The Daily Grind: A New Fantasy(Draft)

FantasyDraft has unveiled a new service model. Instead of charging rake, they’re asking you to pick a tier and pay. You pay a flat fee and play as many games as you want within that tier. The good news is you can play $100 entries per month for free, but that adds up quickly. Indeed, TDGI alone accounts for around $80 per month if you play daily.

I’ve not yet digested how I feel about this change. This obviously ruins our whole “no rake” thing. In the short term, we’ll continue to play on FantasyDraft. Probably as long as they continue to offer us overlays. I just did a quick test of DraftKings – they’re still charging a 10 percent rake for custom contests like the heathens they are.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Quiet Pop

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Rojito waltzed to victory with a Kyle Hendricks-Jose Berrios pairing backed by a solo-owned Roberto Perez. The trio accounted for 104.1 of his 175.1 points. The next closest score trailed by nearly 30 points. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We’re on FantasyDraft for a tidy six-game slate tonight.

If you have not signed up for FantasyDraft, please use this referral link for tracking purposes.

2. Weather Reports

No worries mate.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Gerrit Cole ($22,100) is very obviously a bargain at this price point – even against a reinforced Indians lineup. Danny Salazar ($14,600) shoved against minor league opponents during his rehab stint, but he has two things working against him. The first is tangible – a 70 pitch count. The second is fuzzier – a history of poor starts to his season. In any case, there will probably be mistakes made. The Astros love mistakes.

The Padres are better against lefties than righties, but Clayton Kershaw ($20,200) is no ordinary southpaw. He’s also on a streak where he’s looked much like his vintage self – albeit with only six or seven inning outings. Vintage Kershaw regularly averaged over seven frames per start. He’s opposed by Joey Lucchesi ($14,400) who has taken a step forward this season. Specifically, he’s allowing fewer home runs, making him just about the only pitcher who has improved dramatically in the Big Fly Prevention category this season. The Dodgers are heavily left-handed. Perhaps Lucchesi has a chance to return value despite a seemingly rough matchup.

Am I using too many dashes?

Jack Flaherty ($16,700) is a reasonable mid-tier play with upside to lead the slate. He’s pitched quite sharply of late including a gem against the Astros. The Cubs will call upon Jon Lester ($15,900). I call this par value.

On the face of it, Anthony DeSclafani ($14,400) consistently outperforms this price point – even against good opponents. However, he is terrible against left-handed hitters. For the Braves, that’s five-eighths of their regular hitters. Uh oh. A $11,000 Max Fried seems like an easy pick. He’ll deliver five or six innings with a strikeout per frame.

Asher Wojciechowski is an extreme fly ball pitcher with big strikeout numbers and a home run problem. You can use him or else look for ground ball hitters on the Blue Jays. Or fly ball hitters. Even if Woj pitches well, the Jays should see three or more frames of terrible Baltimore relievers. Thornton ($13,800) is returning from elbow inflammation for this start. He’s flashed talent along with a penchant for mistakes over the heart of the plate.

Brendan McKay ($13,000) is a riskier bargain play than Fried – mostly because a short outing is much likelier than a long one. Oh, and the Red Sox offense is… well…  good. Andrew Cashner ($10,800), despite being trash, frequently returns vallue on this price point.

Favorite Plays: Cole, Kershaw, Flaherty, Fried

Stack Targets: Salazar, DeSclafani, Thornton, Cashner, McKay

4. SaberSim Says…

Kershaw, Cole, Flaherty, Lester, and Fried are the top pitchers. Value hunters may prefer a slightly scrambled version of the same list: Fried, Kershaw, Flaherty, Lester, and Cole. Give Yordan Alvarez, Rafael Devers, Tommy Pham, Mookie Betts, and Cody Bellinger hats for their bats. Tyler O’Neill, Tyler White, Luis Urias, Cavan Biggio, and Bo Bichette comprise a rather useful looking bargain bin.

5.Quiet Pop

I like this development.

For what it’s worth, I hate Bichette’s hitting mechanics. Also, we’re calling that “quiet pop.”

TVs are made for punching.