Blog Archives

The Time Has Finally Come… Jameson Taillon To Be Called Up To The Big Leagues

You read that correctly folks, Pirates’ right-handed pitching prospect, Jameson Taillon, is finally getting called up! As many of you well know, I am a huge fan of this pitcher. He has the potential to be a frontline starter in the Pirates rotation in the future and he could be there faster than you think.

 

Taillon has had a very difficult road to the major leagues. He was drafted in the first round (second overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010. From 2011 to 2013, he shot up the organization and was on the fast track to a promotion to the big league team. Unfortunately, he was sidelined in 2014 after receiving Tommy John Surgery.

 

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Yu Darvish Is Returning On Saturday… All Fantasy Owners Can Rejoice

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

Fantasy owners, the time has come, Yu Darvish will be making his season debut on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Darvish is returning after 22 months of rehab following Tommy John Surgery.

He has made five rehab starts in the minor leagues and he has been very sharp. In those five starts, he has thrown 20 innings, with a 0.90 ERA, and 21 strikeouts. He has also hit 97 MPH with his fastball, which is a great sign of positive health. It looks like Darvish is back and ready to dominate for the Texas Rangers.

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MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 7 – May

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

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MAY 15, 2016

Well not much has changed from this week as compared to last week.  Detroit carried its free fall to 4th in the AL Central, the Yankees took 5 of 7 contests – and 7/10 in their homestand to save their season for now.

Miami and Philadelphia continue to stick around in the NL East, and the Giants and Dodgers finally had winning weeks to make the NL West Division Leader respectable.

Nobody looks scarier right now than the Boston Red Sox offense, who led by David Ortiz, Jackie Bradley JR. and Xander Bogaerts, plated 10 runs or more in 5 of the last 6 games, after going their 1st 32 games without doing so.

I am still awaiting for a Jays big winning streak.  Houston has not played winning baseball since the 1st 6 weeks of the 2015 – and are tending to resemble the 2007 Tampa Bay Rays more than anything.

All offense and little pitching and defense.

There is nobody struggling worse than Logan Morrison, Russell Martin, Carlos Gomez and the consortium of LF’s in Anaheim! Recently bouncing out of this list are Jason Heyward and Chase Headley.

We are nearing the quarter pole and rapidly approaching Memorial Day Weekend, so it is not early anymore.
Read the rest of this entry

Red Sox + Padres Have Completed 2016 MLB Runs Scoring Survivor, 23 Teams Left

Waited 32 games to score 10 or more runs, then did the feat 2 times in 3 nights thanks to the heroics of Jackie Bradley JR. and a crazy good lineup.

Waited 32 games to score 10 or more runs, then did the feat 2 times in 3 nights thanks to the heroics of Jackie Bradley JR. and a crazy good lineup.

Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead  Analyst)

We are starting to get down to the nitty gritty of this contest.  7 of the 23 clubs have now completed their 11 different run variations, now that the Red Sox and Padres have accomplished the feat over the last few days.

Boston finishes 6th, and unless the Indians knockout run scores of 8 and 9 runs in any order over the next 2 contests.

San Diego looked to end as one of the last to finish this category early in the year being shutout 3 straight games to start the campaign, and also 5 of their 1st 11 matches.  They have been better as an offense of late.

The Padres swept a twinbill versus the mighty Cubs on Wednesday, and are just 2.5 Games Behind the Giants and Dodgers for the NL West lead at 15 – 20.  Good rally for these guys to finish in the top 10.

The Red Sox waited until game 32 to score more than 10 runs, and then they did the maneuver 2 nights later versus the A’s yet again, with another 2 HR, 6 RBI game from Jackie Bradley JR.

Most of the teams now have 9 or 10 variations covered, with the trailing squad in the whole MLB being the Philadelphia Phillies with just different 7 totals.

The Phightins’ are at least one of 4 rosters still alive in the MLB Shutout Survivor (A’s. Rockies and Pirates). Read the rest of this entry

Do The Pittsburgh Pirates Miss Pitching Guru Jim Benedict More Than Expected?

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

This past off-season the Miami Marlins hired away former Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching guru, Jim Benedict and named him their Vice President of Pitching Development, which is a new position specifically created for the for the former minor league pitcher turned advance scout.

Despite being credited hand-in-hand with Ray Searage for their numerous reclamation projects, Benedict’s specific contributions were at times difficult to fully quantify.

With Benedict gone, the 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates have seen their pitching devolve from an area of strength to a current weakness. Is this simply due to the loss of Benedict? Or are there other factors at play? Can we draw any conclusions from Benedict’s new team’s performance?

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MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 6 May

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

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MAY 8, 2016

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.

Rank – Team Record (Last week rank) (Up down) (W – L Record Last week)

(1) (1)  Chicago Cubs (E) (24 – 6) :  A real bad day for the Cubs is battling with a team like Washington on Sunday, to see whether or not they are going to sweep them or go 3 – 1 in a series.

Yep, they swept the 4 game set in a 13 inning walk off HR by Javier Baez – to cap a 7 – 0 week. They are on pace for about 129 wins right now.

Depth of the Starting Rotation is looking solid with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jason Hammel (Killer J’s) and Kyle Hendricks.

Hector Rondon is not even needed in most leads, with the team almost at a +100 differential through 30 games,

(2) (3) Chicago White Sox (+1) (22 – 10) ( 4 – 2):  Chris Sale is 7 – 0, and may go Ron Guidry (circa 1979 on us).  If anyone will win 25 games in a year, it would be him or Jake Arrieta.

Bob Welch won 27 games in 1990 for the A’s was the last guy to do that.

Has anyone noticed that Brett Lawrie has an OBP closer to .400 – than his usual .310 – .320?

Jose Quintana is finally receiving some run support.  If Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu start hitting for BA, than look he the hell out.  We could see a “Windy City” World Series for the 1st time since 1906. Read the rest of this entry

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – May 7, 2016

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I was too late to rent a car at Burbank. So I talked about a crazy week, marketing classes and some strike zone and Pirates thoughts.

It is an everything at once episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

 Jose Ramirez, Ben Zobrist, Cole Hamels, Francisco Liriano, Oswaldo Garcia, Daniel Murphy, Jordan Zimmermann and Kenta Maeda all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball yesterday.

See the updated listing of WOB on MLB REPORTS

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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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MLB Fantasy Daily (DFS) Picks For DraftKings – 5/3/16

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

2nd Lineup (Look to hit on the Astros again tonight @ Minute Maid Park)

Last night was burned by Dallas Keuchel not pulling his weight on the mound.  I am laying off Collin McHugh tonight, as I feel there is to be lots of runs scored against the Twins – with Alex Meyer on the bump, and McHugh toting an over 6 ERA.

I also am feeling the Nationals breaking out the lumber versus Chris Young, and in particular Bryce Harper, who has had a slower 7 day stretch after a torrid pace the 1st 3 weeks.

I am still going to use the Buster Posey, Hunter Pence tandem versus Jon Moscot.

In order to field a huge amount of firepower, that comes with a Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer stack versus Meyer, I used bargain bids of the night in Matt Carpenter ($3900) and Brandon Moss ($2700) against 2nd year man Aaron Nola. Read the rest of this entry

Daily Fantasy MLB Picks (DFS) For Draft Kings 5/2/16

Houston starts a huge homestand on Monday versus the Twins and rookie RHP Jose Berrios.   I am going with a 4 man offensive stack, and coupling that with Dallas Keuchel throwing at home, where he was 17 - 0 last year in his own park.

Houston starts a huge homestand on Monday versus the Twins and rookie RHP Jose Berrios. I am going with a 4 man offensive stack, and coupling that with Dallas Keuchel throwing at home, where he was 17 – 0 last year in his own park.  It is time for the “Stros to play with desperation.  They begin play tomorrow at 6 Games already behind the Rangers.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Last week we were keying on the Tigers to have a better luck with their lot of hitters, and while I am still on that bandwagon for week 5 of play, I am going hard on the Astros this next stretch of play.

It is imperative that Houston begins the long journey back to respectability.  How better than to start than with the AL worst team in the Minnesota Twins?

I am also high on the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.  Buster Posey hit a HR on Sunday, and maybe he will show some power again at the Great American Ball Park.

The Braves play in New York to start off their week, and I am continuing the theme of playing against them every night with the opposing pitcher.

Good thing that Bartolo Colon is only listed at $6700.

I will be aiming heavy opposing the Phillies – with the St. Louis Cardinals in the next couple of days too. Read the rest of this entry

MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 5 – May

The Bucs have the best Batting Average and OBP in the majors this year, and are waiting for the Starting Pitching to join them. Considering they have talent in the Minor Leagues to address this, and won 98 Games last year, it is not surprising to see them jump 10 spots in the rankings on a great week of play.

The Bucs have the best Batting Average and OBP in the majors this year, and are waiting for the Starting Pitching to join them. Considering they have talent in the Minor Leagues to address this, and won 98 Games last year, it is not surprising to see them jump 10 spots in the rankings on a great week of play – where so many of their fellow NL clubs (besides the Nats and Cubs struggled so mightily).

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Follow The MLBreports On Twitter

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

Gone are the days right now where a Yankees and Red Sox Sunday Night matchup wasn’t important in the pantheon that are the weekly MLB Power Rankings.

Boston is still going to be in the top 10 as the AL East lone representative on the heels of their offensive output.

Every time I look up the Beantown Boys are into the double digits in hits for the game, and David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia are in the thick of it.

While they also didn’t make the biggest movers and shakers either, John Farrell‘s club is looking poised to be cracking the top 5 soon.

The NL West have all teams .500 or worse, and I am shocked at how that has translated for the Dodgers and Giants. Read the rest of this entry

MLB Fantasy Daily (DFS) Picks For FanDuel – 4/30/16 + Bonus 2nd Lineup

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

The Tigers have definitely heated up their lineup in the last week – and are perhaps still vastly underrated on FanDuel right now. Looking to capitalize on low values for Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton and J.D. Martinez.

I also believe in the NY Yankees getting the better of Rick Porcello on Saturday with LHB Brett Gardner and Brian McCann.  I added Starlin Castro to the fold at Fenway Park. 

For some reason, the Yankees do well at Fenway for batting anyway. Plus I can’t think that Porcello will keep up his success either.

There is a lot of frontline pitchers throwing on Saturday, so I am steering clear of a a ton of cash on FanDuel.  I do love Francisco Liriano vs the Reds.  Heck, I love anyone against the Reds – who are starting their freefall.

The Yankees and Tigers are kind of an old unconventional duo for a couple of stacks, and that is what I am hoping for.  I may play a Chase Field lineup as well – and just call it a day. Read the rest of this entry

Daily Fantasy MLB Picks (DFS) For Draft Kings 4/29/16: Lineup 2

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Chase Field does not get the recognition it deserves right now as an absolute scoring machine.  There have been a ton of 10 run game efforts put forth by the D’Backs and their opponents so far this year.

Outside of Coors Field, it is a must play for at least one lineup every night.

So if there is no game in Colorado to do a roster, I am switching it to Arizona if possible. Read the rest of this entry

Daily Fantasy MLB Picks (DFS) For Draft Kings 4/29/16

Buster Posey

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Welcome to an awesome strategy putting forth for a DraftKings lineup Friday.  I have compiled a list of 2 hitters back to back in the heart of the lineup for 4 separate clubs, that are opposing opposite hand pitchers.  All four teams I am using guys for are on the road.

I am showcasing the Blue Jays vs Drew Smyly (Joey Bats and EE), the Giants vs Steven Matz (Hunter Pence and Buster Posey, although they may be 4/5 in the lineup), the Nats versus Mike Leake (Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy) and finally Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado will hit against Robbie Ray.

By picking the road participants solely in the lineup, I am ensuring each batter will hit for the 9 Innings.

Since we are playing DraftKings, the pitchers we are to select aren’t going to receive 12 pts for a win, but I am still taking superior clubs – with the Cubs over the Braves, and the Pirates host the free falling Reds. Read the rest of this entry

Trio Of Teams Blanked WED (WSH/TOR/LAD) Leaves 6 Clubs Remaining In 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor

Toronto were the two time reigning champs heading into this season, but will not win for a 3rd straight year, but will still finish in the top 10. The Jays lineup is not firing on all cylinders yet. and it has contributed to a 10 - 13 start.

Toronto were the two time reigning champs heading into this season, but will not win for a 3rd straight year, but will still finish in the top 10. The Jays lineup is not firing on all cylinders yet. and it has contributed to a 10 – 13 start.

Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead  Analyst)

The biggest favorites were taken off the board, and perhaps 2 of the strongest contenders also followed suit Wednesday night.  2 time reigning champions, the Toronto Blue Jays were swept by the White Sox, and bageled courtesy of Jose Quintana.

Canada’s only franchise still will finish no worse than 7th, as this was still their 23rd game of the year.

Washington automatically ends at 9th – while the Dodgers will finish at 8th in an likelihood, unless the Phillies (1 of 6 clubs remaining: OAK/SEA/PIT/COL and ARI) lose Thursday by 2 – 0 or less.  Maybe it could happen, but not banking on it.

The A’s still hanging around this competition is a pretty good testament to their scrappy play this year at 11 – 11.

Philadelphia itself has a winning record at 11 – 10, and one reason is they haven’t been zeroed yet in a game.

With the Jays out, the favorite will turn to the Rockies – who play at Coors Field, and have a great lineup.

Seattle is a precarious team left in the field.

Houston is struggling at 7 – 15, but their offense has not been that bad at all.  They should change it around.  They and Oakland are the hopes of the AL to win the category.  The AL East joined the AL Central in having all teams be eliminated with the Toronto exodus. Read the rest of this entry

MLB DFS Fantasy Draft Picks For DraftKings – 4/28/16: 2nd Lineup (Coors Field Factor)

Coors Field is a beautiful ballpark and often ranked in the top 10 amongst extreme ballpark chasers. The park even has $4 Rockpile tickets.

Coors Field is a beautiful ballpark and often ranked in the top 10 among extreme ballpark chasers. The park even has $4 Rockpile tickets.  It is also a haven for DFS wagering.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

We are going to run a daily feature of a 2nd lineup every time there is a game played at Coors Field.  Lets face it, whatever you did yesterday would not have mattered much unless you had Andrew McCutchen in your roster.

This park continues to serve up fantasy points galore.

So with loading all of the players for stacks between the Rockies and Pirates Thursday (Juan Nicasio @ Tyler Chatwood) I left off the Catchers as who knows who will play on a matinee game on getaway day.

I found a couple of gems in order to save some cash to Start Jake Arrieta as well.

The 1st player is A.J. Pierzynski – who holds a 400 BA lifetime versus Clay Buchholz, and will most likely start.

Has anyone been following this Brandon Drury kid out of Arizona?  He can play 2B/3B and OF – and has a 3 Slash so far of .298/.317/.526 – and is perfectly priced at $2200.

Then I used Tyler Wilson at home for the Orioles ($4800) against the White Sox.  Chicago just swept the Jays and should be due for a letdown .  Baltimore is 7 – 1 at home thus far on the season.  Wilson actually won his last start versus the Royals in KC.

Since I only spent a total of $10.200 on those guys. it left me $39800 for the remaining 7 players.  Bang, Now I can afford Arrieta, and roster 4 Rockies and 2 Pirates in my Coors Field mandatory lineup

Read the rest of this entry

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 ddsmakers 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.

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) 

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

Josh Robbins’ MLB Daily Fantasy Picks DFS For FanDuel 4/27/16

 

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Starting Pitchers  (Expensive, Midlevel, Bargain)

1. Jake Arrieta ($12900) vs. Milwaukee Brewers

2. Gio Gonzalez ($9600) vs. Philadelphia Phillies

3. Steven Wright ($6900) vs. Atlanta Braves

Team Stacks

Colorado vs Jon Niese

Pittsburgh vs Jon Gray

Boston vs Bud Norris

Baltimore vs Matt Moore

BVP (Minimum 10 AB)

1. Mark Reynolds vs. Jon Niese (8-15/ 2 HR/ 1.496 OPS)

2. Matt Wieters vs. Matt Moore (8-17/ 2 HR/ 1.432 OPS)

3. Evan Longoria vs. Chris Tillman (17-51/ 7 HR/ 1.216 OPS)

Sample Lineup (Coors Field Lineup 1)

P – Steven Wright, ATL @ BOS, $6900

C – Stephen Vogt, OAK @ DET, $2600

1B – Mark Reynolds, PIT @ COL, $3300

2B – D.J. Lemahieu, PIT @ COL, $3400

3B – Nolan Arenado, PIT @ COL, $5100

SS – Jordy Mercer, PIT @ COL, $3400

OF – Carlos Gonzalez, PIT @ COL, $4000

OF – Gregory Polanco, PIT @ COL, $3800

OF – Jackie Bradley JR, ATL @ BOS, $2500


$35, 000, 000 ($0 Left)

Sample Lineup (Coors Field Lineup 2)

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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

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*** 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 other partners.***

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A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.

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2016 MLB Team Salaries Links Page here.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Payroll In 2016 + Roster That Could Have Been

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

After a second consecutive exit from the playoffs by way of the wild card game, the Pittsburgh Pirates promised a bigger payroll this season, but could they have done better?

In December, Neal Huntington and Frank Connelly both hinted the Pirates target payroll would be approximately $105 million for opening day.  As it stands, the Pirates opening day payroll was about $100 million.

That wouldn’t be so bad if the team’s pitching staff wasn’t off to a rough start, the first base platoon partner wasn’t gone after two weeks, and the Cubs weren’t the center of the baseball universe at the moment.  The saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20,” but we consider what could have been if the Pirates had spent their money a little differently.

Let’s start with the breakdown of the opening day payroll broken down by position: (Note: Only players included on opening day 25-man roster/DL are included below.)

The rules for this little experiment are simple.  We cannot exceed $105 million, and our payroll has to include 28 players due to Jared Hughes, Elias Diaz, and Jung-Ho Kang starting the season on the major league disabled list. 

If we choose any players the Pirates did not sign, we will assume the Pirates could have signed said player(s) to the same terms.  Knowing what we know now, here’s a look at what the Pirates roster could have been.

READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY

MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings – 4/27/16 – 2nd Lineup (Coors Field Factor)

Coors Field is still a hitting haven. While the averages have all dipped approximately 10% since the Humidor was placed into the facility over a decade ago, it still remains the premiere place for any of the MLB'ers to bat. Some of the organizational players will not hit as good on the road, with playing in the NL West, in cavernous parks like Dodger Stadium, Petco Park and AT & T Park, however the weight will only affect their overall numbers away from the thin air. Historic players like Larry Walker and Todd Helton displayed good road numbers, despite their gawdy home statistics, however they will never be looked in the same eye.

Coors Field is still a hitting haven. While the averages have all dipped approximately 10% since the Humidor was placed into the facility over a decade ago, it still remains the premiere place for any of the MLB’ers to bat. It is also the best place to set MLB Daily Fantasy Rosters based on lineup stacks.  Colorado has led the home averages in all but 2 years out of their 23 year existence for home batting average.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

We are going to run a daily feature of a 2nd lineup every time there is a game played at Coors Field.  Lets face it, whatever you did yesterday would not have mattered much unless you had Andrew McCutchen in your roster.

This park continues to serve up fantasy points galore.

I absolutely am stacking versus Jon Niese, who owns a 7.94 ERA at Coors Field in 4 Game Starts.  Hello Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story.

I think the Pirates are due for an offensive letdown tonight, and will choose top of the lineup hitters from the Nationals and Cubs to fill the roster instead.  Give Me Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, Dexter Fowler and Anthony Rizzo.

Look for the Jays to salvage game three of this series against the Sox.

My process for picking Nick Tropeano has to be for value to load all the hitters.  I wouldn’t use him in FanDuel, but Draftkings only offers 4 points for the win.

I did go with Steven Wright on FanDuel as my only chucker. 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.

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 The MLBreports On Twitter

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 - but each of them had represented in the AL for every year since the WildCard was alotted. The last time neither team participated in the playoffs was 1993

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 MLB Runs Scoring Survivor with the Seattle Mariners,

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)

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

The Week That Was In Audio/Video Casting In The BBBA

The BBBA is a growing collection of baseball bloggers with the general purpose of collaborating on projects or being a reference for each other - and especially in terms of promoting in social media like Twitter, Facebook and Podcasting. Click the Contact Us Page If You wish to join.

The 3nd week is well underway, and we had some great shows to listen to over the last week  – courtesy of the  following BBBA shows.

Sully Baseball talked about the passing of Prince, the horrible uniforms of the D’backs, and the lunacy of specialty MLB Hats On certain Days.  Sully also interviews Stacey Gotsulias about the Yankees and around the league.  He pulled no punches in addressing the Curt Schilling fiasco.  And how sure hall of famers to be 5 years ago are not now.

Hall Of Very Good Interviewed Bobblehead Hall Of Fame founder Phil Sklar

“BBA Live” Broke down the weeks worth of action.

Jays From the Couch The guys wondered about the 1st base tandem, and also the lineup configuration with Michael Saunders.

Pirates Breakdown PBC talked about the recent acquisition of Justin Masterson, and what they need to do keep up in the NL Central with the Cubs

Gateway to Baseball Heaven weighed in on the recent Jaime Garcia pitching gem, what the squad will do when Ruben Tejada comes back, and are still worried about Adam Wainwright

MLB This Week discussed the Jacob deGrom family matters and more technology with the games being streamed.  Also how a family was thrown out of a ballpark.

You can either click all of these links for the individual shows, are just scroll down past to listen to them on this post.

To see all of the updates live as they happen every week click here.

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Chicago Cubs Win Runs Scoring Survivor 2016 – Then Shutout Reds To Knock Them Out Of MLB Shutout Survivor

John Minchillo - AP

John Minchillo – AP

Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead  Analyst)

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.
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The Most Recent No Hitter For Each Franchise (Updated for Jake Arrieta, April 21 2016 )

John Minchillo-AP

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 (Pitching for hitters).

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) 

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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

The Numbers Behind John Jaso’s Early Success

John-Jaso

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

To say nothing of his more-than-capable defense at first base, John Jaso has been a revelation at the top spot in the batting order for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

John Jaso has put up some solid slash lines over his career, so it should not come as much of a surprise that he currently carries a .414 on-base percentage as part of an .897 OPS.

How has Jaso been able to acclimate himself so quickly and effectively to the top of the Pirates’ lineup?

A Solid Foundation

For Jaso, his propensity for quality plate appearances starts with the first pitch.

His F-Strike percentage (percentage of plate appearances that start with a strike) clocks in at 53.3 percent. That figure represents the third-best on the club, behind Starling Marte (52.5) and Gregory Polanco (51.6). While the importance of first-pitch strikes has been debated in recent years, good things happen for Jaso on a 1-0 count. More on that later.

In looking a bit deeper at what Jaso is actually seeing on the first pitch, the four-seam fastball is seen the most at 46 percent. It likely may not even matter what type of pitch Jaso sees first, as chances are it won’t be anywhere near the strike zone.

His Zone % (percentage of pitches seen in the strike zone) is 47.8 percent, which is not significant on its own until coupled with his O-Swing % (percentage of pitches outside of the zone that a batter swings at).

Jaso’s O-Swing percentage clocks at 16.5 percent, nearly two-thirds better than the league average of 30 percent. Incredibly, he isn’t even the best on this Pirates team in this regard. That honor belongs to David Freese and his 15.7 percent clip. Regardless, Jaso’s rate is fourth-best in the National League for anyone with 50 or more plate appearances.

The foundation that Jaso lays in his plate appearances almost feels as if he dictates to pitchers how the PA will go. He absolutely refuses to chase anything out of the zone, and such an approach can force an opposing pitcher to offer something he may not necessarily want to offer on the next pitch, which usually comes at a 1-0 count.

READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY.

Strong Player Starts (And Not) From Around The League: National League Central

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Shane Kay (Featured BBBA Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com) 

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.

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)

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.

Read the rest of this entry