The Daily Grind: Klubot Activated

Last night, I had something interesting to say in this space, but it didn’t survive the overnight system reboot. Instead, personal exploits from yesterday.

Some personal news: Our coed softball team won both games of the Championship round doubleheader last night.

Hat tip to @BaseballATeam for the gamewinning RBI in Game 1.

— Jake (@blackjckfshtaco) June 15, 2018

Pretty sure I scored four of our eight runs in that first game on top of the gwRBI. Softball is pretty easy. Kudos to our defense which was unusually effective against a very potent opponent.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Dear Yankee Fans

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to maddmaxx for finding the winning combination of Anibal Sanchez and David Price. We live in a world in which Sanchez achieved over 50 percent ownership AND actually pitched well. Nobody rostered the actual most valuable player, David Peralta. Leaderboard.

We’re back to our usual 52 entries with two maximum 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

Keep an eye on Atlanta. There’s a risk for storms between 30 and 50 percent. Otherwise, we should be either dry or covered by a roof.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: It’s a 15 game hootenanny. Corey Kluber ($25,200) is the cheese, and he’s cheaply priced (for him). Over his last six starts, he has 46 strikeouts and zero walks. Not too shabby. The Sano-less Twins aren’t an especially difficult opponent.

Charlie Morton ($23,200) is next-most expensive for a visit to Kansas City. On the one hand, ya gotta love the matchup. I’m also a tad concerned about his most recent appearance versus the Rangers. He hit four batters and vanilla-walked six more in 3.2 innings. Perhaps that will artificially suppress his ownership?

James Paxton is a stud. So are the Red Sox hitters. I’m not sure I’ll find $20,500 to roster Paxton, especially since I prefer $18,700 Ross Stripling hosting the Giants. They’re down Evan Longoria. Calm and steady Rick Porcello ($17,800) is on the other side of that Paxton matchup.

Skipping to the bargains, a few stand out. Although not my favorite in the slate, Clayton Richard ($11,900) is very stingy to fellow southpaws. The Braves best hitter happens to be a lefty as is Nick Markakis. This could work for the Pads. Brandon McCarthy ($11,800) gets the strikeout buff from facing San Diego. He’s been… unreliable.

For maximal upside, try Seth Lugo ($13,500) at Chase Field. His spin rate games should play well against a team of low ball hitters. Zack Godley, despite struggles this season, seems playable too for $16,100.

Others who receive my nod of approval include Michael Wacha ($17,900), Gio Gonzalez ($17,300), Kevin Gausman ($16,000), Chad Kuhl ($13,100), and Jose Urena ($12,900). I’m not a Reynaldo Lopez believer, but I expect him to be popular among other touts at just $12,100 versus the Detroit Mud Hens.

Stack Targets: Yohander Mendez, Matt Harvey, Nate Eovaldi, Chris Bassitt, Derek Holland, Jonathan Loaisiga

4. SaberSim Says…

Kluber, Stripling, Paxton, Godley, and Morton are the preferred arms. Lopez and Godley are the most playable bargains. Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, Aaron Judge, and Mike Trout serve as the top-rated bats. I guess the Sim dislikes Mendez too. Values include Tyler Flowers, Colin Moran, and Michael Conforto.

5. Dear Yankee Fans

I see you talking about wanting Jacob deGrom. Do you prefer him or Gleyber Torres? I don’t see a deal working without him.

Goldy was like 70 percent owned yesterday. I was really rooting against him just for the lulz. Ah well…

Aside from strikeouts, you never know what you’re getting from Vince Velasquez.