The Daily Grind: No Rake GPP Is Here!

It begins.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. DFS First Take
3. Weather Reports
4. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
5. SaberSim Says…

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to Adamsessa1. He successfully found a few solid players with low ownership rates. Robinson Cano, Dee Gordon, and Stephen Piscotty were difference makers for him.

The no rake GPP begins on FantasyDraft. Allow me to emphasize… No @#$%ing rake. That means every entry has a neutral expected value. And you’re allowed to sign up twice! FantasyDraft put a cap of 60 entries on this first one – they don’t want to be left with an overlay. Let’s fill it quickly to prove we need bigger contests!

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. DFS First Take

We have a 15 game slate for today’s First Take.

3. Weather Reports

San Diego is the most likely to experience weather delays or postponement. New York (both) and Washington could see storms too.

4. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Everybody plays! Woohoo! Gerrit Cole ($23,700) is excessively attractive tonight in Phoenix. Look at the sparkles – elite performance, a pitcher friendly park, a neutral value opponent, and a bad opposing pitcher. Nobody believes Kris Medlen can still retire major league hitters, right? He couldn’t handle Triple-A batters.

Second best is Jose Berrios ($18,500) against a volatile, strikeout prone White Sox club. It’s not a “safe” play, but he’s priced accordingly. He has double-digit strikeout upside. The boring alternatives to Berrios are J.A. Happ ($22,800) and Rick Porcello ($21,600). They produce via a surplus of quantity. Both have solid matchups against the Rays and Rangers respectively. They’re a little overpriced which could make them better GPP assets. Their ownership should be relatively tame.

Either side of Gio Gonzalez ($19,300) versus Nick Pivetta ($14,900) is playable. Mike Foltynewicz ($18,100) hosting a weak Giants offense should work out to about 20 points. Miles Mikolas ($14,900), Joey Lucchesi ($16,300), and Walker Buehler ($17,100) are also interesting. I worry about longevity for Lucchesi and Buehler. Not only are they unlikely to pitch six or more innings, they also have to dodge rain.

The kingpin bargain is Daniel Mengden ($12,600) versus a laughable Orioles offense (and Manny Machado). They’re a strikeout prone unit, although they do have the potential to deliver some power numbers. Playing at O.co Coliseum should work in Mengden’s favor. He’s sharpened his command and control after a couple shaky early season outings.

Stack Targets: Andrew Kittredge, Medlen, Josh Tomlin, Carson Fulmer, Mike Leake, Andrew Cashner, German Marquez, Sal Romano

The Yankees may be a terrifying opponent, but they’re also nearly all fly ball hitters. That could set up Tomlin for a surprisingly solid outing. Or not. We’ll see.

5. SaberSim Says…

Berrios, Cole, Happ, Porcello, and Zack Wheeler are the top rated arms. I wasn’t that enthused about Wheeler versus the Rox. Wheeler is also the top value (Mengden is seventh on the list). Bats include Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, J.D. Martinez, and George Springer. I guess those guys are ok. Brian McCann, Austin Barnes, Matt Kemp, and Enrique Hernandez are among the values.

6. Only Solo Shots

True fact: Mookie Betts has never hit a home run with a runner on base.

This guy solos too.

I lied. This one is a grandyman slam.