The Daily Grind: One Word To Bring Them

The theme this week is one-word analysis. Coming at ya hot!

AGENDA

1. Some Runs Were Scored
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. Hitters to Use
5. SaberSim Says…
6. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. Some Runs Were Scored

Waoooow…

2. Weather Reports

There’s a chance of storms in Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, and St. Louis. Monitor accordingly.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Early Slate: There is a teeny tiny early slate featuring just three games. The only pitcher I wouldn’t gamble upon is Julio Teheran versus the Nationals. Amir Garrett has been beyond terrible lately, but he has more than enough talent to shut down the Padres for six innings. And he costs only $4,900.

Johnny Cueto ($11,700 on DK) tops the price sheet by a whopping $3,000. Until we know his battle with blisters is over, I’m not convinced he’s better than Tanner Roark ($8,700).

Stack Targets: Teheran, Garrett, Jason Hammel, Jhoulys Chacin

Main Slate: Corey Kluber ($12,500) is the king of the 11-game evening crew. He has a tough but winnable matchup versus Brandon McCarthy and the Dodgers. Speaking of McCarthy, he’s a solid contrarian pick. His best outings run in the 25 point range, and he only costs $7,600.

Funny how the Angels have started to hit with Mike Trout on the disabled list. Which is my way of saying I’m slightly worried about Michael Pineda. I’m obligated to say that I still think he’s a really good reliever and a really mediocre starter.

The White Sox struggle against right-handed pitching which should be all Dylan Bundy needs. He’s consistently decent, regularly posting point totals in the high-teens. That’s all you need for $7,700.

A few bargains like German Marquez, Brian Johnson, Francisco Liriano, and Mike Montgomery have high risk and reward matchups. Marquez is a talented pitcher whose ability isn’t fully actualized. Visiting PNC Park should help. Johnson is visiting Philadelphia. Liriano will host the Rays. They have the highest strikeout rate versus left-handed pitching. Monty has to survive a deep Mets lineup.

Stack Targets: Jordan Zimmermann, Francis Martes, Chad Kuhl, Miguel Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson, Andrew Cashner, Matt Garza, Sam Gaviglio, Matt Harvey, Matt Shoemaker

4. Hitters to Use

Taijuan Walker is an unpredictable opponent, but it’s past time to recognize that Alex Avila has turned into a monster at the plate. He’s another one of those guys whose swapped their ground ball and fly ball rates with amazing results.

As much as I like the Paul Goldschmidt – Jake Lamb duo tonight, they’re too expensive (combined $10,600). Instead, think about “second baseman” Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant for your star power. They run $9,100 combined.

After dismantling the Mariners yesterday, I’m considering jumping on the Twins bandwagon tonight. One of two things usually happens after such an outburst – the offense is tired and falls flat or they continue mashing and a position player is needed to pitch. Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano, and Max Kepler are the obvious guys to own.

Maikel Franco was a nice bargain play last night versus Price. Maybe he’ll keep it up opposite Johnson. He’s just $2,600. Few players that cheap have easy multi-homer power.

Speaking of deep bargains, Taylor Motter is better than $2,700. I mean, he’s not great or anything, just better than that price.

Too many outfielders.

5. SaberSim Says…

Liriano, Kluber, Pineda, Shoemaker, and Johnson are the top five per SaberSim. Obviously, I worry about Shoemaker dishing out a handful of homers to the Yankees offense. Hitters include Nelson Cruz, Miguel Sano, Manny Machado, Rizzo, and Mookie Betts. If only we knew why Machado is so slumpy.

6. The Daily Grind Invitational

Too few of us bet upon the Twins lineup yesterday. Maddmaxxx won using only Max Kepler and Brian Dozier. Granted, they both had good games, but they were merely core performers compared to some of their teammates. Congrats and leaderboard.

Back to DraftKings with us.