MLB Grind Down: Wednesday, September 3rd Page Three
Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs
| Milwaukee | Chicago Cubs | ||||||||
| Matt Garza | Vegas Moneyline | Kyle Hendricks | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | MIL (-109) | RIGHT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.213 | 0.630 | 0.283 | 17.20% | SP vs. Left | 0.211 | 0.575 | 0.256 | 14.30% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.227 | 0.616 | 0.275 | 17.60% | SP vs. Right | 0.221 | 0.569 | 0.255 | 16.10% |
| Batter Splits | MIL BvP  | MIL vs R | Batter Splits | CHC BvP | CHC vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Matt Garza – Garza will be activated from the DL to start tonight against the Cubs. He was dealing with a strain in his left oblique and the Brewers may be careful with him tonight. Don’t be surprised if he is on some sort of pitch count. In terms of the matchup, Garza is in a great spot though. The Cubs are ranked 25th in wOBA vs. RH pitching while striking out at a 23% clip. He’s in play for tournaments, but is a risky option for cash games. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7500 FD, $15300 DD, $7900 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Kyle Hendricks – Hendricks owns a 1.97 ERA on the season, but has had some good luck and some good defense behind him. His 3.94 xFIP suggests that he’s not quite pitching as well as his sub 2.00 ERA. Tonight he draws a tough matchup against the Brewers who are ranked 9th in wOBA vs. RH pitching this season. Rating = 5
Salaries: $6500 FD, $14200 DD, $7200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Milwaukee
Jonathan Lucroy – There aren’t many options at catcher tonight. Lucroy stands out as the top play if you want to spend up on the position. Lucroy is batting .298 with a .369 wOBA against righties this season.
Additional Plays: Scooter Gennett
Chicago Cubs
Chris Coghlan – Coghlan is very quietly having a nice stretch of games. He has 13 hits and 4 walks over his last 10 games including 3 straight multi-hit outings. I don’t mind the matchup against Garza who may be a bit rusty in his first game back.
Additional Plays: Luis Valbuena
LA Angels at Houston
| LA Angels | Houston | ||||||||
| Jered Weaver | Vegas Moneyline | Collin McHugh | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | LAA (-145) | RIGHT | 8.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.254 | 0.717 | 0.318 | 18.60% | SP vs. Left | 0.228 | 0.642 | 0.288 | 22.00% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.205 | 0.629 | 0.282 | 17.30% | SP vs. Right | 0.202 | 0.615 | 0.277 | 30.20% |
| Batter Splits | LAA BvP | LAA vs R | Batter Splits | HOU BvP | HOU vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Jered Weaver – Weaver is two different pitchers. He is a viable fantasy option when he’s pitching at home and he’s an easy pitcher to avoid when he is on the road. Weaver owns a 4.75 ERA while giving up a .346 wOBA to his opponents. Even though the Astros strike out at one of the highest rates in baseball, Weaver is more risk than reward on the road. Rating = 5
Salaries: $7700 FD, $14750 DD, $7500 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Collin McHugh – McHugh has really pitched well this season. He owns a 2.99 ERA with a K/9 of 9.4. He does walk quite a few batters, but he doesn’t give up many HR’s. Tonight he faces an Angels offense that is ranked 21st in wOBA over the last 30 days. He offers great upside for the price. Rating = 6
Salaries: $7700 FD, $16850 DD, $9200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
LA Angels
There really aren’t any hitters that stand out here. The Angels offense has been ice cold lately and McHugh has held both LH and RH hitters under a .290 wOBA this season.
Houston
Jose Altuve – Altuve hit his 7th HR of the season and stole his 50th base of the season last night. He has one of the highest batting averages in baseball and draws a solid matchup against Weaver who has struggled on the road.
Additional Plays: Chris Carter, Jason Castro
Texas at Kansas City
| Texas | Kansas City | ||||||||
| Nick Tepesch | Vegas Moneyline | Jason Vargas | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | KCR (-178) | LEFT | 8.0 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.247 | 0.744 | 0.329 | 11.10% | SP vs. Left | 0.274 | 0.680 | 0.303 | 15.30% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.284 | 0.805 | 0.357 | 11.80% | SP vs. Right | 0.260 | 0.707 | 0.311 | 16.00% |
| Batter Splits | TEX BvP | TEX vs L | Batter Splits | KCR BvP | KCR vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Nick Tepesch – Tepesch has an ERA (4.44) higher than his strikeout rate (4.3 per 9 innings). That’s not a great combination for pitchers in daily fantasy baseball. He can safely be avoided in all leagues tonight. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5000 FD, $9000 DD, $5400 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Jason Vargas – Vargas is a solid cash game option tonight. He owns a 3.27 ERA on the season with a K/9 of 5.9. He draws a solid matchup against a Rangers offense that isn’t scaring anyone this season. Vargas should get plenty of run support and should be in line for the win which is a steal at his cheap price. Rating = 6
Salaries: $6600 FD, $12200 DD, $7200 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Texas
Adrian Beltre – Beltre has mashed LH pitching this season to the tune of a .346 batting average and a .418 wOBA. While Kaufmann Stadium is a tough park to hit HR’s in, he’s the top 3B play if you are looking to spend up.
Additional Plays: Alex Rios
Kansas City
Salvador Perez – While Tepesch hasn’t been great against LH hitters, he has really struggled against RH hitters giving up a .357 wOBA. Perez has been swinging a hot bat and makes a solid play at catcher.
Additional Plays: Alex Gordon
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota
| Chicago White Sox | Minnesota | ||||||||
| John Danks | Vegas Moneyline | Trevor May | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| LEFT | MIN (-118) | RIGHT | 9.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.255 | 0.732 | 0.325 | 10.20% | SP vs. Left | ||||
| SP vs. Right | 0.276 | 0.834 | 0.365 | 16.50% | SP vs. Right | 0.377 | 0.959 | 0.428 | 16.10% |
| Batter Splits | CHW BvP | CHW vs R | Batter Splits | MIN BvP | MIN vs L | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- John Danks – This game should be the highest scoring game of the night. Danks has struggled this season with a 4.88 ERA and a K/9 under 6.0. He walks a ton of batters and has given up a high wOBA to batters from both sides of the plate. He should be avoided tonight against the red hot Twins. Rating = 3
Salaries: $5600 FD, $10400 DD, $5000 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Trevor May – May has had a very rough start to his major league career. He has an ERA over 10.00 in his first 5 major league appearances and he has given up a .400+ wOBA to batters from both sides of the plate. He may be the worst starting pitcher on the board tonight. Rating = 2
Salaries: $5000 FD, $8150 DD, $4900 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Chicago White Sox
Jose Abreu – Abreu got last night off, but should be back in the lineup tonight against May who has given up a .428 wOBA to RH hitters this season. Abreu has hit both LH and RH pitching well this season, but the majority of his power has come against RH pitching as 26 of his 33 HR’s have come against righties.
Additional Plays: Alexei Ramirez, Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia, Conor Gillaspie
Minnesota
Trevor Plouffe – The Twins are one of the top teams to target tonight. Batters from both sides of the plate are in play. As a team, they are the 5th best offense over the last 30 days and then may climb up the rankings even higher after tonight’s game against Danks.
Additional Plays: Danny Santana, Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Kennys Vargas
Arizona at San Diego
| Arizona | San Diego | ||||||||
| Josh Collmenter | Vegas Moneyline | Andrew Cashner | Vegas Over/Under | ||||||
| RIGHT | SDP (-156) | RIGHT | 6.5 | ||||||
| Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% | Stats | Avg | OPS | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP vs. Left | 0.297 | 0.791 | 0.347 | 14.30% | SP vs. Left | 0.247 | 0.695 | 0.303 | 20.50% |
| SP vs. Right | 0.210 | 0.640 | 0.282 | 19.50% | SP vs. Right | 0.234 | 0.584 | 0.261 | 16.80% |
| Batter Splits | ARI BvP | ARI vs R | Batter Splits | SDP BvP | SDP vs R | ||||
| Batter Split Links Above Open In Pop-Up Window | |||||||||
Pitcher Grind Down
- Josh Collmenter – From what should be the highest scoring game of the night to the game that could very well be the lowest scoring game of the night. While Collmenter has not pitched well on the road this season, he gets a huge ballpark boost tonight in Petco Park which is the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in all of baseball. His price is affordable and he makes a terrific GPP play. Rating = 5.5
Salaries: $6900 FD, $11600 DD, $6400 DK, $NA FF, $NA SS, $NA FTD
- Andrew Cashner – Cashner looked sharp in his last start. While he only threw 89 pitches, he struck out 8 batters while only giving up a single earned run to the Dodgers. I expect the Padres to stretch him out a bit more tonight against the Diamondbacks who have had one of the worst offenses in baseball over the last 30 days. Cashner’s price is down and dollar for dollar is my favorite play of the night. Rating = 8
Salaries: $7800 FD, $13400 DD, $7100 DK, $ FF, $ SS, $ FTD
Batter Grind Down
Arizona
Avoid all Diamondbacks against Cashner in the pitcher-friendly Petco.
San Diego
Seth Smith – Smith has been the most consistent hitter on the Padres this season. He gets a solid matchup against Collmenter who has given up a .347 wOBA to LH hitters this season.
Additional Plays: Will Venable