The Daily Grind: Checking in on an Offseason Trade

Not a real trade mind you. A fantasy trade.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. I Traded This Guy

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to EVHustler who found the winning combination of Lance McCullers, Alex Wood, Jose Ramirez, and Matt Kemp. The latter pair were solo-owned by him. Leaderboard.

Let’s do the same ol’ same ol’ on DraftKings. We’ll do the night slate.

PS – New users who deposit with my referral link get 25% bonus cash after jumping through a few DK-imposed hoops. I also get the same 25%.

2. Weather Reports

It’s still cold in a couple venues, but we don’t need to worry about postponements.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Afternoon Slate: The six game early crew has a sloppy collection of pitchers. Cole Hamels ($10,300) versus a limp Rays offense is the top priced arm. I definitely prefer JA Happ ($9,600) hosting the equally limp Royals.

Jon Lester ($9,400) versus Luke Weaver ($8,200) is the battle of underperforming pitchers. Lester looks exactly like he did last season – not a good thing. I’m hands off for anything over $8,000 (or a luscious matchup). Weaver looks fit for action. There’s just one red flag – a low swinging strike rate.

I feel like people think it’s my job to tell you if this is the good Kevin Gausman or the bad one. C’est impossible. For $6,400 we ought to just suck it and see opposite the Tigers. What? That’s a real saying people, uh, say. British people, mostly.

Others of viable shape and substance include Andrew Triggs ($8,500) and Zach Davies ($6,700).

Stack Targets: Carson Fulmer, Matt Boyd, Jake Faria, Tyler Mahle, Gausman?, Ian Kennedy

I feel like Boyd always statistically looks like a decent pitcher in April before morphing into a dumpster fire. Visually, he already looks like said fire. Faria is missing all of his command. He appears to need a short stint in the minors. Not that the Rays can afford such a luxury.

Main Slate: If the afternoon slate was sloppy, the evening crew is downright pearlescent. It’s seven games deep, and we’d have an easier time talking about the guys who aren’t startable. Four cost over $10,000 – Gerrit Cole, Jose Berrios, Carlos Carrasco, and Robbie Ray. Yes please to all four. Kenta Maeda represents a fifth pricey arm. He’s visiting San Diego.

Assuming you pick one stud and one cheaper guy, let’s focus on a few of those down-market options. Rick Porcello ($7,700) is one of my favorite DFS targets when he’s well-priced – especially on DraftKings. He has a legitimate chance to toss a complete game any time he’s out there. He’ll reliably reach the seventh inning. Very few pitchers offer such a high floor. He’s not even a true low ceiling guy. A matchup against the Angels isn’t ideal. Or terrible. It just is.

Brandon McCarthy ($6,000) is a stealth good pitcher when he’s healthy. He’s opposed by Vince Velasquez and the Phillies. I’m avoiding VV because he looks exactly the same as last year. He wasn’t DFSable then, and I don’t expect him to be DFSable now. The Braves already rekt him once. McCarthy typically supplies a boring 15 points on the cheap.

Stack Targets: Mike Leake, Luis Perdomo, Velasquez

Like McCarthy, I’m hanging out on the Leake bandwagon. We travel in the slow lane. I’m just going to hop off for a burger while Leake plays the Astros.

4. SaberSim Says…

Just focusing on the night contest, the Sim like Ray, Carrasco, Maeda, Cole, and Tanner Roark. I’m still kind of avoiding pitchers against the weirdly hot Mets. Justin Mason fantasy crush (Chris Stratton), Steven Matz, and Roark are the top values. Among hitters, Freddie Freeman, Rhys Hoskins, Mike Trout, Ozzie Albies, and Trea Turner are the names to own. Not so sure about Turner. Value time belongs to Kurt Suzuki, Nick Williams, and Preston Tucker.

5. I Traded This Guy

In my 20-team dynasty, I was talked into trading Mookie Betts for Jose Altuve, Adrian Beltre, and Yonder Alonso over the offseason. I’m crying now.

In lighter news, I traded a practically worthless fourth round pick (equivalent of a 32nd round pick after we keep 28) to the same owner for Patrick Corbin.

Some former teammate shenanigans.