The Daily Grind: How Many Aces Is Too Many?

If I could rap, my name would be Das Pickles and I would rap about Mario64.

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Brewday nabbed victory by a narrow 0.9 points. MadBum and Anthony Rendon were his only performers with over 20 points. However, only Khris Davis scored fewer than 10 points. That’s a team effort! Congrats and Leaderboard.

It’s a 14-game brawl tonight on FantasyDraft. In a reverse of my career trends, Friday has been my best day this season with an ROI over 100 percent. Can you beat me tonight?

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

Detroit has some atmospheric instability which could turn into thunderstorms. It’s a low risk.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Sure, the Texas Rangers aren’t the pushover offense they were expected to be prior to the season. That’s still no reason to price Justin Verlander at a mere $22,000. He’s easily a $24,600 asset. Sadly, this means his ownership rate will be absurd to the point where a contrarian play of Mike Minor ($19,700) is viable. Minor is very overpriced versus the Astros. I’d be targeting him around $15,000, although I do understand the pricing models don’t give a crap that his xFIP is ugly.

Patrick Corbin ($21,600) is perhaps a hair overpriced for a matchup against the Braves. He’s certainly playable and is perhaps a more sensible contrarian reaction to Verlander. Since they’re so similarly priced, Verlander is bound to attract the bulk of the rosterings. Julio Teheran ($12,900) appears to be a modest bargain. You’ll probably get some value on this investment, although I’m not sure a 15 point performance is going to cut it.

Hyun-Jin Ryu ($21,400) also serves to ensure Corbin is hidden in this slate. He’s very likely to earn a win bonus against the Marlins. Zac Gallen ($14,700) costs too much, although he’s talented enough to maybe make this price work for his owners. It’ll take some Tiger Woods-sized balls to bet against the Dodgers offense.

Did you think those were all the aces? THINK AGAIN. Shane Bieber ($20,400) has a juicy matchup against the Royals and new acquisition Mike Montgomery ($10,200). Monty might be a borderline bargain if he can manage five innings. Look back to him in a week or two – especially if he’s still at this price.

The prize of the slate is Jacob deGrom ($20,200) who is nearly $2,000 cheaper than Verlander and is visiting the lowly Giants at Oracle Park. Yes, I know the Giants are the top offense over the last 30 days. No, I don’t give a balls. Use deGrom.

David Price ($17,600) is the king of the mid-tier. His visit to Baltimore should yield a win with ace-like upside. The last time he faced Baltimore (back in April), he scored 31.95 points. Lately, he’s making short, effective starts. It’s perhaps a sign of a new usage pattern.

Jake Odorizzi ($16,400) is a playable mid-tier option against a high octane A’s offense. While the Twins earned a reputation as a powerful club, I’ll take the A’s in any shootout. Oakland crushed Odorizzi two weeks ago.

Tyler Mahle ($11,800) records over a strikeout per inning which is sufficient to justify using him at home against the Cardinals. He’s in a bit of a slump though. Jhoulys Chacin ($11,000) comes with fewer strikeouts and a better setting. My preferred bargain is J.A. Happ versus the sea level rockies.

Favorite Plays: Verlander, Corbin, Ryu, deGrom, Price, Happ

Yes, you have choices.

Stack Targets: Chacin, Mahle, Montgomery, Jordan Zimmermann, Kyle Freeland, Taylor Clarke, Reynaldo Lopez, Jordan Lyles, Jake Arrieta, Gallen, John Means

4. SaberSim Says…

Verlander, deGrom, Bieber, Ryu, and Price are the top-rated arms. Brendan McKay (who FDraft didn’t list) is rated sixth. Chacin, Mahle, Verlander, deGrom, and Happ are the preferred values. If only it were possible to squeeze Verlander and deGrom around enough big bats…

Mike Trout, J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, and Christian Yelich headline the slate. The big bargains are Joey Votto, Max Stassi, Yadiel Rivera, Kyle Seager, and Lucas Duda. Unlike with the pitchers, the hitter “values” are consistently disgusting – just as they should be. The pricing system is supposed to force tradeoffs between value and quality.

5. Missing points

If you used Stephen Strasburg yesterday, you missed out on a lot of points…

Children…

So, uh, Tommy Edman is a starter isn’t he?