Month: April 2019

Welcome to our weekly reports, summarizing the top free agent bids in each of the five Tout Wars leagues, with links to the detailed bidding action following our 8 p.m. ET deadline each Sunday evening. All prices are on a $1000 base.

After you scan the detail below, please join our live chat, starting at 9 p.m. ET Sunday evening, to discuss these results with Todd Zola of Mastersball and other Touts.

American League

The big money in AL Tout this week went toward Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier, the recipient of regular playing time now that about half the Bronx Bombers’ roster is on the injured list. Chris Liss of Rotowire made sure he got his man, spending a hefty $443, the top bid of the week across the five leagues. Interestingly, the next two offers were exactly $348 and $347.

Alen Hanson, always a stolen base threat, but never hitting enough to earn regular playing time, moved this week to his third MLB stop, Toronto. Nando DiFino of The Athletic needed an infielder to replace Troy Tulowitzki and took home Hanson for $133.

15 other AL players were acquired this Sunday evening.

Review all 4/7 AL bids here

National League

The Giants needed a center fielder and were willing to give up three players to Toronto to acquire veteran Kevin Pillar. Never an OBP machine but a consistent source of double-digit steals, the 30-year old should get regular at-bats by the Bay. Despite a dreadful start to the season, Pillar was in demand in a very shallow talent pool. Mastersball’s Todd Zola’s $312 topped bids of $225 and $221, among others.

Another outfielder receiving at-bats currently is Jason Martin of Pittsburgh. However, this may be short-lived as Gregory Polanco has already begun his minor league rehab with two other mates soon to follow, Lonnie Chisenhall and Corey Dickerson. Yet, Craig Mish of SiriusXM bought for today, paying $57 for the 23-year old.

A total of 15 players were added to NL rosters this period.

Review all 4/7 NL bids here

Mixed Auction

21 players were rostered in this busy week in Mixed Auction.

Scott Pianowski of Yahoo whipped out his bankroll, spending a total of $462 on two veterans enjoying an early season power revival – second baseman Kolten Wong of St. Louis ($331) and Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward ($131).

Seattle Opening Day starting pitcher Marco Gonzales had to complete a pair of starts before generating interest, but the lefty, not known for high strikeouts, drew a stout $146 winning offer from Ray Flowers of Fantasy Guru.

Jake Lamb’s return to his home away from home, the IL, opened the door for Christian Walker to secure regular playing time at first base in Arizona. Michael Rathburn made the purchase for $129.

Review all 4/7 Mixed Auction bids here

Mixed Draft

A whopping 28 players were purchased in Mixed Draft this Sunday evening, with all 15 owners participating in the action.

The dollar amounts were somewhat muted, however, with just one player fetching triple digits. Arizona first baseman Walker went to Michael Beller for $179.

Ask Rotoman, aka Peter Kreutzer, acquired Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga for $97. It is not clear how long the 24-year old will remain up, but the prospect tossed four one-run innings his first time out.

Thought to be a fourth or fifth outfielder coming into the season, injuries to others not only elevated Jarrod Dyson to a starting role for the Snakes, but he is leading off. Anthony Perri submitted the winning bid of $86.

Review all 4/7 Mixed Draft bids here

Head to Head

Many observers scratched their heads when D.J. LeMahieu and the Yankees paired up this off-season. It took less than a week for Miguel Andujar’s injury to create a need at third base, now filled by LeMahieu. Dan Strafford paid an even $200 get D.J. on his roster.

Jake Ciely targeted saves, spending a total of $165 for Anthony Swarzak of Seattle ($83) and a dollar less for Minnesota Twin Blake Parker.

20 players were acquired across the league this week, with Andrea LaMont executing a major spring housecleaning. RotoLady bought a whopping seven free agents, coupled with one IL move and six releases. Her winning bids ranged from $41 (Heyward) to just $1 (Kelvin Herrera).

Review all 4/7 Head to Head bids here

4/7 Chat Transcript is here.

Welcome to Week 1 of Tout Daily, our year-long DFS league with a twist. The regular season is segmented into five periods, each four weeks long. The top three cumulative scorers in each period earn a trip to the Championship Tournament. A wild-card entry is awarded to the top scorer over the 20 week schedule.

Each contest, we’ll post several Tout’s pitcher and hitter for the slate. Here’s who we like tonight.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Pitcher: Nick Pivetta – With Collin McHugh (HOU – P) at $9,500 and Shane Bieber (CLE – P) at $9,300, I’m looking at some lower cost alternatives tonight so that I can go heavier on hitting salaries. My concern with starting either Nick Pivetta (PHI) or Jake Odorizzi (MIN) is that there is a 67% chance of rain tonight in Philadelphia. Check the weather forecast 30 minutes before game time and have a backup plan just in case.

Hitter: David Peralta – Peralta is off to a hot start this season with 7 doubles in his first 7 games this season. He is hitting .455 on the season. Let’s not lose sight that Peralta hit 30 home runs last season. He’s a very intriguing play tonight if you need a high upside outfielder at a value price.

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – Like Brandon Woodruff’s price. If nothing else should bring some K’s with him.

Hitter: Bryce Harper – Talk about red hot; I’m sticking with him until he cools off.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Pitcher: Trent Thornton – Out of character for me, I prefer safe arms in Tout Daily but I’ll go with the deceptive Thornton facing a weakened Indians lineup

Hitter: Justin Bour – Angels Stadium new-found friendliness to LHB power is still a secret. Lynn has been known to serve up a homer now and again.

Michael Florio (NFL Network, @MichaelFFlorio)

Pitcher: Shane Bieber – I know it is pretty crazy to write up about the second highest pirced pitcher on the board, but the Blue Jays are nearly getting no hit nightly and strikeout a bunch.

Hitter: Kole Calhoun – Angels stadium plays well for left handed power bats, and Lynn does not fair too well there. Also, he has been hitting leadoff which should allow me to squeak in an extra PA.

Dan Strafford (FNTSY Radio, @DanStrafford)

Pitcher: Trent Thornton – If everyone isn’t playing Trent Thorton on DraftKings, I’m not really sure what to say. The guy has an elite spin rate on his breaking ball and is facing an Indians lineup that is devoid of talent. Jose Ramirez is out of a lineup that currently sports a 36 WRC+ and league worst wOBA (.215) against RHP. As the cheapest pitcher on the slate, Thornton should be an easy SP2 for everyone.

Hitter: Joey Gallo – Go big or go home. Joseph Nicholas Gallo is an absolute beast with the power bat. Over his short career, he sports .304 ISO against RHP on his career. Felix Pena may strike hime out once or twice, but does yield 1.27 hr/9 with just 19.7% K%. Look for a moonshot tonight.

Derek Carty (RotoGrinders, @DerekCarty)

Pitcher: Kevin Gausman – Most people will gravitate to Collin McHugh or Shane Bieber at this price point, but Gausman faces easily the weakest lineup (Miami) of the trio and has the elite pitch-framing Tyler Flowers paired with an extreme pitchers’ umpire behind the plate. He’s coming off the DL, but he threw 90 pitches on Saturday so he shouldn’t be any more limited than Bieber, who is also making his first start of the year. Gausman always has that blowup outing potential, but the matchup is elite and the ownership will be likely be lower than the other top guys today.

Hitter: Justin Bour – Lance Lynn is one of the weaker pitchers on the slate, and he comes with an extreme platoon split, making a lefty like Bour (who is severely underpriced) one of the top overall 1B plays today.

Gene McCaffrey (The Athletic, @WiseGuyGene)

Pitcher: Trent Thornton – Good night to go cheap with pitching – no obvious dominators – so I’ll go with Trent Thornton

Hitter: Joe Musgrove – The Reds’ offense has been abysmal over the past week, and I don’t think they get it going tonight against Musgrove. He has only pitched in relief so far this season, but Musgrove looked excellent in that outing. His willingness to pound the zone and ability to induce swings and misses will be a winning combination tonight and throughout the season.

Clay Link (Rotowire, @claywlink)

Pitcher: Joe Musgrove – The Reds’ offense has been abysmal over the past week, and I don’t think they get it going tonight against Musgrove. He has only pitched in relief so far this season, but Musgrove looked excellent in that outing. His willingness to pound the zone and ability to induce swings and misses will be a winning combination tonight and throughout the season.

Hitter: Carlos Correa – I’m fading Frankie Montas’ brilliant debut a bit and rostering both Correa and Jose Altuve. Correa has said he feels good and the early hard-hit numbers bear that out (41.7% per FanGraphs).

Rick Wolf (Fantasy Alarm, @RickWolf1)

Pitcher: Frankie Montas – The main reasons to take Montas is the price. Colin McHugh is much more of a sure thing tonight, but by saving $1500 on the pitcher, I can execute the Rangers left handed bats stack plus get all the hitters with tons of upside versus opposite handed pitchers. Montas needs his command tonight. Major leaguers hit his mistakes. He was sharp last time out with the single mistake to Kole Calhoun who took him yard.

Hitter: Joey Gallo – Gallo has a .527 wOBA versus RHP this season and is the kind of player you need in your tournament play. He is capable of a double dong on any given night. Tonight he faces Felix Pena who took 61 pitches to get 11 outs on the 30th of March. This is a great spot for all the left handed bats on the Rangers. Go big, baby!

Michael Beller (Sports Illustrated, @MBeller)

Pitcher: Joe Musgrove – I’m a pay-for-pitching zealot, but there’s no one on tonight’s slate that warrants the price tag in my estimation. Cincinnati’s offense is off to a terrible start, and this should be a good spot for Musgrove in his first start of the season. He’s going to force every team he faces to swing the bats, and I’m just not afraid of a Reds team that has to be aggressive.

Hitter: Bryce Harper – I love the look of a Phillies’ stack tonight, and I’ve got Harper paired with Jean Segura. No reason to get too cute, here. Harper is 8-for-16 with three homers in his brief tenure with the Phillies.

Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – Like seemingly everyone else, I’m looking to save money on my pitching so that I can load up on hitters – maybe that’s too chalky, but oh well. I like Woodruff’s stuff and price.

Hitter: J.D. Martinez – I’m running a Red Sox stack – Martinez, Betts, Benintendi, Xander and Devers. If Zach Godley beats me, so be it.
Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella)

Pitcher: Rick Porcello – Everyone’s shying away from the “higher priced” arms on this slate, but give me Porcello, a humidor and an NL lineup where he gets two free at bats against the pitcher, please. I did go cheaper on my second arm, which gave me an opportunity to add Acuna, who is a HR/SB threat every night.

Hitter: Ronald Acuna

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – Saving some $’s hoping to get 7 innngs and 5-7 k’s vs Cub lineup still not clicking yet

Hitter: Carlos Santana – He’s been hot and Cleveland desperately needs him. Going against Blue Jay rookie Thornton, hoping experience wins out.