The Week In Transaction Analysis: 7/18/17

I didn’t write a piece this week for the Mastersball H2H transaction roundup, because there were only two purchases, but Todd Zola and his band of merry men take a look at all five Tout leagues. Read it here.

Mike Gianella made a big splash for Jose Quintana in Tout Wars NL, and has so far lived to tell about it and other transactions this week. Read his article here.

Todd Zola takes the lead in Period 4 Tout Daily!

Week 1 of Period 4 of Tout Daily was a nailbiter, with Andrea LaMont squeezing out a tiny lead. Week 2 couldn’t have been more different. Todd Zola racked up the points and one the period by 23 points over Phil Hertz.

Zola’s team was powered by Charlie Morton, Josh Bell, Robinson Cano and Bryce Harper. Here is his team (click the image to make it larger):

Zola’s big win puts him atop the Period 4 leaderboard, well ahead of Hertz, Lamont, Derek Carty and Howard Bender, who may all be fighting for the second-place ticket to the finals on September 1. See the Leaderboard here.

Zola, Carty and Bender already have one ticket each to the finals. An extra ticket goes to the team with the most overall points at the end of the 20 week season. So far, Carty leads Bender by 36 points in that race.

The Tout will line up this coming Friday for Week 3 of the four-week Period 4.

Friday Tout Daily Preview for July 14, 2017.

Andrea LaMont is in the lead, but not by much. The Touts are getting their Period 4 Week 2 entries in for the 2017 Tout Daily championship. Here is the leaderboard.

Some are sharing their picks with us.

PHIL HERTZ

James Paxton at home and Bryce Harper at GAB.

JEFF BOGGIS

Top Hitter – Matt Carpenter (1B-$3,800) St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates

Top Pitcher – Jacob deGrom (SP-$11,800) New York Mets vs. Colorado Rockies

LAWR MICHAELS

Jacob Faria ($8200): Crapshoot on the next Tampa future ace facing the Angels, who do indeed like to swing the bats. Faria has 37 whiffs over 38.1 frames.

Whit Merrifield ($4300): It has taken a bit for Merrifield to own second, but he has 13 hits over his last ten games and goes up against Southpaw Martin Perez for the day.

CHARLIE WIEGERT

Top Pitchers…going on the inexpensive side with R. A. Dickey at home against AZ, hoping the knuckler will be dancing around in the hot humid weather, and Charlie Morton at home in Houston to shut down the Twins.

Top hitters…with the $ savings on pitching I’m able to put an All-star lineup out there tonight; Buster Posey, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Alltuve, Machado, Lindor, Harper and Judge.  Sleeper pick is Alex Presley.  While this strategy has not worked very well the last couple weeks, I’m sticking with it…tonight might be the night!
TIM HEANEY

Jose Berrios ($7,300 at HOU): I’ll go with the contrarian play against the hot offense to try winning a tournament format.

Avisail Garcia ($3,500 vs. SEA): Similar theme here. Not many people will pick against James Paxton, but I’ll roll with Garcia, who holds a .427 wOBA against southpaws during his breakout year.

GENE McCAFFREY

Pitcher – No such thing as a sure thing but Jacob deGrom at home is always a good bet.

Hitter – It’s about time for Robinson Cano to start feasting; James Shields should provide the meatballs.

Andrea LaMont takes Period 4 Tout Daily Lead!

Andrea LaMont won the first week of Tout Daily Period 4 by the slimmest of margins, riding a fine start by Zach Greinke and big nights from some stud hitters, including Freddie Freeman, Francisco Lindor, Giancarlo Stanton, and Roughned Odor.

Still, she topped Howard Bender (James Paxton, Lindor, Nolan Arenado and Seth Smith) by 1.4 points; Steve Gardner (Dan Straily, Jesus Aguilar, DJ LeMahieu, Arenado, and Nelson Cruz) by 4.1 points and Derek Carty (Paxton, Jason Kipnis, Lindor, Arenado, and Michael Brantley) by 9.05.

Todd Zola finished fifth for the the week, and is one of three Top 5 finishers this week who already have tickets to the finals. The others are Howard Bender and Derek Carty.

You can see the whole leaderboard here.

The Touts will gather next Friday, July 14, for Week 2 of Period 4. See you then!

It’s Friday. Must be Tout Daily Picks!

Period 4 of Tout Daily by Draft Kings starts tonight. All teams start fresh. The top 2 finishers after four weeks will win tickets to the finals on September 1.

Here are their picks:

PHIL HERTZ

I’m recommending James Paxton at home against the A’s and Jose Abreu at Coors.

JEFF BOGGIS @JeffBoggis

Max Scherzer (WAS) $13,200 vs. Atlanta Braves – The highest salaried pitcher tonight, but I can build a team around him. He is money for 10+ K’s and 7-8 innings pitched. He faces a mediocre Atlanta Braves team at home tonight. Roster Max Scherzer tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 4, week 1 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr

Aaron Judge (NYY) $5,600 vs. Milwaukee Brewers – He is coming off back to back home run games on 7/4 and 7/5, and is well rested after the Yankees had the day off yesterday. I like the matchup against Junior Guerra and his 4.93 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Roster Aaron Judge tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 4, week 1 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr

GENE MCCAFFREY

Pitcher – James Paxton has been erratic since his return but is in a great matchup at home against the strikeout-prone A’s, and reasonably priced.

Hitter – Wilson Ramos has picked up right where he left off in 2016, which was a 1.008 OPS vs. lefties.

CHARLIE WIEGERT

Top Pitchers…Going out on a limb and taking R.A. Dickey at Washington and against Max Scherzer.  I might the only tout taken him tonight.  Dickey has pitched well the last three times out, and if the knuckler is dancing in Washington, he might just win.  Also taken Carlos Martinez, who would like to make up for his last horrific start and pitch a gem heading into the All Star game…but a tough match-up against DeGrom!

Top Hitters…the Dickey selection saved me the dollars to afford Gary Sanchez, Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve and Nolan Arenado, an all star infield and great lineup for any fantasy team, but it always doesn’t work out in Daily!  We’ll see!

RICK WOLF

Cole Hamels —  Hamels is coming off his best start of the season, and faces an Angels team in which he has recorded five of six quality starts with a 2.93 lifetime ERA against.  That includes one run off four hits vs them back in April.

Daniel Murphy— Murphy is 4-6 with two homers lifetime vs Dickey.  Murphy is keeping pace with his career high .347 average last season by hitting .340 so far this year.  Six of his eleven hits vs the Braves this year have gone for extra bases.

The Tout Daily Period Three Winner is Jeff Boggis!

I know, you weren’t expecting that. Boggis started the final week down the leaderboard, but a first place finish for the week catapulted him into first. (click the image to see his team.)

Third week leader, Jeff Erickson, managed to hold onto to second place, for the second ticket from period three.

Boggis scored big with the popular and expensive Jacob deGrom, and outliers Logan Forsythe and Brandon Belt.

Vlad Sedler managed to finish third for the period without a single Top Five finish in the four weeks. That is either greatness or frustrating.

After three periods, tickets are held by Derek Carty, Todd Zola, Howard Bender, Lenny Melnick, Boggis and Erickson.

The top scorer for the entire season will also win a ticket to the finals. Right now, that’s Derek Carty, but there are still eight weeks to go.

If you’re moved to try out Draft Kings, who are hosting Tout Daily this year, they have a special offer for new signups. Deposit $5 and gain free entry to a $3 contest. Click here to for more details and how to sign up.

 

Who Will Win Period Three? Tout Wars Daily Tonight! With picks.

Jeff Erickson has the lead, a slim one.

Derek Carty has a ticket to the finals, and a bead on a second one.

Vlad Sedler hasn’t finished in the Top Five in any of this period’s three weeks, but is in third position, ahead of Derek VanRiper, Michael Beller, Ray Murphy, and let’s leave it at that, though Scott Pianowski, Steve Gardner and others are not out of it quite yet.

You can study the leaderboard right here. 

If you’re moved to try out Draft Kings, who are hosting Tout Daily this year, they have a special offer for new signups. Deposit $5 and gain free entry to a $3 contest. Click here to for more details and how to sign up.

Here are the picks from this week’s Touts:

LAWR MICHAELS

Sonny Gray ($8400): The trick for me today is picking players whom I both think will succeed, and those ideally no one else will take as I am 70 points off the pace, meaning I need a day like Jeff had last week. Gray has put up positive numbers his last five starts, and is coming off his best start since returning from the DL, going seven innings, allowing just a run while whiffing seven, and if he can keep his pitches down facing the Braves Friday should be a Gray day all around.

Alex Bregman ($3400): Bregman and his mates face the up-and-down Pineda, but against the Pinstripes, the Astro third sacker has averaged 4.25 points, and at home, facing a guy who allowed seven runs last start is a balance between the points I think Bregman can put up coupled with the hope no one else grabs Bregman for their team, balanced with the the idea that he has a big day at the dish..

PHIL HERTZ

Right now, Jacob deGrom is as good as any pitcher in baseball. He’s expensive, but the Phils are not exactly knocking the cover off the ball. I also think Stephen Drew is a sneaky value, since he’s likely going to start with Trea Turner out.

GENE MCCAFFREY

Having been wrong every Friday night so far, perhaps you’ll take my picks and go the opposite way. Perhaps I will. If not, I’m taking Mike Foltynewicz in Oakland against a team with 25.3% K’s, and I’m embracing Miguel Cabrera at $3900 because he’s coming around and someone is going to pay and Josh Tomlin is a likely bill-footer.

ROB LEIBOWITZ

Jacob Faria – $8,300 vs. Orioles – Pitching over his head, but hard to argue with that K/BB and overall strikeout rate at this price point.

Justin Smoak – $4,300 vs. Bos (Fister) – I like a match up of a declining pitch to contact pitcher vs. a lefty in the middle of a breakout season, especially at this price point.

Hunter Renfroe – $3,300 vs. LAD (Wood) – I was looking for lost cost options to balance out my spending. Went with a righty vs. lefty matchup in Renfroe who despite his very mediocre production, has still produced for power and has excellent splits against lefties. Hitting over .300, walking 12% of the time, making contact 87% of the time, and an isolated power of .311 (.229 at home). Wood though has handled righties better than lefties , so we’ll cross our fingers and see what happens.

CHARLIE WIEGERT

Top pitchers…going heavy on two pricey ones for tonight, Jacob Degrom and Robbie Ray.  both in good situations to get strikeouts and wins.

Top hitters…well with the top $ pitchers, picken’s are slim!  Most expensive guy is Scooter Gennett…Ouch.  I’m hoping to find lightning in a bottle with Hwang, Polanco, Puig, Molina and Grichuk.

DEREK CARTY

I’d kindly request that baseball acts normally tonight.  A repeat of last week’s shenanigans would not be appreciated.

JEFF ERICKSON

Keep Tout Daily Weird!

JEFF BOGGIS

Lance McCullers (HOU) $8,800 vs. New York Yankees – McCullers is the 7th ranked starting pitcher tonight on DraftKings and is priced just right. McCullers has not lost a game since April 26th and has recorded 4 games in a row with 8 strikeouts per game. Roster Lance McCullers tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 3, week 4 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr

Jonathan Villar (MIL) $4,100 versus Miami – Fresh off the DL, Villar hit 2 home runs last night. His salary is still depressed as the 11th highest 2nd baseman. He faces Edison Volquez and his 1.43 WHIP. Look for Villar to get back in the stolen base column in tonight’s matchup. Any extra base hits will be a bonus. Roster Jonathan Villar tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 3, week 4 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr

JEFF ERICKSON

UPDATE: Jeff wrote in at about 6pm ET: FYI I’m backing off of Miggy and deGrom because of the weather.

Pitcher: Sonny Gray has been striking out more batters lately, and I like the idea of attacking the Braves when they are on the road. I’ll pair him with one of the more expensive options on the slate – probably Jacob deGrom, though I might pivot down to Alex Wood for cash savings.

Batter: Going to go with at least a few Rays against Chris Tillman, and Miggy Cabrera against Josh Tomlin.

 

Week 3 Period 3 Tout Wars Daily Roundup, with Picks!

Entering week 3 of the contest hosted by Draft Kings, Derek Carty (who already has a ticket to the September 1 finals, has a strong 39 point lead. He’s the only Tout to finish in the Top 5 each of the period’s first two weeks.

In second place is Vlad Sedler, closely followed by Jeff Boggis, Andrea LaMont and Todd Zola. Zola has another of the four tickets to the final handed out so far.

Some of the Tout sent in pick for tonight’s contest.

LAWR MICHAELS

Jimmy Nelson ($8500): Despite a price-tag increase of $1700 from last week to this, Nelson has been so solid, coming off a 10-whiff complete game shutout at the hands of the Padres. The Braves are tougher, but young, and another team Nelson can exploit.

Steven Souza ($4200): Souza has been beyond steady, averaging 8.8 points per game, and going up against Ubaldo Jimenez and his 6.25 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 14 homers allowed over 63.3 frames.

PHIL HERTZ

I like Seth Lugo‘s price, especially given the Giants were playing past 12:30 am this morning in Atlanta.  I also like Yoenis Cespedes to have a big game against a lefty.

JEFF BOGGIS

2017 Tout Daily – Top Pitchers and Hitters

Stephen Strasburg (WAS) $11,700 vs. Cincinnati – Strasburg is always good for a lot of strikeouts, and is 8-2 on the season. He has 4 games this season with 10+ strikeouts per game. Roster Stephen Strasburg tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 3, week 3 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr

Andrew McCutchen (PIT) $4,500 at St. Louis – McCutchen faces starting pitcher Adam Wainwright tonight. Over his career against Wainwright, McCutchen is batting .298 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. Over the past 14 days, McCutchen is batting .444 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. Roster Andrew McCutchen tonight if you want to beat Lawr Michaels in period 3, week 3 of our Tout Wars DFS contest! #BeatLawr

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire) @JeffBoggis

TIM HEANEY

J.A. Happ ($8,000) at KC: If you want to play the midrange SP ploy tonight, choose the lefty at pitcher-friendly Kauffman Stadium.

Corey Dickerson ($4,700) vs. BAL: Ubaldo Jimenez is starting for the O’s. Talk about fuel for a big night for the surprise AL fantasy MVP candidate.

CHARLIE WIEGERT

Top Pitchers…savings some $ with Ty Blach and Trevor Bauer.  Blach should dominate a weak Met line-up pitching at home, and Bauer should do well at home against the scuffling Twins.

Top hitters…mini stack with Goldschmidt, Lamb and Peralta at home vs Leiter, going hot hitters in Sal Perez and Bellinger, and budget picks Diaz & Kinsler.