MLB Tool Analysis: Daily Batter Hub, Part 2
If you’re reading this, then you probably already know that RotoGrinders has some of the best free content in the industry. The free daily research tools being offered can do wonders for your bankroll. Every Thursday, I’ll be highlighting one of our free research tools and show you how to you can use it to identify players that should be on your radar.
This will be our second time looking at the Daily Batter Hub. I’ll touch on a few of the other sections in the hub that you can use to gain an edge on your competition.
The first section that we are taking a look at today is Batter Vs Pitch Type. This gives you the top 10 hitters of the day versus a certain pitch, fastballs, curveballs, sliders, etc.
For this example, I will use the top 10 players to target against fastballs. Topping the list is Michael Brantley with a 5.17 wFB/C. You can view the stat legend for detail explanations for all statistics, but these stat means that Brantley produces 5.17 runs per every 100 fastballs that he sees. Michael Wacha throws a fastball 58% of the time, which is the fifth-highest percentage of the day. So, Brantley is in a prime spot to cash in this matchup. He actually just hit a homer off of Wacha as I’m writing this article. So these stats can clearly work to your advantage.
The next section of the hub to look at is BvP. Now BvP has been a heated debate in the DFS community for years. Recently the community has gotten insight from two former Major Leaguers, Vernon Wells and Zach Miner. They both confirmed that players know their stats and previous performance against other players. Some players just feel more comfortable against certain players, they have their number, as the old saying goes.
I have used BvP in my research before, but it was more of a tiebreaker stat between two players for me (and I think it will continue to be), but I’ll certainly give it some more weight. However, I think the BvP doubters don’t have much more ammo to throw into this argument after the comments from Wells and Miner.
When I look at the BvP chart, I like to sort by fantasy points per at bat. I’ll also look for guys with at least double-digit plate appearances. The larger the sample sizes the better. Sometimes, BvP is good for finding guys that you would have never thought of. David Ross in 18 career at-bats versus Jon Niese or Casey McGehee crushing Johnny Cueto in 20 career ABs. These are all little things that can help you win money playing MLB DFS.
Lastly, I like to use the Team Stackability feature for my tournament lineups. With my favorite ratings being the XPLODE and IMPLODE rankings.
From looking at the XPLODE ranking, we see that the Rockies rank second in the league in 8+ run games. We also see that their opponent, the Dodgers, also rank second in the league in giving up 8+ runs. This is nearly a perfect storm and the Rockies will be very popular. You have to have some of them in cash games and a few tournament lineups as well. The matchup in this scenario is too good to pass up.
We also see that the Giants have put up their fair share of 8+ run games coming in ranked eighth. However, the Reds have been solid in the runs against department and rank 23rd. In this scenario, the Giants would be tournament only plays for me. They can be safely avoided in cash games. Especially when facing Johnny Cueto.
So there you have it, several other ways for you to use the Daily Batter Hub to aid your MLB research. I hope this information helps your research process and good luck in your games. Have a great weekend and check back next week as I highlight another free RG MLB research tool. As always feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me on twitter, @Socky21