The Daily Grind: To Soul Crush Or Not To Soul Crush

We’re Twitter polling today.

Which is WORSE?

1. Occasional incorrect calls with live pace of play and ensuing drama from mistakes.
2. Correct calls, interrupted flow of play, crushed souls when your guy pops 1/4 inch off a base.
3. Filler.

— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) May 8, 2019

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

Welcome to the leaderboard jonnychu. Mike Fiers, Whit Merrifield, Bryce Harper, and Jose Berrios carried the vast majority of production – 149.4 of 193.4 points. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have an eight-game contest on the docket tonight at FantasyDraft. 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

We have a repeat of yesterday’s forecast in Colorado – a 50 percent chance of rain throughout the entire day. Watch out for wind in several venues including Wrigley Field where the wind is blowing out!!!

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Early: Several interesting pitchers are available in the four-game early slate. The best of these is probably Charlie Morton ($19,600), and he’s priced accordingly. Morton’s retirement plans may be placed on hold if he keeps pitching like this over the next couple seasons. The Diamondbacks offense is one of the weakest in this slate. He’s opposed by the ever-volatile Robbie Ray ($17,600). There’s some cause to wonder if the Rays may have a problem against left-handed pitching.

Jack Flaherty ($18,400) is a reasonable Plan B even if he has a tough matchup against the Phillies. Double-digit strikeouts are possible. Jerad Eickhoff ($16,900) is more of a mid-tier play, but that’s also how he’s priced.

I can’t stop sneezing. It’s hard to write and sneeze. The other four pitchers are stack targets.

Favorite Plays: ^Those guys

Stack Targets: Brandon Woodruff, Nick Kingham, Jeremy Hellickson, Shelby Miller

Late: Chris Sale ($20,300) is bound to engender some debate today. He struck out 10 White Sox in his most recent outing. That’s four straight outings of more than a strikeout per inning. A visit to Baltimore should yield similarly saucy results. The velocity is still AWOL.

Clayton Kershaw ($19,800) is a comparable alternative. The tricksy southpaw must tame a challenging Braves offense. Kershaw obviously isn’t the guy he once was, but he still figures to be a top play tonight. I’d hazard a median projection of one point per $1,000 with upside for considerably more (and downside for less). I’ll hard pass on pricey Mike Foltynewicz ($17,900).

Matt Boyd is having a nice season. Unless I’m trying to make some fifth order contrarian plays, I just can’t see myself buying against the Angels for $18,900. The Halos aren’t a top offense by any means, but they simply don’t strike out. I have trouble seeing how Boyd is expected to earn this price tag. Tyler Skaggs ($16,900) is a comparable play at a $2,000 discount.

Brad Peacock isn’t getting the strikeouts which might make it hard for him to earn $16,900 tonight. There’s certainly room to profit here against the Royals, but I find myself worried about Robinson Chirinos-fueled stolen bases and a surprisingly decent KC offense.

I would like Kyle Hendricks ($16,300) but for the wind blowing out. Still, he’s a ground ball and line drive pitcher so perhaps he’ll overcome the conditions.

There’s probably some sort of mid-tier patch to be found in Kyle Gibson ($15,600) at Trent Thornton ($14,500). I can’t muster any excitement about either pitcher, but that’s alright. I just need some points.

Jon Gray ($15,500) tends to struggle at home. He feels a little expensive, even against the lowly Giants. One guy who is NOT expensive is Derek Holland ($10,900). He even costs over $2,000 less than a typical Follower. Although he’s a bottom five pitcher, he’s priced so aggressively that he can be used. You just need to catch a three-homer game.

Favorite Plays: Sale, Kershaw, and Hendricks

Stack Targets: Andrew Cashner, Jorge Lopez, Jose Urena, Holland

The Astros are chalky.

4. SaberSim Says…

Sale, Kershaw, Hendricks, Gray, and Boyd carry the top projections. The fall off very quickly from the top. Sale, Holland, Kershaw, Hendricks, and Gray are the values. The Sim is a little more confident about Gray than I am.

Alex Bregman, George Springer, Mike Trout, Jose Altuve, and Javier Baez are the gems tonight. Seek Starlin Castro, Altuve, Mac Williamson, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Zack Cozart for value. Personally, I might skip Cozart.

5.Even Grander

We don’t discuss hitters much here. On another site, I’ve consistently recommended Justin Turner again and again and again. I didn’t have a column with them yesterday so of course he hit three home runs.

I guess I have to mention the Fiers no-no. Joey Votto life?

By the way, Bryce Harper, Merrifield, and Ryan O’Hearn hit grand slams. What a silly week.