MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, May 20th
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
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
| Baltimore | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| Miguel Gonzalez | Vegas Moneyline | Francisco Liriano | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PIT (-135) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.235 | 0.674 | 0.302 | 18.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.163 | 0.408 | 0.189 | 27.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.780 | 0.344 | 16.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.246 | 0.690 | 0.311 | 23.3% |
| Batter Splits | BAL BvP  | BAL vs L | Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Miguel Gonzalez – Gonzalez has been a serviceable starter this season, but certainly nothing spectacular. Through his first 7 starts, he has a 4.76 ERA with a 1.48 WHIP and a K/9 of 8.1. He faces a Pirates offense that is ranked 17th against RH pitching with a team .309 wOBA. He is a small underdog tonight and makes a pretty average fantasy option. Rating = 5
Francisco Liriano – Liriano has had some bad luck this season. His SIERA is lower than his ERA which suggests that he is actually pitching pretty well. He owns a 1.39 WHIP on the season with a K/9 of 9.2. He faces an Orioles’ offense that is ranked 13th against LH pitching this season with a team .313 wOBA. He makes a nice tournament play tonight. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Baltimore
Adam Jones – Jones is still extremely cheap across the industry and you don’t want to target any LHB’s against Liriano as he has held them to .189 wOBA since the start of 2013. Jones is batting .457 against LH pitching this season and has 3 HR’s off of Liriano in his career.
Additional Plays: Nelson Cruz
Pittsburgh
Andrew McCutchen – Gonzalez is a reverse splits pitcher that gives up a much higher wOBA and OPS to RH batters than he does to LH batters. McCutchen is good against all types of pitching and is batting .337 with 11 XBH’s at home this season.
Additional Plays: Pedro Alvarez
Cincinnati at Washington
| Cincinnati | Washington | ||||||||
| Johnny Cueto | Vegas Moneyline | Doug Fister | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-115) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.161 | 0.458 | 0.212 | 22.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.268 | 0.690 | 0.312 | 19.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.177 | 0.564 | 0.255 | 26.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.298 | 0.709 | 0.326 | 16.6% |
| Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Johnny Cueto – The only thing that can take Cueto out of play at this point is his price tag. It’s finally starting to catch up to his level of production this season. Cueto has been unhittable with a 1.25 ERA, a 0.70 WHIP and a K/9 of 9.5. I don’t mind the matchup against the Nationals who are missing a couple of key pieces in their lineup (Zimmerman and LaRoche). Rating = 9
Doug Fister – Fister looked much better in his 2nd start of the season. He pitched 7 strong innings against the Diamondbacks and only allowed 1 earned run while striking out 6 batters. Tonight he faces a Reds’ offense that is missing it’s best 2 hitters in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Fister is much cheaper than Cueto and offers better value for the price. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
Cincinnati
Devin Mesoraco – I keep waiting for Mesoraco to cool off, but he is still batting .450 on the season with an OPS of 1.26 against RH pitching. He should be batting clean-up tonight which boosts his fantasy value even with Votto and Bruce out of the lineup.
Additional Plays: Todd Frazier
Washington
Since the start of 2013, Cueto has held LH and RH batters to under a .260 wOBA. With 14 other games on the schedule, you don’t need to waste your time with the Nationals’ hitters.
Detroit at Cleveland
| Detroit | Cleveland | ||||||||
| Justin Verlander | Vegas Moneyline | Trevor Bauer | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | DET (-145) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.233 | 0.648 | 0.291 | 23.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.220 | 0.815 | 0.380 | 10.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.276 | 0.724 | 0.322 | 21.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.227 | 0.658 | 0.302 | 25.5% |
| Batter Splits | DET BvP | DET vs R | Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Justin Verlander – Through 9 starts, Verlander has a 3.15 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.0. Verlander faces a familiar opponent in the Indians. Last year he started 5 games against the Indians and posted a 3.35 ERA with a K.9 of 9.8. He is not my favorite cash game play tonight, but you can never rule Verlander out as a tournament play. Rating = 7
Trevor Bauer – Bauer will be making his 2nd start of the season. He struck out 8 batters over 6 strong innings against the Padres in his 1st start. Bauer has always been a pitcher with a high K-upside, but he has a tough opponent in the Tigers who are ranked 7th against RH pitching with a team .329 wOBA. He is a GPP option at best tonight. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Detroit
Victor Martinez – Even though the sample size is small, Bauer has given up a .380 wOBA to LH batters over the last 2 seasons. V-Mart is riding a 9 game hitting streak and has hit 4 HR’s during that stretch. Martinez is a nice play at 1B, but an even better play on sites where he is catcher eligible.
Additional Plays: Miguel Cabrera
Cleveland
Michael Brantley – Brantley is batting .294 with an OPS of .885 against RH pitching this season. He has also been very good at home with an OPS over 1.00. He hit a walk-off HR last night and is in play tonight against the RHP Verlander.
Additional Plays: None
Toronto at Boston
| Toronto | Boston | ||||||||
| J.A. Happ | Vegas Moneyline | Felix Doubront | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | BOS (-140) | LEFT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.293 | 0.773 | 0.346 | 17.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.268 | 0.683 | 0.309 | 20.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.740 | 0.330 | 18.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.263 | 0.756 | 0.336 | 18.0% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs L | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
J.A. Happ – This game features two southpaws that I personally like to pick on when selecting my batters. Happ is an extremely inconsistent pitcher and while he can have good outings here and there, he can also get blown up. Happ has given up a .330+ wOBA to both LH and RH batters since the start of 2013. He should be avoided tonight against the Red Sox in the hitter-friendly Fenway Park. Rating = 3
Felix Doubront – Doubront is a pitcher that always seems to give his team a chance to win, the problem is that he typically gives up a few runs in the process. Doubront has a 4.54 ERA with a 1.53 WHIP this season. He is the more preferred option over Happ, but still does not make a great play tonight. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Edwin Encarnacion – E5 has 4 hits and 3 HR’s in his last 5 games. He has always had great power in his bat, especially against LH pitching. Fenway Park is very favorable to RH batters and he should see plenty of RBI opportunities tonight.
Additional Plays: Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes
Boston
David Ortiz – Even though this is a lefty/lefty matchup, it’s not one that you need to avoid. Ortiz hits LH pitching well and Happ has given up a higher wOBA and OPS to LH batters. Ortiz has been locked in with 17 hits and 5 HR’s over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli
Oakland at Tampa Bay
| Oakland | Tampa Bay | ||||||||
| Drew Pomeranz | Vegas Moneyline | Jake Odorizzi | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-110) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.143 | 0.447 | 0.209 | 29.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.293 | 0.823 | 0.362 | 20.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.286 | 0.843 | 0.381 | 18.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.234 | 0.673 | 0.300 | 25.6% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs R | Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Drew Pomeranz – Pomeranz has had two nearly perfect outings to start his season. He has pitched 5 shutout innings in each of his first 2 starts and has struck out a combined 13 batters. The issue with Pomeranz is that he is not going to pitch deep into games (5-6 innings is likely his max). His price is also getting more expensive which hurts his value. Rating = 5
Jake Odorizzi – Odorizzi is a high strikeout pitcher with 44 K’s over 38 innings of work so far this season. The issue is that he has a 4.89 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP. I try not to make a habit out of taking pitchers against this A’s offense that is ranked 2nd against RH pitching with a team .345 wOBA. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Brandon Moss – Since the start of 2013, Odorizzi has given up a .362 wOBA and an OPS of .823 to LH batters. Moss has great power against RH pitching and has been swinging a hot bat with 13 hits over his past 7 games.
Additional Plays: John Jaso, Josh Reddick
Tampa Bay
Evan Longoria – Since the start of 2013, Pomeranz has given up a .381 wOBA and an OPS of .843 to RH batters. Longoria has always hit LH pitching well and he is batting .347 at the Trop this season with 8 XBH’s.
Additional Plays: Wil Myers, Desmond Jennings