Daily Grind: What’d I Miss

During draft season, I received a ton of heckling for daring to doubt Garrett Hampson. The Rockies first stuck him deep down the depth chart. Then, when injuries opened up playing time, Hampson stuck at the bottom of the lineup where he’s done scant-little. Where are the haters now?

As I mention in a follow up tweet, I’m generally encouraged by what I’ve seen. I think he’ll eventually adjust to be a fringe-useful asset in 12-team mixed leagues. As for daily fantasy… well, read on.

AGENDA

  1. TDG Invitational
  2. Weather Reports
  3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
  4. SaberSim Says…
  5. What’d I Miss?

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

MaddMaxxx went whole hog last Friday, piling up 215.35 points with the help of Patrick Corbin, Brad Keller, and a billion home runs. The crazy bit – Eric Hosmer completely zeroed out! Congrats and Leaderboard.

See you this evening for our usual $2 no rake GPP on FantasyDraft.

If you have not signed up for FantasyDraft, please use this referral link for tracking purposes. If I understand properly, by using the referral, you will receive a 10 percent return on any rakes you pay.

2. Weather Reports

It’s dry and mild throughout the league. The winds are blowing tonight at Citizen’s Bank Park. I’m not yet sure if they’re blowing in, out, or across.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Trevor Bauer is the ace we crave tonight. For an affordable $20,200, he faces the homertastic Mariners. They’re eventually going to regress to somewhere around a league average offense. Bauer is coming off a stinker of an outing against the Tigers. I’ll put money down on a rebound. I’ll mostly be avoiding Yusei Kikuchi this season, but he’s probably fringe-playable against the pitiful Indians offense for $15,300.

Sadly, Noah Syndergaard ($19,700) and Aaron Nola ($18,900) cancel each other out tonight. Not only is the pitching evenly matched, they both have to face stout lineups at a homer haven. Nola’s signature command is missing in the early weeks of 2019.

Luis Castillo ($18,800) has opted to skip straight to the second half this season. He’s looking like an elite pitcher, one who might just be good enough to use against the Dodgers at home. It’s certainly a risky play. I’d take Castillo at the Dodgers over Syndergaard at the Phillies. And like Thor, Castillo is cancelled out by Clayton Kershaw ($18,800). We should expect Kershaw to be less effective this year, but that still probably entails a mid-3.00s ERA with six or seven inning outings. Home runs could be a problem today.

Freddy Peralta ($17,100) figures to be popular thanks to his over-11.00 K/9. That supplies a healthy floor even if his run prevention skills are a tad inconsistent. I’m hesitant to climb all the way onto the bandwagon. He subsists almost entirely on a deceptive fastball used over 80 percent of the time. Long term, I think he’s a reliever. Peralta’s opponent, Dakota Hudson ($11,800), is a solid bargain play despite a tough matchup at Miller Park.

Speaking of solid bargains, Trevor Richards ($16,100) has an easily imagined path to victory opposite Yu Darvish. He just needs some run support. Richards is using a new cutter this season, but the jury is out.

A few cheap veterans will patch in nicely beside an ace like Bauer. Matt Shoemaker ($14,900) is visiting Martin Perez ($12,900). Dollar for dollar, I probably prefer the Perez side of the equation by a small margin. Or just use Trevor Cahill at Texas. They’re a strikeout prone opponent, and The Glob isn’t hitter friendly during the spring months.

Favorite Plays: Cahill, Peralta, Castillo, Bauer

Stack Targets: Heath Fillmyer, Ervin Santana, Shelby Miller, Antonio Senzatela, Darvish

I was hearing some good chatter about Senzatela before he hit the skids. The Fillmyer-Santana matchup at Guaranteed Home Run Rate Park promises at least six big flies. (<—hyperbole?)

4. SaberSim Says…

Bauer, Peralta, Kershaw, Thor, and Nola are favorites of The Sim. Our Saber friend also likes Santana, Peralta, Fillmyer, Darvish, and Kershaw as bargains. With the exception of Peralta, I think the machine is getting tricked by a lack of information. Top bats including Christian Yelich, Adalberto Mondesi, Joey Gallo, Whit Merrifield, and Shin-Soo Choo. Brian Anderson, Garrett Hampson, Danny Jansen, Kole Calhoun, and Eloy Jimenez are the preferred value hitters. Hampson has the platoon advantage against Joey Lucchesi.

5. What’d I Miss?

I watched nary a game over the weekend so let’s see what MLB.com/videos is pushing this morning. What’d I miss?

I’ve been insisting Donaldson is a daily value target on a different site. Of course, he does damage in a matchup I wouldn’t have touched with a 10-foot pole.

Dozier is showing some interesting changes to his peripherals. He’s worth a speculative add in anything deeper than 12-team mixed. And he’s DFSable tonight!

A healthy Elvis Andrus is a thing of beauty. I’m so happy to have grabbed copious shares this draft season. Now why haven’t I been using him much in DFS…





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