The Daily Grind: Tri-Ace
What if we replaced the Triforce with a Tri-ace? What then?
AGENDA
- Nacho Libre 2
- Weather Reports
- Pitchers to Use and Abuse
- SaberSim Says…
- 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
You can follow me on twitter @BaseballATeam
2 negatives usually make a positive…
Brad, I assume you aren’t going to touch on the yahoo innings exploit here like you have in the past, but will you on another site? Its always one of my favorite pieces of yours. Thanks for all your work this year, I read TDG every. single. day.
I wasn’t really planning on it this year. There have been a ton of pitchers to work with the last few days though. Tomorrow’s another good day to use it.
You have my results split on the leaderboard. Two of my wins(cashes) are under silremba and the other two are under the correct name of sitremba.
So which ace is which part of the Tri-Ace? Kluber for Wisdom, pitching smart and reading the current baseball trends to get the most out of his slowly deminishing stuff, to the point that this is as good as he’s ever been? Sale is Courage, pitching with his weird windup and sticking to his strikeout-heavy ways even if it drives up his pitchcount and/or risks his health? And Kershaw for Power, because he’s more or less the undisputed best, but has issues when trying for his ultimate goal (in the postseason)?
How are closers usually used the last week of the season? Are they shut down or do they get their usual work to keep loose? If I have Kenley and Kimbrey will they be worthless?
With those two specifically, they’ll be used, but their pitch counts will be carefully monitored.
Thanks B-Man
Has there been any indication on whether Paxton will be on a short leash tonight? My league has an 8 start limit per week for SP’s. I have Paxton, Porcello, and Pomeranz, all of whom I’m on the fence on this week. I am considering picking up Cueto and maybe another starter (Estrada, G. Richards, and Straily are also available) to replace one or more of them. If Paxton was in mid-season form, I’d use him and drop Porcello for Cueto, no brainer. But Paxton’s last 2 starts have me concerned about using him in the finals. Any guidance or thoughts is greatly appreciated. Thanks