Daily Archives: May 6, 2016

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – May 6, 2016

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Bowman

I got to meet John Calabrese, who created the fan Twitter handle @sullybballLOTD where he lists his favorite line for each episode of the podcast.

It is a give the people what they want of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Colin Rea, Trevor Story, Kevin Gausman, Edwin Encarnacion, Masahiro Tanaka, Joe Ross, Alex Presley and Jose Altuve all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball yesterday.

See the updated listing of WOB on MLB Reports

Follow John on Twitter by clicking HERE

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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/7/16

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Trey Rose (Featured BBBA Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog and my Twitter for updates.

For those of you who follow my lineups daily, you are used to my explanations on each player. I apologize, but I can’t do that today or tomorrow. My girlfriend is graduating college this weekend and I’m right in the middle of finals week, so it’s a pretty hectic time period. My Draft Kings lineups will be back to normal on Sunday!

P – Chris Sale (vs. Minnesota Twins): $12,900

P – Jered Weaver (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $6,900

To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:

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MLB Daily Fantasy Picks (DFS) For FanDuel – 5/7/16

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)

You have to play Clayton Kershaw more now than ever on FanDuel.  It is actually easier to use him on the weekend, where there are day games available – with many bench player options.

While I may suggest players here, you should always check the starting lineups as they filter in tomorrow morning.

In DraftKings you can select more of a cheap 2nd pitcher alternative to compensate for the budget.

Since we did select Kershaw, we are also going to use the Brewers at home, in a right handed heavy stack versus the Reds Brandon Finnegan.

Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy, Chris Carter and Aaron Hill will need to do the bulk of my damage on the lineup.  These guys must produce otherwise there is no chance at hitting on some money.

I searched for a few more bargains, and came up with a couple of veterans off to slow starts, but are capable of multi hi contests in Howie Kendrick and Alex Gordon.  Both priced to buy at $2300 each.

I rounded out the roster with taking a stab that Billy Hamilton will go off for some stolen bases attempts – and finally Nick Ahmed is the cheapest price on the board at $2000.

Despite the extreme heavy dollar number associated with Kershaw – you must play him!

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Josh Robbins’ MLB Daily Fantasy Picks (DFS) For FanDuel – 5/6/16

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Josh Robbins (Featured Fantasy Writer/60ft6in.com) 

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Hi, my name is Josh Robbins.  I would like to share my Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) strategy with you throughout the MLB season during weekdays.  Fanduel is my preferred game of skill.

Welcome to the 5th week of the 2016 MLB season.

3-Strikes: Here’s what you expect from my daily articles:

My Top 3 Starting Pitchers (aces, mid-level, bargain)

My Top 3 Stacking Options (multiple players from the same team)

My Top 3 BVP (Batter vs. Pitcher) Options
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Mission Impossible: Solving Jake Arrieta

His historic 2015 season, which culminated in receiving the NL Cy Young Award, was mind boggling from a statistical standpoint, especially the last two months of the season. During that stretch, which included 12 starts, he allowed just four earned runs in 84 IP (.41 ERA). Batters had a .182 OBP against Arrieta during the last two months of the season.

His historic 2015 season, which culminated in receiving the NL Cy Young Award, was mind boggling from a statistical standpoint, especially the last two months of the season. During that stretch, which included 12 starts, he allowed just four earned runs in 84 IP (.41 ERA). Batters had a .182 OBP against Arrieta during the last two months of the season.

(Featured BBBA Website – bucsraiseit.com) 

So far in 2016,  Jake Arrieta has picked up right where he left off last season.  He already has a no-hitter under his belt this season (just nine starts clear of his no-hitter from last season).

Is there a way to solve Arrieta?  I mean, no one certainly has shown that is even a remote possibility, but let’s take a look a bit further at what makes him so good, and see if we can draw any logical conclusions.

Diving into the numbers a bit further, it’s easy to see why Arrieta is so tough.  

In looking at his batted ball statistics, you will see a stark difference between 2015/16 (when seemingly out of no where became the best pitcher in baseball) and his previous seasons in the big leagues, where he found marginal success.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates Are Not A Shifty Bunch

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Jason Rollison (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – piratesbreakdown.com) 

Pittsburgh are shifting less in 2016 and their pitching is worse. Are these two related?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned a reputation around the league of being a very analytical front office and with good reason. The use of FIP and xFIP to find value starting pitching is well known, but the shift is where the Pirates really earned their stripes as a numbers-centric team.

From 2013-2015, the Pirates shifted a total of 2,446 times, which was good for third in all of baseball behind only the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays, two teams with sabermetric driven front offices of their own.

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M’s Are 5th Team To Complete 2016 MLB Runs Scoring Survivor: Have Won 5 Series In A Row

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Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead  Analyst)

We are getting to the guts of these teams finally completing all of their scenarios, although it could be months before all 30 clubs get it done.

Last night, the Mariners doubled up the Astros 6 – 3, and are the 5th team to complete the 11th variation.  The best they can hope for is finishing 5th.  Some teams could still pass them with holding games in hand, and being on the verge of completion themselves.

Seattle has been red hot as a squad the last 15 days.  They have won 5 straight series, and have now taken the 1st game of a 4 game set vs Houston this weekend.

The Mariners stand at 1st in the AL West – with a 17 – 11 record, and are 12 – 4 on the road already.

Obviously this teams offensive depth is a lot stronger this year, with Dae Ho Lee, Chris Iannetta and Nori Aoki replacing futile numbers from the C, CF and 1B positions last season.

Robinson Cano has also operated at an MVP caliber clip with and MLB leading 30 RBI in 28 GP – among his 9 HRs and .918 OPS.

The Bullpen is a lot more solid than a lot of folks anticipated – and Taijuan Walker, Hisashi Iwakuma, Nate Karns and Wade Miley have provided Felix Hernandez backup – where the 1st had poor 1st halves to last season, and the last two gentlemen were not even on this Starting Staff in 2015.

With the ‘Stros struggling so mightily out of the gate, and the Rangers still awaiting on Yu Darvish, the M’s could really take the AL West by storm in 2016.

A lot of people predicted this kind of team in 2015, so I am not shocked to see it actually come to fruition early.  I still feel they need to upgrade at the CF position, and possibly at SS midway through the year, but the franchise should have no problem pooling its resources to make that happen.

On the other side of the game last night was Jose Altuve leading off the home half inning with yet another  HR.  It was the 6th time already he has done that, and his 9th jack overall.

For those scoring at home, Altuve is leading the MLB in OPS at 1.104 – and XBH at 23 (has a MLB leading 14 Doubles).  It is a shame that Houston has wasted his early start to a tune of a 10 – 19 record.

We are preparing an article on him later in the day. 

MLB Runs Scoring Survivor 2016:

This should turn out to be quite fun.  A lot of gambling establishments have this sort of deal, and we will keep a running total of this on a daily basis (just for fun though), in addition to MLB Shutout Survivor, Who Owned Baseball (Daily MVP of the pitcher/hitter in both the American and National League) and also our Interleague results.

What Runs Survivor is: A MLB team scoring 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or (10+) in different games throughout the course of the season.

Once a club has one of these run totals once, you cross it off and keep going until they complete the 11 different variations.

To keep track of the Survivor Pools on a daily basis (Including MLB Runs Scoring Survivor and MLB Shutout Survivor 2016 –  click here

Blue Bold Indicates that the total has been done in a game (number of scenarios out of 11 to the right)

For Games through May 5, 2016

Blue Bold Indicates that the total has been done in a game

For Games through May 5, 2016

AL

AL East 

New York  Yankees–  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 8/11

Toronto – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

Boston – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Baltimore – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) Finished Game #23 *loss 8 – 7 to CWS) (2nd Place, 1st in AL)

Tampa Bay – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

AL Central

Detroit – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Kansas City – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Minnesota – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Chicago White Sox – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+)

Cleveland  – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

AL West

Oakland – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 8/11

Texas – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

LA Angels – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Seattle – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 11/11  – Finished May 5, 2016 (6 – 3 win over the Astros) Game #28

Houston – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

NL

NL East

Atlanta –  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Washington – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 11/11 – Finished on MAY 4, 2016 (13 – 2 win over Royals – Game #27)

NY Mets – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

Miami – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 9/11

Philadelphia – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 7/11

NL Central

St. Louis  – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 7/11

Cincinnati – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

Milwaukee  – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

Chicago Cubs – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) (1st to complete all 11 variations) (winner of contest Apr 20, 2016) in Just 15 games.

Pittsburgh – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

NL West

LA Dodgers – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

SF Giants – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) Completed Game 25 in  6 – 5 loss to NYM (3rd place)

Arizona  – 0. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

San Diego  – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 10/11

Colorado  – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (10+) 8/11

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

I am happy to be back at the helm of the MLB Reports, after completing my record 224 Games in the MLB Trip in 2015.  It was the 4th time I have seen all 30 MLB Parks since 2008. 

During that time away I was fortunate to do 100 Media Interviews and be named the Baseball Blogger Alliance President.

new chuck

To Subscribe and listen daily to  ‘Our Lead Personality’  Sully’s 20 Minutes Daily (every day since Oct.24, 2012) Podcast click here.  Guaranteed listening to the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast will be the best time you invest in online!

Is Josh Hader the Milwaukee Brewers next great pitching prospect?

Wayne Cavadi's Online Portfolio

The list of great Milwaukee Brewers pitching prospects who panned out in the major leagues in the 2000s starts with Yovani Gallardo and, well, it pretty much ends right there. The Brewers front office did a lot of work this offseason to replenish a barren farm system. In doing so, they may have found that next great pitching prospect, as Josh Hader is off to a hot start in 2016.

So, who is Josh Hader?

Hader was drafted in the 19th round of the 2012 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Selected 581st overall, the 6-foot-3 lefty has been well traveled ever since. He was first traded to Houston in the deal that brought Bud Norris to the Inner Harbor in 2013, only to be traded by Houston last season at the deadline to Milwaukee in the Carlos Gomez blockbuster. Every stop has seen Hader pitch rather successfully.

The tall and…

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Who Owned Baseball May 5, 2016 (Daily MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2016 #WOB Standings

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(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Colin Rea took a no hitter into the 7th and a shutout into the 9th.He finished with 8 plus innings, 3 hits and 1 walk to earned the 5-3 decision over the Mets in San Diego.

Kevin Gausman threw 8 innings of 3 hit shutout ball, walking no Yankee batter. He did not get the decision but the Orioles won 1-0 in extra innings.

Trevor Story homered again and got two other hits, driving in 3 as the Rockies humiliated the Giants, 17-7.

Edwin Encarnacion drove in 6 runs, reached base 4 times and homered in the Blue Jays 12-2 blow out of Texas.

They all owned baseball on May 5, 2016.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.