The Daily Grind: These Indians Taste Like Chalk

Kyle Gibson has won one game.

AGENDA

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

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Garrick crushed it on offense last Friday, raking in 97 of his 188 points from just Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Martinez, and Cody Bellinger. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We’re doing what has turned into our usual 52-entry, two entry max contest on FantasyDraft.

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 storms in St. Louis. As of this morning, there’s a 50 percent chance they’ll interrupt play.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: We have an eight game slate tonight. Patrick Corbin ($21,100) is the top rated pitcher by dollar, but I’m taking Carlos Carrasco ($20,800) as the top pick. The Indians lineup should provide copious run support at used-to-be U.S. Cellular Field. Carrasco is not entirely without risk since he relies so heavily on his breaking stuff. If the White Sox bats can jump on a few ill-timed fastballs, they could post some crooked numbers. Even so the downside risk is easily outweighed the upside.

Madison Bumgarner ($20,200) is probably free to throw about 100 pitches tonight. He’s visiting Miami in what looks like a very juicy matchup. Although he didn’t exactly rack up the strikeouts last week, he looked pretty sharp to my eyes.

Jack Flaherty ($16,200) seems like the obvious candidate for highest ownership. He has a choice pairing against the strikeout prone Padres. The 22-year-old is a “pitchability” guy. The total package is better than the sum of the parts. He should thrive tonight.

One reason I’m wary of Corbin is his opponent, Joe Musgrove. His velocity has declined since his 2018 debut (94 mph). He was down in the 92 mph range in his latest outing. Any prediction of near-ace production depends on that 94 mph heater returning. Otherwise, he’s just a guy, the kind who is a pretty good value for $16,400 versus a middling Diamondbacks lineup.

Most of the other pitchers are some kind of usable for DFS purposes. Perhaps they’re a little less upsidey than a Flaherty. For example, I like Jose Quintana‘s $15,900 price, but he’s visiting power friendly Miller Park. Sam Gaviglio and Ryan Yarbrough have both pitched well. They’re also obvious regression candidates. Andrew Heaney is good but a tad overpriced at $17,900. Dylan Bundy ($14,400) doesn’t have to face Mookie Betts. That could work for him. Pick a value between negative five and 21. That’s Steven Wright’s ($14,800) score.

Stack Targets: Lucas Giolito, Wei-Yin Chen, Jordan Lyles, Yarbrough, Wade LeBlanc, Junior Guerra, Gaviglio

Not all of these guys will flop, but we can be pretty confident Giolito will struggle. Gonna be some chalky Indians tonight.

4. SaberSim Says…

Carrasco, Bumgarner, Quintana, Corbin, and Flaherty are the preferred arms. Yarbrough, Carrasco, and Guerra are the values. Bats include the Troutist, Jose Ramirez, Michael Brantley, J.D. Martinez, and Francisco Lindor. Matt Carpenter, Mac Williamson, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Dexter Fowler rate among the best bargains.

5. Who Needs Bats

Here’s how you win games without hitting…

Show off some basketball moves. Between the legs, behind the back, and POW – full court alley-oop.

Sometimes, you can talk your way into a win.

#Winning

They ruined it by interviewing him. It’s best to never meet your heroes