The Daily Grind: DFS, Streaming, and More for July 23
Agenda
- The Daily Grind Invitational and Leaderboard
- Daily DFS
- SaberSim Observations
- Tomorrow’s Targets
- Factor Grid
1. The Daily Grind Invitational and Leaderboard
Picking up where I left off in yesterday’s rant, the fun thing about the TDG invitational is that you don’t need a ridiculous night to win money. I placed pretty much solely on the efforts of Miguel Cabrera and Jon Gray. Hoosier2379 won the contest with Lance McCullers, Miggy, and smaller contributions from Mookie Betts and Miguel Sano. Congratulations and the leaderboard is updated.
As is usually the case on a Saturday, I’m going with a blind entry for tonight. I won’t be checking lineups or weather reports. So come take my $2 on FanDuel.
2. Daily DFS
Early: Three games are early including a legitimate postponement risk in Pittsburgh. That matchup features Aaron Nola and Tyler Glasnow. Hopefully the rains bend around PNC Park because it’s an intriguing pairing. Other options include Jeff Samardzija, Hisashi Iwakuma, and R.A. Dickey
Stack Targets: Ivan Nova
Late: Headlining the 12 game slate are Jose Fernandez, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, and to a lesser extent Jacob deGrom, David Price, and Cole Hamels. Fernandez and deGrom are opposite each other. Scherzer draws the strikeout-able Padres, Sale has a tough Tigers lineup, Price should cruise through the Twinkers, and Hamels’ homer problems should be ameliorated by Kauffman Stadium.
If you’re not paying for a high end pitcher, it’s for one of two reasons. Perhaps you have faith in Tyler Anderson’s ability to pitch at Coors Field opposite the Braves. Gray worked out yesterday, and Atlanta is even worse against left-handed pitchers.
Alternatively, Mike Leake still has a tame price tag despite two straight wildly successful starts. If you’re a true believer – I’m playing wait-and-see – Leake could provide plenty of surplus value on his $7,500 FanDuel contract.
Other pitchers to consider include Collin McHugh hosting the Angels, Josh Tomlin at Camden Yard (not an ideal location for a fly ball guy), and John Lackey at Miller Park.
Stack Targets: Robbie Ray, Yordano Ventura, Drew Smyly, Zach Davies, Jered Weaver, Matt Wisler, Kendall Graveman, Matt Boyd, Ricky Nolasco, Edwin Jackson, Keyvius Sampson
3. SaberSim Observations
SaberSim is apparently a Glasnow fan. He’s fourth on the pitcher list. I still prefer the Nola side of this one. Fernandez, Scherzer, Price, and Sale round out the top five. Interestingly, Ray is ranked sixth despite starting Great American Ballpark. The weather is ideal for home runs and it’s just sooooo small.
There’s a Coors game to stack plus Nationals, Cubs, Orioles, Trout, Red Sox, Astros, Blue Jays, and Yankees.
4. Tomorrow’s Targets
Pitchers to Start: Mike Fiers isn’t a bad pitcher, but he’s not a safe fantasy asset. He’ll probably post tepid strikeout and walk rates with at least one home run allowed. There’s one reason to use him tomorrow – even a four run start should result in a victory opposite Lincecum.
Also consider: Blake Snell
Pitchers to Exploit: The White Sox are cold. As a result, a goodly chunk of the lineup is on the waiver wire in shallow-to-mid leagues. Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez has been extremely homer and hit prone this season. With U.S. Cellular Field in play, more homers are in the forecast.
Also consider: Nathan Eovaldi, Wade LeBlanc, Zach Godley, Brandon Finnegan, Jose Urena, Vance Worley, Tommy Milone, Christian Friedrich, Tim Lincecum, Jesse Hahn, Tyrell Jenkins
Hitters (power): In his first 22 plate appearances, Justin Morneau is batting .278/.409/.500 with as many walks as strikeouts and a home run. It’s premature to declare that he’s back, but it’s tempting to give him a whirl versus Sanchez.
Also consider: Franklin Gutierrez, Dae-ho Lee, Brandon Drury, Welington Castillo, Melky Cabrera, Danny Valencia, Ryon Healy, Brad Miller, Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison, Aaron Hill, Tyler Naquin, Jarrett Parker
Hitters (speed): Stick with Angel Pagan and Denard Span for another day. They’re decent speed threats with an outside chance for a home run at a friendly park.
Also consider:Michael Bourn, Tim Anderson, Trea Turner, Jose Peraza, Travis Jankowski
5. The Factor Grid
The table below indicates which stadiums have the best conditions for hitters today. The color coding is a classic stoplight where green equals go for hitters. The weather conditions are from SI Weather’s home run app. A 10/10 means great atmospheric conditions for home runs. A 1/10 means lousy atmospheric conditions.
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Gray is a superior pitcher compared to teammate Tyler Anderson, that said, I wouldn’t mind gambling on him against the Braves.
My writeup of Anderson for Rotoworld expresses the same opinion. I think I said similar things in yesterday’s Grind too.
“After yesterday’s successful recommendation of Jon Gray at Coors, we’re back to exploit the Braves lineup once again. Anderson doesn’t possess the same elite tools as Gray. He’s a steady left-handed pitcher who’s performed better at home than on the road. The Braves are particularly bad versus southpaws. Expect something like 6.2 innings, five strikeouts, and a couple runs allowed. Paired with a win, that adds up to a solid 39 points. You’ll need to really spike your hitters to beat the Fernandez and Scherzer rosters.”
yep. Even in regular fantasy though. I’ve kept Gray since Mid May in all my leagues, couldn’t be happier. There’s a lot of similar guys to Anderson out there that are more streamers than keepers.