The Daily Grind: Kiddies Go Kaboom

Today is Alex Chamberlain’s turn to supply some Peripheral Prospects. Get excited (usually runs in the afternoon).

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Kiddies Go Kaboom

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Cubbieblues made the smart play and faded bargain-priced Vladito. No single player carried his team and only Kendrys Morales and Scott Schebler failed to provide double-digit points. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have a tidy nine-game evening contest on FantasyDraft tonight. See ya there.

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

There’s a chill in the air pretty much everywhere except Atlanta. That hasn’t stopped the home runs from flying.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Justin Verlander ($21,300) is setting up shop in Minnesota this evening. He’s coming off an eight-inning gem against these same Twins last week. For some reason, the sites – including FantasyDraft – have been very reserved with their ace pricing this season.

Speaking of which, don’t ask me why Patrick Corbin costs just $19,500. Sure, the Cardinals aren’t an easy opponent, but it’s no like they’re the Astros. And the Nationals should supply some run support against a mid-tier pitcher like Michael Wacha ($16,000).

Although Kenta Maeda flubbed two of his last three outings, I’m bullish about a good outing tonight. Visiting the pitiful Giants is always good for the ol’ rate stats. If there’s one reservation, it’s that Maeda rarely throws more than six innings. He’ll need to really shove to return $18,800. Jeff Samardzija ($15,400) is maybe in the midst of a rebound season. Still, the Dodgers are too scary to take the plunge.

Eduardo Rodriguez ($17,800) is hosting Frankie Montas ($15,900). I’m extremely interested in this game. Rodriguez has brushed off a frigid start to the season which included a drubbing at the hands of the Athletics. Tonight he gets a rematch. Montas has consistently been one of the best bargains when he pitches as sites fail to adjust to his new splitter. He might benefit from J.D. Martinez’s absence from the lineup. Keep an eye on it.

Zack Wheeler ($17,500) is leaving a chalky taste in my mouth. With pitcher friendly CitiField on his side, he might honestly challenge Verlander and Corbin as the best play tonight at a $2,000-$3,800 discount. The Reds offense is merely good-not-great.

Mike Soroka ($17,000) is reasonably priced for what could be an easy win against the Padres. Of note, San Diego has a deep supply of power hitters. Soroka can sometimes catch a little too much plate.

Last and least in terms of the pitchers I’m considering at Zach Davies ($14,000) and Kyle Freeland ($15,500). Davies is cheap, mediocre, and did I mention ludicrously cheap? Freeland won’t have to face Christian Yelich. And he’s cheap.

Jalen Beeks ($12,000) is favored to follow tonight. And he’ll face the Royals. The only drawback is a fairly ambitious price tag. I’d like him more around $9,500 or so.

Favorite Plays: Wheeler, Verlander, Corbin

I see no reason to overthink it. Take at least one of these three DFS aces.

Stack Targets: Tanner Roark, Jake Odorizzi, Davies, Nick Margevicius, Manny Banuelos, Brad Keller

These “stack” targets are decidedly mid-tier. Only Banuelos officially sucks, and he’s set to face a horrific Orioles offense.

4. SaberSim Says…

Verlander, Corbin, Wheeler, Maeda, and Freeland are the big producers tonight. No surprises here. Values include Davis, Freeland, Wheeler, Corbin, and Verlander. Yep. Nice to see the machine and I wholeheartedly agree for once.

Ronald Acuna, Martinez, Mookie Betts, Alex Bregman, and Tommy Pham are the preferred bats. Just make sure JDM is in the lineup. Stevie Wilkerson (I’m unconvinced he chose to go by “Stevie”), Jackie Bradley Jr., Acuna, Jesus Aguilar, and Ji-Man Choi are the bargains. I wrote about Aguilar today for another site already. The peripherals look “fine.” As long as you accept he was always sort of Chris Davis-like. In other words, “fine” means he doesn’t look broken but he might suck anyway. Continued struggles are par for the course. As is a surprise multi-homer showing.

5. Kiddies Go Kaboom

Fans of other NL East teams are going to get really tired of these guys.

Mets fan botches interference attempt.

The good news is he probably tore all the things preventing him from doing the splits at will. Also he may return to the lineup today or tomorrow per reports.