The Daily Grind: Heavy Weather Part 1

It took over half a month before wide scale weather events seriously impacted one of our contests. Here we go…

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to iamlee13 for the contest win and regaining the top spot on the Leaderboard. Kyle Freeland, Kole Calhoun, and Tommy Pham were the biggest contributors to victory.

We have a juicy 14-game slate for tonight’s $2, no rake GPP 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

According to one song I listen to, heavy weather will open your eyes. Also, zombies are involved. I dunno. In any case, the Braves-Indians game looks well and truly doomed. The outlook isn’t great in Pittsburgh either, although they could try waiting a few hours to see if the weather clears. Detroit, New York, and Baltimore are also in danger of postponement. As of now, I’ll guess they probably play with occasional interruptions and perhaps an early conclusion.

Widespread power outages are expected at my home so there’s a decent chance I’ll also be rained out.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Let’s focus our attention on some of the drier venues. That means I’m steering clear of Jose Berrios ($21,400), Corey Kluber ($17,700), Carlos Rodon ($15,900), Jordan Lyles ($15,100), Madison Bumgarner ($18,700), Touki Toussaint ($14,600), CC Sabathia ($14,600), Jakob Junis ($13,900), Jordan Zimmermann, and Alex Cobb. It’s too bad, some of them had really nice matchups and friendly prices.

We’re left with Justin Verlander ($20,600) as the lone ace standing. The Astros should furnish a win opposite southpaw Drew Smyly. Verlander’s worst outing to date came against the Rangers. That’s just trivia. The larger concern is a potentially monstrous ownership rate.

Ross Stripling ($16,700) is perhaps a hair overpriced for his rematch against the Brewers. They’re a tough opponent to whelm twice in a row. This is Stripling’s last start before returning to the bullpen. Perhaps he’ll recover some of his missing velocity by the time he’s needed to re-join the rotation.

Pick your poison in Miami. Both Caleb Smith and Anibal Sanchez cost $16,300. I prefer the Sanchez side of the equation in most situations. Smith has the higher ceiling, but he’s also likelier to bottom out due to his challenging matchup. Sanchez on the other hand looks much as he did last season. He’s inducing oodles of soft contact. Expect his rates to improve sharply – he did make two of three starts against the Phillies.

Speaking of the Phillies, German Marquez ($15,900) is tasked with taming them at Coors Field. If you want to maximize your risk and reward, pair Marquez with Smith. For what it’s worth, I’d be calling a sea level clone of Marquez a top 15 overall starter. Coors Field really messes with the equation.

Eduardo Rodriguez experienced an uptick in velocity and quality of stuff in his most recent outing. He might be back. For $15,300, I’ll throw those dice against the Rays. Peep their typical lineup versus left-handed pitching. It’s pretty bad.

Anthony DeSclafani is the bargain version of risk and reward. He’s buffed his curve ball use, giving him three offerings. His fastball velocity is also slightly increased. DeSclafufu has piled up strikeouts and home runs. The Padres offense also tends towards strikeouts and home runs.

Favorite Plays: Sanchez, Smith, Verlander, Marquez

Stack Targets: Jason Vargas, Wilmer Font, Felix Pena, Smyly, Jhoulys Chacin, Vince Velasquez

4. SaberSim Says…

Verlander, Berrios, Smith, Sanchez, and Kluber are the top rated arms this evening. File away Berrios as a target in case the weather report improves. DeSclafani, Sabathia, Sanchez, Verlander, and Smith promise the most bang for your buck.

On the batting side, Mike Trout, Charlie Blackmon, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and David Dahl draft top billing. Personally, there are several Rockies and Phillies I prefer over Dahl. Dustin Peterson (replacement for Christin Stewart), Roman Quinn, Francisco Cervelli, Josh Harrison, and Chris Davis carry the best value prices. Four of them will play at wet venues.

5. Anne vs. Trout

Anne is apparently a fan of Trout. Anne also believes herself to be much more buff than that skin-and-bones Trout fella.