The Daily Grind: DFS, Streaming, and More for June 16

Agenda

1. The Daily Grind Invitational and Leaderboard
2. Daily DFS
3. SaberSim Observations
4. Tomorrow’s Targets

1. The Daily Grind Invitational and Leaderboard

Boomer438 hit the jackpot with Noah Syndergaard, Josh Donaldson, and Tim Anderson. Even Hector Santiago did his part. Congrats! The leaderboard is updated.

Thursdays are FanDuel days. We have a tidy seven game slate with which to work. Seven or eight gamers are my favorite. I’ll see ya there.

2. Daily DFS 

Yesterday’s Grind

Early: The three game mini-slate is a fun one. All six pitchers have the potential to be the top arm. James Paxton is probably the odds on favorite with his new velocity. Blake Snell should make him work for the win. Colby Lewis occasionally pitches deep into games, as do Matt Wisler and Dan Straily. Daniel Mengden is the wild card. He’s an under the radar prospect with at least a chance of being a solid/fantasy relevant major league starter.

Stack Targets: Any, all

Late: It’s throwback night. The top pitcher is Justin Verlander. He has a tough path to a victory through Danny Duffy. In his billionth conversion to the rotation, Duffy looks mighty good. It’s a power versus power matchup since the Tigers are stacked with lefty mashers. Verlander and Duffy both benefit from Kauffman Stadium.

Aaron Nola versus J.A. Happ offers another balanced matchup. Nola is the superior pitcher, but he’s opposed by the dreaded Blue Jays lineup. Toronto’s offense is starting to heat up too. Happ should have a relatively easy time with the Phillies lineup.

But wait, there’s more. Remember when Tanner Roark struck out all of the Twins. He could be similarly productive versus the Padres. They still struggle against anything right-handed.

Speaking of the Twins, it’s CC Sabathia’s turn to face the second worst team in the majors. This is Sabathia’s first game against a non-lefty mashing offense (yes, I count the A’s even though the season numbers say I shouldn’t).

Finally, the Junior Guerra punt is never a bad idea in a GPP. A little luck can push him to a cheap 50 FD points. He’s visiting the Dodgers.

Stack Targets: Kyle Gibson, Erik Johnson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tyler Wilson, Juan Nicasio

3. SaberSim Observations

Scott Kazmir is the top pick tonight? Ok, sure. Snell, Happ, Nola, and Paxton round out the top five. Verlander and Roark are also in the top tier. The projections begin to plummet after Roark.

Thy stacks of destiny include the Nationals, Red Sox, Orioles, Reds, Pirates, and Mets. Enjoy.

4. Tomorrow’s Targets 

Pitchers to Start: Disclaimer, I didn’t confirm any of these players are actually below 50 percent owned today. I just assumed…

I’ll admit it, I was wrong about Matt Shoemaker. After struggling to start the season, he took a page out of the Hill-Pomeranz guide to pitching. If you can command a plus breaking ball and your fastball sucks, stop throwing the damn fastball. Over his last five starts, Shoemaker has tossed seven or more innings with a combined 1.88 ERA (1.39 FIP, 2.04 xFIP). He’s opposed by the Athletics who simply aren’t very good versus right-handed pitching. Shoemaker should be outright owned in most leagues.

Also consider: Trevor Bauer, Jon Gray, Adam Conley, Zach Davies, Julio Urias, Robbie Ray

Pitchers to Exploit: I’ll just say this about John Gant – if you haven’t seen him pitch, tune in to this game. Personally, I don’t really see him as a viable major league pitcher. They’re not really all that comparable, but I’m reminded of Yusmeiro Petit. It took him forever to finally stick, and that was in a limited role. Who knows, I could be wrong. And he’s fun to watch.

Also consider: Mike Wright, Roenis Elias, John Gant, Pat Dean, John Lamb, Michael Wacha, Kendall Graveman, Christian Friedrich, Adam Morgan

Hitters (power): Dae-ho Lee bats fifth when the Mariners face a lefty. He doesn’t really have a notable split, it’s all BABIP right now. To date, his BABIP normalized batting lines both add up to roughly 140 wRC+. He’s worth a stash in deeper leagues in case he takes over a full time role.

Also consider: Chris Heisey, Chase Utley, Mark Reynolds, Ryan Raburn, Kelly Johnson, Franklin Gutierrez, Chris Iannetta, Brandon Drury, Tommy Joseph, Michael Saunders

Hitters (speed): Michael Taylor runs under the following conditions. First, he has to actually start. With the Nationals outfield at full strength, that’s no guarantee. Second, he has to actually reach base. Maybe you want to try Whit Merrifield against a good pitcher instead.

Also consider: Cameron Maybin, Aaron Hicks