MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, May 27th
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 Washington
| Miami | Washington | ||||||||
| Henderson Alvarez | Vegas Moneyline | Blake Treinen | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | WAS (-114) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.653 | 0.291 | 16.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.387 | 0.811 | 0.365 | 9.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.320 | 0.787 | 0.356 | 11.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.238 | 0.574 | 0.286 | 20.8% |
| Batter Splits | MIA BvP  | MIA vs R | Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Henderson Alvarez – Alvarez is having a career year. He has a 3.21 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP and a K/9 of 5.6. Tonight he faces a Nationals’ offense that is ranked 23rd against RH pitching with a team .293 wOBA. This game is basically set as a pick ‘em and Alvarez is in play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $12312 DS, $12650 DD, $6600 DK, $76600 FF, $16700 SS, $12200 FTD
Blake Treinen – Treinen’s numbers this season aren’t bad, but that hasn’t translated to daily fantasy baseball production. His best outing was his last start in which he struck out 4 batters in 5 and 2/3 innings. The good news is that he faces a Marlins’ offense that has struggled on the road. They have not only struggled to score runs, but they have struck out at a very high rate. Rating = 5
Salaries: $4200 FD, $12990 DS, $9700 DD, $5500 DK, $69800 FF, $13000 SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Miami
Derek Dietrich – Dietrich is only batting .255 against RH pitching this season, but he has incredible power against righties with an OPS of .816. He has a nice matchup against Treinen who has given up a .365 wOBA to LHB’s this season.
Additional Plays: Garrett Jones, Giancarlo Stanton
Washington
Adam LaRoche – In his first 2 games since coming back from injury, LaRoche has 2 hits, including a HR. He is batting .326 against RH pitching this season and has been on fire at home with a .352 batting average. He has a favorable matchup against Alvarez who has struggled with LHB’s throughout his career.
Additional Plays: Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth
Colorado at Philadelphia
| Colorado | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Jorge De La Rosa | Vegas Moneyline | Cole Hamels | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | PHI (-120) | LEFT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.188 | 0.527 | 0.235 | 33.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.345 | 0.911 | 0.404 | 27.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.218 | 0.681 | 0.315 | 16.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.259 | 0.709 | 0.317 | 24.2% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs L | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jorge De La Rosa – De La Rosa has some strange home/away splits. Since the start of 2013, his ERA at home (in Coors) is almost half that of his ERA on the road. During that stretch, his ERA on the road is close to 5.00. His matchup against the Phillies’ offense that is stacked with LHB’s may seem good, but the Phillies are actually ranked 5th against LH pitching this season with a team .340 wOBA. De La Rosa is a deep GPP option at best tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6400 FD, $16439 DS, $12900 DD, $7300 DK, $84200 FF, $20900 SS, $10900 FTD
Cole Hamels – Hamels got off to a slow start this season, but has really pitched well in his last 3 outings. In those 3 starts, he has only given up a combined 5 earned runs while striking out a combined 26 batters. He faces a Rockies offense that is very good against LH pitching, but they are a much different team offensively when they play away from Coors. Rating = 7
Salaries: $8500 FD, $16732 DS, $16250 DD, $8600 DK, $91400 FF, $25500 SS, $12300 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Troy Tulowitzki – Even though most of his damage has been done at home, Tulo is still batting .447 agianst LH pitching this season with an OPS of 1.45. Tulo would be a must play if this game was in Coors, but he’s still a strong play even on the road.
Additional Plays: Wilin Rosario, Michael Cuddyer
Philadelphia
Marlon Byrd – De La Rosa has been extremely efficient against LHB’s this season holding them to a .235 wOBA. He has struggled with RHB’s though as he has given up a .315 wOBA. Byrd has always hit LH pitching well and should be batting in the heart of the order tonight.
Additional Plays: Carlos Ruiz
Tampa Bay at Toronto
| Tampa Bay | Toronto | ||||||||
| Alex Cobb | Vegas Moneyline | Mark Buehrle | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-110) | LEFT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.154 | 0.454 | 0.201 | 27.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.243 | 0.653 | 0.301 | 10.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.194 | 0.501 | 0.256 | 11.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.257 | 0.650 | 0.290 | 16.5% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs L | Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Alex Cobb – Cobb looked great in his first start back from injury. He threw 6 scoreless innings and struck out 6 batters. I was worried about him being on a possible pitch count, but he threw 96 pitches in that start and will likely be allowed to throw 100+ tonight. While I do like the upside that Cobb brings to the table, I hate the matchup against the Blue Jays who are ranked 2nd against RH pitching with a team .342 wOBA. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7800 FD, $16693 DS, $14100 DD, $8500 DK, $107400 FF, $24200 SS, $15200 FTD
- Mark Buehrle – Everyone keeps waiting for Buehrle to come back to Earth, but he continues to pitch well. Through his first 10 starts this season, he owns a 2.16 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and a K/9 of 5.4. While the Rays are ranked 22nd against LH pitching this season, I have a hard time targeting pitchers in the Rogers Centre which has yielded the 4th most runs and 3rd most HR’s of any ballpark this season. Rating = 5
Salaries: $8100 FD, $15854 DS, $15200 DD, $8100 DK, $103700 FF, $23900 SS, $13100 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
Evan Longoria – Longo’s price across the industry is depressed and this is the perfect time to employ a buy low strategy with him. He has always hit LH pitching well and has pretty good numbers against Buehrle in his career: 9/28 with 3 XBH’s.
Additional Plays: Desmond Jennings, Wil Myers
Toronto
Adam Lind – Cobb is a very good RHP and I’m not sure I will be paying up for either E5 or Joey Bats in this one. I do like Lind as a value play at 1B though. Lind is batting .381 with an OPS of 1.09 against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Juan Francisco, Jose Reyes
Boston at Atlanta
| Boston | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Jon Lester | Vegas Moneyline | Aaron Harang | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | BOS (-105) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.665 | 0.293 | 32.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.253 | 0.697 | 0.322 | 21.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.240 | 0.669 | 0.297 | 26.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.619 | 0.276 | 28.7% |
| Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jon Lester – Lester has pitched well this season with a 3.36 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and a K/9 of 10.2. Tonight he gets to face the Braves under NL rules which means he will face the opposing pitcher at least a couple of times in the lineup. The Braves have been very good against LH pitching, but the total is set at only 7.0 runs and Lester has a high K-rate which puts him in play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 6
Salaries: $8300 FD, $16174 DS, $16100 DD, $9800 DK, $109300 FF, $26800 SS, $15100 FTD
- Aaron Harang – Harang got off to an incredible start this season, but has now given up at least 2 earned runs in each of his last 5 starts. The good news is that his strikeouts have still been there (K/9 of 9.7 this season). He is catching this Red Sox offense at the perfect time as they have really struggled offensively over the last 2 weeks. He won’t be a popular play, but he carries value as a tournament play. Rating = 6
Salaries: $6700 FD, $13746 DS, $14850 DD, $8400 DK, $89000 FF, $24100 SS, $14400 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Boston
David Ortiz – Before last night’s game, Ortiz only had 2 hits in his previous 10 games. Then he hit a HR and had 4 RBI’s in yesterday’s win. Maybe that will spark this team and get them going again. Harang is giving up a .322 wOBA to LHB’s this season.
Additional Plays: A.J. Pierzynski
Atlanta
Justin Upton – Upton has been great against LH pitching this season and he’s been great at home. He gets both tonight against Lester. Upton is batting .400 against southpaws this season with an OPS of 1.57.
Additional Plays: Evan Gattis, Chris Johnson
Pittsburgh at NY Mets
| Pittsburgh | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Edinson Volquez | Vegas Moneyline | Jonathon Niese | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYM (-110) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.260 | 0.822 | 0.356 | 14.5% | SP vs. Left | 0.175 | 0.417 | 0.189 | 25.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.217 | 0.626 | 0.290 | 13.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.709 | 0.313 | 16.1% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs L | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Edinson Volquez – Volquez has a 4.37 ERA on the season with a 1.14 WHIP. The WHIP is promising, but his ERA is a bit too high and his K/9 is only 5.2. That said, he does draw a terrific matchup against the Mets in Citi Field. The Mets are ranked 28th against RH pitching this season with a team .287 wOBA. His price is low enough that he could carry value as a 2nd or 3rd SP on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 5
Salaries: $5200 FD, $9840 DS, $12050 DD, $5800 DK, $53400 FF, $14100 SS, $10500 FTD
- Jonathon Niese – Niese has been impressive this season with a 2.70 ERA and a K/9 of 6.9. He has always pitched well at Citi Field and this season hasn’t been any different. Niese has a tough matchup though as this Pirates’ offense is ranked 9th against LH pitching with a team .330 wOBA. Like Volquez, Niese is also in play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6600 FD, $13498 DS, $12600 DD, $7600 DK, $84500 FF, $22700 SS, $13400 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
Andrew McCutchen – It’s hard to believe that McCutchen only has 17 at-bats against LH pitching this season, but that’s the case. Over those 17 at-bats, he is batting .412 with an OPS of 1.39.
Additional Plays: Starling Marte
NY Mets
Curtis Granderson – Over the last 7 days, Granderson is batting .333 with an OPS of 1.13. He has a great matchup against Volquez who has given up a .356 wOBA to LHB’s this season.
Additional Plays: Daniel Murphy, David Wright