Friday, September 14, 2012
The daily grind: 9-14
Posted by Brad Johnson at 5:39amThe Daily Grind provides daily match-up advice based on my every-morning waiver wire search. I welcome advice to help make this column more effective. Ownership rates are from Yahoo!
The Fanduel picks are a mixture of Daily League specific advice and information for the more typical fantasy owner.
Today's grind
Those in leagues with same-day moves should refer back to yesterday’s table.
The Fanduel Daily League Players of the Day are:
Pitcher (to start): You have your choice today. You can choose one of two reliable starters against a strong lineup. That's Ross Detwiler against the Braves or Hisashi Iwakuma against the Rangers.
Or you can choose one of two high upside prospects against a weak lineup. That's Tyler Skaggs versus the Giants or Andrew Cashner at Petco against the Rockies.
Pitcher (bum): You have some choices here as well. The Reds face Jacob Turner in one of the most exploitable match-ups of the day. The Tigers will see Corey Kluber.
Hitter (power): Jonny Gomes, Chris Carter, and Cody Ross are the power plays of the day.
Hitter (speed): I stick by my assertion that Will Venable is hot, even if that isn't strictly true in the last two weeks. It's all a matter of perspective. Coco Crisp is a nice alternative.
Tomorrow's grind
Phillies fans have pretty much accepted that Kyle Kendrick is now a good pitcher, but I'm not buying. He's reduced his repertoire from three pitches to two and while his command and control are very sharp at the moment, I've seen similar stretches from him in the past and they've ended in time. There's a decent chance he holds it together through the end of the season and against the Astros there's all the more reason to roll the dice.
Jenrry Mejia will be starting for the Mets against the Brewers. I wouldn't try him, but he's certainly interesting enough to mention.
What's going on with Jarrod Parker's ownership (40 percent)? He should be owned in twice that number of leagues and that statement has been true for months now. Is it because he's an Athletic?
Plenty of power choices today.
Chris Johnson will get some hacks against Barry Zito. Elsewhere, Gomes, Carter and Crisp will be at it against another lefty opponent in Zach Britton.
Carlos Ruiz is surprisingly over-owned for a guy who starts every couple of days—53 percent. However, I'm told he is expected to start today and Sunday and he doesn't seem to have missed a beat during his time off. He will join John Mayberry Jr. with a strong match-up against Dallas Keuchel.
Maybe you're saying, I need a speedster. I have a hunch that Quintin Berry will get the start against Justin Masterson.
Reliever watch
Joe Nathan blew his second save of the season, which at this late stage is probably all I need to say. Nevertheless, I will specifically state that Nathan's job is very secure.
Follow Brad on Twitter @baseballAteam. Email him at pitchin432 AT Yahoo.com
Thanks for an overall good column, but some days the bear eats you.
More likely to start tonight - Pedroia who left other dayy because wife was in labor or Cain who left injured last night? Need to start 1