MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, July 30th Page Three
NY Yankees at Texas
| NY Yankees | Texas | ||||||||
| Hiroki Kuroda | Vegas Moneyline | Colby Lewis | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | NYY (-145) | RIGHT | 9.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.258 | 0.722 | 0.318 | 16.3% | SP vs. Left | 0.400 | 1.022 | 0.447 | 16.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.626 | 0.281 | 19.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.297 | 0.803 | 0.358 | 20.7% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP  | NYY vs R | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Hiroki Kuroda – Kuroda’s xFIP has been lower than his ERA for the majority of the season and they are finally meeting in the middle. Kuroda is having his best month of the season as he has posted a 3.27 ERA in the month of July. He doesn’t strike out a ton of batters, but he doesn’t walk many either. He’s a sneaky play tonight against the Rangers. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7200 FD, $13100 DD, $7500 DK, $89600 FF, $NA SS, $13100 FTD
- Colby Lewis – Lewis has a much lower xFIP (4.43) than ERA (6.23), but that doesn’t make up for the fact that he’s given up a .353 wOBA to RH hitters and a .426 wOBA to LH hitters this season. I will be avoiding him tonight against the Yankees in the hitter-friendly Globe Life Park. Rating = 3
Salaries: $6200 FD, $8800 DD, $5000 DK, $40000 FF, $ SS, $8800 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Yankees
Brett Gardner – Gardner has loved playing in Arlington. He has 7 hits (3 HR’s and 2 doubles) in the first 2 games of this series. I typically favor Ellsbury over him as they are similarly priced, but not tonight. Target the hot bat of Gardner in all leagues.
Additional Plays: Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira
Texas
Adrian Beltre – Beltre has been great against RH pitching (.378 wOBA) and great at home (.434 wOBA). He gets both tonight against Kuroda who is a fairly average RH pitcher these days.
Additional Plays: Jim Adduci
Colorado at Chicago Cubs
| Colorado | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Brett Anderson | Vegas Moneyline | Travis Wood | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | COL (-103) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.264 | 0.732 | 0.324 | 22.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.207 | 0.567 | 0.264 | 21.9% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.290 | 0.789 | 0.353 | 18.8% | SP vs. Right | 0.253 | 0.710 | 0.322 | 16.2% |
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs L | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brett Anderson – As crazy as it may sound, I want nothing to do LH pitchers facing the Cubs. The Cubs are ranked 5th in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. Anderson has a 3.24 ERA on the season, but his 4.21 xFIP suggests some regression. I’ll be avoiding him tonight despite the tempting price tag on FD and DK. Rating = 4.5
Salaries: $5500 FD, $12200 DD, $6400 DK, $59000 FF, $NA SS, $11600 FTD
- Travis Wood – Wood is having his worst season as a major-leaguer. He has a 5.06 ERA and is giving up close to 4 walks per 9 innings. The Rockies are one of the worst road hitting teams in baseball, but Wood is a GPP option at best tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6200 FD, $8950 DD, $6000 DK, $49100 FF, $ SS, $8950 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Wilin Rosario – Wood has given up a .367 wOBA to RH hitters this season and Rosario has a .413 wOBA vs. LH pitching. That’s a nice matchup in terms of handedness. Even with the wind blowing in, Rosario makes a nice play tonight.
Additional Plays: Drew Stubbs
Chicago Cubs
Emilio Bonifacio – Emilio has been swinging a hot bat and faces another lefty tonight. He has a .447 wOBA against southpaws this season and should be targeted in all leagues.
Additional Plays: Anthony Rizzo, Justin Ruggiano
Minnesota at Kansas City
| Minnesota | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Phil Hughes | Vegas Moneyline | Danny Duffy | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | KCR (-153) | LEFT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.271 | 0.746 | 0.328 | 20.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.194 | 0.448 | 0.212 | 17.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.312 | 0.804 | 0.353 | 18.3% | SP vs. Right | 0.216 | 0.642 | 0.296 | 19.6% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Phil Hughes – Hughes is back to his old ways. He has a 5.97 ERA this month while allowing a .339 batting average. Even though the Royals aren’t a great team offensively, they are extremely patient at the plate and strikeout fewer times than any team in baseball. I’m passing on Hughes tonight. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $13100 DD, $7600 DK, $83800 FF, $NA SS, $13100 FTD
- Danny Duffy – Duffy is pitching over his head right now. He has a 2.47 ERA despite an xFIP of 4.38. He’s had an extremely low BABIP of .232 and has been helped by some good defense behind him. While I expect his numbers to even out during the rest of the season, he makes an interesting play tonight against the Twins who are ranked 21st in wOBA vs. LH pitching this season. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $6700 FD, $11750 DD, $7200 DK, $84600 FF, $ SS, $11750 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota
Danny Santana – The speedy leadoff man is really the only Twins’ bat that I’m taking a serious look at tonight. He has a .425 wOBA against lefties this season and has shown a nice ability to reach on bunts.
Additional Plays: Brian Dozier
Kansas City
Billy Butler – Hughes is a reverse splits pitcher that has given up a .353 wOBA to RH hitters this season. Butler has 6 hits over his last 4 games and career .983 OPS against Hughes in 21 career at bats.
Additional Plays: Salvador Perez
St. Louis at San Diego
| St. Louis | San Diego | ||||||||
| Joe Kelly | Vegas Moneyline | Jesse Hahn | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-122) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.263 | 0.709 | 0.317 | 15.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.163 | 0.471 | 0.215 | 29.1% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.258 | 0.648 | 0.306 | 14.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.212 | 0.550 | 0.276 | 28.2% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Joe Kelly – Kelly has pitched pretty well this season and gets a huge ballpark boost tonight as he faces the Padres in Petco Park which is the best pitcher’s park in all of baseball. It also doesn’t hurt that he is facing the worst offense in baseball. Yes, the Padres have been better of late, but I will keep targeting pitchers against them. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $5700 FD, $10800 DD, $6600 DK, $71200 FF, $NA SS, $8950 FTD
- Jesse Hahn – Hahn has met and exceeded all expectations this season. He has a 2.12 ERA with a K/9 of 9.8. He’s the real deal and his price on FD is way too low. The Cardinals have a pretty average offense against RH pitching this season and the ballpark boost makes Hahn one of the top pitching options on the board. Rating = 8
Salaries: $6900 FD, $16400 DD, $9300 DK, $121600 FF, $ SS, $16400 FTD
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
Hahn is the real deal. I’ll be avoiding all Cardinals’ hitters against him tonight in Petco.
San Diego
Seth Smith – Smith is the only hitter that I’ll be targeting in this game. He has a nice matchup against Kelly who has given up a .366 wOBA to LH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: None
Atlanta at LA Dodgers
| Atlanta | LA Dodgers | ||||||||
| Alex Wood | Vegas Moneyline | Zack Greinke | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | LAD (-158) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.271 | 0.667 | 0.301 | 27.1% | SP vs. Left | 0.259 | 0.711 | 0.319 | 20.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.244 | 0.656 | 0.297 | 22.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.607 | 0.274 | 24.8% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Alex Wood – Wood could be an interesting contrarian play tonight in GPP’s. He’s shown his ability to strike big-leaguers out and he’s facing a Dodgers’ offense that has struggled vs. LH pitching this season (25th in wOBA). He’ll have a low ownership % and his price lets you get some of the HR hitters in your GPP lineups. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7500 FD, $14250 DD, $6800 DK, $83000 FF, $NA SS, $14250 FTD
- Zack Greinke – It’s tough to make an argument against Greinke tonight. He has 2.74 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 9.6. He’s facing a Braves’ offense that is ranked 27th in wOBA vs. RH pitching. The Braves also strike out at a 22% clip against RH pitching. Rating = 8.5
Salaries: $9800 FD, $19000 DD, $10600 DK, $118600 FF, $ SS, $19000 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
Avoid all Braves tonight against Greinke.
LA Dodgers
Hanley Ramirez – Han-Ram has 4 multi-hit games in his last 8 outings and he’s always hit LH pitching well. If you are looking to spend up at SS, Ramirez looks to be the top option.
Additional Plays: Yasiel Puig, Dee Gordon