The Daily Grind: Thin Thursday Returns

Happy Thursday. Expect an announcement tomorrow.

AGENDA

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

1. The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to minihockey8. He snagged a double dong from Mookie Betts along with plenty of production from everybody except Rhys Hoskins and Jose Ramirez. Most days, if those two turn up duds, you ain’t making money. Leaderboard.

Here’s an experiment: 40 entries, four games. Will it fill? We’re on DraftKings for what may be our penultimate contest on the platform.

PS – New users who deposit with my referral link get 25% bonus cash after jumping through a few hoops. I also get 25%. Conditional referral bonuses suck, but I guess they’re better than no bonus.

2. Weather Reports

Thumbs up!

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Early Slate: Five games are in the early slate. It’s an interesting group. Noah Syndergaard ($11,600) is the big gun, but I may be tempted to take Carlos Martinez ($11,200) at his home park. They’re aces. I don’t have anything else to add.

Sean Newcomb ($8,700) has a high risk, high reward start at bandboxy Great American Ballpark. Count on at least a strikeout per inning. The upside is in the 30 point range. The downside includes walks, multiple home runs, and a sub-10 point performance.

Michael Fulmer ($6,900) at Ivan Nova ($8,000) has potential for a pitcher’s duel. PNC Park constrains power, and neither the Pirates or Tigers have a potent offense. Especially the Tigers. I see these two as evenly matched and likely to provide 15 points +/-5.

Stack Targets: Ben Lively, Matt Koch, Kyle Gibson, Homer Bailey

I had high hopes for Gibson this season. Those are dwindling. I’m completely out for a start at Yankee Stadium. Philadelphia is the obvious venue to target for stacks. You may opt to be less obvious in GPPs.

Main Slate: Tonight, we can pay $13,000 for Chris Sale’s potentially massive point total against a flaky Blue Jays lineup. For $5,000, Marco Estrada is a not insignificant counterplay to all those Sale users. In a small GPP, a matchup of this nature makes for an interesting strategic opportunity.

Dylan Bundy ($9,800) and Chris Archer ($8,800) both look positively delicious tonight. The Rays offense is… soft. The Orioles offense is… one guy. The potential for double digit strikeouts and six quality innings exists on both sides of the aisle.

Jakob Junis has thrown seven or more innings in three of four starts. Bizarrely, I remain confident that Junis is a short start pitcher. I expect most of his outings to run 5.X innings. Even with a shorter inning projection, he’s playable for $8,300 in what should be an easy win at Kauffman Stadium. Then again, nothing is easy for the Royals.

Last but maybe not lease, Kyle Hendrick ($6,900) is hosting Chase Anderson ($6,600). I worry about both pitchers in a general sense. I can’t argue with these prices though. They’re super duper user friendly. Both pitchers look like 15 point performers to me.

Stack Targets: Lucas Giolito, Estrada, Anderson, Hendricks

Giolito produced -18.7 points in his last start. Yes, that’s a negative sign in front of 18.7.

4. SaberSim Says…

For our tiny night slate, Sale, Hendricks, and Archer are the preferred arms. Sure, why not. Hendricks is also Chief Value Officer. Mookie Betts, Mike Moustakas, Anthony Rizzo (icy cold), and J.D. Martinez are a few of the preferred bats. Or be a cheapo with the weirdest two-hole in baseball, Pedro Alvarez.

5. Just An Observation

Presented without comment.