MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, April 9th - Page 2
Texas at Boston
| Texas | Boston | ||||||||
| Robbie Ross | Vegas Moneyline | Jake Peavy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | BOS (-147) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.344 | 0.921 | 0.419 | 23.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.243 | 0.730 | 0.317 | 22.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.209 | 0.513 | 0.243 | 20.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.232 | 0.651 | 0.291 | 18.6% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Robbie Ross – Ross is a talented young lefty, but I have a hard time targeting aces in Fenway, let alone a young pitcher without much experience. Ross had his struggles on the road last season with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. The Red Sox hit LH pitching well and Ross is a sizable underdog (+140). He should be avoided today. Rating = 3
- Jake Peavy – Peavy really pitched well at home last season with a 2.73 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He also had an impressive K/9 of 7.6. While that’s great for Peavy, I’m not sure that I will be targeting him against this tough Rangers lineup who knocked Doubront around yesterday. Peavy could make for a deep GPP play, but should be avoided in cash games. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Texas
- Shin-Soo Choo – Choo is off to a solid start to the season and hit for a .315 average against RH pitching last season. He has nice power for a leadoff hitter and could take advantage of the very small field in Fenway.
- Additional Plays: Adrian Beltre, Prince Fielder
Boston
- David Ortiz – The Red Sox are one of my favorite teams to stack today. Ross gave up a .419 wOBA to LH batters last season and taking Big Papi against an average pitcher in Fenway never seems like a bad idea. Even though this is a lefty/lefty matchup, Ortiz hits for a great average against all pitching.
- Additional Plays: Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, Dustin Pedroia
Miami at Washington
| Miami | Washington | ||||||||
| Jacob Turner | Vegas Moneyline | Jordan Zimmermann | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | WAS (-177) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.703 | 0.323 | 12.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.262 | 0.699 | 0.308 | 17.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.269 | 0.757 | 0.344 | 17.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.212 | 0.581 | 0.266 | 20.3% |
| 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
- Jacob Turner – Turner has not pitched well since the beginning of last season. In his 12 starts last season he posted a 4.97 ERA while allowing opponents to hit for a .287 batting average. Turner gave up 8 hits and 5 earned runs while only striking out 1 batter in his first start this season. He is not a viable fantasy option. Rating = 2
- Jordan Zimmermann – Zimmermann will draw the start today against a Marlins offense that got off to a very hot start this season but has since cooled off. Gio pitched well against them last night and I’m expecting a similar effort out of Zimmermann today. Zimmermann posted a 2.61 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP at Nationals Park last season and should pitch well in his first start there this year. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
Miami
- Zimmermann has an extremely low WHIP and a pretty decent K-rate. That means that he doesn’t allow many base runners and often racks up a good number of K’s against his opponents. That does not bode well for the Marlins’ bats tonight.
- Additional Plays: None
Washington
- Bryce Harper – Harper’s price is down on both FD and DS and I will continue to target him when he has a favorable matchup. He had a hit and a run last night and has a great matchup against Turner who gave up a .323 wOBA to LH batters last season. Could this be the day that Harper hits his first HR of the season?
- Additional Plays: Adam LaRoche, Jasyon Werth
Baltimore at NY Yankees
| Baltimore | NY Yankees | ||||||||
| Miguel Gonzalez | Vegas Moneyline | Masahiro Tanaka | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYY (-178) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.241 | 0.685 | 0.307 | 18.0% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.245 | 0.730 | 0.321 | 15.7% | SP vs. Right | ||||
| Batter Splits | BAL BvP | BAL vs R | Batter Splits | NYY BvP | NYY vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Miguel Gonzalez – Gonzalez got rocked in his first start of the season as he gave up 7 earned runs to the Tigers in only 3 innings of work. Tonight he faces a Yankees lineup that is finally starting to heat up. Gonzalez is one of the biggest underdogs on the board (+168) and should be avoided in all leagues tonight. Rating = 2
- Masahiro Tanaka – Tanaka gave up a HR to his first major league batter, but he settled down after that and struck out 8 batters in 7 innings of work. Tanaka is going to be a terrific play as batters will face him for the first time ever. It may take a game or two for batters to get a beat on his pitching. I will be targeting him in all leagues tonight. I’m predicting double-digit K’s for Tanaka tonight. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
Baltimore
- You could go with Chris Davis or a red hot Matt Wieters here, but I think Tanaka is going to keep hitters guessing tonight and I have a feeling there will be a lot of swinging strikes here. I’m avoiding all Orioles bats in cash games.
- Additional Plays: None
New York Yankees
- Jacoby Ellsbury – Ellsbury is one of the only Yankee hitters that is off to a fast start this season. He has a .360 batting average with 3 stolen bases on the season. Ellsbury hit for a .328 batting average against RH pitching last season and should continue his hot start against Gonzalez.
- Additional Plays: Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, Brian McCann, Yangervis Solarte
Milwaukee at Philadelphia
| Milwaukee | Philadelphia | ||||||||
| Matt Garza | Vegas Moneyline | Roberto Hernandez | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIL (-128) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.271 | 0.724 | 0.324 | 21.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.305 | 0.889 | 0.399 | 17.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.231 | 0.673 | 0.305 | 19.9% | SP vs. Right | 0.253 | 0.640 | 0.298 | 18.2% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP | MIL vs R | Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Matt Garza – Garza looked terrific in his first start for the Brewers. Even though he picked up the loss, he struck out 7 batters in 8 innings of work while only giving up 1 earned run. Garza has a terrific K/9 of 7.9 and has nice upside tonight against the Phillies. With Chase Utley likely out again, Garza should dominate this Phillies lineup. Rating = 8
- Roberto Hernandez – Hernandez is not a pitcher that I can trust in cash games. He has been a high ERA, high WHIP pitcher over the last 3 years and often loses his command. While he can certainly have those outings where he strikes out 10 batters in a shutout, they are few and far between. I’ll pass on him today against the Brew Crew. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee
- Ryan Braun – While I certainly wasn’t expecting a 3 HR game from him yesterday, hopefully everyone read the Grind Down and plugged Braun into their lineups. Braun has a nice matchup again today against Hernandez.
- Additional Plays: Scooter Gennett
Philadelphia
- The Phillies will likely be without Chase Utley again today which is really a big blow to their lineup. He has been their best hitter early on in the season. I would much rather be on the Garza side of this matchup and will be avoiding the Phillies in cash games.
- Additional Plays: Ryan Howard (GPP), Domonic Brown (GPP)
Houston at Toronto
| Houston | Toronto | ||||||||
| Lucas Harrell | Vegas Moneyline | Brandon Morrow | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TOR (-180) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.768 | 0.347 | 12.4% | SP vs. Left | 0.301 | 1.014 | 0.428 | 16.4% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.329 | 0.888 | 0.400 | 12.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.268 | 0.697 | 0.311 | 18.6% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Lucas Harrell – Harrell still has a starting job after giving up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 5 earned runs over 3 innings of work against the Angels. Harrell is not a pitcher that should be on anyone’s fantasy radar. He posted a 5.86 ERA with a 1.71 WHIP last season. The Blue Jays will be a popular team to stack today and for good reason. Rating = 1
- Brandon Morrow – Morrow is going to be a very interesting play tonight and I am very tempted to take the bait. This Astros offense has scored 2 runs or less in 5 of their last 6 games and Morrow has been a high strikeout pitcher in the past. In 2012 he posted a 2.96 ERA and a 7.8 K/9. He hasn’t pitched well over his last 11 starts though and is probably better suited as a GPP play. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
Houston
- Jason Castro – Morrow gave up a .428 wOBA and a 1.01 OPS to LH batters last season so you may want to target a LH bat or two from the Astros. Castro has nice power against RH pitching and is cheap across the industry.
- Additional Plays: Jonathan Villar
Toronto
- Jose Bautista – Joey Bats hit his 4th HR of the season last night and will look to tack on more tonight against Harrell who gave up a .400 wOBA and a .888 OPS to RH batters last season. Bautista is one of the top plays in the OF.
- Edwin Encarnacion – E5 has yet to hit a HR this season, but maybe a matchup against the struggling Harrell can get him going. His price is depressed across the industry and he hit 31 of his 36 HR’s off of RH pitching last season.
- Additional Plays: Adam Lind, Melky Cabrera, Colby Rasmus
