Author: Todd Zola

Period 2, Week 3 of Tout Daily belonged to Rotowire’s Jeff Erickson as he rode the exploits of Jose Berrios and Noah Syndergaard to a resounding victory. Erickson’s 155.65 points outpaced Rotoheaven’s Rob Leibowitz second place total of 153.6. Tim Heaney from Rotowire and ESPN grabbed third with 131.8 points. Aside from a couple of stellar pitching outings, Erickson rode the bat of Joey Gallo and Rajai Davis, both only selected by three of the 27 entrants.

The top two points scorers for the period remain the same with Clay link in the driver’s seat for his second golden ticket into the Tout Daily Finals followed by Gene McCaffrey. Leibowitz vaulted into third where several Touts are in shouting distance in next week’s Period 2’s last week.

The overall points leaders continue to be Todd Zola, Link and Rick Wolf, though Zola’s lead has shrunk to a measly two points. Follow your favorit Tout on the Leaderboard.

Check back next Tuesday as the Tout share their favorite picks for the night’s Tout Daily contest.

Here’s Jeff’s week-winning lineup.

It’s the third week of the second period of Tout Daily. Clay Link and Gene McCaffrey have a good lead for the Golden Tickets into the championship. There’s a heated battle for the final ticket. Check your favorite Tout’s plight on the Leaderboard.

Here’s where some of us are looking to anchor our lineups.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Gerrit Cole: He’s now thrown a quality start in all eight starts since joining the Astros and has an outstanding 13.7 K/9 and 1.43 ERA.

Adam Jones: Value play of the day. His .259 batting average this season is lower than normal and I see this increasing (hopefully tonight).

Lawr Michaels (CreativeSports2, @lawrmichaels)

Zack Greinke: Greinke comes in with 53 whiffs over 48.6 frames and faces the Brewers who have struck out 284 times facing righies, and with Grienke hurling at home, let’s give him the advantage.

Carlos Santana: Switch-hitting Santana (.320-4-14 last week) travels to Baltimore and faces the completely hittable Andrew Cashner, his 4.80 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Noah Syndergaard: With the warning the game is in peril along with all the east coast contests, the Jays are without the DH, facing a well-rested Thor at a price below the other aces.

John Hicks: Josh Tomlin has allowed 13 homers in 25.2 innings. ‘Nuff said.

Gene McCaffrey (Wise Guy Baseball, @WiseGuyGene)

Eduardo Rodriguez: High K’s and low hard-hirt rate have me leaning to Eduardo Rodriguez as a salary saver.

Mookie Betts: Mookie Betts is very expensive at $5900 but he’s great and he’s on a roll and I doubt the A’s staff will stop him.

Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ, @RayHQ)

Eduardo Rodriguez: Sub-10k, at home, favorable matchup… but watching the weather closely.

Andrew Benintendi: Also watching weather here, but at home vs. Daniel Mengden at a favorable price… and he’s warming up.

Jason Collette (Rotowire, @jasoncollette)

Jack Flaherty: not a bad price – coming off an outing with 25 swings and misses in Triple-A as that slider is looking sharp

Joey Gallo:

Clay Link (Rotowire, @claywlink)

Jack Flaherty: Was thinking about paying up for E-Rod as my SP2, but the weather has scared me off. I’ll pivot and go with Flaherty.

Marcell Ozuna: I am becoming increasingly concerned with Jose Berrios and Ozuna has finally come on at the plate, collecting multiple hits in three of his last four games. At $3,600, he’s cost-effective.

The Touts are back to address another question, round table style.

As a follow-up to last week’s question on struggling pitchers, how do you handle hitters in a rut?

Perry Van Hook (Mastersball): With reasonable options, I would sit a struggling hitter (well not Bryce Harper even 0 for his last 19) I would reserve them until they were @COL or had come out of the cold zone

Derek VanRiper (Rotowire, @DerekVanRiper): At this point in the season, I’ll look back at the batted-ball profile and plate discipline numbers to see how things may be different compared to that player’s typical levels. With the new data available through Statcast, I’ll start digging into a hitter’s recent exit velocities to see if there is any hint of a possible injury. If health doesn’t appear to be an issue, I will look at the upcoming matchups and account for platoon matchups, park factors and such to see if there’s a favorable run of opposing pitchers coming up. If things are generally positive, I’ll probably continue to roll with the struggling hitter. If the matchups are tough (or if it’s a week with fewer games for the struggling player), I might tap into my depth for a lineup period or two until their are signs of a turnaround.

Anthony Perri (Fantistics, @Anthony_Perri): I start by sending these hitters a personal threatening tweet. If they don’t respond, I check out their advanced matrix. Pretty much everything Derek said: Contact rates, Hard Hit rates, BABIP, and compare them to their history to see if it’s more of a bad luck situation or a unfavorable trend.

Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): As with everything, it depends what options I have on my bench. Since the advent of the 10-day DL last season I’ve tended to stack my bench with pitchers, especially Middle Relievers, figuring that losing 1/9th of my pitching production for the rest of the week is a bigger deal than losing 1/14th of my hitting production for the rest of the week. Plus w/ 2 pitching ratio categories vs 1 hitting ratio categories, standings should be more volatile for pitching than for hitting (i.e. – more opportunity to gain/lose ground). So, if I have any Bench spots left for hitters, I’m more likely to have Bench hitters who are either OFs (so that they can potentially be plugged into 6 lineup spots) or INFs w/ multi-position eligibility. Given this philosophy/strategy, I’m almost forced to leave struggling hitters in my lineup, and I’m fine with that, since I have no idea when a hitter is going to stop (or start) struggling.

Ray Flowers (Fantasy Guru Elite, @BaseballGuys): Hitters are more easily broken down than pitchers where there is way more that needs to be broken down than just the man throwing pitches. When a batter is struggling, I keep an eye on his strike zone control. Some players go 1-for-20 with 11 strikeouts. Other might go 1-for-20 but only strike out three times while also taking six walks. It’s also important to look at measures like hard-hit ball rates, hit distribution (LF/CF/RF), upcoming ballparks and the matches with the men on the bump. Ultimately, it’s about the approach the player is taking as you can have a good approach and not get the results you are looking for if you’re paying attention to a smallish sample size. Also have to look at those matchups. If a player is struggling right now, and he struggles against lefties, he’s gonna be on the bench if he’s set to face three in his next six games.

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): Counting stats mostly depend on playing time, so that is king.  I am not really in leagues with a ton of options just hanging around as free agents, so usually I am forced to ride with who I got. That is certainly true in Tout-AL. In my one large no-trade NFBC team, I have toggled a couple of players based on venue, but I don’t know that it makes THAT much difference over the season.

Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): I’m even less inclined to drastically alter my opinion on a hitter than a pitcher, because hitters change much less quickly and frequently than pitchers do. Like for pitchers, I generally ignore actual results, and focus on the underlying skill metrics — batted ball profile, plate discipline rates, Statcast figures (barrels, average fly ball distance), etc. I also use my own developed expected metrics, such as xBABIP and xHR/FB to identify hitters on the verge of improving or declining. I exercise even more excruciating patience than with pitchers, but will make decisions based on dramatic changes in the underlying skills that suggest a true change in plate approach or talent level.

Andrea LaMont (LennyMelnickFantasySports, @RotoLady): Simple. I bench them and they immediately start hitting.

Stephania Bell (ESPN Fantasy Sports, @Stephania_ESPN): Ha! Andrea beat me to the punch. This also happens to me. I’m willing to bench a hitter – even a big name – if he’s in a slump and there is an option out there who has favorable upcoming matchups that week. The trick is remembering to swap out the platoon player who was worth a one-week start for the more consistent hitter when he’s found his groove again (which, as Andrea mentioned, is usually shortly after benching said player).

Andy Behrens (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @andybehrens): This year, most of my leagues are too deep to ever consider benching a player who’s receiving consistent playing time. In N.L. Tout, for example, my bench is three minor leaguers and Kelby Tomlinson. Even if I wanted to sit a struggling star, I don’t have the luxury. In mixed leagues, this question really comes down to the player in question. Also, as Ray says, you want to understand the quality of a player’s at-bats, not just the results. We need to look for deviations from prior seasons as well as contact rates and quality of contact. The most important variable, of course, is the hitter’s upcoming matchups.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): As noted by others, in an only-league, the options are pretty skimpy. We’re pretty much stuck waiting for the rebound while watching for trade or FA opportunities. Like DVR and Podz and others, the underlying metrics play a role, but they have to pretty dire to opt out on an established player in favour of some of the guys in the free agent pool, who are usually floating face-down.

Scott Wilderman (OnRoto): Primarily for the playing time/counting stats reasons noted above, I do not give up on a hitter unless I read/hear that his manager has or is about to give up on him. Usually even a secondary hitter is not on my team unless he has the potential to contribute SBs or HRs, and as long has he’d getting the plate appearances I am expecting, I’ll just wait out a slump.

Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy): I look at hitters much differently than pitchers when it comes to slumps. In leagues with daily roster management, I’ll simply look at the individual match-ups and sit a slumping player in favor of someone else if the match-up is equal or better. If it’s a league with weekly roster moves, then it’s simply a matter of looking at match-ups and splits. If I have someone (or can acquire someone from waivers) with a better set of match-ups then I’ll make the swap for the week, but if the match-ups are equal, I’ll stick with the better player and let him work through it for the week.

Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner): Unless there’s an injury or an indication he’s going to get a day or two off, I try not to worry about my best hitters when they’re slumping. They’re going to snap out of it and I don’t want to have them on the bench when they do. If they’re marginal players, it’s much easier to swap them out for someone who’s doing better.

Clay Link (Rotowire, @claywlink): I try to exercise excruciating patience with most of my hitters. So long as they are playing, the plate skills are holding up and even some of the expected stats like xwOBA, xSLG and xBA check out, I will keep them active. If it’s a 12-team mixed league and I have capable replacements for fringe, late-round types (like Kipnis, Zimmerman, etc.), I won’t be so hesitant to make a change.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): I wish I had something ground-breaking to add, but I really don’t. Streaks, hot and cold, are often real, but they can be started or ended at any time. There’s no evidence a hot hitter stays hot or cold hitter continues to struggle. As such, it’s all about matchups for me. The only exception – OK, two exceptions, are if a batter is fanning at an excessive rate during the cold spell or if there’s hint of an injury (again, more Lord Obvious than earth-shattering).

Welcome to the weekly Tout Wars FAAB report, on its new home right here on the Tout Wars site. Each week, we’ll review the free agent acquisitions from all five leagues, with commentary from a league member, as well as yours truly. We changed the timing of the weekly run to 1 PM ET every Sunday, with the report posted later that afternoon so you’ll have time to digest and apply to your own leagues. In addition, I’ll be joining Lawr Michaels and Justin Mason on the Tout Wars Hour on the FNTSY Network every Sunday at 3:20 PM ET to discuss the results.

You can find the complete list of Tout Warriors here. Everyone starts with 1000 FAAB units, less any penalty incurred by finishing below a designated point in the standings. This is a means of keeping everyone motivated to keep playing all season long. The minimum bid is $0. FAAB units can be traded as well as rebated for players released off the DL.

The report will list all winning bids along with unsuccessful tries and contingencies. This provides the maximum level of information to help gauge interest on the players.

The American and National League only formats are 12-team leagues, as is the new points-based head to head league, The Mixed Auction and Draft each have 15 clubs. All the leagues have four reserves with an unlimited DL, expect the head to head league, which allows six reserves.

The headings above each league are links to publicly accessible sites where you can see standings, roster and a complete review of transactions. The initial auctions and drafts can be found here.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
CStewart, Det	Chris Liss 44	Patrick Davitt 4
JJimenez, Det	Chris Liss 43	Vlad Sedler 4	Larry Schechter 3
ESkoglund, KC	Vlad Sedler 23
MMahtook, Det	Jason Collette 21	Lawr Michaels 17
GUrshela, Tor	Patrick Davitt 9	Jason Collette 21
RRivera, LAA	Vlad Sedler 8
JRickard, Bal	Lawr Michaels 7
YMendez, Tex	Lawr Michaels 4
JBeeks, Bos	Patrick Davitt 4
JKelly, Bos	Larry Schechter 3	Doug Dennis 0
CBedrosian, LAA	Larry Schechter 3	Vlad Sedler 4
JMcCarthy, TB	Jason Collette 1
SBieber, Cle	Jeff Erickson 1
MPineda, Min	Doug Dennis 0
THildenberger, Min	Doug Dennis 0	Vlad Sedler 4	Larry Schechter 1

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
MCastro, Bal	Vlad Sedler 16
GGreiner, Det	Jason Collette 6
ABanda, TB	Vlad Sedler 3
DHess, Bal	Lawr Michaels 3
CarSmith, Bos	Larry Schechter 3
RBleier, Bal	Lawr Michaels 2
TKemp, Hou	Lawr Michaels 1
RDull, Oak	Larry Schechter 1
GPetit, Min	Patrick Davitt 0
JRondon, CWS	Patrick Davitt 0
RUrena, Tor	Patrick Davitt 0
JAlvarez, LAA	Doug Dennis 0

Patrick Davitt’s Commentary

Much action in Tout-AL this week was on Irish relief pitchers. Larry Schechter got two bad bulletins this week, losing Irish closers Darren O’Day and Roberto O’suna. Schechter paid 3 units (1,000-unit base) for Cam Bedrosian, whose stock has risen slightly in LAA after meltdowns by Jim Johnson and Justin Anderson. Unfortunately, Bedrosian lost ground in the LAA saves race when previous closer Keynan Middleton returned from the DL. Schechter also landed Irish reliever Joe Kelly of the Red Sox, viewed as the next-in-line should ill health befall Craig Kimbrel.

Kelly also drew a zero bid from Doug Dennis, who disposed of yet another Irish reliever, Dan O’tero, and replaced him with MIN reliever Trevor Hildenberger. Interestingly, the zero bid was the lowest of four Hildenberger bids, but did the job because Hildenberger was a low choice by Schechter and Sedler. Hildenberger is presently no higher than fourth on the Twins’ saves list, but Hildenberger was a hot choice before drafts, and given the Twins’ parlous late-game pitching performances, when three fantasy players of this caliber are interested in a possible replacement, maybe you should be, too. Dennis also made a successful zero bid on DLed MIN SP Michael Pineda, so watch that situation as well for an opportunity.

The highest bid on a reliever was on Joe Jimenez, widely rumored to be next to close the rare win in DET once the Tigers give up on incumbent Shane Greene or trade him. Chris Liss’ pre-emptive bid of 43 (out of 1,000), easily outgunned bids of 4 (Vlad Sedler) and 3 (Schechter). Curiously, because Jimenez was those other bidders’ second or lower choice, Liss could have had Jimenez for zero. Liss reserved BOS SP Hector Velasquez.

Liss also went heavy on a potential callup, bidding 44 to land DET OF Christin Stewart, who is flat-out raking in Toledo. Liss reserved OF Niko Goodrum, who is going on the road in a Velvet Underground cover band. There are different reports about Stewart’s likely promotion, ranging form “not until September” in the Detroit News, to “any day now” in lots of other places. Liss outbid my nutless-monkey bid of 4.

I did get a minor-leaguer, paying 4 for pitcher Jalen Beeks of the Red Sox to replace reserved TOR OF Dalton Pompey is my swingman role. Beeks has been great in AAA Pawtucket (1.72/0.96 in six starts, with 52/8 K/bb). And it strikes me that the Red Sox might need starting pitcher help sooner than later, considering the lack of excellence in that department once you get past Sale and Porcello.

The other minor-leaguer grabbed was Joe McCarthy of the Rays, going, no surprise here, to Jason Collette for the minimum 1 unit (the zero bids can only be made on AL players on 25-man rosters). McCarthy has an .834 OPS in Triple-A. Jason has connections to TAM so might be in the know here. Me, I think Joe McCarthy should have to go play for the Reds. Collette also made a major bid this week, splashing 21 units on DET OF Mikie Mahtook to replace waived CHW OF Trayce Thompson.

Finally, Sedler DLed OAK SP Trevor Cahill and released OAK C Bruce Maxwell III, whom he grabbed last week. His pickups were Eric Skoglund of KC for 23 and Rene Rivera of LAA for 8

Todd’s Take

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an actual trade to report!

Vlad Sedler traded Jed Lowrie, Oak to Jason Collette
Jason Collette traded Jake Junis, KC to Vlad Sedler
Jason Collette trades 60 FAAB dollars to Vlad Sedler

Keep in mind Tout uses 1000 FAAB units so 60 is the equivalent of 6 in 100 unit leagues. I like the deal – need for need with a little FAAB to account for Lowrie out-producing Junis to date. Lowrie could always hit – not to this extent, but he can hit when healthy. Injuries have cut seasons short, but so far with his return to Oakland, he’s remained on the field, and productive.

Junis is intriguing. He’s a fly ball pitcher so he’ll serve up homers, but his control is generally good so they’ll be mainly solo shots. A lot of hurlers have had successful careers with this model. The finishing touch would be more strikeouts, something he’s teased, but needs to make happen to take the next step – that being mixed league relevance.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
JOsuna, Pit	Scott Wilderman 54	Mike Gianella 14
MarkReynolds, Was	Mike Gianella 24	Scott Wilderman 25	Phil Hertz 22
		Craig Mish 12
TomHunter, Phi	Mike Gianella 23	Grey Albright 21
SDominguez, Phi	Mike Gianella 18	Grey Albright 3
TMcFarland, Ari	Todd Zola 7
FPeralta, Mil	Brian Walton 6
EDeLosSantos, Phi	Grey Albright 4
VCaratini, ChC	Phil Hertz 3	Scott Wilderman 1	Andy Behrens 1
		Derek Carty 0
CStammen, SD	Steve Gardner 2	Todd Zola 7
YHirano, Ari	Grey Albright 1	Todd Zola 7	Brian Walton 1
DBote, ChC	Mike Gianella 0	Derek Carty 0
AEllis, SD	Andy Behrens 0
FPena, StL	Derek Carty 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
JLyles, SD	Todd Zola 7	Brian Walton 5
DWinkler, Atl	Todd Zola 7
PSewald, NYM	Todd Zola 7
RRodriguez, Pit	Steve Gardner 1	Brian Walton 1
PAlonso, NYM	Grey Albright 1
PBaez, LAD	Grey Albright 1
TWatson, SF	Grey Albright 1
DHernandez, Cin	Brian Walton 1
TWilliams, Mil	Brian Walton 1
DCastro, Col	Mike Gianella 0	Derek Carty 0
NCuevas, Col	Mike Gianella 0	Derek Carty 0
JBrebbia, StL	Steve Gardner 0
MFeliz, Pit	Steve Gardner 0
JValentin, Phi	Mike Gianella 0
LGuillorme, NYM	Mike Gianella 0
MSzczur, SD	Mike Gianella 0
RHerrera, Cin	Mike Gianella 0
TLocastro, LAD	Mike Gianella 0
TSaladino, Mil	Mike Gianella 0
YRivera, Mia	Mike Gianella 0
BHoladay, Mia	Andy Behrens 0

Brian Walton’s Commentary

It was a relatively quiet week of bidding in National League Tout Wars, with only four players fetching double-digit prices (on the base of $1000 FAAB).

Leading the way is Pittsburgh outfielder Jose Osuna, who went to Scott Wilderman of onRoto for $54. The only other offer was a contingency eliminated by a higher bid. Osuna, 25, is back from Triple-A after receiving over 200 at-bats for the 2017 Bucs. He doesn’t run, but has a little pop in his bat. However, a career .272 OBP makes him a potential liability in Tout.

Next up is an old friend, Mark Reynolds. Not to be confused with Matt, who remains in Triple-A for the Nats, the former Rockies slugger was brought up to Washington to help cover for the loss of injured Ryan Zimmerman. Matt Adams should get most of the work at first, but Reynolds could start against lefties. The power may still be there, but unlike Osuna, Reynolds logged a .352 OBP last season with the Rockies despite all the strikeouts that go along with him. Baseball Prospectus’ Mike Gianella, who also owns Zimmerman, made the acquisition for $24, just topping a $22 offer.

Gianella is among those of us watching the Hector Neris implosion in Philly and wondering if Tommy Hunter will get a shot at the ninth inning. In fact, I grabbed Hunter in the reserve rounds on draft day for that very reason, but gave up his roster spot for another. Mike paid $23.

The most active owner this week is surely Gianella, who also nabbed another Phillies closer contender in Seranthony Dominguez, for $18. The 23-year old was a high strikeout starter in the minors and in his first year relieving. If you have the roster space, why not buy multiple lottery tickets?

There has been much talk (a lot of it by me) about the timing change in the Tout transactions each week, which enable us to bring you this report on Sundays this year. One benefit of it is to gamble on a first-time Sunday starter, since his stats that day do not count. It worked for me a few weeks ago on Nick Kingham and I am trying again with a maiden Milwaukee starter, 21-year old Freddy Peralta. His initial voyage is at Coors Field, but I hope it is good enough that he is kept around. The bet cost me $6 and a roster spot for this coming week.

Todd’s Take

The Phillies closing situation is intriguing on a few levels. Eight of the nine runs Neris has allowed have come in three outings – opening day and twice the past week. His strikeouts are high, but so are walks, even in the scoreless outings. Gabe Kapler is thought to be a numbers guy, with a few questionable decisions already on his ledger. There are options as Brian outlined ranging from the veteran Hunter to the young upstart Dominguez. I think Neris still has some rope, which is evident as I type this with Hunter coming into the 7th inning with Philadelphia holding a 3-1 lead. I’ll keep updated.

MIXED LEAGUE AUCTION 

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
TJankowski, SD	Jeff Zimmerman 154	Scott Engel 78	Derek VanRiper 37
		Al Melchior 22	Ray Flowers 14
		Tim Heaney 1
ZWheeler, NYM	Zach Steinhorn 128	Scott Engel 29	Al Melchior 23
		Jeff Zimmerman 1
KFreeland, Col	Tim Heaney 66	Zach Steinhorn 92	Ray Flowers 34
		Fred Zinkie 25	Scott Engel 11
		Jeff Zimmerman 0
NAhmed, Ari	Brent Hershey 45
JBarria, LAA	Scott Engel 41
DMesoraco, NYM	Ray Flowers 39	Derek VanRiper 1
AnSuarez, SF	Zach Steinhorn 38	Jeff Zimmerman 4
PAlvarez, Bal	Brent Hershey 35
DPalka, CWS	Scott Engel 34	Ray Flowers 11
MLeake, Sea	Ray Flowers 34	Zach Steinhorn 38	Jeff Zimmerman 2
JReyes, NYM	Ray Flowers 26
JPirela, SD	Jeff Zimmerman 24	Brent Hershey 39	Al Melchior 0
RTepera, Tor	Jeff Zimmerman 24	Ray Flowers 23
HPerez, Mil	Tim Heaney 13	Ray Flowers 11	Derek VanRiper 7
LMaile, Tor	Derek VanRiper 11	Ray Flowers 27	Al Melchior 0
AFrazier, Pit	Ray Flowers 11
TomHunter, Phi	Al Melchior 0
JFry, CWS	Al Melchior 0
MStassi, Hou	Al Melchior 0	Ray Flowers 13	Derek VanRiper 1

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
MKoch, Ari	Zach Steinhorn 59	Zach Steinhorn 36
RTepera, Tor	Jeff Zimmerman 24	Ray Flowers 23
HPerez, Mil	Tim Heaney 13	Ray Flowers 11	Derek VanRiper 7
LMaile, Tor	Derek VanRiper 11	Ray Flowers 27	Al Melchior 0
AFrazier, Pit	Ray Flowers 11
TomHunter, Phi	Al Melchior 0
JFry, CWS	Al Melchior 0
MStassi, Hou	Al Melchior 0	Ray Flowers 13	Derek VanRiper 1
MKoch, Ari	Zach Steinhorn 59	Zach Steinhorn 36
JChacin, Mil	Zach Steinhorn 52	Zach Steinhorn 32	Ray Flowers 13
MMaldonado, LAA	Ray Flowers 39	Derek VanRiper 1
CUtley, LAD	Brent Hershey 35
SRomano, Cin	Ray Flowers 34
PSeverino, Was	Ray Flowers 27
ACashner, Bal	Ray Flowers 13
RLopez, SD	Ray Flowers 13
AdGonzalez, NYM	Ray Flowers 11
MPrado, Mia	Ray Flowers 11
GParra, Col	Scott Engel 5
RFlaherty, Atl	Tim Heaney 3
VCaratini, ChC	Derek VanRiper 1
RGsellman, NYM	Tim Heaney 0
SLugo, NYM	Tim Heaney 0
DFister, Tex	Jeff Zimmerman 0
BFarmer, Det	Al Melchior 0
RPressly, Min	Al Melchior 0

Al Melchior’s Commentary

Last week’s flurry of bidding on young rotation additions has given way to relatively limited interest in a pair of more established starting pitchers. Only four owners bid on Zack Wheeler, but a highly-motivated Zach Steinhorn won him with a $128 bid. Kyle Freeland drew far more interest, earning bids from seven owners, with Tim Heaney emerging as the winner with a $66 bid. Steinhorn actually outbid Heaney by $36, but it was a contingent bid that was rendered moot by his winning bid for Wheeler. Steinhorn is already leading the league in ERA and is fourth in WHIP, but he ranks seventh in wins and 14th in strikeouts. With the long-term absence of Johnny Cueto and the shorter-term one of Carlos Martinez, the addition of Wheeler could help to minimize slippage in those categories.

Few hitters drew much interest at all this week, and the only one to elicit a bid over $50 was Travis Jankowski. Six owners made a bid on the speedy Padres outfielder, and Jeff Zimmermann nearly doubled up Scott Engel’s bid of $78, winning the rights to Jankowski with a $154 bid. Zimmermann is currently tied for fifth in stolen bases, but he is only three spots behind second-place Ray Flowers and 11 steals off Engel’s lead.

The search for future saves lacked urgency this week. Zimmermann won Ryan Tepera for $24, and I speculated on Tommy Hunter and Jace Fry, winning both for $0.

Todd’s Take

My good friend Lawr Michaels coined it #fanticide. The original definition was turning on a ballgame only to see your player spit the bit, but he’ll allow me a little poetic license. In early April, I picked up Freeland for a two-step in NL Tout. The first game was on the road in San Diego, followed by a home affair with the Braves. After enduring 11.1 innings with seven runs and 16 base runners, I put him on my bench. On April 23, I cut Freeland, avoiding a couple more rough outings. Since, the lefty has spun a 1.65 ERA and .91 WHIP while my staff languishes near the bottom in the ratio categories.

No one has defeated Coors for an extended period of time and in mixed leagues, I don’t like keeping a pitcher to use exclusively for road games, but with a visit to AT&T on the docket, Freeland is a good pickup for the week. That said, his teammate Tyler Anderson adds a trip to Petco Park along with a stop in AL&T, doubling the road pleasure. FWIW, Anderson was already on the roster of guest commentator Al Melchior.

MIXED LEAGUE DRAFT

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
TClippard, Tor	Michael Beller 153	Scott White 68	Anthony Perri 34
		Adam Ronis 24	Charlie Wiegert 17
		Rudy Gamble 17	Charlie Wiegert 6
ZEflin, Phi	Greg Ambrosius 39	Anthony Perri 35
AdGonzalez, NYM	Anthony Perri 32
TJankowski, SD	Adam Ronis 23
TAnderson, Col	Perry Van Hook 23	Charlie Wiegert 12	Scott White 8
SRomano, Cin	Charlie Wiegert 17	Gene McCaffrey 8
SOh, Tor	Anthony Perri 13
WLeBlanc, Sea	Charlie Wiegert 12	Perry Van Hook 3
ABradley, Ari	Adam Ronis 12	Michael Beller 3	Scott White 0
NWalker, NYY	Rudy Gamble 9	Adam Ronis 6
JJay, KC	Charlie Wiegert 7
LMaile, Tor	Perry Van Hook 7	Scott White 0
KFreeland, Col	Jeff Boggis 6
WDifo, Was	Rudy Gamble 4
VGuerreroJr, Tor	Scott White 3
MStassi, Hou	Scott White 0
JBarria, LAA	Scott White 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
JHellickson, Was	Greg Ambrosius 33	Perry Van Hook 3
HPerez, Mil	Rudy Gamble 8	Adam Ronis 8
YSanchez, CWS	Adam Ronis 8
CKuhl, Pit	Charlie Wiegert 6
JWendle, TB	Rudy Gamble 4
DPalka, CWS	Adam Ronis 4
RTepera, Tor	Adam Ronis 4
DDietrich, Mia	Charlie Wiegert 2
JIglesias, Det	Rudy Gamble 1
JMercer, Pit	Rudy Gamble 1
LGohara, Atl	Scott White 0
MMaldonado, LAA	Scott White 0

Perry Van Hook’s Commentary

The golden ring of saves – even if temporary, again generated the high bid for the week with Michael Beller winning Tyler Clippard for $153.

With an extra reserve spot available next week I added Rockie starter Tyler Anderson for what looks to be a good two start week. My other bid doesn’t mean I believe that Luke Maile will displace Russell Martin as the Blue Jays catcher, but his OBP is well over one hundred points higher (usually Martin’s strong suit) and he does have some pop in his bat. He may well get additional starts behind the dish if Toronto continues to rest Donaldson at DH as well.

Todd’s Take

OK, updating the Phillies bullpen usage, Hunter surrendered a run before being rescued by Luis Garcia. Dominguez worked a clean eighth with two punch outs.

Clippard has the only Blue Jays save chance since Roberto Osuna was put on administrative leave. Based on that, and his current numbers along with a history of getting saves when called upon, I agree with the groups decision to go after Clippard. This looks like a long-term thing.

Oh great, Edubray Ramos in for the save. Good times.

HEAD-TO-HEAD MIXED AUCTION

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
GTorres, NYY	Andrea LaMont 103	Justin Mason 67	Michael Rathburn 18
DFowler, Oak	Justin Mason 87	Michael Rathburn 3
BAnderson, Mia	Justin Mason 67	Dr. Roto 16	Peter Kreutzer 8
SRomano, Cin	Andrea LaMont 49	Peter Kreutzer 3	Justin Mason 1
TAnderson, Col	Clay Link 45	Andrea LaMont 34	Jake Ciely 22
		Dr. Roto 22	Michael Rathburn 12
		Justin Mason 1
AHeaney, LAA	Justin Mason 25	Jake Ciely 17	Clay Link 12
		Andrea LaMont 6
RStripling, LAD	Peter Kreutzer 13
LBrinson, Mia	Dr. Roto 13
TClippard, Tor	Dr. Roto 12
IHapp, ChC	Peter Kreutzer 8	Andrea LaMont 2	Justin Mason 1
MMoreland, Bos	Michael Rathburn 8
JGarcia, Tor	Michael Rathburn 8	Justin Mason 0
LDuda, KC	Andrea LaMont 7	Justin Mason 1
MFiers, Det	Peter Kreutzer 7
MRojas, Mia	Peter Kreutzer 5	Michael Rathburn 3
MHarvey, Cin	Andrea LaMont 3
WLeBlanc, Sea	Justin Mason 0	Peter Kreutzer 6	Michael Rathburn 6
JJeffress, Mil	Justin Mason 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
RErlin, SD	Peter Kreutzer 13
CMoran, Pit	Michael Rathburn 6	Andrea LaMont 0
ARussell, ChC	Peter Kreutzer 5
JMercer, Pit	Peter Kreutzer 5
JWinker, Cin	Michael Rathburn 4
RYarbrough, TB	Michael Rathburn 3
SMatz, NYM	Clay Link 3
JProfar, Tex	Peter Kreutzer 2
TJankowski, SD	Peter Kreutzer 2
OArcia, Mil	Justin Mason 1	Justin Mason 0
ZEflin, Phi	Andrea LaMont 1
DDescalso, Ari	Peter Kreutzer 0
ZBritton, Bal	Justin Mason 0
ACobb, Bal	Clay Link 0
MBoyd, Det	Andrea LaMont 0

Todd’s Take and Commentary

And Ramos gets the save. I’ll be curious what Kapler has to say, but first I need to get this posted.

Justin Mason was busy, looking to upgrade hitting while his pitching-heavy squad gets healthy. I especially like the acquisition of Dustin Fowler, capable of contributing to a points league in many ways, including drawing a walk, stealing a base or poking one over the wall. Assuming he can stay healthy, the A’s merry-go-round in center should be over.

I also like Mason’s pick-up of Andrew Heaney as the young lefty has a home two-step, the first with the dangerous Astros but then he faces the Rays.

It’s nice to see Rotowire colleague Clay Link agrees Tyler Anderson is a nice play this week.

OK, I need to check Twitter to see who I’m bidding on in the NFBC tonight. Saves – the bane of fantasy managers everywhere.

Rotowire’s Clay Link became the first Tout to win two Tout Daily contests after also taking down opening week. Link  took over the top spot halfway through Period 2 while also narrowing the gap for the top overall score. BaseballHQ’s Ray Murphy finished second by a baker’s dozen with Fantasy Alarm’s Howard Bender less than a point behind in third.

Link was led by a pair of outstanding pitching performances. Aaron Nola was a popular choice, with 16 of the 35 Touts clicking in his 38.75 points. Luis Castillo’s 24.25 points was a difference make as only five others joined Clay hoping Castillo’s recent upswing would result in a solid outing.

Clay’s offense was powered by Giancarlo Stanton’s pair of long balls as well as Justin Bour, Jurickson Profar and Aaron Altherr also going deep. Check out Link’s entire lineup below.

As mentioned, Link is a top the pack for the Golden Tickets awarded to the top three scorers in Period 2, leading Wiseguy Gene McCaffrey and some dude named Zola.

Zola continues to lead the race for the wild card entry into the Tout Daily Final, given to the most overall points over the 20-week contest. Link is in second with Fantasy Alarm’s Rick Wolf next. Follow your favorite Touts on the Leaderboard.

Join us next Tuesday for the third week of this period. As always, we’ll post our picks around 5 PM ET.

Here’s Clay’s week-winning roster:

 

Today is the second week of the second Tout Daily period. The pitching is replete with intriguing options at all price points with hitting also offering solid choices up and down the schedule.

Here’s who the Touts are clicking in, trying to chase down Period 2 leader Vlad Sedler.

Lawr Michaels (CreativeSports2, @lawrmichaels)

Andrew Heaney: The Coloradans hold the second-highest strikeout total facing lefties at 129, while Heaney, with 24 whiffs over 20.3 frames, has had games with nine and 10 whiffs and today could rank right there with Rockies misses.

Robinson Cano: Cano, who is hitting a more than respectable .283-3-18, gets to swing against righty Marcus Stroman (7.52 ERA, 1.639 WHIP) at home. Since lefties are batting .303 against the Toronto hurler with a .374 OBP, Cano looks like a no-brainer pick.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Luis Severino: Severino’s only loss on the season was at Boston on April 10th. In that game, Severino had a season low 6.7 Draft Kings fantasy points. On the season, Severino is averaging 26.9 fantasy points per game on Draft Kings. Throw out the Boston game and he’s averaging 30.3 fantasy points per game. He faces Boston again tonight, but this time at home, where Severino will be looking for redemption.

Didi Gregorius: Gregorius has a larger sample size when facing Pomeranz and he’s owned him in the past. He’s had 21 at bats when facing Pomeranz, and owns a .381 batting average with 1 home run, 2 RBI, and 2 walks against him. Gregorius has been cold as of late, which explains his depressed $4,500 salary. He is averaging 11.2 fantasy points per game on Draft Kings.

Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy)

Aaron Nola: Money in the bank, in my opinion and he’s still not priced as high as the elites. The Giants were a hot-hitting team this past week, but let’s not kid ourselves as to what they are really made of. Are we that desperate for a hero in SF that Allen Hanson is getting so much buzz? Nola should have no issues putting the Giants down tonight.

Corey Dickerson: Ever see Lucas Giolito try to successfully pitch against a lefty hitter? Me neither. The damage will have to be done early though because an early exit for Giolito puts Dickerson up against a very tough White Sox bullpen. Still willing to make the move for Dickerson though.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt)

James Paxton: Going pitcher-heavy today, including James Paxton against a TOR lineup that is a little above-average at striking out vs LHP.

Jurickson Profar: Jurickson Profar has been productive lately and is very reasonably priced at $3300. Also a switch-hitter, which is helpful.

Tim McCullough (Rotoexperts, @Tim_Rotoexperts)

Dylan Bundy: The Royals are one of the weakest teams in MLB vs. RHP with a .294 wOBA and Bundy has done his best work at home, where he has a .314 wOBA against. Bundy had the Royals’ number last season with a 1.29 ERA, .643 WHIP and a .143 BAA over two starts. Hopefully, the money saved on pitching will give me enough offense to finish in the money.

Jurickson Profar: I wanted Trout, Hoskins and Conforto in my outfield so I needed salary relief somewhere (besides at P). That led to my choice of Profar. Granted, Profar has been awful across the board but he faces Mike Fiers tonight, a pitcher who has been equally awful (5.00 ERA, 5.33 K/9). He’s allowed above average Hard contact (34.4% Hard%) resulting in six HRs in just 27 IP, so I’m rolling the dice on Profar having a good night at home where he’s been slightly less awful historically.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Sean Newcomb: Fun slate for pitching, great choiced up top and in the middle. I’m waffling up top (leaning Nola) but am probably settled on Sean Newcomb as SP2. Tampa has decent wOBA v LHP, but anything vLHP is the most unreliable sample. I’ll take the strikeout upside in a pitcher’s park and hope Newcomb keeps C.J. Cron in check.

John Hicks: Hicks qualifies at catcher but is getting run at first base with Miggy on the DL. He checks all the boxes (high in the order, platoon edge, hitter’s park).

Clay Link (Rotowire, @claywlink)

Aaron Nola: He’s not missing bats like an ace (6.9 K/9), but he’s not being priced up quite as high either. The Giants have totaled four home runs so far in May and with Derek Holland on the other side, Nola stands a great chance to earn the win.

Aaron Altherr: Speaking of Holland…Altherr is off to a poor start this season and he’s not the bargain on DK that he is on Fanduel, but he has the platoon advantage and is batting cleanup.

Brian Walton (CreativeSports2, @B_Walton)

Mike Minor: For $6300, Minor is a great $-saving pick. The right-hander has a 2.86 ERA in four home starts this year and gets to face the tooth-less Tigers tonight.

Michael Conforto: It is only one game in a row (so is that even a row?), but Conforto homered Monday night and his Tuesday opponent is not the same Luis Castillo of 2017.

Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)

Aaron Nola: The Giants surprisingly have struck out frequently this year, including nine times yesterday against Zack Efflin.

Michael Conforto: I like the intersection between his price, skills, batting order and ballpark.

Streaming pitching can often be the difference between winning the league and waiting for next year.  This week, the Touts were asked:

What’s your philosophy when it comes to starting/benching struggling starting pitchers?

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): SPs that I have projected to do well, I give them some rope.  If they fail 3-4 in a row, I start to look at home/away and offense matchups.  If they keep failing, I bench them if rules permit. SPs that I have projected to be iffy (and that is most of my SPs(!!) I think about home/away from the get-go, bench if rules permit, and depending on what I can do to replace, contemplate cutting them if I can’t just reserve them after failing 4-5-6 times.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): I’m admittedly aggressive. I don’t like sitting a pitcher until he has a good start or two – then you miss those starts. Plus, my research shows you can absorb a few blow-ups, the added strikeouts mitigate much of the damage in terms of standings points. If there’s a hint of injury (lower mph, drop in spin rate) I’ll reserve, but otherwise it’s all systems go, perhaps to a fault. I should note, it is league dependent, the better the alternative, the more likely I am to reluctantly bench, but most of my leagues are 15 team mixed and deeper. Also, in leagues with an IP cap, I’m more judicious since there’s a finite number of starts.

Perry Van Hook (Mastersball, @): In leagues where there are reserve slots I would “rest” a questionable but potentially viable SP until he improved or had a terrific matchup. There are leagues where you have to weigh the damage to your ratios versus the eventual upside

Ray Flowers (Fantasy Guru Elite, @BaseballGuys): I tend to think that any top-40 SP has to be started, even if struggling. You can make adjustments if he’s been particularly brutal, or if he’s facing a white-hot offense in a good ballpark. That said, you have to be smart about it. If it’s outing after outing with a beatdown, you have to consider benching anyone. Most of the time it’s a skills/matchup/trend decision for a struggling arm. Moreover, you have to determine why a guy is struggling. If he has a .398 BABIP or if his swinging strike rate has dropped by four percent. The reason for the struggles plays a part as well.

Rick Wolf (Fantasy Alarm, @RickWolf1) and Glenn Colton (Fantasy Alarm, @glenncolton1): It depends on a ton of factors, but we do not play straight match ups. The most important factors are where you are in the standings and your ability to withstand a bad outing based on your stats in ERA & Ratios. Also, depends on the type of pitcher and his trend. Hard throwers are more predictable and less likely to blow up against a good team or in a bad ballpark. Need to look at the team’s trend, the ballpark that they are in and their GB% as a high number there can help to make sure that big innings don’t come from the long ball. That said, sat Kyle Gibson vs NYY last week so you can never be 100%.

Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): The answer is highly dependent on league format and alternative options, as well as how “struggling” is defined. If your replacement options are Chris Tillman and some generic middle relievers on pace for 50 innings, there’s less incentive to bench your guy versus in a shallower league where you have decent alternatives. In terms of defining “struggling”, I completely ignore ERA for at least the first month. Rather, I focus solely on underlying skills, expected ERA metrics like SIERA, and pitch velocities and any mix changes. That has far greater predictive power than ERA does. If the underlying skills support the poor start, my decision will depend heavily on my preseason value. If I projected him as a top 20 or 30 pitcher, I’ll probably give him a bit longer to get his skills back to where they should be. Beyond that, I’m more inclined to bench him until he gets his strikeouts and walks in line with expectations.

Rudy Gamble (Razzball, @RudyGamble): Three factors: 1) What is our Streamonator’s projected $ value for the start (which factors in opponent, park, home/away, etc.), 2) Is it a daily or weekly transaction league? and 3) What are my alternatives? If the Streamonator $ value indicates it’s a mediocre start and a pitcher has been struggling, I am looking for any excuse to bench him. In daily transaction leagues (where there is typically an IP or GS cap), I just sit him. In weekly transaction leagues, I am looking to see if I have a better alternative. I have a lot of Jon Gray shares this year and he has been benched on some teams (with strong alternatives) and started in others.

Tim McCullough (Rotoexperts, @Tim_Rotoexperts): League format matters a lot when it comes to pitching philosophy and struggling starters. In a 10-team mixed league with daily moves, I am more likely to bench a pitcher who doesn’t matchup well with a team according splits and park factors – mainly because there are streaming options available in such a league. So, I will look for a viable streamer to replace the struggler on my roster. In deeper leagues (i.e. 15-team mixed or 12-team mono) where there are fewer viable streaming options, I am more apt to keep the struggling starter out there, especially if the league has weekly moves. However, if this hypothetical struggling pitcher is a complete disaster, I will bench him and replace him with a highly ranked middle reliever who strikes out plenty of batters and has excellent ratio stats with high strikeout rates. I like to have one or two of those pitcher types sitting on the bench for just such emergencies.

Andrea LaMont (LennyMelnickFantasySports, @RotoLady): It depends on the type of league it is. If it is a category based roto league, I usually just bench him and hope he comes around. As long as I have a spot on my bench I won’t consider dropping him until late May or early June. If it is a head-to-head points league, such as this year’s Tout Wars league, I am a whole lot more willing to get rid of him. I dropped Marcus Stroman a couple weeks ago because he is walking batters like crazy and I can’t afford to have those negative points on my roster every week.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): My default is to let ’em pitch. I do bench my weakest starters in weeks with tough matchups—nothing new or fascinating there—but the underlying assumption is that they all get to go unless there’s pretty potent evidence not to. When I get heartburn is when I have a weaker guy in a two-start week, and they’re BOTH against tough opponents. Hate to miss out on 10 Ks or whatever, but I’ll pull that pin if it looks like those Ks could cost me 10 ER in as many innings.-/h

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports): When one of my pitchers is struggling, I’ll bench them if I have a better option and his start is against one of the better hitting teams. But if it’s against Bal, Cws, KC, Cin or SD, I’ll leave him in!

Gene McCaffrey (Wise Guy Baseball, @WiseGuyGene): If I can figure out what the problem is, that usually tells me what to do. If I can’t, I would do what I try to do with my lesser SPs anyway: start them at home, bench them on the road. If it’s one of my aces, I have to let him pitch unless he’s pitching through an injury. Oh wait, it’s 2018.

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella): It depends a great deal on the pitcher’s track record/why he’s struggling. If a pitcher I drafted to be my SP1/SP2 doesn’t perform, I’m going to lose regardless of whether I bench him or not. I’m fairly liberal with starters outside of the Top 60 in deeper mixed as far as dropping or benching them if I don’t like the matchup or see the trend lines going in the wrong direction but above this (admittedly arbitrary) line I’m inclined to stick with the pitcher unless it’s obvious he’s pitching through an injury.

Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): If it’s a guy w/ a proven track record of success, and there aren’t any apparent injury concerns, I’ll likely leave him in. If it’s someone I’ve rostered largely on the basis of potential, it depends whether his struggles are due to something obvious (e.g. – loss of velocity, decrease in strikeout rate, increase in walk rate). It that’s indeed the case, then I’ll likely stream him until my confidence in him is renewed. Finally, I’m not shy about adding/dropping starting pitchers on the waiver wire – most of the time, things don’t work out long-term, but if just one or two do in a given season, your team will likely be better off for having done that.

Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy): Always depends on who the starter is and what the upcoming match-ups are for the week, but if it’s a player I drafted in the mid-to-early rounds, I’ll give him some leeway so I don’t miss the expected good starts. Things should balance out in the end, especially if my projections have him doing significantly better than his current performance. For pitchers I grabbed late and have low expectations for, I will park them on the bench for a week or two and look to replace them if someone of quality appears on the waiver wire.

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50): Generally if they’re on my team I start the strugglers – unless the game is Coors. I do check BaseballHQ’s match-up guide, and if they’re not recommended and they’re going against a recommended starter and/or a hot team, I might bench even if not at Coors.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis): It all depends on the pre-ranking of the starting pitcher. For example, Chris Archer (SP-TB) was struggling in his first 4 starts on the season, but I kept him in my starting lineup because I know what his track record is and that he had a pre-ranking of 61. If his pre-ranking had been 150 or higher, I probably would have benched him. Over the past 2 weeks, Archer has pitched 18.1 innings with 19 strikeouts, 1 win, a respectable 3.44 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He’s had little run support this season, but this should turn around soon.

Scott Wilderman (OnRoto, @): I’ve always looked only at underlying stats — what I think Ron Shandler first coined as “indicators”. At this point, while a high ERA might catch my eye, if the K/9 and BB/9 are fine, I wouldn’t even consider a number 1-3 starter to be struggling if the K/9 and BB/9 are consistent with expectations. If those numbers are way, way out of line, I’ll take a look at velocity or injuries, etc, but otherwise sitting a 1,2 or 3 starter because of a few bad outings is like trying to time the stock market — a bad idea. For deep leagues with back-of-the rotation guys, though, I think you need to look at what their known weaknesses are and see if that’s what’s causing their 2018 problems. Most projection systems forecast outliers (the good and the bad) to regress back to the mean, to an extent. So if a guy with decent indicators has an out of line ERA because he’s always given up too many gopher balls and he’s already given up 7 or 8, it may be time to conclude that he’s not over it, and it’s time to sit him.

Michael Beller (Sports Illustrated, @MBeller): It takes a lot for me to bench a starter when his turn comes around. Take this one all the way down to the most basic level. Why do we have starting pitchers on our fantasy baseball teams? So they can, you know, make starts for us, right? If a guy isn’t worth starting, is he even worth owning? Yes, I realize I’m making this simpler than it is in reality, but it’s helpful to think of it in the abstract. Zola hit the nail on the head earlier when he said that struggling pitchers will make up in strikeouts some of the value they give away in the rate categories. Plus, none of us is as good at diagnosing why a pitcher is struggling, or when those struggles might end, as we want to be. You’re nearly as likely to leave a good outing on the bench as you are to sidestep a bad one when you bench a guy for his start. In short, before you bench a guy for his start, ask if he’s even worth having on your team in the first place. If he is, then you want him in your active lineup nine times out of 10.

Welcome to the weekly Tout Wars FAAB report, on its new home right here on the Tout Wars site. Each week, we’ll review the free agent acquisitions from all five leagues, with commentary from a league member, as well as yours truly. We changed the timing of the weekly run to 1 PM ET every Sunday, with the report posted later that afternoon so you’ll have time to digest and apply to your own leagues. In addition, I’ll be joining Lawr Michaels and Justin Mason on the Tout Wars Hour on the FNTSY Network every Sunday at 3:20 PM ET to discuss the results.

You can find the complete list of Tout Warriors here. Everyone starts with 1000 FAAB units, less any penalty incurred by finishing below a designated point in the standings. This is a means of keeping everyone motivated to keep playing all season long. The minimum bid is $0. FAAB units can be traded as well as rebated for players released off the DL.

The report will list all winning bids along with unsuccessful tries and contingencies. This provides the maximum level of information to help gauge interest on the players.

The American and National League only formats are 12-team leagues, as is the new points-based head to head league, The Mixed Auction and Draft each have 15 clubs. All the leagues have four reserves with an unlimited DL, expect the head to head league, which allows six reserves.

The headings above each league are links to publicly accessible sites where you can see standings, roster and a complete review of transactions. The initial auctions and drafts can be found here.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
FRomero, Min	Vlad Sedler 269	Seth Trachtman 82	Jeff Erickson 78
		Larry Schechter 72	Doug Dennis 39
		Rob Leibowitz 37	Lawr Michaels 33
		Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 3
RYarbrough, TB	Jason Collette 44	Jeff Erickson 13	Seth Trachtman 11
		Vlad Sedler 7	Lawr Michaels 3
		Doug Dennis 0
WLeBlanc, Sea	Jeff Erickson 13	Jeff Erickson 7
HVelazquez, Bos	Chris Liss 12	Doug Dennis 0
NRamirez, LAA	Jeff Erickson 7	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1	Mike Podhorzer 0
BMaxwell, Oak	Vlad Sedler 6	Doug Dennis 0
VGuerreroJr, Tor	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1
BGuyer, Cle	Seth Trachtman 1	Patrick Davitt 0
JTomlin, Cle	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1	Jeff Erickson 1
ARomine, Sea	Patrick Davitt 0
ONarvaez, CWS	Doug Dennis 0
JLeclerc, Tex	Seth Trachtman 0
DPompey, Tor	Patrick Davitt 0	Seth Trachtman 1
JJimenez, Det	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 0	Jeff Erickson 7	Chris Liss 1

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
ESkoglund, KC	Vlad Sedler 13
ABanda, TB	Vlad Sedler 6
JAlvarez, LAA	Vlad Sedler 6
DButera, KC	Vlad Sedler 3	Doug Dennis 0
KJepsen, Tex	Chris Liss 3
GPetit, Min	Seth Trachtman 1	Patrick Davitt 0
JRondon, CWS	Seth Trachtman 1
CStewart, Det	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1
RLaMarre, Min	Patrick Davitt 0
RGoins, KC	Patrick Davitt 0
LTrivino, Oak	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 0
JKelly, Bos	Seth Trachtman 0
CBYoung, LAA	Patrick Davitt 0
ARomine, NYY	Doug Dennis 0

Patrick Davitt’s Commentary

This week’s Tout-AL FAAB bidding featured the continuing search for starting pitchers, with some healthy bids on starters who had auspicious debuts.

The big buy of the session was by Vlad Sedler, who spent the princely sum of 269 to acquire MIN starter Fernando Romero. One of the Twins’ top pitching prospects (along with Stephen Gonsalves), Romero debuted midweek, earning a win over the Blue Jays with 5.2 scoreless innings and 5 Ks. Sedler then traded starter Jaime Garcia to Jeff Erickson for IF Adalberto Mondesi.

The next high bid was also on a starter who impressed earlier in the week. Rays enthusiast Jason Collette acquired TAM lefty starter Ryan Yarbrough for 44. Like Romero, Yarbrough also beat the Jays earlier in the week, allowing one hit while getting 15 outs, albeit as the second pitcher in one of the Rays’ vaunted bullpen days. The Rays have said Yarbrough is likely to get the rotation spot of injured Yonny Chirinos. Collette released Cam Bedrosian, one of the 46 guys jockeying uselessly for saves in Anaheim. Since I already have Justin Anderson and Jim Johnson, I might have to add Bedrosian next week to make a set. After which they’ll settle on Noe Ramirez (see below).

Other starters bought:

Jeff Erickson spent 13 to get SEA starter Wade LeBlanc (13), who will take over in Erickson’s rotation for DLed Jordan Montgomery

Chris Liss’ spent 12 on the Red Sox’ latest fifth starter, Hector Velazquez, and reserved still another closer hopeful, Jake Diekman of TEX.

The Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton partnership (W/C) was the busiest team, making three transactions, including Josh Tomlin of CLE, for 1. I dropped Tomlin this week, so I expect he’ll go all Johnny Vander Meer on my butt and throw back-to-back no-hitters.

Three touts rolled the dice on proto-closers: Erickson spent 7 on Noe Ramirez, potential #47 in LAA, who replaces reserved reliever Joe Smith; W/C invested 1 on Joe Jimenez of DET; and Seth Trachtman grabbed TEX reliever Jose LeClerc for zero to replace  DLed Angels starter Nick Tropeano.

W/C also made the week’s most notable speculative bet, buying TOR super-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., on the hope that Josh Donaldson gets re-injured or traded, and that the Jays are willing to start Vladdy’s service clock. W/C reserved Adeiny Hechavarria, Heath Hembree and Brett Anderson.

The week’s action saw some catcher moves. Doug Dennis changed second catchers, reserving Jason Castro of MIN and grabbing CHW’s Omar Narvaez for zero, and Sedler released LAA C Rene Rivera and got OAK backup Bruce Maxwell III, buying him for VI.

Trachtman DLed TOR OF Steve Pearce, who I hope is out for the season (see below), buying CLE OF Brandon Guyer for 1.

I as usual played in the shallow end of the pool, placing zero bids on utilityman Andrew Romine to take over for DLed Luis Sardinas, and TOR OF Dalton Pompey for released (and retired) Ichiro Suzuki. After Pompey had a decent first game, the Jays then crossed me up somewhat by recalling OF Anthony Alford, whom I already had on reserve. Too bad the league doesn’t have a category for “temporary replacements for Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce.” Then again, maybe I’ll luck into getting a more permanent guy, a la Teoscar Hernandez.

Todd’s Take

How am I supposed to follow that? It’s like asking George Carlin to open for you.

Vlad already has the highest bid so far this season, dropping 159 on Lourdes Gurriel Jr. a couple weeks ago. It now becomes an intriguing guessing game with his league-mates. Do they need to be extra aggressive when they feel they’ll be competing with Rotogut for a player or will Vlad back off a bit now that he’s invested almost half his budget on two players? My guess is Vlad has at least two more low triple bids left before he tempers the amount – we’ll see.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
AnSuarez, SF	Phil Hertz 113	Todd Zola 113	Brian Walton 55
		Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
CKelly, StL	Craig Mish 79	Phil Hertz 52
TJankowski, SD	Scott Wilderman 37	Brian Walton 35
GGarcia, StL	Todd Zola 33	Scott Wilderman 2	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
LGohara, Atl	Phil Hertz 32
RLopez, SD	Brian Walton 23	Andy Behrens 17
JBarnes, Mil	Todd Zola 17	Mike Gianella 6
CRichard, SD	Mike Gianella 17
TNido, NYM	Andy Behrens 14
TGuerrero, Mia	Phil Hertz 7	Grey Albright 1
JHughes, Cin	Todd Zola 7
AStevenson, Was	Scott Wilderman 4
MAlbers, Mil	Mike Gianella 3
ZEflin, Phi	Craig Mish 3	Phil Hertz 37	Todd Zola 13
SCarle, Atl	Craig Mish 2
YGarcia, LAD	Grey Albright 1
TLyons, StL	Lenny Melnick 1	Todd Zola 7
CHeadley, SD	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0	Todd Zola 13
BShipley, Ari	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
PFlorimon, Phi	Scott Wilderman 0	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
WMiley, Mil	Todd Zola 17
CStammen, SD	Todd Zola 7
PSewald, NYM	Todd Zola 7	Phil Hertz 3
TMcFarland, Ari	Todd Zola 7
TWatson, SF	Todd Zola 7	Mike Gianella 3
TLocastro, LAD	Brian Walton 2
MSzczur, SD	Scott Wilderman 1
PBaez, LAD	Grey Albright 1
BKintzler, Was	Brian Walton 1
BValera, LAD	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0	Scott Wilderman 0
DCastro, Col	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
JGuerra, SD	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
NCuevas, Col	Scott Wilderman 0
ERamos, Phi	Phil Hertz 0

Todd’s Commentary and Take

Tout NL was a little of everything this week as a starting pitcher, catcher, outfielder and reserve infielder topped the bidding.

Andrew Suarez landed on the roster of Phil Hertz for 113 units – the same amount I bid. Either Phil has astutely studied my bidding habits and is fortunate I didn’t go 117 (I end all bids in 3 and 7) or he was just plain lucky. Further, we’re exactly tied in the standings. By rule, the FAAB tie-breaker is lower in the standings at the time of the FAAB run. Based on this, I’ve asked the umpires to review the call. The call on the field is Phil gets Suarez. We’ll see what happens.

With Yadier Molina out for a month after surgery for every male’s nightmare, Carson Kelly scratched from his Triple-A game, ostensibly to report to the Cardinals and share catching duties with Francisco Pena. Kelly was up last season for 34 games. He received 75 plate appearances and while he wasn’t overmatched (only 11 strikeouts) he hit only .174. He’s not crushing Triple-A so far, slashing .234/.337/.364. Still, he’s a top catching prospect and definitely with a hot in a deep league.

Scott Wilderman grabbed Travis Jankowski and the Padres are still sorting out their roster while hoping Manny Margot gets back in the groove. In 2016, Jankowski swiped 30 bases, always a nice thing in today’s fantasy landscape.

Greg Garcia, Jacob Barnes and Jared Hughes were all filler acquisitions. I lost Robbie Ray and Zack Davies this week. With three closers on my roster, I need to make a deal to help upgrade elsewhere, so I was looking to pick up some players that won’t hurt me while I look to trade.

I also grabbed Chase Headley because he has a pulse and qualifies at corner… ’nuff said.

The headsets are coming off and we have a decision. From OnRoto:

Built into the standings page are the 2 tiebreakers from the original Rotisserie book: most categories leading head to head, and if still tied, greatest total AB + 3 * IP. So if you’re listed ahead of Phil in the standings, you actually are ahead, even though you have the same number of total points.

From the rules:

Any issues not covered by this Constitution will revert to the rules as stated in the Official Constitution in Rotisserie League Baseball. Tout Wars LLC will rule on any issues not covered by the RLBA constitution.

The call stands, Hertz gets Suarez. The tiebreak reverts to the official rule book, which is how the tie was broken.

MIXED LEAGUE AUCTION 

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
NKingham, Pit	Joe Pisapia 212	Scott Pianowski 169	Jeff Zimmerman 114
		Tim McLeod 97	Zach Steinhorn 48
		Scott Engel 47	Tim Heaney 46
		Fred Zinkie 33
CSmith, Mia	Scott Pianowski 188	Jeff Zimmerman 114	Ray Flowers 81
		Zach Steinhorn 68	Al Melchior 56
		Scott Engel 49	Fred Zinkie 44
MAdams, Was	Scott Pianowski 99	Ray Flowers 52	Scott Engel 41
		Ron Shandler 37	Tim Heaney 26
		Al Melchior 20	Scott Swanay 13
		Fred Zinkie 7
FRomero, Min	Ray Flowers 81	Zach Steinhorn 54	Tim McLeod 53
		Al Melchior 17	Fred Zinkie 17
DGerman, NYY	Al Melchior 56	Joe Pisapia 88	Zach Steinhorn 53
		Fred Zinkie 2
JBautista, Atl	Tim Heaney 46	Scott Swanay 28	Fred Zinkie 25
		Al Melchior 0
JAnderson, LAA	Tim Heaney 36	Tim Heaney 26	Al Melchior 0
CPinder, Oak	Ray Flowers 31
JHicks, Det	Ray Flowers 29	Tim Heaney 26	Ron Shandler 16
		Tim McLeod 9	Al Melchior 0
AGordon, KC	Scott Swanay 28	Tim Heaney 26	Ron Shandler 22
		Scott Engel 2	Al Melchior 0
RDavis, Cle	Ron Shandler 27
TLyons, StL	Tim Heaney 16
TBlach, SF	Scott Engel 15	Scott Engel 14
YSanchez, CWS	Jeff Zimmerman 14	Tim Heaney 1
BParker, LAA	Bret Sayre 7	Tim Heaney 3
MGarver, Min	Tim Heaney 7	Al Melchior 0
CKelly, StL	Tim McLeod 7	Tim Heaney 4
KAllard, Atl	Tim McLeod 3
JHellickson, Was	Tim McLeod 3	Ray Flowers 19	Fred Zinkie 2
LGarcia, CWS	Scott Engel 2
ZEflin, Phi	Fred Zinkie 2
TClippard, Tor	Scott Engel 1
JCamargo, Atl	Al Melchior 0
DDescalso, Ari	Tim Heaney 0
NDelmonico, CWS	Al Melchior 0	Ron Shandler 1

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
AFrazier, Pit	Scott Swanay 28
AdGonzalez, NYM	Ray Flowers 19	Ron Shandler 1
CCuthbert, KC	Ray Flowers 19
RGuzman, Tex	Ray Flowers 19
TJankowski, SD	Ron Shandler 18
JimJohnson, LAA	Al Melchior 17
NAhmed, Ari	Tim Heaney 6
IKinerFalefa, Tex	Jeff Zimmerman 6
TNaquin, Cle	Scott Swanay 4
NHundley, SF	Tim McLeod 3	Tim Heaney 0
JJay, KC	Scott Swanay 2
RGrossman, Min	Scott Swanay 2
EDiaz, Pit	Tim McLeod 1
MStassi, Hou	Tim Heaney 1
PSewald, NYM	Scott Engel 1
ARomine, NYY	Tim Heaney 0
MFeliz, Pit	Tim Heaney 0
MMaldonado, LAA	Tim Heaney 0
RLopez, SD	Tim Heaney 0
SLugo, NYM	Tim Heaney 0
RPressly, Min	Al Melchior 0

Todd’s  Take

Let’s see how the two mixed leagues rank the plethora of available starting pitching available this week. Here, Nick Kingham > Caleb Smith > Fernando Romero > Domingo German. Keep in mind, this was previous to German’s gem on Sunday afternoon. Talking with Al Melchior and Lawr Michaels on the Tout Wars Hour on FNTSY Network, Al questioned why German wasn’t more sought after. My guess is there’s a stigma about the AL East and Yankee Stadium. It’ll be interesting to see what Mixed Draft did and what Mixed LABR will do Sunday night.

MIXED LEAGUE DRAFT

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
AVerdugo, LAD	Corey Parson 165	Ray Murphy 56	Adam Ronis 27
		Perry Van Hook 23
NKingham, Pit	Corey Parson 123	Scott White 53	Adam Ronis 46
		Perry Van Hook 23
FRomero, Min	Greg Ambrosius 121	Michael Beller 93	Corey Parson 81
		Adam Ronis 38	Tom Kessenich 18
JBautista, Atl	Michael Beller 79	Ray Murphy 56	Gene McCaffrey 28
		Corey Parson 5
JJeffress, Mil	Tim McCullough 72	Gene McCaffrey 38	Scott White 16
CSmith, Mia	D.J. Short 65	Scott White 53	Jeff Boggis 17
JProfar, Tex	Gene McCaffrey 48	Adam Ronis 14	Perry Van Hook 7
		Corey Parson 3	Jeff Boggis 2
NAhmed, Ari	Tim McCullough 42	Jeff Boggis 2
DGerman, NYY	Adam Ronis 36	Corey Parson 31	Gene McCaffrey 27
LGarcia, CWS	Ray Murphy 36	Corey Parson 3
LGregerson, StL	Ray Murphy 27
MRojas, Mia	Anthony Perri 22	Greg Ambrosius 6
MKoch, Ari	Tim McCullough 22
WMiley, Mil	Tom Kessenich 21
TAustin, NYY	Charlie Wiegert 18	Greg Ambrosius 11	Corey Parson 5
CBedrosian, LAA	Michael Beller 17
AGordon, KC	Ray Murphy 16	Perry Van Hook 0
DODay, Bal	Scott White 16
AHanson, SF	Adam Ronis 14	Rudy Gamble 8
LLynn, Min	Scott White 12
DDescalso, Ari	Greg Ambrosius 9	Corey Parson 6
JCamargo, Atl	Corey Parson 9
GParra, Col	Rudy Gamble 8
CPinder, Oak	Perry Van Hook 5	Gene McCaffrey 1
EHernandez, LAD	Perry Van Hook 5	Adam Ronis 3
MGarver, Min	Rudy Gamble 4	Adam Ronis 4
JHicks, Det	Adam Ronis 4
AHechavarria, TB	Jeff Boggis 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
HPerez, Mil	Gene McCaffrey 18
WFlores, NYM	Greg Ambrosius 7
LGurriel, Tor	Adam Ronis 7	Charlie Wiegert 6
AdGonzalez, NYM	Greg Ambrosius 7
SLugo, NYM	D.J. Short 5
WDifo, Was	Adam Ronis 4
JWendle, TB	Adam Ronis 4
IKinerFalefa, Tex	Adam Ronis 4	Corey Parson 2
JDyson, Ari	Corey Parson 3
CKelly, StL	Adam Ronis 3
JPeterson, Bal	Corey Parson 1
GBlanco, SF	Rudy Gamble 1
RLopez, SD	Adam Ronis 0
NHundley, SF	Adam Ronis 0
MStassi, Hou	Adam Ronis 0
CaJoseph, Bal	Adam Ronis 0

Perry Van Hook’s Commentary

With all fifteen teams trying to improve their rosters, three players garnered FAAB bids north of $100. Highest was young Dodger outfielder Alex Verdugo won by Corey Parson for $165. Parson also rostered one of the young pitchers, selecting Pirates Nick Kingham for $123, while Greg Ambrosius spent just two dollars less to add Twins rookie Fernando Romero for a two start week.

I bid on Verdugo and Kingham but not nearly enough as I was just trying to add some depth. I did win SS/OF Chad Pinder of Oakland to replace last weeks’ addition of Kelby Tomlinson who found himself in a time share. With more Dodgers on the DL I also added Enrique Hernandez who qualifies at 2B/SS/OF at $5 each.

Todd’s Take

Mixed Draft agrees Kingham is the best of the available quartet with German the last, however they flipped the middle two, favoring Romero over Caleb Smith.

I like Rudy Gamble’s stealth acquisition of Mitch Garver, now the regular backstop for the Twins with Jason Castro on the shelf for at least a month. Garver was one of my favorite second catchers in AL only as he can hit. Now with regular playing time, Garver is well worthy of mixed league play.

Another AL only favorite was John Hicks as I hoped he’d grab some time behind the plate, picking up catcher eligibility, then finding time at first if/when Miguel Cabrera or Victor Martinez missed time. I wish all my spring calls were this spot-on.

HEAD-TO-HEAD MIXED AUCTION

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
MSoroka, Atl	Clay Link 195	Howard Bender 88	Dr. Roto 67
		Jake Ciely 52	Michael Rathburn 22
CSmith, Mia	Clay Link 89	Dr. Roto 59	Jake Ciely 42
		Howard Bender 38	Peter Kreutzer 34
MTrumbo, Bal	Dr. Roto 88
HStrickland, SF	Howard Bender 48
JBautista, Atl	Dr. Roto 44
YGomes, Cle	Kyle Elfrink 42	Clay Link 16
FRomero, Min	Jake Ciely 42	Clay Link 66	Peter Kreutzer 34
		Michael Rathburn 18
MPina, Mil	Clay Link 36
NAhmed, Ari	Michael Rathburn 18	Jake Ciely 11	Stephania Bell 3
		Peter Kreutzer 0
KKela, Tex	Howard Bender 18
JHellickson, Was	Peter Kreutzer 17	Jake Ciely 12	Stephania Bell 5
		Michael Rathburn 5
NKingham, Pit	Michael Rathburn 16	Jake Ciely 52
CGreen, NYY	Dr. Roto 14
JUrena, Mia	Peter Kreutzer 13
RFlaherty, Atl	Stephania Bell 11
AHanson, SF	Jake Ciely 11	Dr. Roto 39	Peter Kreutzer 0
TAnderson, Col	Peter Kreutzer 11
DGerman, NYY	Michael Rathburn 6
MAdams, Was	Peter Kreutzer 0
ADiaz, Tor	Peter Kreutzer 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
GTorres, NYY	Dr. Roto 22
JProfar, Tex	Jake Ciely 6	Peter Kreutzer 0
WDifo, Was	Stephania Bell 5
JCamargo, Atl	Stephania Bell 3
JHicks, Det	Clay Link 1

Todd’s Take

H2H has spoken: Caleb Smith > Fernando Romero > Nick Kingham > Domingo German. Keep in mind, Mike Soroko was already on a roster in the 15-team formats.

FWIW, I think I rank Kingham > German > Romero > Smith.

interesting, while Peter Kreutzer did bid on some from the above group, he was the only manager in on Jose Urena and Tyler Anderson plus only one of two looking to pick up Jeremy Hellickson. I like this approach, aided by the points scoring system caring more about innings, strikeouts and wins than ratios. It’s all about context.