TOUT WARS!

The first three Golden Tickets will be awarded tonight as the first of five Tout Daily periods comes to a close. There are several Touts vying for entry into the Tout Daily Championships, here are some of the players the participants are count on.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)

Pitcher: Buehler Scherzer – The two best pitchers on the slate and the best chance to get good pitching points, both good for 15-20. But you’ll pay the price with hitters!

Hitter: Eduardo Escobar – The priciest hitter in my lineup at $4500, he’s been good lately and could go deep vs Paddack at home! Everyone else under $4000, 5 below $3500!

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Pitcher: Walker Buehler – Buehler? Buehler? Buehler? Look for the Reds hitters striking out at least nine times tonight. The league average for hitters striking out is 25% which the Reds average 29%. He struck out 12 hitters over his first three outings, but in his last start, he struck out nine San Diego Padres over seven innings. He leads all Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitchers with a team low 2.16 ERA.

Hitter: David Peralta – David Peralta feasts on opposing pitchers that throw a significant amount of changeups. Peralta faces changeup artist Chris Paddack tonight.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Pitcher: Christian Javier – After the lowest points total in the history of this contest from someone actually putting in a lineup, I need to get back on track, so it’s back when I used to be good and used two top pitchers and figured out the rest.

Hitter: Tyrone Taylor – Paying top bucks for two arms means I need a couple punt plays. A leadoff hitter with the platoon edge against a weak arm in Miller Park American Family Field? Yes, please.

Zach Steinhorn (CreativeSports2, @zachsteinhorn)

Pitcher: Lucas Giolito – Fresh off a Fenway implosion, expect Giolito to bounce back in a big way versus a Tigers offense that ranks last in the majors in OPS and 4th in strikeouts.

Hitter: Avisail Garcia – Career .294/.357/.454 slash line versus left-handed pitching and Dan Castano shouldn’t scare you.

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50)

Pitcher: Christian Javier – He’s less expensive than some of the bigger name pitchers and I like the Mariner match-up

Hitter: Jose Altuve – Aside from COVID, he’s been hitting well.

Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner)

Pitcher: Lucas Giolito – I’m with Zach here. Giolito will be out for blood tonight. Tiger blood. (Figuratively, of course.)

Hitter: Nico Hoerner – Hoerner’s a cheat code at $2500 leading off again for the Cubs and hitting a cool .429 in five games. Maybe his zero runs scored will scare off some people.

Shelly Verougstraete (Dynasty Guru, @ShellyV_643)

Pitcher: Lucas Giolito – Sure, GioDude’s last outing against the Red Sox was one of his worst starts in years but the Tigers offense is an excellent ‘soft’ landing spot.

Hitter: Justin Upton – Justin Upton looks like the Justin Upton of old and is going up against Folty. How can you say no?

Brad Johnson (Patreon/BaseballATeam, @BaseballATeam)

Pitcher: Lucas Giolito – I guess we’re all going to live or die by this ultra chalky rebound play. Easily the best pitcher projection in a top-heavy slate.

Hitter: Andrew Knizner – Kind of a poor man’s Yermin Mercedes. Has plus feel to hit (lacks Mercedes’ power) and also can’t catch worth a lick.

Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy)

Pitcher: Lucas Giolito – 26 Ks in 18.2 IP and facing the Tigers who are 30th in runs per game this season. I’m in

Hitter: Alex Bregman – Bregman is hitting .370 with 2 of his 3 HRs versus lefties this season and he faces a LHP in Gonzales tonight in Houston.

This week, the Touts were asked, “What is the biggest surprise so far (big picture, not individual players)?“

Here is what we had to say.

Justin Mason (Friends with Fantasy Benefits, Fangraphs, Fantasy Alarm, @JustinMasonFWFB): The amount of hitter injuries. I think many of us thought going from a 60 game to 162 game season would increase pitching injuries, but the amount of early hitter injuries has been higher than expected.

Jim Bowden (Fantasy Alarm, @JimBowdenGM): The amount of star players hitting under .200 to start the year: ie Stanton, Torres, Hiura, Chapman Semien, Tucker, J Polanco, DeJong Blackmon, Yaz, Baez, Swawnson, Moncada, Robles, Laureano etc.

Brad Johnson (Patreon/BaseballATeam, @BaseballATeam): Honestly, maybe I’m just jaded, but I’m having a really hard time finding a general surprise. The injuries, increased strikeouts, decreased homers, closer committees, and piggyback starters were all predictable. Probably the one thing that’s shocked me is teams postponing games for 40-degree weather. I figure even that’s because they can sell more tickets to games later in the season. It shouldn’t be surprising, I simply didn’t anticipate it.

Matt Williams (NBC Sports Edge, @MattWi77iams): The incredibly poor start on offense. The league wide batting average was hovering near .230 with a vast amount of all-stars batting below the .200 mark. It’s early in the season, there is a new ball, and the weather has not been perfect, but it’s still a bit of a surprise. The talk of lowering the mound and moving it back may startle some, but the year over year decline on offense is hard to ignore at this point.

Michael Rathburn (Rotowire, @FantasyRath): Injuries, slow starts by big name hitters and the increased defragmenting of saves.

Jason Collette (Rotowire, @jasoncollette): The drag on NL offense by the loss of the Universal DH. Start of play Wednesday, NL ERA was 4.04 vs 4.48 in AL and strikeout rate was 25.4% to 24.8%. NL teams are hitting .225 vs the .243 their AL counterparts have hit so far. Pitchers hitting is a pox on this game.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): Call this pleasantly surprised, but with all the talk about more teams deploying bullpen games, there have been very few true opener/primary pitcher contests. Granted, they’ll pick up with more injuries, but the party line was there would be more in general. I like what the Rangers are doing with their tandem pitchers, letting the opener serve as a true starter, simply announcing in advance who the first reliever will be.

Nando Di Fino (The Athletic, @nandodifino): This might be a little granular, but I’m impressed with how people are quoting their TGFBI teams and leagues a lot (on podcasts, radio, twitter, etc) as reference points, and how many people on twitter are showing NFBC bids. It’s cool to see some of these competitions go mainstream and help other players out.

Perry Van Hook (Mastersball, @): I think the biggest surprise so far is the team performances. Especially those teams that were not expected to compete. Look at the league leaders in the AL West and Central. Also Detroit, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, who were all projected to be very bad teams, are winning several early games. Is it the management and deployment of those teams or has the parity level risen more than we would have expected?

Jeff Zimmerman (Fangraphs, The Process, @jeffwzimmerman): That several MLB won’t be making the 85% threshold so some teams will be working with one set of isolationg protocals (e.g. contact tracing) and others with different ones.

Ray Flowers (Fantasy Guru, @BaseballGuys): Coming into the season I was worried about all the pitchers and what their likely workloads will be (hint, they would be low). Perhaps I was remiss in not worrying more about players missing time too. The age of guys playing daily is just over. Guys rest cause it’s a day game, cause of the matchup, cause they didn’t sleep great last night, but most frequently cause they tweaked something physically. The era of playing in fantasy leagues where we set the lineup once on Monday should be over. Taking zeros every day cause players are out of the lineup just stinks.

Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy): Have you noticed just how thin the outfield is right now? Doesn’t matter if it’s a 12 or a 15-teamer, the help for your outfield on waivers is atrocious. If you look at composite ADP across the industry, 43 of the top 200 picks were outifleders and there are roughly 18-20 of them either on the IL or have already spent time on the IL, so obviously injuries come into play. But you also have a number of players like Dylan Moore and Tommy Edman, for example, who qualify in the outfield and are taking outfield at-bats right now, but fantasy owners are using them in the infield where they qualify as well. If your league requires you to start five outfielders, make sure you’ve got proper depth at the position or you’ll be seeing a lot of zeroes day in and day out.

Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): League average exit velocity, Barrel%, and HardHit% are all at their highest marks during the Statcast era (since 2015), yet HR/FB rate is well down from the last two seasons and only ranks fourth out of seven seasons. That’s a really strange outcome given the underlying drivers, and most certainly says something about the ball we heard so much about during the preseason.

Craig MIsh (FNTSY Radio, @CraigMish): Surprising that getting a strikeout per inning from your starter seems about league average. in a 5×5 that uses straight strikeouts, you simply can’t even start guys who don’t get swings and misses. Used to be find a couple of guys at the top of your fantasy rotation that get massive K’s and just fill out the rest. In some cases having TWO guys like that in your starting 5/6 doesn’t even add up if they aren’t generating whiffs. Strikeouts have become what Home Runs are on the offensive side. Get a ton of em or finish at the bottom.

Alex Fast (Pitcher List, @AlexFast8): That offense is THAT down. It’s normal to expect some regression in the winter months for certain but this is still a bit shocking to me. We knew that the ball would introduce some form of regression but, even still, I didn’t feel it would be this bad. Also, INJURIES (which could also be a factor in suppressed offense). There are always a slew of various ailments that occur to begin the season but ’21 is featuring more injuries than we’re typically used to seeing to start a season and I think I can speak for everyone when I say it’s causing a lot of headaches.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): How genuinely terrible the TOR offense has been, and how surprisingly good their pitching. The regular hitters have combined for a .678 OPS, and that’s with Vladdy raking to a 1.125. Starting catcher Danny Jansen has a .244 BA… wait, my bad, that’s his OPS. Five of the nine regulars have BAs under .200, and three have Slgs under .300 (including my pre-season pick to click, Rowdy Tellez, at .178/.213/.244). Meanwhile, the rotation has two guys with ERAs under 2.00 (Matz and Ray), the five main relievers have given up 6 ER in 25.2 IP … what a team.

Eric Karabell (ESPN, @karabelleric): I think the biggest surprise is that there are so many new hitters emerging as reliable options so far, players that seemed so far from relevance but are anything but that. Yermin Mercedes, Akil Baddoo and Zach McKinstry, among others, are becoming household fantasy names, but there was little indication of true relevance six weeks ago. And it’s not just bad teams giving opportunity. It’s fun to see new players shine.

Tim McLeod (Prospect361.com, @RunTMc59006473): The Dodgers have actually lost four games. What’s up with that? If they keep this up, they won’t clinch a playoff spot until sometime in mid-August.

James Anderson (Rotowire, @RealJRAnderson): It’s not necessarily a shocking development, but I did think there’d be a chance that COVID would be closer to a non-factor. We all knew injuries would be prevalent, but the COVID-related absences have certainly introduced more luck into the equation than anyone wants. Hopefully we’ve seen the worst of it.

Ryan Bloomfield (BaseballHQ, @RyanBHQ): Having to recalibrate (yet again!) to our changing game. MLB-wide exit velocity from 2017-21: 87.3, 88.4, 88.7, 88.4, and now 89.0. Even bigger jump for Barrel rate: 5.7%, 6.2%, 6.8%, 7.6%, and now 8.4%. Keep that in mind when seeing “Player X has an increase in barrel rate this year but HR rate is down” and square that with the league-wide trends first.

Fred Zinkie (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @FredZinkieMLB): Maybe this shouldn’t shock me, but I’m surprised that so many “good” hitters are doing so poorly so far. I assume they will all come around as the weather warms up and teams have to plunge even deeper into their pitching depth chart. But at this point I’m shocked at the poor returns (performance and injury) among many of the top hitter picks.

Greg Jewett (Fantasy Alarm, @gjewett9): Since everyone’s speaking about the league wide hitting issues, how about closers or just saves in general? We knew it would be volatile this year targeting closers or trying to find them on the waiver wire, but it’s been even more tumultuous than originally thought. Match-up based bullpens, workload management and in the case of the White Sox, just flummoxing usage patterns. It’s much too early to panic about saves but trying to stay ahead of the game remains tantamount to making up ground in the standings. In trade leagues, it’s easier to find teams who may be able to trade them off to hot starts in the category, but in formats without trades, be sure to focus on evolving roles. Which seems like a daily news cycle.

Scott Engel (Rotoballer, @scotteTheKing): I have been pleasantly surprised by how some players on teams that were lowly regarded are performing. Adam Frazier and J.T. Brubaker have been quality fantasy assets from the Pirates roster. The Tigers have given us Akil Baddoo, no matter how long that lasts, and Jeimer Candelario has continued to play well. Jake McGee has looked like a top closer so far.

Lou Blasi (Fantistics, @LouBlasi): This might be anecdotal, but the amount of dominace by starting pitching so far has been surprising. ERA is down among SPs, xFIP is way down, Ks are up, SwStr% is up, CSW is up, Sliders are up, HR/FB is down. Lot’s of small sample, weather, and early season noise of course, but the number of dominant starts has been an eye-opener. Still, Barrel% is up, 95+ (HardHit%) is up, and EV is up too, so I’m thinking you should enjoy it while you can, pile up the IP for the ratios and buckle up for a rebound by the hitters.

Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson): I expected pitcher injuries to be a prevalent storyline, and while there have been a few, it’s the hitter injuries that have been the prevailing story. On Tuesday, the top-four hitters in BA leagues were out of the lineup and all had missed at least a couple of games due to injury. Twelve of the top 80 hitters have missed time with injuries, with three more Astros missing at leasat one series with a COVID issue. Were teams more prepared to deal with the fallout of last year’s abbreviated season for pitchers but didn’t pay enough attention to the hitters, or is this a statistical anamoly?

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports): The Yankees at 5-10 are the worst team in baseball. While it does my heart good to see it, it’s hard to believe the team with one of the highest payrolls are at the bottom. I’m sure they’ll get going soon and capture a playoff spot, but the performance of their millionaires leaves a lot to be desired right now!

Larry Schechter (Winning Fantasy Baseball, @LarrySchechter): The Covid situation…on the one hand many players have been held out of games and even a few games postponed, but on the other hand the outbreaks haven’t been as massive and long lasting as last year. Couldn’t MLB have figured out a way to get all players vaccinated earlier?

Ariel Cohen (CBS Sports, @ATCNY): Of the first round players … all of the pitchers look fantastic. Every single one of them. So many of the first round hitters are injured.

D.J. Short (NBC Sports Edge, @djshort): I was going to mention all of the notable hitter injuries, as well. But otherwise, I’d also note that there seems to be more reaction (or overreaction) to early-season production. I’m not sure how much of this is struggling to adjust to the way we managed fantasy rosters during the 60-game season last year where you would be more inclined to just run with a hot hitter or pitcher. I think it could also be the increased information we have — Baseball Savant is a gift and you can pick up on things sooner — but in general, it feels more like the wild west these days.

Tristan H. Cockcroft (ESPN, @SultanofStat): Not that I was a big fan of their introduction in the first place, but I’m surprised at how much I genuinely loathe the runner-on-second-in-extras and seven-inning-doubleheader rules now that we’ve got a 162- rather than 60-game schedule. Both are gimmicky, they’re altering teams’ pitching strategies in an exaggerated way and they’re creating unnatural statistics, which just doesn’t feel like baseball. I don’t think there should ever be a way that a team should ever win a game on a pair of outs, and that rule about the man starting on second being the batter before the pitcher if the pitcher’s spot was the last one up — ugh, that exposes flaws in the rules. For all of these other things baseball has introduced over the years — six divisions, wild cards, the wild card playoff game, etc. — I’ve been patient and come to enjoy each. These? My feelings are going in the other direction.

Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): To me it’s how many hitters are off to miserable starts. The MLB batting average has hovered close to .250 in recent seasons, so the fact that it’s currently around .235 suggests it’s due to more than early season cold weather in many parts of the country.

Chris Towers (CBS Fantasy Sports, @CTowersCBS): The number of apparent pitcher outbreaks, which is of course tied very closely to the dramatic increase in strikeout rates across baseball. We’re up to 24.7%, the highest in MLB history, and it’s coincided with an MLB record-low batting average. We’re seeing apparent early-season star turns from the likes of Joe Musgrove, Trevor Rogers, and Carlos Rodon, plus returns to relevance for guys like Sean Manaea and Danny Duffy. How sustainable are these hot starts? And how much do we need to recalibrate our expectations for what a good start is in this new landscape? We’ll need a few more weeks for the numbers to stabilize on both counts, but this looks like it could be The Year of the Pitcher Part Two.

Tim McCullough (Baseball Prospectus, @TimsTenz): I’m surprised that there has been so little complaining about what I call the “training wheels rule.” You know, the one that puts a runner on second base in extra innings. I haven’t seen any research or statistics that indicate whether this dumb rule actually helps to keep extra innings games shorter, but I suspect that it does not. Considering the drop in BABIP so far, can we expect the next dumb rule to just put a runner on base to start every inning? It would be great if the fans would really express their disdain for this so MLB dumps this rule. I’m not opposed to anything that truly improves the game. This rule doesn’t even come close and we need to protest its continued existence. That aint baseball!

Shelly Verougstraete (Dynasty Guru, @ShellyV_643): Maybe I was a bit naive but I am surprised we are seeing as many COVID situations as we have. Sure, we are still in a pandemic but I thought players would get vaccinated. Hopefully, we will not see many more COVID scares this season.

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): I don’t know if this is really a surprise, but teams are more sophisticated in deploying pitchers generally with starters going shorter and bullpens as weapons aimed at neutralizing difficult batters–and it is really working early. I expect warmer weather will bring more home runs, but I am not sure that is going to help with OBA and BA issues as balls in play are dropping and dropping. I am starting to advocate a major shift in rosters–from 14 batters and 9 pitchers to something closer to 2021 reality–perhaps 11 batters and 12 pitchers for the future. Because as MLB evolves, fantasy baseball is lagging behind and like it or not, our games get further and further away from roster construction for real life GMs.

Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy): My biggest surprise this season is how teams are struggling offensively. Currently threre are 17 teams with a team batting average under .240 and 9 teams with a team batting average under .220. Although slow starts are to be expected to see this many teams struggling to make contact is a surprise and will most likely lead to changes in the game which will increase offensive production.

Derek VanRiper (The Athletic, @DerekVanRiper): I’m with Tristan…I think I was pretty open-minded about some of the rules tweaks for 2020 in part because I was just grateful that anything resembling a baseball season was happening. I hope this is the last time we see a runner on second base to start each inning in extra-innings situations, but if we’re stuck with some modification in an effort to move the game along, I would love to see the runner start at first base instead. Giving the team on the field a chance to turn a double play and flip the inning would be huge, and it might actually speed up finding a winner. Some teams might elect to use a pinch-runner and steal second anyway, but that’s at least puts a little more of the onus on the team hitting to do something in order to get a decisive run.

Michael A. Stein (Fantasy Judgment, @FantasyJudgment): Injuries are always a big part of the game, but it just seems that there is an overabundance of injuries to star players very early in the season. I can’t point to any specific reason why, but offensive players like Acuna, Soto, Betts, Yelich, Tatis and Bellinger have all missed time already. I am also surprised at how impossible it has become to predict saves. Bullpens by committee are nothing new, but generally teams had an established closer that we could reasonably expect to get most of the closing opportunities. That does not seem to be the case anymore. Finally, adding onto some of the previous comments, I hate the extra inning rule of starting with a runner on 2nd base. I really hope it goes away next year with a new CBA and when COVID issues are in the rearview mirror.

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella): The vocal resistance or at least reticence by multiple parties to getting vaccinated. This is really something I thought would be a general relief to the vast majority of players, and something they’d recognize as a benefit to their union and the game on the whole. I certainly didn’t expect every single player to be enthusiastic about it, but I am really taken aback that for at least a few players this has become a political issue.

Greg Ambrosius (NFBC, @GregAmbrosius): I’m shocked 1) How bad hitting is (.233 league average); 2) How bad the Yankees’ offense is; and 3) That MLB really made pitchers hit this year. Really? That will grow interest in the game after not hitting last year? Stupid.

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Lenny Melnick (LennyMelnickFantasySports, @LennyMelnick): As Of Wednesday….Eduardo Escobar has as many home runs as Mike Trout Tyler Naquin has the same # of RBI as Ronald Acuña. Chris Owings has only played in 7 games but leads all players in triples with 3. May be players, but… wow

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Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ, @RayHQ): A lot of great answers here, but the overriding theme for me is how normal this all feels. Sure, we’ve had some COVID cases pop up, but those should get even less frequent as the players and traveling parties get vaccinated. For most of the winter, I was pessimistic that we were going to get 162 games in, now it seems certain that we will. Looking forward to another 22 weeks of taking deep dives into the issues above.

Andrea LaMont (LennyMelnickFantasySports, @RotoLady): I am real surprised to see the Red Sox leading the AL East and the Yankees with the worst record in the American League. Surprised to see the lack of hustle coming from Yankees players. I highly doubt these standings look like this in August.

Vlad Sedler (Fantasy Guru, @rotogut): Mostly surprised by how so many of the first round hitters have been hit with early injuries, curious how they’ll fare and if this is finally the year we have a NFBC Main Event winner who started their drafts off with a starting pitcher (deGrom, Cole, Bieber, Bauer, Darvish).

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50): Surprised by the lack of hitting overall. Also hating the extra inning rules more and more as the season progresses. I guess within the craziness of 2020, the rule didn’t bother me, but now, oh boy.

Rudy Gamble (Razzball, @RudyGamble): I am always surprised this time of year how much the emotional part of me reacts to small samples. I don’t act on these emotions aside from grumble about things like Luis Castillo’s poor starts. I’m also shocked that Corbin Burnes suddenly has prime Cliff Lee’s BB rate.

Scott White (CBS Fantasy Sports, @CBSScottWhite): Probably that the league-wide batting average is only .233. Maybe it’s just early-season rust, but with strikeouts making another leap amid talk of changes to the baseball seam height, is it possible pitchers have gained a competitive advantage? It’s worth noting that hard-hit and barrel rates are both up (also possible effects of a ball), and yet it’s not translating to more hits.

Mike Sheets (ESPN, @MikeASheets): I’ve been surprised, or perhaps saddened, at the number of top-tier hitters suffering injuries in the early going. We sometimes expect at least a few big-name pitchers to go down, but hitters are supposed to be safe — at least that’s what we like to tell ourselves. Injuries are obviously going to happen, but within a couple of weeks, Fernando Tatis, Christian Yelich, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuna have all missed time. And as I type this, Mike Trout just left the game after getting hit by a pitch on the elbow. God help us all.

Chris Liss (Rotowire, @Chris_Liss): Hitting production has been more or less random so far, while pitching production has been severely concentrated in the early rounds.

Zach Steinhorn (CreativeSports2, @zachsteinhorn): I expected that the saves category would be a headache to address this year, but not to this degree. Just three weeks into the season, 23 of the 30 teams have multiple relievers with at least one save. Emmanuel Clase, Yimi Garcia, Ian Kennedy and Cesar Valdez weren’t even drafted in most leagues yet they all rank among the top-9 in saves, and your co-leaders are none other than Jake McGee and Mark Melancon. I think I’m ready to start playing in saves+holds leagues.

Tonight marks the third week of the first period. Andy Behrens of Yahoo! fantasy has the early lead, will he extend his lead or will the Touts make up some of the gap? Taijuan Walker is a popular choice among the pitchers with Cardinals batters getting some attention.

Note: the DraftKings slate commences early tonight, locking at 6:30 PM ET.

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella)

Pitcher: Corbin Burnes – Tough matchup, but hard to pass on Burnes right now, even at this price.

Hitter: Paul Goldschmidt – Goldy leads a right-handed St. Louis hitter stack for me against a Patrick Corbin who is showing diminished velocity and is on the ropes.

Shelly Verougstraete (Dynasty Guru, @ShellyV_643)

Pitcher: Taijuan Walker – Walker has looked great to start the season and he faces a very poor Cubs offense

Hitter: Randal Grichuk – He has performed well since entering the starting lineup and his price is perfect.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)

Pitcher: Corbin Burnes – Best pitcher in baseball this year so far. His K’s make him worth the gamble at his price based on the rest of today’s slate

Hitter: Raimel Tapia – Low cost pick Raimel Tapia at $3400, batting lead off against Houston rookie Garcia at Coors.

Zach Steinhorn (CreativeSports2, @zachsteinhorn)

Pitcher: Luis Castillo – Despite his struggles, tough to pass on him at his current price, which ranks 19th out of the 25 pitchers on tonight’s slate.

Hitter: Nelson Cruz – Boasts a .298/.387/.576 career slash line vs. left-handed pitching and has hit three homers in 19 career at-bats vs. Sean Manaea.

Brian Entrekin (Benched with Bubba, @bdentrek)

Pitcher: Charlie Morton – Burnesis the top play tonight, but Morton makes for a sneaky SP2 vesus th Yankees. The Yankees offense is free falling right now, strikeout out nearly 26% of the time versus RHP. Morton has been giving up some runs this season but strikeouts have been there and he is throwing arond 6 innings per start.

Hitter: Jazz Chisholm – He’s not only fun to watch but also raking at the plate and quite affordable tonight. Over the last week he has hit .450 with a 42.9% barrel rate and a 64.3% hard-hit rate. Oh, he’s also facing Matt Harvey.

Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy)

Pitcher: Luis Castillo – I will happily keep going back to the well at this insane bargain price. He’s not going to suck forever.

Hitter: Nolan Arenado – Since Mike Gianella already said Paul Goldschmidt, I’ll go with the other big right-handed bat against a horrible Patrick Corbin who looks disgusting on the mound right now, possibly because he’s hurt again

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50)

Pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez – Price is right; last start went well

Hitter: Jeff McNeil – He may be off to a slow start, but he’s been hitting the ball well. He’s also ridiculously cheap, considering he’s 12-for-23 lifetime against Arrieta.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Pitcher: Taijuan Walker – Cubbies have fanned the third most in the league

Hitter: Yadier Molina – Goldschmidt and Arenado have already been mentioned, so it’s Yadi’s turn. This feels like a trap game for donkeys, but with the righty swinging Cards so stackable, I’ll risk looking like an ass.

Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)

Pitcher: Taijuan Walker – Thought about Luis Castillo, but the combination of the weather and perceived high ownership steered me away. Walker gets to face the scuffling Cubs, with plenty of strikeout upside on a very cold night.

Hitter: Jared Walsh – My hitters are concentrated among the Angels, with some cheap Marlins/Orioles to make everything fit.

Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner)

Pitcher: Taijuan Walker – The Cubs are hitting an MLB-worst .192 and averaging 3.4 runs per game (30th).

Hitter: Nelson Cruz – Even in Oakland, he crushes lefties. Watch out, Sean Manaea, these Twins have a lot of energy ready to be released.

Ryan Bloomfield (BaseballHQ, @RyanBHQ)

Pitcher: Luis Castillo – Still missing bats/inducing grounders despite the slow start. ARI a pretty soft matchup

Hitter: Ehire Adrianza – Dirt cheap price, taking Acuña’s lead off spot and hitting lefty in Yankee Stadium

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez – Love him at only $8,000 tonight.

Hitter: Mike Trout – Doing some Trout fishing tonight and you should to.

It’s rare the Touts agree on anything, but an overwhelming majority feels the same way about this week’s question:

What is your policy with respect to revealing another person’s offer in trade negotiations?

Fred Zinkie (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @FredZinkieMLB): Trading, who would want to waste their time with that? Well, often me. I never, ever reveal other specific offers. It’s not fair to the other manager, who should be able to negotiate with others without me sharing their dealings. I might tell someone that I am negotiating with others. I might (although not usually) tell them specifically who I am negotiating with. But that’s it.

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): I think the key here is remembering that your rep in the league matters. Particularly in leagues where you want to remain friends and want to remain in the league, long-term. I don’t share anything at all, unless it is something to move the proceedings along “I have another offer that I am considering” when I have one that I am legitimately considering. I typically make targeted offers, or receive what I expect is a targeted offer and I don’t try to get something lopsided, so in my experience, it happens quickly or ends quickly anyway. Conversely, I am not mad when someone is shopping broadly and tells someone else they have a potential deal pending. I have never really run into an issue and if I have missed opportunities, I really see no reason for blaming someone or having hard feelings about it.

Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy): I would not reveal someone else’s offer for a particular player of mine in a trade scenario. However, if I am open to trading the player who was asked for, I will make his availability public in the hope of receiving a potential better offer. Often you can limit your return when trading in secret.

Alex Fast (Pitcher List, @AlexFast8): Don’t a lot of us get into this business because we secretly want to be a GM in real life? If I’m the GM of a MLB team, I’m doing what is best for my team. If that means letting another GM know that I have another, better offer on the table, I’ll let them know I have another, better offer on the table. With that, I usually don’t say what the “better offer” is in terms of player specifics just that I feel the deal is overall better.

Michael Beller (The Athletic, @MBeller): I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sharing the details of an offer I’ve received with someone who didn’t make it. We’re all just trying to make the best possible trades to improve our teams. How can I know that I’m definitely getting the best offer from Person B if they don’t know what they have to beat from Person A? I have zero problem being on the other side of this, either. If you’re negotiating with someone else and want to share the details of the offer I’ve made you, be my guest. All I ask is that you give me a shot to beat what they offer before you accept.

Tim McCullough (Baseball Prospectus, @TimsTenz): I would never reveal the terms of a trade or discuss them with anyone aside from the person making the offer. I have told other parties that I have another offer, or a better offer on the table, but that’s as far as I would go. Trading in some leagues is tough enough without poisoning the waters by revealing trade offers to other league members.

Greg Jewett (Fantasy Alarm, @gjewett9): When reviewing a trade, first does it address a need on my team? How can it be reworked to benefit each involved party? Hopefully one does not receive a lowball offer which happens often. If I consider trading a player, perhaps see if another team with the same need (target) may make a better offer. It’s definitely ok losing a trade on paper if it makes my roster better.

Grey Albright (RazzBall, @razzball): After I have someone sign an NDA and pinkie swear, there’s no backsies on that, and if someone decides to do a backsie, then I will be required to litigate to the fullest extent of the law–What’s that? I have no legal standing. Hmm, hearing from my attorney I can’t sue. Will need to find a new attorney, until then, I don’t share deals with league mates, outside of maybe “I’m in talks with other managers, and that player might not be available for long.”

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis): I like to propose a trade that is slightly more than I want, with the hope that their counter offer meets my original expectations. I do not publicly call out league managers and players during any trade negotiations because it may come back to hurt you. I let every league manager know up front that I am the Walmart of trades, and that I make trades for less.

Scott Engel (Rotoballer, @scotteTheKing): Each offer and conversation is separate to me. I don’t need to create leverage, I will just go for what I want without the extra tactic. I will disclose if I am weighing other offers, but never cite the actual players involved. Either you and I are doing this or not, otherwise I am moving onto something else. That is just my style. I don’t want to complicate things for us with extra moving parts. Especially in Tout Wars, where you don’t pull sell jobs on others, just be straight up.

Vlad Sedler (Fantasy Guru, @rotogut): I never specify the details of another negotiation, only say: “I’ve got a better offer” and keep it vague, turning focus back on the negotiations at hand.

Ryan Hallam (Fighting Chance Fantasy, @FightingChance): I would not reveal someone’s trade offer to another owner in order to get better deal from someone else. It might seem like a viable strategy but it doesn’t look good on you and it certainly would not shine a positive light on you with the other manager. This is a long term game and it doesn’t set the stage for future negotiations if you are just flaunting your offer around to others.

Tim McLeod (Prospect361.com, @RunTMc59006473): I’m not one to play the nickle and dime game. Give me your best offer and if it works for me it’s a done deal.

Eric Karabell (ESPN, @karabelleric): I keep trade negotiations private because you never want to potentially embarrass another fantasy manager. Relationships matter. Trading isn’t always easy because we may view player value different, but that’s between just us

Nick Pollack (Pitcher List, @PitcherList): Trades are about finding something that works for both parties involved and should be approached with that good spirit in mind. You’re not trying to fleece them, you’re trying to find a fit for both sides! Revealing another trade offer should be an act of full transparency and not one of showcasing leverage. It should only be presented when the response would be one of understanding.

Matt Williams (NBC Sports Edge, @MattWi77iams): I prefer to keep trade negotiations private for a few reasons. First, I would never want to embarrass another person which sometimes as a byproduct. Second, if used for a negotiation tactic I would prefer to be vague and just let them know “I have a better offer,” rather than reveal specific details. You risk losing the trust of someone by revealing private conversations which could impact future trades with other teams.

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella): In redraft leagues, no. Your trade partner doesn’t really need to know if an offer is better or worse, and I don’t feel any need to provide proof of concept. In keeper or dynasty, though, I find the etiquette surrounding this is different because there can frequently be skepticism about what needs to be done in terms of future value to put a deal over the top. Even then, I try not to mention specific players, but I’ve often walked away from a deal in keeper leagues because without evidence I feel like I’m bidding against myself if I don’t know what offer or offers I’m up against.

Nando Di Fino (The Athletic, @nandodifino): When someone pulls it on me, I pretty much stop emailing and tell them good luck. Like “Oh, Pianowski is offering me Jo Adell and Tyler Glasnow, so you have to beat that.” Alright, dude. Go trade with him. Most of the time that mysterious trade never happens, and they’ve screwed themselves by playing a couple teams against each other when both teams know that’s probably not happening. So I hate doing it. I’ll never do it. Come at me with your deals, I’ll counter the one I like. If it’s a pass, I’ll go to the next one. Work in a vacuum and you get the deal you want without being a dick to your fellow league mates

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): I would feel pretty comfortable telling a potential trade partner I had a competing offer, but like Ray and others, I wouldn’t say from whom or for what players. That said, I typically don’t bother with any of it, since everybody always says they have better offer, and I always figure they’re BSing me, and I can’t blame anybody else for thinking I’m BSing them. I usually assume any potential trade partner knows I’m listening to offers, just as I assume that of them, so we can just get on with it.

Anthony Perri (Fantistics, @Anthony_Perri): I do not mention specific trade offers to others in my league. I may on occasion let others know that I am considering trading a specific player, but never give away another team’s offer. The only exclusion to this, is if I mention it on air. In that case it’s for entertainment purposes, but I keep league GM names out of it and confidential.

CJ Kaltenbach (Fantasy Guru, @TheSeigeDFS): End of the day, my job is to get the best offer I can. While I won’t use specific players I’ll give general ballpark. For example, I’m being offered a top 10 1B and Top 15-20 closer for Player. That way I’m not outing the team but also allows me to get best deal I can.

Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): I’ve never been in a position where revealing an offer I’ve received was even a consideration. Sure, if you think revealing a current offer to another team to try to entice a better offer will work, then by all means, do it. I’m just not sure revealing names is going to make much of a difference.

Shelly Verougstraete (Dynasty Guru, @ShellyV_643): I prefer to keep details about other offers private. I’m not sure it would help move the needle all that much and I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone.

Seth Trachtman (NBC Sports Edge, @sethroto): I never offer specifics, but I will present the other offers I have in general terms when appropriate. For example, if I’m looking for a closer and I receive an offer that isn’t as good as an offer I’ve already received, I will point that out. That said, I don’t have a problem if someone does reveal specific trade offers when they are negotiating. Ultimately, we all want to get the most we can in a trade.

Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ, @RayHQ): I’ll generally not reveal specific players, but in some circumstances it’s easy parameters of an offer without breaching confidentiality. For instance in Scoresheet, I can easily say “I’ve got an offer of a round X pick in hand, you’ll have to beat that”. Beyond that, generalities like “Thanks for offering closer X, but I’ve been offered another closer that I value more highly, so you’ll need to sweeten somewhere else.”

Ray Flowers (Fantasy Guru, @BaseballGuys): I would never reveal another offer. I would say – I’m talking to someone else about player X – but I would never let on what the other offer is. Totally fair to say – I’ve got a strong offer from another – but I just wouldn’t reveal the details.

Michael Florio (NFL Network, @MichaelFFlorio): I do not reveal other offers, but I’ve definitely told someone that I am talking to others and will even say oh I have a better offer. I’ve also spoken about deals I am mulling over with other, individually. But I will say, if you get a terrible offer from someone (you know the classic here’s a bunch of junk for one good player offers) that roasting in a group chat is acceptable!

Ryan Bloomfield (BaseballHQ, @RyanBHQ): I don’t do this that often (I probably should!) since my general policy is to not waste people’s time in the trade game. Keep the trade negotiation simple, to the point, and get the deal done. That said, I’m with the majority here on keeping the details of other offers out of it, mostly out of respect for other managers. It’s fair game to weave in generalities to make sure your trading partner knows there’s interest.

James Anderson (Rotowire, @RealJRAnderson): I don’t think anything should be off limits with regards to this, but I don’t think I’ve ever explicitly told someone what the exact offer is that they have to beat unless it’s a keeper/dynasty league where I’m looking for a draft pick. In that case, I may say I’ve got a third rounder on the table, so that the prospective manager knows what the high bid is.

Brad Johnson (Patreon/BaseballATeam, @BaseballATeam): It depends on context. If I’m simply auctioning someone off for “best offer,” then I’ll sometimes note the offer to beat – either specifically or more often with generalities. For example, “current best offer for SB-wild Ramon Laureano is an ace and a closer.” Often, I’m trying to pry a specific player from a rival so my due diligence process is to find a couple players I prefer and make the same offer. Rather than reveal someone else’s offer, I’m just shopping my own.

Brent Hershey (Baseball HQ, @BrentHQ): I speak in generalities when negotiating / weighing several offers, rather than revealing specific players. I think that comes from my perspective that the offer I choose is going to be what I feel is the best return for my team—and that others may or may not agree with my evaluation of “best.” (It’s what makes all these trades possible, and this game fun: the differing evaluations on players.) So I don’t really see the point in saying, “I’ve got player A and player B on the table, you’ll need to beat that,” as my potential trading partner could well have a different opinion than I of what “beats” that. So I find framing other offers in generalities most helpful and efficient.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): OK, full disclosure, this was a selfish question (and I come up with the questions but take requests) because I am in the “None of your business” crowd, but I’ve been wondering if I’m doing it wrong. I polled Twitter: 14% reveal up front, 34% will reveal if asked and 52% won’t reveal — so about half are willing to unveil another offer. I don’t think there is a right or wrong, but I still prefer to keep the actual players under wraps, but like most everyone else, I’ll frame the deal. The main reason is I don’t like it when someone else shares my offer(s), so I assume there are others feeling the same way. That said, each league has its own culture, and if you are at a competitive disadvantage by being covert, that’s a mistake. I used to be in a league like that — operative word “used”.

Jim Bowden (Fantasy Alarm, @JimBowdenGM): If you’re negotiating a trade with another team….and you want to reference a “TRUE” trade proposal another team has given you….there is nothing wrong with that….the key is It has to be the truth…….that being said….I personally never did this as a reality or fantasy GM…I always preferred to just say I had a better offer ….I never wanted to hurt my relationship with another owner and if you use this practice…the other owner might be reluctant to make trade offers with you in the future. especially if other owners start to criticize them for the proposals they’ve been making…..

Perry Van Hook (Mastersball, @): I agree with several here – I would never reveal the team behind a trade proposal, but I would say I what I was offered at least positionally so the team I am currently corresponding with has an idea of what they need to beat or match. You can also make comps to the team you are talking with – “I was offered an OF like you X and a pitcher like Y

Michael A. Stein (Fantasy Judgment, @FantasyJudgment): As the Chief Justice of Fantasy Judgment, I could never condone violating another GMs trust by disclosing what may be considered confidential information. It is fair game to negotiate with others and say you are having discussions with other GMs and considering better offers. But I would not reveal the specific deals on the table because I would not want my own negotiations disclosed without my approval. Trading is difficult enough, so GMs should be able to negotiate freely without fear that their dealings will be made public. There is nothing wrong with telling another GM that you are considering other proposals, but the terms of the deal should be kept to yourself unless you are given permission to disclose it.

Ariel Cohen (CBS Sports, @ATCNY): I would never reveal the exact details of a trade negotiation to others. I typically would not reveal to others the name of the team that I am negotiating with, but on rare occasion – if I was asked “are you working on a trade with x,” I might say yes or no. I have many times, however – indicated that I was negotiating with another party, and that their current offer was superior or inferior to the team in question.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports): The Godfather always makes an offer that cannot be refused! I don’t believe in revealing offers I have, but will mention I have other offers.

Ron Shandler (RonShandler.com, @RonShandler): About 15 years ago, I sent an email blast to one league with all the offers I received for a key player. Part of it was wanting to lure out a better deal, part of it social experiment, part of it column fodder. The result was that I got the best deal, but also made enemies, one of whom refuses to trade with me to this day. I suppose it comes down to what’s more important, getting the best players or making friends? It probably depends upon the league, the level of camaraderie and how much you want to win. I’ve never shared trade offers since, and I’ve also yet to win that league. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.

Rob Leibowitz (Rotoheaven, @rob_leibowitz): In a scenario where a reveal of what another team is offering would even occur it would be as a result of having shopped a player in the first place league-wide. So, there is no advantage to revealing offers from other teams other than indicating you have other offers in hand. Everyone already knows who you’re shopping and if they have any insight at all, they know who they’re competing against for that player and would (or should) make their offers accordingly. More typically if I’m making someone an offer, I want to be as clandestine as possible, targeting a specific player to fill a specific need and certainly would not want my offers being shared with others in that scenario, especially if I’m making a late-season or trade deadline all-in push and trying to making multiple deals occur all at once

Dr. Roto (FullTime Fantasy, @DrRoto): I won’t give out the exact offer of another person but I will say something like, “I know I can get so and so” from another team. This usually helps to get a better offer or have the person say they can’t beat that other offer.

Derek VanRiper (The Athletic, @DerekVanRiper): I don’t reveal the details of other trade negotiations when working on a potential deal, though I might let someone know if I’m in talks with another person in the league in order to be transparent about the possibility of players we’re discussing getting moved elsewhere.

Craig Mish (FNTSY Radio, @CraigMish): You get one really bad trade offer from me where I say nothing. The second one I will probably bark back at how ridiculous it is. Three times, and I remove you from my phone like a closer who blows three saves in a row. I’ll deal with someone else. Yeah, I may also out you after the third one too. First two, I’ll keep to myself.

Doug Anderson (Fantrax, @rotodaddy): I usually will not talk specifics of an outside offer, but share that I can gain more of a certain stat or category from another owner. Then talk about how you’d rather have the player on their team, but have to take the best offer.

Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): I will let a potential trade partner know that I’m talking to other teams, if that is indeed the case and time is of the essence. But I think any potential leverage that could be created by mentioning specifics to another owner is more than likely outweighed by the bad feelings doing so will probably generate. No one likes to feel used, whether in fantasy baseball trade negotiations or just about any other facet of life. The only miniscule exception I’ll make to the preceding general rule is if I’m trying to get a few $FAAB for a player I’d otherwise release. In that case I don’t think it’s bad to mention to Potential Trade Partner B that Potential Trade Partner A has already offered me $X (assuming that’s in fact the case). Even then, I wouldn’t reveal the identity of PTP A to PTP B. Of course, those types of deals are pretty low impact and account for a small portion of all trade discussions.

Toby Guevin (BatFlipCrazy Podcast, @batflipcrazy): I rarely play in redraft trading leagues, but do play in dynasty and keeper leagues. In those leagues, I only reveal details if it just involves draft picks, since it doesn’t identify the owner. I do let other owners know if I’m in negotiations with others, but not who.

Adam Ronis (Fantasy Alarm, @AdamRonis): I won’t reveal details of another trade negotiation. I might say I have a better offer on the table and I will need more to make the trade work to gauge how serious the interest is.

Jeff Zimmerman (Fangraphs, The Process, @jeffwzimmerman): I would never reveal specifics to anyone, but I may let the league know that I’m looking at trading scarce commodity like a closer or steals source. I wish others would also. I don’t have the bandwidth to know how each owner feels about their team and who they are looking to trade.

Scott Wilderman (OnRoto): I think pretty much anything goes except revealing an exact offer, and if the entire league knows an owner is shopping a specific player, bringing that up is fair game. I think it’s even okay to say you have a better offer on the table when you don’t.

Andy Behrens (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @andybehrens): The only circumstance in which I might be tempted to disclose another manager’s offer is if the offer itself was hilariously lopsided — like, insultingly so. If you’re trying to flip Jed Lowrie for Juan Soto, then you should perhaps be publicly shamed. But if it’s an honest offer, I wouldn’t generally disclose details to others in the league. In some cases, a manager might be aggressively shopping a player to everyone in a league — sending mass emails, updating trade blocks, etc. — and in such cases it’s hardly a secret, so really there’s no great issue discussing the proposed deal.

Zach Steinhorn (CreativeSports2, @zachsteinhorn): Revealing specific offers simply isn’t proper etiquette, so out of respect for the league and my leaguemates, I never do it. I might mention that I have another offer that I’m seriously considering and in order to top it, Player X would need to be included in the deal, but that’s as far as I’d go.

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50): With few exceptions, I might say I’ve got an offer from x, but never the specifics.

Bret Sayre (Baseball Prospectus, @BretSayreBP): There’s nothing wrong with letting other owners know approximate parameters of other offers you’re getting on a no-names basis, but sharing a specific offer is both something that is bad form and usually not even helpful in conversations.

It’s Week 2 of Tout Daily with a lot of great pitching options. Luis Castillo was one of the most popular choices. Here’s the array of selections offered up by the Touts as they seek the first Golden Ticket.

Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)

Pitcher: Trevor Bauer – Lucas Giolito and Shane Bieber are other strong options, but they go against each other tonight.

Hitter: Ronald Acuna Jr. – Worth every penny of $6,100. Can’t argue with his early stat line of .447/.500/.947.

Shelly Verougstraete (Dynasty Guru, @ShellyV_643)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – Facing a pretty swing happy Cubs team and the price is nice.

Hitter: Alex Bregman – Facing Matt Boyd (who gives up a bunch of HRs) in HOU, which is pretty nice HR park.

Zach Steinhorn (CreativeSports2, @zachsteinhorn)

Pitcher: Luis Castillo – Bounced back nicely after rough Opening Day outing and now gets to face a Giants team that is averaging just 3.1 runs scored per game.

Hitter: Wilson Ramos – Four homers in his last six games and reasonably priced at $3,400 on Draftkings.

Brad Johnson (Patreon/BaseballATeam, @BaseballATeam)

Pitcher: Max Fried – I’m not 100% going to use him as there are better-projected pitchers. However, he’s fourth-cheapest and in the neighborhood of 10th-best in a slate of 22 pitchers.

Hitter: Austin Meadows – Back on track after a lost 2020, affordable price, juicy matchup.

Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy)

Pitcher: Luis Castillo – Criminally underpriced on Draft Kings, especially after his last outing. Sure it was Pittsburgh, but are we looking at the Giants as that much better an offense?

Hitter: Austin Meadows – He’s 6-for-17 with three doubles and one home run over his last five games and now gets Kyle Gibson. The breakout season is on its way.

Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50)

Pitcher: Stephen Strasburg – He’s pitched well and is healthy, for the moment

Hitter: Wilson Ramos – What Zach said.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)

Pitcher: Lucas Giolito – He’s a strike out machine against a weak hitting Indians line up, and pumped up for the matchup with Bieber..Get em!

Hitter: Alex Baddoo – At $3800 he saves some $’s, he’s been red hot and going against a less than stellar Jake Odorizzi. Put one in the Crawford Boxes young man!

Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus, @MikeGianella)

Pitcher: Luis Castillo – Priced too low for a favorable matchup against the Giants

Hitter: Ronald Acuna Jr. – Hot hand with the bat and if it’s Wallach again could easily run wild.

Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – Man, it’s tough to fade both Lucas Giolito and Shane Bieber with Bill Miller behind the plate, but I want budget for bats.

Hitter: Jose Trevino – Catcher pricing is whack. Are we really in “I want to go cheap elsewhere so I can pay up at catcher mode?” Yes, yes we are. But not tonight.

Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – There are too many good pitching options tonight, and not enough hitters. I’m playing less tonight than I have been of recently as a result. But I love Woodruff and Luis Castillo against the Cubs and Giants respectively at their prices.

Hitter: Randy Arozarena – I went with four Rays and spent up elsewhere – why not stack against Kyle Gibson?

Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner)

Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – Seems like the chalkiest pick of the night, given the Cubs’ offensive struggles this season.

Grab a snack or two, or be like Chris Paddack and order a pizza — there is a lot of information to take in. This week, we asked the Touts:

Is there anything in particular you are monitoring the first few weeks of the season?

Brad Johnson (Patreon/BaseballATeam, @BaseballATeam): I prefer to focus on stats with immediate meaning. Controversial, huh? Common examples include pitcher velocity, max exit velocity for hitters, running speed, and other similar metrics which are more of a physical measurement than a statistical exercise. Beyond that, I’m looking for potentially erroneous narratives. For example, we were fed a line about Vladito raising his launch angle over the offseason. So far, it checks out!

Jason Collette (Rotowire, @jasoncollette): The early indicators on homers are pointing toward more drag on the baseball this year. While exit velo and HH% are up, distance is down and we’re seeing homers hit at a rate not seen since the 2018 season out of the gate. Through five games, we’re at a homer ever 34.2 plate appearances whereas that number has been 31.3 and 30.0 each of the past two seasons. Only 2018 (35.2) and 2017 (34.4) got off to slower starts with home runs.

Jennifer Piacenti (Fantasy Alarm, @jenpiacenti): I am monitoring pitcher use in general. Not only relievers, but starters, too. Since my league has IP as a category, I am interested in how deep into games managers are letting their starters go. Will there be more innings limits? I’m curious if middle relievers will be used more than ever this year, and if they could have some value.

Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy): Early this season I am keeping a close eye on inning limits. Seeing starters go only 3-4 innings may become more of a norm than people would realize and thus make multi-inning relievers more valubale in fantasy baseball.

Alex Fast (Pitcher List, @AlexFast8): I’m usually pretty pitcher oriented so I’ll be taking a look at things that stabilize pretty quickly like pitch movement/a new pitch. For example, the FB that Wheeler showcased in his first start showcased both additional rise and run and while he isn’t someone you can pick up off the waiver wire, it’s good to know where to look. It’s really difficult to say based off of one or two starts what a pitcher is going to focus on or if they’re going to make changes to utilization but Lance McCullers Jr. threw his new slider 30+ times in his first start. Are any waiver wire guys throwing new pitches? Are they throwing them more frequently than anticipated? If so, could be a potential add. Lastly: CSW. Becomes reliable around 5 starts but if you want to know who is making strides, check out their CSW’s.

Scott Engel (Rotoballer, @scotteTheKing): Seeing who is saving games is natural, so I am looking at starting pitching. Who is showing eartly signs of breaking out and may have a new arsenal or refined mechanics? There could be some interesting early adds.

Perry Van Hook (Mastersball, @): I agree with those who are watching pitching usage. This year in particular starter usage and tendencies of the clubs towards that. Alex Cora said the Red Sox are “taking care of their guys (starters) so they will have them available later in the season

Ray Flowers (Elite Fantasy, @BaseballGuys): I will be focusing on trying to convince people that they should trust the research that they put in the last four months instead of believing that 28 at-bats, or 12 innings pitched, should drastically change the outlook on players. It is amazing to me, bordering on baffling, how once games start folks seem to forget everything they spent all that time prepping for as they grasp for every shinny toy available to them on waivers. This is a prime time of year to flip those hot starting players for the players that will actually carry you to titles in 2021.

Rudy Gamble (Razzball, @RudyGamble): For hitters, I’m focused on playing time and batting order. For starting pitchers, velocity and general stats (K, BB). For relievers, I’m focused on velo and role. But most of my early season decisions are through the lens of “this upcoming week” and thus my Razzball weekly projections and a player’s value plays a major role for me. My ideal is finding guys that work for the week and then I may hold onto for a while if they do well and their weekly values are above water.

Justin Mason (Friends with Fantasy Benefits, Fangraphs, Fantasy Alarm, @JustinMasonFWFB): To be quite honest, I’m mostly just enjoying games. I’ll look at lineups and bullpen usage, but we have been without baseball for so long, I just enjoy it being back

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): I am looking at K%, K-BB%, HR/9, RP usage, injury indicators with pitchers. With bats, I am looking at platoons and multi-position to see if there are more ways to get someone into lineups. I am looking at current IL players for news of when they return and how that affects current rosters. I am always looking at schedule and how to maximize matchups (or try to do that). I am also looking at FAAB bids by my competitors–who is aggressive, who is holding back for later. Finally, I am looking at my own roster constructions and seeing where I have projected outages and then combing through other rosters to make trades (in the 3/6 leagues where trades are an additional way to change the talent mix) and perhaps not wait through some of these early season hot streaks to create more balance where I need it.

Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): Closers, of course. Watching for changes in batting orders, especially those 1-8, 8-1 switcheroos. I’m interested in pitchers with new effective pitches, velo changes, and/or mix changes, but I have to get that from fantasy sites because I don’t have time to do the legwork myself.

Ariel Cohen (CBS Sports, @ATCNY): Closers, of course. Watching for changes in batting orders, especially those 1-8, 8-1 switcheroos. I’m interested in pitchers with new effective pitches, velo changes, and/or mix changes, but I have to get that from fantasy sites because I don’t have time to do the legwork myself.

Frank Stampfl (Fantasy Pros, @Roto_Frank): For hitters I’ve noticed I’m paying closer attention to former star players who had down seasons last year for reasons we couldn’t really quantify. Most notable are J.D. Martinez, Christian Yelich, and Javier Baez. So far Martinez is performing the best of the bunch. Along with lineup placement for hitters, I like to pay attention to plate discipline early on. For pitchers, I like to focus on pitch usage and velocity. Is a starting pitcher using a new pitch or just using a pitch more or less than they have in the past? Which pitchers are throwing harder than last season? If a particular pitcher’s velocity is down, is it due to weather?

Eric Cross (Fantrax, @EricCross04): There are several things I look at early in the season. For hitters, it mostly has to do with plate approach, exit velocity, and any potential lineup shake-ups. For pitchers, I monitor bullpen situations, strikeout and walk rates, and any pitch mix changes. Whether that’s adding/subtracting a pitch, altering usage, or added/lost velocity.

Brent Hershey (Baseball HQ, @BrentHQ): I’m making a more concerted effort here early in the season to actually go back and watch pitcher’s outings — often relievers that I may not have seen before — via MLB.tv. Having a visuall of how these pitchers work their way through their innings — that their pitches look like, mechanics, etc — gives me another piece of info to go along with the numbers. And I realize not everyone has access to MLB.tv to watch an entire inning or several innings, but even searching for highlights of a pitcher on MLB.com can be helpful and provide some more information that could drive fantasy roster decisionmaking. Also, great point by Ray Flowers above on trusting your own off-season and draft-day evaluations, and resisting the temptation to jump on the teeny samples.

Michael A. Stein (Fantasy Judgment, @FantasyJudgment): I am keeping an eye on pitching moreso than hitting. While offense will probably trend downwards compared to the past few seasons due to changes to the baseball, it will not be as volatile as pitching for a variety of factors. No one has any concrete answers on how pitchers will be used due to coming off a truncated season. Starters are tending to go even fewer innings, middle relievers are being used longer than normal, and closers change seemingly on a daily basis. MLB teams are starting to use their best relievers in the most critical parts of a game, even it is not in the 9th inning. Health is always a concern for pitchers, but even moreso in 2021. The lack of a DH in the National League also subjects pitchers to more risk of injury. The key is to have sufficient depth and handcuff options because pitching, overall, is completely unpredictable right now.

CJ Kaltenbach (Elite Fantasy, @TheSeigeDFS): The biggest thing I’m keeping an eye on is the starting pitching usage. With all the early off-days I’m not too worried about hitting usage yet. So far It appears teams were telling the truth about limiting starters usage which will make wins harder to find than ever.

Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner): Nothing unusual. Batting orders, bullpen usage are always worth watching, especially early. Maybe guys playing different positions. This season, it’ll be interesting to see if there really is a difference in expected fly-ball distance with the “new” baseballs, but that will likely take some time to figure out.

Fred Zinkie (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @FredZinkieMLB): I’m watching bullpen usage a lot. I’m trying not to get carried away with batting orders or hot/cold starts. I’m looking at pitcher velo a lot. Mostly I’m crossing my fingers each night that my players stay healthy. That’s more important than anything in April.

Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): I’m watching starting pitchers whose velocity was confirmed to be up by Statcast or supposedly up according to articles and tweets. Now that the season has begun, are their fastball velocities still higher than last season? If yes, I’m buying. If no, my pre-season opinion/projection would remain unchanged.

Jock Thompson (Baseball HQ, @JOCKatHQ): Didn’t play fantasy in 2020; just watching baseball took a toll. Dropped the ball early on draft-and-hold basics—like not benching my Utility DH-only Nelson Cruz as the Twins were scheduled to play Milwaukee. So feeling stupid, but now focusing on schedules, bad pitching staffs, injuries, spring weather.

Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports): playing time and linuep spot. it seems some teams are still moving a lot of guys around, so watching for platoon situations and where in the batting order guys are playing. such as, sad to see miles straw at the bottom of the Astros lineup. it hurts his value!

Glenn Colton (Fantasy Alarm, @GlennColton1): This year is so different that many others. That said, the key is not to overreact. I am watching who is closing, who is playing everyday, who seems to have discovered a new pitch, skill or role, etc. I am also trying extra hard this year not to change my view of a player, formed after months of study, after just days of games!

Shelly Verougstraete (Dynasty Guru, @ShellyV_643): For pitchers I’m focusing in on starting pitchers velo and pitch mix changes as well as bullpen usage. The whole closer role is in flux with so many teams and hopefully some roles are determined within the next few weeks. For hitters, I’m really looking at lineups, roles, and platoons. There are a bunch NL lineups, the Mets and Dodgers come to mind, that I am focusing on. I was a big fan of Dom Smith and Will Smith but without the DH, their usage will sadly be limited.

Alex Chamberlain (Rotographs, @DolphHauldhagen): Statcast and the ball. It’s becoming increasingly clear the ball is bouncier but has more drag, resulting in higher EVs without the corresponding improvements in production. This might lead analysts to expect improved production by virtue of many hitters–perhaps most hitters–improving their average and maximum EVs. Because Statcast routinely uses historical evidence to establish its “xStats,” it’s entirely possible that a hitter’s xwOBA (or, on the flip side of the coin, a pitcher’s xERA) will overvalue the EVs he is generating in 2021. I think this is probably a big reason why you don’t see 2021 data yet on any players’ Statcast pages–the Statcast folks need to recalibrate the xwOBA (and related) models. In fact we all need to recalibrate our mental benchmarks for EV. At this point this feels like the only trend worth monitoring until there’s some clarity; even something helping in small sample like max EV is rendered inert if it can’t be compared apples-to-apple with previous years. Everything else is too noisy, even pitch-level metrics like plate discipine and pitch usage. (New pitches are always interesting, though!)

James Anderson (Rotowire, @RealJRAnderson): It’s this time of year when I hate myself for being in so many leagues. Generally, I’m not focused on performance, I’m mostly focused on usage, be it a reliever competing for high-leverage opportunities or a position player competing for at-bats against same-handed pitching.

Greg Jewett (Fantasy Alarm, @gjewett9): Due to covering relievers, what feels like full-time, the usage patterns, closer chaos and how many innings relievers continue to log early on. Plus, entering game action on Tuesday, there’s been 34 saves but 13 could have been by relievers not on many active rosters. While it seems like saves may be on the rise, if one-third happened without being on fantasy rosters, could fewer saves place higher in leagues? Market inefficiency exists when chasing saves, especially if they continue to aggregate in fluid situations. Also, discerning how the baseball continues producing high exit velocities but reduced distance aligns slightly with the intended effects put forth in the KBO limiting flight by increasing draft resistance.

Nick Pollack (Pitcher List, @PitcherList): New pitches and their velocities! We can get a quick sense of a pitcher searching for improvements out of the gate. Jordan Montgomery throwing his cutter, Lance McCullers Jr. with a new slider, and Carlos Rodon showcasing 95+ mph velocity after sitting sub 94 mph across his career. It can be hard in the reverse (i.e. pitchers throwing softer than usual) as many may need a few more outings to ramp up. Keep watch of the individual pitches and it can go a long way grabbing an arm who will pay off for months.

Peter Kreutzer (Ask Rotoman, Fantasy Baseball Guide, @kroyte): Every day I look for the way my fringy guys are being used. My drafts are done, so it’s all about figuring out how what happened today is possibly affecting what I expected would happen going in. (I did not anticipate a Brad Hand Covid problem, but, ya know, fomites. He’s well named.) The other thing is remembering which guy is on which team. It’s not all there yet. Ronald Acuna two homers today? Yeah, I rated him highly. But do I have any shares? I have to check. I do! On the other hand, did I settle for Tyler Naquin after getting squeezed on Justin Williams in last week’s Tout NL FAAB run? Yes I did. I’m okay with that.

Lou Blasi (Fantistics, @LouBlasi): Most early, I am paying attention to how managers are handling their bullpens and I am looking at pitchers who dealt with injury issues last year. I’m watching their velo, their pitch deployment, and if they are beating hitters. Kluber is an example. In his first start, his pitch deployment was pretty similar to his prime years with just a little more offspeed than prior years. But his velo was off considerably. I was thinking he’d rely on his FB less. Hopefully, his velo will tick up as we go here, and he had a healthy CSW%. It’s one start so you don’t dig in too deep on conclusions, but I got no warm and fuzzies from start #1. I have also seen what looks like a lot of noise in terms of identifying offspeed pitches for starters, so I am taking deployment percentages with a grain of salt. With young kids, I am watching how they seem to be handling the majors and whether they seem overwhelmed or not. MLB hitters sometimes struggle early so I am not panicking on slow starts for batters. Finally, more and more rosters in the majors have platoon elements and emphasize position versatility, so I am looking at how managers of these teams are handling playing time.

Larry Schechter (Winning Fantasy Baseball, @LarrySchechter): I’m watching closers. The season started with many unsettled situations and many Fantasy Baseball players making assumptions…No…Jordan Romano was not absolutely the Toronto closer…but some people drafted like he was…and no, neither is Matt Barnes…it’s still to be seen if it might be Ottavino instead…and several other bullpens…just look at KC and Jesse Hahn got the last save. LMFAO

Toby Guevin (BatFlipCrazy Podcast, @batflipcrazy): I look at different things for hitters and pitchers. For hitters, it’s changes in opportunity or role. A move up or down the lineup or access to playing time as a result of injury can have a big impact on player values. For pitchers, I look for tangible changes like increased velocity or a pitch mix change, whether changing their approach with existing pitches or adding a new one. I also focus a lot on underlying skills as opposed to results. If a pitcher has a rough outing, but shows increased velocity and a higher swinging strike rate I keep a close eye, just like a player who has good results but poor underlying metrics and a velocity dip I might be less interested in.

Andy Behrens (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @andybehrens): Lemme tell you what I *don’t* have to monitor in the opening weeks, because my Tout league happens to have excellent scoring settings: Saves. My mixed league uses saves+holds and it’s an absolute delight. I didn’t have to spring into action when Jesse Hahn made a surprise appearance in the ninth. I don’t have to convince myself that just maybe Baltimore’s closer can survive at 75 mph. Instead, all I need to do is collect a few bankable, talented late-inning relievers and let ’em go to work. I cannot recommend saves+holds enough, people. Rid yourselves of the tyranny of SVs.

Ron Shandler (RonShandler.com, @RonShandler): I have nothing to add to the above, but even in the first week, I am thankful I am in a few leagues that use Saves-plus-Holds and don’t have to get into bidding wars for Julian Merryweather. But at the same time, I am lamenting all the lost wins in leagues that are using innings pitched. I am impossible to please.

Chris Towers (CBS Fantasy Sports, @CTowersCBS): Production hardly matters to me at this point in the season, so it’s more about trying to identify which things can be meaningful this early. Roles are chief among them — who is getting save opportunities, who is consistently sitting against certain types of pitchers, who is batting leadoff, etc. But obviously also stuff on a pitch level like velocity, spin rate, and new additions to arsenals that could prove to make a significant difference. And, with the likes of Akil Baddoo and Yermin Mercedes, I’m looking for signs that their underlying skill sets are MLB quality — Baddoo’s hard-hit rate and max exit velo of 107.9 mph are a great start, especially.

Adam Ronis (Fantasy Alarm, @AdamRonis): I am looking at pitchers with added velocity, new pitches and pitch mix. I am also looking at how manager are utilizing pitchers in the bullpen to try and potentially get a jump on a cheap reliever that could work their way into saves at some point.

Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): For hitters it’s primarily playing time and position in the batting order. For pitchers I’m curious to see how starting pitchers compare with the start of the 2019 season with respect to innings pitched, batters faced, pitches thrown, etc. to see if fears of lighter workloads this year have merit. For individual pitchers off to very good/bad starts, looking for changes in velocity, pitch mix, etc., that might give clues as to whether their early-season performances are blips or trends.

Mike Sheets (ESPN, @MikeASheets): I’m looking at playing time and lineup position more than I’m looking at stats. The first couple weeks of the season, we get insight into who is being platooned and who is playing every day. We’re seeing who is batting near the top of the order, and who is near the bottom. Victor Robles batting leadoff for the Nationals is a big deal. The fact that a guy like Nick Madrigal is batting ninth most of the time also matters. Of course, it’s fun to watch a relative unknown like Yermin Mercedes light the world on fire, but what’s most important to me is that, for right now anyway, he’s playing almost every day and is batting in the heart of the White Sox’s batting order.

Zach Steinhorn (CreativeSports2, @zachsteinhorn): Bullpen roles have always been my primary focus in the first few weeks but it seems like this is now impossible to get a read on with only a handful of clear-cut closers and not too many defined next-in-line options. I’ll continue to monitor this closely but I have a feeling that the saves hunt will be more frustrating than ever in 2021. I’m also looking at playing time, especially at the catcher position, as it’s good to know if your catcher is the guy playing two out of three games or one out of three games. If it’s the latter, it might already be time to make a change.