The touts of Tout Wars (@toutwars) are playing Tout Daily tonight, the first of 21 Friday contests that will lead to the crowning of our second Tout Daily champion.
Last year’s champ, Charlie Wiegert, won the final night’s competition by being the only Tout to roster Clayton Kershaw!
You can follow along with tonight’s contest at https://www.rtsports.com/daily/scoring-baseball/5442619/
Here’s who some of the Touts are liking:
Champion Charlie Wiegert says, The game is a little different this year, you get 2 pitchers in the RT sports DFS game, which I prefer! But you still need two good ones. I’m going with Jamie Garcia ($6,900 @ Atlanta) tonight. Cardinals need to get on track, and hopefully his spring success will carry over tonight. For the top hitter, I’m spending top $ on LA 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez ($5,900 @ San Francisco) going against Matt Cain and SF. Dodgers have been on a roll, and he’s in the right spot to have a big night against a pitcher that might not be ready for prime time again yet!
Craig Mish says that Matt Wisler ($4900 vs. St. Louis) as a second pitcher is worth a shot. Cardinals having major offensive issues to start the season with a ton of swings and misses. Hopefully Wisler will grab 4-5 K’a and a QS. Don’t need much to get the value here. George Springer ($5,900 @ Milwaukee) is one of many Astros to use tonight. Springer showing early better plate discipline and seems ripe for a couple hits in Milwaukee.
Al Melchior says his Top Pitcher is Yordano Ventura ($7,300 vs. Twins), who is is one of my top breakout picks for this season, based on the dramatic improvements he made down the stretch last season. He was particularly tough on righties in 2015, and the Twins don’t have any left-handed hitters that worry me. The Top Hitter: Nelson Cruz ($5,900 vs. Athletics), No qualifying hitter in the majors had a higher wOBA against lefties than Cruz last season. Eric Surkamp won’t be among the better southpaws to face Cruz this season, so it could be a big night for Seattle’s slugger.
Eno Sarris says Jaime Garcia ($6,900 @ Atlanta). This one is too easy. Jaime Garcia is really really excellent when he’s healthy. With a plus-plus ground-ball rate with three pitches that rate above average by whiffs, Garcia is also really good at changing speeds and movements on his fastballs. It’s almost like he’s got four or five fastballs out there. You don’t have to worry about keeping him healthy like the Cards do. You just have to enjoy the matchup against that lowly Atlanta offense, and ace-like stats for mid-table pricing. And Addison Russell ($4,600 @ Arizona). Russell quietly changed his swing heat maps late last year, choosing to stop swinging at pitches inside off the plate and down off the plate. That improved his strikeout and walk rates. His developing power is in a great situation Friday night against a lefty with a bad changeup in a good hitter’s park. Yes, Robbie Ray throws hard and has a decent slider. This is someone Russell can handle, though.
Rotoman took Jaime Garcia ($6,900 @ Atlanta) and Addison Russell ($4,600 @ Arizona), too. Because good pitcher against bad offense, why not? And the ball is flying out in Arizona.
Tim Heaney liked Jaime Garcia ($6,900 @ Atlanta): Tasty matchup for the Cards’ southpaw against one of the league’s weakest lineups. And Luis Valbuena, ($3,800 @ Milwaukee): Valbuena hit 25 HR and crushes righty arms. He should tee off against Chase Anderson.
Phil Hertz will go with Andrew Mccutcheon ($6,200 @ Cincinnati) and Francisco Liriano ($8,100 @ Cincinnati). Pirates on a roll.
David Gonos is picking Marcus Stroman ($8,100 vs. the Red Sox) and Mitch Moreland ($4,900 @ Anaheim).
Look for more next week.
