The Daily Grind: Feeble Tiger, Hidden Morton

An abject lesson in catcher framing.

Tango poll results:

Which is the more productive hitter

A.
.315 batting average
.365 OBP
.510 SLG

B.
.260 batting average
.365 OBP
.510 SLG

— Tangotiger (@tangotiger) August 14, 2019

My poll results:

Which is the more productive hitter?

A.
.365 OBP
.510 SLG
.195 ISO

B.
.365 OBP
.510 SLG
.250 ISO

— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) August 15, 2019

Notice, these are IDENTICAL polls. In Tom’s, he displays Hitter A as having a higher average. In mine, I emphasize Hitter B’s greater ISO. In both cases, half of the voting public preferred the player with the higher stat. Indeed, framing is important.

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Yesterday, it was the Indians stack that fell in the soundless forest. The three top players in the slate were Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, and Greg Allen. Nobody owned Santana or Allen. Our winner minihockey8 was the only one to roster Ramirez. Bryce Harper, Sonny Gray, and Jose Abreu joined Ramirez to provide the bulk of the firepower. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have a 15-game behemoth tonight on FantasyDraft. Once again, we’re in need of some new blood. We’ve been running some huge overlays, and I’m worried the folks at FDraft will notice. Let’s finish the week on a high note.

2. Weather Reports

Pssh.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Come one, come all for the debut of Feeble Tiger, Hidden Morton starring unlisted ace Charlie Morton ($22,100) opposite a bad Triple-A quality Tigers roster. Morton is quite simply the best pitcher in the slate despite FDraft’s insistence he’s not a part of it. Also despite the presence of fatter sharks. His opponent, Daniel Norris ($12,700) is priced aggressively enough to use as a contrarian bargain.

The fattest shark on the menu is Justin Verlander ($24,100). He’s a costly beast in an almost challenging matchup against the Athletics. Obviously, we have every reason to expect the glory and the kingdom from Verlander along with the usual promises of a life everlasting in a baseball field-adjacent cornfield. But I still expect Morton to outplay him for less.

With all the clamoring for Morton and Verlander, Luis Castillo ($21,500) could slip through the cracks. He’s definitely the third-best in the slate, but he’s also the third-best in the slate. You see what I did there, that statement is both a positive AND a negative! Adam Wainwright ($14,500) is on an extended hitter. He’s only busted twice over his last 12 starts (these same Reds and the Cubs).

I honestly can’t make up my mind about Lucas Giolito ($21,100). The breakout is obvious enough – he’s throwing harder, locating better, and leaning on his changeup. I’m just not sure I can find the heart to invest against the strikeout proof LA Trout. Perhaps this makes Giolito the best contrarian ace for TDGI?

Patrick Corbin ($20,500) is very good. The Brewers offense is no pushover though. Corbin is liable to be both the least popular and the lowest projected of the five over-$20,000 pitchers.

Mike Minor ($19,700) seems to be matchup proof. He’ll have the ever-challenging job of taming the homertastic Twins. The Jake Odorizzi ($17,800) side of the equation is boring but priced in a friendly manner.

Uh oh, this column is very late. Time to apply some speed.

Oh look, another ace. It’s Noah Syndergaard ($19,700) in what should be an auto-win against Mikey Monty and the Royals. And hark! There in the distance… it’s Chris Paddack ($18,000) visiting Philadelphia’s homer haven. The Padres righty-prone offense is exactly the sort of unit that could lead Vince Velasquez ($14,400) to one of his random 30 point gems.

Mike Soroka ($17,100) or Dodgers? Dodgers. Kenta Maeda ($13,800) or Braves? Braves. Seriously though, the pricey aces have likely depressed the cost of these two tough-matchup options enough to use ’em. Maeda in particular is a tempting bargain play.

Did I say something about sharks earlier? Shark ($16,000) is visiting Mike Leake ($12,000) in a battle of aggressively priced, boring pitchers versus bland offenses. Choose a side. Or don’t.

Kyle Hendrick ($15,800) would draw a lot of attention in a different collection of pitchers. A matchup against the P-Rats at PNC Park promises steady mid-tier production. That might not be enough in this crammed packed slate. Joe Musgrove ($11,700) is very cheap in a tough pairing.

Jon Gray ($14,900) is hosting the Marlins at Coors Field. On the one hand, Coors Field. On the other hand, let’s point and laugh at Derek Jeter.

Masahiro Tanaka ($14,500) has a new splitter. Can that yield two straight strong outings? I suppose we’ll find out. Aaron Civale ($10,900) is the bargain to click. Even with Yankee Stadium and a homer happy Bomber squad.

Favorite Plays: You expect me to pick from THAT mess? Morton.

Stack Targets: Tanner Roark, Aaron Brooks, Wade LeBlanc, Sandy Alcantara, Jacob Waguespack, Rick Porcello

4. SaberSim Says…

Morton, Verlander, Castillo, Corbin, and Giolito form a predictable top five pitchers. Patrick Sandoval is sixth on the list which I can only assume is a mistake… Morton, Musgrove, Leake, Sandoval, and Verlander are the top values.

On the hitting side, Charlie Blackmon, Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, J.D. Martinez, and Nolan Arenado lead the charge. No, the Red Sox are not at Coors Field. Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, Nicky Lopez, Yonathan Daza, and Ryan O’Hearn are the value picks.

5.Relevance

Large comebacks in Wild Card relevant games are fun.

He lives.

Pete Alonso had a hell of a game, but this is the highlight of the day.

And yes, before you correct me, I know the phrase is “object lesson.”