The Daily Grind: I Love It When…

My Twitter handle is @BaseballATeam. Did you really think this wasn’t going to happen…

AGENDA

1. When A Plan Comes Together
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. Hitters to Use
5. SaberSim Says…
6. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. When A Plan Comes Together

I love it when a plan comes together. Yesterday, I was all over Tommy Joseph as a streamer. Unfortunately, I was less keen on him as a DFS target because I wanted to use Tyler Anderson. Joseph played the role of hero yesterday for a drowning Phillies team.

A terrible start to the season combined with notable breakouts from Yonder Alonso, Justin Bour, and Justin Smoak has Joseph available in most leagues (at least those without Phillies fans). Joseph has slashed .286/.352/.536 since mid-April with all seven of his home runs over 125 plate appearances. He started the year on a .120/.148/.160 note (27 PA).

Although Anderson allowed the homer to Joseph, he tossed another superb outing in which he induced ground balls and soft contact. He should be owned in all leagues. He’ll probably be underpriced in DFS for a couple more weeks.

2. Weather Reports

The Tigers and White Sox have an old school doubleheader scheduled. Unfortunately, it’s supposed to rain for at least the first two hours. Could be a long night in Chicago. We won’t be getting lineups for the second game which happens to be the one included in tonight’s 15 game slate. Thankfully, the rest of the league will be dry and/or roofed.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: We have a busy night to sort through. Max Scherzer is the big name. For $11,800, I’m sorely tempted to find room for him versus the strikeout prone Padres (second highest K% versus RHP). This has the makings of a ridiculous stat line for Scherzer.

Other aces include Jacob deGrom, Chris Archer, and Jake Arrieta. deGrom has the best matchup of the bunch at PNC Park. Archer tends to wither on the road so I’ll be avoiding him. Arrieta has a tough assignment versus Alex Wood and the Dodgers. Wood has pitched like a top five arm. The one drawback is that he typically tosses five or six innings.

Eduardo Rodriguez has six straight quality starts. FanDuel counts ’em. He’s hosting the Mariners. Seattle is the fourth worst offense versus southpaws by wRC+.

I had to do a double take when I found Carlos Martinez for $7,400. It’s because he’s visiting Coors Field. While I’m very much concerned about his ability to survive at altitude, this is a provocative price. After all, he is an ace. It’s not a stretch for him to have an off night AND post FanDuel 40 points.

Down near the dregs, you’ll find Zack Godley for $6,800. He’s visiting hitter friendly Miller Park. The Brewers are an extremely risk assignment – even without Ryan Braun. They’re tied fourth in team home runs, but they also have the second most strikeouts. In a small sample, Godley has limited opponents to just 0.70 HR/9. Last year, he was homer prone. It’s worth reminding that his velocity is up, he’s using more breaking balls, and his sinker is pulling a Keuchel (65.1 percent ground balls).

Stack Targets: Mike Bolsinger, Antonio Senzatela, Chad Kuhl, Tim Adleman, Matt Boyd, Yovani Gallardo, Luis Perdomo, A.J. Griffin, Kevin Gausman, Joe Musgrove, Kendall Graveman, Jaime Garcia, Junior Guerra, Jesse Chavez, Matt Cain

4. Hitters to Use

Buster Posey is always a top play when facing a bad lefty. The rest of the Giants lineup is of less interest.

Jett Bandy mashes low fastballs which could work out versus Godley.

Matt Carpenter is the most interesting of the Cardinals visiting Coors Field. Senzatela won’t survive on a steady diet of mediocre fastballs forever.

Fly ball hitters like Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper may very much enjoy facing Perdomo.

Bolsinger is a soft-tossing righty – seemingly a perfect matchup for Joey Gallo. He (Bolsinger) will frequently use a curve and a slider which may stymie Gallo’s dreams of the moon(ball).

Always Mike Trout. Also, have you noticed Jose Bautista is slashing .313/.421/.638 with seven home runs (95 PA) since the start of May. Since May 12, it’s a .442/.529/.884 slash.

5. SaberSim Says…

Scherzer, Archer, deGrom, Wood, and Arrieta are the top rated pitchers. Chalky hitters include Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Bryce Harper, Jedd Gyorko, and Charlie Blackmon. I’m not as thrilled about this Coors game as SaberSim.

6. The Daily Grind Invitational

Yesterday’s contest was a closely fought battle with less than 40 points separating first from 16th. Bigwig500 outlasted the pack by combining Anderson, Francisco Cervelli, and Kris Bryant. A real winning combination would have also included Adam Frazier. Leaderboard.

We’re back on FanDuel tonight.