The Daily Grind: “Dove Himself In Half”

With two weeks left, the race to fantasy gold often lies down the Path of the Stream. Join me at Streaming Wars.

AGENDA

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

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Kidzero doubled down and won big last Friday. He dodged the Max Scherzer landmine by using Noah Syndergaard and Masahiro Tanaka. He also caught the improbable 42 point performance from Aaron Altherr. Congrats and Leaderboard.

Guess what? We’re on FantasyDraft tonight. See ya there.

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

Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh are at some risk of postponement tonight. I think the Philly game will happen, perhaps with some blips of moisture. The other two games are in greater peril. Check reports later this afternoon.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Patrick Corbin ($23,300) leads the way tonight opposite Kyle Hendricks ($15,800). Both pitchers appear to be par value at Chase Field. Hendricks gets a boost in his strikeout projection. The Diamondbacks have a 24.1 percent strikeout rate against righties.

Next up is Mike Foltynewicz for $21,600. That’s another par value, uh, valuation. He’s opposed by Miles Mikolas ($17,200). I’d prefer to pay $15,200 for Mikolas. At least SunTrust Stadium is pitcher friendly.

Zack Wheeler ($20,200) is dealing this season. His fastball velocity is a tic above his 2014 peak, and he’s a far more efficient pitcher these days. Remember all those 20 pitch innings in his previous heyday? Nine of his last 12 starts have gone seven or more innings. Despite the strong performances, I worry about using him at Citizen’s Bank Park. There’s no margin for error if he wants to earn his price tag. Perhaps you should steer clear of Jake Arrieta ($15,300).

Joe Musgrove ($17,700) is consistently tossing at least six innings a start. He hosts the lowly Royals at one of the best pitcher parks. His opponent, Brad Keller ($15,900), has been shockingly good lately. Unfortunately, this has fueled some steep inflation in his cost. He’s playable, but he isn’t a bargain.

Jon Gray ($15,300) at Hyun-Jin Ryu ($17,600) offers a pair of (very) slightly underpriced pitchers. Tyler Glasnow ($14,900) should earn the win bonus at Texas tonight. It’s a dangerous matchup even with four points of icing on the cake. Wade Miley ($14,500), Framber Valdez ($14,100), and Andrew Suarez ($12,700) are also playable. I’m not inclined to chase what I assume will be a very popular Erick Fedde ($10,400) in Miami.

Stack Targets: Sean Gilmartin, Kohl Stewart, Fedde, Ryan Borucki, Adrian Sampson, Bryan Mitchell

4. SaberSim Says…

Corbin, Musgrove, Foltynewicz, Gray, and Hendricks draw top honors. The best values include Trevor Richards, Fedde, Glasnow, Suarez, and Gray. Ji-Man Choi, Tommy Pham, Nelson Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo, and Alex Bregman represent the big bats. The Sim likes Tampa Bay tonight. Christin Steward, Chris Shaw, Billy McKinney, Victor Martin, and Logan Forsythe are among the bargains.

5.Up and Over

Up and over.

Looks like he dove himself in half. (Link is a breakdown of the play)

Francisco Mejia wasn’t much of anything in the minors this year. So far, his major league tenure has been… eventful.