The Daily Grind: 8-10-2014 — Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

1. Daily DFS
2. Tomorrow
3. Weather

Your fearless leader returns tomorrow, so you’ll be returned to your regularly scheduled outstanding advice.

1. Daily DFS

Today, most games are considered early, so we’ll just do a quick rundown of them in one place.

David Price will be making his second start in a Detroit uniform this afternoon, against Mark Buehrle, whom I suggested you target yesterday.

Brad Hand will face Johnny Cueto, who has been absolutely phenomenal all season. So glad he’s been healthy enough to do his thing. Hand’s an interesting option to target considering that the Reds’ lineup features noted lefty mashers Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco.

Kyle Kendrick might be the most boring pitcher in the majors. He’s a physical embodiment of the word meh. I like Lucas Duda a lot today versus him.

Tyson Ross and Charlie Morton will compete today to see who can generate the most groundballs. I’m riding with Ross, but I like the idea of starting either of them.

Danny Duffy’s sustained success has been cool. His command was always going to be his Achilles heel, similar to Zack Wheeler, I guess. Well, he’s taken some steps forward this year and has put together quite a season. I like him today.

I also wrote about Travis Wood yesterday. Target him. A lot.

Jason Hammel’s run in the Green and Gold hasn’t been very good. He was better last time out, but he still couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning. I’m not starting him with any confidence in any format, roto included.

John Danks is my unicorn in daily fantasy. Every time I target him, he pitches well. So, don’t target him, okay? *wink wink*

Gio Gonzalez and Alex Wood will comprise of our nightcap. The Braves’ offensive struggles have been tough to watch, but they’ve actually been pretty good against left handed pitching. I’m not stacking them/using them much, but I’m trying to be positive. Wood will also have his work cut out for him considering the Nationals’ lineup has also performed admirably versus lefties.

2. Tomorrow

Pitcher(s) to start:

Jordan Lyles doesn’t do one great thing, outside of getting groundballs. The sum of what he brings to the table is pretty substantial, though. The Padres have performed better of late, but pitching in Petco could be a boon for Lyles tonight.

Pitcher(s) to exploit:

Jon Niese has struggled mightily since returning from the DL, posting a 5.76 ERA in his last four starts. The Phillies’ offense isn’t one I’d recommend often, but Niese’s struggles have been a little too pronounced to be ignored.

Drew Smyly’s struggles with right handed batters have been fairly well documented. And while Texas’ offense isn’t what we’re used to seeing, they still have some guys that have performed pretty well versus left handed pitching; Adrian Beltre, Alex Rios (even though his power has disappeared), and Elvis Andrus should all be decent options on Monday.

Colby Lewis, opposing Smyly, is also more than fair game.

3. Weather

There are a few more questionable forecasts today than there were yesterday. Once again, Atlanta has a solid chance of getting some bad weather, and considering that’s the late game, you might want to be cautious about using players that are involved. San Francisco-Kansas City, San Deigo-Pittsburgh, and Miami-Pittsburgh could also have some issues, so plan accordingly.

This post, covering one of the leading sites for daily fantasy, is sponsored and made possible by the generous support of FanDuel. FanGraphs maintains complete editorial control of the postings, and brings you these posts in a continued desire to provide the best analytical information on the latest in baseball.