MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, May 20th - Page 2
LA Dodgers at NY Mets
| LA Dodgers | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Josh Beckett | Vegas Moneyline | Rafael Montero | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-135) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.273 | 0.800 | 0.360 | 20.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.333 | 1.412 | 0.571 | 11.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.225 | 0.684 | 0.306 | 24.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 12.5% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP  | LAD vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Josh Beckett – Beckett is having a terrific bounce back season. Through his first 7 starts, he has posted a 2.38 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP and a K/9 of 8.8. He draws a terrific matchup against the Mets who are ranked dead last against RH pitching with a team .276 wOBA. The Mets also have a 22.1 K% against RH pitching this season. Rating = 7
Rafael Montero – Montero will be making his 2nd career big league start tonight. He pitched pretty well in his first outing against the Yankees. The Mets were not concerned with easing him into action as he threw 108 pitches in 6 innings of work. I will be avoiding him in cash games, but he could make a nice tournament play. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
L.A. Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez – A-Gon has always had great power against RH pitching and this could be a great time to buy low on him as his price has come down across the industry.
Additional Plays: Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig
N.Y. Mets
Curtis Granderson – Since the start of last season, Beckett has given up a .360 wOBA to LH batters. Granderson has been much better over the last 2-3 weeks and has a nice track record against Beckett. The Grandy Man is 11/37 with 6 XBH’s off of Beckett in his career.
Additional Plays: David Wright
Philadelphia at Miami
| Philadelphia | Miami | ||||||||
| A.J. Burnett | Vegas Moneyline | Anthony Desclafani | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PHI (-105) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.272 | 0.764 | 0.357 | 20.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.231 | 0.692 | 0.298 | 38.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.204 | 0.545 | 0.245 | 28.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.333 | 0.885 | 0.385 | 15.4% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
A.J. Burnett – After 5 straight starts without giving up more than 2 earned runs, Burnett has given up a combined 9 earned runs in his last 2 outings. That said, Burnett still has a 3.13 ERA on the season with a 1.40 WHIP and a K/9 of 7.5. Tonight he faces a Marlins’ offense that has been terrific at home this season. Those numbers will certainly come down over the course of the season, but there are better pitching options tonight. Rating = 5
Anthony Desclafani – Desclafani will be making his 2nd career big league start tonight. In his first outing, he gave up 2 earned runs in 6 innings of work while striking out 7 batters. Desclafani was the Marlins’ 5th ranked prospect at the start of the season and has a chance to stick around in the rotation if he continues to pitch well. I like him as a tournament play against the Phillies who are ranked 26th against RH pitching this season. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia
Chase Utley – Utley against an unproven RHP is never a bad target in DFS. Utley is batting .378 with a 1.04 OPS against RH pitching this season and makes a nice play at 2B.
Additional Plays: Domonic Brown
Miami
Christian Yelich – Burnett has been very effective against RH batters, holding them to a .245 wOBA over the last 2 seasons. Outside of Giancarlo Stanton, you should only target the LH batters on the Marlins. Yelich has some decent pop in his bat (5 HR’s) and some nice speed as well (7 SB’s).
Additional Plays: Garrett Jones
Milwaukee at Atlanta
| Milwaukee | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Yovani Gallardo | Vegas Moneyline | Julio Teheran | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ATL (-150) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.246 | 0.704 | 0.317 | 17.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.258 | 0.736 | 0.327 | 17.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.696 | 0.311 | 19.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.212 | 0.578 | 0.271 | 25.1% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP | MIL vs R | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Yovani Gallardo – Gallardo faces a Braves’ offense that is ranked near the bottom of most NL offensive categories. The problem is that the Braves are finally starting to heat up. Gallardo’s low K/9 of 6.3 isn’t enough for me to target him tonight against the Braves. Rating = 5
Julio Teheran – Through 9 starts, Teheran has posted a 2.20 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP and a K/9 of 6.8. He is one of the best young pitchers in baseball and I expect a nice bounce back outing from him after struggling in his last start. The Brewers are ranked 18th against RH pitching this season and Teheran is one of the top recommended cash game plays. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee
Teheran has held RH batters to a .271 wOBA over the last 2 seasons which bodes well for him tonight against this Brewers’ lineup. There aren’t any recommended plays from the Brewers tonight.
Atlanta
Jason Heyward – Heyward is starting to heat up with the rest of the Braves’ offense. Heyward has 8 hits and 2 SB’s in his last 5 games and his price is incredibly cheap across the industry.
Additional Plays: Freddie Freeman
Seattle at Texas
| Seattle | Texas | ||||||||
| Hisashi Iwakuma | Vegas Moneyline | Colby Lewis | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SEA (-115) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.221 | 0.601 | 0.265 | 19.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.312 | 0.852 | 0.373 | 21.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.212 | 0.625 | 0.276 | 23.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.404 | 0.916 | 0.411 | 19.0% |
| Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs R | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Hisashi Iwakuma – Iwakuma picked up right where he left off last season. In his first 3 starts this season he has a 1.59 ERA with 15 K’s over 22 innings pitched. He’s pitched back to back 8-inning shutouts. While I would love to suggest him as a play tonight, he draws a tough matchup against the Rangers in the hitter-friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington. Vegas has this as a pick ‘em game with the total set at 9.0 runs. Rating = 6
Colby Lewis – Lewis has not pitched 6 innings in any of his starts this season. He has an ERA of 4.99 with a WHIP of 1.72. He is facing a Mariners’ offense that is full of LHB’s which could cause him some trouble early. I’ll be avoiding Lewis in all leagues. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Seattle
Kyle Seager – Seager is only batting .247 against RH pitching this season, but he is making those hits count as his OPS against righties is .857. Seager has 6 HR’s and 6 doubles against RH pitching and makes a terrific play tonight against Lewis.
Additional Plays: Robinson Cano, Dustin Ackley, Michael Saunders
Texas
Even though the total is set at 9.0 runs, there aren’t any plays that stand out against Iwakuma tonight. Adrian Beltre has a decent track record against him though if you want to target him as a tournament play.
NY Yankees at Chicago Cubs
| NY Yankees | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Masahiro Tanaka | Vegas Moneyline | Jason Hammel | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYY (-165) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.206 | 0.513 | 0.231 | 21.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.286 | 0.834 | 0.368 | 14.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.221 | 0.685 | 0.298 | 37.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.229 | 0.622 | 0.279 | 19.7% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP | NYY vs R | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Masahiro Tanaka – Tanaka pitched a complete-game shutout in his last outing and will look to continue his incredible season tonight against the Cubs. Tanaka is sporting a 2.17 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and a K/9 of 10.2. The Cubs are ranked 27th against RH pitching this season with a team .285 wOBA. Tanaka has as much upside as any pitcher on the board tonight. Keep your eye on the weather for this game though. Rating = 10
Jason Hammel – Hammel has pitched well for the Cubbies this season, but he’s given up 10 earned runs in his last 3 starts. He will also have a tough time picking up the win with Tanaka pitching for the Yankees. Hammel is overpriced for his matchup against the Yanks. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
N.Y. Yankees
Alfonso Soriano – Not only is Soriano back in Wrigley where he played many games for the Cubs over the years, but there is also a 10 MPH wind blowing out to left field. Soriano swings a heavy bat and could hit one deep tonight.
Additional Plays: Brett Gardner, Brian McCann
Chicago Cubs
I expect a lot of swinging strikes from the Cubbies tonight. I’ll be avoiding all hitters against Tanaka.