The Daily Grind: Multiple Agendas

Turn out for the Invitational has been below my expectations. If you previously participated in Invitationals and have opted not to transition with us to FantasyDraft, could you leave me some feedback? Comments, email, Twitter DM – whatever works for you. I’m trying to understand how to make this better for everyone.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. No No No

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Who needs a no hitter to win a GPP? Vanity took the gold via standout performances by Aaron Nola, Jon Gray, Mike Moustakas, and Eugenio Suarez. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have a tidy seven-game contest tonight on FantasyDraft. Since we failed to completely fill the last two (you missed some overlays!), we’re going with 40 entries 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

Storms could affect the action in Chicago. Both the White Sox and Cubs have afternoon home games with about a 50 percent chance of inclement weather. PS, the wind is blowing.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Early Slate: Five games are early. Since they don’t allow for in-game substitution, FantasyDraft has bumped the early-early game in Cincinnati from the slate. We’re left to stare Gerrit Cole ($26,000) in the eye holes. With the way he’s been pitching, only a fool (or a GPP participant) would consider not using him. He’s visiting Oakland. I like his opponent, Daniel Mengden ($9,200), but the Astros are far from an ideal matchup. Given his ridiculously tiny price, Mengden is actually playable.

Jose Quintana ($18,400) is the latest pitcher to benefit from facing the Marlins. Watch out for those storms though. Ditto Reynaldo Lopez, Trevor Williams, and Wei-Yin Chen. About the storms, not about facing the Marlins.

There’s a Coors game this afternoon. You probably don’t want to use Jaime Barria ($8,100). Even with that price tag. Tyler Anderson ($11,900) has pitched better at home throughout his career. He’s a solid contrarian play given the size of the contest and weather risk to others.

Stack Targets: Barria, Mengden, Chen, Anderson, Lopez

Main Slate: We’ll be using a seven-game slate for tonight’s Invitational. Patrick Corbin is top dog for his thousandth matchup versus the Dodgers. I’ll probably pass on his $25,500 price tag. All things considered, I prefer Alex Wood for only $14,800.

Nick Pivetta ($14,000) is crazy cheap coming off a bad outing. He’s paired with a weak Giants offense. They’re somewhat strikeout prone. His opponent, Chris Stratton ($12,100) is also playable. Typically, it’s wise to avoid Citizen’s Bank Park. If Stratton has a bad outing, an already taxed San Fran bullpen could completely melt.

Rick Porcello ($21,100) visiting Masahiro Tanaka ($16,400) feels super risky. It should surprise nobody if either pitcher ends the night atop the leaderboard. There’s a lot of risk and reward to be found here.

Gio Gonzalez ($22,300) on the road versus Joey Lucchesi ($14,800) is a much easier setting to target. Gonzalez in particular has a soft matchup versus an incredibly strikeout prone opponent. Is Gio the chalk?

Stack Targets: Wade LeBlanc, Ryan Yarbrough, Eric Skoglund, Jaime Garcia, Andrew Cashner.

4. SaberSim Says…

Hey, SaberSim agrees. Gio is the chalk. Wood, Corbin, Tanaka, and Pivetta round out the top five. Yarbrough, Stratton, and Wood are the preferred values. Bats include Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz, Branton Belt, Teoscar Hernandez, and Rhys Hoskins. Sounds like a Bleu Jays stack is go. Gregor Blanco, Alen Hanson, and Adam Jones are among the notable values.

5. No No No

Perhaps you’ve heard tell of this.

Note the velocity on that final pitch.

Oh, this guy hits home runs?

I’ve been forced to use this guy as an injury replacement for Adrian Beltre in a 20-team dynasty league. It’s been… working.

Hidden Section 6: For the Fans

I wrote about the next 3,000 hit candidates on my personal blog. It’s behind a tiny paywall. I see five reasonable candidates plus nine honorable mentions. The influx of young players could bolster the ranks in future seasons.