The Daily Grind: Walk Off

This title would have been fantastic tomorrow. But it’s today.

AGENDA

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

1. Walk Off

The ninth inning is typically the least important for DFS production. Closers generally allow very few runs. Here’s an exception.

Just Dingers kicked it off with his 29th home run in 247 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks. Overall, he’s popped 45 homers in 479 plate appearances – a pace of 61 over a full season. David Peralta later finished things with a true walk off.

2. Weather Reports

All clear. Well, it’ll be overcast in Texas, but it’s not supposed to rain.

3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse

Main Slate: We have eight games with which to work tonight. And to make matters worse, there aren’t any aces. The priciest arm are Sonny Gray and Kyle Hendricks. I’d steer clear of Hendricks. The Cubs clinched the division yesterday. It’s a hangover game for them. Gray should fare relatively well against a weak Rays lineup. Most of their best left-handed hitters are slumping. They also rely rather heavily on home runs, and Gray’s good at preventing long balls.

Brad Peacock always costs more than I want to pay for a pitcher who almost never exceeds six innings. I’d still be fine with a $9,500 price tag versus the Red Sox if he didn’t commonly fail to complete five innings. To be fair, Peacock is more stretched out than he was earlier in the season.

Danny Duffy wasn’t able to replicate his superb 2016 campaign, but he did provide solid production throughout the year. Look at today’s pairing against the Tigers as a high floor, mid-ceiling option.

After the top, it gets ugly fast. Eduardo Rodriguez has a tough matchup against Peacock and the Astros. Lance Lynn has struggled recently, but he should perform well against the Cubs’ backups. Dillon Peters costs just $5,200. While risky, there’s a pretty good chance he supplies 15 DK points opposite the Braves.

Stack Targets: Dylan Covey, Peters, Daniel Norris, Bud Norris, Edwin Jackson

4. SaberSim Says…

Duffy, Gray, Bud Norris, Sean Manaea, and Peters are the top rated pitchers this evening. With respect to Bud, he’s projected to pitch like a closer for over five innings. I’d bet on no more than four innings from him. That’s also why I didn’t mention Jacob Faria – he probably won’t finish five frames. As for Manaea, consider me uninspired by that option.

Mike Trout is a must play this evening, even at $5,700. That’s because Covey is el terrible. Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Giancarlo Stanton, and Trea Turner round out the top five. Chief among the values are Gregory Polanco, Lane Adams, Robinson Chirinos, Albert Pujols, and Khris Davis.

5. The Daily Grind Invitational

Congrats to Hoosier2379 for deploying the winning combination of Rich Hill, John Lackey, and Trea Turner. They supplied 81.45 of his 135.45 points. Here’s the leaderboard with just two contests remaining.

Speaking of remnant contests, here’s one now – on DraftKings.