The Daily Grind: Genesis

In the beginning, the baseball Gods created the earth. And it was without form and such so they sculpted it into fields with three bases and two plates. And they said “let there be baseball.”

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Seemingly all the pitchers performed well yesterday so the key was finding good hitters. Hscer accomplished the task. No particular batter stood out with Avisail Garcia’s 19 points leading the way. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have a nine-game contest tonight 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

Watch out for heavy weather in Philadelphia. Based on the current report, there’s a roughly two-thirds chance for about three hours of drenching rains. They’re scheduled to play a day game against the Cardinals tomorrow so they might just turn that into a doubleheader.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Blake Snell ($21,900) is the chalkiest play this evening. The Blue Jays have the fourth-worst strikeout rate. Snell has fanned 12.60 K/9. It’s a perfect storm for double-digit strikeouts. While the Blue Jays occasionally surprise, only Vladito offers a true threat to Snell. On the flip side, I was prepared to like Trent Thornton as a contrarian play. His decent strikeout rate, high spin rate, and effective wildness can yield unpredictably positive (or negative) results. Alas, $15,300 is far too aggressive a price for this matchup.

Madison Bumgarner ($19,400) is visiting Pablo Lopez ($12,600). Bumgarner is near the top of my wishlist tonight, but I find myself preferring Lopez. And that’s before considering price. I expect the two pitchers to perform similarly. And Lopez is available at a $6,800 discount. Wowza. Both pitchers figure to supply a little under a strikeout per inning with easy run prevention. The Giants and Marlins have the two worst offenses.

Walker Buehler ($18,700) is hosting Noah Syndergaard ($18,100). Ballsy DFSers will try Thor as a contrarian ace. His ownership is liable to low despite a fairly aggressive price. This is in part because Buehler is priced similarly despite comparable talent and a MUCH softer opposing lineup.

With the Astros a little banged up, Kyle Hendricks ($17,000) could be a stealthy play. He’s a little expensive for a mid-tier play with a modest ceiling. His opponent, Wade Miley ($15,100), is interesting for the same reasons. There’s meltdown potential on both sides.

Nobody is going to touch Robbie Ray at Coors Field. But for $16,100, you have a chance at double-digit strikeouts. Or a walktastrophe. Embrace the volatility!

Speaking of volatility, we’ll see if Reynaldo Lopez can channel his effective wildness against the Royals. He promises steep upside at a meager $12,100 cost. Lopez has six quality starts and five disasterpieces in 11 outings. It’s feast of famine with him.

Favorite Plays: P. Lopez, Snell, Buehler, Ray

Stack Targets: Genesis Cabrera, Jess Hoffman, Ryan Carpenter, R. Lopez, Glenn Sparkman, Anibal Sanchez, Miley

Biblical and Sega jokes aside, Cabrera was terrible in Triple-A, although he’s shown some flashes more recently. At the very least, he appears to be very homer prone. A delayed debut at Citizen’s Bank Park probably won’t work in his favor.

4. SaberSim Says…

Snell, Buehler, Aaron Nola, Syndergaard, and Ray are the preferred arms. I skipped Nola because of the rain. And the frustration. For what it’s worth, SaberSim ranks MadBum sixth and P. Lopez seventh. Top values are Snell, R. Lopez, Buehler, P. Lopez, and Nola.

On the hitting side, Ronald Acuna, Austin Meadows, Nolan Arenado, Freddie Freeman, and Rhys Hoskins are expected to pace the field. Jack Mayfield, Starlin Castro, Austin Dean, Kyle Schwarber, and Josh Reddick are the mayors of Valuetown.

5. Stolen TDGI

This happened again.

I’ve always wanted to throw a submarine ceremonial first pitch.

In case you were wondering how hscer won yesterday’s TDGI…