The Daily Grind: 6-19-14 – Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

1. A Leaderboard
2. Daily DFS
3. Friday Picks
4. Table

1. A Leaderboard

In fantasy, and especially DFS, you want to own players who frequently put the ball in play. If they do with a bit of authority, all the better. With that in mind, here is a leaderboard for swinging strike rate. You can view the full list here

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The guys with an ISO over .150 or a line drive rate above 22 percent are the ones I target most frequently. I’m also looking for somebody who makes few outs at the plate. Brett Gardner is an example of a player who doesn’t put enough balls in play for this statistical profile.

This is just one of many factors you’ll need to internalize when optimizing your lineups.

2. Daily DFS

Early: We have four games early, one of which could be affected by rain. I usually avoid stacks in these tiny contests. I figure there are dozens of people trying to stack each lineup.

Justin Masterson was scheduled to pitch yesterday until the game was postponed. He’s still somebody to consider targeting.

PNC Park and storms make Pittsburgh a tricky place to target hitters. Homer Bailey has been living up to his first name this season. The Pirates have a few notable lefties to target. You may want to try a couple right-handed Reds against Jeff Locke.

My first draft lineup is rather reliant on a bad game from the always unpredictable Danny Duffy. He hasn’t been getting killed on walks lately, which is usually his worst quality.

Chase Anderson isn’t really a target, but it’s a small contest this afternoon. The Brewers can hit for power.

Late: We only have seven games tonight because the Padres are kicking off at 6:40. Don’t ask…

David Phelps is a reasonably decent pitcher, but “reasonably decent” doesn’t matchup well against “fantastically potent.” The Blue Jays can really bash the baseball. With Adam Lind probably sidelined, the Jays will have three hitters aiming at the short porch and another two who don’t care where they’re hitting.

Yohan Pino is a soft-tossing organizational soldier. He’s posted strong minor league numbers through his career, but the 30-year-old was never viewed as a major league starter. He’ll get a chance with Minnesota. Whenever I see a soft-tossing righty, I think of Colby Lewis as the upside.

Swing starter David Buchanan draws another start for the Phillies. This time, the Cardinals will try to touch him up.

3. Friday Picks

Pitchers to Start: Charlie Morton receives frequent mention in this column. As always, don’t expect strikeouts, even against a weak lineup like the Chicago Cubs.

Henderson Alvarez is a bit like Morton except with fewer walks and strikeouts. He could keep the Mets flimsy offense off the board at Marlins Stadium.

Pitchers to Exploit: As I said yesterday in relation to Zach McAllister, pitchers sometimes struggle when coming off the waiver wire. He’s already the type of pitch the Tigers can punish.

With Edwin Jackson, do you believe the last 250 innings or his peripherals? Depending on your answer, you either think he’s a 5.00 or 3.80 ERA pitcher.

Hector Noesi versus Ricky Nolasco has the potential for a lot of offense. Unfortunately, the two lineups involved aren’t high octane nor is Target Field helpful for run scoring.

I recently finished divesting of Marco Estrada. If I had looked ahead, I would have gotten out even earlier. A game at Coors Field is the last thing Estrada needs right now.

Despite Joe Saunders‘ decent ERA, I expect big things of the Angels offense tomorrow.

You know what I have to say about the Athletics offense – they punish all pitchers. Felix Doubront returns from the disabled list tomorrow just in time to face the A’s. Lucky him.

Hitters (power): Derek Norris is a must play tomorrow.

C.J. Cron is the available Angel.

Corey Dickerson is an easy pick if he’s available.

Marlon Byrd’s ownership is rather high. He has a decent matchup against Jaime Garcia.

Let’s try Matt Joyce against Jarred Cosart.

Hitters (speed): Craig Gentry will probably start against Doubront. He may even bat leadoff.

4. Table

The table below indicates which stadiums have the best conditions for hitters today. The color coding is a classic stoplight where green equals go for hitters. The weather conditions are from SI Weather’s home run app. A 10/10 means great atmospheric conditions for home runs. A 1/10 means lousy atmospheric conditions.

Storms threaten Minnesota, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. Minnesota has the highest risk.

The Link. Table comments

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