MLB Grind Down: Tuesday, September 23rd Page Two
Milwaukee at Cincinnati
| Milwaukee | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Mike Fiers | Vegas Moneyline | Johnny Cueto | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-126) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.173 | 0.467 | 0.214 | 27.10% | SP vs. Left | 0.196 | 0.562 | 0.258 | 24.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.165 | 0.491 | 0.220 | 30.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.190 | 0.588 | 0.263 | 26.40% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP  | MIL vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Mike Fiers – Fiers has been able to sustain an elite strikeout level in the majors this season. Through 8 starts, he has posted a 1.78 ERA (3.03 xFIP) while striking out 9.8 batters per 9 innings. Fiers is able to keep his walks (2.2 per 9 innings) and home runs down (0.6 per 9 innings) which is always a plus in daily fantasy baseball. Tonight he faces a Reds offense that is ranked 28th in team wOBA (.277) over the last 30 days while striking out at a 22% clip. Fiers has terrific strikeout potential in this matchup which makes him a solid tournament play tonight even though Johnny Cueto will be pitching opposite him. Rating = 6
Salaries: $ FD, $16600 DD, $10900 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Johnny Cueto – Cueto is also in play tonight. He has been terrific this season with a 2.33 ERA and a K/9 of 9.0. He has been able to sustain an unsustainable BABIP of .242 which is an extreme outlier. That said, the rest of his peripheral pitching stats look great. Cueto will have the platoon advantage over a RH-heavy Brewers lineup and is a recommended play in all leagues. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee / Cincinnati
This game features one of the lowest run totals of the night. Both are these pitchers are recommended fantasy options and you can safely avoid both offenses.
Pittsburgh at Atlanta
| Pittsburgh | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Gerrit Cole | Vegas Moneyline | Alex Wood | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | PIT (-115) | LEFT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.251 | 0.733 | 0.327 | 21.20% | SP vs. Left | 0.244 | 0.649 | 0.292 | 26.40% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.249 | 0.708 | 0.315 | 24.00% | SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.644 | 0.288 | 24.00% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP | PIT vs L | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Gerrit Cole – Cole has an elite strikeout rate of 8.5 per 9 innings. The Pirates are still trying to catch the Cardinals for the NL Central Division title and will continue to roll out their every day starters. Cole draws a nice matchup tonight against the Braves who are ranked 29th in wOBA vs. RH pitching while striking out at a 22% clip. The Braves are also the 4th worst offense over the last 30 days. With nothing to play for, don’t be surprised to see a weak Braves lineup tonight. Rating = 7
Salaries: $ FD, $16550 DD, $9400 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Alex Wood – Wood has been terrific since the All-Star Break. He has posted a 2.16 ERA with 82 K’s over 79 innings of work. He has also held hitters to a .219 batting average during that stretch. Tonight he faces a Pirates offense that is ranked 21st in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. All signs point to another strong outing from Wood, but I’m not sure if he will see any run support with the way the Braves are swinging the bat. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
Andrew McCutchen – Cutch is always one of the best hitters in the league against LH pitching. This season he is sporting a .386 wOBA against southpaws. Cutch is also locked in right now with 10 hits and 6 RBI’s over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: Josh Harrison
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman – Freeman is the one Braves player that you can still target in daily fantasy. He is still playing hard and draws a decent matchup against Gerrit Cole who has given up a .327 wOBA to LH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: None
Tampa Bay at Boston
| Tampa Bay | Boston | ||||||||
| Alex Cobb | Vegas Moneyline | Clay Buchholz | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TBR (-130) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.189 | 0.542 | 0.246 | 21.30% | SP vs. Left | 0.283 | 0.803 | 0.356 | 17.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.251 | 0.647 | 0.294 | 23.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.256 | 0.701 | 0.309 | 19.00% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs R | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Alex Cobb – Cobb has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball over the last couple of months. Since the All-Star Break, Cobb has posted a 1.51 ERA with 73 K’s over 77 innings of work. He has also held his opponents under a .200 batting average during that stretch. Tonight he faces a Red Sox offense that is ranked 22nd in wOBA vs. RH pitching. Cobb’s price is higher than I’d like to pay for it, but he is still in play for tournaments or as a contrarian cash game play. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $ FD, $17100 DD, $10800 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Clay Buchholz – Buchholz has had a disappointing 2014 season. He owns a 5.29 ERA (4.07 xFIP) with a K/9 of 7.0. Buchholz can struggle with his command at times which has led to a BB/9 of 3.0. He draws a mediocre matchup against the Rays who are ranked 17th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. Buchholz carries more risk than reward at this point in the season. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
James Loney – Buchholz has given up a .353 wOBA to LH hitters this season. Meanwhile, Loney has a .306 batting average and a .341 wOBA against RH pitching. Loney is a nice value play at 1B if you are looking for some salary cap relief.
Additional Plays: Matt Joyce
Boston
Avoid all Red Sox tonight against Alex Cobb who has held LH and RH hitters under a .295 wOBA this season.
Philadelphia at Miami
| Philadelphia | Miami | ||||||||
| Cole Hamels | Vegas Moneyline | Henderson Alvarez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | PHI (-132) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.207 | 0.640 | 0.294 | 21.00% | SP vs. Left | 0.268 | 0.677 | 0.298 | 16.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.653 | 0.290 | 25.10% | SP vs. Right | 0.272 | 0.728 | 0.323 | 13.40% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | Batter Splits | MIA BvP | MIA vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Cole Hamels – Hamels is one of the top pitching options on the board tonight. He has pitched well this season and gets to face a Giancarlo Stanton-less Marlins offense in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. On the season, Hamels is boasting a 2.47 ERA with a K/9 of 8.9. The Marlins strike out well above the league average and it’s hard to find an argument against taking Hamels tonight. Rating = 8.5
Salaries: $ FD, $20050 DD, $11300 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Henderson Alvarez – Alvarez is a good real-life pitcher, but he isn’t a great daily fantasy pitcher. He is only averaging 5.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. That said, even with a limited upside, he’s in a pretty favorable spot tonight. Alvarez has a 1.75 ERA at home this season and faces a Phillies offense that is ranked 28th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. At his price, he’s worth consideration as a #2 starter on multi-pitcher sites that don’t heavily weigh the win. Rating = 5.5
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia
I have nothing personal against the Phillies, but they have not been on my fantasy radar for a month now. They have all but given up on the season and I will continue to avoid them tonight against Henderson Alvarez.
Miami
Expect another quality outing from Cole Hamels tonight and avoid the Marlins hitters against him.
St. Louis at Chicago Cubs
| St. Louis | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Shelby Miller | Vegas Moneyline | Kyle Hendricks | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-130) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.233 | 0.708 | 0.313 | 15.70% | SP vs. Left | 0.227 | 0.578 | 0.257 | 13.30% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.677 | 0.302 | 16.20% | SP vs. Right | 0.247 | 0.622 | 0.278 | 15.30% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Shelby Miller – Over his last 4 starts, Miller has only given up a combined 2 earned runs while striking out 18 batters. What’s even more impressive is the fact that he has only walked a single batter over those 4 starts. The concern with Miller is his command (3.6 walks per 9 innings), but he appears to have fixed that issue, at least in the short term. He draws a favorable matchup against the Cubs who are ranked 25th in wOBA vs. RH pitching while striking out at a 23% clip. Miller is in play tonight thanks to his favorable matchup and his cheap price tag. Rating = 6
Salaries: $ FD, $12800 DD, $7700 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Kyle Hendricks – Hendricks has a 2.28 ERA on the season, but has been the beneficiary of good luck (.271 BABIP) and some good defense behind him. He is not a high strikeout pitcher (5.1 K’s per 9 innings) and will have his hands full with a Cardinals offense that is clicking at the right time. Avoid Hendricks in all leagues. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
Matt Adams – Once again we have an average righty on the mound and once again Adams makes a great value play at 1B. Adams is sporting a .316 batting average with a .366 wOBA against RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – When Rizzo is healthy, he’s one of the best hitting first basemen in all of baseball. He has hit 31 HR’s on the season while driving in 74 runs. Tonight he faces Shelby Miller who has given up a career .322 wOBA to LH hitters.
Additional Plays: Luis Valbuena