The Daily Grind: 7-11-14 – Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

1. The Fringe Five as Fantasy Resource
2. Daily DFS
3. Saturday Picks
4. Table

1. The Fringe Five as Fantasy Resource

No, I’m not going to recreate my own version of the Fringe Five. If you do not know, the Five is an occasional production from the mind of Carson Cistulli. I’d like to point out the value of said column to owners in very deep leagues – particularly ottoneu or any dynasty format. Last season, a few of the five who come to mind include Corey Kluber and Danny Salazar. This season, Cistulli just finished discussing Steven Souza for the first time, and it seems wise to be on that particular talent bus – assuming you can afford to wait out Bryce Harper’s next injury.

A note about the weekend – Saturday’s post should be considered Probable and Sunday’s post is Questionable. Saturday might be a bit spartan.

2. Daily DFS

Early: Much like the cheese, the contest between the Braves and Cubs stands alone. The Cheese Stands Alone! The Cheese Stands Alone!

Late: Miguel Gonzalez isn’t a bad target if you’re trying to coax a home run out of a cheap bat like Yangervis Solarte or Kelly Johnson.

The Indians versus Hector Noesi is one of the top stacking options for the evening. Noesi’s fly ball tendencies don’t match well to Cleveland’s right field porch.

Nick Tepesch can the fill the back of a much injured rotation, but he’s not a guy you choose for your starting five. The Angels are liable to mash him in Texas.

Joe Kelly returns from the 60 day DL today. There’s always a chance to fireworks in a guy’s first game back.

Kris Johnson will make his second major league start of the season. The poor guy has to figure out Coors Field along the way. He’s opposed by Jorge de la Rosa.

Mike Bolsinger is kind of like Nick Tepesch in quality. If you need an eighth starter then he’s a fine guy to have. But that’s all he is (at least for now).

3. Saturday Picks

Pitchers to Start: Zach McAllister was pitching pretty well until the three starts before he was placed on the disabled list. Since beginning his rehab assignment, he’s made six strong starts in Triple-A. There’s no way to feel comfortable using McAllister, it’s a big risk. Sometimes you’re forced to take those risks.

Go run to the wire for Jimmy Nelson. His minor league numbers suggest he could be worth rostering on a regular basis. A start against Adam Wainwright is not a strong welcome back to the majors. He’s replacing Marco Estrada in the rotation, but it’s unclear how long that will last.

You can do a whole lot worse than Charlie Morton against the absentee Reds lineup.

Pitchers to Exploit: Scott Carroll is your run-of-the-mill exploitable pitcher. The Indians should feel comfortable in the box.

Shane Greene’s numbers read like those of a spot starter. Indeed, he is making a spot start for the Yankees. They’ve had to reach pretty deep this season. The Orioles have enough thump to make this an ugly start.

Daisuke Matsuzaka continues to post terrible peripherals, but he hasn’t entirely melted down just yet.

Tyler Matzek versus Kevin Correia augurs runs. Many of them.

Miles Mikolas has not be welcomed nicely to the big leagues. The Angels are kind of bullies, so I don’t expect tomorrow to be a good day for him either.

Paul Maholm rejoins the rotation for a game while Josh Beckett gets right. I don’t expect Maholm to last very long regardless of how he performs.

Hitters (power): Carlos Quentin should start with Maholm on the bump. He might get lifted later in the game.

It’s sad, Kole Calhoun is no longer freely available. Say goodbye.

The Twins see another lefty in Colorado, so Trevor Plouffe has another day in the sun.

Jake Peavy has declined. I’d consider Jon Singleton tomorrow.

Hitters (speed): Chris Denorfia may leadoff against Maholm. Even if he doesn’t, he’s still a solid play.

Adam Eaton could benefit if McAlister isn’t sharp.

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.

The Rockies game comes with a 50 percent chance of storms. The rest of the league is clear.

The Link. Table comments

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