The Daily Grind: Pick An Ace

When I campaign for President, this is a contender to be my official song.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Pace of Play

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Wow, we suck. Despite all kinds of superlative performances yesterday, johnson119’s meager 127.65 point performance was the top score. He scored four good hitters and completely whiffed on his pitchers. Most of us spiked pitchers – there were quite a few who performed well – but completely punted the bats. In any case, a win is a win. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We cooking with 13 games on FantasyDraft.

2. Weather Reports

The constant storms of August aren’t affecting any MLB cities this year…

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Jacob deGrom ($22,100), despite a tough matchup against the Braves, is probably still $1,000 underpriced. He’s regularly spinning seven inning gems. He’ll be opposed by Mike Foltynewicz who has decided to go all in on his stage career as an impersonator of hot trash.

Lance Lynn ($20,400) finally justified my befuddlement and wariness last week. Yet here I find myself oddly compelled to use him against the White Sox. This seems like exactly the sort of impatient offense against which Lynn should thrive.

Poor James Paxton ($17,700) and Hyun-Jin Ryu ($19,800). It’s too good pitchers cancelled out by a World Series preview game.

Astros pitchers posted hair raising numbers over the last couple days thanks in part to the Terrible Tigers. Now Jose Berrios gets the booster shot. The last time he faced garbage (the Marlins), he posted over 40 points.

Chris Paddack ($16,700) can’t buy an easy matchup. He’ll host the Red Sox tonight. At least they won’t have the designated hitter. Eduardo Rodriguez ($18,000) is a little over-hyped for a pairing with a (theoretically) lefty-mashing opponent.

Jack Flaherty ($17,600) has gone full-ace, but the price list has yet to catch up. He’s a $21,000 pitcher versus the sea level rockies.

For some reason, Zack Greinke ($16,800) is priced like a typical mid-tier schlub. This is an incredibly safe price at which to own an easy 15 to 20 points. The Angels strikeout-resistant lineup prevents this from being completely ridiculous.

Vince Velasquez ($15,100) is on a run of serviceable outings. A visit to Miami could up the spice level to maximum. If anybody is going to flip a surprise 35 point outing, it’s Double-V. Hector Noesi ($10,000) is a viable bargain play thanks to a high swinging strike rate. He’s also perilously homer prone.

Why are there so many bad teams? Trevor Richards ($14,900) is par value opposite the Crap-o-matic Orioles. Zach Plesac ($14,800) is probably the most likely to give Velasquez a run for his money as “surprise” top performer. He’ll host the deposed and dispossessed Royals. Jordan Lyles ($13,800) is also par value. He’s tidying up Miller Park to host the D-Backs.

Favorite Plays: deGrom, Lynn, Berrios, Flaherty, Greinke

Stack Targets: Folty, Peter Lambert, Gregory Soto, Jose Suarez, Ty Blach, Peter Lambert, Justus Sheffield, Trent Thornton

4. SaberSim Says…

FDraft projections aren’t posted yet so these are for DraftKings. They’re usually close to identical. deGrom, Lynn, Berrios, ERod, and Greinke top the charts. Noesi, Mitch Keller, Lyles, Sheffield, and Lambert are the bargains. I’d rather avoid these deeply discounted hand grenades today.

Yordan Alvarez, Austin Meadows, Christian Yelich, Tommy Pham, and Max Kepler are the preferred hitters. Value seekers shall prefer Trent Grisham, Isan Diaz, Ryan O’Hearn, Lewis Brinson, and Ty France.

5. Pace of Play

Rob Manfred must love this pace of play.

It’s so pretty.

I also can’t look away from watching Todd Frazier’s 20-grade speed.