The Daily Grind: Sloppy Pitching

Streamists in the crowd will want to look for Kyle Gibson tomorrow. And if you must dig deeper, I have you covered there too in Streaming Wars.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Not Intended

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Gerrit Cole, Manny Machado, and several unexpected players carried giantr00 to victory. I’m sure the plan wasn’t for Rene Rivera, Jonathan Villar, AND Wilmer Flores to outperform Giancarlo Stanton and J.D. Martinez. Sjm26b deserves a belated congrats for finishing first AND second on Tuesday. He also finished second yesterday. Leaderboard.

We’re playing our usual contest on FantasyDraft – $2, no rake, 52 entries. See you 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

Pittsburgh and Kansas City are at risk of mid-game interruptions. Based on the current reports, I’d expect the Cubs and Pirates to finish their game. It’s looking iffier for the Jays and Royals.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Oh. My. Clay Buchholz ($18,600) is the top-rated pitcher in the seven game night slate. Yikes. I have nothing wrong with Buchholz. He’s confusing in that he’s done the exact same thing for years and years and years to wildly different results. This season, he looks like the successful 2015 version. A visit to San Diego is positive. I never expected to tab Buchholz as the top pitcher of any contest. Not in 2018.

Buchy is opposed by rookie Jacob Nix ($15,400) in what can be considered a high volatility matchup. The Arizona offense is pretty solid these days, and Nix has an inconsistent-looking profile. I liked some of the stuff he flashed in his debut – including a plus change and comfort throwing to both sides of the plate. I also worry how he’ll look when his command is a little less sharp.

Tanner Roark ($17,600) is the second most expensive arm. Yawn. I mean, it’s fine. It’s fine guys. Roark even has a four outing streak of seven or more innings. The Cardinals will probably be without leadoff man Matt Carpenter. Luke Weaver ($13,800) is back, but I hate this price. He should cost around $10,000.

The third priciest arm, Jon Gray, is more my speed. Big upside, consistent strikeout rates, and he’s likely to dodge a flaming hot Ronald Acuna. Some may prefer random number generator Julio Teheran ($15,800), especially if it looks like he’ll be much less popular.

Jon Lester ($14,600) has five duds in his last seven outings. I’m not surprised. He was outperforming his peripherals earlier in the season. A visit to PNC Park is relatively favorable, and he should receive run support opposite Ivan Nova ($13,000). That’s a hair above par value for Nova.

Sam Gaviglio ($14,000) is bland, but you have to like a matchup against the lowly Royals. I would usually also like Ervin Santana’s ($13,700) pairing versus los Tigres, but he’s pitched poorly since returning from the disabled list – including a clunker against the Tigers last week.

Stack Targets: Francisco Liriano, Weaver, Nova, Lester, Nix, Ariel Jurado, Glenn Sparkman, Taylor Cole

Some overlap between the usable and stackable arms tonight.

4. SaberSim Says…

Buchholz, Santana, Lester, Gray, and Gaviglio top the charts tonight. In regards to Santana, SaberSim is unaware of his injury. Playable bargains include Santana, Gaviglio, Lester, and Weaver. The big bats consist of Justin Upton, Kole Calhoun, Paul Goldschmidt, Shin-Soo Choo, and Charlie Blackmon. Choo’s been pretty slumpy. There’s a chance the Angels activate Mike Trout tonight. Tyler Austin, Victor Martinez, Nomar Mazara, Logan Forsythe, and Marcell Ozuna offer plenty of value.

5. Not Intended

Well, that wasn’t intentional.

Speaking of unintentional.

This is how you have a first game with your new team. Wilson Ramos was all over the opposite field.