Today's Hitter Breakdown: September 16th
We come to a new week here in DFS, and as you see carnage last week in the NFL with running backs going down, if you play Daily you do not have to worry about those. Unfortunately for me I had Jackson and Rice in a league so I got hit double yesterday but that’s the way that season long leagues go. We still have baseball as the races are heating up and every game counts so lets get to it.
With only a month left in the season, this year’s Park Factors should be very representative of how the parks this year have played. There are still some irregularities, however they should work themselves out in time.
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Today’s Hitters to Target
| PLAYER | OPS-L7 | BABIP | wOBA | PARK | Opp-SP (L/R) | SP ERA-L7 | vs L/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Ramos | 1.066 | 0.285 | 0.352 | 0.98 | Minor – L | 3.15 | 0.304 |
| Freddie Freeman | 1.375 | 0.265 | 0.383 | 0.96 | Haren – R | 5.02 | 0.327 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 1.059 | 0.307 | 0.37 | 1 | Lee – L | 2.97 | 0.294 |
| Torii Hunter | 0.488 | 0.333 | 0.339 | 1.07 | Saunders – L | 5.18 | 0.297 |
| Omar Infante | 0.347 | 0.33 | 0.341 | 1.07 | Saunders – L | 5.18 | 0.287 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 0.62 | 0.251 | 0.326 | 1.03 | Peralta – R | 4.49 | 0.255 |
| Michael Cuddyer | 1.136 | 0.377 | 0.4 | 1.09 | Lynn – R | 4.23 | 0.351 |
| Yadier Molina | 0.732 | 0.333 | 0.363 | 1.09 | De La Rosa – L | 3.49 | 0.337 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 1.296 | 0.345 | 0.402 | 0.99 | Ryu – L | 3.07 | 0.309 |
| Josh Donaldson | 1.448 | 0.332 | 0.386 | 0.98 | Wilson – L | 3.44 | 0.344 |
- I love Wilson Ramos tonight against Minor, and not only because he is 6 for 8 career against Ramos with a homer, but also because if you have not noticed Ramos is one of the hottest hitters in the game. He has smashed 5 homers in the last week during the Nationals hot streak and shoudl be able to continue that tonight.
- Haren had a great start last time out but you still never know what you are going to get from him. Haren is horrible when he is off and I think the Braves lefties get to him today, especially Freeman. Freeman is on fire recently and really having his best month of the season. The upside for Freddie here is huge.
- Giancarlo Stanton proves why he is a force even hitting on this awful Marlins team as he can still hit 2 homers at any time. Stanton is homering in almost 1 every 10 at bats against lefties this season with a 1.064 OPS. It does not really bother me that Cliff Lee is pitching due to Stanton’s solid history against him going 6 for 17 with a homer.
- Joe Saunders in Comerica Park has disaster written all over it. The homer numbers keep going up as he has allowed 21 to right handers and a .964 OPS. The Tigers have a great lineup of righties that can destroy him, and it may be a homer lock tonight for Torii Hunter even with how much he has been struggling.
- I feature the 2 guys in the Tigers’ lineup who are struggling the most and probably are the cheapest on the sites because there is not better antidote for a struggling righty than Joe Saunders. Infante is a cheap 2b option in what should be a high scoring offense tonight.
- Another guy who is struggling but has a solid chance to do something tonight is Anthony Rizzo. If you do not like Freeman at first, give Rizzo a look as he is 4 for 10 off Peralta with 2 homers and is hitting in a nice homer happy field in Miller Park. Rizzo has a knack for a double dong night so he’s good for GPPs.
- Michael Cuddyer has been one of the best hitters in the country this year, which shows you what Coors Field can do to someone. Cuddyer is raking against right handed pitching and aside from Lynn’s last 0 ER start he has a string of 5 starts where he allowed at least 4 ER. Cuddyer hits amazing in Coors and makes a great play tonight.
- Yadier Molina is back and with a vengeance, going 4 for 5 with a homer against Seattle last time out. Now he gets to go hit in Coors Field against a lefty and is the top catcher option tonight. If you can afford him, grab him as he should carve up De La Rosa.
- Paul Goldschmidt is hot, and destroys left handers. He gets to hit at home tonight against a lefty and I think he has a really good chance to continue his hot streak even against the reverse splits in Ryu. If you can afford him and he is cheap enough, he is a high ceiling high floor guy.
- What a crushing blow the Athletics dealt to the Rangers this past weekend. Now, the red-hot Josh Donaldson gets to face off against CJ Wilson at home. Oakland is clicking on all cylinders right now and I think you could stack them against anyone. Donaldson has a 1.448 OPs in the last 7 days and has a massive hit streak going. I trust him to keep it going against Wilson.
Today’s Hitters to Avoid
| PLAYER | OPS-L7 | BABIP | wOBA | PARK | Opp-SP (L/R) | SP ERA-L7 | vs L/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Kinsler | 0.601 | 0.281 | 0.321 | 0.95 | Cobb – R | 3.08 | 0.254 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 0.834 | 0.342 | 0.395 | 1.08 | Bedard – L | 4.47 | 0.211 |
| Carlos Gomez | 0.75 | 0.35 | 0.358 | 1.04 | Jackson – R | 4.76 | 0.275 |
| Howie Kendrick | 0.652 | 0.344 | 0.336 | 0.98 | Parker – R | 3.55 | 0.25 |
| Bryce Harper | 0.955 | 0.315 | 0.383 | 0.96 | Minor – L | 3.15 | 0.216 |
| Chase Headley | 1.215 | 0.314 | 0.323 | 0.89 | Burnett – R | 3.45 | 0.245 |
| Mike Moustakas | 0.732 | 0.254 | 0.287 | 0.99 | Kazmir – L | 4.24 | 0.2 |
| Nick Swisher | 0.997 | 0.287 | 0.334 | 1 | Shields – R | 3.38 | 0.22 |
| Matt Dominguez | 1.238 | 0.256 | 0.304 | 1.03 | Cueto – R | 3.33 | 0.244 |
| Andre Ethier | 0.953 | 0.315 | 0.341 | 0.99 | Cahill – R | 4.22 | 0.291 |
- Ian Kinsler has just been completely average recently, and pretty bad against right handed pitching. After that disheartening series against Oakland, the Rangers travel to hungry Tampa where the Rays are ready to make their late season magic continue. I really do not want to use any Rangers against Cobb who hardly ever gets lit up.
- Shin Soo Choo travels to Minute Maid to take on the Astros, and while he has been better against left handers recently, I really cannot advise using him today. His career stats are so bad that he just has no real upside even though the Reds need to win and figure to pull out the win somehow. I think the other guys do the damage tonight.
- I was really big on Carlos Gomez the other night when he had a big game but I am not tonight even against the Cubs. Gomez has had no success against Jackson in their careers going 1 for 13 with 5 strikeouts. Gomez really would rather hit against a left hander and his numbers against righties are pretty pedestrian.
- Jarrod Parker toes the rubber tonight against the Angels who are just looking to close out the season and start their offseason. The only Angel who has had success against Parker is Aybar, and certainly not Howie Kendrick. Kendrick has a .158 average and .358 OPS against Parker and with the way Parker has been pitching I hate all the Angels today.
- Bryce Harper numbers are pretty similar to Choo’s as he cannot hit left handed pitching. Harper faces Minor tonight who has been dominant against lefties this whole season and has pitched well. If the Nationals can overcome this game and take out the Braves to keep closing in on the Wild Card, I would be surprised.
- Chase Headley stats are very strange, he hits .245 against lefties, .245 against righties, .245 at home and .245 away this year. He has been doing a lot better lately but I still do not like him at all tonight against AJ Burnett. The Pirates desperately need a win and the last time Burnett had 2 bad starts in a row, he came back with a 7 IP 1 ER game against these very same Padres.
- The Royals and the Indians both desperately need wins right now and the Indians will throw the lefty Kazmir at the Royals. The Royals have a bunch of lefties and Kazmir has held lefties to a .580 OPS this year along with Mike Moustakas hitting .200 with a .557 OPS against the lefties, just not a spot I like to use.
- Nick Swisher has had a solid last week but his numbers have come mostly off of left handers. Today he faces a righty in Shields who has dominated him to an 8 for 48 mark with 15 strikeouts. Swisher cannot hit right handers and Big Game James does not have that name without a reason.
- I was a huge fan of Matt DOminguez earlier this week as the Astros have really been pounding the ball, but I am jumping off the Astros wagon right now. The face Cueto today who is coming off the DL. I believe in Cueto tonight and love him against the K happy Astros.
- Andre Ethier is a bit banged up right now and I do not think he will be playing but if he does, I would stay away from him anyway. Sure he hits right handers well but he is against Cahill who has owned him in their careers to a 4 for 21 mark with a .503 OPS. I am not a big fan of any of the Dodgers as Cahill has done work against most all of them in his career.