The Daily Grind: Tri-Ace

What if we replaced the Triforce with a Tri-ace? What then?

AGENDA

1. Nacho Libre 2
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. TDG Invitational Returns!

1. Nacho Libre 2

Starring some guy who definitely isn’t Jack Black but looks close enough for the continuity of the series.

2. Weather Reports

Keep an eye on Colorado, just in case. It should be fine.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: Our mega 15 game slate is headlined by Chris Sale, Robbie Ray, and Carlos Martinez. With the Red Sox all but clinched in the AL East, Sale is probably in for a relatively short outing. Just when I thought he might be wearing down, he tossed a dominant outing against the Orioles. The Blue Jays are comparably prone to strikeouts and struggles.

Ray was shockingly mortal against the Padres last week. I suppose everybody has a bad day. He gets a rematch against the Giants offense. He recently posted 34 DK points against them. CMart is the affordable ace at $9,100 – probably because the Cubs put together seven runs against him on September 15. He’s also opposed by Jake Arrieta, making him the riskiest of the aces.

Dallas Keuchel might take umbrage at my failure to include him among the aces. However, he hasn’t done anything particularly ace-like since returning from injury. That was over two months ago. The current version of Keuchel generally supplies 18 to 22 points. That’s fine for $9,400. He’ll face the Rangers.

Kevin Gausman could do anything in his visit to Pittsburgh. He’s been more good than bad in the second half, although he’s still mixing in complete duds. I like Trevor Williams as a bargain alternative.

After tossing a gem against the Mariners last week, Cole Hamels is awfully cheap at $7,700. I project him to perform comparably to Keuchel for a large fraction of the price.

Dinelson Lamet sometimes posts double digit strikeouts. That’s the only reason to give him a try against the Dodgers. Additional cheapies with upside include Zach Davies, James Paxton, Parker Bridwell, and Blake Snell

Stack Targets: Chris Volstad, Bartolo Colon, Deck McGuire, Jake Thompson, Rafael Montero, Jose Urena, Anibal Sanchez, Matt Moore, Tyler Anderson

4. SaberSim Says…

Sale, Ray, Alex Wood, Gio Gonzalez, and Paxton are the top rated pitchers today. The Sim doesn’t really know that the reduced velocity version of Wood is considerably more mortal than the early season version. I’m sure it likes his matchup against the Padres. Similarly, it doesn’t know the Mariners will handle Paxton with kiddie gloves. I’ll be shocked if he throws over six innings as he’s projected.

Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, Charlie Blackmon, and Nolan Arenado are the big bats. Albert Pujols, Luis Valbuena, Brian Anderson, and Jonathan Lucroy are the small bats.

5. The Daily Grind Invitational

Lately, I’ve been entering the wrong lineups into the Invitational. Hoosier2379 picked well. He compiled 157 points with the help of an ice cold Logan Forsythe (32 points). He could have really killed it if he picked Josh Donaldson over Nolan Arenado. Congrats and leaderboard.

Same deal for tonight – DraftKings, $2, and 15 users