The daily grind: 8-9

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

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): It’s definitely a thin Thursday even though there’s a healthy slate of games. I never expected to recommend Joe Saunders prior to the season, but he’s been predictably solid. Frankly, there just isn’t anyone else available.

Wei-Yin Chen is owned in 51 percent of leagues. He’s the only other option worth a sniff.

Pitcher (bum): At least there are some good bums to work against today. Chris Volstad should help fuel the Reds to another victory. Will Smith against the Orioles and Ubaldo Jimenez versus the Red Sox are likely to end with a lot of runs on the board.

Hitter (power): Todd Frazier, Wilson Betemit and Salvador Perez are my top picks to do a little bashing today.

Hitter (speed): Lorenzo Cain is more of a well-rounded type than a speedster, but placing him here lends a certain feng shui. Rajai Davis is a healthy pick if you really need a steal.

Tomorrow’s grind

Maybe I should stop making recommendations against the Braves. Clearly I’m insane since these match-ups keep blowing up. That said, Matt Harvey has some talent and is only 35 percent owned. He’s also probably the only guy worth using today.

Mark Rogers is only one percent owned and he’s set to face the Astros Triple-A lineup. And yes, I’m aware that they somehow score runs on occasion.

Brandon McCarthy is owned in 46 percent of leagues. Why? In any case, he’s set to come off the disabled list.

Team Player Handedness Opposing Pitcher   Team Player Handedness Opposing Pitcher
Athletics         Astros      
  Brandon Moss L Gavin Floyd     Brett Wallace L Mark Rogers
  Jemile Weeks S Gavin Floyd   Brewers      
  Chris Carter R Gavin Floyd     Carlos Gomez R Bud Norris
  Coco Crisp S Gavin Floyd     Norichika Aoki L Bud Norris
Blue Jays         Cubs      
  Anthony Gose L TBA     Brett Jackson L Homer Bailey
  Yunel Escobar R TBA     Josh Vitters R Homer Bailey
  Rajai Davis R TBA     David DeJesus L Homer Bailey
Mariners         Dodgers      
  Eric Thames L Ervin Santana     A.J. Ellis R Mark Buerhle
  Mike Carp L Ervin Santana   Giants      
  Trayvon Robinson S Ervin Santana     Brandon Belt L Tyler Chatwood
  Michael Saunders L Ervin Santana     Angel Pagan S Tyler Chatwood
Orioles         Mets      
  Wilson Betemit S Luke Hochevar     Jason Bay R Paul Maholm
Rangers           Scott Hairston R Paul Maholm
  David Murphy L Max Scherzer   Nationals      
Rays           Steve Lombardozzi S Trevor Cahill
  Carlos Pena L Cole De Vries   Padres      
Red Sox           Yonder Alonso L James McDonald
  Cody Ross R Chris Seddon     Carlos Quentin R James McDonald
Royals           Cameron Maybin R James McDonald
  Salvador Perez R Miguel Gonzalez     Will Venable L James McDonald
  Alcides Escobar R Miguel Gonzalez   Phillies      
  Lorenzo Cain R Miguel Gonzalez     Nate Schierholtz L Kyle Lohse
Tigers           Domonic Brown L Kyle Lohse
  Brennan Boesch L Scott Feldman     Laynce Nix L Kyle Lohse
  Quintin Berry L Scott Feldman   Pirates      
Twins           Travis Snider L Edinson Volquez
  Ryan Doumit S Jeremy Hellickson     Starling Marte R Edinson Volquez
  Denard Span L Jeremy Hellickson     Garrett Jones L Edinson Volquez
  Ben Revere L Jeremy Hellickson   Reds      
Yankees           Zack Cozart R Justin Germano
  Andruw Jones R Ricky Romero     Todd Frazier R Justin Germano
  Casey McGehee R Ricky Romero   Rockies      
            Josh Rutledge R Tim Lincecum
            Tyler Colvin L Tim Lincecum
            Eric Young Jr. S Tim Lincecum

Andruw Jones is back again with the platoon advantage.

Frazier’s becoming a popular standby here, he’s set to face Justin Germano, who I never really expected to see in the majors.

My irrational lack of respect for the Braves is outweighed only by my lack of respect for Kyle Lohse. I expect Domonic Brown and Nate Schierholtz to have solid games. By the way, Brown’s smoking the ball to the tune of a 27 percent line drive rate. Unfortunately, it’s coming at the expense of fly balls. And it’s very small sample.

Reliever watch

Jim Henderson appears to be the guy in Milwaukee, earning his second consecutive save. All I can offer are shrugs.

Ryan Cook hung on for an ugly save, giving up a couple of runs in the process. His grip on the closer gig has to be loosening and Sean Doolittle appears to be next in line despite Grant Balfour’s “experience.” I could be leaping to conclusions: Balfour pitched the seventh yesterday and allowed a solo home run while Doolittle pitched the eighth and allowed two hits while striking out the side.

The Giants’ bullpen is devolving into an ugly mess, not unlike the A’s, now that Santiago Casilla has gone cold. Because Sergio Romo is often unavailable, I’d bet on Casilla righting the ship and reclaiming the job. Others may wish to put their chips on Romo or Jeremy Affeldt.


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JB
11 years ago

Betemit is awful vs leftys and Valentine is considering a full time platoon with Andino getting the ABs vs leftys.  Interesting choice.

I like the Salvador selection.

JB
11 years ago

Buck I meant not Valentine.

Brad Johnson
11 years ago

Manny Machado.

Adjust accordingly.