The Daily Grind: Skip The Aces

Tomorrow’s waiver wire targets are heavy on the bats. Check out the full Streaming Wars for specific picks and advice.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Just Sayin’

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

An Athletics stack was the winning combination for mmddyyyy. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have a standard issue contest tonight – $2, no rake, 52 spots, and two entries per person on FantasyDraft. See ya there.

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

Watch out for possible storms in Baltimore, Philly, New York, and Cleveland. I got burned last night trying to play it cute with Corey Kluber.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Aaron Nola ($23,100) hosting Kenta Maeda ($22,400) are the top priced pitchers tonight. Between homer friendly Citizen’s Bank Park and a terrifying Dodgers lineup, I’m out on both of them. Luckily, plenty of cheaper alternatives abound. Gerrit Cole ($21,200) at Coors Field probably isn’t one of them.

James Paxton is back from back soreness. One more back and I’m Chris Berman. He’ll cost $19,600 – a reasonable price – in a contest against the Giants. Typically solid Andrew Suarez costs only $14,900.

Jose Berrios ($19,600) has proven to be quite frustrating for certain DFS players (i.e. me). He mixes masterpieces with duds. Guess who plays him on all the wrong days. The Blue Jays are a seemingly domitable opponent. He should receive plenty of run support against Ryan Borucki.

Speaking of frustration, Masahiro Tanaka ($16,900) is priced to move. He’s visiting Tropicana Field which should really help with his home run problems. For one, the park is large. For two, the Rays are pooey. Welcome back Yonny Chirinos ($9,000). Do not use him under any circumstance.

In fact, let’s skip a bunch of guys for a minute. If you need, need, need a no-cost pitcher, Eric Lauer ($8,000) is your guy. He’s an easy 10 to 18 point projection for basement money against a bad Mets offense. Of course, Zack Wheeler ($15,700) is likely to outperform. The Padres, you may have heard, are strikeout prone.

Ok, back to real pitchers. Jordan Zimmermann ($16,700) has it easy at Kauffman Stadium. Either side of Joe Musgrove ($12,900) at Shane Bieber ($16,100) looks playable to me. Jeremy Hellickson makes short starts and has a tough opponent. For $12,200, he’s a solid value. Last but not least, Felix Pena could approach double-digit strikeouts in five innings of work against the White Sox. Emphasis on could. I promise nothing.

Stack Targets: Borucki, Austin Gomber, Homer Baley, Burch Smith, Yefry Ramirez, Mike Minor, Clay Buchholz, Tyler Anderson, Drew Pomeranz

Pom is back from the disabled list with a soft matchup against the Orioles. I’m… not predicting good things for him.

4. SaberSim Says…

Paxton, Nola, Kyle Hendricks, Berrios, and Cole are the top rated pitchers (Pena is sixth). I dunno about homer prone Hendricks. Values include Hendricks, Pena, and Paxton. Big bats like Matt Carpenter, Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, J.D. Martinez, and George Springer are good building blocks. Patch the cracks with Joey Gallo, Wilmer Flores, Mike Zunino, and Ryan Zimmerman.

5. Just Sayin’

Responsible parenting.

I would buy low. Just sayin’

I would buy low. Just sayin’