The Daily Grind: DFS, Streaming, and More for September 20

Agenda

1. Tuesday Chat
2. The Daily Grind Invitational and Leaderboard
3. Daily DFS
4. SaberSim Observations
5. Tomorrow’s Targets
6. Factor Grid

1. Tuesday Chat

It’s Tuesday which also means it’s chat day. I’ll be returning to the original 1:45pm ET start time, and we’ll run an hour. With most fantasy owners transitioning to football, I’ve been answering just about every question. While it’s a fantasy chat, I also appreciate non-fantasy topics.

2. The Daily Grind Invitational and Leaderboard

We failed to run again so I’ve bitten the proverbial bullet and lowered the threshold to 15 users. Still $2 and the top three win prizes now. See ya there.

3. Daily DFS 

Yesterday’s Grind

It’s a crowded evening with a full 15 game slate. Every week, I lament Jose Fernandez’s seven inning limit. His recent outing against the Braves demonstrates the downside – just 12.4 points on DraftKings. Of course, he’s also good enough to carry a lineup as he did the previous week versus the Dodgers (44.2 points). Fernandez is opposed by the Nationals.

Jon Lester is an attractive alternative opposite a thin-ish Reds lineup. Cincinnati does love to run which we all know if Lester’s biggest weakness. He’s the single most likely pitcher to toss a complete game in this slate. As of this hour, I can’t tell if we’re getting the hot or cold version of Wrigley Field tonight. Keep an eye on it.

Rich Hill and Johnny Cueto my conspire to cancel each other out. They’re playing in Lalaland. The last time he faced them, Hill had trouble inducing whiffs against a contact focused Giants offense. As for Cueto, he has to survive a righty mashing Dodgers offense.

In Oakland, you’ll find rookies Sean Manaea and Joe Musgrove, both of whom represent viable risk-reward plays. Manaea has a few gems to his name despite an underperforming fastball. When the offspeed stuff is on, he’s a tough opponent. Musgrove is a more traditional contact management guy.

Kevin Gausman cruised through eight innings against the Red Sox last week. He’s looked exceptionally good down the stretch, but I’m not buying tonight. The stout performance is in the past. I can justify betting against the Red Sox once, but twice in a row is just asking for trouble. We’ll see who comes out on top.

Drew Smyly, Michael Pineda, J.A. Happ, and Steven Brault are also viable in the right spots.

Stack Targets: Paul Clemens, Daniel Wright, Josh Smith, Jorge de la Rosa, Jake Thompson, Edinson Volquez, Josh Tomlin, Matt Boyd, James Shields, Adam Wainwright, Matt Garza, A.J. Griffin

4. SaberSim Observations

Fernandez, Hill, Pineda, Lester, and Smyly lead the pitching crew tonight. Nothing I didn’t already touch upon in this group. Hitters include the Coors lineup, Trout, Brewers, Tigers, Indians, Pirates, and Orioles.

5. Tomorrow’s Targets 

Pitchers to Start: Chad Kuhl has emerged as a solid back of the rotation pitcher. The risk and reward is on the uptick tomorrow at Miller Park versus the Brewers. On the one hand, the Brewers strike out all over the place. On the other hand, they’re also occasionally explosive. In an entirely separate third hand is the ballpark, a venue that’s played as hot as Coors and GABP this season.

Also consider: Jerad Eickhoff, Bartolo Colon, Jimmy Nelson

Pitchers to Exploit: If your leaguemates have been kind enough to leave Cardinals on the waiver wire, it’s time to snap them up. St. Louis is visiting Coors Field and German Marquez. The 21-year-old righty pitched well in the minors, but his transition to the majors has fallen flat. Through 5.1 innings, Marquez has posted a Brittonesque ground ball rate. We’ll see if he can maintain the worm burners while tamping down on the walks. He doesn’t have a history of big ground ball rates.

Also consider: Collin McHugh, Daniel Mengden, Ubaldo Jimenez, Clay Buchholz, Ian Kennedy, Ryan Weber, Jered Weaver, Jose Berrios, Anibal Sanchez, Luis Perdomo

Hitters (power): Andrew Benintendi’s debut has been encouraging despite a general lack of the power and speed he flashed in the minors. That’s a forgivable flaw from a 21-year-old who began the season in High-A, especially in keeper leagues. Benintendi’s line drive oriented approach is a good match for Jimenez. The Orioles enigmatic righty is in the midst of a hot streak. The key to defeating him is to work the count and drive through the ball.

Also consider: Ryan Schimpf, Max Kepler, Scooter Gennett, Josh Bell, Pedro Alvarez, Hyun-soo Kim, Ryon Healy, Brandon Moss

Hitters (speed): After missing a couple days with his 33rd injury of the season, Cameron Maybin is back to batting second for a scary Tigers lineup. Detroit will have the pleasure of dismantling Jose Berrios. Someday, Berrios will be a fantasy asset. It probably won’t be tomorrow.

Also consider: Travis Jankowski, Jorge Polanco, Cameron Maybin, Jose Peraza, Ender Inciarte, Jace Peterson

6. 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.

The Link.

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