s debut went about as well as the Marlins could have expected. He only gave up 1 earned run to the Mets in 6 innings of work while striking out 3 batters. He is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and we should see his talent on display the rest of the season. Tonight he is facing a Phillies’ offense that is ranked 12th against LH pitching this season (.324 wOBA). I’m excited to see what this kid can do, but I think I will give him another start or two before targeting him in my cash games. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5100 FD, $13899 DS, $10650 DD, $6500 DK, $67000 FF, $18000 SS, $NA FTD
- David Buchanan – Buchanan is coming off of his best start to date. He held the Cardinals to 1 earned runs over 7 and 2/3 innings of work while striking out 4 batters. While the Marlins are above average against RH pitching this season, they haven’t been great away from Marlins Park. Of the two rookies here, I think Buchanan has slightly more upside. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5400 FD, $11112 DS, $11700 DD, $6600 DK, $73800 FF, $18300 SS, $11700 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Miami
Giancarlo Stanton – Stanton has always been known as a guy that crushes LH pitching, but his .390 wOBA against RH pitching isn’t too shabby either. Stanton has 64 hits against righties this season and 28 of them went for extra bases. I like the matchup against the rookie tonight.
Additional Plays: Derek Dietrich, Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Philadelphia
Marlon Byrd – We don’t have a ton to go off of with Heaney, but Byrd has a .387 wOBA against southpaws this season. Byrd is a player that often flies under the radar, but he still has nice pop against LH pitching and should be batting in the heart of the order.
Additional Plays: Chase Utley
Chicago White Sox at Baltimore
| Chicago White Sox | Baltimore | ||||||||
| Jose Quintana | Vegas Moneyline | Miguel Gonzalez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | BAL (-132) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.262 | 0.725 | 0.321 | 20.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.244 | 0.695 | 0.313 | 18.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.250 | 0.673 | 0.301 | 19.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.257 | 0.763 | 0.337 | 17.2% |
| Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jose Quintana – Quintana has been a serviceable lefty this season with a 3.87 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and a K/9 of 7.5. Quintana is a pitcher that you can target when he’s in a favorable matchup, but facing the Orioles in Camden Yards doesn’t exactly qualify as a favorable matchup. When you have guys like Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and Nelson Cruz that can change the course of the game with one swing, it can quickly turn a good outing from your pitcher into a bad one. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6100 FD, $11654 DS, $12800 DD, $6800 DK, $67500 FF, $17400 SS, $12800 FTD
- Miguel Gonzalez – Gonzalez isn’t a pitcher that’s going to give you a 10 strikeout complete game, but he’s not a pitcher that gets blasted very often either. He’s only given up more than 3 earned runs once in his last 10 starts. The run support should be there for him tonight and with his extremely cheap price tag, I think he’s in play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6200 FD, $10897 DS, $12000 DD, $6200 DK, $85000 FF, $15900 SS, $12000 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago White Sox
Jose Abreu – Abreu hit HR #22 last night and will look to tack on another one tonight against Gonzalez who has given up a .337 wOBA to RHB’s since the start of 2013. Abreu has a .401 wOBA against righties this season and 16 of his 22 HR’s have come off of RH pitching.
Additional Plays: Adam Eaton
Baltimore
Adam Jones / Nelson Cruz – I love taking both Jones and Cruz against lefties. Both have a wOBA over .500 against southpaws this season and both have multi-HR type of upside. Quintana has been good against RHB’s this season, but Camden Yards is a tough place to pitch.
Additional Plays: Steve Pearce
NY Yankees at Toronto
| NY Yankees | Toronto | ||||||||
| David Phelps | Vegas Moneyline | Mark Buehrle | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-130) | LEFT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.230 | 0.682 | 0.312 | 22.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.249 | 0.685 | 0.313 | 13.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.299 | 0.798 | 0.362 | 17.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.277 | 0.732 | 0.325 | 15.9% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP | NYY vs L | Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- David Phelps – Phelps has been inconsistent this season, but he has managed to post back to back quality starts. In his last two outings, he has struck out 12 batters while only giving up a combined 2 earned runs, both of which were to this Blue Jays team. The Blue Jays at home are basically the AL version of the Rockies in Coors. Basically, you want to avoid all pitchers against them as they are ranked 2nd overall against RH pitching this season (.344 wOBA). Rating = 3
Salaries: $5700 FD, $8855 DS, $9850 DD, $6400 DK, $67700 FF, $15300 SS, $9850 FTD
- Mark Buehrle – Buehrle is finally coming back down to Earth after that incredible start to the season. He has given up 6 earned runs in his last 2 starts combined, but still owns a 2.32 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 5.3. The Yankees have been pretty average against LH pitching this season, but I still don’t love the fact that this game is being played in the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7900 FD, $15894 DS, $15050 DD, $7000 DK, $97600 FF, $20000 SS, $15050 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Yankees
Mark Teixeira – Teixeira hit a HR in last night’s blowout loss to the Blue Jays. He has a .368 wOBA against LH pitching and a decent track record against Buehrle (14/47 with 5 XBH’s). Teixeira has also been locked in of late with hits in 9 of his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano
Toronto
Adam Lind – In his first game back in the lineup, Lind hit a HR and added RBI’s to his season total. He should be in the lineup again tonight against the RHP David Phelps. He’s a great value play at 1B as he has a .404 wOBA against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay
| Pittsburgh | Tampa Bay | ||||||||
| Jeff Locke | Vegas Moneyline | Chris Archer | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | TBR (-133) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.280 | 0.696 | 0.334 | 11.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.244 | 0.703 | 0.318 | 20.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.231 | 0.654 | 0.297 | 19.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.228 | 0.575 | 0.270 | 18.9% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeff Locke – Locke has pitched pretty well this season. Through 4 starts he has a 3.76 ERA with 19 K’s over 26 innings of work. Tonight he faces a Rays’ offense that is ranked 20th against LH pitching despite being great against southpaws last season. I’m not sure if he makes a great cash game play, but he does offer nice upside as a GPP play. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5000 FD, $12345 DS, $11650 DD, $7300 DK, $74400 FF, $20400 SS, $11650 FTD
- Chris Archer – Archer has given up 2 earned runs or less in each of his last 7 starts. He’s finally found his rhythm and he’s been excellent at home all season long with a 2.16 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP. The Pirates have been a tough task for opposing pitchers ever since Gregory Polanco was called up, but I think Archer pitches well here as he has held RHB’s to a .228 batting average since the start of 2013. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7700 FD, $16654 DS, $14650 DD, $9100 DK, $92500 FF, $ SS, $14650 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
As mentioned above, Archer is extremely efficient against RHB’s. That doesn’t bode well for the Pirates tonight. You could take a shot on Ike Davis as a value play, but I think avoiding all Pirates’ bats is the best option here.
Tampa Bay
Evan Longoria – Longo’s numbers have been down across the board this season, but he has historically crushed LH pitching. Over the last 3 seasons, he has a .968 OPS against southpaws. I like the matchup and his cheap price tag.
Additional Plays: Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist
Oakland at NY Mets
| Oakland | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Scott Kazmir | Vegas Moneyline | Bartolo Colon | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-136) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.242 | 0.597 | 0.269 | 22.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.266 | 0.700 | 0.306 | 15.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.243 | 0.690 | 0.309 | 23.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.642 | 0.286 | 16.8% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Scott Kazmir – Kazmir has really turned into a terrific starter in the majors. On the season he has a 2.08 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.6. Another great thing about Kazmir is that he has the swinging A’s offense behind him to provide plenty of run support. Kazmir draws a terrific matchup against the Mets who are ranked 21st against LH pitching this season (striking out at a 24% clip). All signs point to a big outing from Kazmir. Rating = 9
Salaries: $8800 FD, $20851 DS, $17900 DD, $9000 DK, $116200 FF, $28000 SS, $17900 FTD
- Bartolo Colon – Colon has been a tale of two pitchers this season. At home he has a 2.34 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP and on the road he has a 4.81 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP. Even though this game will be played at Citi Field, Colon is an easy avoid for me tonight. This A’s offense is ranked 3rd overall against RH pitching with a team .334 wOBA. Rating = 4
Salaries: $8000 FD, $14440 DS, $14600 DD, $7100 DK, $99700 FF, $21700 SS, $14600 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Coco Crisp – I always like taking players that can score fantasy points in multiple ways. Crisp has some decent pop in his bat and he has great speed on the base pads. He has a .363 wOBA against RH pitching and a decent matchup against Colon.
Additional Plays: Brandon Moss, John Jaso
NY Mets
I really like the Kazmir side of this matchup. For the reason I will be avoiding all Mets’ bats tonight. David Wright is probably the best play here if you do want some exposure to the Mets.