Category: Data

The Touts Pick for Tout Daily Week 13! A New Phase…

598x60-tout-wars

We asked the Touts to share their picks for best pitcher and best hitter in tonight’s Tout Daily Week 13 contest. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Tonight’s contest is Week 1 of Phase 4 of the five phase contest. The top three finishers in each phase get a ticket to the big August 28 final, with big money and the chance to be the first Tout Wars Daily champ.

Scott Pianowski, Jeff Erickson, Adam Ronis (has two!), Lenny Melnick, Lawr Michaels, Tom Kessenich, Michael Beller and Jeff Bogis have tickets to the finals already. The leaderboard is here.

Here are this week’s Tout picks. I’ll be updating this as they come in, so check back later if you get a chance.

JAKE CIELY’S Picks

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) His price could be $13,200, heck, it could be $15,300 and I’d still use Kershaw. There is no such thing as contrarian when it comes to Kershaw versus the Mets. The only question is whether Kershaw will through a perfect game or just a regular ol’ no hitter. The last time the Mets scored twice was in May… or it just feels that way. In reality, they have averaged just 1.6 runs per game in their last 14 with a .180 batting average and scored just one runs on 15 hits in a 3-game series against the Cubs. Just put Kershaw in your lineup and figure out the rest later.

Kole Calhoun ($2,300–Los Angeles Angels at Texas)  Finally, The Rock has come… wait, sorry, I got caught up in it. Finally, Chi Chi Gonzalez saw the clock hit midnight after we kept waiting for him to regress. Over his last two starts, Gonzalez is 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. We have to find value with Kershaw being so expensive, and Calhoun is a terrific play. He only costs $2,300, and Vegas gives this game a 9 O/U with the Angels money line being -125.

DOUG ANDERSON OPINES

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) First of all, it’s Clayton Kershaw. Then there’s the fact that only three teams have scored fewer runs than the Mets. Kershaw is opposed by Noah Syndergaard, who’s been inconsistent as you might expect from a young pitcher. If you can build a respectable lineup with Kershaw, you roll with it.

Steve Pearce ($2,400–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) Yes, this is about Danks, but it’s also about Pearce and lefties. Over the last five years, Pearce has scored 6.561 FanDuel points for every 10 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. That puts him in Albert Pujols and Carlos Gomez territory.

THE GODFATHER OF FANTASY SPORTS, CHARLIE WIEGERT

Michael Wacha ($8,600–San Diego at St. Louis) I’m going to break rule number 1 tonight; I’m taking Cardinal pitcher Wacha because I’m going to the game and want someone to root for!  Wacha has the stuff that any game can be double digit strike outs, and the Redbirds need to get back on a winning track.  Hopefully they bust out tonight.  

David Ortiz ($2,900–Houston at Boston) The Red Sox and Astros looks like a slugfest in Fenway so I’m loading up. David Ortiz  has been hot, so he’s my pick to click tonight.

GENE McCAFFREY SAYS

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers)  It’s possible to go against Kershaw and win, but with good cheap hitter options why get cute?

Nolan Reimold ($2,200–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox)  Take Nolan Reimold, among others, and reap.

JEFF BOGGIS CONCLUDES

Michael Wacha ($8,600–San Diego at St. Louis) The allure of rostering Clayton Kershaw is enticing, but the $12,300 salary can’t be justified tonight. I was a top tier starting pitcher, but at a fraction of Kershaw’s salary. That is why I am rostering Michael Wacha tonight at home against the San Diego Padres. San Diego is one of the weaker offenses against right handed pitchers this season and the matchup for Wacha is at home tonight. By rostering Wacha, I save $3,700, leaving me an average of $3,300 to spend per hitter versus $2,837.50 to spend per hitter if I rostered Kershaw.

Manny Machado ($4,200—Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) By rostering Wacha versus Kershaw tonight, I have more flexibility to spend my remaining dollars on an elite hitter. I like both Macado and Nolan Arenado tonight, but Arenado’s salary is $700 higher at $4,900. Since rostering Arenado last week with his 2 home run game last Friday night, Arenado has only averaged 0.18 fantasy points in his last 4 games on FanDuel. Over the past 6 games, Machado has averaged 3.3 fantasy points per game on FanDuel.

RAY MURPHY’S RULE

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) Week 1 of a new phase is no time to get cute or over-think the pitching choice. Kershaw, at home, against a struggling Mets lineup that skews left-handed, is as good as 15 or more points in the bank.

Adam Lind ($4,000–Milwaukee at Cincinnati) Opposing RHP Michael Lorenzen has had big trouble with LHP (970 OPS against), making this an optimal spot for Lind in GABP. Rostering Kershaw means going low-budget on some hitters, but generally not at first base.

BRIAN WALTON BREAKS HIS SLUMP PICKING AGAINST KERSHAW vs. The Mets.

Michael Wacha ($8,600–San Diego at St. Louis) Like Kershaw, he also draws a below-average offense in San Diego at home Friday night. After his hot start cooled a bit, the 24-year-old is no longer among top NL Cy Young Award candidates, but has the advantage of coming off an extra day’s rest between starts. 

Yasmany Tomas ($3300–Colorado at Arizona) For those looking for a value play. The Cuban is heating up over his last four games with six hits in 17 at-bats (.353), including a home run and four RBI. Colorado starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick lugs his 6.07 ERA to the mound against the Snakes Friday. Need I say more?

SCOTT PIANOWSKI DESCRIBES

Julio Teheran. ($8,000–Philadelphia at Atlanta) Completely different pitcher at home, and the draw is lovely. 

Alejandro De Aza ($3,100–Houston at Boston) The Red Sox finally have offense in right field. Alejandro De Aza can hit righties, and for all the Boston problems, the offense has woken up nicely. 

LAWR MICHEALS PREDICTS

Ubaldo Jimenez ($8,400–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) Since I qualify for the tourney, I have a little latitude. That said I am still looking at emulating Adam and his double ticket, and Ubaldo has been hot (3-0, 2.75, 23 whiffs over 19.3 innings his last three starts) and I am happy to gamble with him against an erratic hitting White Sox team.

Joe Mauer ($2,600–Minnesota at Kansas City) How did Mauer fall so far off the map? He is just hitting .267-3-30, and his OBP is .337, a far cry for a former batting champ. Still, a lefty hitter against Jeremy Guthrie (5.68 ERA, just 43 whiffs over 81 frames) is too tasty to leave on the table.f

TODD ZOLA’S VERDICT

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) Lock, load it. move on.

Nolan Reimold ($2,200–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox)– Hitting second versus John Danks in the Cell? Yes, please.

PAUL SPORER SAYS, Tough day, today.

Michael Wacha ($8,600–San Diego at St. Louis) The results have been there all year, but early on (thru first 6) the Ks were lagging. They’ve been in place over his last 9 starts with 55 Ks in 55.7 IP. Meanwhile, SD is doing a great job imitating their 2014 offense which isn’t good for anyone involved… well, except for opposing pitchers. 

David Peralta ($3900–Colorado at Arizona) He’s no longer the dirt-cheap option he was to start the year, but he continues to rake righties, especially at home, and so even as a higher-level option, he is still worth rostering. 

SCOTT SWANAY SAYS, Happy Fourth of July!

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) Sure, he’s the most expensive pitcher by far, but the Mets don’t score many runs, strike out fairly often, and have a low team OPS.  In other words, Kershaw’s got a realistic shot at putting up 20 FanDuel points tonight.  It was tempting to go with Chris Archer and save $1,700, but the Yankees’ offense is considerably more formidable than the Mets’, and Dodger Stadium is a more favorable pitching environment than Yankee Stadium.

Kole Calhoun ($2,300–Los Angeles Angels at Texas) He may be in the midst of a “disappointing” season, but $2,300 seems like a bargain considering that he gets to face the mercurial Justin Masterson in Fenway Park.

AL MELCHIOR’S HOLIDAY HOT DOGS!

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) He’s Clayton Kershaw; they’re the Mets. That should be reason enough, but then there’s this. His last seven starts have produced a 1.85 ERA, 67 Ks and nine walks.
Lorenzo Cain ($3300–Minnesota at Kansas City)  Cain is getting on base against lefties at a .420 clip. If he reaches against Tommy Milone and Kurt Suzuki (40 steals allowed in 51 attempts) is catching, I like Cain’s chances to swipe a bag or two.

Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Clayton Kershaw ($12,300–New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers) 7  (13)
Julio Teheran. ($8,000–Philadelphia at Atlanta) 2 (15)
Michael Wacha ($8,600–San Diego at St. Louis) 4 (12)
Ubaldo Jimenez ($8,400–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) (10)
Chris Archer ($10,600–Tampa Bay at New York Yankees) (14.66)
Jesse Chavez ($8,700–Seattle at Oakland) (6.33)
THE BEST BUY: Julio Teheran–15 points for $8,000
Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points
Kole Calhoun ($2,300–Los Angeles Angels at Texas) 2 (8.25)
Neil Walker ($3,200–Cleveland at Pittsburgh) (1.25)
Steve Pearce ($2,400–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) (.5)
David Ortiz ($2,900–Houston at Boston) 2 (7.75)
Nolan Reimold ($2,200–Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) 2 (.5)
Mookie Betts ($3,700–Houston at Boston) (2)
Manny Machado ($4,200—Baltimore at Chicago White Sox) (.25)
Adam Lind ($4,000–Milwaukee at Cincinnati) (2)
Yasmany Tomas ($3300–Colorado at Arizona) (-1.25)
Alejandro De Aza ($3,100–Houston at Boston) (2)
Joe Mauer ($2,600–Minnesota at Kansas City) (.25)
Stephen Vogt ($3,400–Seattle at Oakland) (.25)
David Peralta ($3900–Colorado at Arizona) (2)
Lorenzo Cain ($3300–Minnesota at Kansas City) (9.75)
BEST BUY: Kole Calhoun–8.25 points for $2,300.
Voters without comments include Adam Ronis, Phil Hertz, Rotoman, David Gonos,

Tim McCullough Takes Tout Daily in Week 12! Read on for the notably big story.

Michael Beller, Adam Ronis and Jeff Boggis win tickets to the #toutdaily on @FanDuel final on August 28th, when 15 ticket holders will compete for $2,000 in prizes and the Tout Daily 2015 crown!

Notably, Adam Ronis won his second ticket to the finals. (Each Tout Daily player may win a maximum of two tickets in the contests five phases.) Other ticket holders thus far are: Scott Pianowski, Lenny Melnick, Tom Kessenich, Lawr Michaels, and Jeff Erickson,

Notably, Derek VanRiper was edged out of a ticket by Jeff Boggis by .25 of a point. That’s a single out by a single hitter over the course of four weeks. VanRiper failed to win a ticket despite finishing in the Top 10 during Phase 3 three times. Only Michael Beller, the Phase 3 winner, also finished in the Top 10 three times during Phase 3.

Notably, nobody else was close to the tickets.

tim-mcculloughWhich brings us to Tim McCullough, who won Phase 3 Week 4, with 50.25 points. This was his second Top 10 finish in #toutdaily’s 12 weeks.

Much like Week 11 champ, Phil Hertz, McCullough built his team with unpopular choices. Only Rajai Davis, Adrian Beltre and Xander Bogaerts were owned by more than two other Tout Daily teams.

Big earners for McCullough were spread across the board, with his exclusive Jake Arrieta earning 13 points despite failing to get the win in St. Louis, and Russell Martin, Prince Fielder, Dee Gordon, Scott Van Slyke and Rajai Davis each earning more than five points.

Phase 3 Week 4 runners up include Ray Murphy (Taijuan Walker, Edwin Encarnacion and Scott Van Slyke) and Tim Heaney (Tyson Ross, Edwin Encarnacion, Brian Dozier and Ryan Raburn).

Notably, Charlie Wiegert’s fourth-place team was the highest finisher to roster the night’s biggest-scoring (and highest-priced) starter, Max Scherzer.

Screenshot 2015-06-27 10.04.38

Congratulations to Tim McCullough, Adam Ronis, Michael Beller and Jeff Boggis, and please join us next week for Phase 4 Week 1, when the slate is wiped clean!

The Touts Picks for Week 12 of Tout Daily with FanDuel!

598x60-tout-wars

We asked the Touts to share their picks for best pitcher and best hitter in tonight’s Tout Daily Week 12 contest. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Tonight’s contest is Week 4 of Phase 3 of the five phase contest. The top three finishers in each phase get a ticket to the big August 28 final, with big money and the chance to be the first Tout Wars Daily champ. Here are the leaders going into this final week (click to enlarge):

Screenshot 2015-06-26 14.21.09

Scott Pianowski, Jeff Erickson, Adam Ronis, Lenny Melnick, Lawr Michaels and Tom Kessenich have tickets to the finals already. The leaderboard is here.

Here are this week’s Tout picks. I’ll be updating this as they come in, so check back later if you get a chance.

Paul Sporer Picks

 

Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) The contact-heavy approach has served ATL well this year against righties where they sit around or just below average. Yes, that is being “served well” for ATL standards because they were expected to be a total doormat coming into the season and they have been vs. lefties. They sit 28th in wRC+ at 76 WITH Freddie Freeman… imagine them without and it’s not like he killed lefties in the first place (.769 OPS). Liriano has been mostly excellent this year with a 3.26 ERA and skills to back it (and then some). He’s had a few clunkers as he always does, but the upside is elite once he gets rolling.
Luis Valbuena ($3900–New York Yankees at Houston) Valbuena is a DFSer’s dream with his low costs and HR-dependent production. With 19 HRs the price has jumped up, but he’s still worth targeting in tourney situations because of that power output. He’s incredibly boom or bust with two 14-pt nights within his last eight games and then just 7.25 pts in the other six combined. He’s at home and he’s facing righty, his two prime splits. And he’s facing a righty who gets mauled by lefties in Nathan Eovaldi (.964 OPS v. LHB).

Brian Walton Likes

Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh)  Wise money will be on Max Scherzer ($12,500) against the inept Phillies offense, but then again, if the Nats’ ace was ever going to have an unexplainable let-down, wouldn’t this be the time? Instead, I will save almost three grand and select the ace of my National League Tout Wars squad, Pittsburgh’s Francisco Liriano, who takes on the Freddie Freeman-less Braves at home.

Jason Heyward ($3700–Chicago Cubs at St. Louis) On the offensive side, I will highlight Cardinals outfielder Jason Heyward. Early returns had pegged the Braves as the clear winner in the Shelby Miller trade, but Heyward is finally heating up. The 25-year-old has a .913 OPS in June and is coming off a Miami series during which he went deep twice and plated four.

Jeff Boggis Has A Lot on the Line Tonight

Max Scherzer ($12,500–Washington at Philadelphia) Going into tonight’s contest, I am in 3rd place and a close to a “golden ticket” into the Tout Daily Championship, so I can’t afford to get cute and take chances with my roster tonight. Starting pitching is my top priority and I plan on building my team around Max Scherzer. He is the highest salaried pitcher tonight, but that is not stopping me from rostering him in tonight’s contest. Scherzer has averaged 16.95 fantasy points per game this season and over the past 2 weeks, he has averaged 26 fantasy points. He is coming off his no-hitter against Pittsburgh on Saturday and he is facing a team that he has pitched well against this season. In 2 starts against the Philadelphia Phillies this season, he is 2-0 and is averaging 8 innings pitched, 1 earned run, and 7.5 strikeouts. If he repeats this average, that’s 18.5 fantasy points on Friday night. Scherzer faces Aaron Harang who is giving up a lot of home runs lately. Over the last 4 starts, Harang has allowed 20 earned runs in his last 23.2 inning pitched. There is a 50% chance of rain in Philadelphia on Friday, but it decreases to only 20% on Friday night.

Nolan Arenado ($4,500–Colorado at San Francisco) The third baseman for Colorado is the hottest hitter in baseball this week and ranks #1 overall in the past 7 days with 9 runs scored, 4 home runs, 9 RBIs, and a .391 batting average. He faces Tim Hudson tonight to where he is slugging .500 against him in his last 19 plate appearances. Arendado has 20 home runs and 60 RBIs on the season.

Todd Zola Divines

Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) Facing a weak-hitting Braves team that whiffs at a 22 percent clip versus southpaws, at home in one of the best pitcher’s parks in the league. It’s not even a bang-for-the-buck thing. I expect more points from Liriano than anyone on the docket, including Scherzer and Kluber.
Derek Norris ($2,800–Arizona at San Diego) You know the expression friends with benefits? I call this a punt play with benefits. Norris faces a weak lefty at a minimum price at a position I’ll either spend a ton for the right situation or go cheap. This is going cheap in a great situation.

Al Melchior Ruminates

Max Scherzer ($12,500–Washington at Philadephia) Everyone knows by now that Scherzer has been nearly perfect in back-to-back starts, and he has been flat-out dominant all season long with great control. Add in a matchup against the worst offense in the majors against righties and that makes Scherzer worth every penny.

Luis Valbuena ($3900–New York Yankees at Houston)
 Valbuena doesn’t hit for average against righties or lefties, but he does crush righties for a .288 Iso. Eovaldi has allowed a .380 batting average to lefties. Looks like the perfect night to start Valbuena.

From the Godfather of Fantasy Sports, Charlie Wiegert

Max Scherzer ($12,500–Washington at Philadephia) The closest thing to a sure thing, so you have to pay the price. But Max has been on a roll, has an inferior Phillies team, and wants to extend the Washington pitchers scoreless innings streak.  He’s 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA vs Phillies this year, pay the price and get the best.
Evan Longoria ($2900–Boston at Tampa Bay) I’ll have to go cheap with Scherzer, so looking for bargains.  I’ll take a couple $2200 outfielders, and some right handed hitting Blue Jay hitters at home vs Texas lefty starter Nick Martinez and hope Evan Longoria takes Rick Porcello deep.

Steve Moyer’s Inside Edge

Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) Anyone cheaper than Mr. No-Hitter is a bargain tonight and Inside Edge says Lirano is the best choice on the board. When the Phillies are pounding Scherzer later, you’ll be doing the happy dance (OK, I’m getting carried away).
Justin Upton ($3,300–Arizona at San Diego) Clicks on all cylinders according to the new, even more improved this week Inside Edge engine. Say Hey, Robbie Ray!

Ray Murphy’s Thoughts

Taijuan Walker ($7,800–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) Much attention will be focused on Scherzer, but I’ll take a shot with Taijuan Walker tonight for $7800. He’s been on a roll for the last month, and in that time has established that he can thrive on the road. He is at Anaheim tonight, facing a surprisingly-punchless Angels lineup. I’ll roll with him and bet that I can use the $4700 savings between him and Scherzer to build an offense that makes up any points gap between the two hurlers.
Scott Van Slyke ($3,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami) is my favorite platoon specialist tonight: facing rookie southpaw Justin Nicolino, Van Slyke will slot into the middle of the Dodgers lineup. Look for a long ball from him.

Michael Beller Zags

Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) You can go in a lot of different directions with your pitcher tonight, but I’m riding with Francisco Liriano. A matchup with the Freddie Freeman-less Braves? Yes, please.Josh Donaldson ($4,100–Texas at Toronto) Rostering Liriano instead of one of the pitchers priced higher than him allows me to stack Blue Jays. Of all those Jays, I think Josh Donaldson is the best bet. He should be able to take advantage of a matchup with Nick Martinez.

Eno Sarris Digs

Jesse Hahn ($7,800–Kansas City at Oakland) Way down there on the list, the 12th-most expensive pitcher, that’s the one I want. Hahn hasn’t been a great source of strikeouts, but he continues to tell me they are coming, and there are reasons to believe — his curve is among the league-leaders in spin rate, and was a top-five pitch by whiffs last year among curveballs thrown by starters. In the meantime, though, he’s just a really high floor pitcher at home. After being on teams with  pitcher’s parks over the last two years, he’s shown a 3.03 ERA at home. Like the price most of all, though.
Victor Martinez ($3,300–Chicago White Sox at Detroit) It’s so nice to be able to play Victor Martinez at catcher. It’s even nicer when he’s facing a lefty that uses a curveball as his out pitch. Martinez has traditionally batted better from the right side, and has mashed yakkers over his career. Given that Jose Quintana doesn’t get many whiffs, and Martinez doesn’t whiff much, this seems like a great matchup for the Tiger. I was tempted to put a cheap Ryan Rua on here — the Texas outfielder is facing a lefty today, in Toronto — but Rua will bat lower in the lineup and is more of a lineup hole-plugger with some upside.

Phil Hertz Hits

Jesse Hahn ($7,800–Kansas City at Oakland) I’m a little nervous about Jesse Hahn’s potential lack of strikeouts, but he’s been pitching well, the A’s are playing well, and the price is right.

Logan Morrison ($2,400–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) has an OPS north of .800 against righthanded pitchers and has hit Matt Shoemaker well before.

Scott Engel’s Kiss

Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) If you are not going to spend up for Max Scherzer tonight, then Francisco Liriano looks like a good option at $9,900. The Braves offense is rather punchless without Freddie Freeman and Liriano should be in line for the win.
Brian Dozier ($3,900–Minnesota at Milwaukee) Kyle Lohse is having a terrible season and I will always attack him when I can. Righties are hittng .323 with 10 HRs against him so I will lock in Brian Dozier at 3,900 and maybe add a Twins teammate or two.

Gene McCaffrey’s Pearls

lex Colome ($6,400–Boston at Tampa Bay) Roll those dice with Alex Colome against the anemic Red Sox in Tampa. You may lose but you should have plenty of hitting points.
Robinson Cano ($2,600–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) is finally heating up, nice spot vs lost righty Shoemaker tonight.

Lenny Melnick’s Voice

Max Scherzer ($12,500–Washington at Philadelphia) If we are true Baseball fans ,we must root for Max Scherzer to tie Johnny Vander Meer’s record of 2 NO hitters in a row  Im rooting and playing him for all the wrong DFS reasons
Evan Gattis ($3,300–New York Yankees at Houston) Eovaldi in Houston? Give me Gattis and a side order of Valbuena please! Ill take it TO GO! (deep)

Jake Ciely Skies One

Max Scherzer ($12,500–Washington at Philadelphia) Man, it’s tough to stomach a pitcher priced at $12,500, but is there a chance we see back-to-back no-hitters for Max Scherzer? After all, the Phillies are the worst team in baseball against righties for wOBA (.279) and wRC+ (74). There are quite a few hitters in the $2,000 range, where you can build a solid lineup behind Scherzer (I did it), so you have to go with the guy who has 52 points over his last two starts.

Jake took Byron Buxton, early in the day, but switched to Bryce Harper when Buxton went on the DL.

Lawr Micheal’s Disembodied Poetics

John Lackey ($8,800–Chicago Cubs at St. Louis) Since I need points, my “crapshoot” is Lackey facing the Cubbies, who are indeed free swingers.

Andrew McCutchen ($4,200–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) With Josh Harrison ($3,300) A minor stack against Williams Perez, who has pitched well enough, but averted disaster by allowing opposing hitters a .324 OBP to go with his 1.377 WHIP.

Scott Swanay’s Stabs

Trevor May ($6,400–Minnesota at Milwuakee) He’s been pitching better of late, and he gets to face a strikeout-prone team(Milwaukee) that’s starting a struggling pitcher (Kyle Lohse).  Max Scherzer seems like the “obvious” pick for tonight, but the Phillies don’t strike out a lot, so I’ll spend my money elsewhere.
Charles Blackmon ($4,400–Colorado at San Francisco) The price tag seems low for a streaking hitter facing a mediocre starter (Tim Hudson).  The only thing that could make this match-up more appealing were if the game were being played at Coors Field.  Brett Gardner was the other hitter I considered tabbing for this week’s contest.

Doug Anderson’s Dailies

Tyson Ross ($8,800–Arizona at San Diego)  – FanDuel has five pitchers priced above  Ross. Just remember this is Tyson Petco Ross we’re talking about. He’s a much different pitcher than Tyson on-the-road Ross. While this year’s splits don’t agree, I’m going with a career’s worth of splits. He’s also coming off a dominant performance of his own against these same Diamondbacks.
Yoenis Cespedes ($3,700–Chicago White Sox at Detroit) vs. Jose Quintana (LHP) – First of all, I’m not a big believer in Batter vs. Pitcher numbers. BUT, Cespedes is part of maybe the best stack of the night, and he’s 8-for-12 with four home runs off Quintana in his career. It’s a small sample size, but it does tell me Quintana is not going to dominate Cespedes.
Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)
Francisco Liriano ($9900–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) 7 (8)
Max Scherzer ($12,500–Washington at Philadelphia) 5 (17)
Taijuan Walker ($7,800–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) (12)
Jesse Hahn ($7,800–Kansas City at Oakland) 2 (8)
Alex Colome ($6,400–Boston at Tampa Bay) 2 (5)
John Lackey ($8,800–Chicago Cubs at St. Louis)
Trevor May ($6,400–Minnesota at Milwaukee) (-4.67)
Tyson Ross ($8,800–Arizona at San Diego) 

Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Luis Valbuena ($3900–New York Yankees at Houston) 2 (.25)
Jason Heyward ($3700–Chicago Cubs at St. Louis) (-1)
Nolan Arenado ($4,500–Colorado at San Francisco)
Derek Norris ($2,800–Arizona at San Diego) (2.25)
Justin Upton ($3,300–Arizona at San Diego)
Evan Longoria ($2900–Boston at Tampa Bay)
Scott Van Slyke ($3,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami) (8.25)
Josh Donaldson ($4,100–Texas at Toronto) (3.25)
Victor Martinez ($3,300–Chicago White Sox at Detroit) (1.25)
Logan Morrison ($2,400–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) (.25)
Brian Dozier ($3,900–Minnesota at Milwaukee) (7.75)
Kole Calhoun ($2,200–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
Robinson Cano ($2,600–Seattle at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) (5.25)
Evan Gattis ($3,300–New York Yankees at Houston)
Bryce Harper ($5,300–Washington at Philadelphia)
Andrew McCutchen ($4,200–Atlanta at Pittsburgh) With Josh Harrison ($3,300)
Charles Blackmon ($4,400–Colorado at San Francisco)
Yoenis Cespedes ($3,700–Chicago White Sox at Detroit)
Ian Kinsler ($2,800–Chicago White Sox at Detroit)

Four Tout Leagues and their June 22 FAAB Reports!

mastersballlogoMastersball’s crew digests and displays this week’s moves, with nods to Chris Parmelee, Derek Deitrich, Kyle Schwarber, and Matt Wisler.

Mike Gianella has an excellent and informative look at the Tout NL FAAB pool, where the biggest buys came from last year, and who has made the best gains this year, at baseballprospectus.com.

Touts’ Picks for Week 11 of Tout Daily by FanDuel!

598x60-tout-wars

We asked the Touts to share their picks for best pitcher and best hitter tonight’s Tout Daily Week 11 contest. You can follow the results here tonight. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Tonight’s contest is Week 3 of Phase 3 of the five phase contest. The top three finishers in each phase get a ticket to the big August 28 final, with big money and the chance to be the first Tout Wars Daily champ.

Scott Pianowski, Jeff Erickson, Adam Ronis, Lenny Melnick, Lawr Michaels and Tom Kessenich have tickets to the finals already. The leaderboard is here.

Here are this week’s Tout picks. I’ll be updating this as they come in, so check back later if you get a chance.

Todd Zola Proclaims

Chris Sale ($11,000–Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox) He fanned double digits six times in his last seven outings and facing a squad that whiffs at a 23 percent clip against soutpaws. Chalk, vanilla, call it what you will. No reason to get cute.

Kolten Wong ($2,900–St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies) I’ll need some lower priced hitters in good spots and it doesn’t get any better than Wong leading off in Citizens Bank Park against fill-in Phillippe Aumont.

 Scott Swanay Picks

Lance McCullers ($6,700–Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners) – It’s tempting to go with one of the bigger name options for tonight (Sale, deGrom, Gray, Shields), but I’ll save a few shekels here and put it towards a stronger hitting lineup.  Usually, I wouldn’t want a pitcher facing the same team for consecutive starts, but with the Mariners’ offense as anemic and strikeout-prone as it is, I feel it’s worth a shot.

Josh Reddick ($3,400–Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics) – I like his match-up vs. Matt Shoemaker, and it’s rare to find someone with a favorable match-up who also has both the handedness and home/away splits in his favor.  Chris Coghlan and Billy Burns were the only other two hitters who I felt met all three criteria tonight, but I’ll go with the guy who has the best chance of knocking one out of the park.

Scott Engel Recommneds

Jacob DeGrom ($10,800–New York Mets at Atlanta Braves) The Mets are on a two-game losing streak and Jacob deGrom is pitching like a real ace right now, a guy who steps in and gets the team back on track when they need it. He’s been rolling and the Mets have owned the Braves so far this year. He’ll get the W in very effective fashion.

Gerardo Parra ($2,500–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) Gerardo Parra is a nice value at $2,500 to give you exposure to the Brewers lineup at Coors Field. He will also allow you to frontload your lineup elsewhere.

Ray Murphy Suggests

Rubby de la Rosa ($7,000–San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks)  stopped the bleeding in his last start, firing a gem at SF after three straight shaky outings. Facing the RH-heavy Padres tonight at home is a good draw for Rubby. There’s risk here, but the price is right ($7000) if your overall standing in this phase dictates you look at an under-the-radar option.

Carlos Gonzalez ($4000–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) is finally heating up (1.009 OPS in June) after a lousy April/May, and his salary hasn’t fully corrected yet. In a home game against a shaky RHP in Taylor Jungmann, Gonzalez is just as good a play as the $5000+ elite OFs, but comes at a 20% discount.

Jake Ciely Says

Carlos Carrasco ($8,800–Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Indians) Chris Sale is extremely enticing, but it’s hard to build a lineup around an $11,000 pitcher. Enter Carrasco. He has one of the larger projected run differentials today, giving him a great chance for the win. On top of that, the Rays are in the bottom third for wOBA and wRC+ against righties and have the seventh highest K% (21.0) against them. Carrasco has 10 starts with six-plus strikeouts and eight in three of his last four starts.

Charlie Blackmon ($3,900–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) After a weak May where Blackmon only hit .220, he’s cruising along with a .288 AVG in June. As we all know, Blackmon also hits righties much better with a .305 AVG against them this year versus .164 for lefties (career split .292/.264). The Rockies have the highest projected run total today, are at home and face Taylor Jungmann, who has been solid through his first two starts but is far from a shut down pitcher.

Doug Anderson Likes

Carlos Carrasco ($8,800–Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Indians)  Carrasco has faced a tough early schedule and has been burned by a .342 BABIP Against. The strikeouts are there (10.34 K/9) and the walks aren’t (2.19 BB/9). His 2.84 xFIP is what you need to look at.

Joey Votto ($4,000–Miami Marlins at Cincinnati Reds) Joey Votto is Joey Votto. Dan Haren is what puts this matchup over the top. Haren has given up 13 homers this season in 81 innings. He’s got a 4.23 ERA on the road, and a career ERA of 5.59 at Great American Ballpark. That $4,000 salary is not a huge roadblock either.

The Godfather of Fantasy Sports, Charlie Wiegert, Makes An Offer

Jorge De La Rosa ($6,400–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) a bit of a long shot…he’s been pitching good, shut down the Cardinals in his last start at home and got some K’s.  Milwaukee has been scuffling and starting a rookie at Coors, so a win should happen!

Ben Paulson ($3,100—Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) Colorado hitters against the rookie, with Ben Paulson popping a long ball.  Also keying on some Card lefties at Philly, and Blue Jay’s against the O’s.

Jeff Boggis for Fantasy Baseball Empire

Chris Sale($11,000–Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox) Over his last 7 starts, Sale has averaged 7.5 innings pitched, 11.3 strikeouts, 1.3 earned runs, and 19.9 fantasy points. Chris Sale is the most expensive pitcher on Friday, but let’s analyze his cost per fantasy point compared to the other top starting pitchers over their past 7 starts: Chris Sale (19.9 FP/$11,000/$552 per fantasy point), Jacob deGrom (16.0 FP/$10,800/$673 per fantasy point), Sonny Gray (14.1 FP/$10,100/$717 per fantasy point), James Shields (13.0 FP/$9,500/$728 per fantasy point), A.J. Burnett (14.2 FP/$9,200/$646 per fantasy point). On a dollars per fantasy point basis, Chris Sale is your best starting pitching investment. I also like that Sale is facing Colby Lewis, who owns an ERA of 4.37 on the season. By rostering Chris Sale, that leaves me with an average of $3,000 for my remaining 8 hitters.

Miguel Cabrera ($5,400–Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees) I really wanted to go with Giancarlo Stanton ($5,200), who leads all hitters this season in home runs with 25, RBIs with 63, faces starting pitcher Mike Leake, who has surrendered 13 home runs on the season. But there is an 80% chance of rain on Friday in Cincinnati and I can’t risk a top salaried batter not playing in my lineup due to weather issues. I also like Bryce Harper ($5,400), but he may be potentially out with a with a mild left hamstring strain that he suffered on Thursday. So I am going with Miguel Cabrera who is tied for 2nd overall this season, averaging 3.7 fantasy points per game. He has a good pitching matchup at New York against Adam Warren who has a 3.78 ERA and has surrendered 8 home runs on the season. 

Steve Moyer’s Inside Edge

Lance McCullers ($6,700–Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners) Inside Edge rates him behind only Sale and deGrom tonight and you’ll need more than $4K more to buy either of those two.

Giancarlo Stanton ($5200–Miami Marlins at Cincinnati Reds) Cheap sleepers are lacking on the Inside Edge board tonight, so I’ll give you an expensive guy who scores a perfect 100 on the Matchup Rating. The fact that he’s facing righty Mike Leake tonight might camouflage him as a must-play.

Brian Walton Wants

Lance McCullers ($6,700–Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners) has never pitched in Seattle. In fact, the right-hander is making just his seventh career MLB start Friday night. But when the rookie has pitched, he has been sharp, with an even 2.00 ERA and better than a strikeout per inning. The 21-year-old did toss five scoreless frames against Seattle at home last time out and the Mariners’ offense has been anything but sharp this season. That makes this a decent matchup for anyone looking to save on pitching.

Carlos Beltran ($2,300–New York Mets at Atlanta Braves) I watched the late-career version of Carlos Beltran closely for two years at St. Louis. While his streaky stretches are fewer and farther between than in his heyday, the 38-year-old is still capable of doing damage. Beltran is 4-for-10 with a double and a home run in his last three games and is a nice buy at $2300.

Paul Sporer’s Spiel

Carlos Carrasco ($8,800–Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Indians) The biggest factor with prospects Francisco Lindor and Giovanny Urshela coming up isn’t their fantasy impact with the bat, it’s their glove work that will help the starting rotation. Carrasco might be taking the biggest brunt of the infield defensive deficiencies this year with a .342 BABIP so far. His skills are still saying that last year’s 2.55 ERA was legitimate and so this year’s 4.38 is way out of line. Tonight is first start with Lindor behind him. 

Kolten Wong ($2,900–St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies) Wong has been an All-Star caliber 2B against right-handers with a .297/.356/.486 line with six homers in 194 PA. The opposing starting pitcher, Phillippe Aumont, has allowed a 1.144 OPS to lefties in 66 career PA at the major league level. He had a 206-point split favoring lefties (.760 OPS) in 65 IP in Triple-A this year.

Andrea LaMont’s Choices

Jorge De La Rosa ($6,400–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) may be pitching way above his head at the moment, but that would be the beauty of this Daily League play, right? I love that he is pitching at home against the Brewers, who are 27th in runs scored while on the road, and dead last in walks.

Manny Machado ($3,800–Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays) is hitting like crazy lately, with four home runs and eight RBI in the past seven days. He goes to the hitter friendly Rogers Center to face Marco Estrada, who he homered against just last month. (May 11)

Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Chris Sale ($11,000–Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox) 3 (22)
Lance McCullers ($6,700–Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners) 3 (7.33)
Jacob DeGrom ($10,800–New York Mets at Atlanta Braves) 2 (8.33)
Rubby de la Rosa ($7,000–San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks) (16)
Jorge De La Rosa ($6,400–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) (3)
Carlos Carrasco ($8,800–Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Indians) 3 (8.66)
Roenis Elias ($7,700–Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners) (19)

Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Kolten Wong ($2,900–St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies) 2 (6)
Josh Reddick ($3,400–Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics) (-1.25)
Gerardo Parra ($2,500–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) (3.25)
Carlos Gonzalez ($4000–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) (-1)
Charlie Blackmon ($3,900–Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) (8.5)
Chris Davis ($3,400–Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays) (1)
Joey Votto ($4,000–Miami Marlins at Cincinnati Reds) (2.5)
Manny Machado ($3,800–Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays) 3 (6.5)
Ben Paulson ($3,100—Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies) (7.75)
Miguel Cabrera ($5,400–Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees) (1.5)
Stephen Vogt ($3,300–Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics) (11.5)
Carlos Beltran ($2,300–New York Mets at Atlanta Braves) (.25)

Price is Right for Rick Wolf in Tout Daily Week 10!

rickwolfOn a night when many of baseball’s top hurlers took the mound, David Price led Rick Wolf’s Tout Daily at FanDuel squad to victory. On a night of weak scoring, Wolf’s offense was paced by Jose Abreu, Jacob Realmuto and Martin Prado, for a total 48.75 points.

Ron Shandler finished second, behind the arm off Jaime Garcia, and big contributions from Brian Dozier, Josh Reddick and Joey Butler.

Jeff Boggis led the 34 percent of Tout owners who ponied up for Clayton Kershaw, and finished third with big nights from Mike Trout’s and Pablo Sandoval’s bats.

Only two Touts picked David Price, who finished with 21 points on the night. The second, after Wolf, was Lenny Melnick, who finished fourth.

But perhaps the big story of the night were the 21 percent of owners who built their teams around Felix Hernandez, who ignominiously allowed eight runs while getting just one out, scoring -6.67 points. Fortunately for all, the one out was a strikeout. Of the nine teams that took King Felix, Gene McCaffrey and Craig Mish tied for best score, each ending up with 11.58 points.

After two weeks in Phase 3, week one winner Seth Trachtman remains in first despite not finishing in the money this week, with Derek VanRiper, who finished in the money both weeks, just behind him. For the leaderboard, click here.

For more about Tout Daily, click here.

Come play a daily game with the Touts on Tuesday night’s Tout Challenge!

This week’s winner:

Screenshot 2015-06-13 11.27.32

June 8 Tout Wars FAAB Reports!

The Mastersball.com crew welcomes Mark Trumbo to the American League and and Joey Gallo to the majors. Big bidding ensued this week!

Mike Gianella’s BP report for Tout AL and NL is here.

Seth Trachtman Takes Tout Daily by FanDuel’s Week 9 Contest!

strachtmanSeth Trachtman got only seven points from his pitcher, Charlie Morton, in Friday night’s Tout Daily contest, but an excellent offense across the board added up to a win in Week 1 of Phase 3 of the contest.

Even if Morton hadn’t earned the win in a wild game in Atlanta, Trachtman would have prevailed, behind huge games from Adam Jones and AJ Pollock, and solid performances from Jose Bautista, Paul Goldschmidt, Dustin Pedroia and Will Middlebrooks. Only Salvador Perez on his team failed to earn at least three points.

The next three teams, Paul Greco, Michael Beller and Andy Behrens all rostered favorite Jake Odorizzi for the evening, but their plans were dashed when he was removed after four and a third innings with an oblique strain. All three also had Adam Jones on their teams.

Trachtman takes the lead in Phase 3 of the five phase contest. Each Phase is four weeks. The three teams with the highest scores for the four weeks combined will earn tickets to the August 28th final, in which 15 teams will vie for $2,000 in prizes.

You can see the leaderboard here.

This week’s winning squad:

Screenshot 2015-06-06 08.29.45