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Odds To Win The MLB 2016 World Series
The RedBirds are 11 – 6 since the 1st series sweep against them was levied by the Bucs. The oddsmakers are placing too much faith in the Cubs with the astronomical favorites that they are in being 5 times the favorite to the Cards, and 7 times to the Pirates. Injuries could happen,…Trades…Heck, either club could avoid them until the NLCS and be on a roll. I believe that one of Washington or New York will be the 1st wildcard slot, with the Cards or Pirates being the 2nd team. They are both among the best bets this week – with the STL #1 for value wagering
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
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What a bunch of movement on the odds to win the World Series. There is plenty of value for a lot of plays here. The Mets are just a few games behind the Nats and absolutely owned them in head to head action last year down the stretch. New York is 10 – 2 over their last 12 contests, and their offense has been huge.
I don’t see almost double the odds for New York as opposed to Washington. At last check, the Nats were ahead of the Mets by 4.5 games, and now the gap is just 2 games.
I almost did a double take when I see the confidence of the A’s and Rays on this list. The two squad vaulted up the rankings with ferocity. Settle down gamblers. Oakland is 11 – 10, and Tampa is just 10 – 10, and their lineup is still highly suspect.
The Rays should be somewhere in the +3300 range with new York. in no way should they be projected higher than the Indians and the Pirates – and on par with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Equally as weird is the faith in the Angels at +2500. Really? Look the AL West is wide open, with anyone being able to win this, but to have Seattle and Oakland tied is dumb The Mariners have the better roster all the way around, and have actually played better of late. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 4 – April
One is the #1 club in the whole MLB right now, and the other was the biggest mover and shaker of the week for week 3 of MLB action. Both are leading the Central Divisions in their respective leagues behind awesome starting pitching and timely power.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_Hunter21
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Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
Game Records were before the results of the ESPN Sunday Night Game was played.
After a crazy week in which we saw our 1st no hitter, and massive long 16 inning game in Washington, we have for you the MLB Power Rankings.
There was no movement from the top 3 clubs. The NL West saw the Dodgers take a decent lead on the Giants – and that is major critical, as that is the team most likely to give them trouble in their quest for a 4th straight Division crown.
Bryce Harper has pulverized the Phillies, Marlins, Braves and Twins thus far. His late inning heroics are taking him to the next level.
The biggest mover and shaker this week was the White Sox, who climbed up 7 slots. The Giants dropping 8 positions was the biggest decline.
Bad weeks were had by the Tigers, Red Sox, Yankees and Astros. All clubs in the AL who are supposed to contend for a playoff slot.
The Mariners won their 3rd straight road series against the Angels (after beating the Yankees and Tribe 1s), and sit just a half game back in the AL West.
Oakland had started 7 – 0 on the road, before yielding 15 runs over the last 2 losses to the Blue Jays. They are tied with the Rangers for the lead in the Division, but it is just a matter of time before they are bounced out in my opinion.
Cleveland had a nice week of 4 – 2 to jump up 5 spots in the rankings. and are that much closer to bringing back Michael Brantley.
Gaining only one spot but having an awesome week were the New York Mets. All the boys are hitting now, and they are 8 – 2 in their last 10 contests. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Schedule For Week 4 Of 2016: April 25th To May 1st (95 Games)
These teams have combined for 8 out of the last 20 World Series wins (in 10 appeareancs – but at least one of them had represented in the AL during the playoffs for every year since the WildCard was alotted – until 2014 saw that come to an end. The last time neither team participated in the postseason prior to that was 1993. The Yankees ended up making the Wild Card Game in 2015 to start a new streak. The Bronx Bombers are struggling and aging rapidly, while Boston tries to see a bunch of new players all gel into a club that could contend. They are the ESPN Sunday night game on May 1st.
BOLD Red is Interleague Play
MLB Schedule For Week 4 Of 2016: April 25th To May 1st (96 Games)
MLB Scheduling 2016
Day + Date Away and Home, Times Start In EST
Week 4
Monday Apr 25 (12 Games)
White Sox @ Blue Jays 7:07
A’s @ Tigers 7:08
O’s @ Rays 7:10
Reds @ Mets 7:10
Red Sox @ Braves 7:10
Yankees @ Rangers 8:05
Indians @ Twins 8:10
Pirates @ Rockies 8:40
Cards @ D’Backs 9:40
Royals @ Angels 10:05
Padres @ Giants 10:15
Astros @ M’s 10:10
Marlins @ Dodgers 10:10 Read the rest of this entry
Texas Is Blanked By The White Sox FRI: Then There Were 10 Teams Left In 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor:
Texas is always a favorite for this competition, but they were knocked out on Friday night by the Chicago White Sox and Jose Quintana. On a good note, being blanked has them tied for the AL lead in quickest to 11 variations in 3026 MLB Runs Scoring Survivor with the Seattle Mariners – with 9 out of the 11 runs scored scenarios in games thus far.
Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead Analyst)
Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
Texas was the 20th squad to see all of their run totals of a game all see zeroes on Friday night. The White Sox and Jose Quintana provided the opposition – and knocked out one of the best clubs to be left in this category.
So there are now 10 clubs left in this quest to be last team bageled in 2016.
The 4 American League teams remaining are overall favorite Toronto, and the potent offensive of Baltimore are also alive Surprisingly, the A’s have to be blanked, and not surprising, the Astros are still on the board.
I fully expect the O’s, Jays and Astros to lead the league in HRs 1, 2 and 3, so this is about right. Oakland on the other hand is the odd man still there. Kudos to them for a great start to the campaign.
In the NL, the Rockies are always hard to keep from scoring – and are blessed with a nice run scoring home stadium. Pittsburgh, Arizona and Los Angeles are worthy choices of being left in the running.
Washington should be a tough out here as well. Read the rest of this entry
MLB DFS Picks For FanDuel – 4/23/16
Bryce Harper has finally come of age as a budding superstar in the league with 42 HRs in the 2015 season – which tied him for the NL Lead. He may be capable of launching up a 50 HR season in his career really soon, and has 8 HRs and 22 RBI though the Nats first 16 Games Played so far. He is averaging 14.6 PPG on FanDuel, and will be a part of any roster I fill out as the main player, unless an awesome Lefty is opposed to him like Kershaw or Bumgarner. Using a guy like Michael Taylor to offset the $ is always a good move, or another lateral player that hits 1 – 4 in any lineup and is in the $2500 – $2900 range.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 Follow @mlbreports
I will open up by saying that most good fantasy players will play several lineup entries into the contests. To save face, all of us also will put at least one roster up that takes Coors Field into consideration.
This website knows all to well what the home ballpark in Colorado does for the hitter. How about hitting .315 as a BA for positional hitters for the Rockies 0 even in the ‘humidor era’?
All the exposing the balls to that room has done is take away the sick amount of homers that were hit. The spacious outfield is still prone to lots of base knocks.
The reason why I won’t post that lineup is because it won’t help you win any money. The more players that are wagered on (and not unique) makes it unlikely to win any serious money. You must factor it in to just break even though.
On Saturday, I am loving using Michael Wacha versus San Diego. Maybe he will have better success against the Padres than his fellow chucker Adam Wainwright had.
With savings to the lineup placed forth by putting in a Danny Espinosa, and creative other value priced Nats in Michael Taylor, we are able to secure Bryce Harper. I love adding Taylor to offset Harper’s $5900 price tag. With him leading off a lot, it provides decent chances to at least provide value.
As for the Catcher, I can always switch out before the lineup locks should Matt Wieters not be confident in starting (he never played Friday). Stephen Vogt, Francisco Cervelli or Miguel Montero would be all right to take the spot. Read the rest of this entry
Chicago Cubs Win Runs Scoring Survivor 2016 – Then Shutout Reds To Knock Them Out Of MLB Shutout Survivor
John Minchillo – AP
Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead Analyst)
Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
Jake Arrieta through his 2nd no hitter in just 12 regular season starts, and effectively eliminated Cincinnati from the quest to be the last team blanked in the MLB.
The Reds will finish no worse than 13th.
Chicago also wrapped up the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor when the Marlins failed to tally either 8 or 9 runs in their 5 – 1 win vs the Nats Thursday. There are still plenty of things to look forward to in the contest, including who is the last to complete the journey.
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.
A Bold Italic illustrates it has been done for runs by the club. We are also doing the MLB Shutout Survivor as well.
Read the rest of this entry
The Most Recent No Hitter For Each Franchise (Updated for Jake Arrieta, April 21 2016 )
John Minchillo – AP
FIRST NO HITTER OF THE YEAR!!
Evidently Jake Arrieta and Max Scherzer are the only pitchers allowed to throw no hitters! Well, Arrieta was given plenty of run support and earned it with his second masterpiece in less than a year.
Who knows? Maybe it will be a magic year for the Cubs.
It is time to update my list!
Odds To Win The MLB 2016 World Series + Best And Worst Bets
The Mets made it to the World Series in 2015 after a subpar start heading into the Trade Deadline. With a ton of pitching and some decent positional players still on the roster, they could set themselves up for a lengthy run in the NL East. Especially if they can coordinate a couple of trades near the Trade Deadline. While they may have started slow, the bats are alive and well, and the rotation should come around soon. They are this week’s best odd.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_Hunter21
Follow The MLBreports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Nationals asserted themselves on this leaderboard thanks to a quick start. They were my 2nd best bet last week at +1100. Now the odd at +650 is not worth any money at all.
Since Washington was able to play so well, this has created the perfect storm to put some more cash on the Mets. At +1300, New York is just begging for a wager.
The strength of schedule to which the Nats have played has definitely factored in. 2 series versus the Braves and Marlins and one against the Phillies already, Dusty Baker‘s club has had about a ‘cupcake itinerary’ as you possibly could find.
It gets better for the District’s squad, as they go home for another series with Philadelphia – that comes on the heels of a weekend Interleague series versus the Twins.
If Washington wins those 2 series, they should be about 15 or 16 wins after 22 games. They should cement themselves in the playoffs with an easy NL East opponents schedule all year. I just want to see them play some tougher clubs.
The Mets offense has sprung to life behind the backs of Yoenis Cespedes, Neil Walker, David Wright and Michael Conforto. When the Pitching Rotation settles in a little bit, they should take off.
While Washington is leading the Division, they have yet to face the NL reigning pennant winners. The division win could come down to the 19 contests between the two clubs.
Terry Collins‘ team has 16 straight games versus squads with losing records. While the Giants are capable of contending all year, New York should be able to match them well for pitching. Read the rest of this entry
Strong Player Starts (And Not) From Around The League: National League Central
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Shane Kay (Featured BBBA Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com) Follow @sonsof84tigers Follow @mlbreports
Continuing on look at hot starts from around the league, we move on from the AL East to the National League Central where we see a bunch of exciting starts from teams and players as well as some very slow starts from key stars.
Chicago Cubs
Hot
Dexter Fowler, OF – Fowler has done a great job helping the a struggling offense with his team leading .378 average, 10 runs scored, 3 homers (tied with Rizzo), 9 walks (tied with Rizzo), and a 1.211 OPS
Cubs Starting Pitchers – The offense is sputtering, but the pitching is thriving right now.
All 5 starters have allowed a total of 21 runs 13 starts (combined 2.18 ERA), Jason Hammel and Jake Arrieta have batting averages against of .195 and Jon Lester has hitters baffled with a .183 avg against.
Oh, and WHIP…a combined 0.969, which is led by Arrieta at 0.77 and Lester at 0.84
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY
SF/MIA Both Zeroed Last Night As They Inch Closer To MLB Run Scoring Survivor Leaderboard: 12 Teams Remain In 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor 2016
The Marlins held steady with the Nats for 6 innings until it all unfolded quickly in the top of the 7th – where the Nats cracked 4 HRs en route to a 7 – 0 shutout. Miami may have been eliminated from MLB Shutout Survivor, but it was their 9th different run variation in 12 games. The Cubs have 10 different totals in 14 games to lead that contest.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
All of a sudden the Giants are below .500 ( at 7 – 8), and were zeroed out by the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. San Francisco just couldn’t solve Robbie Ray. They were not the only ones to have no runs in a game last night.
The Miami Marlins were tied with Washington at 0 until the 7th inning – when the Nats exploded for four HRs in one frame, including 3 solo jacks and a Bryce Harper Grand Slam.
By the way….for those counting at home, the reigning NL MVP now has 20 RBI and 7 HRs on the year. This guy is amazing.
Stephen Strasburg helped hold the Fish scoreless, and we are now down to just 12 clubs left.
There was almost a 3rd squad to join the list yesterday, but the ‘Phightin Phillies’ ruined the Mets Shutout bid, by plating a runner in the bottom of the 8th at Citizens Bank Park. They were still clobbered 11 – 1, and yielded 6 big flies to New York.
For MLB Runs Scoring Survivor, there is team that is within earshot of the Cubs – with Miami being blanked yesterday.
After just 12 games, they now have 9 contests where they have scored runs that are not the same as any other.
Jeffrey Loria’s club needs games of 8 and 9 guys passing home plate exactly to complete the journey. These are the toughest marks.
The D’Backs have pulled out 9/11 variations thanks to a 9 – 7 11 inning tilt on Monday evening. In fact, the Giants joined them last night at 9/11 run scoring totals and have also played 15 games.
Tampa Bay, Toronto and San Diego all placed victories in action last night – but all failed to tally a new run total, and are all presently at just 5 different variations.
Cards + White Sox Eliminated From MLB Shutout Survivor 2016: ALL AL Central Teams Are Also Gone
The Cardinals were shutout 5 – 0 by NL Division rival Chicago last night (in the 1st game of a 19 game head versus head this season). At least the RedBirds prevented them from scoring 3 runs, and completing the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor last night. The Cards could still finish in the top 15 depending on some outcomes coming up.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
The teams are putting up zeroes faster than Vegas casino’s are padding their bottom lines now.
St. Louis couldn’t handle ex teammate John Lackey. and were effectively knocked out of the contest via a 5 – 0 loss.
The Angels wiped out the White Sox for a 7 – 0 victory on Monday night. In doing so, every club in the AL Central is now gone from MLB Shutout Survivor 2016.
Meanwhile the Padres are the squad that has been vanquished in the NL West by a Shutout so far. Yes, and they are making up for the other clubs by taking the egg-shaped number 5 separate times already.
There are only 5 teams left in the American League, and now there are 9 clubs still alive in the NL.
I am contemplating going all the way back to 1918 – in order to figure out who won this competition every year. That would be a lot easier than running through game scores for all of the seasons of MLB Runs Scoring Survivor.
With only 8 teams in play Monday night – there wasn’t much action in the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor. The only note was that the Cubs didn’t capitalize on their fist chance to complete the journey. They have another chance tonight against St. Louis (the magic number of runs is 3). Read the rest of this entry
Tigers/Indians + Cubs Eliminated From MLB Shutout Survivor 2016: But Cubs Have 10/11 Variations Complete In MLB Runs Scoring Survivor
The Cubs may have been eliminated from MLB Shutout Survivor yesterday. however they have run through an incredible 10 of the 11 differentrun variations ( 0 – 10 runs scored) though just 12 games.. They just need to score 3 runs in a game to complete the category. It could sow it up as early as tonight when they face the St. Louis Cardinals in a NL Central showdown.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
So I said last at the end of the last week that the Cubs were poised to win the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor competition, and now they are just 1 run variation short (they need 3 runs in a game).
They could win the category tonight when they renew their NL Central rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals.
This is all possible because they were blanked 2 – 0 by Tyler Chatwood at Wrigley yesterday, coupled with 2 Nolan Arenado Homers.
Cleveland was eliminated by a 6 – 0 shutout on Sunday as well. The New York Mets took 2 of the 3 games in the Interleague series. Since the Tribe has played so few games, they were assigned the 18th place finish already.
Finally, the Tigers were bageled 1 – 0 by Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros. Detroit is also tied for last place in the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor – with owning 5 different results with the Padres, Rays and Jays.
Quite surprising with their potent offense, that Toronto has not tallied 8 runs in a game yet, it is believable they have not scored zero or runs though. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Schedule For Week 2 Of 2016: April 18th to April 24th (96 Games)
Fenway Park will host its annual 1105 AM start time for Patriots Day tomorrow. Make sure you get your fantasy picks in, and to also figure out your viewing schedule as well to accommodate the time.
MLB Scheduling 2016
Day + Date Away and Home, Times Start In EST
Week 3
Monday Apr.18 ( 8 Games)
D’Backs @ Giants 10:15
Rockies @ Reds 4:10
Angels @ White Sox 8:10
Brewers @ Twins 8:10
Blue Jays @ Red Sox 1105 AM. (Patriots Day)
Nats @ Marlins 7:10
Mets @ Phillies 7:05
Cubs @ Cards 8:15 Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 2 – April
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_Hunter21
Follow The MLBreports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
The Cubs will top our list for a second straight week despite losing 2 out of 3 games to the Rockies at Wrigley Field this weekend. The biggest reason is the pitching.
Jake Arrieta is 3 – 0, and has picked up right where we he left off in 2015, and Jon Lester has thrown awesome too. The Bullpen has also been good.
The bats are too solid not to come around and gel as the season moves along. They are playing .750 baseball after a 4 – 2 week still.
Bryce Harper is the best player on the planet, and has homered in 6 straight contests at Citizens Bank Ball Park (4 overall in a row for the MLB this year.) Just were a Jonathan Papelbon last minute meltdown from going a perfect 7 – 0 for the week.
Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy are their top players – and all performing like it, the rest of the club is following through in their secondary roles. This team is scary.
I have the Royals as the top American League club. This squad is 8 – 1 in games that are not started by back end of the rotation man Chris Young.
The reigning 2 time pennant winners have company on the top of the Division to make it interesting, however this team has the better pedigree the last few years.
Some may say with a weekend series win – that the Dodgers should be put in front of the Giants, yet they are still only one game ahead of San Francisco.
With the Giants – there is no real weakness, while with the Los Angeles team, the Bullpen is not giving everyone confidence in the back half of games.
The Dodger Blue is still in the top 5, so I am high on them. Kenta Maeda could be the steal of the winter with how this guy is throwing so far. Reinforcements are starting to come back. Read the rest of this entry
2016 MLB Mock Draft Version 1
Trey Rose (Featured BBBA Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) Follow @dynasty_digest
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter @mlbreports
The 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft is quickly approaching and it’s time to make the first mock draft a few months out. The draft will be held on June 9th, 2016. There is still two months until the draft, so these predictions are subject to change.
If you have any questions or comments about this article, the draft, or baseball in general, please feel free to Tweet me @dynasty_digest
- Philadelphia Phillies: Jason Groome (LHP; Barnegat High School)
- Cincinnati Reds: Riley Pint (RHP; St. Thomas Aquinas High School)
- Atlanta Braves: Alec Hansen (RHP; University of Oklahoma)
To see the rest of the mock draft, click the link below:
READ THE REST OF THE ENTRY
Brew Crew + Rays Eliminated From MLB Shutout Survivor 2016 – (19 Teams Left): Cubs/Rangers Step Closer To Win MLB Runs Scoring Survivor 2016
It is no surprise to our website that the Rays are struggling offensively, and were finally knocked out of the Shutout Survivor competition. How does that Infield look now – with Brad Miller and Logan Morrison hit under .100 – and barely hitting the ball at all? We said they lost their 3 best Batting Average players last year (where they still finished 14th in total team offense), and also spoke of the Starting Pitching and Bullpen being overrated – and suffering talent losses as well. We are right thus far, but we will await the rest of the year.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I said it yesterday that last year the clubs were dropping more like flies than this year. Yesterday two more clubs were zeroed off by opponents, and thus eliminated from the MLB Shutout Survivor.
The Brewers were clipped 7 – 0 by Jaime Garcia, and Danny Salazar coupled with some brilliant late inning relief, carved up the Rays for a 6 – 0 bagel. We are still awaiting outcomes for teams that were shutout in Game 8 and Game 9 – as the Tribe is only at 7 games played themselves.
The Padres are clubhouse leaders for Shutouts against for the whole MLB, and are making history in doing so. They are the first club to score jack squat in 5 of their 1st 10 contests. Good news was they played some games at Coors Field last week – or it could have been worse.
Frankly I am amazed this squad lasting so long in this competition with what kind of lineup their putting forth on a daily basis. Milwaukee did start off the 1st 2 series at hitter friendly – Mlller Park. They were handled to the tune of just one hit yesterday in their loss by Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals – who tossed a Complete Game Shutout.
FanDuel DFS Picks 4/14/16
Josh Robbins (Featured Fantasy Writer/60ft6in.com) Follow @Qualcomm98
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
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 2nd 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
APRIL 14, 2016…
Starting Pitchers
1. Marcus Stroman ($8100) vs. New York Yankees
2. Jason Hammel ($7900) vs. Cincinnati Reds
3. Ross Stripling ($7600) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Player Stacks/Team Offense
I’m a huge fan of stacks especially deep lineups maximizing the four players allowed per team.
- Texas Rangers vs. Chris Tillman
- Kansas City Royals vs. Doug Fister
3. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Robbie Ray
BVP (Minimum 10 AB)
1. Adrian Beltre vs. Chris Tillman (6-12/ 1 HR/ 1.417 OPS)
2. J.J. Hardy vs. Cole Hamels (4-12/ 1 HR/ 1.135 OPS)
3. Eric Hosmer vs. Doug Fister (8-23/ 1 HR/ 0.988 OPS)
If you’re not familiar with the points breakdown, here’s the format utilizing a $35 million salary cap.
Scoring System: https://www.fanduel.com/spring-training?t=lobby
1 Starting Pitcher (SP)
1 Catcher (C)
1 First Baseman (1B)
1 Second Baseman (2B)
1 Third Baseman (3B)
1 Short Stop (SS)
3 Outfielders (OF)
Game Types: https://www.fanduel.com/how-it-works
50-50s
If you’re interested in playing DFS games, please use my Fanduel referral link to signup.
Please use the Referral Link for a signup bonus:
https://www.fanduel.com/?invitedby=bobadney&cnl=da
*** 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***
***Josh Robbins is a Video-Journalist and Baseball Historian who is originally from Poughkeepsie, NY (so grew up a Yankees/Don Mattingly fan).. In 2010, he earned a Master’s Degree in Sport Management from CSU-Long Beach.
From June 16 to July 11, 2008, he watched a game in all 30 MLB stadiums in a world record 26 days by car. Please email Josh at robbinsjosh@hotmail.com or visit 60ft6in.com for more information about the Factor12 Rating.***
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!
2016 MLB Team Salaries Links Page here.
Braves Get Blanked In 8th Straight Loss: 21 Teams Left In 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update
The Braves had themselves a bad day as an organization in the District yesterday. Not only the whole Hector Olivera situation, but they fell to 0 – 8, were eliminated from the MLB Shutout Survivor contest, and face Stephen Strasburg today.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So the Braves have 8 straight losses to begin the year (as do the Twins) -but yesterday marked the 1st time they were bageled in those contests. Can either of the Braves or Twins take a run at the 1988 Baltimore Orioles run of 21 straight defeats from the start of a season?
Out of the 9 clubs that been zeroed in the MLB, only 3 have come from the Senior Circuit (Mets, Braves and Padres, but San Diego has seen a donut 4 times on their scoresheet already.)
6 teams have suffered a Shutout in the AL, including the Yankees and Blue Jays – who I thought may have stuck around a long time. Overall shutouts are way down compared to other years. Read the rest of this entry
2016’s 30 MLB Park Home Openers Results: Fans Go Home Disappointed 19 Times
Best home win for all 30 clubs in winning 10 – 1 over the Milwaukee Brewers Monday Apr 11, 2016 9 runs difference was the best run differential for the home clubs.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was a bad year for the home clubs in MLB Season Openers in 2016. The road clubs won 19 of the 30 MLB Park openers. The worst defeat was at Petco Park (where the Padres lost 15 – 0).
The Cardinals featured the best win for the home side, working over the Brewers for a 10 – 1 win yesterday.
Of note, it was the last home park openers for David Ortiz and the great Vin Scully announced the lineup for his last Dodger Stadium opener, in what was the 30th home opener on the itinerary.
The American League went 5 – 10 and the National League went 6 – 9.
Baltimore, San Francisco, Chicago Cubs and Detroit were the only four clubs that won openers, that also won another home opener to which they were on the road.
The Cardinals had the most lopsided win at home winning 10 – 1, the Giants scored the most runs with 12, and the biggest loss and defeat for a home squad, was San Diego being bageled 15 – 0 by the Dodgers in Game 1 at Petco, in what turned out to be a 3 game home series where they were shutout in all games and outscored 25 – 0.
To end the stats here, the NL Central was the only winning division at 4 – 1, where the Brewers lost the only contest at Miller Park to the Giants.
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series
The Tigers had a nice week of 3 – 1 to start the year. Miguel Cabrera and he offense looked good. The Starting Pitching was given a massive lift with Jordan Zimmermann doling out a Shutout on the Comerica Park opener Friday. In a competitive AL Central, the Motown Boys should still be in contention for a playoff spot all year, and be given respect. Instead, clubs are ahead of them in the AL that shouldn’t be. At +2200 they are a bargain. They are the best bet on the board this week. Having them ranked tied for 14th right now is not where I would put them at.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
After the 1st week of action the gamblers have spoken. The Cubs are solidifying their status as the favorite. Despite a slow week – the Jays are still tied with the Royals for the favorites in the Junior Circuit.
They finally have pegged KC at the right mark. In fact, I have no problem with the top 5 odds listed at all.
The first place I have found value is with the Nationals. They went 3 – 1 in the 1st week. and will throw both Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg 2 times each this week versus the Braves ( 4 game series) and Phillies (3 game series). I could see this team winning at least 5 games, which would put them at 8 – 3 or better after next Sunday. Bet them now before their odd jumps to +800.
To begin the year the NL East was rail thin in difference. and with Washington jumping out to a bit better of a start than New York – coupled with the cupcake schedule this week. they are a great value on the board.
Detroit is going to my favorite selection of the week. They win 3 of 4 games, have solid offense – and yet maintain their same odd from last week, when all of the AL West clubs did not have a winning record except for the A’s, and the AL Central and AL East had the usual culprits only playing okay (in addition to Baltimore).
While I received better value at betting the O’s to win the American League Pennant in my preseason picks (At +2800, which is now what they are listed at for the World Series following their 5 – 0 start.) Listen I am happy I made those picks, and the ALCS win was the way to go versus the +5000 bet they had – as I think all AL clubs would be underdogs in the Fall Classic against the top 5 favorites. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Schedule For Week 2 Of 2016: April 11th to April 17th (94 Games)
To Start the Year, All Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays all carry 15 games after the 1st week (all 30 teams) and at least 1 interleague series. Monday and Thursday the games are varied, and there doesn’t have to be AL vs NL.
BOLD Red is Interleague Play
MLB Scheduling 2016
Day + Date Away and Home, Times Start In EST
Week 2
Monday Apr 11 (10 Games)
Pirates @ Tigers 1:08
Orioles @ Red Sox 2:05 (Fenway Park Home Opener)
Padres @ Phillies 3:05 (Citizens Bank Ball Park Opener)
White Sox @ Twins 4:10 (Target Field Season Opener)
Brewers @ Cards 4:15 (Busch Stadium Season Opener)
Royals @ Astros 8:10 (Minute Maid Season Opener)
Marlins @ Mets 7:10
Reds @ Cubs 8:05(Wrigley Field Season Opener)
Angels @ A’s 10:05
Rangers @ Mariners 10:10 Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 1 – April
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
Team – Rank (W – L Record) (Last week ranking in parenthesis)
(1) Chicago Cubs (5 – 1) (1): The Cubs weathered the loss of their slugging OF Kyle Schwarber this week – by taking 5 of the 1st 6 games played, and all on the road. After these 6 contests – the squad is outscoring their opponents 42 – 15.
Love the idea of setting the table with Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist 1-2-3 prior to the boppers coming after in Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant.
Having the 2015 NL ROY may help Rizzo win the NL MVP this season. He had 10 RBI this week – including a 6 RBI effort.
Jake Arrieta is already 2 – 0, and this team shows no signs of slowing down.
(2) KC Royals (4 – 1) (2): This club just knows how to win with the dominant Bullpen and clutch hitting. They have only yielded 11 runs thus far, and this team has not even hit huge strides on offense yet.
The AL Central is better in 2016 there is no question, however KC will be ready to take them on. There may not be a more filthy Late Inning Reliever right now than Wade Davis. Edinson Volquez has picked up right where he left off in 2015 as well. Read the rest of this entry
How Many Years Will It Take Of The AL Clubbing The NL In Interleague (On A 12 Year Win Streak) Before Things Change?
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
With a modest 4 – 3 lead in the season series heading into yesterday’s action. the National League was in foreign territory by leading the Interleague yearly contest. You see that have not won a yearly series vs the AL since 2003. Houston tied the current campaign series at 4 with a 6 – 4 win Satuday.
The Junior Circuit has won the last 12 years of play, and own a decisive .552 win percentage since 2004 (when the 1st 8 years were split 4 – 4 in the seasons, with the NL holding a 30 games wins lead) in that time frame.
I am a bigger fan of the American League game over the National League, yet I am torn because if these splits continue for more seasons, we will never have more Interleague ever. We may stay the same – or god forbid, eliminate Interleague altogether if expansion leads to 32 clubs (16 in each league) and negating an odd amount of teams per league, not necessarily needing to play it anymore.
Right now there are 20 games for each club against the other League. It boils down to just one division playing another division, and then in most cases, a natural geographical rivalry.
Determining how many games there ought to really be, I turn to the “Team Fatigue card” a lot of my fellow westerners have expressed in so much out this way over the years.
I am close enough to see both NL and AL parks play, but there are several cities that are without a league park of the other for hundreds of miles (like Seattle, Arizona, Colorado, Minneapolis), then KC and St. Louis to a lesser extent, but far away enough to classify a full road trip should you partake in a journey to see.
You can add Texas and Houston, with Tampa and Miami in that mix as well. Read the rest of this entry
Yanks Get Blanked To Be Eliminated In MLB Shutout Survivor (With B Lineup) + MLB Run Scoring Survivor Update
I get that the Bronx Bombers will need to rest their veterans on certain days, but to not have Beltran and A-Rod in the lineup at the same time is not cool. Why not switch days they were not playing on Friday and Saturday? New York was blanked 4 – 0 by the Tigers and Zimmermann yesterday. Dustin Ackley made a critical mental error at First Base, and he and back up OF Aaron Hicks both went hitless in the matchup.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Yankees became the 4th club to be blanked this year yesterday afternoon in Detroit. While some teams have not played their 4th games already. their placement could be higher than 27th. however this was to be expected.
I hate the fact they cashed it in as a fan. Sitting Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran all in the same game – just four games into the schedule is pretty dumb.
I have no problem with the guys excusing A-Rod with a pass versus the tough right hander in Jordan Zimmermann, but really the club could have started Mark Teixeira at First Base and had Beltran as the DH. Are they really that frail that they can’t even make it through half a week?
At worst, why not rotate who takes the contest off. They better all be in the lineup today against Mike Pelfrey.
It is completely understandable for Joe Girardi to give the veterans the day off, no worries there, but to field a lineup that possessed Dustin Ackley and Aaron Hicks is ridiculous. They should have just thrown CC Sabathia in this match if they were putting out the “B” lineup.
Regardless here – the Yankees are gone from this competition. At least they crossed off another variation in their MLB Runs Scoring Survivor. Read the rest of this entry
BBBA Audio/Video Casters Week In Review:
The Baseball Bloggers Alliance is not only a membership for writers, we also support podcasters/videocasters and vloggers. We have many talented people who are doing an awesome job covering the game of Major League Baseball. If you know a show that is good and think they should be on this page, check out our contact information and send us a note.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
We have an outstanding amount of baseball fans that are doing audio and video presentations for the game of baseball that are not even being paid for it.
I would put the content of these shows up against a lot of the paid professionals of the MLB – or any other entity that possesses the wherewithal to be able to do that.
If you want to keep scrolling down, all of the information listed below is all of the shows for the week from all, or maybe you have a favorite, then you can just click on one of the highlighted shows.
In this opening week we had Sully Baseball talk a lot about the Pirates, D’Backs, Cubs and the Cardinals in opening week. He keyed on where Tim Lincecum may end up, and the opening start for Zack Greinke. Like everyone else, he also submitted his yearly predictions.
Sully also delivered an emotional podcast where he implores everyone to love their extended family more on April 2, 2016 – because you don’t know when you may lose some one.
BBBA Audio/Video Shows
The “BBA” Live guys talked about the opening week, and a lot about what the NL East will look like this year.
The Hall Of Very Good Interviewed Kato Kaelin.
The Jays from the Couch guys continued to kill it on their coverage of Canada’s only team.
The Pirates Breakdown was happy to see their club begin 3 – 0 after sweeping the Cards after giving their predictions.
Seamheads (Gateway To Heaven) wondered if anyone was going to make it through the week for St. Louis in light of the Tommy Pham injury.
MLB This Week went through their season picks – and also talked about some of the technology of the game as a fan.
Past here is how to subscribe and listen to these shows.
Odds To Win The MLB Divisions In 2016: Best Value Bets
It seems about once every 3 years Ubaldo Jimenez puts together a Cy Young caliber type of year. If he can find all the stars aligned in the right direction he could throw like a suitable #1 pitcher in the league. The problem with the rotation is that Jimenez and Tillman are up and down – while Gausman and Bundy are unproven at the big league. At least the potential is there for one year. Decent Innings were thrown by both starters this week, and Bundy worked a nice frame out of the Bullpen last night.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So less than a week of play has occurred and we are seeing some early trends. They jumped from +1300 to +900 in 3 games, and I still believe that is great value.
1st impressions are I am glad I bet a lot of money on the Baltimore Orioles for the Division and the American League Pennant overall. Yes they swept a Twins club at home, and have yet to play on the road, but the pitching looks decent.
Chris Tillman and Ubaldo Jimenez look decent in their limited work, and the offense has come up clutch.
If the O’s are able to get that Cy Young caliber type of chucker Jimenez seems to wharf into for half a year (for once every 3 seasons), than maybe Baltimore has a fighting chance to win the AL East in 2016.
Baltimore was 47 – 31, and played one of the weirdest home games ever in front of no fans after the Baltimore riots. For those scoring at home too, the Rays hosted 3 games with the civil unrest, and that is why there were only 78 games played at Camden Yards in 2015.
The Orioles were 34 – 50 on the road. If they are able to win some games away from home cooking, they will compete. Read the rest of this entry
How Do You Define A Sports Dynasty In Baseball History And Now?
Jen Rainwater (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – www.bbstmlb.com) Follow @OakAsSockGrl
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I’ve been wanting to write this piece for forever – I’ve started and I’ve stopped but this picture is an inspiration to finally write the story I need to write.
The “even year” San Francisco Giants are NOT a dynasty and the above picture illustrates that, but I have examples beyond that, that help prove my point.
DEFINITION OF A DYNASTY:
According to the dictionary this is the definition of a dynasty:
- a succession of rulers who are members of the same family
- the period during which a certain family reigns
That can be applied to sports teams …. I define a sports dynasty as follows:
Dynasties are teams that are DOMINANT over a significant period of time.
For further examples and information on sports dynasties and why they qualify as dynasties ….
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 8, 2016
The Reds are off to a great start that could go sour quickly.
Meanwhile, I want the naming rights for the A’s ballpark.
It all in the name for this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Jay Bruce, Mark Teixeira, David Phelps, Mat Latos, David Peralta and Tyler White all added to their total of Who Owned Baseball.
See the updated listing of WOB on MLB Reports.
Read the rest of this entry
2016 MLB Shutout Survivor (KC Eliminated) + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update: 4 NL West Clubs With 10 Runs Or More, TB in Trouble
Eliminated from 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor last night.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Noah Syndergaard was filthy yesterday in the Mets 2 – 0 blanking of the KC Royals. They are the third team to be eliminated – however plenty of clubs are playing the second game of their schedule, and could be beat up worse than 2 – donut today.
San Diego officially places 30th in the tourney. and LAA was 29th.
Speaking of SD. For the second straight day “The Friars” were bageled by the Dodgers. They are seeing more zeroes on the scoreboard than Bill Gates estimated net worth so far this campaign.
They are also the only club in the NL West not to plate ten runs thus far in the season.
In MLB Runs Scoring Survivor – the Tampa Bay Rays scored 3 runs for the 3rd straight contest in their controversial victory against the Toronto Blue Jays last night. Repeating the same run total this early in the year is a big way to fall back in this competition.
Colorado and the Chicago Cubs scored 6 runs in their second game. and are the only team with 2 contests to have 2 variations north of 5. Read the rest of this entry
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