The Daily Grind: Athleticism, Feats of

A programming note: there will be a Daily Grind this Sunday. I skipped the last two Sundays due to holiday and scheduling conflict.

AGENDA

1. Feats of Athleticism
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. Players to Avoid
5. SaberSim Says…
6. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. Feats of Athleticism 

Bryce Harper has overtaken Eric Thames as the top player of 2017. Observe.

So much lower half power…

Kendall Graveman was back in action last night, doing Kendall Graveman things.

Now imagine Bartolo Colon making the same play.

2. Weather Reports

St. Louis has their usual summer time risk of storms. Keep an eye on it.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, Jake Arrieta, Jacob deGrom – those are the aces of the slate. Scherzer and deGrom cancel each other out. Carrasco will face the Mariners while Arrieta is tasked with surviving the Red Sox. This is a good thing. When none of the aces are must-play matchups, it means we can go with our favorite picks.

Marcus Stroman draws a strikeout prone Rays offense. Stroman has two complete games already, but he doesn’t have the necessary strikeout rates to outperform the aces.

I’ve given up trying to figure out Lance Lynn. Since Joey Votto is doing the first half slump thing again, the Reds offense should be highly exploitable.

What? You thought I wasn’t going to recommend Roy Halladay Charlie Morton? I’ve noticed he falls apart around the fifth or sixth inning. It’s not just that hitters are more comfortable the third time through the lineup. Morton’s command actually sharply declines – like two or three grades. He’s opposed by fellow bargain Jharel Cotton.

Other options include CC Sabathia, Blake Snell, Bartolo Colon, Jameson Taillon, Adam Conley, and Drew Pomeranz.

Stack Targets: Luis Perdomo, Mike Pelfrey, Kyle Gibson, Ariel Miranda, Kyle Freeland, Nick Martinez, Tim Adleman, Tyler Skaggs, Jerad Eickhoff

4. Players to Avoid

You’ll be tempted to use Chase Anderson’s matchup against the Braves. Anderson has a shiny ERA, but I can find no sign of actual improvement. I’m predicting a 25 point night.

SaberSim loves Robbie Ray at home against the Rockies. I’ll say this much – Ray could have a lovely six inning, 10 strikeout outing. That’s one possible outcome. If he doesn’t record the punch outs, then it’s going to get ugly. In that sense, he’s a high risk, high reward option. Personally, I’ll probably target something safer.

Since Eric Thames is recovering from a minor hamstring injury, you may consider redeploying his money to the other automatic cash option (see moving pictures above).

Fly ball masher Kris Bryant might find it’s all too easy to pop up a Pomeranz fastball. Of course, it doesn’t take much for a pop up to go over the Green Monster.

Trea Turner is going to be about a thousand percent owned after a highly successful series in Colorado. Go with one of the other super elite shortstops.

SaberSim thinks Kole Calhoun is the 11th best outfielder despite a $2,600 price tag. The low price is the result of some slumpiness including an increase of strikeouts. Unless I have Trout, I’ll let others make the investment.

5. SaberSim Says…

Scherzer, Ray, Jeff Samardzija, Ian Kennedy, and Stroman are the top ranked pitchers. I, uh, don’t even know. I suppose I get liking Shark versus the Padres or Kennedy opposite Mini Soda. Carrasco’s seventh and Arrieta is 25th! The top bats are Trout, Freddie Freeman, Thames, Mookie Betts, and Harper.

6. The Daily Grind Invitational

I foolishly let an iffy weather report scare me away from my Nationals stack which included Turner, Harper, Daniel Murphy, and Adam Eaton. Shallinan21 was not deterred. He used the first three of those names plus Gio Gonzalez to score big. I hope he also had some GPP entries. The leaderboard is updated.

It’s another FanDuel day. See ya there.