The Daily Grind: Just Throw Your Bat At It

Here’s a helpful reminder – not only are we Grinding today, it’s also chat day. I’ll see you again at 4:00pm ET.

AGENDA

1. EE Gonna Hit It
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. EE Gonna Hit It

I haven’t seen this happen since Little League. Usually, either a bat is thrown or contact is made. Not both.

2. Weather Reports

A rainout is likely in Philadelphia. No Rhys Hoskins for us tonight. Baltimore, New York, and Washington all have postponement risk too, although the rain is a little more likely to clear out at those venues. Watch out for Cincinnati too, although that’s a much lower risk. The league dealt with the flooding in Houston by sending the Astros game to Tampa Bay.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Chris Sale is the runaway star of the session, and his DK price is a semi-reasonable $13,200. It’s possible Sale is fading. His two most recent starts include a -5.3 dud and a rather mortal 20.4 point outing. I want to pay $7,700 for 20 points, not nearly twice that. The recent downward blip might be enough to take a chunk out of his ownership rate. Perhaps he’ll return to 40 point dominance versus the Blue Jays.

Jake Arrieta is hosting bargain option Chad Kuhl. While Arrieta reliably posted 18 to 25 points for $11,100, Kuhl costs just $6,100. He’ll find his way to the 18 to 25 point range in about half his starts. The other half are goose eggs.

I’d much rather go with Rich Hill for $10,900. He’s coming off a failed attempt at a 10 inning no hitter. Hill is opposite my favorite bargain Zack Godley. He has solid numbers against the stout Dodgers offense, and he comes at a discount ($7,700).

Ervin Santana is hosting the terrible White Sox. Sweet Erv is having a shockingly successful season. No pitcher is more likely to throw a complete game.

Luke Weaver have a challenging matchup against the Brewers. With their mighty strikeout rate, it’s always tempting to use a pitcher like Weaver against them. Milwaukee can also lay down the hammer.

A slew of viable bargain gambles are available – Mark Leiter and R.A. Dickey in Philadelphia, Michael Fulmer visiting German Marquez, and a weirdly successful Edwin Jackon hosting the Marlins.

Stack Targets: Chris Smith, Vance Worley, Jaime Garcia, Chris Flexen, Martin Perez, Matt Garza, James Shields, Troy Scribner, Brett Anderson, Erasmo Ramirez, Sal Romano

4. SaberSim Says…

SaberSim says Sale, Matt Moore, Arrieta, Santana, and Weaver. I say the Sim needs to get off Moore’s balls. Sure, he’s facing the Padres, but he’s also bad in a matchup-proof kind of way.

Top bats include Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, and Joey Votto. The best values are Chris Young, Ryan Braun, Matt Carpenter, and Eric Thames.

5. The Daily Grind Invitational

Huzzah! I get a rare opportunity to pat myself on the back. Bats were quiet yesterday. A combination of Aaron Nola, Jeff Samardzija, and a middling Phillies stack were enough to supply a meager 135.6 point win. I only win the low scoring days. Leaderboard.

Tuesday is DraftKings day.