Author: Todd Zola

Check out this fun piece from Brian Walton of Creative Sports, dissecting the latest bids from NL Tout Wars.

Yeah, I know, the headline makes no sense. Sorry, it’s getting late into the contest and the heat is humidifying my creativity. What does make sense, however, is Tim Heaney winning his second week of Tout Daily, posting a solid 154.7 points, comfortably ahead of Justin Mason’s 143.05 which in turn bested Gene McCaffrey’s third place total by exactly 10 points.

In our Tout Picks piece, Heaney chose Tyler Glasnow with the following quip, “I’m way behind in the chase for a Golden Ticket, so here’s my pivot. He may not go deeper than five innings, but the Orioles rank among the most strikeout-happy clubs, and in two-pitcher lineups like this, Glasnow still could be a value as long as he doubles his price in output.”

Talk about hitting the nail on the head, Glasnow threw four frames, with nine of his 12 outs by way of the punch out. Heaney’s hitters were spurred by homers from Rougned Odor and Jeimer Candelario. Check out Tim’s complete roster below.

While Tim’s big night got him within striking distance of the final three Golden Tickets into the Survivor Tournament Championship, currently the top three spots belong to Justin Mason, Bret Sayre and McCaffrey with several others still in contention.

Rick Wolf has a comfortable but not insurmountable 46.9 point lead over Todd Zola for the overall points lead and a wild card entry into the finals. See where you favorite Tout stands on the Leaderboard.

Be sure to check out all of our weekly content, beginning with the Tout Wars FAAB Report every Sunday, then the Tout Table on Monday, followed by Tout Daily Picks on Tuesday before closing out with Tout Daily Wrap every Wednesday.

Here’s Tim’s week-leading roster:

It’s crunch time in Tout Daily as this is the third (of four) week of the final period with the top-three finishers earning the final three Golden Tickets into the Survivor Tournament. Here’s who some of the Touts are counting on to help get one step closer to the championship.

Brian Walton (CreativeSports2, @B_Walton)

Miles Mikolas: Starting at Miami, the most consistent Cardinals starter is from nearby Jupiter and gets to show his stuff to those who couldn’t see him in Japan.

Jeff McNeil: Have to continue to ride the hot hand of the rookie, who went 3-for-4 with a homer on Monday and is batting .462 in his first dozen MLB contests.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Zack Greinke: Remember when we were all concerned about his drop in velocity in the spring. Good times.

Rougned Odor: Will need to find lower cost plays elsewhere, but really want to work in Odor facing the not so Kingly Felix.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Max Scherzer: Max Scherzer ($13,900) – It’s going to cost top dollar to roster Max Scherzer tonight, but he’s well worth it. There is extra motivation tonight as he faces an Atlanta Braves team that is at the top of their league division standings. Over the past 2 games, Scherzer has averaged 10.5 strikeouts per game. In 3 starts against the Atlanta Braves this season, Max Scherzer is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA.

Javier Baez: Javier Baez ($5,600) – Glad to see the Cubs play a night game so that I can roster Baez tonight. Over the past 14 days, Baez has been on fire with 8 runs scored, 6 home runs, 14 RBI, and a .370 batting average.

Tim Heaney (Rotowire, @Tim_Heaney)

Tyler Glasnow: I’m way behind in the chase for a Golden Ticket, so here’s my pivot. He may not go deeper than five innings, but the Orioles rank among the most strikeout-happy clubs, and in two-pitcher lineups like this, Glasnow still could be a value as long as he doubles his price in output.

Rougned Odor: This scorching-hot bat + Jester Felix (1.30 HR/9) + the Arlington launch pad … smells like a wise decision

Gene McCaffrey (Wise Guy Baseball, @WiseGuyGene)

Miles Mikolas: The Marlins have a way of confounding expectations, but I figure them to struggle against quality junk. So to speak.

Freddie Freeman: At $4k and with success against Scherzer, less of a gamble than at first glance.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)

Max Schzerer: Go big or go home

Healy & Castelonos : @$3900 are the best I can afford

Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)

Rich Hill: Riding a hot pitcher that is still probably going to be low-owned, because the A’s have been running so well.

Nelson Cruz: One of three Mariners I’m using tonight against cuddly Bartolo Colon, who will be laboring under really hot conditions.

This week’s question :

What player that wasn’t traded the past week or so benefits the most from his team’s moves? Who is hurt the most?

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): Lots of left-behind reliever who inherit first dibs on vacated closer spots (Jace Fry, Jose LeClerc, Mychal Givens, Kirby Yates). Hurt: MIL infielders.

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): It is all about the change in PT, right?  I don’t even see how Travis Shaw gets through this getting PAs except at the expense of Moustakas and Aguilar (and Thames).  If he is at 2B, Schoop at SS I’ll be surprised.  Well and truly buried: Domingo Santana and Andrew Toles. Dozier at 2B kills Chris Taylor’s PT, but also Max Muncy’s PT? That seems more like a platoon and with Justin Turner back, doubly so. Dozier himself gets hurt in that PT mix. I think Nick Kingham is out of a job after last night’s performance. Jorge Alfaro lost at least half his PT, but Wilson Ramos may play less than he did in Tampa, too. On the positive side, PD points out the closers, but I also like what the pen pecking order does for guys like Matt Strahm, Tanner Scott, Alex Claudio. Tyler O’Neill should benefit some; Harrison Bader should benefit a lot more.  Jonathan Villar should benefit once off the DL. Dust needs to settle some to get a better idea about weekly deployment.

Gene McCaffrey (Wise Guy Baseball, @WiseGuyGene): Hard question, but I think Bryce Harper will benefit the most. He’s not so far off his past form that a rebound is impossible, but a trade would have thrown a monkey wrench into that clever calculation. Who benefits least? Jacob deGrom’s Win total.

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella): Even if he isn’t the closer, Jose Leclerc should get some saves and will pick up some wins by pitching in more high leverage situations. The walks bother me but if he’s available in your league, go get him. Ender Inciarte was already slumping, not running that much and while he still should get most of the at bats, losing him as a a full-time player stings. Jorge Alfaro could be hurt even more than Inciarte if Wilson Ramos beats the timetable and is back later this month.

Ray Flowers (Fantasy Guru Elite, @BaseballGuys): Shane Greene/Kirby Yates/Kyle Barraclough. All three guys had the look of someone who would be dealt, lose the closers gig, and see their fantasy value plummet. They could still be moved in August, but for now, a huge win not being dealt. In terms of the pain – everyone with the Brewers? I don’t understand the Moose/Schoop adds which seem to indicate that one of those two, or Shaw, will often see the bench. The Brewers have a 30/15 guy from last season in the minors (Domingo Santana), and they will have either Shaw (.273-31-101 last year), Moose (.272-38-85 last year) or Schoop (.293-32-105 last year) on the bench a good deal of the time if Orlando Arcia continues to see time at shortstop. They’ve had too many bats all season, and added two it at the deadline. They’ve turned their team into a beer league squad.

Fred Zinkie (Rotoworld, Baseball HQ, @FredZinkieMLB): I agree with Ray that the marginal closers on rebuilding teams are the players who benefited the most by staying put. To me, the big losers among non-traded players are a pair of Dodgers infielders — Chris Taylor and Max Muncy. Right now, Manny Machado is actually listed as a backup on the Dodgers’ depth chart. The team is crazy deep in the infield, meaning that Taylor, Muncy, Brian Dozier and Justin Turner will all have to take days off down the stretch.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): Magneuris Sierra looks to be getting a look in center for the Marlins after dealing Cameron Maybin. WIth steals so bunched in most roto leagues, this could be an under the radar pickup while everyone focuses on the bigger name players. Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neil both benefit in St. Louis. My original answer for player hurt the most was going to be Mallex Smith, and he still may be if Tommy Pham is only out two weeks. Aside from Smith, and Brandon Phillips who I thought was ticketed for the Ian Kinsler role in Boston, I’ll go with Rajai Davis and the steals he provides in AL only formats.

Scott White (CBS Fantasy Sports, @CBSScottWhite): Newly anointed closers (Jose Leclerc, Ken Giles, maybe Mychal Givens and Jace Fry) are always the biggest winners and displaced closers (Keone Kela, Hector Rondon, Zach Britton, Joakim Soria) the biggest losers, but the biggest winner of all is a pitcher who already had the closer role and now is sure to retain it. I’m talking of course about Kirby Yates, who inherited the job from the Brad Hand but didn’t attract as much attention as I felt like he should in Fantasy because of fears he’d be traded as well. I’m not sure he isn’t the better pitcher than Hand, quite honestly. On the other side, I feel like Travis Shaw’s role is up in the air with Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop joining him in Milwaukee, which is a shame because I think he’s still the best of the three despite some bad luck this year. I actually don’t think Max Muncy will be hurt as much for the Dodgers as Matt Kemp and Chris Taylor will. He’s arguably their best hitter (I know there’s Manny Machado, which is I say “arguably”), and now they can easily hide him at first base (shifting Cody Bellinger to the outfield) with the upgrades to the rest of their infield.

Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): I’ll go with Bud Norris as the player who benefited the most from the moves (or lack thereof) made by his team – I have my doubts he would have still been a closer if he’d been moved. And on a related note, my vote for biggest value hit goes to Jordan Hicks, who I would loved to have seen get a chance to close for the Cards.

Glenn Colton (Fantasy Alarm, @glenncolton1): Closers, closers. Kirby Yates benefits from staying the closer (I was sure he would be dealt). The guys hurt by non-deals are the bridesmaids who did not become brides — Justin Anderson, Jordan Hicks and Joe Jimenez come to mind.

Brent Hershey (Baseball HQ, @BrentHQ): Three pitchers that benefit at least in the short-term are PHI starters Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin and Nick Pivetta. The Phillies chose not to add starting pitching via, and head into final 2 months in first place with an inexperienced back end of the rotation. Each has flashed the skills to be a fantasy contrbutor the rest of the way; I personally “trust” Eflin the most. The one caveat for all … their innings will likely be conservatively managed down the stretch. Pivetta hit 165 total IP in 2017, but neither Eflin nor Velasquez has had a season of 140 IP in their minor/majors career. Expect earlier than normal hooks for these three in August/September.

Seth Trachtman (Rotoworld, @sethroto): This could change quickly if they pass through waivers and are traded in August, but the closers who were supposedly on the block and stayed put are the biggest beneficiaries. That list includes Shane Greene, Kyle Barraclough, Fernando Rodney, and Bud Norris. These pitchers have minimal fantasy value without saves. This hurts the closer handcuffs in these situations: Joe Jimenez, Drew Steckenrider, Addison Reed, and Jordan Hicks. Fantasy owners stashing these “backup” closers have effectively been wasting roster spots for the prospect of saves, though it’s not too late for these closers to be traded this month. Oh, the humanity!

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
JVillar, Bal	Patrick Davitt 1007	Doug Dennis 754	Mike Podhorzer 439
		Rob Leibowitz 278	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 243
		Vlad Sedler 129	Larry Schechter 80
		Seth Trachtman 50
CMaybin, Sea	Doug Dennis 754	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 243	Larry Schechter 80
		Vlad Sedler 23
TPham, TB	Rob Leibowitz 145	Mike Podhorzer 133	Larry Schechter 80
		Seth Trachtman 15	Vlad Sedler 8
TGlasnow, TB	Mike Podhorzer 116	Jason Collette 76	Vlad Sedler 24
		Lawr Michaels 17
LForsythe, Min	Larry Schechter 80	Mike Podhorzer 76	Doug Dennis 55
		Seth Trachtman 35	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 10
TWhite, Hou	Jason Collette 56	Doug Dennis 55
JBeeks, TB	Mike Podhorzer 42	Vlad Sedler 24
BLowe, TB	Mike Podhorzer 28	Jason Collette 6	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 0
RLaureano, Oak	Seth Trachtman 25	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 6
AMejia, Min	Seth Trachtman 25	Jason Collette 5
BreAnderson, Oak	Vlad Sedler 24	Larry Schechter 10	Seth Trachtman 5
		Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1
KCowart, LAA	Seth Trachtman 18	Mike Podhorzer 12	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 2
JAdduci, Det	Vlad Sedler 6
EYoung, LAA	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 6
TVieira, CWS	Jason Collette 6
JAlvarado, TB	Larry Schechter 5
AEscobar, KC	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 2	Mike Podhorzer 12
DRobinson, Tex	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
ROHearn, KC	Larry Schechter 32
AJurado, Tex	Seth Trachtman 4
RPressly, Hou	Jason Collette 4
LAvilan, CWS	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 2
AMeadows, TB	Seth Trachtman 1	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1
HSantiago, CWS	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 1
TRenda, Bos	Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 0

Todd’s Take

What was gearing up to be a boring deadline period in the American League picked up a bit with four hitters and a pitcher adding some meat to the pickings. Though, the injury to Tommy Pham dampened things a bit as he would likely be the top pick in most AL formats, unless you need the speed Jonathan Villar or Cameron Maybin can offer.

Baseball HQ’s Patrick Davitt confirmed his intent was to pick up Pham but swerved to Villar to insure maximum playing time. Davitt expressed concern how much running Villar will do with Baltimore, a club that traditionally is more station to station. Hopefully, they’ll let him utilize his skill set and add some swipes before season’s end.

Maybin could actually be the better option if steals are the priority. Seattle does run, especially at the bottom of the order. Expect Maybin to play every day.

While it’s not a surprise Pham drew the third most FAAB, the low number it took to get him is certainly a head-scratcher. Larry Schechter agrees, expressing similar dismay, “I can’t believe Pham only went for $145. He may be back in as little as two weeks and was batting clean-up for the Rays. He’s a very valuable HR/SB combo.” Even more curious is several Touts have ample money left to have outbid Rob Leibowitz. In fact, Leibowitz still has the third most FAAB so depending on what happens with waiver deals and callups, he may be able to funnel the discount on Pham into more help.

Schechter acquired Logan Forsythe, saying, “Beggars can’t be choosers. With 3rd least FAAB remaining, I’m happy to get Forsythe. (I’m assuming he plays full time).” I agree, Forsythe should play nearly every day. The Twins still have the likes of Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler and (don’t laugh) Joe Mauer, so Forsythe should generate reasonable run production.

One last note in the Twins before switching to pitching. I’m very surprised Tyler Austin was only a contingency. Sure, he’s starting in the minors, but he’s a natural platoon partner for both Joe Mauer and Logan Morrison. It shouldn’t be long before Austin is with the big club.

Tyler Glasnow joins the Rays staff, eventually as a starter but he may also be the follower for a few weeks. Credit to Jeff Passan on Twitter, this is a great landing spot for Glasnow. Tampa’s pitching coach is 6-foot-8 Kyle Snyder with expertise in honing the mechanics of tall hurlers. Glasnow, of course, is 6-foot-8.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
BDozier, LAD	Andy Behrens 444	Brian Walton 329	Craig Mish 311
		Scott Wilderman 245	Mike Gianella 244
		Tristan H. Cockcroft 187	Grey Albright 97
		Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
CArcher, Pit	Brian Walton 329	Andy Behrens 444	Craig Mish 311
		Scott Wilderman 245	Mike Gianella 244
		Tristan H. Cockcroft 187	Andy Behrens 133
		Grey Albright 97	Phil Hertz 36
JSchoop, Mil	Craig Mish 311	Brian Walton 329	Scott Wilderman 245
		Mike Gianella 244	Tristan H. Cockcroft 187
		Grey Albright 97	Phil Hertz 35
		Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
WRamos, Phi	Scott Wilderman 245	Tristan H. Cockcroft 125	Grey Albright 97
		Phil Hertz 33	Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
KGausman, Atl	Tristan H. Cockcroft 187	Andy Behrens 444	Mike Gianella 111
		Grey Albright 97	Phil Hertz 25
		Tristan H. Cockcroft 0
HBailey, Cin	Phil Hertz 27	Todd Zola 0
KKela, Pit	Brian Walton 15	Grey Albright 11	Mike Gianella 5
		Scott Wilderman 4
AGomber, StL	Grey Albright 11	Todd Zola 0
SOh, Col	Scott Wilderman 5	Grey Albright 11	Brian Walton 6
PTucker, Cin	Craig Mish 2	Tristan H. Cockcroft 8
JMurphy, Ari	Craig Mish 0
RErlin, SD	Todd Zola 0	Phil Hertz 27	Tristan H. Cockcroft 11
SRomano, Cin	Todd Zola 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
CFerguson, LAD	Phil Hertz 8	Grey Albright 2
BWahl, NYM	Grey Albright 6
BDixon, Cin	Grey Albright 1
MHolliday, Col	Craig Mish 1
CShreve, StL	Brian Walton 1
BBrach, Atl	Todd Zola 0	Scott Wilderman 0
RMoronta, SF	Todd Zola 0	Scott Wilderman 0
AWainwright, StL	Todd Zola 0
BKintzler, ChC	Todd Zola 0
COswalt, NYM	Todd Zola 0
DSmyly, ChC	Todd Zola 0
JDiekman, Ari	Todd Zola 0
RStock, SD	Todd Zola 0
SCarle, Atl	Todd Zola 0
TWebb, StL	Todd Zola 0
WMiley, Mil	Todd Zola 0
EKratz, Mil	Craig Mish 0

Todd’s Take

With Manny Machado, Eduardo Escobar and Cole Hamels part of previous FAAB runs, this week comes down to needs with Brian Dozier and Chris Archer the primary targets.

Interestingly, Andy Behrens had the hammer yet bid on three players – he listed Dozier first so he won him for $1 more than Brian Walton could bid. In turn, Walton bid $1 more than Craig Mish could bid, with Behrens, Walton and Mish holding the most FAAB heading into the festivities.

Keeping with the theme, Mish bid $1 more than the next in line, Scott Widerman, grabbing Jonathan Schoop. On paper, Dozier should out-produce Schoop, but who knows, there’s a good chance Mish gets similar stats for a lower cost.

While Wilson Ramos isn’t the same caliber hitter as Dozier and Schoop, the upgrade he offers at the catching position could be almost as much of a net upgrade, depending on your roster composition.

MIXED LEAGUE AUCTION

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
TONeill, StL	Brent Hershey 253	Fred Zinkie 131	Derek VanRiper 77
		Tim Heaney 20
HBader, StL	Fred Zinkie 131	Brent Hershey 174	Ray Flowers 46
		Derek VanRiper 44	Tim Heaney 20
		Jeff Zimmerman 14	Al Melchior 8
KGiles, Tor	Zach Steinhorn 103	Ray Flowers 38	Tim Heaney 1
RGsellman, NYM	Zach Steinhorn 53	Zach Steinhorn 93	Tim Heaney 28
BPhillips, KC	Derek VanRiper 44	Brent Hershey 97
BPeacock, Hou	Brent Hershey 43
AMejia, Min	Ron Shandler 27
TGlasnow, TB	Brent Hershey 25	Tim Heaney 14	Ray Flowers 13
		Jeff Zimmerman 13
PErvin, Cin	Fred Zinkie 15
WAdames, TB	Tim McLeod 13	Tim Heaney 13
EJackson, Oak	Ray Flowers 13
BLowe, TB	Al Melchior 8
TRichards, Mia	Al Melchior 6
DFletcher, LAA	Tim Heaney 4	Al Melchior 8	Tim Heaney 1
MPina, Mil	Al Melchior 2
CBurnes, Mil	Tim Heaney 2
DPalka, CWS	Jeff Zimmerman 1	Derek VanRiper 11
GoHernandez, SF	Tim Heaney 1

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
RErlin, SD	Ron Shandler 27	Al Melchior 2	Tim Heaney 1
TWilliams, Pit	Ron Shandler 27
MBarnes, Bos	Brent Hershey 21
DRobertson, NYY	Zach Steinhorn 18
JJeffress, Mil	Zach Steinhorn 18
RBlack, SF	Brent Hershey 17
WMiley, Mil	Ray Flowers 13
RStanek, TB	Brent Hershey 12
ASenzatela, Col	Ray Flowers 11
ESantana, Pit	Brent Hershey 11
SOh, Col	Al Melchior 2
JIglesias, Det	Tim Heaney 1
SKingery, Phi	Tim Heaney 1
MHauschild, Tor	Al Melchior 0
PLopez, Mia	Al Melchior 0
RNunez, Bal	Al Melchior 0

Todd’s Take

Brent Hershey had his choice of either Tyler O’Neill or Harrison Bader, both in line for full-time run with Dexter Fowler sidelined with a fractured foot. It comes down to needs – Bader’s more all around production versus O’Neill’s power-heavy profile.

Zach Steinhorn is looking to make a late-season charge at saves with the pickup of Ken Giles and Robert Gsellman. Giles is expected to jump right into the back end of the Blue Jays bullpen. Giles story is well documented. Despite having a stellar 2017 campaign, he hit a rut at the wrong time (namely the ALDS) and was removed from the closer gig he rest of the playoffs. Even though he started the season saving games for the defending champs, there was never a feeling management was confident in Giles. Given a fresh start, it wouldn’t be shocking if Giles defeats the narrative and flourishes north of the border.

MIXED LEAGUE DRAFT

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
KGiles, Tor	Adam Ronis 173	Ray Murphy 39	Scott White 19
JLeclerc, Tex	Adam Ronis 134	Adam Ronis 133	Michael Beller 104
		Ray Murphy 79	Perry Van Hook 69
		Scott White 41
PErvin, Cin	Perry Van Hook 23	Ray Murphy 9
TKemp, Hou	D.J. Short 20
TGlasnow, TB	Scott White 13
RBorucki, Tor	D.J. Short 10
SDuggar, SF	Ray Murphy 9
ONarvaez, CWS	Perry Van Hook 0
JGomez, CWS	Michael Beller 0
EJackson, Oak	Perry Van Hook 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
RDavis, Cle	Perry Van Hook 3

Todd’s Take

Like the Mixed Draft Auction league, the Draft League witnessed Giles being paired with another closer, this time Adam Ronis also acquiring Jose Leclerc. Leclerc is interesting since he’s still just 24 years old even though it feels like he’s older. “One skill away” is a common theme when looking at starters. Leclerc is a great example where this applies to a closer. If Leclerc can hone his control, he could be a top-ten closer.

HEAD-TO-HEAD MIXED AUCTION

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

PLAYER	WINNING BID
TRichards, Mia	Clay Link 54	Andrea LaMont 14	Dr. Roto 10
AMinter, Atl	Dr. Roto 24	Andrea LaMont 3
JVillar, Bal	Stephania Bell 23	Dr. Roto 22
SRomano, Cin	Stephania Bell 12	Justin Mason 3
HBader, StL	Dr. Roto 8
RLopez, CWS	Stephania Bell 7	Clay Link 0
JBarria, LAA	Peter Kreutzer 7	Michael Rathburn 4
JJunis, KC	Peter Kreutzer 7	Michael Rathburn 4
IKinerFalefa, Tex	Stephania Bell 6
NTropeano, LAA	Michael Rathburn 6	Justin Mason 3
BHardy, Det	Michael Rathburn 4	Peter Kreutzer 3
FArcia, LAA	Michael Rathburn 3
AMejia, Min	Justin Mason 3	Peter Kreutzer 7
RMartin, Tor	Michael Rathburn 1
YAlonso, Cle	Justin Mason 1
TGlasnow, TB	Clay Link 0
ADeSclafani, Cin	Clay Link 0
WChen, Mia	Justin Mason 0
YGallardo, Tex	Justin Mason 0

UNAWARDED BIDS

PLAYER
THernandez, Tor	Dr. Roto 8	Justin Mason 1
TBeckham, Bal	Dr. Roto 5
CAdams, NYY	Clay Link 4
RErlin, SD	Peter Kreutzer 2
BJohnson, Bos	Michael Rathburn 2
TRoss, SD	Peter Kreutzer 1
CaJoseph, Bal	Michael Rathburn 0
KGiles, Tor	Clay Link 0
YChirinos, TB	Clay Link 0

Todd’s Take

Like expected, the H2H competitors continue to treat the free agent look like an extra roster spot, churning pitching based on matchups. With one start against the Cardinals on his ledger, Trevor Richards was the most sought after hurler. Stephania Bell fortified her rotations with Sal Romano and Reynaldo Lopez, though neither has a double-dip on the docket. Justin Mason snagged the only two-start guy this week as Wei-Yin Chen lines up for two home efforts. This is relevant since he sports a 2.18 ERA at home as opposed to a 10.27 mark away from The Aquarium. Plus, the second game is with the Mets and their league-worst lineup versus lefties.

You can break Tuesday’s Tout Daily into those who stacked the Nationals and those kicking themselves for not stacking the Nationals. Count Andrea LaMont among the former as RotoLady came out on top on one of the higher scoring nights of the contest. The Godfather Charlie Wiegert and Wise Guy Gene McCaffrey were close, but not close enough to best Andrea’s impressive 168.15 total. Aside from keying on the nation’s capital, RotoLady clicked in a rejuvenated Zack Godley to anchor her pitching as well as capturing Khris Davis’ big night featuring three hits including a homer. Check out Andrea’s lineup below.

Despite her big night, Andrea remains on the outside looking in for the last three Golden Tickets into the Survivor Championship Finals. Derek Carty took over the op spot in Period 5, followed by Jake Ciely and Michael Beller. Just 5 points separate the top-three with several within shouting distance halfway through the final qualifying period.

Rick Wolf remains the top overall points scorer in the quest for the wild card entry into the championship. Beller leaped into second with Todd Zola lagging in third. See where your favorite Tout stands in the Leaderboard.

Be sure to check out all of our weekly content, beginning with the Tout Wars FAAB report on Sunday, followed by the Tout Table every Monday, our Tout Daily picks on Tuesday, culminating with the Tout Daily Wrap each Wednesday.

Here’s Andrea’s week-winning roster:

It’s the second week of the fifth and final period for Tout Daily. Here’s who some of the participants are clicking into their lineup in search of the last three Golden Tickets.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Masahiro Tanaka: A crappy Orioles lineup just got even crappier

Blake Swihart: Batting second versus Arrieta, low cost will help offset two aces (leaning to Skaggs as SP2).

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Masahiro Tanaka: I did not start Tanaka last week and paid the price. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. Over his last 5 starts, Tanaka has a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

Christian Yelich : Over the past 14 days, Yelich leads all hitters with 11 runs scored, 4 home runs, 14 RBI, 1 stolen base, and a .500 batting average.

Gene McCaffrey (Wise Guy Baseball, @WiseGuyGene)

Trevor Cahill: Great value at home vs. the free-but-not-so-hot-swinging Blue Jays.

Jose Abreu: Too bad Jonathan Schoop isn’t playing, he was #1 on my list. I’ll pivot to Jose Abreu, heating up, at home, and facing Danny Duffy and a weak Royals’ pen

Michael Rathburn (Rotowire, @FantasyRath)

Tyler Skaggs: 7 starts of 18 points or greater in his last 8 starts. 6 had at least 22 points. Great matchup vs Rays

Jose Ramirez: Keep riding that pony

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella)

Charlie Morton: In a bit of a slump of late, but I like the matchup against the Mariners on the road…was dominant in his lone outing against them in 2018.

Alex Bregman: He’s a fantasy superstar and he’s still not priced like an elite player. Giddyup.

Lawr Michaels (CreativeSports2, @lawrmichaels)

Kolby Allard: The top prospect hurlers brought up this year have comported themselves well first start, and the Marlins have not only not seen Allard’s stuff, they are hitting just .230 with 43 dingers off lefties.

Adalberto Mondesi: Hitting .406 with four swipes his last nine games, switch hits, and faces the oft-porous James Shields.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt)

Masahiro Tanaka: Sounds like the Orioles might be starting John Lowenstien and Mark Belanger.

Lucas Duda: Duda went 2-for-12 in a recent three-game set at CHW, so as they say in broadcast booths everywhere, “He’s due!” Also has 2 HR in 14 career AB vs James Shields.

Question posed to the Touts this week:

If your team is destined to not win this season, will you trade with a competing team to improve your finish?

Larry Schechter (Winning Fantasy Baseball, @LarrySchechter): Yes, definitely…although my motivation to trade is much less than if I’m in contention, I’m competitive enough that I’d rather finish as high in the standings as I can. Similarly, in non-trade leagues, I will keep managing my team even when hopelessly out of contention. Tout Wars also has a unique rule, where if you don’t reach a certain threshold in the standings, you lose some FAAB money for the next season. This adds motivation to finish as high as possible.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis): Absolutely! We all play for pride and want to be able to finish as high in the standings as possible. It’s all about next year’s FAAB dollars as incentive. I play to the end, regardless of the league standings. I can’t stand a league manager that is out of contention and starts to abandon their team. It’s not fair to the other teams that need your help in all categories. You can get a lot of pleasure by moving your opponents down in a specific category. Making a trade with people in contention may pay dividends in years to come when you reach out to them when you are in contention.

Rick Wolf (Fantasy Alarm, @RickWolf1): This is a good question in there is some ethics to it. You are NEVER out of it in July. At least I cannot remember believing that for the most part. I will definitely trade to get better in July, but NOT as the trade deadline approaches in my leagues, I will look to see if the trades that I make will affect the race for the final month. It is not a simple yes or no for me. There are situations where you can move from 10th to 5th with a trade, but can make it 100% sure who wins the league. That to me is VERY bad form. Getting your team to be better in July is way different than on August 29th when there are five weeks left. You cannot change the balance of the league in July. You can ruin the league in August with a king maker trade. Let the teams in the Top 3 or 4 fight it out. Trade with others to move up when it is that late.

Michael Beller (Sports Illustrated, @MBeller): Rick beat me to a lot of what I wanted to say, but I’ll still echo some of his comments. None of us is out of it, no matter how far back, in late July. I could be in last place in a redraft league right now, and I wouldn’t feel guilty about trading with one of the teams at or near the top of the standings. We’re getting close to the end of that window, though. If mid-August rolls around and it becomes clear that this just isn’t your year, then I think you need to turn off the deal-making portion of your fantasy baseball brain for the rest of the season. This obviously changes in a keeper format, but in redraft leagues where you’re not taking any of your players into the next season trading with a contending team once you’re out of the race can undercut the competitive integrity of the league. This is fantasy, not real life. You’re not trying to sell tickets to fans or convince impending free agents that you’re building something special. Time to turn your attention to football. There’s always next season.

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): I am a cautious trader by nature, but I will always take an opportunity to improve my place in the standings and I will not begrudge others doing the same when I am in the top 3 and one of my competitors gets a deal from someone low in the standings. It has happened that way on several occasions, in fact.  That is part of the game like every other part.  Self-censure and not making a trade that makes sense for both sides affects the standings too–just in the opposite direction.

Michael Rathburn (Rotowire, @FantasyRath): I am looking to finish as high in the standing as I can, so if I trade will improve my team yes I will pull the trigger. Also, usually those trades for 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 in which you can make the competing team pay a premium.

Rudy Gamble (Razzball, @RudyGamble): In a redraft league, I try to avoid trades if I am out of contention. Rightly or wrongly, I scrutinize contender w/ non-contender trades to a greater degree. My sniff test on a standard trade is “Did this trade help both teams?”. On a contender w/ non-contender trade, my sniff test is “Is this a fair trade outside of both teams’ context?” It is valid trading $.80 on the dollar sometimes if it helps you in the standings. But that type of trade by a non-contender is awfully annoying (bordering on amoral not as far as immoral) to me if I am contending in a league.

Fred Zinkie (Rotoworld, Baseball HQ, @FredZinkieMLB): I’ll definitely make the trade. For the sake of personal pride, I’m trying to finish as high in the standings as possible in every league. My team is open for business right up to the trade deadline for all of the contending teams, and my hat goes off to the owner who finds a way to propose a deal that makes my team more successful and their team more successful at the same time.

Ron Shandler (RonShandler.com, @RonShandler): Tout Wars has its own built-in incentives to keep playing. Final season standing determines seeding for the following season’s reserve round snake draft. Each league has a points threshold that determines how large of a FAAB budget you take into next season. So, if pride and being a good roto-citizen are not enough reasons to make these types of trade, there are always other reasons to keep plugging away.

Derek Carty (RotoGrinders, @DerekCarty): Absolutely. I may be a little less proactive if I’m really towards the bottom of the pack in a league (but more so in a league like Tout Wars where there’s incentive to move up in the standings), but I’ll always engage in trade talks with anyone who wants to, especially if they’re competing. Nothing frustrates me more than the owners who won’t do this. I’ve been competing at times in the past in Tout Wars and LABR and have had owners straight-up refuse to trade with me not on the merits of the trade itself but on the actual principle of trading because they “didn’t want to have an undue influence on the final result of the league” or something like that, which I found absolutely ridiculous. Or they wouldn’t want to trade with me because it would be unfair to the guy I’m competing with who wouldn’t be making a trade too. I was furious. This goes against the entire spirit of competition of these leagues. We all play in this league, we all have the same opportunities to trade, and if the people at the top want to win the league and put in the effort to make a trade, I’m very much in favor of helping them as long as the trades are fair. I’ve had a ton of injuries this year in Tout Wars NL and am pretty far out contention, but I’d be more than willing to make trades with anyone competing, and I feel very strongly that’s how it should be.

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50): I have a firm rule: my job is to try to improve my team at all times. Indeed, I believe failure to do so can impact things just as much as making a trade or a free agent acquisition. I note that most of my leagues have incentives – or disincentives – to keep trying to improve your finish.

Andy Behrens (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @andybehrens): In Tout Wars, where it is clearly not my year, we have no shortage of incentives to compete until the end. So the obvious answer here is “Yes, definitely.” All redraft leagues should incentivize competition up and down the standings, through the end of the season. I’ll trade at any point up to the deadline, from any position. That said, we’ve certainly reached the point in the season where my focus is on leagues in which I’m clearly competing for a title. I’m less likely to actively seek out a trade partner in an effort to vault myself from, say, ninth place to sixth place. Still, if a reasonable deal presents itself, in Tout or elsewhere, I have no reservations about trading to improve.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports): Depends on the league! If it is a partial keeper league, and a trade with the top teams would gain me a keeper for next year, YES. If a trade could get me into a money spot, Yes. If a trade causes the integrity of the league to be questioned by helping one person win with no benefit to me, then NO! In Tout Wars, where there is a penalty for a bad finish, yes I would trade if it improved my position.

Tim McCullough (Rotoexperts, @TimTenz): Dynasty and keeper formats demand that you play right to the finish and at least try to build or rebuild your team to go get ’em next season. Since Tout has the penalty for finishing below a set threshold, there is an incentive of a different sort that you need to address. So, I am always open to trades even if I’m out of contention for a title. If you’re not going to try and finish as high in the standings as possible, why are you playing? At the very least you can learn something by tweaking your team to improve in the standings and apply that knowledge for future teams/leagues.

Lawr Michaels (CreativeSports2, @lawrmichaels): i will always do everything i can to finish as high as i can in any league, irrespective of format. that said, i do try to be careful to not make a trade that overtly does tip the scales among the contending teams if that makes sense.

Glenn Colton (Fantasy Alarm, @glenncolton1): what is the point of playing if you fail to compete as best as you can and do as best as you can? The only caveat is that if my team cannot win, I will likely make sure I let the whole league know a player is available before just pulling the trigger with one competing team. That way, the other teams cannot complain if they failed to make a better offer.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): Yes, for all the reasons listed above by the touts.

Bret Sayre (Baseball Prospectus, @BretSayreBP): Even if a league does not have any incentive for owners who have no chance of winning, whether it’s the FAAB incentive like Tout has or a second-half prize like some of my home leagues have, I will continue to try to improve my teams until the bitter end. Of course, all leagues should have those types of incentives (as they make for a better overall culture throughout the season), but that’s a separate topic. As a personally competitive person when it comes to fantasy leagues (as all of us certainly are), an eighth place finish certainly feels better to me than a tenth place one, and I act accordingly.

Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ, @RayHQ): I think the Tout Wars rule re: deduction of next year’s FAAB is a valid reason for non-contenders to be dealing with contenders, but I’ll go against the grain here. Sure, I’d rather scratch out every standings point. It’s (a little) better to finish 8th than 10th. But (in re-draft leagues) I am very leery of playing king-maker, too. If my marginal gain downward in the standings means that I’m gift-wrapping a title for my trade partner, I’m inclined to not make the deal.

Jeff Zimmerman (Fangraphs and Fantrax, @jeffwzimmerman): My goal is to win the league. With next year’s FAAB total tied to this year’s finish, I sure in the hell going to try anything to move up. If it means giving the flag to someone else this season so I can get it next season, so be it. It’s a harsh stance but sticking to my goal is key.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): To be candid, I continue to struggle with this. My head says very point counts. My heart says don’t influence the top of the standings in a redraft format. Then the head says by not making a move, I’m in fact influencing the results. So while I usually won’t seek out deals to move me from 13th to 11th, I’ll consider them if approached, with the condition I let the league know I’m open for business. This way, if the consummated deal indeed aids someone at the top of the heap, the other contenders had an equal chance to work something out with me. This said, all bets are off it Tout Wars where I want every FAAB dollar I can muster and assume my brethren do as well.