MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, May 21st - Page 3
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City
| Chicago White Sox | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Jose Quintana | Vegas Moneyline | Jeremy Guthrie | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | KCR (-137) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.723 | 0.319 | 21.0% | SP vs. Left | 0.319 | 0.891 | 0.390 | 11.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.248 | 0.679 | 0.303 | 19.4% | SP vs. Right | 0.230 | 0.609 | 0.278 | 12.8% |
| Batter Splits | CHW BvP  | CHW vs R | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Jose Quintana – Quintana is hoping to have more success than his fellow starters have in this series against the Royals. On the season Quintana has a 3.67 ERA with a K/9 of 7.5. While the Royals strike out fewer than any team in baseball, they are ranked 24th against LH pitching this season with a team .294 wOBA. Quintana makes a decent tournament play. Rating = 5
Jeremy Guthrie – Guthrie has a high ERA and a low K-rate. In daily fantasy baseball, you want your starting pitcher to have the opposite of that. Guthrie really struggles against LHB’s and I see him struggling again tonight against the White Sox. Rating = 4
Batter Grind Down
Chicago White Sox
Adam Eaton – This White Sox offense averages almost a full run per game more when Eaton is in the lineup than when he is out of the lineup. He is a terrific fit in Chicago and makes a nice play tonight against Guthrie who has given up a .390 wOBA to LHB’s since the start of 2013.
Additional Plays: Alexei Ramirez, Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers
Kansas City
Billy Butler – Don’t look now, but Butler is starting to heat up. He has 8 hits and 2 walks in his last 4 games and is still extremely cheap across the industry. He provides great salary cap relief at 1B against the LHP Quintana.
Additional Plays: Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain
Arizona at St. Louis
| Arizona | St. Louis | ||||||||
| Brandon McCarthy | Vegas Moneyline | Michael Wacha | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-154) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.282 | 0.717 | 0.317 | 18.8% | SP vs. Left | 0.218 | 0.552 | 0.251 | 23.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.291 | 0.773 | 0.347 | 12.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.239 | 0.672 | 0.304 | 28.3% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs R | Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Brandon McCarthy – McCarthy has 3 quality starts in his last 4 outings, but is catching this Cardinals’ offense at a bad time. It was only a matter of time before the Cardinals’ offense came around and they have been climbing the offensive rankings over the last week, especially against RH pitching. McCarthy is an easy pitcher to avoid tonight. Rating = 2
Michael Wacha – Wacha has pitched well in his sophomore campaign. On the season he has a 2.82 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP and a K/9 of 10.3. While this D-Backs lineup can be scary to target pitchers against, I think Wacha is a terrific play tonight with huge upside thanks to his high K-rate. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
Paul Goldschmidt is a decent tournament play, but I’ll be avoiding the rest of the D-Backs’ hitters tonight against Wacha who has held both RHB’s and LHB’s under a .305 wOBA since the start of last season.
St. Louis
Matt Adams – We’ve been waiting for Adams to hit for some power this season and he managed just that with his 2nd HR of the season last night. He is one of the cheapest 1B options available and makes a terrific value play that allows you to spend up on some other positions.
Additional Plays: Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Matt Carpenter
San Francisco at Colorado
| San Francisco | Colorado | ||||||||
| Matt Cain | Vegas Moneyline | Jhoulys Chacin | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | COL (-114) | RIGHT | 10.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.206 | 0.629 | 0.286 | 21.7% | SP vs. Left | 0.272 | 0.723 | 0.322 | 11.3% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.251 | 0.731 | 0.325 | 19.6% | SP vs. Right | 0.242 | 0.664 | 0.297 | 18.2% |
| Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs R | Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Matt Cain / Jhoulys Chacin – It seems like I write the same paragraph every time there is a game that is being played in Coors Field. To sum it up, avoid all pitchers in Coors. It is the most hitter friendly ballpark in baseball and it’s not even close. Rating = 1
Batter Grind Down
San Francisco
Hunter Pence – The total for this game is set at 10.5 runs and basically the entire Giants lineup is in play tonight against the RHP Chacin. Pence has nice power against RH pitching and is swinging a hot bat with 13 hits over his last 7 games.
Additional Plays: Buster Posey (if in lineup), Mike Morse, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford
Colorado
Troy Tulowitzki – Tulo is still batting .571 with an OPS of 1.70. He has a great track record against Cain (21/63 with 5 HR’s) and is the top option at SS if you can find a way to get him in your lineups. There are a lot of great plays in this game so don’t be afraid to stack up here.
Additional Plays: Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Wilin Rosario, Michael Cuddyer
Houston at LA Angels
| Houston | LA Angels | ||||||||
| Collin McHugh | Vegas Moneyline | Jered Weaver | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-200) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.288 | 0.797 | 0.353 | 18.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.228 | 0.627 | 0.285 | 19.6% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.306 | 0.828 | 0.363 | 17.1% | SP vs. Right | 0.237 | 0.687 | 0.304 | 17.3% |
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Collin McHugh – McHugh has pitched well this season, but is not a recommended play tonight against the Angels who are ranked 10th against RH pitching with a team .323 wOBA. He is the biggest underdog on the schedule tonight. Rating = 4
Jered Weaver – Weaver is not the dominant pitcher that he once was, but he has still pitched well this season with a 3.14 ERA and a K/9 of 7.1. He faces an Astros’ offense that is ranked 21st against RH pitching with a team .302 wOBA. The Astros also have a 24.5 K% against RH pitching. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Houston
There are always a few viable options on the Astros when they face a LHP, but I’m not crazy about any of them tonight against the RHP Weaver.
L.A. Angels
Albert Pujols – Weaver has given up a .353+ wOBA to both LHB’s and RHB’s. Pujols has always hit RH pitching well and has great power at 1B.
Additional Plays: Mike Trout, Erick Aybar
Minnesota at San Diego
| Minnesota | San Diego | ||||||||
| Phil Hughes | Vegas Moneyline | Tyson Ross | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-141) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.275 | 0.795 | 0.349 | 19.9% | SP vs. Left | 0.237 | 0.640 | 0.299 | 20.0% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.303 | 0.794 | 0.350 | 18.5% | SP vs. Right | 0.223 | 0.627 | 0.285 | 26.1% |
| Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
Phil Hughes – Hughes is having a terrific bounce back season which often seems to happen when pitchers leave New York. He has been impressive in each of his last 4 starts and now sports an ERA of 3.61 with a K/9 of 7.6. He has a terrific matchup against the Padres who are ranked 29th against RH pitching with a team .277 wOBA. Even though Hughes is an underdog here, he’s one of my favorite tournament plays tonight and also carries value as a cash game play on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 8
Tyson Ross – In 5 starts at Petco this season, Ross has a 1.59 ERA while averaging more than a strikeout per inning. Of the two pitchers in this game, he has the slightly tougher matchup, but he makes a terrific play in all leagues. It may not be a bad idea to take both of these pitchers on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 8
Batter Grind Down
Minnesota / San Diego
The total of this game is set at 6.5 runs and I doubt they cover the total. I will not be targeting any batters in this one.