Category: Player Evaluation

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

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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)

Tout Daily Picks for June 12! Who’s Picking Who?

We asked the Touts to share their picks for best pitcher and best hitter tonight’s Tout Daily Week 10 contest. You can follow the results here tonight. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Tonight’s contest is Week 2 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.

Ferdinando DiFino Says

Joe Kelly ($6700–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) Since the Red Sox made a change at pitching coach, Joe Kelly has given up more than two earned runs just once in five starts. The strikeouts are a little erratic, but he’ll get a Blue Jays lineup likely without Encarnacion (or with a dinged one) and the price is great for the upside.

Kennys Vargas ($2300–Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers) Vargas has been solid since his recall and gets to face a lefty tonight in Wandy Rodriguez. In a limited sample size this season, Vargas is hitting .375 and has an .869 OPS.

Scott Swanay Opines

Clayton Kershaw ($12,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) Was tempted to pick Felix Hernandez based on his match-up with K-prone Astros’ lineup, but opted to spend a bit more and go with the pitcher who’s more likely to get a Win (better offense backing him and facing Odrasimer Despaigne). Also considered Madison Bumgarner and Jordan Zimmermann.
Adrian Gonzalez ($3,400–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) Sure, he’s cooled down after his torrid start, but he’s hitting for a slightly higher average in June than he did in May (.289 vs. .274), and he gets to face Odrasimer Despaigne.  $3,400 seems like a bargain.

Gene McCaffrey’s Picks

David Price ($10,900–Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers) The best SP by a sliver.
Pablo Sandoval ($2,200–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) If you like to live dangerously.

Doug Anderson’s Favorites

Felix Hernandez ($11,800–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros)  – The King certainly enjoys Safeco as his home ballpark, but he’s got a 1.82 ERA on the road this season. The Astros are tied with the Cubs with 561 strikeouts on the season; 51 more than any other team. Great pitcher? Check. Good matchup for his offense? Check. Opposing team strikes out a ton? Check.
Nelson Cruz  ($3,600–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) vs. Brett Oberholtzer (LHP)  Cruz has hit 14 of his 18 homers this year on the road.  Cruz is hitting .472 this year against LHP and .480 against LHP on the road. Cruz is facing a left-handed pitcher on the road tonight.  Cruz

has missed a couple games with back spasms, but reportedly sat out Thursday’s game only as a precaution. If he’s in the lineup I’m using him.

Michael Beller’s Thoughts

Danny Salazar (9,100–Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers) FanDuel makes it awfully hard to build a strong offense around a $12,000 pitcher. All things being equal, Kershaw and Felix are easily the best options on the board. The savings you get by rostering Salazar, however, makes him the pick of the night. The Tigers aren’t necessarily a plus matchup, but Salazar has major strikeout upside regardless of his opponent. Salazar fanned 11 Tigers back in his second start of the year.

Jose Abreu  ($3,800–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) Matt Andriese, tonight’s starter for the Rays, has allowed three homers in 20 2/3 innings this season. Abreu has homered in each of his last two games. Tropicana Field may not be the best park for right-handed power, but this is a great matchup for Abreu. His $3,800 price tag is quite attractive, as well.

Ray Murphy’s Law

Felix Hernandez ($11,800–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros)  Last week we had no ace SPs available, this week we are flush with them. My favorite among the aces is Felix Hernandez, due to his matchup. We all know that the Astros are a high-strikeout team. That’s usually balanced by the risk of their power exploding on a given night, but lately that hasn’t been happening: the suddenly-struggling Astros have a team OPS of .630 so far in June. Felix had a blowup two starts ago, but rebounded nicely in his last outing. A double-digit strikeout effort tonight is very much in play.
Nelson Cruz  ($3,600–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) He has cooled a bit recently, which has finally driven his price out of the stratosphere. Assuming he’s back in the lineup tonight after getting dinged earlier in the week, he’s a great play tonight at $3600, facing shaky left-handed Brett Oberholtzer in Houston.

Jeff Boggis’s Studs and a Prayer

Clayton Kershaw ($12,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres)  I’m going with my “studs and prayer” lineup for tonight’s Tout Wars Tout Daily contest on Fan Duel and it all starts with the highest salaried player on Fan Duel tonight. From a season low on May 10th of 5.66 fantasy points, Kershaw has averaged 17.6 fantasy points over his last 5 starts. You also have to look at tonight’s matchup and other available options. I was also looking at King Felix Hernandez, but he faces Houston who ranks 7th in slugging percentage (.407). Kershaw is in pitcher friendly Petco Park at San Diego tonight and the Padres rank 25th in slugging percentage (.375) which was the deal breaker for me with starting Kershaw over Hernandez tonight.

Mike Trout ($5,000–Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels) Trout is a slight discount compared to Paul Goldschmidt ($5,600), Bryce Harper ($5,500), Giancarlo Stanton ($5,200), and Jose Bautista ($5,100). Goldschmidt faces a very tough pitching matchup against Madison Bumgarner. Harper faces a neutral pitching matchup against Mike Fiers. Bautista has a decent matchup against Joe Kelly with a home run, but too much of a small sample size with only 7 at bats. I really wanted to start Stanton in my DFS lineup tonight, but opposing pitcher Kyle Kendrick has pretty much owned Stanton. In 29 at bats, has 1 home run against Kendrick, but has 9 strikeouts and batting .103 against him. Trout is the first player that fits my criteria of being a consistent fantasy points producer in DFS, has a good matchup against an opposing pitcher (Jesse Chavez), is playing at home, and has a decent sample size against the pitcher. In 14 at bats, Trout has 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, and is batting .286 versus Jesse Chavez. Nelson Cruz ($3,600) is bargain priced, but with his recent back spasms and out of the lineup the past two days, he may be a game time decision and I can’t take the risk.

 Jake Ciely’s Views

Clayton Kershaw ($12,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) It’s tough to slot in a pitcher at $12,000, but you have to find a way with Clayton Kershaw. He’s averaging 20.0 FPPG over his last three starts and has 45 Ks in his last 36.0 IP. On top of that, the Padres are actually pretty weak at home with the seventh lowest wRC+ (91) and second worst wOBA (.290). Just to pile on, they also have a 22.5 K% against lefties. Like I said, you have to find a way.

Paul Greco’s Picks

Clayton Kershaw  ($12,000-Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) Clayton Kershaw is the obvious pick this week for money games. Over his last three starts all Kershaw has done is average 20 FanDuel points, nine strikeouts and won all three games. It’s going to make your lineup a little weaker but there are cheap value players that can be had today.
Albert Pujols  ($3,900-Oakland A’s vs. Los Angeles Angels) Since June 1st there hasn’t been a hotter hitter in MLB than Albert Pujols who is batting .378 with six homers. Facing Jesse Chavez and the Oakland A’s tonight, Pujols has batting .438 with a homer and four RBI. The price is perfect for Pujols who is averaging 4.65 FanDuel points over his last 10 games.

Lawr Michaels’ Koan

Ubaldo Jimenez ($7,400–New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles) Ubaldo seems to be going through one of his really solid “Saberhagenmetrics” periods, meaning a year or so’s worth of excellent starts before a year or so’s worth of crappy ones. Although there are some other really fun sleeper starter choices as well (Mike Fiers, eg).

Asdrubal Cabrera ($2,300–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) Today there are as many great low end hitting options just as there are a lot of high end pitchers to choose, so the matchups are what matters. And, I am happy to roster Droobs at $2300 when he has a .297-2-4 line against John Danks over 27 at-bats.

Eno Sarris’s Review

Michael Pineda ($9,800–New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles) There are some great value plays today that are cheaper than Pineda. Chase Anderson and Danny Salazar had my attention, and both are cheaper than Pineda. But both have tough matchups on the bump today. Anderson is up against Madison Bumgarner in San Francisco, and Salazar has David Price in Detroit. Yes, Pineda is on the road, but he’s a great pitcher, and he’s up against Ubaldo Jimenez. I like.

David Ortiz ($2,400–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) vs Drew Hutchison. When David Ortiz costs less than Justin Bour and Garrett Jones, that’s when David Ortiz becomes a value play. He’s facing a righty, and even this year, in a down year, near the end of his career, Ortiz is managing a .277/.383/.508 line that’s 41% better than league average. Drew Hutchison needs his best velocity to be good, and his gas hasn’t always been there for him this year. For $2,400, giddy.

Todd Zola’s Darts

Felix Hernandez ($11,800–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) You can throw a dart blind-folded and hit a good option tonight. In this smaller-scale tournament, I don’t feel the need to go out-of-the-box so I’ll use King Felix with some serious whiff upside versus Houston

Mark Trumbo  ($2,900–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) To support a high salary pitcher, I need some explosive mid-to-low salary hitters and I like the spot Trumbo is in against Brett Oberholtzer in Minute Maid Park.

Scott Pianowski’s Picks

Jeff Locke ($6,900––Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates) If you have the guts to dial up a non-star pitcher, Jeff Locke is the second-highest favorite on the card. We love you, Phillies.

Evan Longoria ($3,100–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) John Danks should have a target on his back, a weak lefty you can stack against. Evan Longoria has been annoyingly-overrated for years, but you like him in the platoon edge.

Charlie Wiegert, the Godfather of Fantasy Sports’ Horse Head

My first thought, based on how my selections have been lately, is the best advise I can give you is to NOT use my selections.  Some kind of wicked curse has been placed on me! But I don’t believe in curses, and the law of averages is on my side, I’m due!

Jeff Locke ($6,900––Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates) The safe way to go tonight would be to take one of the many elite pitchers going tonight, there’s at five that should earn 15 points.  But I’m going with a long shot.  While he has not been impressive lately, his track record at home and against the Philles is impressive. Locke has a 3.52 ERA at home compared to 8.37 on the road, and has a 1.35 ERA ve the Phillies.  And the Phillies are starting Kevin Correia, who just signed a deal this week.  given the Phillies offense has major league lows of 3.18 runs and 0.59 homers, this give Locke an extra chance for a good performance.

​Troy Tulowitzki ($4,500–Colorado Rockies at Miami Marlins) So with the money I save going with Locke, I can get a few better hitters than most teams​ will have going with the studs tonight.  I’m looking at the Colorado vs Miami game to have at least 10 runs, so I’m rostering Tulo, LeMahieu, Ozuna and Realmuto hoping they all have good nights. It’s probably a better roster to use in tournament play, but I’m hoping for the blind squirrel to find the nut tonight!

Steve Moyer’s Inside Edge

Danny Salazar ($9,100–Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers) Inside Edge has him ranked below Kershaw, Felix and Price, but above Cueto and Bumgarner in tonight’s pitcher-heavy slate, allowing you to stay below five figures.

Jake Elmore ($2,200–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) Inside Edge says he’s a good bargain-basement “shortstop” (in actuality, he’s played almost everywhere but this season) if you need salary breathing room elsewhere.

Brian Walton’s Thoughts

Clayton Kershaw ($12,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) On the mound, I like Clayton Kershaw at San Diego, but who doesn’t? In nine career starts at Petco Park, the Dodgers’ ace has a 2.22 ERA, 0.988 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings. The price is high, but so should be the return.

Xander Bogaerts ($2,500–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) The Red Sox have made a number of questionable personnel decisions in recent years, but signing Xander Bogaerts is not among them. Since May 31, the shortstop is 17-for-40 (.425) with six RBI. Friday night, he draws Drew Hutchison at Fenway, where he is batting .333 on the season. Bogaerts is a nice bargain at $2500.

Al Melchior’s Mind

Drew Hutchinson ($8,200–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) Though his ERA isn’t showing it, Hutchison has come a long way this year, increasing his ground ball rate and doing a good job against left-handed hitters. We’ve seen the fruits of his progress in his last three starts, which have produced a 2.18 ERA, 16 strikeouts, one walk and a .306 opponents’ slugging percentage.
Robinson Chirinos ($2,600–Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers) UPDATE: Is not in tonight’s lineup!

Paul Sporer’s Puppies

Madison Bumgarner ($10600–Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants)  After a couple days of rough pitching, we’re star-loaded today and several of them are very enticing options, but I prefer Bumgarner. He’s the cheapest of the four $10+ K aces and while he is coming off of a 5 ER outing, he did log 11 Ks in that same game. He has been alright in two outings against ARI, going seven in both, but the Ks have been underwhelming with just 7 in the 14 innings. His 11% Swinging Strike rate matches what he’s done the last two years and he still has a pair of 10+ K outings so there’s no reason to believe he can’t drop a big K game on Arizona. 

Gregory Polanco ($3000–Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates)  Polanco has been underwhelming overall, but that’s built into the price. When he does produce, it’s been against righties (.725 OPS, compared to .385 v. LH). He gets Kevin Correia in his 2015 debut. Correia doesn’t have much of a platoon split, but he’s pretty poor against both sides and his performance v. LH has really faltered in the last two years with .806 and .837 OPS totals. Polanco has the power-speed capability that gives him big potential, especially at 3K. 

Phil Hertz’s Salve

Drew Hutchinson ($8,200–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) Drew Hutchison has been pitching better than his surface stats would indicate and has been pitching very well the last month. Toronto’s hot; the Red Sox not so much.

Jose Abreu  ($3,800–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) Is bargain priced, especially considering he’s facing rookie Matt Andriese, who has yet to pitch into the fifth inning in his MLB career.

Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)
Joe Kelly ($6700–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) (5)
Clayton Kershaw ($12,000–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) 5 (16.66)
David Price ($10,900–Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers) 2 (21)
Felix Hernandez ($11,800–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) 4 (-6.67)
Danny Salazar (9,100–Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers) 3 (10)
Ubaldo Jimenez ($7,400–New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles) (12)
Michael Pineda ($9,800–New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles) (1.33)
Jeff Locke ($6,900––Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates) 2 (8)
Drew Hutchinson ($8,200–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) 2 (-2.67)
Madison Bumgarner ($10600–Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants) (14)
Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)
Kennys Vargas ($2300–Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers) (-1)
Adrian Gonzalez ($3,400–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres) (1.25)
Pablo Sandoval ($2,200–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) (6)
Nelson Cruz  ($3,600–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) 2 (1.5)
Jose Abreu  ($3,800–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) 2 (7.5)
Mike Trout ($5,000–Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels) (10)
Albert Pujols  ($3,900-Oakland A’s vs. Los Angeles Angels) (2.25)
David Ortiz ($2,400–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) (5.5)
Mark Trumbo  ($2,900–Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros) (-1)
Evan Longoria ($3,100–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) 2 (1.25)
​Troy Tulowitzki ($4,500–Colorado Rockies at Miami Marlins) (.25)
Jake Elmore ($2,200–Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays) (2.5)
Neil Walker ($2,700–Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates) 2 (-.25)
Andre Ethier ($2,900–Los Angeles Dodgers at San Dego Padres) (2.5)
Xander Bogaerts ($2,500–Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox) (4.25)
Gregory Polanco ($3000–Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates) (-1.75)

Friday’s #toutdaily. Who are the touts picking for tonight’s contest?

We asked the Touts to share their picks for best pitcher and best hitter tonight’s Tout Daily Week 7 contest. You can follow the results here tonight. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Todd Zola says:

Pitcher: Gerrit Cole ($9,400–New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates) – Love Scherzer today but the Phils don’t strike out that much so in a tourney, I’ll save the bucks and take a guy at home, in an extreme pitcher’s park facing a team that fans at an above average rate.

Hitter: Anthony Rizzo ($4,400–Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks) – Batting 3rd on the road should give Rizzo five cracks in a park that boosts lefty power by 16 percent with at least a couple chances against Josh Collmenter who’s surrendered six homers over his last three starts.

Scott Swanay’s suggestions:

Pitcher: Max Scherzer ($11,700–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals).  It’s tempting to go with a cheaper alternative, such as Noah Syndergaard at $7,700, but in this case the opposing pitcher was the tiebreaker for me (Scherzer vs. Sean O’Sullivan; Syndergaard vs. Gerrit Cole).  In a tournament-style game like this, where only the top 25% or so finishers win money, it’s imperative to have your pitcher get a Win.  Other alternatives considered were Ubaldo Jimenez ($7,200) @ Mia, Rick Porcello ($7,900) vs. LAA, and Alex Wood ($7,700) vs. Mil.  In all cases I was looking for opponents w/ low team batting averages who don’t score many runs or hit many home runs.

Hitter: Nolan Arenado ($3,900–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies).  He has 7 homers in 137 at-bats, he’s playing at home at Coors Field, and he’s facing an opposing pitcher (Ryan Vogelsong) who’s given up 9 home runs in just 39 innings.  I’m in.

Rotoman’s Picks:

Pitcher: Ubaldo Jimenez ($7,200–Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins) Scherzer is tempting, but the price difference makes Jimenez irresistible. Riskier, too, but a full Anthony Rizzo cheaper despite pitching in a good ball park against a weak hitting team featuring a pitcher who is still working out the kinks.

Hitter: Mike Trout ($5,200–Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox) The wind is blowing out in Boston, and Rick Porcello doesn’t have the stuff to contain Trout.

Jeff Erickson’s Picks:

Pitcher:Gerrit Cole ($9,400–New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates) – If you don’t want to pay the price on Max Scherzer (and it may be a good idea to do so, given the home matchup against the Phillies, with Sean O’Sullivan as the opposing pitcher, and with the Phillies coming directly from Coors Field), look at Cole. The Mets have all sorts of troubles against RH starters, and you might get the benefit of Cole being lesser-owned, given how many other good SPs are going Friday, including Cole’s opposite-number Noah Syndergaard.

Batter: Jimmy Paredes ($3,300–Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins) – I’m going back to the well on Paredes. Did you know that only five batters are averaging more fantasy points per game on FanDuel than Paredes (Harper, Goldschmidt, Cruz, Adrian Gonzalez and Rizzo)? At $3,300 against Henderson Alvarez, it’s worth going with him again Friday.

Honorable mention to the San Francisco Brandon’s, who get Kyle Kendrick in Coors Field. Only the weather worries me.

Doug Anderson’s Recommendations:

Pitcher: Max Scherzer ($11,700–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals)- I hate using up so much salary on one player, but this is about as good a matchup as you could imagine. He pitches at home against baseball’s worst offense and is opposed by a mediocre minor league pitcher. I’ll see what kind of lineup I can put around him, but Scherzer is in line for a great day. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right answer.

Hitter: Brandon Belt ($3,900–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies and Kyle Kendrick (RHP) – Belt has not gotten the power going, but everything else is pointing up. Belt is hitting .358 in May and .347 with all of his homers against right-handed hitters. Add in Kyle Kendrick and Coors Field and you have the makings of a big day.

Jeff Boggis’s Picks (for Fantasy Baseball Empire)

Pitcher: Max Scherzer ($11,700–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals) I’m always trying to come up with optimal lineups through various daily strategies. Over the previous weeks, the days when I finished in the money was when I had my pitcher have an outstanding outing, regardless of the points generated from my hitters. So I don’t want to skimp today on starting pitching, regardless of salary. For my team, I’m going with Scherzer tonight at $11,700 against Philadelphia. I like to use 2 weeks of pitching stats to analyze pitchers and to avoid a 7 day analysis due to 2 starts for some pitchers. Over the past 2 weeks, Scherzer has 14 innings pitched, 2 wins, 17 strikeouts, an ERA of 0.64 and a WHIP of 0.86. He is at home tonight and faces a Phillies team that ranks last in slugging percentage (.355) and home runs (24) on the season. Scherzer has averaged 17.5 fantasy points over his past 4 starts and has 2 outings this season with 20+ fantasy points. If you want to save a few dollars, I’d also recommend Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer at $9,100. He faces the Oakland A’s at home, but has a tough matchup as he faces Oakland’s Scott Kazmir. Archer has not been able to put it all together for a single outing for fantasy owners this season. He’s pitched well in his last 2 starts, but his run support and strikeouts have been inconsistent. I’d like to see Archer go at least 7 innings tonight as he has pitched 7 innings in 4 out of his 9 outings this season.

Hitter: Hunter Pence ($3,300–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies). When a quality hitter can be rostered at a bargain price, I have to add this team to my starting lineup. Hunter Pence is being priced as he returns from the DL.  I am getting a quality hitter at a DL price. Pence has multiple hit games in 3 of the 5 games since his return from the DL. He has a favorable matchup tonight against Kyle Kendrick and is playing tonight in the hitter’s park of Colorado.

David Gonos:

Hitter: Danny Espinosa ($2,900–Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins) Thirteen second basemen are priced higher than Espinosa tonight, and the switch-hitter’s power comes against RHP. He faces Philly’s RHP Sean O’Sullivan (9.64 ERA vs. LH hitters, with 3 HRA in just 4.2 IP).

From the Godfather of Fantasy Sports, Charlie Wiegert

Pitcher: Zack Greinke ($9,900–San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers).  It’s all about the strike outs and innings pitched, and when Greinke pitches against San Diego, there is a good chance you’ll get lots of both, and perhaps a win.  Zack is 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA in 9 starts against the Padres, and only given up 1 run is 13 innings against them this year.  And in that San Diego has the 4th most strike outs in MLB, it makes it worth the price to make him a good play tonight.

Hitter: Nolan Arenado ($3,900–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies).  This game should be a slug fest with Vogelsong or Kendrick having a combined ERA over 12.  Nolan has two dingers vs Vogelsong and comes in with a day of rest yesterday.  He’s been in a rut lately with only 1 hit in his last 15 AB’s, which has caused his salary to drop.  Vogelsong should be just what he needs to break out of the mini-slump!

Brian Walton Touts Hitting:

Hitters: Brandon Belt ($3,900–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) and Charlie Blackmon ($3,800–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) For Friday night offense, Coors is the place to be, especially with Kyle Kendrick opposing Ryan Vogelsong. On the Giants’ side, I will go with a player I own in NL Tout Wars, first baseman Brandon Belt, at $3900. Kendrick has been bad everywhere this season, but worse at home and worse against left-handed hitters. Enter Belt, who has a 1.018 OPS in 24 career games at Coors.

In an equal-opportunity view, I am backing Charlie Blackmon against Vogelsong. This season, the Giants’ starter’s splits between left- and right-handed hitters (1.143 vs. .649 OPS) are about as extreme as one could have. The lefty-swinging Blackmon has performed well against right-handed pitchers in 2015 (.317/.375/.505/.880).

Steve Moyer’s Inside Edge:

Pitcher:

Carlos Carrasco ($8,700–Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Indians) Only Scherzer and Felix rate a higher IE matchup score and Carrasco is way cheaper.
Hitter: Justin Maxwell ($3,000–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies)  Gotta make sure he’s in the lineup and it doesn’t rain, but he’s a top Inside Edge matchup score at a bargain-basement price.

Lenny Melnick’s Picks:

Pitcher: Gerrit Cole ($9,400–New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates) My Pitcher tonite.  Ks and wins are the name of the game at Fanduel  Mets can be beaten away from Home and with erratic bats, the Ks will come as well. No need to spend the extra bucks on bigger names.

Hitter: Hunter Pence ($3,300–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) Has made a nice return from injury and will light it up at Coors. Good Value.

Paul Sporer’s Selections:

Pitcher: Gerrit Cole ($9,400–New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates) Cole’s making his ace transformation before our eyes. He hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER in a single outing, he’s fanned 6+ in seven of eight starts, and the NYM offense has regressed from their early “decent” start w/a .615 OPS v. righties this month (second-worst in MLB).

Hitter: Bryce Harper ($6,000–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals) Versus Scott O’Sullivan: Lefties have owned SOS forever and Harper is owning everyone right now. It’s a bit of an easy pick, but easy doesn’t make it wrong! 

The Pickboard

Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Gerrit Cole ($9,400–New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates) 7 (22.33)
Max Scherzer ($11,700–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals) 6 (17)
Zack Greinke ($9,900–San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers) 3 (11.66)
Ubaldo Jimenez ($7,200–Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins) 2 (5)
Carlos Carrasco ($8,700–Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Indians) 1 (15)

Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes

Brandon Belt ($3,900–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies and Kyle Kendrick (RHP) 3 (10.5)
Nolan Arenado ($3,900–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) 2 (-1)
Hunter Pence ($3,300–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) 2 (4.25)
Nick Hundley ($3,000–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) 1 (2.25)
Carlos Gonzalez ($3,300–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) 1 (2.25)
Charlie Blackmon ($3,800–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) 1 (2.25)
Justin Maxwell ($3,000–San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies) 1 (dnp)
Anthony Rizzo ($4,400–Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks) 1 (.75)
A.J. Pollock ($4,000–Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks) 1 (10.5)
Bryce Harper ($6,000–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals) 1 (6.75)
Ryan Zimmerman ($3,300–Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals) 1 (.5)
Mike Trout ($5,200–Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox) 1 (6.25)
Jimmy Paredes ($3,300–Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins) 1 (3.5)
Danny Espinosa ($2,900–Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins) 1 (-.75)
Kyle Seager ($2.900–Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays) 2 (2.5)
Evan Longoria ($3,200–Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays) 1 (11.75)

The Only Problem With Colorado Tonight

Screenshot 2015-05-22 13.48.05

What Went Wrong: Tout Wars Mixed Auction

Al Melchior writes about his first Tout Wars season:

Here’s what went wrong in my rookie season in Tout for my Mixed League auction team.

I normally go most aggressively after safe, consistent players at scarce positions, but I didn’t stick to that approach on auction day. I spent the most money on Ryan Braun ($40), Justin Verlander ($29), Mat Latos ($19) and Hanley Ramirez ($17). Braun and Ramirez were calculated risks, and they paid off in the sense that they produced when they played. They just didn’t play nearly enough. Starting pitching isn’t exactly a scarce position, but I did view Verlander as an elite, and I don’t think there was any way I could have seen his disappointing season coming. Latos, at $19, was one of my better buys.

With so much invested in my core, I didn’t have much to fall back on when Braun, Ramirez and Verlander didn’t produce as expected. David Freese, Josh Reddick, Marco Scutaro, Alexi Ogando and Shaun Marcum all fell far short of expectations, and a midseason buy-high on Mike Leake just did more damage to ERA and WHIP levels that hovered near the bottom of the standings. I did manage a timely early July swap of Jean Segura for Matt Holliday, and while Holliday provided much-needed help with runs and RBI, I never was able to replace Segura’s steals.

There may not be another spate of suspension risks going into next season, but I’ll certainly focus more on risks that fall outside of the realm of skill decline. And rather than pursuing steady players like Freese and Scutaro to fill out my roster, I’ll likely pursue higher-upside types, as some of my more “consistent” players had down years.

P.S. I’ve had a great time, even though I didn’t turn in a strong season. Thanks for bringing me aboard!

Fernando DiFino answered:

New rule starting next year: no more big free-agent signings on my team. Carl Crawford, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols — they’ve all kind of burned fantasy owners in their own special way their first year with a new team.

Rule 2: no more punting OPS. That strategy does not work.

Rule 3: take PED accusations seriously.

That’s pretty much all I learned from this year. I had some unexpected down years from a couple guys I thought could have a nice year (Axford, Cespedes, Middlebrooks), a couple injuries that didn’t help, and I think I actually did pretty well in FAAB. It was just a weird season spent waiting for bouncebacks that never came.

What Went Wrong: Tout Wars Mixed Draft

Ray Flowers tells his story over at Baseball Guys.

Grey Albright reports:

What went wrong? What didn’t?

The 15th pick isn’t a death knell (14th pick is in top 2) but our draft board just didn’t line up well. We drafted a well-balanced offense in the first five rounds and ended up with two bombs (heyward, upton) and three disappointments (bautista, butler, sandoval). Missed out on Goldschmidt by 4 picks. ‘Depth’ over ‘ace’ SP strategy hurt by injury/underperformance by Niese, Beckett, and Edwin Jackson.

other notes

– Brutal first 5 rounds of draft with Bautista/Heyward/Butler/BJ Upton/Sandoval. Just a rough draft to be picking 15th – especially when our draft fave Goldschmidt goes off the board four picks before our 3rd and we end up with Billy Butler.
– We didn’t draft an SP until 7th round (Latos) but drafted a lot of depth. Shelby Miller and early FAAB pick Masterson were great but too many misses with Niese, Beckett, Edwin Jackson, and Volquez.
– We had some solid values on offense in later rounds (Cuddyer – 10th, Marte – 16th, Murphy – 19th) but not enough to recover from misses in 1st 5 rounds + disappointments like Josh Rutledge (8th) and Reddick (10th).

Tout Mixed Auction: Gonos Fishing.

by Fred Zinkie

Like David, I assessed each category….

HR – probably not moving, but could gain or lose a point.

SB – probably not moving, but there’s a slim chance Dave could catch me, which would be a two-point swing.

RBI  – I could easily gain or lose a point.

R – Probably not moving, but there’s a chance I could lose a point.

OBP – Probably not moving up, but could easily lose a point.

W – Not moving up, but could easily lose a point.

SV – Probably not moving at all, but there’s a chance I could lose a point.

K – There’s a very slight chance I could gain a point, and I could lose one for sure.

ERA – Not moving at all.

WHIP – I can’t move up, and there’s a chance I could lose a point.

In the end, there aren’t many chances for me to move up this week.  I could gain a couple points, but there are many more for me to lose.

The last week of the season is tricky, because many fantasy teams aren’t as motivated, and the real teams aren’t as motivated either!  Placing my bids with just $4 left forced me to take whatever was left over.  In the end, I decided that volume was going to be my approach this week.  I want to have many starts, closers and hitters each day.  Here’s who I settled on:

1B – Sean Halton replaces Todd Helton.  I wanted to own a motivated Helton for most of his final stint at Coors Field, but he has just two more games at that venue.  Helton has just five games this week, and two are against the Dodgers twin aces – Kershaw and Greinke.  So, I replaced Helton with the next closest name – Halton!  I actually picked Halton because he has flashed some power and the Brewers play seven games this week.

OF – Cesar Hernandez replaces Nate Schierholtz.  I got great mileage out of Schierholtz all season, but he seems to have hit the wall.  His September numbers are terrible.  He faces some skilled hurlers this week, so I went with Hernandez, who I’m hoping with give me a better OBP.  For late-season callups like Hernandez, I like to make sure their Minor League OBP’s were good, since we are dealing with such a small sample size at the Major League level.  Hernandez has done well at both levels, and he should start six games this week.

OF – Jose Tabata replaces Josh Willingham.  I waited a long time for Willingham to come around and it didn’t happen.  Now his foot is bothering him again, and the Twins are giving him regular rest.  I’m expecting just three starts this week for Willingham, and the Twins face the talented Tigers staff in their first series of the week.  I’ll take my chances with Tabata, who has been doing a good job of getting on base this month.

OF – Craig Gentry replaces Curtis Granderson!  This one is my shocker of the bunch.  Gentry has been playing well of late, and the slumping Rangers play three of their seven home games against southpaws this week.  I was originally going to bench Eric Young, who has been a drain outside of steals in recent weeks.  But then Gonos added Billy Hamilton, and I decided to bench Granderson instead.  The Yankees center fielder has been awful in September.  He finishes things off with four left-handers this week, two of which come against Matt Moore and David Price.  I could also see Granderson heading to the bench at least once in the Astros weekend series, once the Yankees are officially eliminated.

SP – J.A. Happ replaces Sonny Gray.  Gray has one start this week, and I’m guessing that the A’s will limit him to five or six innings.  Happ has a two-start week and looked good against the Yankees last time out.  I chose Happ mainly because his second scheduled start comes against Chris Archer, who I also own.  That gives me a great chance to get a win from that game.

SP – James Paxton replaces Casey Janssen.  Needing wins more than saves, I decided to use Paxton this week.  I saw a tweet from Greg Johns of MLB.com on Sunday night, saying that Paxton will start the Mariners season finale.  That news made him a two-start pitcher, which put him on the top of my radar.  I lost out on two-start hurlers in Eric Stults and Todd Redmond, but with Happ and Paxton to go along with Roark, Archer and Ross, I should have plenty of K’s and wins by the end of the week.

This race is going to be tight!  In the end, a lot of my final success or failure will be due to random luck.  I made the best decisions I could, but managers will make many decisions with their lineups and staffs this week, and those decisions could leave me or David high and dry.  I tried to avoid two-start pitchers if I feel like their second start may be changed, and I also tried to avoid hitters who could be rested for the playoffs.

Doubt Wars NL! You liked them!

doubtwarslogo

Top 10 11 Most Coveted Tout Wars Buys

Kyle Lohse ($3): He signed with the Brewers the day after the Tout Wars draft, explaining his low price. He could have gone to the AL and would have been lost. Sixteen Doubt Warriors pounced, once the uncertainty passed. GOOD BUY

Julio Teheran ($9): Ten Doubt Warriors decided that Teheran would take the next step forward, and he did. HIT

Chris Nelson ($4): Ten teams didn’t discount Nelson’s strong BABIP in 2012, and suffered when the cheap infielder failed to repeat. BUST

Matt Harvey ($13): He didn’t have to break out the way he did, but for the first four months of the season he was the best pitcher in the NL, and nine Doubt Warriors had him on their team. HIT

Adam LaRoche ($18): Tout Warriors figured on some regression from LaRoche’s career year in 2012, and nine Doubters figured they’d gone to far. In fact, they hadn’t gone far enough. BUST

Devin Mesoraco ($5): A cheap catcher with upside is irresistible, for eight Doubt Warriors at least. Mesoraco improved on his 2012, but not enough to really help. MEH.

Yasmani Grandal ($3): Beginning the year on the suspended list earns a discount, and seven Doubters saw Grandal as a cheap catcher play. What they got was cheapness, but not much else before he broke down for the year. Too cheap to bust, but decidedly MEH.

Shelby Miller ($7): Seven Doubt Warriors pounced on Miller, who was a prime starting breakout pitcher at a fair price. He didn’t disappoint in the first half, but hasn’t maintained the same level in the second, but has still been a solid choice. HIT

Trevor Rosenthal ($3): Seven teams made Rosenthal a lottery ticket to close in St. Louis. He’s been a solid setup guy, though surprisingly hittable. MEH.

Jedd Gyorko ($13): The power wasn’t a surprise, but neither were the struggles with the BA. He’s had a promising rookie year, but didn’t earn his seven Doubt owners any profits. MEH

Donovan Solano ($3): Another cheap middle infield play, seven Doubt teams chose Solano, who was getting started but got hurt and lost his job for a time. MEH