The Daily Grind: The Invitational Starts at 6:10pm ET

Hey! The Invitational starts at 6:10pm ET.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. Best Division?

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Win streaks are nice. My failure to appear on my own leaderboard until Monday was rather embarrassing. I’d like the thank the academy, the Pirates offense, and Scooter Gennett. And damn you Kenta Maeda for stealing the large GPPs from me!!! Leaderboard.

We’re dropping back to 30 entries for tonight’s tiny contest on FantasyDraft. Personally, I love these small slates. It’s so much easier to execute a plan without some blind luckbox ruining everything. IMPORTANT – please note the 6:10pm ET start time – IMPORTANT

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

The forecast is clear. Clear eyes.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Early Slate: Four games are early. A full 100 percent of owners can and probably should roster Dylan Bundy for $15,800. Not only is that a fantastic price for a matchup against the strikeout prone White Sox, every other pitcher in the slate is some kind of terrible.

Stack Targets: Luis Castillo, Felix Hernandez, Nick Tropeano, Ivan Nova, Marco Estrada, Lucas Giolito, Josh Lucas

I’ll be honest, I’m not touching this early group. Do you use Castillo for the strikeouts and hope he avoids home runs? Maybe you hope Tropeano isn’t as bad as his peripherals? Maybe you use random.com to select your non-Bundy. What a gross collection of pitchers.

Main Slate: Four games are late, starting at 6:10pm ET. The pitching options are decidedly less terrible. In fact, all eight pitchers are some kind of usable. Charlie Morton ($22,300) has top billing. I’m not a huge fan of this price tag versus a tough Cleveland offense. They’re a little banged up though, so Morton need only navigate past three premium hitters. I’m also not thrilled with the prospect of paying $18,000 for Mike Clevinger versus the Astros. The Houston lineup isn’t firing on all cylinders yet, but it’ll happen any day now. Despite my reservations, the winning GPP lineup probably includes whichever pitcher wins this game.

Rick Porcello ($21,100) is in the mix for top pitcher. I love how consistently he pitches at least six innings. He’s opposed by Blake Snell ($15,400) who has the unenviable task of surviving the Red Sox onslaught. Snell’s strikeout potential is countered by a few high-contact hitters in the Boston lineup. That said, it can pay to be contrarian – especially in a tiny contest.

Zach Davies ($11,900) is back from the disabled list in time to host a tepid Mets offense. He’s far more likely to last six or more innings than Steven Matz ($10,200). The lefty is a short outing kind of guy. Davies relies on command and control. He could be a little rusty today.

Danny Duffy ($8,600) is viable? Sure. He probably has a 40 percent chance to win opposite Austin Bibens-Dirkx ($8,000). Duffy’s been so bad this year. As near as I can tell, there’s nothing preventing him from becoming suddenly good again – at least 2017 version of good. Bibens-Dirkx has pitched well at Triple-A this season. He’s no prospect though. In fact, he recently turned 33.

Stack Targets: Bibens-Dirkx, Duffy, Davis, Matz

4. SaberSim Says…

Porcello, Snell, Duffy, Davies, and Morton are the top rated pitchers in our slate. Duffy, Matz, and Bibens-Dirkz are the values. Premium bats include Mike Moustakas, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Michael Brantley, and George Springer. Ryan Rua, Jon Jay, and Delino DeShields are among the bargains.

5. Best Division?

Here’s a Twitter poll for no reason. Note that “AL East” is not a valid choice. A division with only two competitive teams is ineligible for the title of “best.”

Best division?

— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) May 24, 2018