The daily grind 5-1

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!

Today’s grind

Jonathan Niese’s ownership is up to 55 percent, but he’s the only streaming option approaching attractive today. Edinson Volquez is playable, but he’s owned at a 50 percent clip. Felix Doubront against the A’s might be the sneaky pick for the day.

Lefty masher Shelley Duncan faces Chris Sale.

Tony Campana has been finding his way onto my rosters. I saw someone on Twitter comp his tale to Sam Fuld’s and that seems reasonable. Ride the wave and collect the steals until they dry up.

Luke Scott’s employment rate is up another point to 37 percent. He’s facing Hector Noesi today so snag him in any format. I’m starting him in a 10-team, shallow-roster league.

Ryan Sweeney’s feasted on righties this year and faces Jarrod Parker today.

A Brian Matusz’ start should also mean an Andruw Jones start.

Tomorrow’s grind

It’s yet another shallow match-up day. A.J. Burnett faces the Cardinals tomorrow and he’s only 27 percent owned. Don’t expect a win as the Pirates offense has been surprisingly futile.

Philip Humber’s back on the drawing board. His post-perfect game implosion has his ownership rate down to 32 percent. He faces the Indians tomorrow and should be owned in most formats.

I was surprised to find that Daniel Bard is only 38 percent owned. That’s getting into the territory where the recommendation probably isn’t helping my readers, but the guy is a good pitcher and should be owned. He’ll run into his share of bumps along the way, but he faces the lowly A’s tomorrow.

A trio of base thieves have good match-ups tomorrow. Rajai Davis might start if his wrist is feeling better. Campana faces righty Homer Bailey. Carlos Gomez draws Cory Luebke, which is a tough match-up but at least we know he’ll start.

Sweeney and Josh Reddick both have somewhat favorable match-ups. They’re morphing into daily recommendations.

Eventually I’ll get to graduate Scott. He faces righty Blake Blake Beavan tomorrow.

Reliever watch

Brandon League blew his second save, but he’s still one of the most secure closers in the game.

Brad Lidge had surgery to repair a hernia. The Nationals’ closer situation is unsettled with Henry Rodriguez the top man. He’s never shown high leverage ability in the majors while teammate Tyler Clippard has, so the situation could be fluid. Clippard’s had past difficulties in a ninth inning role, but as we saw with Ryan Madson last year, those can disappear suddenly.

Yesterday’s results

R.A. Dickey had a solid outing: 6 IP, 6 K, 4.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

If you gritted your teeth for Randy Wolf, at least you got a win out of it. You also got some ugly peripherals: 5 IP, 3 K, 5.40 ERA, 2.40 WHIP

They’re still sticking with the straight platoon in Milwaukee. Gomez did not start and was later caught stealing as a pinch runner.

Chris Denorfia had a good game but his teammates didn’t support him. He went 2-for-3 with two walks yet still did not score or drive in a run.

Good day for Marlon Byrd. He went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. His average is creeping toward the Mendoza line.

Reddick rounded out a good day for my hitters. He went 2-for-4 with a home run, one run, three RBI, and a walk.


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robby
11 years ago

Actually, MIL hasn’t been sticking with a straight platoon as Gomez actually has a few starts vs RH already this year (his splits over the wknd vs RH was almost .400 so far, in only abt 15 AB), but it’s already looking like he’ll be more than just a platoon player. Maybe not full-time, but more than last year for sure…

Brad Johnson
11 years ago

Given Morgan’s futility and history of blah, I expected a quicker reward for Gomez’s improving peripherals and quick start.

jsp2014
11 years ago

Me too (regarding Gomez). I can’t help but wonder if he’s finally arrived. He always had the glovework down. Then the stolen base success rate caught up with the raw speed. He flashed some pop last year. If he sustains a K% around 10 while hitting 2nd, we could be looking at an extremely valuable player.

Brad Johnson
11 years ago

The thing I’m seeing is the huge shift in his plate discipline metrics. These generally “stabilize” quickly. He could be a vintage Juan Pierre type talent if those numbers hold up.

Will H.
11 years ago

Lots of good stuff in this series, and I couldn’t agree more about Gomez and Campana… they have sure started to save my ass.

I’m not so sure about your thoughts on HRod/Clip, though; Davey has been unequivocal, stating multiple times that Clippard is to be a setup guy and, even when it seemed laughable before the season started, that Rodriquez had closer-stuff. Rizzo, too, is supportive: “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in Henry Rodriguez,” the Nationals’ general manager said, “He’s five out of six and you look around the league and that’s pretty darn good as far as closers are concerned.” Not to mention that Clip has a 5+ ERA and a 4+ FIP while Henry is 2-flat and 3.19.

Brad Johnson
11 years ago

It’s also worth noting that Clippard’s been leaned on very heavily over the last few years. It wouldn’t surprise me if he suddenly broke completely.

Will H.
11 years ago

Totally agreed… he must be among the top in IP each of the last two years.