The Daily Grind: Davidson Does It All

Matt friggin’ Davidson. Can you believe it? I can. He’ll have another five or more multi-homer games this year. He’ll also post a sub-.300 OBP while accruing around 400 to 500 plate appearances. Don’t overreact. See section 6 for yesterday’s antics in video form.

AGENDA

  1. TDG Invitational
  2. Weather Reports
  3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
  4. SaberSim Says…
  5. The Best and Worst News
  6. Uno, Dos, Tres
  7. Exclusive Opportunity

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

One user had the perspicacity to use Matt Davidson. I’m furious with myself because I came very close to using him instead of the too-popular Mike Moustakas. I convinced myself against using Davidson because the game was at Kauffman Stadium instead of Guaranteed Rate Field. What a bummer. My reasoning doesn’t even make sense – I settled for Moustakas…

Anyway, this is about GOFF0547. Davidson and Giancarlo Stanton carried him to a 163.25 point Opening Day victory. Those two players supplied 89 points of juice. Congrats on being the first atop the leaderboard!

Same parameters for today – $2 and 25 users on DraftKings.

2. Weather Reports

The rescheduled game in Cincinnati has a chance for rain all afternoon. They may have a delayed start. Just keep an eye on it.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: We have nine games to watch this evening. Since Max Scherzer is pitching in the afternoon, no pitcher leaps off the page as an automatic top performer. Robbie Ray will be the most popular because he’s bafflingly cheap. At $8,700 and with the help of the fresh new humidor, Ray offers massive strikeout potential. There’s some downside risk, but that’s more than priced in at this rate. I’m looking at 12 to 25 points.

Ray is opposite southpaw Tyler Anderson. He’s a viable low cost gamble ($6,300). Anderson finished last season on a massive hot streak against some weak opponents. A 15 to 20 point performance is possible.

Dallas Keuchel is the priciest pitcher in the land ($11,800). I have nothing bad to say about his matchup opposite Doug Fister. The next costliest, Alex Wood ($10,400), smells a bit expensive given his late season plunge. I want to see him reestablish himself as an elite option before paying more than $10,000. He’s also opposed by a contact-centric Giants offense. They’re not the best target for gaudy strikeout totals.

Across the aisle from Wood is another dice roll – Johnny Cueto. The former ace and sometimes scrub seems to be healthy. The Dodgers are a tough opponent, but Cueto can handle anybody when he’s in top form. For $7,900, I’ll take a shot.

Kyle Hendricks should easily defeat Caleb Smith and the Marlins. He’s a solid option in H2H and small leagues. Call it a high floor, low ceiling profile. The opposite of Hendricks is Aaron Sanchez versus the Yankees. He’s a low floor, high ceiling play. I’m all in on Sanchez this year, but I might consider sitting out his first start.

Other usable pitchers: David Price, Masahiro Tanaka, Tyler Skaggs, Blake Snell, and Jhoulys Chacin. Overall, pitching is mostly very cheap tonight.

Stack Targets: Smith, Fister, Joey Lucchesi, Nick Pivetta

Several other pitchers are eminently stackable like Anderson, Chacin, Mike Foltynewicz and Skaggs. However, they have enough upside to go both ways (use or abuse). By comparison, these four are more likely to supply some offensive value to their foes. I know Lucchesi is drawing interest as a sleeper, but the scouting report is ugly.

4. SaberSim Says…

The top rated pitchers are Ray (duh), Price, Cueto, Wood, and Tanaka. Lucchesi, Ray, Foltynewicz, Snell, and Anderson are notable values. I did say Ray would popular.

Among the batters, Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman, George Springer, Jose Altuve, and Nolan Arenado top the wish list. Of the potential value plays, my favorite is Ozzie Albies.

5. The Best and Worst News

 

Yes! *clicks email*

Gah!

6. Uno, Dos, Tres

7. Exclusive Opportunity

I told myself I wasn’t going to overdo the advertising for my new Patreon experiment. However, you guys are perfect for this. I’m looking to test a new feature during today’s Pirates-Tigers game. If you’d like to hangout with me (via Google Hangout) and talk baseball while I mess around with livestreaming, let me know via twitter or my Patreon page.





You can follow me on twitter @BaseballATeam

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KilleBrews
5 years ago

SaberSim projections?