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Usually, there’s a degree of commonality with the Tout’s picks. Tonight, they’re all over the place. We’ll have a chat open at 7:00 PM ET for those wanting to hang out and talk some baseball.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Pitcher: Mike Minor – Want to use Jacob deGrom, so need to find a cheaper SP2. I don’t like Minor at home, but I’ll roll the dice in an NL park against a middling lineup

Hitter: Robinson Cano – Batting 3rd against Kyle Gibson at home? Yes, please!

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Pitcher: John Means – I need a low cost, high ceiling starting pitcher tonight as I am also going with Jacob DeGrom at $11,600. Means is playing for a spot in the Baltimore rotation and has pitched well this season. He’s thrown 5.2 inning with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. He has a favorable matchup today at home against Oakland.

Hitter: Christian Yelich – It was a tough decision on starting either Yelich or Chris Davis tonight. (Who am I kidding?) I’m actually going to do a Milwaukee stack for the most part as they face Matt Harvey tonight. Yelich owns a .370 batting average all time versus Harvey.

Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner)

Pitcher: Jacob deGrom – The reigning NL Cy Young award winner hasn’t allowed a run in his first two starts and he’ll be pitching at home against the DH-less Twins. He’s the closest to a sure thing on the schedule, so I’ll find value elsewhere.

Hitter: Whit Merrifield – The guy has a 29-game hitting streak! Yeah, he isn’t going to threaten DiMaggio just yet but against lefty Marco Gonzales, I’ll take my chances.

Dan Strafford (FNTSY Radio, @DanStrafford)

Pitcher: Derek Holand – While not someone who I’m overly comfortable with on regular basis, Holland presents the best park on the slate. San Francisco’s Oracle Park helps to mitigate the RHB of San Diego here.

Hitter: Nolan Arenado – While stacking Coors may be difficult if you’re looking to play one of the top end pitchers, it’s hard to imagine any hitter in a better “spot” than Nolan Arenado. Over his career agaisnt LHP at Coors Field, Arenado sports a .388 ISO. He’s going up agaisnt lefty Max Fried who, while talented, relies on a curveball as one of his out pitchers. Coors Field greatly diminishes the effectiveness of the curve.
Gene McCaffrey (The Athletic, @WiseGuyGene)

Pitcher: John Means – Paired with deGrom for salary relief, has a chance to put up a good start but I’ll be happy with 15 points
Hitter: Robinson Cano – Not expensive but a good bet to hit a home run, and where there is one home run there can be two.

Michael Florio (NFL Network, @MichaelFFlorio)

Pitcher: Marco Gonzales – The Royals have a .260 wOBA against lefties this season, which is the fourth lowest in baseball. Also, the Mariners have been scoring a ton of runs, which greatly increases his chance at a win.

Hitter: Joc Pederson – I am a sucker for Joc. But he has been red hot, is hitting leadoff and facing Dakota Hudson who has already allowed 3 homers to left handed hitters. The fear is that he gets pinch hit for later in the game, but I trust him to get on base and potentially go deep tonight.

Adam Ronis (Scout Fantasy, @AdamRonis)

Pitcher: Jacob deGrom – No need to get cute. He hasn’t allowed an earned run yet, the wind is blowing in on a cool night and Nelson Cruz isn’t in the lineup.

Hitter: German Marquez – This is a sucker pick…I’m a sucker for Marquez. I don’t imagine he’ll be owned by more than one or two other people, so if he hits, it should separate me from the pack.

Clay Link (Rotowire, @claywlink)

Pitcher: German Marquez – This is a sucker pick…I’m a sucker for Marquez. I don’t imagine he’ll be owned by more than one or two other people, so if he hits, it should separate me from the pack.

Hitter: Jorge Soler – Just 3-for-his-last-28, but SEA/KC has the third-highest over/under tonight and Soler is a career .254/.346/.460 hitter (115 wRC+) against left-handed pitching.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)

Pitcher: Marco Gonzales – Seattle is hot and Marco in the middle of it. Good chance for a win and 6+K’s

Hitter: Jay Bruce – Stacking Seattle and Colorado tonight. Bruce and Santana could both go deep, Arenado will hit his first HR this year, and Story goes back to back nights

Tout Daily is back for the 2019 season. Tout Daily is a DFS league where the season is broken into five four-week segments. The top three point scorers in each period are awarded a Golden Ticket into the Championship Round. In addition, the Tout accruing the most points over the 20 week regular season earns a wild-card entry into the tourney.

Phil Hertz from Baseball HQ lapped the field in Week 1. His lineup was so dominating, Phil’s 195.35 points would have still lead the pack without Mike Trout’s two-homer evening. Along with Trout, Phil got a big night on the hill from the Pirates’ Joe Musgrove and his seven scoreless, eight strikeout effort against the Reds. Lady Luck also was in Phil’s favor. “At 6:15 pm, it started to pour in Maryland,” Hertz explains. “Remembering I had Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Jonathan Schoop in my lineup, I checked the Philadelphia weather report.  All it showed was rain and more rain.  I brought up my lineup.  Out went Realmuto, in came Tyler Flowers. Out came Schoop, in came Ketel Marte, etc.  So if it hadn’t started to pour at home, Steve Gardner and Michael Beller probably win. “

Marte totaled 34 points while Flowers added 19. Phil also played Adam Jones and his 25 points.

There was a rare tie for second as defending champion Michael Beller from Sports Illustrated and Steve Gardner from USA Today each tallied 154.2 points.

Week 1 was a rare Friday night Tout Daily contest. We return to Tuesday this evening, our regular night. Be sure to check back later as the Touts share their favorite hitter and pitcher picks for the Tuesday night slate. We’ll also have a chat posted on ToutWars.com where you can follow along and get your fantasy baseball questions answered.

Here’s the Tout Daily Leaderboard:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Lkp-pznGjNL0mp6QZXRLAdQsW12mFStDe7WJvBmPhys/edit#gid=0

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.

With competitions in five different formats, one or more of the Tout Wars 2019 leagues likely matches up with your chosen style of play, whether AL- or NL-only, or Mixed Auction, Draft or Head-to-Head.

For those whose leagues have weekly free agent (FAAB) acquisitions each Sunday night, the Touts are here to help you. We’ve moved our own deadlines to 8 p.m. ET each Sunday. That enables us to share with you our bids, hopefully before you have to make your own.

Sunday Night FAAB Reports

To that end, right here on ToutWars.com, we will post as quickly as possible after 8 p.m. ET Sundays, a quick summary of the week’s top bids along with links to the detailed bidding results in each of the five leagues.

Sunday Night Chats

Further, we are going to test a new Sunday night chat, also here at ToutWars.com. It will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET and continue until all questions are answered, or midnight, whichever comes first. The chats will be hosted by one of the Touts. You can ask about the week’s bidding in any of the leagues as well as get your own league questions answered by a prominent industry analyst. Other Touts may also stop by to defend/explain their moves.

Whether these chats will become a weekly fixture will depend on how much they are used and how effective they are perceived to be – so, if they are of interest to you, please take advantage.

All of this – the weekly FAAB Reports as well as the chats – begin this Sunday evening, March 31.

Please join the Touts to gain a bidding edge in your leagues!

Jason Collette is working the keys beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.

The draft room spreadsheet is here.

The Mixed Auction Chat Transcript for 2019 is here.

Jeff Zimmerman, Fangraphs and Fantrax

Scott Swanay, FantasyBaseballSherpa

Eric Karabell, ESPN

Michael Rathburn, Rotowire

Derek VanRiper, Rotowire

Scott Engel, Rotoballer

Brent Hershey, Baseball HQ

Zach Steinhorn, Baseball Prospectus

Tim Heaney, Rotowire

Bret Sayre, Baseball Prospectus

Ron Shandler, RonShandler.com

Scott Pianowski, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports

Al Melchior, FNTSY Radio

Ray Flowers, Fantasy Guru Elite

Gene McCaffrey, The Athletic/Wise Guy Baseball

At #ToutWars in tribute to @lawrmichaels, we don the official uniform. @B_Walton @ToddZola @nandodifino @DougDennis41 @glenncolton1 @RickWolf1 @mikepodhorzer pic.twitter.com/ezSvHJW1lj

— Ron Shandler (@RonShandler) March 16, 2019

The annual "@lawrmichaels Zen and Now Award" winner will be the peer-nominated Tout who demonstrates most positive energy, greatest contributions to the competitive experience and inspiration to others in #ToutWars and across the fantasy industry. https://t.co/ZLYl8QtQaK

— Tout Wars (@ToutWars) March 16, 2019

#ToutWars offer our thanks those auctioneering and running the boards and chats this weekend, including @Jeff_Erickson, @ToddZola, @jasoncollette, @rob_leibowitz, @claywlink, Brian Feldman, @JustinMasonFWFB and members of @FantasyBenefits. Great work is being done by all! https://t.co/IcN66ZTmFh

— Tout Wars (@ToutWars) March 16, 2019