The daily grind: 7-19
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): Yet another day where the pickings are slim. Wei-Yin Chen and Clay Buchholz have imagined upside but also carry more risk than I find acceptable. Buchholz isn’t even cheap in daily leagues.
Pitcher (bum): I don’t expect to say this very often, but I really expect the Padres to beat up on Lucas Harrell. I might also bet on the Tigers lineup against Jerome Williams.
Hitter (power): I’m a fan of Todd Frazier against Joe Saunders if he gets enough fastballs to work with. I’m also hoping to see Brandon Moss get to Freddy Garcia.
Hitter (speed): I’m going to pick Will Venable, Michael Saunders, and (of course) Ben Revere.
Tomorrow’s grind
One pitcher tomorrow stands out above the rest. I’ve been very impressed by Marco Estrada this season. He’s striking out a ton of hitters while generating plenty of swings and misses and he’s walking nobody. Excellent recipe for success. The Reds have a little bit of swing and miss in their bat, so tomorrow’s match-up is favorable. He’s only eight percent owned, so snag him. I’ve been holding him in a couple leagues.
You could try Miguel Gonzalez against the Indians. I’ve yet to see him pitch so all I can say is he has a solid pedigree.
| Team | Player | Handedness | Opposing pitcher | Team | Player | Handedness | Opposing pitcher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angels | Brewers | |||||||
| Erick Aybar | R | Derek Holland | Norichika Aoki | L | Homer Bailey | |||
| Alberto Callaspo | R | Derek Holland | Cubs | |||||
| Athletics | Tony Campana | L | Kyle Lohse | |||||
| Brandon Moss | L | Ivan Nova | Diamondbacks | |||||
| Jemile Weeks | S | Ivan Nova | Stephen Drew | L | Bud Norris | |||
| Seth Smith | L | Ivan Nova | Gerardo Parra | L | Bud Norris | |||
| Blue Jays | Dodgers | |||||||
| Adam Lind | L | Josh Beckett | Jerry Hairston Jr. | R | Johan Santana | |||
| Rajai Davis | R | Josh Beckett | Giants | |||||
| Indians | Brandon Belt | L | Vance Worley | |||||
| Johnny Damon | L | Miguel Gonzalez | ||||||
| Casey Kotchman | L | Miguel Gonzalez | Marlins | |||||
| Mariners | Greg Dobbs | L | Kevin Correia | |||||
| Michael Saunders | L | James Shields | Mets | |||||
| Orioles | Kirk Nieuwenhuis | L | Aaron Harang | |||||
| Wilson Betemit | S | Derek Lowe | Padres | |||||
| Jim Thome | L | Derek Lowe | Yasmani Grandal | S | Drew Pomeranz | |||
| Rangers | Carlos Quentin | R | Drew Pomeranz | |||||
| Craig Gentry | R | TBA | Cameron Maybin | R | Drew Pomeranz | |||
| David Murphy | L | TBA | Chris Denorfia | R | Drew Pomeranz | |||
| Rays | Phillies | |||||||
| Luke Scott | L | Hisashi Iwakuma | Juan Pierre | L | Tim Lincecum | |||
| Carlos Pena | L | Hisashi Iwakuma | Pirates | |||||
| Elliot Johnson | S | Hisashi Iwakuma | Pedro Alvarez | L | Ricky Nolasco | |||
| Red Sox | Garrett Jones | L | Ricky Nolasco | |||||
| Daniel Nava | S | Aaron Laffey | Reds | |||||
| Mauro Gomez | R | Aaron Laffey | Zach Cozart | R | Marco Estrada | |||
| Cody Ross | R | Aaron Laffey | Todd Frazier | R | Marco Estrada | |||
| Royals | Rockies | |||||||
| Salvador Perez | R | Nick Blackburn | Marco Scutaro | R | Jason Marquis | |||
| Alcides Escobar | R | Nick Blackburn | Tyler Colvin | L | Jason Marquis | |||
| Lorenzo Cain | R | Nick Blackburn | ||||||
| Twins | ||||||||
| Ryan Doumit | S | Luke Hochevar | ||||||
| Denard Span | L | Luke Hochevar | ||||||
| Ben Revere | L | Luke Hochevar | ||||||
| Yankees | ||||||||
| Andruw Jones | R | Tommy Milone |
The Red Sox have one outfield slot and DH for two of Ross, Gomez and Nava. I think Ross and Gomez are most likely to start.
I expect the Royals to tee off on Blackburn. Ownership of Perez and Cain should spike very soon.
Jones will be cut loose yet again. Definitely one of the most reliable power streamers.
I expect some TTO outcomes from the match-up between Pena and Iwakuma.
Reliever watch
Santiago Casilla has gone from an iron grip on the closer’s role to none. With another blown save on Wednesday—this time in extra innings —Casilla will almost certainly be demoted. Sergio Romo should benefit most, although he seems to require more recovery time than most relievers.
Tyler Clippard earned the save last night but it included two solo home runs. He needs to rattle off another streak of scoreless innings to keep the job away from Drew Storen. Speaking of Storen, he’s expected to be activated today.