MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, September 24th Page Three
Pittsburgh at Atlanta
| Pittsburgh | Atlanta | ||||||||
| Jeff Locke | Vegas Moneyline | Julio Teheran | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | ATL (-116) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.190 | 0.527 | 0.238 | 9.70% | SP vs. Left | 0.234 | 0.685 | 0.300 | 18.70% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.261 | 0.746 | 0.330 | 18.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.215 | 0.577 | 0.258 | 23.40% |
| Batter Splits | PIT BvP  | PIT vs R | Batter Splits | ATL BvP | ATL vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jeff Locke – Locke owns a 3.60 ERA (3.82 xFIP) with a K/9 of 6.1. The Pirates have locked up a spot in the playoffs, but can technically still catch the Cardinals so expect them to use their every day players tonight against the Braves. Locke has nice strikeout potential in this matchup as the Braves have struck out at a 23% clip against left-hand pitching this season. That said, run support may be hard to come by with Julio Teheran pitching opposite him. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6800 FD, $13900 DD, $8100 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Julio Teheran – Teheran runs into a buzz saw that is the Pirates offense. The Pirates are ranked 3rd in wOBA vs. left-hand pitching and 5th in wOBA on the road this season. That said, Teheran has been dominant at home with a 2.04 ERA while holding his opponents to a .261 wOBA. Teheran is a small favorite in a game that features a very low run total. He’s not the worst play on the board tonight. Rating = 6.5
Salaries: $8400 FD, $19050 DD, $9100 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Pittsburgh
Even though the Pirates hit right-hand pitching well as a team, there aren’t any hitters that stand out tonight against Julio Teheran who has been terrific at home this season.
Atlanta
Justin Upton – Upton is one of the odds on favorites to homer tonight. He has hit 10 HR’s against left-hand pitching and 17 HR’s at home this season. Meanwhile, Locke has already given up 13 HR’s to batters from the right side of the plate.
Additional Plays: Emilio Bonifacio
St. Louis at Chicago Cubs
| St. Louis | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| John Lackey | Vegas Moneyline | Jake Arrieta | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | STL (-120) | RIGHT | 7.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.256 | 0.716 | 0.315 | 19.00% | SP vs. Left | 0.198 | 0.562 | 0.254 | 29.60% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.273 | 0.750 | 0.331 | 19.80% | SP vs. Right | 0.210 | 0.536 | 0.241 | 24.10% |
| Batter Splits | STL BvP | STL vs R | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- John Lackey – Lackey has really pitched well recently. He has held opponents to 2 earned runs or less in 8 of his last 10 starts. Tonight he faces a Cubs offense that is ranked 25th in wOBA vs. right-hand pitching while striking out at a 24% clip. He offers nice upside for the price. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7800 FD, $12850 DD, $8400 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Jake Arrieta – Arrieta has been the lone bright spot in this Cubs starting rotation. On the season he has a 2.65 ERA (2.79 xFIP) with a K/9 of 9.4. He has really cut down on his HR’s allowed as he is only giving up an average of 0.44 per 9 innings. Arrieta’s price is up there, but it’s still a discount for a pitcher that averages more than a strikeout per inning. Use Arrieta in tournaments and as a #2 starter on multi-pitcher sites. Rating = 6
Salaries: $8900 FD, $15850 DD, $9600 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
St. Louis
There aren’t any hitters that stand out tonight against Jake Arrieta who has held hitters from both sides of the plate under a .260 wOBA this season.
Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler are both decent tournament plays tonight, but the rest of the Cubs offense can be avoided against John Lackey.
Houston at Texas
| Houston | Texas | ||||||||
| Scott Feldman | Vegas Moneyline | Lisalverto Bonilla | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | TEX (-115) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.267 | 0.714 | 0.314 | 12.80% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.265 | 0.747 | 0.330 | 14.90% | SP vs. Right | ||||
| Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Scott Feldman – Feldman joins the long list of below average pitching options tonight. While the Rangers are one of the worst offenses at home, Feldman just doesn’t have the upside that we are looking for from a starting pitcher. He has a low K/9 of 5.2 and a high xFIP of 4.2. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6800 FD, $11900 DD, $6800 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Lisalverto Bonilla – Bonilla will be making his 3rd career major-league start. In his first 2 starts, he has given up a combined 4 earned runs while striking out 7 batters. He has had a terrific strikeout rate in the minors, but that has yet to translate at the major-league level. Only use him as a deep tournament play tonight against the Astros. Rating = 5
Batter Grind Down
Houston
Chris Carter – Carter’s price has come down across the industry and this is a nice matchup to buy low on him. He’s facing a rookie pitcher in the hitter-friendly Globe Life Park. Don’t be surprised to see Carter hit HR #38 tonight.
Additional Plays: Dexter Fowler, Jose Altuve
Texas
Adrian Beltre – Once again, Beltre is the top play on the Rangers tonight. He has been terrific against right-hand pitching (.366 wOBA) and terrific at home (.420 wOBA). He gets both of those tonight against Scott Feldman who has given up a .330 wOBA to right-hand hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Rougned Odor, Leonys Martin
Colorado at San Diego
| Colorado | San Diego | ||||||||
| Yohan Flande | Vegas Moneyline | Joe Wieland | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | SDP (-130) | RIGHT | 7.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.159 | 0.496 | 0.229 | 15.90% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.285 | 0.782 | 0.339 | 12.30% | SP vs. Right | ||||
| Batter Splits | COL BvP | COL vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Yohan Flande – As always, both pitchers will see a huge fantasy bump as this game will be played in the pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Flande has really pitched well outside of Coors Field with a 2.86 ERA on the road while holding opponents to a .239 wOBA. The biggest issue that I have here is that he hasn’t thrown more than 60 pitches in any of his outings in over a month. I expect him to top that mark tonight, but don’t expect him to come close to the 100 pitch mark. Rating = 5.5
Salaries: $5100 FD, $8850 DD, $5200 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Joe Wieland – In his 3 appearance, Wieland has yet to throw more than 66 pitches. In his only start this season, he was rocked by this same Rockies ball club. Even though the venue is very different, there is little upside for Wieland tonight. Rating = 4
Salaries: $5000 FD, $7500 DD, $4400 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Colorado
Corey Dickerson – I’m not sold on Wieland even though he did pitch well in the minors this season. Dickerson has mashed right-hand pitching with a .416 wOBA this season and is in a prime spot for another big game tonight.
Additional Plays: Justin Morneau
San Diego
Rene Rivera – Rivera is a great value play at catcher tonight. Flande has given up a .339 wOBA to batters from the right side of the plate and Rivera has really hit left-hand pitching well this season with a .380 wOBA.
Additional Plays:
San Francisco at LA Dodgers
| San Francisco | LA Dodgers | ||||||||
| Tim Hudson | Vegas Moneyline | Clayton Kershaw | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAD (-250) | LEFT | 6.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.277 | 0.753 | 0.330 | 12.10% | SP vs. Left | 0.177 | 0.457 | 0.206 | 30.90% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.255 | 0.657 | 0.288 | 18.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.196 | 0.540 | 0.241 | 32.00% |
| Batter Splits | SFG BvP | SFG vs L | Batter Splits | LAD BvP | LAD vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Tim Hudson – Hudson has fallen apart in the month of September. In 4 starts, he has posted a 9.92 ERA while giving up a .411 wOBA to his opponents. With a tough matchup against the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw pitching opposite him, he’s an easy avoid tonight. Rating = 4
Salaries: $6200 FD, $13800 DD, $6700 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Clayton Kershaw – Kershaw is the top pitching option on the board tonight. He has been absolutely dominant this season with a 1.80 ERA and a K/9 of 10.8. He’s managed to post those incredible strikeout numbers while only walking an average of 1.5 batters per 9 innings. He should mow through this Giants lineup and be the top scoring pitcher of the night. Rating = 10
Salaries: $12600 FD, $22300 DD, $14800 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
San Francisco
Avoid all Giants against Clayton Kershaw tonight. It’s just common sense.
LA Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez – Gonzalez leads the majors in RBI’s this season and will have a great chance to add to that total tonight as the Dodgers face the struggling Tim Hudson. Gonzalez is 10/24 with 2 HR’s off of Hudson in his career.
Additional Plays: Dee Gordon, Matt Kemp
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