The Daily Grind: Sweet Jesus Sucre These Pitchers Are Bad

I’m very pleased I was the first to break yesterday’s stunning blockbuster trade. You know, the one between the Mets and Yankees.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. In Play, Run(s)

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Roc-pile crushed it yesterday with the help of Nick Pivetta, Brandon Nimmo, Devin Mesoraco, and four other Mets. His two non-Mets hitters zeroed out.Go Coors Field! Leaderboard.

It’s the usual 52 no rake entries on FantasyDraft tonight. 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

Instability rules again. The Chicago game transformed into a doubleheader, and it’s at risk of interruption. Washington, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Colorado also have storms on the radar. Be wary.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: We have two aces to target tonight, but they’re partially cancelled out by tough opponents. It’s not the Rays that scare me away from Justin Verlander‘s $25,700 price tag, it’s Blake Snell’s potential to match him pitch-for-pitch for only $18,900. That said, it’s difficult to justify using Snell against the sizzling Astros.

Like Verlander, I don’t fear the offense Chris Sale ($24,800) will face. He should dominate the Twins. Jose Berrios ($17,500) could return the favor, although he obviously has a much harder matchup.

Mike Clevinger ($21,100) is coming off an 11 strikeout gem against the White Sox. He gets a rematch tonight as the third priciest pitcher. As much as I also like Carlos Rodon ($14,000), the safe money is on a Clevinger victory.

Mike Soroka ($17,300) feels a bit pricey for an inexperienced command artist who has yet to go through growing pains. That said, he should receive plentiful run support versus Jaime Garcia.

As his last outing demonstrated, pick Vince Velasquez ($16,700) for the strikeout per inning. Stay for the surprise no-hit bid. Or, if you go back to his previous start, ruin your lineup with 10 earned runs in 3.2 innings. Volatility. Luke Weaver ($15,400) could enjoy facing the strikeout prone Phillies.

Pirates ace Jameson Taillon has pitched well since adding a slider to his repertoire. For $16,000 at home against the Brewers, this seems like an easy pick. As the shiny prospect, Freddy Peralta ($14,100) may even carry a higher ownership despite possessing half the talent of Taillon.

Some of the bargains aren’t outright bad – namely Mike Montgomery, Rich Hill, Dereck Rodriguez, and Dan Straily. That said, there isn’t much apparent upside to be found here. They’re all between $12,600 and $13,900. Watch out for winds in Chicago.

Stack Targets: Garcia, Felix Pena, David Hess, Jason Vargas, Sal Romano, Eric Lauer, Paul Blackburn, Jason Hammel Matt Koch, German Marquez, Jefry Rodriguez, Marco Gonzalez, Domingo German

Sweet Jesus Sucre that’s a lot of really bad pitchers…

4. SaberSim Says…

Verlander, Sale, Clevinger, Weaver, and Peralta are the top rated pitchers. Lauer, a bunch of other scrubs, and Weaver are the preferred bargains. Nolan Arenado, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, and Charlie Blackmon lead the hit brigade. Jay Bruce, Elvis Andrus, Adam Duvall, and Yadier Molina stand out as values.

5. In Play, Run(s)

The best part is the umpire trying to get out of Brandon Nimmo’s way.

Obi Juan Soto used the force to re-write history. This is how I know the proper nickname is Obi Juan.

This is all well and good, but I would prefer for Aaron Judge to never dive. Especially in foul territory.