The Daily Grind: Biebertizing Gallenitis

I thought for sure a Dodgers stack plus Zac Gallen and Shane Bieber was an automatic win yesterday. Shucks.

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to roc-pile who was leading the contest when I went to bed. I took one look at his lineup and said “he has no chance.” Sure enough, that lineup finished a mere ninth place. His second roster charged to the rescue with help from a potent Yankees stack. Leaderboard.

We’ve a wee six-game slate tonight on FantasyDraft. It’s the Goldilocks size.

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2. Weather Reports

Clear.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Sadly, Lucas Giolito ($21,600) and Jose Berrios ($20,500) sort of cancel each other out. Both pitchers are capable of big point totals, but they’re more likely to fall short of returning value on this investment. Tonight’s slate offers an unusual challenge. Our usual standard for pitching value (over one projected point per $1,000) isn’t satisfied by ANYbody. In any event, the White Sox lineup is obviously the easier opponent, although Giolito is probably the better pitcher. The Twinkies are slumpin’ too.

Masahiro Tanaka ($19,400) posted a -14.1 point performance the last time he faced the Red Sox. He should cost something like $15,000. Rick Porcello ($12,900) isn’t any better off despite a much cheaper price. He was dinged for -14.85 points when he faced Tanaka back in late-June. His last five appearances have totaled just over six points. Against most opponents, I’d recommend dusting him off anyway. The Yankees have too many low ball mashers.

Is Jose Suarez a value? Well, no. He does have have one of the healthier matchups available opposite the Orioles. And at $16,000, there are ways for him to supply some sort of return on investment. He’s certainly talented enough. Only two of his seven appearances have lasted five or more innings. None have reached six frames.

Brett Anderson ($15,000) has smoked mirrors this season. He doesn’t induce strikeouts so your only hope is a six or seven inning outing with a win. Uh, good luck with that.

Adam Plutko ($13,200) is visiting hidden Mike Montgomery ($11,100) (FDraft doesn’t have him as part of the slate). Monty’s first attempt against the Indians of the previous week lasted a whopping two disastrous innings. As much as I’d like for him to be a clever play, I just can’t get behind it. Plutko though has potential to do something. A 15-point outing is probably something like his 60th or 70th percentile outcome which isn’t a HUGE ask.

Favorite Plays: Plutko, Giolito, Berrios

Stack Targets: Jimmy Yacabonis, Matt Wisler, Drew VerHagen, Ariel Jurado

Yea, these guys are pretty much puke.

4. SaberSim Says…

Berrios, Giolito, Suarez, Anderson, and… VerHagen (???) are the preferred arms in this slate. The machine and I disagree about Plutko. VerHagen, Berrios, Porcello, Suarez, and Plutko are the so-called value plays.

Mike Trout, Rafael Devers, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Aaron Judge are the biggest bats. The most parsimonious hitters are Humberto Arteaga, John Hicks, Miguel Cabrera, Dan Vogelbach, and Marwin Gonzalez.

5.Dreams

Remember when we were pretty much indifferent between Shane Bieber and Nick Pivetta?

It’s not really complicated…

He didn’t perform as well as I hoped, but this is a dream play.