The Daily Grind: 9-27-14 – Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

1. A Second Opinion
2. Daily DFS
3. Sunday Picks
4. Table

1. A Second Opinion

For those of you scraping for pitchers, my colleague Scott Strandberg tackled the issue yesterday. He had an eye towards deep leaguers, but I think there are plenty of use cases for those guys in shallow leagues too.

2. Daily DFS

Yesterday’s Grind

Early: FanDuel has five games listed as early. The Rays-Indians contest falls through the cracks with its weird 6:05 start time.

Nate Eovaldi is among the most hittable pitchers in the league. Despite his 4.44 ERA, he has the raw components of a much better pitcher – as evidenced by a 3.39 FIP. The Nationals are getting guys rest after playing two straight doubleheaders, so I’m not expecting a slug fest.

The Giants are stuck with the second Wild Card slot, so they’ll probably be taking it easy on these last two days. Still, they face Eric Stults and you don’t have to be a stud to get some hits off him.

The Orioles righty attack will see J.A. Happ. Baltimore is prepping for their own postseason run, so expect certain regulars to play partial games.

Late: Nine games are late.

The Tigers have a lot on the line after losing to an easily defeated pitcher yesterday. Kansas City is just one game back in the AL Central. A win today would at least force a play-in for the division title. The Tigers face hittable righty Ricky Nolasco.

The Royals also have an easy matchup. Theirs is against John Danks. It’s a must-win game for a team that hopes to squeak out a division win.

Tsuyoshi Wada has earned himself a job next season with his performance. Since he’s opposed by a lefty-mashing Brewers offense, I’ll list him here. I don’t think Milwaukee will give him their best, so I wouldn’t be too enthused about the platoon matchup.

Sam Deduno is not a starter, but the Astros will pick up a spot outing from the righty. He’s against the Mets. Rafael Montero is on the other side of this one. He should be considered a high variance option.

Right-hander Eddie Butler will face the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. Butler should be happy to spin his craft at sea level. He can’t put a pitch by anybody (4.2 SwStr%, 2.38 K/9), so expect balls in play.

3. Sunday Picks

And then there was one. As you’ll see, I’m treating the pitchers a little differently for tomorrow.

Pitchers to Start: Danny Salazar will finish up Cleveland’s season. I’m not expecting him to pitch deep into the contest with nothing on the line. As we’ve discussed, he’s an unreliable, high upside choice.

Miguel Gonzalez is on several waiver wires. His matchup against the Blue Jays is not ideal, but he offers a decent shot at a win with acceptable ratios on a day where you can’t be choosy.

Changeup specialist Nick Tropeano will face the Mets. He’s yet to allow a home run in three starts. In the minors he allowed about one every 10 innings. He has a healthy swinging strike rate of 9.2 percent, but he’ll either need to buff his strikeout total or reduce his walk rate to succeed long term. Like I said, we can’t be choosy.

You could also try Bartolo Colon against the strikeout friendly Astros. Just keep in mind they can pump out some offense too.

Try rolling the dice on Clay Buchholz if you need last minute starters. He has a high risk, high reward profile against the measly New York Yankees. Michael Pineda is on the other side of this one and presents a more attractive option (if he’s even available).

Henderson Alvarez is a nice option if you’re looking for a shot at a win with decent rate stats. If you need 10 strikeouts, then back up to Salazar. Alvarez is opposed by Jordan Zimmermann, but I think the Nats will take it easy.

Chris Bassitt relies on a nasty two seamer, which probably isn’t enough to get through an outing against the Royals. If you’re desperate…

Mike Fiers is a strong option for those in need of everything. He brings strikeouts, solid rate stats, and a chance for a win to the table.

Nick Martinez is the Ranger of the Day. He’s quietly pitched well over the last month and has the stuff of a back-of-the-rotation regular. The A’s have been all kinds of terrible, which adds to Martinez’s potential. I’d still avoid this if possible.

Robbie Erlin is a guy I like quiet a bit as an above average command and control type. He’s paired up with TBA tomorrow, so I expect him to have a good shot at a W.

Cory Rasmus doesn’t pitch deep into games and he’s opposed by Felix Hernandez. But if you’re throwing a hail mary, maybe the Angels offense scratches out a victory for him.

Pitchers to Exploit: Jacob Turner is one of the few pitchers I caution against using in any scenario. He’s yet to make the necessary adjustments.

Christian Bergman is the other guy I really don’t see a way to use. He’s a fly ball pitcher who doesn’t generate whiffs. He doesn’t walk guys, but he also doesn’t have Colon’s pinpoint control. I’m not sure how that could possibly work in the majors.

Hitters: If your leagues are anything like mine, the waiver wire looks crazy. Rather than make specific picks, why don’t you send me your dilemmas via the comments below. I’ll be out for most of the day, but will respond this evening.

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.

Thankfully, the second to last day is clear of bad weather.

The Link. The parks are the same as yesterday and will be the same tomorrow. We’re ending on an offensive high note with only three bonafide pitchers parks in the mix.

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