Football returns!
Yes, it’s only the Hall of Fame game tonight, but it’s still football.
And we also have baseball tonight, just six games, but this is the time of the year when football begins to overshadow baseball.
Below are the xFIP and wOBA tables for today’s 6-game slate. Also, I don’t like enough cheap pitchers today to make a recommendation, so today is strictly hitters. Good luck!
Pitcher xFIP vs. LH
1. Asher Wojciechowski – 6.25
2. Anthony deSclafani – 5.49
3. Jack Flaherty – 4.93
4. Andrew Cashner – 4.72
5. Trent Thornton – 4.64
Pitcher xFIP vs. RH
1. Trent Thornton – 5.27
2. Andrew Cashner – 4.97
3. Joey Lucchesi – 4.49
4. Jon Lester – 4.25
Hitter wOBA vs. LH
1. Manny Machado – Padres – .525
2. J.D. Martinez – Red Sox – .518
3. Cody Bellinger – Dodgers – .432
4. Xander Bogaerts – Red Sox – .392
5. Hunter Renfroe – Padres – .391
Hitter wOBA vs. RH
1. Freddie Freeman – Braves – .417
2. Anthony Rizzo – Cubs – .407
3. George Springer – Astros – .397
4. Michael Brantley – Astros – .391
4. Austin Meadows – Rays – .391
HITTERS
Ji-Man Choi – 1B – Tampa Bay Rays – $2,700
Analysis: Andrew Cashner is on this slate, but there’s no way I play him. He’s so overdue for regression against lefties it’s insane. The Rays are just that team to make things difficult for Cashner, in a hitter’s park. Righties for the Rays are definitely in play here too, as Cashner owns a 4.97 xFIP and a .346 wOBA against them. But lefties, his ERA is 2.5 runs lower than his xFIP (2.32, 4.72). Choi owns a .352 wOBA and a .173 ISO and a 39% hard hit rate vs. righties.
