The Hardball Times Fantasy

The daily grind: 8-20

by Brad Johnson
August 20, 2012

The 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


The Fanduel Daily League Players of the Day are:

Pitcher (to start): Today we have several mediocre pitchers you could gamble on against bad lineups. Joe Saunders might be the best of the bunch and he's matched up with a scuffling Marlins lineup.

Mark Rogers has pitched fairly poorly this year, but he faces a Cubs lineup that is the worst in the league by some measures.

Mike Leake is extremely variable. Against the Phillies, anything can happen, especially because their lineup of scrubs has been scoring runs in bunches.

Pitcher (bum): The recommendations for today aren't far removed from the bum column. That said, Alex White against the Mets and Will Smith versus the Rays should take the worst of it.

Hitter (power): Jonny Gomes is back to meet with Brian Duensing. You could also try Chris Carter, Eric Thames, or Raul Ibanez.

Hitter (speed): Eric Young has a rough match-up against R.A. Dickey, but he's still a solid bet to swipe a bag. David Murphy hardly counts as a stolen base threat, but including him here rounds things out nicely.

Tomorrow's grind


Marco Estrada against the pitiful Cubs lineup is the top match-up of the day. Estrada has struggled recently, so it's worth keeping that in mind.

Trevor Cahill against the Marlins' weak lineup is another solid choice for tomorrow. Dan Straily offers the most upside and the Twins' lineup is merely decent.

























































































































































































































































































































































































































Team Player Handedness Opposing pitcher   Team Player Handedness Opposing pitcher
Angels         Astros      
  Alberto Callaspo R Aaron Cook     Brett Wallace L Adam Wainwright
Athletics         Brewers      
  Brandon Moss L Cole De Vries     Carlos Gomez R TBA
  Jemile Weeks S Cole De Vries     Norichika Aoki L TBA
  Chris Carter R Cole De Vries   Cardinals      
  Coco Crisp S Cole De Vries     Jon Jay L Lucas Harrell
Mariners         Cubs      
  Eric Thames L Roberto Hernandez     Brett Jackson L Marco Estrada
  Mike Carp L Roberto Hernandez     David DeJesus L Marco Estrada
  Trayvon Robinson S Roberto Hernandez   Dodgers      
  Michael Saunders L Roberto Hernandez     A.J. Ellis R Tim Lincecum
Rangers         Giants      
  David Murphy L Chris Tillman     Brandon Belt L Joe Blanton
Rays           Angel Pagan S Joe Blanton
  Carlos Pena L Luke Hochevar   Mets      
Red Sox           Andres Torres S Jhoulys Chacin
  Cody Ross R Ervin Santana   Nationals      
Tigers           Steve Lombardozzi S Paul Maholm
  Omar Infante R Ricky Romero     Tyler Moore R Paul Maholm
  Delmon Young R Ricky Romero   Padres      
Twins           Yasmani Grandal S A.J. Burnett
  Ryan Doumit S Dan Straily     Will Venable L A.J. Burnett
  Denard Span L Dan Straily   Phillies      
  Ben Revere L Dan Straily     Domonic Brown L Homer Bailey
White Sox           Laynce Nix L Homer Bailey
  Jordan Danks L Ivan Nova     Juan Pierre L Homer Bailey
Yankees         Pirates      
  Andruw Jones R Francisco Liriano     Travis Snider L Jason Marquis
  Casey McGehee R Francisco Liriano     Garrett Jones L Jason Marquis
          Reds      
            Todd Frazier R Cliff Lee
            Ryan Ludwick R Cliff Lee
          Rockies      
            Tyler Colvin L Chris Young
            Eric Young Jr. S Chris Young


Andruw Jones is back again. This time he's joined by Todd Frazier against the home run prone Cliff Lee (I'm going to keep saying it until he shows otherwise) as the top power options of the day. Other quality options include Delmon Young, Eric Young, Eric Thames and Coco Crisp.

Reliever watch


Nothing much to report. I will say that having watched Steve Cishek a number of times this season, I'm convinced that he's merely a good ROOGY in the mold of Vinnie Pestano. Don't think to keep him as a closer for next year because he can't get lefties out.

Follow Brad on Twitter @baseballAteam. Email him at pitchin432 AT Yahoo.com

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