The Daily Grind: A Lively Discussion

Someday, September will be over… It’s only the sixth? #@!@%

AGENDA

1. Lively Bat
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. Lively Bat

Perhaps we’ve found the new Micah Owings. Phillies rookie Ben Lively looks like a swing starter on the bump. The best case scenario for him is probably something like Yusmeiro Petit – a comparison I make since they both throw an invisiball (add ‘Eno Sarris’ to your search term if you try googling it). Lively tossed seven quality frames against a bad Mets offense. And he helped himself to victory.

That is a… goofy swing. Or more precisely, the swing is fine but the lower half is ALL over the place. I’ve seen hitters step closed, but I’ve never seen a successful hitter step so far into the bucket. Overall, he’s 6-for-28 with two home runs and a 38.1 percent strikeout rate.

2. Weather Reports

We’re probably not going to see any baseball in Baltimore, New York, or Boston. The latter venue is the most likely to squeeze in a game, although I’m sure the players will be thrilled for an off day after playing 19 innings last night. Detroit might be delayed.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Early Slate: We have a cute little three game slate starting at noon-thirty. Luis Castillo and Blake Snell are the most interesting names. They’re both pitching quite well. This is expected to be Castillo’s final start of the season. Snell will keep on keepin’ on.

The other four pitchers are all worth gambles. If I were playing a GPP, I’d probably plan to use two of them and leave a couple thousand on the table. That ensures a unique roster for this tiny contest. Tyler Skaggs, Sean Manaea, and Matt Garza all mix good and bad outings. The wild card is Aaron Slegers. He’s making his major league debut. Scouting reports aren’t enthusiastic.

Stack Targets: Any or none

Main Slate: The other 12 games will be played this evening. Carlos Carrasco looks like the big man on the totem pole or whatever mixed metaphor I’m referencing. He’s facing a miserable White Sox offense at homer friendly used-to-be U.S. Cellular Field. Carrasco should be handed a win opposite Reynaldo Lopez.

There are a bunch of other expensive arms – namely Gio Gonzalez ($11,100), Jose Quintana ($10,800), and Gerrit Cole ($9,500). They’re all bad deals in my opinion. Quintana is visiting Cole at PNC Park.

Lance McCullers is back and costs just $8,300. Alas, there’s a good chance he’ll only throw four innings against the Mariners.

Cole Hamels has been slumping lately. A visit to Atlanta could help to get him back on track. The southpaw changeup artist is capable of producing the top pitching line of the day.

Stack Targets: Andrew Moore, Joe Biagini, Dillon Peters, Lopez, Matt Boyd, Jack Flaherty, Matt Harvey, Kyle Freeland, Johnny Cueto (yep), Nick Pivetta, Julio Teheran

4. SaberSim Says…

The Sim likes Carrasco, Snell, Dinelson Lamet, Quintana, and Teheran the most. Our biggest disagreement is over Teheran who shocks me any time he’s not terrible. The Rangers have a ton of potent left-handed hitters and Teheran struggles with anything lefty.

Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenada, Mike Trout, Buster Posey, and Joey Votto are the cream of the hitting crop. Surprise! Coors Field is a good place to target. Top values include Sean Rodriguez, Ozzie Albies, Steve Pearce, Nick Williams, and Posey.

5. The Daily Grind Invitational

KingTrout clung to a narrow victory. He beat Boomer438 by just 1.8 points. Denard Span was the difference maker – KT was the only person to roster his 22 points. Leaderboard.

One more DraftKings contest. This time, we’ll do 15 users for the usual buy-in. We’ll return to FanDuel tomorrow.