The Daily Grind: Don’t Get Housered

Come and learn important trivia about the intersection of baseball and baby formula.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Grand

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Combining Chris Paddack, Avisail Garcia, and Anthony Rizzo was the key to victory for djl131. Congrats and Leaderboard.

You know how this works, it costs $2 (up to two times) to participate in our no rake GPP on FantasyDraft.

If you have not signed up for FantasyDraft, please use this referral link for tracking purposes. If I understand properly, by using the referral, you will receive a 10 percent return on any rakes you pay.

2. Weather Reports

The Coors game carries a roughly 50 percent chance for rain throughout. Too bad. It might still be playable.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

It’s a 13-game main slate tonight. Squatting atop the price list is Jose Berrios ($20,400) in a visit to Toronto. The Twins ace (and my preseason staff pick for Cy Young) has mostly faced easy opponents, but he’s also handled the Astros and Phillies. He’s been working up in the strike zone more this season which will likely have mixed results against the Blue Jays. Although he’ll probably defeat Aaron Sanchez ($14,800), I think this is about $1,500 overpriced.

Stephen Strasburg ($20,200) is looking as sharp as ever. He’s recorded between 26 and 42 points in his last three outings. The Brewers are certainly a challenging opponent, detracting from expectations. I still consider Strasburg the second best pitcher available.

I prefer Noah Syndergaard ($19,700) in a visit to San Diego. The Padres offer a feast or famine offense, making for an interesting counterpoint to Thor’s feast or famine pitching style. You’re paying for a strikeout per inning and soft contact. If it goes sideways, it’s because Syndergaard is a ground ball pitcher and the Padres can stack fly ball hitters.

Once again, the wind is stiffly blowing in at Wrigley Field. Southpaws Caleb Smith ($18,600) and Jon Lester ($18,100) get a bump in value. Smith still has the difficult task of navigating the Cubs lineup, although he’s had no issues with the Phillies, Braves, Mets, or Nationals. Lester is more of a vanilla core performer with a scintillating matchup against possibly the worst offense.

When healthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu keeps posting big numbers. Against most opponents, I’d be in on his $18,500 price. The Braves can load enough lefty mashers in the lineup to turn me off. I’ll still consider Ryu if he’s the best I can afford. I know I won’t be considering Max Fried ($17,200), even if the Dodgers are a little weaker against southpaws. Fried is a cool $5,000 overpriced.

Collin McHugh ($16,300) might be a popular connective piece. He’s neither cheap nor expensive and has an easily winnable matchup against the (surprisingly decent) Royals lineup. Stolen bases could be an issue if he allows baserunners – Robinson Chirinos has struggled to control the running game in the past.

Griffin Canning ($15,900) is probably a hair pricey, but a visit to Detroit isn’t such a bad place to go for a mid-tier target. There’s upside for 20 points here. Watch out for pitch limits, he was held to just 82 in his debut.

Here’s something interesting. We usually avoid all pitchers at Coors Field. Madison Bumgarner ($15,000) is typically a solid play and has plenty of experience at elevation. The Rockies offense is sputtering this year. While I usually view Antonio Senzatela ($13,000) as a stack target, the Giants offense is just the worst. The smart money probably still dodges this matchup, but there’s a little more smoke (and fire) here than normal.

I don’t like how the sites have reacted to Followers. Using them should be a next-level strategy. Jalen Beeks is practically unplayable in a deep slate for $13,700. You have to be looking really contrarian. There are ways for this to work, but he can only be counted on for something like nine points.

Favorite Plays: Smith, Lester, Syndergaard

Stack Targets: Adrian Houser, Cal Quantrill, David Hess, Adrian Sampson, Steven Brault, Hector Velazquez, Taylor Clarke, Mike Fiers, Danny Duffy

Is it just me, or have the Orioles faced a TON of terrible pitchers. Once again, the awful Baltimore lineup is among the possible stacks.

4. SaberSim Says…

Syndergaard, Strasburg, Ryu, McHugh, and Canning are the top projected pitchers. I think later revisions will bump Canning down the list. A 5.94 inning projection is bullish. McHugh, Bumgarner, Syndergaard, Quantrill, and Canning are the preferred values. I don’t see it with regard to Quantrill. His reputation as an early draft pick hasn’t translated to the field.

J.D Martinez, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Michael Chavis, and Alex Bregman own the helium hitter awards. Travis Shaw, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jose Altuve, Tyler White, and Mike Gerber are the bargains. That’s quite the mixed bag. A baffling slumper, a sputtering top prospect, a hot superstar, a guy who hasn’t homered, and the heir to a baby formula fortune.

5. Grand

More grand slams via Tommy Pham and Jonathan Villar.

Neither of these were grand. In fact, both of these stay in maybe 27 of 30 ballparks.