MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, July 9th Page Two
NY Yankees at Cleveland
| NY Yankees | Cleveland | ||||||||
| Brandon McCarthy | Vegas Moneyline | Josh Tomlin | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CLE (-110) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.299 | 0.769 | 0.338 | 18.6% | SP vs. Left | 0.266 | 0.763 | 0.333 | 18.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.290 | 0.769 | 0.345 | 13.2% | SP vs. Right | 0.252 | 0.680 | 0.298 | 19.1% |
| Batter Splits | NYY BvP  | NYY vs R | Batter Splits | CLE BvP | CLE vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Brandon McCarthy – This will be McCarthy’s first start as a member of the Yankees’ pitching staff. Typically pitchers see their numbers drop off when joining the Yankees’ starting rotation, but with McCarthy, things can’t really get much worse. The peripheral stats look better than his ERA (5.01), but sometimes pitchers just have bad luck and that seems to be the case with McCarthy. I’ll be avoiding him tonight against the Indians who are ranked 6th in wOBA against RH pitching this season. Rating = 3
Salaries: $6000 FD, $12889 DS, $11950 DD, $6900 DK, $65900 FF, $17600 SS, $11950 FTD
- Josh Tomlin – Tomlin has had some mixed results over his last 5 starts. He threw a complete game shutout in one outing and gave up a combined 18 earned runs in his other 4 outings. Tomlin has a 5.45 ERA at home this season and is facing a Yankees’ offense that is finally starting to heat up. While the run support will likely be there, he’ll likely give up a few earned runs himself. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6100 FD, $14339 DS, $13100 DD, $6500 DK, $87500 FF, $20000 SS, $13100 FTD
Batter Grind Down
NY Yankees
Mark Teixeira – If you read the MLB First Look, then you know that Teixeira is my pick to homer tonight. He has 14 HR’s against RH pitching this season and is facing Josh Tomlin who has given up 11 HR’s in 12 starts this season.
Additional Plays: Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann
Cleveland
Michael Brantley – Brantley is locked and loaded right now. He has 12 hits (2 HR’s) in his last 5 games and draws a terrific matchup against McCarthy who has struggled against LH hitters this season. He’s a recommended play in all leagues tonight.
Additional Plays: Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Lonnie Chisenhall
Atlanta at NY Mets
| Atlanta | NY Mets | ||||||||
| Ervin Santana | Vegas Moneyline | Dillon Gee | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | ATL (-120) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.736 | 0.327 | 16.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.281 | 0.786 | 0.348 | 15.2% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.224 | 0.628 | 0.282 | 22.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.238 | 0.634 | 0.286 | 17.9% |
| Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs R | Batter Splits | NYM BvP | NYM vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Ervin Santana – Santana has come back down to Earth after his scorching start to the season. He’s given up at least 3 earned runs in 7 of his last 10 starts. While the Mets are still one of the worst offenses in baseball, they have been making it tough on quality starters lately. Kazmir, Teheran, and Minor are a few that come to mind. Santana is obviously in play, but I think you should temper your expectations. Rating = 6
Salaries: $8400 FD, $17545 DS, $14750 DD, $8500 DK, $95800 FF, $22600 SS, $14750 FTD
- Dillon Gee – Gee will come off the of 15-day DL after straining his lat. It’s a bit surprising that the Mets are bringing him back now with the All-Star Break coming up, but you have to think that they’ll at least play it safe with him. The Braves strike out often, but I’m not sure how deep Gee is going to pitch into this game. For that reason and that reason alone, I’ll be avoiding him in all leagues tonight. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6600 FD, $14889 DS, $12900 DD, $8700 DK, $85600 FF, $22200 SS, $12900 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Atlanta
Freddie Freeman – Gee has been very efficient against RH hitters, so if you are targeting any hitters in this Braves’ lineup, target the batters that hit from the left side. Gee has given up a .348 wOBA to LHB’s since the start of 2013 and Freeman has always hit RH pitching well.
Additional Plays: Jason Heyward
NY Mets
Curtis Granderson The Mets are finally starting to see a return in their investment in the Grandy Man. After an extremely slow start to the season, Granderson has come on in the last few weeks. So far in the month of July he is batting .296 with a wOBA of .449.
Additional Plays: Lucas Duda
Kansas City at Tampa Bay
| Kansas City | Tampa Bay | ||||||||
| Yordano Ventura | Vegas Moneyline | Alex Cobb | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TBR (-130) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.244 | 0.681 | 0.303 | 20.2% | SP vs. Left | 0.224 | 0.641 | 0.287 | 23.8% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.243 | 0.666 | 0.297 | 20.0% | SP vs. Right | 0.232 | 0.626 | 0.289 | 22.1% |
| Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | Batter Splits | TBR BvP | TBR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Yordano Ventura – Ventura is a great contrarian play tonight. He’s facing a Rays’ offense that has been better of late, but is still near the bottom of the AL in most offensive categories. Ventura is averaging 7.5 K’s per 9 innings and has been terrific on the road this season with a 2.32 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. His price is affordable and he won’t be highly owned which puts him in a great spot to be a difference maker in a tournament. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7700 FD, $15554 DS, $14450 DD, $7000 DK, $90200 FF, $20600 SS, $14450 FTD
- Alex Cobb – Cobb is also in play in this game. He showed last year that he can be one of the premier pitchers in baseball as he posted a 2.76 ERA while playing in the AL East. While he hasn’t had the same success this season, he’s still a high strikeout pitcher with a nice matchup against the Royals who are below average against RH pitching this season. In terms of strikeout potential, the matchup isn’t great, but I like his depressed price across the industry. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7300 FD, $14487 DS, $12850 DD, $8300 DK, $77800 FF, $20800 SS, $12850 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Kansas City
Again, the Royals can string together hits, but they typically hit a lot of singles and a few doubles here and there. They lack the pop that we are looking for from hitters in daily fantasy baseball. I’ll be avoiding them tonight against Cobb.
Tampa Bay
Matt Joyce – You could easily skip over both offenses in this game, but I do think Joyce makes a nice play in the OF. Joyce has 12 hits (4 HR’s) over his last 10 games.
Additional Plays: None
Chicago White Sox at Boston
| Chicago White Sox | Boston | ||||||||
| Chris Sale | Vegas Moneyline | Rubby De La Rosa | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | CWS (-120) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.129 | 0.317 | 0.167 | 31.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.196 | 0.528 | 0.246 | 17.7% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.236 | 0.640 | 0.290 | 26.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.301 | 0.827 | 0.372 | 20.0% |
| Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | Batter Splits | BOS BvP | BOS vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Chris Sale – We’ve reached a point where you no longer have to avoid taking pitchers against the Red Sox in Fenway. We keep waiting for the Red Sox offense to turn things around, but until it happens, I will be targeting pitchers against them. Especially pitchers that are the caliber of Sale. Sale owns a 2.16 ERA on the season with an extremely impressive 0.87 WHIP. He’s also sporting a hefty 9.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. Rating = 9
Salaries: $10400 FD, $24098 DS, $21800 DD, $11800 DK, $142200 FF, $31200 SS, $22100 FTD
- Rubby De La Rosa – De La Rosa has pitched well this season, but I have a hard time using him in cash games. He’s not a proven big league starter and will likely receive little to no run support with Sale pitching opposite him. The White Sox are ranked 11th in wOBA against RH pitching this season and De La Rosa is a deep GPP play at best. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7200 FD, $15889 DS, $14350 DD, $7100 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago White Sox
Jose Abreu – The sample size is small, but De La Rosa has given up a .372 wOBA to RH hitters over the last 2 seasons. Abreu had another nice game last night and is a highly recommended play again tonight. 20 of his 27 HR’s have come off of RH pitching this season.
Additional Plays: Conor Gillaspie, Adam Eaton
Boston
Not only are the Red Sox struggling to score runs, but they are facing one of the best pitchers in baseball. Avoid, avoid, avoid!
Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati
| Chicago Cubs | Cincinnati | ||||||||
| Dallas Beeler | Vegas Moneyline | Alfredo Simon | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | CIN (-180) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | SP vs. Left | 0.231 | 0.708 | 0.320 | 14.7% | ||||
| SP vs. Right | SP vs. Right | 0.215 | 0.543 | 0.264 | 17.9% | ||||
| Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | Batter Splits | CIN BvP | CIN vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Dallas Beeler – Beeler was called up for tonight’s game against the Reds. He’ll be making his 2nd career major league start. He pitched well in his first start as he struck out 6 batters over 6 innings of work without giving up a run. That said, he’s posted pretty average numbers in the minors this season and I’m not buying in until he can prove himself in more than one start. He may be worth a look as a GPP play on FD (only $3,000), but should be avoided on all other fantasy sites. Rating = 4
Salaries: $3000 FD, $10819 DS, $9800 DD, $7500 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Alfredo Simon – Simon is one of the biggest favorites on the board tonight and the total is only set at 7.5 runs. Based on the Vegas line alone, it looks like Simon will be in line for the win. Simon hasn’t given up more than 3 earned runs in any of his last 7 starts. He’s only averaging 5.5 K’s per 9 innings, but his strikeout potential is helped by the Cubs 22% strikeout rate against RH pitching this season. Rating = 7
Salaries: $7300 FD, $16505 DS, $15050 DD, $8200 DK, $113100 FF, $22600 SS, $15050 FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo – Give me a HR hitter in a small ballpark any day of the week. Rizzo has homered in 2 of the 3 games in this series. He’s hit 13 of his 19 HR’s off of RH pitching and Simon has been considerably worse against LH hitters than he has against RH hitters.
Additional Plays: None
Cincinnati
Billy Hamilton – Most of Hamilton’s fantasy value is directly tied to his ability to steal bases. When you target him, you’re not counting on him to hit for power. You want him to get on base and be aggressive on the base pads. I like the matchup against the rookie and with Beeler being a righty, I think Hamilton is in a great spot to steal his 38th base of the season.
Additional Plays: Jay Bruce, Devin Mesoraco