by Ethan Haskell (Ethan) Last Updated 2013-03-20 00:27:54

MLB Grind Down+: FanDuel

April 1st, 2013

PITCHER SELECTIONS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW CELLS

FanDuel Grind Down+: Starting Pitchers

TOP TIER STARTING PITCHER HIGHLIGHT PICK
Justin Verlander		ROAD		vs. Minnesota		$9,800
Pitcher vs. Opp Batters Totals	H-AB	XBHA	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Justin Verlander	15-74	7	9	0.203	0.263	0.297	0.560
Pitcher Home/Road Splits	REC	ERA	WHIP	K/9	HRA	CG	SHO
Justin Verlander	8-11	3.57	1.164	8.9	11	4	0

EXPLANATION: Justin Verlander is obviously a great play but his matchup makes him worth his salary. Twins players are hitting a combined .203 against him.

TOP TIER STARTING PITCHER HIGHLIGHT PICK
Jon Lester		ROAD		vs. NY Yankees		$7,100
Pitcher vs. Opp Batters Totals	H-AB	XBHA	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jon Lester	15-57	9	10	0.263	0.300	0.491	0.791
Pitcher Home/Road Splits	REC	ERA	WHIP	K/9	HRA	CG	SHO
Jon Lester	6-10	3.2	1.159	7.3	10	2	0

EXPLANATION: Lester had a great spring training and looks to start his comeback season against the division rival Yankees who are not the same team that once terrorized opponents.

2ND TIER STARTING PITCHER HIGHLIGHT PICK
Jason Vargas		ROAD		vs. Oakland		$6,200
Pitcher vs. Opp Batters Totals	H-AB	XBHA	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jason Vargas	8-38	2	12	0.211	0.268	0.368	0.637
Pitcher Home/Road Splits	REC	ERA	WHIP	K/9	HRA	CG	SHO
Jason Vargas	9-26	4.78	1.306	5.5	26	2	0

EXPLANATION: I like Vargas today because he comes with tremendous strikeout upside and, while he struggled on the road last season, he has great splits against the A’s

2ND TIER STARTING PITCHER HIGHLIGHT PICK
Johan Santana		HOME		vs. San Diego		$5,800
Pitcher vs. Opp Batters Totals	H-AB	XBHA	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Johan Santana	4-21	1	3	0.190	0.261	0.333	0.594
Pitcher Home/Road Splits	REC	ERA	WHIP	K/9	HRA	CG	SHO
Johan Santana	4-7	3.98	1.295	9.2	7	2	2

EXPLANATION: Johan Santana will return in 2013 as the Mets Ace and gets a friendly matchup against the Padres who are expected to be one of the lower scoring teams in baseball.

FanDuel Grind Down+: Batters

Batters Salaries and Explanations

TOP TIER BATTER PICKS OF THE DAY
PLAYER	SALARY	EXPLANATION
Paul Konerko	$3,600	Konerko has killed the opposing pitcher in his past and has a reasonable salary today with a great chance to go deep.
Matt Kemp	$4,400	Kemp should build off his 2012 season and it starts against a team he played well against last year in San Francisco
Dustin Pedroia	$4,100	Dustin Pedroia, like Lester, will need to have a big season for the Red Sox to rebuild. He has seen the ball well against Sabathia in the past, with a 1.33 OPS-against
Carlos Gonzalez	$4,100	Carlos Gonzalez has huge upside today in a good matchup and has the power to go yard on opening day.
2ND TIER BATTER PICKS OF THE DAY
PLAYER	SALARY	EXPLANATION
Yadier Molina	$3,500	Konerko has killed the opposing pitcher in his past and has a reasonable salary today with a great chance to go deep.
Alfonso Soriano	$3,500	Kemp should build off his 2012 season and it starts against a team he played well against last year in San Francisco
Torii Hunter	$3,600	Dustin Pedroia, like Lester, will need to have a big season for the Red Sox to rebuild. He has seen the ball well against Sabathia in the past, with a 1.33 OPS-against
Billy Butler	$3,600	Carlos Gonzalez has huge upside today in a good matchup and has the power to go yard on opening day.
3RD TIER BATTER PICKS OF THE DAY
PLAYER	SALARY	EXPLANATION
Rafael Furcal	$3,200	Konerko has killed the opposing pitcher in his past and has a reasonable salary today with a great chance to go deep.
Alex Rios	$3,300	Kemp should build off his 2012 season and it starts against a team he played well against last year in San Francisco
Chase Headley	$3,700	Dustin Pedroia, like Lester, will need to have a big season for the Red Sox to rebuild. He has seen the ball well against Sabathia in the past, with a 1.33 OPS-against
Paul Janish	$2,400	Carlos Gonzalez has huge upside today in a good matchup and has the power to go yard on opening day.
4TH TIER BATTER PICKS OF THE DAY
PLAYER	SALARY	EXPLANATION
Dan Uggla	$3,300	Konerko has killed the opposing pitcher in his past and has a reasonable salary today with a great chance to go deep.
Jimmy Rollins	$3,600	Kemp should build off his 2012 season and it starts against a team he played well against last year in San Francisco
Ryan Howard	$3,700	Dustin Pedroia, like Lester, will need to have a big season for the Red Sox to rebuild. He has seen the ball well against Sabathia in the past, with a 1.33 OPS-against
Pablo Sandoval	$3,700	Carlos Gonzalez has huge upside today in a good matchup and has the power to go yard on opening day.

TOP TIER BATTERS – NOTABLE STATS
PLAYER	SALARY	OPP-SP	BvP – BA (H-AB)	BvP – SLG	BvP – OPS	L/R – BA	L/R SLG	L/R OPS	BPR
Paul Konerko	$3,600	James Shields	0.316 (6-19)	0.737	1.146	0.3	0.491	0.861	1.268
Matt Kemp	$4,400	Matt Cain	0.333 (4-12)	0.750	1.179	0.275	0.475	0.813	0.867
Dustin Pedroia	$4,100	CC Sabathia	0.667 (2-3)	0.667	1.333	0.297	0.465	0.829	0.992
Carlos Gonzalez	$4,100	Yovani Gallardo	0.333 (5-15)	0.733	1.108	0.305	0.522	0.898	1.168
2ND TIER BATTERS – NOTABLE STATS
PLAYER	SALARY	OPP-SP	BvP – BA (H-AB)	BvP – SLG	BvP – OPS	L/R – BA	L/R SLG	L/R OPS	BPR
Yadier Molina	$3,500	Ian Kennedy	0.313 (10-32)	0.438	0.859	0.299	0.473	0.826	1.171
Alfonso Soriano	$3,500	A.J. Burnett	0.242 (8-33)	0.394	0.736	0.256	0.486	0.797	0.764
Torii Hunter	$3,600	Johnny Cueto	0.143 (1-7)	0.143	0.286	0.311	0.469	0.826	1.113
Billy Butler	$3,600	Jake Peavy	0.222 (4-18)	0.444	0.708	0.314	0.486	0.848	1.268
3RD TIER BATTERS – NOTABLE STATS
PLAYER	SALARY	OPP-SP	BvP – BA (H-AB)	BvP – SLG	BvP – OPS	L/R – BA	L/R SLG	L/R OPS	BPR
Rafael Furcal	$3,200	Ian Kennedy	0.36 (9-25)	0.640	1.025	0.257	0.33	0.651	1.171
Alex Rios	$3,300	James Shields	0.346 (9-26)	0.692	1.063	0.303	0.512	0.843	1.268
Chase Headley	$3,700	Johan Santana	0.2 (2-10)	0.300	0.573	0.293	0.516	0.868	0.874
Paul Janish	$2,400	Roy Halladay	NA	NA	NA	0.168	0.221	0.476	1.038
4TH TIER BATTERS – NOTABLE STATS
PLAYER	SALARY	OPP-SP	BvP – BA (H-AB)	BvP – SLG	BvP – OPS	L/R – BA	L/R SLG	L/R OPS	BPR
Dan Uggla	$3,300	Roy Halladay	0.357 (10-28)	0.750	1.129	0.232	0.402	0.76	1.038
Jimmy Rollins	$3,600	Tim Hudson	0.194 (13-67)	0.373	0.613	0.265	0.467	0.797	1.038
Ryan Howard	$3,700	Tim Hudson	0.345 (19-55)	0.727	1.173	0.228	0.44	0.755	1.038
Pablo Sandoval	$3,700	Clayton Kershaw	0.25 (6-24)	0.292	0.599	0.31	0.441	0.792	0.867

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LEGEND FOR STARTING PITCHERS:

Pitcher vs. Opp Batters Totals: Built from PvB Page – for more info click here

Pitcher Home/Road Splits – Based on whether a given pitcher is at home or on road on a given day.

XBHA – Extra Base Hits Allowed (2B+3B+HR)
REC. – Record at home or on road
H-AB – Hits Allowed Per AB Against
SO – Strikeouts
AVG – Batting Average Against
WHIP – Walks + Hits Per Innings Pitched Against
HRA – Home Runs Allowed
K/9 – Strikeouts Per 9 IP

LEGEND FOR BATTERS

BvP-BA (H-AB) – Batter vs. Opponent Pitcher Batting Average. Hits/AB Sample Size in Parentheses
BvP-SLG – Batter vs. Opponent Pitcher Slugging Percentage
BvP-OPS – Batter vs. Opponent Pitcher On Base + Slugging Percentage
L/R BA – Batter vs. Left/Right (dependent on opposing pitcher) Batting Average
L/R SLG – Batter vs. Left/Right (dependent on opposing pitcher) Slugging Percentage
L/R OPS – Batter vs. Left/Right (dependent on opposing pitcher) On Base + Slugging Percentage

BPR – Ballpark Rating for Runs Scored.
Ballpark Ratings in Green (Over 1.1) Favor Batters
Ballpark Ratings in Red (Under 0.9) Favor Pitchers
Ballparks with a White Background (Between 0.9 and 1.1) Are Neutral