Tout Daily Picks for June 5! Who Will They Feature.

We asked the Touts to share their picks for best pitcher and best hitter tonight’s Tout Daily Week 9 contest. You can follow the results here tonight. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Tonight’s contest is Week 1 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.

Jeff Boggis Predicts

Brett Anderson ($6,700–St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers) What? Brett Anderson is still in the major leagues? Not only is he back, but through 55 innings pitched, he has 2 wins, an ERA of 3.25, and WHIP of 1.32, and a K/BB ratio of 39/14. In his last 5 starts, he has averaged 9.8 fantasy points on Fan Duel. I believe that Anderson’s $6,700 is coming at a discounted price due to his back tightness from May 25th, but he pitched well, experiencing no back issues in his next outing on May 31. With a less than stellar selection of starting pitchers tonight, why not spend your salary cap money on hitting and take a calculated risk with Brett Anderson tonight? Tonight’s Projection: 7 IP, 6K, 2 ER, 0 W = 11 Fantasy Points

Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) I really wanted to go here with Giancarlo Stanton, but there is a 45% chance of rain tonight at Colorado, paired with a late game start, and I can’t take that big of a risk. Instead, I will go with Paul Goldschmidt and pay up on the premium that I saved by starting Brett Anderson as my starting pitcher. Goldschmidt is on a tear and over the last 7 days, he has a .480 batting average, 4 home runs, 7 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. He is at home and faces a weak Met’s pitcher in Jonathon Niese. If you are looking for a value pick, then start Jose Abreu ($3,700) at home versus Detroit’s Kyle Ryan.

Jeff Erickson’s Picks

Rays at Orioles 8/25/14
Rays at Orioles 8/25/14

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) This is a tough pitcher’s slate, as none of the aces are going and most of the best alternatives are on the road. I’ll use Odorizzi against a Mariners lineup that has really scuffled this week, and hope that he gets better run support than he has in most of his outings. I was tempted to go with Tim Lincecum against the Phillies, but he’s on the road and only $100 cheaper.

Joey Butler ($3,000–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) While he is no longer a bargain basement guy, Butler remains cheap enough to be an automatic start against left-handers, allowing me to invest in an expensive hitter like Giancarlo Stanton in Coors Field (currently only at 51% chance of rain – that’s almost a sunny forecast!).

Todd Zola Says

Edinson Volquez ($8,400–Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals)  On a slate where Jake Odorizzi is the safest option, you may as well swing for the fences. The Royals are the biggest favorite on the board and the run total is among the lowest on the ledger. Volquez has strikeout upside though the Rangers are average in terms of strikeouts versus right-handers.

Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) You’re not going to need to spend on an arm so you can go for a top bat and it doesn’t get any better than Goldie facing Jon Niese. Niese has allowed at least four runs in each of his last four outings, serving up a least one homer in each (eight for the season in just 57 frames).

Steve Moyer’s Inside Edge

Michael Cuddyer ($2,700–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) Inside Edge says high output/low salary tonight against Jeremy Hellickson.

Williams Perez ($5,800–Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves) With no stud starters tonight, IE says Perez is the second-best choice on the board. And he costs $100 more than Bryce Harper.

Lawr Michaels’ Revelations

Aaron Sanchez ($6,800–Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays) In a day of generally crappy pitching, I am buying as low as is reasonable with Sanchez, figuring he can whiff some swing happy Astros and hang on for six decent innings.

Avasail Garcia ($2,500–Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox) Again, somewhat under the radar, but he kicks it against lefties and I think Kyle Ryan makes an appropriate victim.  DPed and Hanley look equally tasty versus the struggling Kazmir.

Eno Sarris’s Notes

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) In the past, I may have emphasized the Odorizzi’s splitter negates the platoon advantage well, so the lefties in Seattle’s lineup might be neutralized, leaving one big righty to get past. But even with Mark Trumbo in the mix, Odorizzi won’t worry too much about this matchup. The new hybrid cutter/slider — yes, it’s a slutter — gives him a weapon against righties that he was missing. Odorizzi is a top pitcher in a good park against a meh lineup, and he’s not one of the two most expensive pitchers on a tough day for pitching. Giddyap. 

Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) Sometimes, the big boys are worth the money. Both Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Cabrera have the platoon advantage (against Jon Niese and Jose Quintana, respectively) in nice parks tonight (Arizona and Chicago respectively), but it’s Goldschmidt that has rocked curveballs most of his career (judging by FanGraphs’ pitch type weights, while Cabrera’s work against them has been more modest. Add in the fact that Goldschmidt is at home, and all batters fare better in their home environs, and he seems like today’s rock solid pick. 

Michael Beller Says

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) I’m betting a lot of people go cheap on pitching with the generally weak options on Friday. Odorizzi, who just held the Mariners to one earned run and fanned seven in seven innings last week, is well worth the $8,600.

Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) This doesn’t really require an explanation, but any time one of the best hitters in the league is also one of the hottest hitters, he needs to be in your lineup.

Ray Murphy Likes

Wade Miley ($7,000–Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox) On a day with no “safe” options for the mound, you can turn it around and look and see which risky pitcher has the best matchup. At BaseballHQ, we have a tool called Pure Quality Starts that rates each SP outing on a scale of 0-5. Among tonight’s matchups, the “softest” for any scheduled starter is Wade Miley ($7000) against the A’s: against LHPs on the road, the A’s offense has allowed opposing pitchers to post an average PQS score of 4.0 (i.e. a very good outing). Put another way, the A’s have a .625 OPS against lefties (.739 vR), and a .698 OPS on the road (.724 at home). Miley gets the better end of both of those splits tonight.

Wil Venable ($2,400–San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds) A dearth of top-end pitching tonight means that hitting options will be abundant. Even with a cheap pitcher like Miley, a cheap hitter or two can really open up some options in the rest of your lineup. A favorite budget-hitter of mine tonight is Wil Venable who checks every box you want: he’s batting leadoff, with the platoon advantage, against a shaky SP in Raisel Iglesias, in a hitter-friendly balllpark. I’ll take that every night.

Peter Kreutzer Thinks

Tsuyoshi Wada ($6,700–Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals) has been striking guys out since his return from the DL but has yet to score a win. This is a rematch of a Chicago game 10 days ago that Tanner Roark won 2-1, and the Nats have struggled to score runs since. Ks, cheapness, and a chance to win make Wada a good bet on a tough night for pitching picks.

Charlie Blackmon ($4,000–Miami Marlins at Colorado Rockies) has the platoon advantage in Colorado. Nuff said! Unless it rains too much.

Doug Anderson Values

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) He’s not been quite as good on the road, but Seattle ranks 24th in the Majors in runs scored at home. On a day like today, there’s something to be said for safety, even in a tournament.

Jose Abreu ($3,700–Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox) Abreu is a .331 career hitter vs. LHP. Kyle Ryan has had 4.00-plus ERAs in three of his five minor league seasons. The Cell is a great hitter’s park. I’m taking Abreu at a reduced price and will spend it elsewhere.

Paul Greco Writes

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) Not a single pitcher tonight over $10K means, find the best option. Tonight, I’m rolling with Jake Ordorizzi against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are losers of five straight and are averaging seven strikeouts per game over those five loses. I’m going to take the points here with Ordorizzi and hope the Rays stay hot, winners of four out of their last five games.

Dustin Pedroia ($3,200–Oakland A’s at Boston RedSox) is hitting 87 points better at home (.351/.264) than on the road. He’s also facing a lefty in Scott Kazmir who he’s enjoyed tremendous success against in his career (.475). Since May 21 Pedroia is batting .380 with three homers.

Gene McCaffrey Cracks

Williams Perez ($5,800–Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves) Lots of bad pitching bets, lots of dynamite hitter matchups, I’m going to roll the dice and let the chips fall with Williams Perez on the hill.

Troy Tulowitzki ($4,800–Miami Marlins at Colorado Rockies) For hitters, there might be five who pop two HRs and one of the better bets to do that is Tulo.

Scott Pianowski Plays

Billy Hamilton ($3,300–San Diego Padres @ Cincinnati Reds) and Brandon Phillips ($3,300–San Diego Padres @ Cincinnati Reds) As good as Tyson Ross is, he’s far and away the biggest stolen-base giveaway in the league. Someone is running in Cincinnati tonight. 

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) Consistency is one of the most underrated aspects of a pitcher’s profile. Odorizzi hasn’t had a blowup start yet, and he’s worked six innings or more in every turn. 

From the Godfather of Fantasy Sports, Charlie Wiegert

Williams Perez ($5,800–Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves) Long shot time!  There’s no pitcher I really like tonight, so I’d rather spend my money on hitters.  Perez is coming off a good last outing vs the Giants, has averaged almost a strike per inning, and I’m projecting his home start against Pittsburgh should produce 14 points.

Josh Donaldson ($4,900–Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays) Big money going on Toronto’s 3B Donaldson, who has 6 HRs in his last 8 games, 4 in his last three in the Rogers Centre.  Hopefully he takes Houston starter Roberto Hernandez deep tonight in what should be a high scoring affair North of the border. I’m also targeting Miami hitters against Eddie Butler at Colorado.  Butler has an over 5 ERA at night at home, with left-handed hitters raking .333 against him.

Phil Hertz rules

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) has had no disastrous starts this year and a number of very good to excellent starts. Pitching Seattle makes him a safe choice with good upside.

Yasmany Tomas ($3,000–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) hasn’t hit for much power, but he has hit. He gets a struggling and perhaps injured Jon Niese in a very good hitters park.

Scott Swanay votes

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) You can throw the names of the top half dozen options in a hat and pick one this week, but I’ll go with Odorizzi.  His K/9 is lower than some of the other options I considered (Martinez, Ross, Kazmir), but I’ll go with him because he’s facing a strikeout-prone, offensively-challenged team that becomes even more so with the addition of the newly-acquired Mark Trumbo to that lineup. 

Eric Hosmer ($3,500–Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals) Based on a cursory glance at historical results from this weekly contest, it appears that RBIs may be the hitting category with the strongest correlation with overall hitter points.  So, I’ll go with a middle-of-the-order bat who should get several RBI opportunities as his team squares off against Texas rookie Chi Chi Gonzalez.

Brian Walton’s selections

Tyson Ross ($9,000–San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds) has a great matchup Friday night against Cincinnati. In 25 career innings against them, the Padres starter allowed just two runs on 12 hits for an ERA of 0.72. Reds batters have managed a collective .145 batting average against him.

Brandon Belt ($3,600–San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies) has never faced pitcher Jerome Williams, but last month in his seven starts, hitters smoked the Phillies right-hander to the tune of a 6.62 ERA. This season, Belt has seven home runs, 22 RBI and a .994 OPS against right-handed pitching, so what could possibly go wrong for Williams?

Al Melchior opines

Jake Odorizzi ($8600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) Odorizzi seems to have gotten past his control and long ball issues, and with an 11.2 percent whiff rate, he has some strikeout potential that hasn’t been fully tapped this season. Even with Mark Trumbo, the Mariners lineup represents a good matchup and Safeco Field is a favorable venue.

Justin Upton ($4000–San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds) With Upton facing Jon Moscot in his major league debut, it’s hard to find a more enticing hitter. Moscot is a contact pitcher with flyball tendencies who will be toiling in the Reds’ bandbox of a ballpark. Upton is slugging .510 against flyball pitchers this season, which is not far above his .487 career mark against flyballers. As Tony Robbins likes to say, “Yumbo!”.

Paul Sporer likes

Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) Pitching is tough today because there just aren’t any HIGH caliber names. There are some solid ones like Odorizzi, but no unquestioned studs. I think Odorizzi is a solid option. He has a pretty high floor as he hasn’t allowed more than 4 ER in any outing this year. His Ks has dipped from last year, but the results are much better (4.13 to 2.61 ERA) so it’s been a worthy trade-off. The Ms have some punch in their lineup, but they are in the bottom 10 of wRC+ v. righties this year. 

Preston Tucker ($2,900–Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays) Aaron Sanchez has a 1.013 OPS lefties with a 12% K rate and 17% BB rate. Tucker has emerged into the three-hole of that lineup, too, and they’re headed to Rogers Centre. Best part is that Tucker hasn’t really shown a platoon split in either of the last two seasons so he’s not even super susceptible to lefty RPs later in the game. 

Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Brett Anderson ($6,700–St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers) (10.66)
Jake Odorizzi ($8,600–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) 13 (8.33)
Edinson Volquez ($8,400–Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals) (9.33)
Williams Perez ($5,800–Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves) 3 (6)
Aaron Sanchez ($6,800–Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays) (14)
Wade Miley ($7,000–Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox) (15.33)
Tsuyoshi Wada ($6,700–Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals) (-.34)
Tyson Ross ($9,000–San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds) (14)
Tanner Roark ($5,600–Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals) (11.66)

Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) 4 (6.5)
Joey Butler ($3,000–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) (2.5)
Michael Cuddyer ($2,700–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) (5.25)
Avasail Garcia ($2,500–Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox) (7.25)
Ben Paulsen ($3,300–Miami Marlins at Colorado Rockies) (.25)
Wil Venable ($2,400–San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds) (6.25)
Charlie Blackmon ($4,000–Miami Marlins at Colorado Rockies) (3)
Jose Abreu ($3,700–Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox) (3.25)
Dustin Pedroia ($3,200–Oakland A’s at Boston Red Sox) (5.75)
Troy Tulowitzki ($4,800–Miami Marlins at Colorado Rockies) (4.75)
Billy Hamilton ($3,300–San Diego Padres @ Cincinnati Reds) (1.25)
Brandon Phillips ($3,300–San Diego Padres @ Cincinnati Reds) (1.5)
Lucas Duda ($3,800–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) (.25)
Josh Donaldson ($4,900–Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays) (1.25)
Seven Souza ($3,700–Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners) (-1)
Yasmany Tomas ($3,000–New York Mets at Arizona Diamondbacks) (3.75)
Eric Hosmer ($3,500–Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals) (.5)
Brandon Belt ($3,600–San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies) (2.25)
Justin Upton ($4,000–San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds) (1.25)
Manny Machado ($3,300–Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians) (-1)
Preston Tucker ($2,900–Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays) (-1)

Five Beat All Touts in June 2nd #toutchallenge at FanDuel.

Despite rostering two Dodgers hitters  (Kendrick and Ethier) who scored 0 total points in the team’s 9-8 win over Colorado, eggmantaxi took the June 2nd Tout Challenge behind a huge game from Chris Archer.

Four of the five teams that finished ahead of top tout Lawr Michaels had Archer. The other, like Michaels, had Lance Lynn.

The teams that beat the Touts: eggmantaxi, drew123, sportsprophet, fossa, and marshalld76.

The winning squad (click to enlarge):

Screenshot 2015-06-03 09.50.37

The Touts who finished in the Top Half:

Lawr Michaels
Al Melchior
Charlie Wiegert
Scott Swanay
Adam Ronis
Jake Ciely
Doug Anderson
Todd Zola

June 1 FAAB Reports for Tout Wars!

First up, Mastersball does without Perry Van Hook this week, but manages to highlight some interesting moments in this week’s FAAB bidding. How much did you bid for Eduardo Rodriguez in your leagues?

Mike Gianella gets to ponder that question in his FAAB report at Baseball Prospectus, and he gets to fiddle over the NL free agent pool, which has been left for dead in recent weeks.

 

Tout X Roundup on June 1! Patrick Mayo Wins Round 2! Bret Sayre Overall Leader!

CGafjcMW8AA7SrjPatrick Mayo won Round 2 of the Tout X contest at Shandler Park, and climbed to within nine points of overall contest leader Bret Sayre, who finished tied with Jeff Boggis for second with 50.5 points.

Mayo also trails Boggis, who has shown consistency with  50.5 points in each of the contests two periods so far,  by 1 1/2 points.

Click the image to enlarge

You can access the contest leaderboard here. Learn more about Tout X here.

Round 3 starts tonight. Take a look at who each team picked and at what cost right here, when it’s posted.

Brian Walton Wins #toutdaily Battle, Loses War!

Walton_Brian_headshot_2x2Brian Walton jumped out to an early lead in last night’s Tout Daily by FanDuel contest behind Cole Hamels’ pitching. Hamels was brilliant, as our Touts expected, except for two solo homers allowed to Troy Tulowitzki. Walton had Tulo, too.

Kolten Wong had a nice night, later, and Walton had him, too. Walton’s biggest problem was that Hamels was facing Chad Bettis, who had a perfect game through six and a no-hitter into the eighth. There was no W for Hamels, but Walton held on to win the night’s contest, finishing just ahead of Al Melchior and Lenny Melnick.

Despite finishing in the Top 10 in three of Phase 2’s four weeks, Walton finished sixth overall for the Phase.

Another team that finished Top 10 in three of the weeks was Lenny Melnick’s. Lenny ended up winning the Phase, with 182.24 points, easily ahead of Lawr Michaels (173.5) and Tom Kessenich (151.91), the other contestants who won tickets to the August 28 Tout Daily championship night.

Kessenich edged Seth Trachtman, who overcame a dismal P2:W1 to scratch to within three-quarters of a point for the third ticket.

For the Phase 2 Week 4 results, click here. For the complete Leaderboard, click here. For more about Tout Daily by FanDuel, click here.

Brian Walton’s winning team.

Screenshot 2015-05-30 09.11.51

May 29 #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 8 contest. You can follow the results here tonight. For more about Tout Daily visit here.

Tonight’s contest rounds out Phase 2 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.

The current top 10 are Lawr Michaels, Lenny Melnick, Patrick Mayo, Jake Ciely, Tom Kessenich, Chris Liss, Scott Pianowski (who already has a ticket), Steve Gardner, Seth Trachtman and David Gonos. 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.

Steve Moyer says:

Lance McCullers ($5400–Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros) – He’s at the bottom of the starting pitcher salary heap, but Inside Edge says he’s tonight’s seventh-best starter. That’s a mismatch.

Jose Iglesias ($2300–Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels) – Another bargain pick (fresh off the DL, make sure he’s playing), taking these two guys will allow you to fill your lineup with all kinds of studs elsewhere, maybe even Brycie-poo.

Andrea LaMont’s picks:

Anibal Sanchez ($8,200–Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels) has faced current Los Angeles Angels batters 72 times over his career, allowing 17 hits, including two home runs, while walking only two and striking out 17. Although Sanchez has been both great and horrid on the mound this season, he still maintains an impressive K/BB ratio of 3.47, and has gone at least six innings in seven of ten starts so far this season.

Torii Hunter ($3400–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) In 2058 total at bats against Left-Handed Pitchers, Hunter has earned a .297 average, with 93 home runs and 327 RBI. So far this season, he is hitting .300 against lefties, with three home runs and 10 RBI. Hunter has hit in each of the last seven games, and should see no problem keeping the streak alive today when he faces LHP Mark Buehrle at home. Hunter bats second in the lineup, behind Brian Dozier, and in front of Trevor Plouffe, who are also hitting the ball well right now. Hunter has earned 23.5 points over his last seven at Fan Duel, and costs $3400.

Ferdinando DiFino likes:

Mike Foltynewicz ($7300–Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants) With 14 strikeouts against two walks in his last two starts, Foltynewicz seems to have the early control issues handled. He gets a nice pitcher-friendly park tonight against a team that can be shut down offensively in the right circumstances.

Dustin Pedroia ($3200–Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers) $3200 for a leadoff hitter with power potential, against a pitcher who is erratic and has bouts of wildness, seems like too good of a bargain to pass up

Jeff Erickson’s picks:

James Shields, ($9,300–Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres) There are so many good options tonight, but I’ll shave a few bucks with Shields compared to Harvey/Gray/Hamels and still get a home start in Petco with a lot of strikeouts. I’m hoping that he will be less-used because the Pirates have been hot lately. I also considered A contrarian play with Strasburg against my stinky Reds.Chris Davis. ($3,300–Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles) I am going with a handful of Twins and Orioles tonight. Davis has three homers the last two days and is still pretty cheap at $3,300.

Brian Walton selects:

Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies) at home has considerable appeal. After all, he is coming off a strong four-game stretch during which he has posted a 1.23 ERA and logged better than a strikeout per inning. Now, he is facing a Colorado lineup that struggles against left-handed pitching everywhere (.675 OPS). That creates a formula for a good night ahead for the Phillies starter – assuming he is not traded first!

Rajai Davis ($3000–Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels) For my highlight hitter, I will stray off the beaten path. Though the outfielder has drawn the bad side of a platoon with red-hot Anthony Gose this season, the Tigers face their second consecutive lefty in Hector Santiago Friday evening. Given that and his .372 OBP and .898 OPS against left-handed pitching this season, Davis should again be in manager Brad Ausmus’ lineup – and yours, too.

Al Melchior likes:

Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadephia Phillies) Matt Harvey against the Marlins is appealing and Lance McCullers is a great tournament play, but Hamels should be safe and productive for any contest, given the Rockies struggles versus lefties and on the road.

Brandon Belt ($3600 – Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants) Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz is allowing a .332 Avg and .239 Iso against lefties. Belt, on the other hand, ranks 12th in wOBA against righties with a .995 OPS. Belt is primed with this matchup to continue his hot streak (last 13 games: .358/.414/.830).

Lenny Melnick picks

Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies) Colo is No. 1 K team vs LP in MLB

Brian Dozier ($3900–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) Has been hitting LP  very well vs Buehrle

Paul Greco takes:

Matt Harvey ($10,700-Miami Marlins at New York Mets) – This is a no brainer to me for today. Harvey is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game and is facing a lineup that does not particularly hit righties well. Harvey, who pitches better at home, posts a better K% and lower ERA.

Prince Fielder ($4,500-Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers) – There are not many hitters hotter than Prince Fielder right. Over his last seven days all he’s done is hit five homers, drive in 15 RBI and post a .469 BA. Not to mention the fact he demolishes right-handed pitchers (.397). With Josh Hamilton now back in the Rangers lineup, it’s starting to look a little scary for opposing pitchers.

From the Godfather of Fantasy Sports, Charlie Wiegert

James Shields, ($9,300–Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres) Interesting this will be the first time “Big Game” has faced the Pirates.  After last night shellacking, the Padres need to rebound .  Shields is a veteran pitcher, so the advantage should be on his side.
Prince Fielder ($4,500-Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers) At home vs Boston and Steven Wright.  He’s been one of the hottest hitters in the game and hopefully can solve the BoSox rookie knuckleballer, whose road ERA is 4.60, almost 2 runs more than at home.

Jake Ciely likes:

Matt Harvey ($10,700-Miami Marlins at New York Mets) Sure, he’s the most expensive option, but it’s for good reason. The Marlins are highly susceptible to right-handed pitching: 20.4 K% and just 82 wRC+ which falls to just 66 over the last two weeks. Vegas also favors the Mets to win significantly more than any other team tonight. Find a way to squeeze him in.

Joc Pederson ($3500–Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals) When you go Harvey, you have to find some cheaper bats. While Pederson isn’t that expensive, it doesn’t mean you don’t want him. The Dodgers are facing John Lackey and have the highest wRC+ against righties by far at 130 (Giants next closest at 112). In addition, Pederson has an OPS of 1.012 against righties versus just .671 against lefties and a wRC+ of 175 (just 92 for lefties). Oh, and all 12 of his homers have come off lefties!

Todd Zola rules:

 Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies) more than a bang-for-the-buck thing, I say he outscores Matt Harvey outright. The Colorado Rockies fan at a 33 percent clip on the road against lefties.
George Springer ($3900–Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros) Carlos Rodon still struggling with control and Springer (now hitting leadoff) not only has the ability to hit a mistake really far he has the patience to draw a walk and the speed to swipe second.

Scott Engel blesses:

Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies) should be a lock at home against Colorado. He has a 2.25 ERA in front of the “faithful” that still come out to see him this year. The Rockies have a .293 team OBP on the road with a 22.5 percent K rate.
Norichika Aoki ($2900 – Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants) will certainly get on base and do some damage if Mike Foltynewicz proves to be wild. Getting on base and not making  outs is important on Fanduel. Aoki as a 398 OBP this year.

Ray Murphy digs:

Rubby de la Rosa ($7300–Arizona Diamondback at Milwaukee Brewers) If you want an underpriced pitching option today, Rubby’s a great one. He has been shredding RHPs this year (.506 OPS allowed), so he matches up well against the RH-heavy Brewers. Adam Lind is the only lefty threat in that Brewers lineup.
Brian Dozier ($3900–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) faces Mark Buehrle tonight, a matchup that plays right into his platoon split (.872 OPS vL this year, .859 career). The Twins have been battering LHPs as a team, and Dozier bats leadoff against them, so this matchup also ensures max AB for Dozier.

Scott Swanay likes:

Trevor Bauer ($8600–Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners) Unlike last week’s contest, there are no pitchers I’d consider “locks” tonight.  I also thought about Matt Harvey (vs Miami) and Cole Hamels (vs Philadelphia), but neither of their teams’ offenses is as good as Cleveland’s, and neither of their teams’ offenses is facing Taijuan Walker tonight.  So, I’ll go with the slightly less expensive option and hope that he racks up the strikeouts against a team that’s offensively-challenged, even when the MVP-caliber hitting stats of Nelson Cruz are factored in.

Bryce Harper ($6000–Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds).  At the risk of being Captain Obvious, there’s no hotter hitter in baseball right now than Harper.  He has a match-up in the Great American Ballpark against Anthony DeSclafani, who started out the season looking like a breakout candidate himself, but has cooled down somewhat.  I generally don’t like allocating such a large chunk of my hitting budget to one player, but if there were ever a time and a player to do that with, Harper in the midst of his current streak is the guy.

Doug Anderson opines:

Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies) How many days this year are the Phillies going to be favored in a game? That’s what I thought. Use Cole Hamels on the rare chances you can.
Joey Votto ($3200–Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds) Which Stephen Strasburg will show up today? Lately it’s been the one who hangs sliders and gets knocked around. Either way, Votto is a great OBP player, and FanDuel is basically set up as an OBP league.

Jeff Boggis picks:

Michael Bolsinger ($6900–Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals) is starting in all of my daily lineups on Friday night. His low salary allows me to leverage higher salary batters. He has averaged the most fantasy points per game for all pitchers tonight (14.3). He has won 3 games in a row and Los Angeles has a decent matchup at St. Louis vs. John Lackey. He is almost $4,000 less than Matt Harvey ($10,700) who came off his worst outing of his career and may have dead arm.
Josh Donaldson ($4,800–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) is my must start hitter on Friday night. I played Donaldson on Tuesday evening and he produced 21 fantasy points. He has 4 home runs in the past 3 games and until he cools off, you have to keep starting him in your daily fantasy lineups. He faces Minnesota starting pitcher Trevor May, who owns a 4.95 ERA.

Paul Sporer chimes:

Francisco Liriano ($9100–Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres) SD has fallen to 19th in wOBA v. LH (.317) overall because they are 26th in May (.131). Plus they have a 23% K rate v. LH in May (7th-highest). Liriano’s run is built on domination of righties, too, so even though guys like Upton, Norris, and Kemp have been successful v. LH throughout their careers, Liriano has the chops to shut them down. 

Ender Inciarte ($2900–Arizona Diamondback at Milwaukee Brewers) This is a budget play, but a good one for a third OF. Inciarte does his best work v. RH (.716 OPS, compared to .644 v. LH) and Jimmy Nelson has a major platoon split with lefties hitting to a .785 OPS against him with a .197 ISO. Pop isn’t a big piece of Inciarte’s game, but what he does have has a good chance to show up in this matchup. 

Pitcher (Cost–Game) Votes (FanDuel Points)

Lance McCullers ($5400–Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros) 1 (10.33)
Trevor Bauer ($8600–Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners) 3 (15)
Anibal Sanchez ($8,200–Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels) 1 (14)
Mike Foltynewicz ($7300–Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants) 1 (12.66)
James Shields, ($9,300–Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres) 3 (10)
Cole Hamels ($9800–Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies) 6 (15)
Matt Harvey ($10,700-Miami Marlins at New York Mets) 4 (15)
Rubby de la Rosa ($7300–Arizona Diamondback at Milwaukee Brewers) 1 (5)
Michael Bolsinger ($6900–Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals) 1 (7)
Francisco Liriano ($9100–Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres) 1 (17)

 

Hitter (Cost–Game) Votes

Jose Iglesias ($2300–Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels) 1 (.5)
Adam Jones ($3,000–Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles) 1 (-1)
Torii Hunter ($3400–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) 1 (3.25)
Dustin Pedroia ($3200–Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers) 1 (.25)
Chris Davis ($3,300–Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles) 1 (7.75)
Rajai Davis ($3000–Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels) 1 (3.5)
Brandon Belt ($3600 – Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants) 1 (.25)
Brian Dozier ($3900–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) 2 (2.25)
Prince Fielder ($4,500-Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers) 3 (1.5)
Joc Pederson ($3500–Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals) 1 (.25)
George Springer ($3900–Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros) 2 (0)
Bryce Harper ($6000–Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds) 1 (1.25)
Brett Lawrie ($2200–New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics) 1 (6.25)
Joey Votto ($3200–Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds) 1 (5.25)
Josh Donaldson ($4,800–Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins) 1 (9.25)
Jose Altuve ($3800–Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros) 1 (3.5)
Ender Inciarte ($2900–Arizona Diamondback at Milwaukee Brewers) 1 (8.5)

Who is winning Tout X on May 27th?

Tout X comprises six monthly fantasy contests played at Shandler Park. The player who scores the most points in the six contests wins the title.

Today, in the middle of the final week in the second month, Jeff Boggis has a slim lead over Patrick Mayo, Bret Sayre and Michael Beller.

Boggis’s big contributors with the bat have been Bryce Harper, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Josh Donaldson. On the pitching side he’s got Jordan Zimmermann, Sonny Gray, and Gerrit Cole.

For rosters and full standings for the second month, click here.

Tout X teams are picking new squads this weekend, for the third month’s contest.

The contest leaders at this point are Bret Sayre (108 pts), Jeff Boggis (105.5 pts) and Andrea LaMont (102 pts).

Todd Zola Wins #toutchallenge Week 2 Outright! Well, ties outright.

Rotoman was in first place when his final player finished his night, and all the #toutchallenge players on the leaderboard were similarly done, having pitched Jacob DeGrom and rostered Josh Donaldson at third base. But a scroll down the standings found a group of teams in the middle of the pack, for whom Clayton Kershaw was just getting going. Leading among them was Todd Zola. Rotoman knew that if Kershaw put up 18 points he would be passed.

Kershaw finished the night with a glittery 21 points.

So did Josh Donaldson.

Kershaw and Donaldson were on the week’s top three finishers, including papermakergetit (who tied with Zola on the night, at 70) and sigpipinto, who finished a point behind.

Other big scorers for Zola were Lucas Duda, Neil Walker and Ryan Raburn. The other big scorers for papermakergetit were Jose Abreu and Jimmy Paredes.

Todd Zola's winning team.
Todd Zola’s winning team.

Touts In The Money

Todd Zola
Peter Kreutzer
Ray Murphy
Jeff Erickson
Paul Greco
Adam Ronis
David Gonos
Steve Gardner
Lenny Melnick
Steve Moyer
Doug Anderson

See all the results here.