From the crew at Mastersball, notes on five Tout Wars leagues.
Mike Gianella’s FAAB Notes at Baseball Prospectus are up. They’re presently behind the paywall, but they’re usually available for everyone. I’ll let him know and we can hope they’ll be available later.
Mike Gianella and Todd Zola tied for second. Todd’s was the highest finishing team that rostered Chris Sale, who scored only two points on the night.
The standings:
Adam’s team:
UPDATE: After two weeks in Period 4, Todd Zola has opened a 15-point lead over Andrea LaMont and Howard Bender. None of the Top 10 teams at this point have previously this year won tickets to the August 26th finals, but among those who have (and could win a second ticket this period), Brian Walton is 12th, Rob Leibowitz is 14th, Jason Collette is 15th, and Jeff Erickson is 17th.
You can see the entire leaderboard here.
We’re heading into the second week of the four-week Period Four of Tout Daily by RTSports.com. You can read the rules here.
After Week 1 Stephania Bell has the lead, with Scott Engel, Todd Zola, Ray Murphy and Tom Kessenich right behind her. You can see the leaderboard here.
Each week the touts send us their top picks for the week. You can follow tonight’s action at RTSports.com/tout-wars, and sign up there to play for prizes or fun.
LAWR MICHAELS
I like Chris Sale ($9,400 vs Atlanta) and Collin McHugh ($7,200 vs Oakland) as pitchers, and Giancarlo Stanton ($5,700 vs Cincinnati) and Odubel Herrera ($4,000 @ Colorado) as hitters!
PHIL HERTZ
Pitcher is Matt Shoemaker ($5,900 @ Baltimore), the hitter is Nolan Arenado ($6,800 vs Philadelphia).
HOWARD BENDER
Chris Sale ($9,400 vs Atlanta) I mean…come on. How do you not use a guy like Sale with this kind of match-up? Sure, it limits your Coors exposure with the bats but the Braves have a .256 wOBA with a 22-percent strikeout rate over the last week and a .273 wOBA with a 21-percent K-rate against southpaws this season. If he doesn’t hit double digit Ks and limit them to one run or fewer, it means the Touts and the baseball gods have conspired against me!
Adrian Gonzalez ($5,300 vs San Diego) He’s got five hits in his last three games and has hit safely in seven of his last 10 with five multi-hit games in that span. He also loves feasting on Andrew Cashner. Over 37 plate appearances against the Padres righty, he’s batting .344 (1.182 OPS) with four home runs, six RBI, eight runs scored and five walks. Giddy up!
CHARLIE WIEGERT
Sometimes you need to zig when everyone else zags. That’s my approach today, with a slate of top pitchers going demanding big salary commitment, I’m taking low priced pitchers and saving $ for hitters.
Top Pitchers…J.A. Happ ($6,300 vs Detroit) and Dan Straily ($3,100 @ Miami). Neither are impressive, but both are in situations where they should get 6-7 innings, 4-5 k’s and a win…I’m hoping for 12-15 points from each.
Top Hitters…yes I need some production. Josh Donaldson ($6,800 vs. Detroit) and Troy Tulowitzki ($4,900 vs. Detroit), Jose Altuve ($6,100 vs Oakland) and George Springer ($6,100 vs Oakland), and Rajai Davis ($4,700 vs New York) and Mike Napoli ($4,500 vs NY Yankees), all playing at home. My sleeper pick is Randall Grichuk ($3,700 @ Milwaukee) vs lefty Nelson. He’s looked sharp since his return from the minors, and went deep yesterday. I’m hoping for lightning to strike again!
JEFF BOGGIS
Jose Fernandez ($9,600 vs Cincinnati) Despite losing 3 out of his last 4 outings, Fernandez is my top pitcher for tonight’s contest. He is a much better pitcher at home and his home stats for this season back this up. At home, Fernandez is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.72 and and a K/BB ratio of 89/17.
Josh Donaldson ($6,800 vs Detroit) I love stacking Toronto players when they are at home for our Friday night contests and Donaldson is the best hitter on his team. Over the past 14 days, Donaldson has the best stats of any hitter with 18 runs, 5 home runs, 14 runs batted in, 1 stolen base, and a .429 batting average.
RAY MURPHY
Jonathan Gray ($6,000 vs Philadelphia) has been strong at Coors this year. Against a weak Phillies lineup, I’m willing to start him in thin air
Michael Saunders ($5,200 vs Detroit) faces the always-hittable Mike Pelfrey tonight, in Rogers Centre. Yes please!
MIKE GIANELLA
Top Pitcher Jose Fernandez ($9,600 vs Cincinnati) Fernandez has the highest whiff rate in the majors, and matches up well at home against a Cincinnati offense that has struggled on the road (fourth lowest wOBA in baseball).
Top Hitter – D.J. LeMahieu ($4,900 vs Philadelphia) Two weeks ago, I won the scoring period in Tout Daily by aggressively using lower profile hitters at Coors. With the Phillies in town, I thought I would repeat the strategy, allowing me to roster two high-end pitchers while taking advantage of the Coors factor. LeMahieu isn’t likely to knock the ball out of the park, but will hopefully put up a solid night anyway.
TIM HEANEY
Chris Sale ($9,400 vs Atlanta) MLB wins leader vs. league’s second-worst offense (.619 OPS) vs. LHP.
Carlos Gonzalez ($6,700 vs Philadelphia) High price is worth it. Among hitters, T-2nd-most HR (13), 3rd-highest OPS (1.112).
BRIAN WALTON
For $1000 less than top-dollared Jake Arrieta, I will go with Cole Hamels ($8,800 vs Minnesota), who draws the whiff-tastic Twins at home. His last outing was rocky, but Texas’ ace has been solid all season long.
Jake Lamb ($4800 @ San Francisco) is on a roll. During his active eight-game hitting streak, the Arizona third baseman has five home runs and 10 RBI. Against Friday’s night opponent Jeff Samardzija, Lamb is 3-for-6 including two doubles in his career.
With about half the major league season played, it’s time for the winners to bring home winners, and for those trailing to make a move.
TOUT WARS AL
When last we looked Larry Schechter had a big lead.
Larry still has a big lead, but there is a shimmer of hope for Seth Trachtman and Ron Shandler. The two finished one-two in the June-only standings, edging Schechter, who finished third.
TOUT WARS NL
When last we looked, this was a three-way fight between Derek Carty, Todd Zola and Phil Hertz. Carty won the June-only battle and has a slim lead over Zola overall. Zola finished third in June. Hertz struggled with injuries to his ace pitchers, Strasburg and Syndergaard, and finished eighth for the month, dropping out of contention.
Out of contention for the time being. This is a close race with any of the top teams capable of making a move.
TOUT WARS MIXED AUCTION
What a difference a month can make. At the end of May Bret Sayre had a 15+ point lead over challengers Joe Pisapia, Fred Zinkie and Corey Schwartz. The June-only standings have Schwartz, Zinkie and Pisapia on top, in that order, with Sayre falling to 11th for the month. Bye bye lead.
Schwartz’s winning month has elevated him into the lead, a lap ahead of three challengers and the recent evidence of what a difference a month can make on his mind.
TOUT WARS MIXED DRAFT
Last month, Rudy Gamble had a small lead over Anthony Perri, but Perri had a strong June and used it to climb into the lead. Charlie Wiegert had the second-best June, and moved ahead of Gamble, whose team stumbled to an eighth place June finish.
Ray Murphy’s strong June jumped him from tenth place to fourth, deadlocked with Rick Wilton, Craig Mish and Tim McLeod. Any of those four could easily challenge for the lead with a strong July, but for the time being Perri, Wiegert and Gamble have to be favored.
TOUT WARS HEAD 2 HEAD
Was written up on Tuesday. It’s all Brent Hershey and Jeff Zimmerman, for now.
You can follow the Tout Wars leaders everyday by following these links: AL, NL, Mixed, Draft and Head 2 Head.
Tout Wars Head 2 Head is different than the other Tout leagues.
In those other leagues, scored Rotisserie style, you look at the standings and you see who is winning and losing.
In Tout Head 2 Head, you have to look at the Head to Head records, in which Brent Hershey is tied with Jeff Zimmerman.
Then, since we’ve reached the halfway point in the season, you need to look at the first half roto standings, which determine the outcome of 12 additional games. (You can see the complete first-half standings here.)
Hershey finished ahead of Zimmerman in the roto standings, so he earns a first-half record of 12-0, while Zimmerman adds an 11-1 mark to his head to head score. Do this for all 12 teams and you have the combined first-half records.
Hershey has a slim lead over Zimmerman, with Peter Kreutzer and Jake Ciely close enough to challenge. Then Michael Beller and Jeff Boggis have room enough to dream.
How many second-division teams will be able to move up? That’s why they’ll play the second half, while Brent Hershey and Jeff Zimmerman battle to win. All teams will be affected by 12 games awarded based on second half stats and another 12 games awarded based on the overall season roto standings.
How do our Tout Wars teams’ records compare to their major league counterparts? In other words, how are they doing?
Brent Hershey equals the Chicago Cubs, and then some.
Jeff Zimmerman is a supercharged San Francisco Giants.
Peter Kreutzer is the Cleveland Indians.
Jake Ciely is the Washington Nationals.
Michael Beller is the Boston Red Sox.
Jeff Boggis is the Houston Astros.
Stephania Bell is the New York Yankees.
Jeff Mans is the New York Mets.
Howard Bender is the Oakland As.
Paul Sporer is the Tampa Bay Rays.
Doug Anderson is the Atlanta Braves.
Andrea LaMont is the Minnesota Twins.
Good luck in the second half everyone!
The boys from Mastersball analyzed the FAAB claims in five Tout Wars leagues on the fourth of July.
Mike Gianella’s take on the week’s short slate of FAAB purchases, at Baseball Prospectus.
Stephania Bell didn’t play Tout Daily by RTSports any of the four weeks of Period 3. She was busy, work and life got in the way, one has to prioritize. But when she was ready to play, in Week 1 of Period 4, her team exploded, popping into first place late in the evening on Johnny Cueto’s win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Cueto wasn’t Bell’s best pitcher. Reserve that spot for Michael Fulmer, whose 10 strikeout winning performance against Tampa Bay was the biggest scoring game on the night.
And some of her hitters contributed, too, mainly James Loney, owned by one percent of RTSports owners last night, had a homer and a double on his way to 12 much-needed points. Having Mike Trout didn’t hurt.
Bell finished just two points ahead of Scott Engel, who had also taken a leave of absence in Period 3. Engel got a fine night from Jaime Garcia, who won his game versus the Brewers, and strong hitting performances from Kendrys Morales (playing right field!), Chase d’Arnaud (who cost only $1.6K), and Mookie Betts. Brett Lawrie, Carlos Correa and George Springer contributed four points apiece.
Speaking of Springer, his name is on the roster of six of the top seven finishing teams on the night, though his four points (at a cost of $5.7K) was not particularly efficient. Perhaps it is telling that he was also the night’s last-place finisher’s roster.
Three teams missed the unusual 6:05pm early start of the week’s contest. They were not allowed to play for the night’s championship, but were allowed to submit rosters before the 7:05pm regular start so they could compete in Period 4 overall.
Top 10 pitching performances (pitchers on teams that finished in the Top 10): Johnny Cueto (16), Michael Fulmer (21), Jaime Garcia (17), Ian Kennedy (10), Bud Norris (18!), Julio Teheran (7.66), Steven Wright (8), Jacob deGrom (15).
One final note: It looked like a good night to stack hitters from the Texas teams, but it was not.
One extra final note: Eno Sarris finished 10th and got no, zero, nada, nunca points from his outfielders, Ryan Braun, Adam Jones and Angel Pagan.
See the whole Leaderboard here.
You can play RTSports.com’s daily fantasy games for prizes or fun every day of the week. Click here to start!
We start Period 4 of Tout Daily by RTSports.com tonight. Everybody has a fresh beginning, we’re all equal, at least until tonight’s games start. For the game’s rules, check here.
But nine touts have golden tickets into the finals already. All honor to Brian Walton, Rob Leibowitz, Patrick Mayo, Jason Collette, Jeff Erickson, Patrick Davitt, Tristan Cockcroft, Rick Wolf and Tim Heaney.
Each week we ask who the touts are picking tonight. Their answers follow, and you can follow the night’s action (or play tonight’s game for prizes or for free) at RTSports.com/tout-wars.
Who are they picking?
Phil Hertz
I like Jacob DeGrom ($8,700 vs Cubs) at home. I rostered Danny Espinosa ($3,200 vs Cincinnati) BEFORE last night’s explosion; I’m sticking with him.
Gene McCaffrey
Tough night – risky pitchers abound. I’m going with Steven Wright ($6,800 vs Angels) at home vs. the Angels. If he can contain Trout he should post a good start. Hitter: Daniel Murphy ($4,900 vs Cincinnati) is still way too cheap.
Tim Heaney
1B Victor Martinez ($4,700 @ Tampa Bay): Coming off a six-homer June, he’ll face gopher-ball-plagued Drew Smyly. V-Mart boasts .931 OPS against southpaws.
SP Steven Wright ($6,800 vs. Angels): Sad Angels lineup a perfect target for the knuckleballer.
Jeff Boggis
Top Starting Pitchers Tanner Roark ($6,600 vs Cincinnati) and Ian Kennedy ($5,300 @ Philadelphia) I typically pay top dollar for starting pitching, but in tonight’s contest, I am taking a contrarian approach. I don’t see the value in paying top dollar to roster Johnny Cueto (SP-SF) at $9,000, especially after his latest outing where he gave up 6 earned runs and has a difficult opponent tonight at Arizona. The same also applies to rostering Jacob DeGrom (SP-NYM) at $8,700. His matchup tonight is a tough one at home against Jason Hammel of the Chicago Cubs. Plus there is a 75% chance of rain tonight in New York. Tanner Roark is at home versus Cincinnati and can be rostered for only $6,600. He’s won 3 out of his last 4 outings and has averaged 6 strikeouts per game over this time period. Ian Kennedy has a favorable matchup at Philadelphia and is coming of a great outing on June 26th versus Houston where he struck out 11 hitters.
Top Hitter Charlie Blackmon ($6,300 @ Dodgers) Charlie Blackmon is facing right-handed pitcher Bud Norris tonight in Los Angeles. Against right-handed starting pitchers, Charlie Blackmon is batting .310 with 9 nine home runs and 30 RBIs. Over the past week, Blackmon owns an OPS of 1.072.
Charlie Wiegert
A fresh start is what I need, along with some of that magic I had last year!
Top Pitcher, and the guy who won it for me last year was Clayton Kershaw, who is now on the DL. Maybe that is a sign I should take the pitcher who is taking his spot!?! Bud Norris ($4,400 vs Colorado) had been pitching well in ATL and getting some Ks, which when healthy he always has. Hoping for 8 tonight with 7 innings and a win, get me 20 Bud!
Top hitters..stacking Houston vs CWS and Marwin Gonzalez ($3,500), Jose Altuve ($5,900), Colby Rasmus ($4,200), Evan Gattis ($4,700) and Luis Valbuena ($3,100). Hoping Stro’s score in double digits and this group is productive.
Lawr Michaels
I like Jacob DeGrom ($8,700 vs Cubs) and Steven Wright ($6,800 vs. Angels) as pitchers, and Ian Desmond ($4,900 @ Minnesota) on the hitting end.
Mike Gianella
Top pitcher: Julio Teheran ($7,100 vs Miami) The Marlins offense has been good this year – and there are certainly softer match-ups tonight – but Teheran has pitched like an ace the last few weeks and is priced like a second-tier pitcher. He is one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball by Baseball Prospectus’ WARP. Even if he doesn’t throw another gem, I’ll take the bargain.
Top Hitter: David Ortiz ($6,700 vs Angels) Jhoulys Chacin has struggled away from Anaheim. A Red Sox stack with Ortiz front and center is just what the DFS doctor ordered this evening.
Stephania Bell
My fave picks:
Johnny Cueto ($9,000 @ Arizona) Last outing was an aberration
Michael Fulmer ($6,900 @ Tampa Bay) He’s been a great find this last month (June) and last outing was explained by his dehydration
Mike Trout ($6,700 @ Boston) Captain Obvious, I know. But he’s been on a hot streak even by the standards he sets.
I need a solid outing tonight. Counting on my band of misfits here.
Scott Swanay
