MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, April 30th - Page 3
Toronto at Kansas City
| Toronto | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Drew Hutchison | Vegas Moneyline | Yordano Ventura | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-104) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.286 | 0.827 | 0.363 | 26.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.207 | 0.610 | 0.276 | 20.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.231 | 0.629 | 0.287 | 34.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.220 | 0.616 | 0.283 | 26.2% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP  | TOR vs R | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Drew Hutchison – Hutchison is a high strikeout pitcher. This season he has a K/9 of 11.2. He has put together 3 solid starts in a row, but faces a Royals offense that has the 2nd fewest strikeouts in baseball so something has to give in this matchup. I see him as a nice tournament play, but too risky for cash games. Rating = 5
Yordano Ventura – Ventura has looked great this season with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He is also averaging more than a strikeout per inning pitched as he has struck out 27 batters in 25 innings of work. He has a tough matchup against the Blue Jays stacked lineup, but I think he has more upside than Hutchison. Rating = 6
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Jose Reyes – Reyes has been in a little slump recently, but all that means is that his price has come down to a very affordable level. Reyes has 3 hits and 3 runs over his last 2 games and makes a nice value play at SS.
Additional Plays: Colby Rasmus, Edwin Encarnacion
Kansas City
Eric Hosmer – Hosmer has good power against RH pitching and Hutchison gave up a .363 wOBA and an OPS of .886 to LH batters last season. This game features a high total and a mini LH Royals stack may be a nice play tonight.
Additional Plays: Alex Gordon, Norichika Aoki
Washington at Houston
| Washington | Houston | ||||||||
| Jordan Zimmermann | Vegas Moneyline | Brett Oberholtzer | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | WAS (-155) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.268 | 0.718 | 0.316 | 16.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.657 | 0.296 | 16.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.216 | 0.589 | 0.269 | 22.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.241 | 0.685 | 0.301 | 16.3% |
| Batter Splits | WSN BvP | WSN vs L | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jordan Zimmermann – Zimmermann has been a little uncharacteristic this season his WHIP and ERA are both way up from that of the last two seasons. He has also yet to pitch more than 7 innings in any start this season which is a bit surprising because he is typically one of the best pitchers in baseball at keeping his pitch count down. Tonight he faces an Astros offense that has been scoring runs in bunches recently. I’m tempted to say he will have a great game tonight, but at this point I think I’m going to take a wait and see approach with Zimmermann. Rating = 7
Brett Oberholtzer – Oberholtzer has a 4.61 ERA on the season with a 1.36 WHIP. He is a pretty average fantasy option at this point and is a sizable underdog against Zimmermann and the Nationals at +145. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Washington
Ian Desmond – Last season Desmond hit for a .291 average and an OPS of .766 against LH pitching. He should be batting 5th in the order tonight and should see plenty of RBI opportunities. There aren’t many options at SS tonight that you can say that about.
Additional Plays: Jayson Werth
Houston
Even though I’m not sold on Zimmermann as a cash game play tonight, I will not be targeting any Astros’ batters against him. There are plenty of other teams that have better matchups.
LA Dodgers at Minnesota
| LA Dodgers | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Zack Greinke | Vegas Moneyline | Kyle Gibson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-152) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.723 | 0.325 | 20.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.345 | 0.845 | 0.382 | 9.5% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.209 | 0.554 | 0.253 | 24.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.254 | 0.713 | 0.324 | 17.0% |
| Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs R | Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Pitcher Grind Down
Zack Greinke – Greinke is close to unhittable at home, but his numbers have slightly dipped in his road starts. This season he has posted a 2.45 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP and a K/9 of 12.4. Even though this is a road start, I expect Greinke to mow through this lineup. He is a big favorite and has a very high ceiling thanks to his high K-rate. Greinke should also get some run support with Gibson on the mount opposite him. Rating = 9
Kyle Gibson – Gibson was rocked by the Rays in his last start. He gave up 10 hits and 7 earned runs in only 3 innings. Gibson’s biggest problem is LH batters as he gave up a .382 wOBA to LH batters last season. The Dodgers lineup is full of LH batters and I think Gibson will struggle again tonight. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
L.A. Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez – As mentioned above, Gibson has really struggled against batters from the left side of the plate. He is giving up a .353 batting average and an OPS of .822 to LH batter this season. Gonzalez has great power against RH pitching and has been locked in over the last 4 games with 3 HR’s.
Additional Plays: Dee Gordon, Carl Crawford
Minnesota
Greinke is one of the best pitchers in baseball. You should not be targeting any Twins’ bats tonight. Joe Mauer has a nice average against RH pitching, but there are much better options at 1B tonight.
Colorado at Arizona
| Colorado | Arizona | ||||||||
| Jordan Lyles | Vegas Moneyline | Josh Collmenter | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ARI (-114) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.266 | 0.724 | 0.327 | 11.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.265 | 0.660 | 0.312 | 19.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.289 | 0.804 | 0.361 | 17.7% | SP vs. Right | 0.208 | 0.634 | 0.289 | 23.1% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jordan Lyles – This has been a very high scoring series so far and the runs should keep on coming with Lyles and Collmenter on the mound. The total for this game is set at 8.5 runs and this game is basically a pick ‘em. Lyles has really improved this season, but I do not like targeting pitchers against the D-Backs in Chase Field. Rating = 4
Josh Collmenter – Collmenter is coming off of his best start of the season, but will likely have a similar outing to that of the two D-Backs’ starters so far in this series. This Rockies offense is firing on all cylinders right now and is tied with the White Sox for the most runs scored this season. Rating = 3
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Troy Tulowitzki – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Tulo is 5/8 with 2 HR’s, 5 RBI’s, and 4 runs in this series. He loves playing at Chase Field and makes another great play tonight if you are looking to spend up at SS.
Additional Plays: Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, Justin Morneau
Arizona
Paul Goldschmidt – Goldy has great power against both RH and LH pitching and is batting .329 with 9 XBH’s at Chase Field this season. Lyles has been much better this season, but did give up a .361 wOBA to RH batters last season.
Additional Plays: Miguel Montero, Aaron Hill, Martin Prado
San Diego at San Francisco
| San Diego | San Francisco | ||||||||
| Robbie Erlin | Vegas Moneyline | Tim Hudson | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SFG (-172) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.300 | 0.789 | 0.350 | 19.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.238 | 0.653 | 0.296 | 15.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.248 | 0.656 | 0.289 | 18.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.234 | 0.607 | 0.270 | 19.9% |
| Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Robbie Erlin – This game features one of the lowest totals of the night. That said, Erlin is not a recommended fantasy play. He has an ERA over 6.00 this season and has had his struggles on the road with an ERA over 7.00 in his last 6 road starts. Not only that, but the Giants hit LH pitching well. Rating = 3
Tim Hudson – Hudson was a great pickup for the Giants and so far the deal has worked out on his end as well. Through his 5 starts, he has posted a 2.12 ERA with a 0.78 WHIP and 25 K’s over 37 innings of work. He is one of the biggest favorites on the schedule tonight and his price tag is much cheaper than some of the other aces on the mound. He may be the best value pitcher available tonight. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
San Diego
The Padres’ offense has really struggled this season and they are facing the veteran Hudson who has pitched very well this season. I’ll be avoiding all Padres’ tonight.
San Francisco
Buster Posey – Busta, what it is right now! Posey hit a HR last night and gets to face another average LH pitcher tonight. Posey has always had great power against LH pitching and he has always hit well at AT&T Park. He’s an easy play at Catcher tonight if you can afford him.
Additional Plays: Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan