The Daily Grind: Uh-Oh

This is one of the foulest-looking eight-game slates I’ve ever seen.

AGENDA

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

1.The Daily Grind Invitational

RaleighFingers is on a roll. J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, and a heroic play of Edwin Jackson fueled a victory. Congrats and Leaderboard.

We have a messy eight-game slate tonight 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

The only pitcher you might actively want to use has to dodge a 50 percent chance of rain in Chicago.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Zack Greinke ($20,400) looks reasonable enough against the White Sox. He’s also the aforementioned weather dodger. Keep an eye on it, but the early report seems to suggest an interruption is likely. If all is well on the weather front, Greinke is likely to earn a win against the aggressive Chicago offense. He might fall a little short of 20 points, but we’re probably not going to find many pitchers supplying over a point per $1,000 today. The Pale Hose will call upon Dylan Cease ($17,700). He’s hopelessly overpriced. In fact, he’s almost a stack target. He should cost something like $12,400.

Next up is Eduardo Rodriguez ($19,600). By our usual standards, he’s about $2,000 overpriced. Relative to the rest of this slate, he’s par value. He’s visiting a surging Indians team. Their offensive reinforcements have yet to seriously impact the lineup. It’s only a matter of time. On the face of it, I’m such nobody wants Zach Plesac opposite a tough BoSox offense. The heart of that lineup is murder to mid-tier pitchers like Plesac. However, he still figures to be one of the better options available. He’s talented enough to win this matchup while posting over 20 points. That’s something like an 80 percentile outcome, but at least you can pretend you have hope.

Joey Lucchesi ($19,600) might be your best option in the entire slate. The Rays are running an Opener in a NL game. If OOTP has taught me anything, it’s that NL Openers put a mighty strain on your resources. The Tampa offense tends to be rather middling against left-handed pitching.

Anthony DeSclafani ($18,700) is visiting a Soto-less Nationals offense. It’s still a tricky matchup. The price is obviously too high for what is very likely to be a 12 point performance. There’s some upside and downside in there. The win bonus is within reach since Erick Fedde is a trash monster.

Mitch Keller is talented. Should he cost $15,800 versus Mike Trout and friends? Most definitely not. However, if you want a dart throw with upside for over five innings and five strikeouts, Keller’s probably you best bet at this mid-tier price point. Other randos you can try include Jose Suarez ($14,900) and Ariel Jurado ($13,600). Suarez has struggled with home runs. Jurado is pretty consistently bland.

At times in the past, Brock Stewart ($8,000) has looked like he should be a solid major league pitcher. The Dodgers never had cause to give him time to adjust. He pitched rather terribly at Triple-A this year, but I’d be remiss in not pointing out the run environment in the PCL. Stewart is pitching behind an Opener, giving him a slightly elevated chance for a win.

Favorite Plays: Grienke (conditional), Lucchesi, E-Rod, Keller

Stack Targets: Fedde, Peter Lambert, Merrill Kelly, Austin Pruitt, Tom Eshelman, Stewart

4. SaberSim Says…

Greinke, Lucchesi, ERod, Keller, and DeSclafani are the picks to click insofar as there are picks to click. Values include Greinke, Lucchesi, ERod, Keller, and…drum roll… Suarez! DeSclafani is the sixth-best value. So in short, you roughly five pitchers from which to choose.

The hitters though! The baseball gods have furnished an overwhelming quantity of bats for this evening led by Charlie Blackmon, Yordan Alvarez, Trevor Story, Aristides Aquino, and Nolan Arenado. Fear not, values can be found in the form of Josh VanMeter, Aquino, Blackmon, Daniel Murphy, and Joey Votto.

5. Infinity Percent

The Indians have erased the Twins season-long lead in the AL Central.

Looking forward to seeing this battle a dozen more times.

Gio Urshela is 90 percent of Miguel Andujar’s bat and infinity percent of his defense.