Week 2 of Period 1 of Tout Daily. Twenty Six Touts are competing for the championship. You can see the leaders (Ray Murphy, well ahead of Lenny Melnick and Brian Walton, for now) here.
Would you like to play? The league is hosted by Draft Kings, who are offering a special to new signups. Deposit $5 and gain free entry to a $3 contest. Click here to for more details and to sign up.
And compare your results to the Touts. Here are their picks this week:
Phil Hertz like Jose Quintana (vs. Cleveland, $7,700) and Manny Machado (vs. Boston,$4,800).
Charlie Wiegert, 2015 Champ
Top pitcher…Jon Lester (@ Cincinnati, $10,600). He’s been good but he’ll need to keep the running Reds off base! Long Shot…Alex Meyer. He has no business being in the majors, but against a scuffling Blue Jays team, he has that chance to pitch a gem and stay in Angels rotation.
Top hitters…Freddie Freeman (@ Philadelphia, $4,600) has been scorching, plus 3 Cubbies to back Lester and abuse Red starter Adelman, Contreras, Russell and Schwarber.
Rick Wolf
Joc Pederson (@ Arizona, $3,800) is tonight’s value pick for Tout Daily. He is facing an inconsistent RHP in Walker at a classic hitter’s park, Chase Field. He will be extremely low owned as he is only 5 for 24 vs RHP, but he does have a HR, 6 RBI and 5 walks. When select tournament values, you want a player with 2 HR power. Joc has that possibility tonight.
Lawr MichaelsMike Fiers (@ Tampa, $7200): There are surely safer selections than Fiers today, but for his third start the Astros hurler gets to face the Rays. Tampa is a fun young team with some good hitters, and they are hitting .256 versus right-handers, but the team also leads the league in whiffs (actually tied with the Brewers), something Fiers can certainly exploit. Meaning, I am betting power pitching will prevail over power hitting.
Starlin Castro (@ Pittsburgh, $3300): The Yankees second sacker is not just smoking hot, hitting .439-3-9 over the past ten days, but Castro, who has proved his mettle after life in Chicago, faces struggling rookie Tyler Glasnow and his 0-1, 12.15 mark over 6.6 innings and two starts thus far.
Jeff Boggis
Jacob deGrom (vs. Washington, $10,200) deGrom takes on a hot Washington team tonight at home. If he pitches around Bryce Harper, he should be fine. Surprisingly, deGrom has yet to earn a win this season. He owns a 1.89 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP, but you are rostering him tonight for his strikeout potential. In his last outing at Miami, he had 13 strikeouts. He has a 10.4 K/9 on the season.
Eric Thames (vs. St. Louis, $3,800) Incredible value here at only $3,800 tonight. That ranks him as the 21st highest salaried first baseman, which is a steal. Thames is as hot as he is going to get this season, leading the league with 8 home runs. He also leads the National League in batting average at .415. Get him into your lineup if you want to beat Lawr Michaels this week! #BeatLawr
Peter Kreutzer
CC Sabathia (@ Pittsburgh, $7,400) is off to a good start this year, and the Pirates are not. The strikeouts were there in his last start, against the Cardinals, and he makes a favorable play as my cheaper starter.
Wilsson Contreras (@ Cincinnati, $4,000) is coming off a strong game after a dispirited start to the season. Tim Adleman cannot contain him.
Mike Gianella
Top hitter: Mike Trout (vs. Toronto, $5,300). Two relatively cheap pitching plays allowed me to go big on hitting this week. The Trout/Matt Latos matchup looks delectable
Top pitcher: Tanner Roark (@ NY Mets, $8,000). The Mets are banged up and Roark should benefit from Citi’s generous dimensions and the Mets B lineup this evening.
Brian Walton
Matt Carpenter (@ Milwaukee, $4700) is a man’s man. The St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman suffered a split fingernail on a bad hop line drive last weekend and still refuses to wear batting gloves. Friday night, Carpenter faces Milwaukee’s Wily Peralta, against whom he is 19-for-41 (.463), including eight extra base hits. After a slow start to the season, Carpenter is batting .321 over his last 10 games.
The ageless Bartolo Colon (@ Philadelphia, $6900) is off to another fine start to the season. On Friday night, the right-hander pitches for the Braves against the Phillies, a club he handed regularly during his time with the Mets. If you need a second bargain pitcher to couple with your Kluber or Verlander, Big Bart could be your man!