The Daily Grind: Finals Week

A fine crust is what this pot pie needs.

AGENDA

1. Altuve Hax
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. Altuve Hax

The old timers rant and rave about bunting because of this…

A perfectly executed bunt is unfair. There’s literally no defending against this. I mean, you could do some sort of wonky shift, but then Altuve would swing away for the wide open middle of the field.

Of course, bunts are not the only indefensible play. Try doing something about a 450 foot home run. And it’s probably easier to hit a no doubt home run than it is to bunt this well. Most prospective bunters aren’t capable of setting land speed records while jogging the last 10 feet.

2. Weather Reports

We should be fine on the weather front this evening. Just give Texas and Colorado a quick peek before finalizing rosters.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: The evening contest is nine games deep. Five pitchers jump off the page, headlined by Yu Darvish and Zack Godley. Darvish is hosting the lowly Padres, and he has the $12,300 price to match. Godley is more affordable at $10,600. He flopped against the Pad People last week. This time around, the last place Giants are visiting.

Under the $10,000 plateau, you’ll find Luke Weaver, Drew Pomeranz, and Aaron Nola. Weaver will cost ya $9,900, and he has a tough pairing against the Cubs. His opponent, Jon Lester, has pitched poorly of late. Weaver has reliably supplied 22 or more DK points in his starts.

Pomeranz generally tosses six solid innings, good for around 20 points. He’s a solid high floor, high ceiling investment at $9,200. The Bleu Jays aren’t playing for anything whilst the Rouge Saux are trying to clinch the AL East.

The Nationals are in rest and relaxation mode. Aaron Nola has pitched well against tougher opponents. For $8,000, he’s the steal of the day. He posted 18.6 points the last time he faced the Nationals. This time around, Bryce Harper is expected to be in the lineup.

Beyond the top names, I haven’t yet quite on Johnny Cueto as a bargain ace. He’s one of those guys who could reel off a complete game gem without any notice. For $7,300, it’s a final gamble. The Diamondbacks clinched yesterday so this is a hangover game for them.

Collin McHugh at Andrew Cashner offer a couple more bargain bin picks.

Stack Targets: Travis Wood, Odrisamer Despaigne, Ricky Nolasco, Brett Anderson, A.J. Cole, James Shields, Daniel Gossett, Tyler Chatwood

4. SaberSim Says…

Darvish stands alone on the projection list, followed by Nola, Weaver, Lester, and Pomeranz. Hats for bats on Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, and Marcell Ozuna. Bargains include a very incorrectly priced Nelson Cruz, Lane Adams, Albert Pujols, Jean Segura, Kole Calhoun, and Luis Valbuena. I think DraftKings confused Gossett with Clayton Kershaw.

5. The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats are in order for DirtWolves. Chris Iannetta was almost too obvious a pick – enough so that I opted something less popular. He supplied DW with a huge 45 point night supplemented by 30 points from J.D. Martinez, 29.3 from Rich Hill, and 24 from Brian Dozier. Overall, the quartet produced 128.3 of his 165.15 points. Shoutout to nicemamut for staying in the spotlight. Leaderboard.

See you tonight – 15 users at $2 a pop on DraftKings.