MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, August 13th Page Three
Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs
| Milwaukee | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Kyle Lohse | Vegas Moneyline | Tsuyoshi Wada | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIL (-128) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.238 | 0.670 | 0.296 | 14.80% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.245 | 0.665 | 0.294 | 19.70% | SP vs. Right | 0.295 | 0.877 | 0.376 | 17.40% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP  | MIL vs L | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Kyle Lohse – Lohse is a very consistent pitcher. He’s had a few outliers this season, but for the most part, he has pitched well. He owns a 3.33 ERA with a K/9 of 6.4. He is generating a 7.7% swinging strike rate which is his best since 2007. Tonight he faces a Cubs offense that is ranked 28th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. The Cubs also strike out at a high rate (23%) against righties. Lohse will likely go overlooked as usual, but is a solid play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $15200 DD, $8000 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $15200 FTD
- Tsuyoshi Wada – There aren’t many 33 year old rookies in baseball, but Wada is one of them and he’s actually pitched pretty well this season. He owns a 3.25 ERA with a K/9 of 8.1. The issue with Wada is his matchup. He has given up a .350 wOBA to RH hitters this season and the Brewers lineup is stacked with quality RH bats. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6000 FD, $10900 DD, $6500 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $10900 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee
Aramis Ramirez – Ramirez is my wOBA Play of the Day. He has a .421 wOBA against LH pitching this season and is facing Wada who, as mentioned above, really struggles with RH hitters.
Additional Plays: Carlos Gomez, Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – Rizzo hit another HR last night to make it 26 on the season. He has had Lohse’s number in the past going 9/20 with 2 XBH’s. I expect Lohse to be very careful with Rizzo and consequently could end up giving him a couple of free base passes.
Additional Plays: None
Tampa Bay at Texas
| Tampa Bay | Texas | ||||||||
| Chris Archer | Vegas Moneyline | Miles Mikolas | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TBR (-138) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.218 | 0.610 | 0.280 | 20.60% | SP vs. Left | 0.250 | 0.702 | 0.306 | 12.60% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.272 | 0.702 | 0.315 | 21.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.339 | 0.818 | 0.364 | 17.20% |
| Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs R | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Chris Archer – Archer is a good RH pitcher that is playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark. He owns a 3.33 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 8.0. He does walk quite a few batters though as he is averaging 3.4 walks per 9 innings. The Rangers haven’t been great against RH pitching this season, but Vegas does expect a high scoring game. For the price, I think there are better options tonight. Rating = 6
Salaries: $8100 FD, $15100 DD, $8200 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $15100 FTD
- Miles Mikolas – Mikolas has settled down in his last few starts. He’s only given up more than 2 earned runs in 1 of his last 4 outings. That said, he still has an ERA over 6.00 and is still unproven at the major league level. I’ll be avoiding him tonight against the Rays who have been the 6th best offense in baseball over the last 30 days. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5200 FD, $9200 DD, $5600 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Tampa Bay
Ben Zobrist – Zobrist went 0/5 in last night’s game, but still has 16 hits (6 doubles) over his last 10 games. Targeting the hottest hitter on one of the hottest offenses in baseball is never a bad idea. Especially when he is facing a rookie pitcher in a hitter’s ballpark.
Additional Plays: Desmond Jennings, Matt Joyce, Evan Longoria
Texas
Shin-Soo Choo – Choo is finally starting to hit, and I mean FINALLY. It’s only taken 4 months. Choo has 12 hits over his last 10 games and has 3 multi-hit games during that stretch. Tonight he faces Archer who has historically struggled with LH hitters.
Additional Plays: Adrian Beltre
Oakland at Kansas City
| Oakland | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Scott Kazmir | Vegas Moneyline | Jason Vargas | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | OAK (-117) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.227 | 0.577 | 0.264 | 23.30% | SP vs. Left | 0.280 | 0.698 | 0.312 | 14.30% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.222 | 0.618 | 0.276 | 21.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.254 | 0.710 | 0.313 | 16.80% |
| Batter Splits | OAK BvP | OAK vs L | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Scott Kazmir – Kazmir has been knocked around in his last few starts. He gave up 2 runs to the Rangers, 4 runs to the Royals, and then 5 runs to the Twins. He’ll look to bounce back tonight against the Royals. Overall, Kazmir has had a very nice season with a 2.73 ERA and a K/9 of 7.7. That said, the Royals have been on fire lately and tend to drive up opposing pitcher’s pitch counts. They rarely strike out and love to put the ball in play. I won’t be paying up for Kazmir tonight. Rating = 6
Salaries: $8600 FD, $18750 DD, $8600 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $18750 FTD
- Jason Vargas – In his 2 starts since coming back from injury, Vargas has given up 6 earned runs over 9 innings of work. He did throw 101 pitches in his last start though so we don’t need to factor in a pitch count. Tonight he faces an A’s offense that has been ice cold for the better part of a month, but they seemed to snap out of it last night by putting up 11 runs on Guthrie and the Royals. I don’t like taking pitchers against the A’s and will not be doing so tonight with Vargas. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6200 FD, $11750 DD, $7100 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $11500 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Oakland
Derek Norris – Dollar for dollar, Norris is my top play at catcher tonight. He has a .356 batting average against southpaws this season with a .437 wOBA. He will likely be batting 5th and should see plenty of RBI opportunities against Vargas.
Additional Plays: Coco Crisp, Jonny Gomes, Nate Freiman
Kansas City
Salvador Perez – Perez has had some decent success against Kazmir in his career. He is 4/12 with a HR off of him. Perez has always hit LH pitching well and is a solid value play at catcher.
Additional Plays: Omar Infante
Philadelphia at LA Angels
| Philadelphia | LA Angels | ||||||||
| A.J. Burnett | Vegas Moneyline | Jered Weaver | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-210) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.246 | 0.808 | 0.357 | 15.90% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.723 | 0.320 | 19.80% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.245 | 0.672 | 0.300 | 21.50% | SP vs. Right | 0.180 | 0.579 | 0.260 | 17.20% |
| Batter Splits | PHI BvP | PHI vs R | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- A.J. Burnett – Burnett is having a subpar season by his standards. His ERA, xFIP, and walk rate are all up, while his velocity and strikeout rate are both down. Basically, everything is trending in the wrong direction. I want no part of him tonight against this powerful Angels offense. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6700 FD, $14000 DD, $7400 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $14000 FTD
- Jered Weaver – Weaver is not the pitcher that he once was, but he still has some gas left in the tank. He has a 3.68 ERA on the season with an even better 2.88 ERA at home. His velocity has dipped over the years, but he is still averaging close to 7 strikeouts per 9 innings. He has a great matchup against the Phillies who are ranked 28th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season. Weaver is the biggest favorite on the board and should be able to pick up an easy win tonight, making him a terrific cash game play. Rating = 7.5
Salaries: $7300 FD, $14650 DD, $8200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $14650 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Philadelphia
Weaver has pitched well at home and this Phillies offense continues to underwhelm. I’ll be avoiding them tonight.
LA Angels
Kole Calhoun – Calhoun came through once again last night going 3/4 with a HR and 2 RBI’s. He never seems to have a bad game against RH pitching and he draws a terrific matchup against Burnett tonight who has given up a .361 wOBA to LH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Josh Hamilton, Erick Aybar, Mike Trout
Toronto at Seattle
| Toronto | Seattle | ||||||||
| R.A. Dickey | Vegas Moneyline | Hisashi Iwakuma | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SEA (-155) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.240 | 0.708 | 0.319 | 19.10% | SP vs. Left | 0.280 | 0.700 | 0.307 | 18.10% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.738 | 0.323 | 20.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.195 | 0.520 | 0.229 | 23.90% |
| Batter Splits | TOR BvP | TOR vs R | Batter Splits | SEA BvP | SEA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- R.A. Dickey – The final game of the night is between the Blue Jays and the Mariners. The Mariners offense has been terrific over the last couple of weeks and I’m not sure that I want to take a boom or bust type of pitcher against them at this point in the season. The M’s have skyrocketed up the rankings vs. RH pitching and have plenty of quality LH bats to throw at Dickey tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7700 FD, $14800 DD, $7800 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $14800 FTD
- Hisashi Iwakuma – Iwakuma is one of the top pitching options in the evening slate of games. He owns a 2.86 ERA (2.96 xFIP) with a K/9 of 7.0. Iwakuma is starting to miss more bats over the last month or so and he draws a very favorable matchup against the Blue Jays who are a much different ball club away from the Rogers Centre. He should see good run support and is probably the safest cash game play of all starting pitchers tonight. Rating = 9
Salaries: $9000 FD, $19650 DD, $9600 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $19650 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Toronto
Avoid all Blue Jays against Iwakuma tonight. He has held both LH and RH hitters under a .305 wOBA this season.
Seattle
Kyle Seager – Target Seager at home against righties. Again, target Seager at home against righties. Seager has a .386 wOBA against RH pitching this season and a .437 wOBA at home. He gets both tonight against Dickey who has been known to give up big outings.
Additional Plays: Robinson Cano, Dustin Ackley, Austin Jackson