The Daily Grind: Even Jed Does It

Today’s column is brought to you by a typical Johnny Cash cover band.

AGENDA

1. Even Jed Does It
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. Hitters to Use
5. SaberSim Says…
6. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. Even Jed Does It

Not only was it a walk off home run, this was Jed Lowrie’s second home run of the game. The first one looked almost identical to the one above, except the score was 2-0 Angels at the time. The miraculous part is that I kinda sorta called this on Rotoworld.

In this era of home runs, most of my bargain targets have a believable path to multiple blasts. Passing a smell test is not entirely necessary. After all, Daniel Nava, Josh Harrison, and Tim Beckham have provided two homer games. We can’t rule out a high contact bat like Jed Lowrie. Meanwhile, he costs next to nothing and is slashing .294/.366/.422. He’s always been a good hitter when healthy. Lowrie will probably bat second or third against Ricky Nolasco.

I’m not dumb enough to say any player will hit two home runs. It’s a shame we weren’t playing on FanDuel. I would have used him for his $2,300 price tag.

2. Weather Reports

Cincinnati may see some storms today. It’s uncertain. The second end of the Rockies doubleheader is also at some small amount of risk.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Fourteen of 16 games are late. Max Scherzer stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Carlos Carrasco says hi from the second tier. They’re both easy picks if you have the cashes.

Justin Verlander is visiting Robbie Ray in the desert. I’d skip Verlander. Ray on the other hand… he’s the perfect kind of volatile for a GPP. He’s recorded more than one strikeout per inning in every start. Ray also comes with his share of downside – namely that he struggles to get to the sixth inning. Think of him as a crazier Lance McCullers.

Speaking of volatile plays, Drew Pomeranz is headed to Miller Park. Like Ray, he’s recorded at least a strikeout per inning in each outing. He’s also been a tad homer prone, and we know the Brewers offense can spark. They’re also quite prone to the whiffery.

I spoke of a new meta yesterday – pick hitters then fit pitchers. Some of the best pitchers for pure “fit” are Matt Andriese ($7,900 on DraftKings), Jharel Cotton ($7,800), Zack Wheeler ($7,700), Charlie Morton ($7,600), Dan Straily ($7,500), Ariel Miranda ($6,900), and Hector Santiago ($6,800).

Since I write the column, I get first pick. You know who it is. Don’t be dicks about it! ]Morton has the task of facing the east coast, National League version of the Angels, aka the Braves. The lineup is entirely Freddie Freeman and chaff. Morton’s command is prone to degrading throughout his outings. He’ll be over-popular thanks to his strong matchup. He’s posted nearly 60 DK points over his last 13 innings.

Reaching deeper, Ariel Miranda will take his minus fastball and plus changeup to the National League for an interleague game against the Phillies. The Philadelphia squad has actually played decently. Their offense can be tough on left-handed pitchers.

Stack Targets: Mike Pelfrey, Chris Young, Alex Meyer, Kyle Freeland, Tim Adleman, Wily Peralta, Ubaldo Jimenez, CC Sabathia, Bartolo Colon, John Lackey, Mike Bolsinger

4. Hitters to Use

I kind of like that Gary Sanchez is super expensive. He’s going to go off one of these days, but a high price will keep his ownership low. I’m looking at a whole slew of Yankees at Great American Ballpark. Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, and anyone else in the lineup.

The Nationals stack failed us yesterday. With any luck, our rivals will walk away from another wonderful situation against erratic dumpster bird Unbalded Jimenez. Ryan Zimmerman is an interesting facet, but I found myself a sole owner of Adam Lind in the Invitational. He didn’t spike, but neither did Zim. Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner, and that other guy should be considered.

I can’t put my finger on the exact reason, but I worry about Morton facing Freddie Freeman. At risk of sounding ridiculous, my gut says Freeman is going to have a wild night.

5. SaberSim Says…

Verlander, Scherzer, Ray, Pomeranz, and Julio Urias are the top rated pitchers. Given Urias short outings and walk issues in the majors, he’s a hard pass. The other day, somebody commented that “hard pass” means it was a difficult decision. I have since polled three bars, and they say that’s nonsense. More colorful words were used. Idiomatic language is tricky.

Top hitters include Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Mookie Betts. Surprise! SaberSim likes Cubs at sea level. You thought they wouldn’t be top ranked at Coors Field?

The Blue Jays are going to try to get away with using Bolsinger, making it a great day to whip out Francisco Lindor Truffles or Jose Ramirez.

Is Mike Trout playing? We’ll see. They said he would be back yesterday.

Yeah, use hitters at Coors Field. Both teams.

6. The Daily Grind Invitational

Yesterday, I (along with many others) got trial access to another projection tool like SaberSim. I’ll be talking about it in more detail tomorrow or the day after. I’m still playing around with it. One of the features is “Perfect Lineup.” Here’s the top DraftKings corps from yesterday for a total of 255.2 points.

Nate Karns
Alex Wood
Buster Posey
Eric Hosmer
Chris Taylor
Ryan Schimpf
Ryan Goins
Bryce Harper
Marcell Ozuna
Matt Holliday

Sangamc earned the win yesterday with the help of Wood, Trevor Cahill, a trio of Yankees, and Bryce Harper. He was about 100 points under the top score – we all kinda sucked. The leaderboard is updated.

Today’s Invitational is on DraftKings.