Blog Archives
With No Top 50 ALL – Time Contracts Signed This Winter – Who Is Next To Make The List?

Signing Cespedes has signed the biggest contract of the offseason thus far at 4 YRs/$110 MIL. it is ranked tied for 60th ALL – Time even though the Annual Average Value is tied for 2nd ALL – Time among position players. With power having been devalued and a firm new set of penalties for Luxury Tax Threshold Abusers, it may take until the winter of 2018 – heading into 2019 – for another player to ink a contract that places them in the top 50 ALL – Time Salaries.
The winter has seen a lot of great Free Agents sign like Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman, Dexter Fowler, Kenley Jansen, Ian Desmond, Mark Melancon and Edwin Encarnacion, however none of them were historic by any means.
While Cespedes’s $110 MIL pact over 4 years is $27.5 MIL per year, which ties him for the 2nd best AAV ALL – Time for a position player with Alex Rodriguez, (trailing Miguel Cabrera‘s 8 YR/$248 MIL extension that started in 2016) – only brings him in for a tie for about 60th on the ALL – Time Biggest Contracts list.
To crack the top 50 list ALL – Time right now, you need to bring in a deal that makes at least $120 MIL for the life of the contract.
During last years offeseason, David Price ($217 MIL), Zack Greinke, ($206.5 MIL) Jason Heyward, ($184 MIL), Chris Davis, ($161 MIL), Justin Upton ($132.8 MIL) and Johnny Cueto ($130 MIL) all inked pacts in excess of that.
Early in the season, Stephen Strasburg shocked the world with his new 7 YRs/$175 MIL deal soon afterwards. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Teams Taking A Powder In 2017 So Far

Some MLB Teams have had a tough winter so far, and we take a look at why this is. We understand that not all clubs have to be in win mode, and some maybe rebuilding, however the process and mindset is what we are questioning here. For a team that is not going all in and should be based on their limited window of winning opportunity, we also call them to the carpet. Stop taking a powder in 2017 and give your head a shake!
MLB Teams Taking A Powder In 2017 So Far
There are certain clubs who have done a nice job improving their clubs year over year, some that have done nicely in maintaining, well, and there are teams that are not looking so hot in 2017.
Let me also qualify this in saying that the Toronto Blue Jays are dangerously close to falling into this pegging themselves. You guys can’t seriously think that you can enter into the 2017 campaign with the Outfield trio of Melvin Upton Jr., Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera can you?
Give Jose Bautista a 1 Year Deal worth $15 MIL – with a 2nd year Team Option of $19.4 MIL – or a Buyout Clause of $2.2 MIL The Player could also opt out if he wants to after 2017. You may risk losing a Draft Pick at all with the way this is going Toronto.
With the 1st ED pick attached to Joey Bats. and the looming future QO’s never receiving as much again, how could a team justify losing that high of Amateur Draft Selection for an aging 36 year old slugger.
Here is the thing though Blue Jays brass: You need him..Both at the turnstiles and in the lineup. He doesn’t cost you anything but money – and the guy still carried out a .815 OPS despite a rough down year.
With a chip on his shoulder, I think he will bounce back big time. You can defensive replace him every night if you wish, or use Kendrys Morales at First, and let Justin Smoak ride pine for some DH AB to open up for Bautista.
Losing Edwin Encarnacion, Bautista and Michael Saunders is not made up by Morales and Steve Pearce fellas! You drew 3.4 Million Fans in 2016. Toronto will keep the faith if you bring back #19 for one more year. Read the rest of this entry
Texas Rangers State Of The Union For 2017: Jon Daniels Must Counter To Houston/Seattle’s Early Moves

The Texas Rangers won an American League best 95 games last season – to win their 2nd AL west Division. and to make the playoffs for the 5th time since 2010. The winter has not gotten off to a good start, as they have watched the Astros and Mariners all add depth to their teams – while Texas has lost players from their own year end roster. The team has to get involved right now to change the course of this offseason. The time to win is now with Yu Darvish and Jonathon Lucroy in walk contract years – while their ALL – Star Veterans like Cole Hamels and Adrian Beltre become another year older.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
The Rangers have been one of the better teams in the MLB since the 2010 season. Back to Back AL Pennants, and now back to back AL West Division wins have seen them reach the playoff 5 times out of the last 7 campaigns.
For those who like pitching – the franchise has 2 number one aces for at least one more year in Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels.
Simply put, the development of all of their Draft Picks, domestically or international, coupled with the management’s keen eye for talent, have the club still in the conversation for another few years.
Here is the thing though….The Astros and Mariners have been the two busiest clubs in acquiring talent thus far in the winter. Both of these teams have closed or narrowed the gap on Texas already,
Houston has signed Free Agents Josh Reddick and Carlos Beltran – with also dealing for Brian McCann. This will not affect their 2017 squad as both didn’t require anybody from the Major League Roster to get it done.
Seattle has not made as big of a splash like Houston, but has shored up some depth, and have nicely added Jean Segura (who was an ALL – Star and top 15 NL MVP in 2016 – without losing anything of note.)
Texas has signed Andrew Cashner and lost Beltran for sure…yikes.. Read the rest of this entry
6 MLB Teams That Will Benefit The Most By The New CBA

The Toronto Blue Jays have had to contend with the overspending in the last 25 years by the Yankees and Red Sox. With stiffer penalties now imposed on the higher payroll clubs. coupled with their recent back to back ALCS Appearances, the franchise draws enough to spend more money on total team salary in the next few years. It will come down to the management’s ability on player personnel that should determine their success for the next 5 years and not sheer finances.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Tomorrow we will point out the clubs that were hurt most in the short term. today we talk about the winners of the new deal.
I am calling the Nationals, Mariners, Astros, Jays, Cardinals and Giants the immediate victors under the new format.
When i was thinking about more the past two days, the new structure seems to favor mid level payroll teams more than the lower or higher payroll clubs.
With the new penalties for spending way more money than the Luxury Tax Threshold, the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Tigers are going to find that the impact will run pretty steep on their roster decisions for the next 5 years.
Being that that all of those franchises are still going to dole out the kind of money on player contracts they are, I am not calling them losers for the new CBA either. Read the rest of this entry
Is it Time for the Joey Gallo Era for the Texas Rangers?
Over at Off the Bench we’ve written a lot about where this offseason’s free agents might end up. Some of the bigger names that generate all sorts of buzz are the likes of Aroldis Chapman (who threw an incredible pitch), Kenley Jansen, and Yoenis Cespedes, whom we think might end up back with the New York Mets, we were right. We even pondered about the final destination of lower profile players like Michael Saunders, but we never got so deep in the weeds as to discuss the fate of free agent first basemen Mitch Moreland.
Moreland has spent the last few seasons manning first base for the Texas Rangers, taking his place as the lowest profile position player on a team full of offensive studs. With Prince Fielder’s tragic forced retirement this summer, Moreland became the answer to the oft-posed question ‘So who’s the Texas Rangers’ first basemen these days anyway?’
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – August 13, 2016
Friend of the Podcast and radio host Jamie Kelly is my guest today. We talked about her Texas Rangers, their chances in October and Prince Fielder saying good bye.
It is a Lone Star State episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Hanley Ramirez, Matt Szczur, Yordano Ventura, Homer Bailey, James McCann and Charlie Blackmon all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball yesterday.
See the updated listing of WOB on MLB Reports
Follow Jamie Kelly on Twitter by clicking HERE
8 GIFs That Prove Prince Fielder Running the Bases Was the Best Thing Ever
It’s been one helluva week for veteran sluggers at the end of their respective MLB careers.
Just a few months ago, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said he wanted to play in the big leagues for another five years. After struggling to a .200/.288/.343 triple slash through 280 at-bats, the 36-year-old has decided he’s had enough and will retire at the end of this season.
Alex Rodriguez has struggled just as much (.204/.252/.356 in 216 at-bats), but basically had to be forced into getting released by the Yankees at the end of this week.
Now, while Prince Fielder isn’t officially retiring, the first baseman/designated hitter won’t be able lace up his cleats as a ballplayer any longer.
As Prince ascended to the big leagues and made a name for himself with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was known for his ferocious home run swing and hitting baseballs a country mile.
However, watching him run the bases might have been even more entertaining, which these eight GIFs will show:
MLB DFS Daily Picks For FanDuel – 6/14/16
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
One of the biggest blunders made by many gamblers is betting against themselves. We are going to simplify the process, so if you win, you can really win – none of this barely break even nonsense.
Our new Draft Strategy is now here. Please read after the post.
Now here is what we are going to do for today’s MLB DFS FanDuel style.
We Will Give You – Daily
5 team stacking options ( We are going to draw most of our players from these 5 squads).
3 Pitching candidates (High level, midlevel and budget). Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 7 – May
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 Follow The MLBreports On Twitter
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
MLB Daily Fantasy Picks (DFS) For FanDuel – 5/15/16
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Sunday is always a crapshoot with everything involved, so make sure you check your starting lineups, weather and backup Catcher roles.
The game I am keying on more than others today is the game at Camden Yards. With contests in Coors Field, Chase Field and Miller Park also featuring on massive hitter friendly venues, I will be playing a roster on all of them.
The Tigers are still criminally underpriced on FanDuel right now, as their losing streak has a ton more to do with their horrific Late Inning Relief of late.
I am waiting for Justin Upton to start cracking the ball, and will play him on a roster for 2 – 3 weeks once he starts rolling. He is a type of guy who will bash 10 HRs in a month at least once in a baseball year.
In the same game, I am running with Jonathan Schoop, who clubbed 2 jacks Saturday – and could easily go yard again on Sunday.
Adam Jones is also on fire – after early season struggles, and is a nice bargain at $2800. Manny Machado took a goose egg for FPP – and I simply can’t think he will do this two games in a row.
Tentatively, I also have put Nolan Reimold into the lineup, should he not be played, I am going to use Yasiel Puig on a wildcard throw out there at $2400.
I would have loved to have implored the Jays lineup – however they were all way out of whack for the price – so I am only going to use Troy Tulowitzki.
The Tigers are facing Kevin Gausman, yet have several hitters that just lace fastballs.
As for my pitcher – I am going with Masahiro Tanaka. The White Sox have guys that whiff in their lineup something fierce, and I like Tanaka over Miguel Gonzalez in this matchup.
MAY 15, 2016…All Day Slate – Camden Heavy
P – Masahiro Tanaka, CWS @ NYY, $9800
C – Victor Martinez. DET @ BAL, $3500
1B – Miguel Cabrera. DET @ BAL, $3700
2B – Jonathan Schoop. DET @ BAL, $2800
3B – Manny Machado, DET @ BAL, $4200
SS – Troy Tulowitzki, TOR @ TEX, $2800
OF – Justin Upton, DET @ BAL, $2900
OF – Adam Jones, DET @ BAL, $2800
OF – Nolan Reimold, DET @ BAL, $2600 (Or Yasiel Puig, STL @ LAD, $2400, vs Mike Leake)
$35, 000, 000 ($0 Left)
2nd Sample Lineup – Coors Field Stack
P – Danny Duffy, ATL @ KC, $6800
C – Victor Martinez, DET @ BAL, $3500 or Buster Posey SF @ ARI, $3400
1B – Lucas Duda, NYM @ COL, $3800
2B – Neil Walker, NYM @ COL, $3500
3B – Danny Valencia, OAK @ TB, $2400
SS – Marcus Semien, OAK @ TB $2200
OF – Yoenis Cespedes, NYM @ COL, $5000
OF – Curtis Granderson, NYM @ COL, $3700
OF – Carlos Gonzalez, NYM @ COL, $4000
$35, 000, 000 ($0 Left)
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***
A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.
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!
MLB Daily Fantasy Picks (DFS) For FanDuel – 5/9/16
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
In order to accommodate our Coors Field lineup, we are going to forego any expensive pitcher on Monday, and go with flamethrowing Aaron Sanchez of the Jays against Jake Peavy in San Francisco
Peavy has bee the ultimate gong show the last several outings, and despite being back in the comfort of AT & T – it will still be tough to tame the high powered Blue Jays
While I am going with the clubs second tier offensive players you could certainly skip picking the Coors Field game – and implement Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion against Peavy.
I am using the top of the Rockies lineup to bludgeon Rubby De La Rosa. Carlos Gonzalez at $3900 vs a RHP at home might be the value play of the night.
It would be nice if Russell Martin could kickstart his offense this year I keep playing him as a cheap option on fantasy – but he has failed to deliver Like teammate Troy Tulowitzki though, at least he doesn’t cost much money. The latter I refuse to play now until he goes over the Mendoza Line for BA.
Love Aaron Sanchez in a big ballpark with Kevin Pillar running the ball down in the OF. The Giants have a decent lineup of LHB, but Joe Panik has been hurt, and Brandon Crawford not to his 2015 standards yet. Brandon Belt does scare me, but he is a different hitter at home.
Sanchez can strike out players at least – which will be crucial for this play.
I will be checking to see if they do switch EE in at 1B for Smoak, in which case I would switch to underperforming Prince Fielder vs Miguel Gonzalez (for $2700).
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 6 May
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 Follow The MLBreports On Twitter
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
Odds To Win The 2016 AL MVP In The MLB: Best And Worst Bets

Miguel Cabrera won this award back in 2012 and 2013 – and is fully healthy this upcoming campaign, on a club that is much improved and will be in contention for a playoff spot all year. His +700 odd is a great value bet. We are picking the man to win the American League MVP this year. Mike Trout will likely finish 2nd again, and that is based solely on his team probably not vying for a playoff position this year in my view. Trout should still win the AP Player of the Year and Sporting News player of the year as well..
Hunter Stokes (MLB Reports Part _Owner – Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
There is no doubt in the world that Mike Trout is the best overall player in the American League, and he is still the best player in the Majors (at least for now – until Bryce Harper has a better 2016 than him again in 2015), but his team is going to make it tough for him to win the MVP over the next few years.
The 2014 winner, and 3 time runner-up in 2012, 2013 and 2015 has to be wondering what his franchise is doing wasting his talent – by surrounding a mediocre supporting cast?
Having said this, the +175 odd is still about where it should be. If the Angels are in the race down the stretch, and he has better number than the field, Trout will take his 2nd trophy this season.
Honestly the odd that surprised me the most was the Manny Machado odd at +500. I am not questioning his talent, or the fact he should be a top 5 player for years in the AL; I am questioning the website for having the O’s ranked 14th out of 15 AL Clubs! Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast Archives Nov 1, 2013 – Nov 30, 2013 (Episodes 374 – 403)
Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) does a podcast 365 days a year – unless it is a leap year – then he will do another 1. He has done a show everyday since Oct.24/2012. This to date represents a streak of 1232 days consecutively!
Past the CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY are episodes 374 – 403 of the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
We will also archive all of his podcasts to date (in coming weeks) so they are easily accessible for all his fans. Check out all his Archived info here.
Our website followers have grown larger each year for his podcast.
Follow Sully Baseball On Twitter Follow @sullybaseball
To subscribe on iTunes, click HERE.
To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Win The Overall Homer Crown In 2016 MLB Baseball: Battle Of The Big Fly’s

Stanton has light tower power – and should lead the NL and MLB in Homers if he can remain healthy for a whole year. In just 74 Games Played last campaign, the big slugger belted 27 HRs. The problem is always staying on the field. There is no reason to think he can’t crack 50+ HRs if he played a full season. To aid his efforts as the biggest favorite to win this years MLB Homer crown – is that Marlins Park is bringing in the fences and also lowering them.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I am flat-out wondering why these guys failed to include Chris Carter on this list? For a prolific Home Run Hitter over the last 3 years (90 bombs), this guy is getting no respect.
I mean they have Corey Seager, Matt Adams and Freddie Freeman at the +20000 clip, but no word for a guy who finished 2nd in 2014 MLB Homers?
Carter is headed to the best home run park in the Major Leagues in Milwaukee, and will not be on a competitive club, where his AB may be in question. Sure the guy might fan 250 times in 600 AB this season, but he may crack 40 taters for all we know.
I have requested this gambling website send me the odd for Carter (you can request a player that wasn’t listed), and I will get back to you shortly.
Let me start by saying that if Giancarlo Stanton remains healthy for a full year that he should definitely lead the Majors in longballs. Despite us predicting him to do this, his odd only is listed as our #5 value best bet on the board. Read the rest of this entry
9 Recent Family Duo’s In The MLB
Ground Rule Triple Blog (Featured Baseball Website/groundruletriple.com)
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I’d like to look at family duos in the present and in history. We’re talking about brothers, father and son, maybe cousins. There might even be some trios on the list, so let’s take a look:
Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder: The elder Fielder was known for his time with the Tigers and was a 3x All-Star and 2x Silver Slugger.
The younger Fielder also spent a couple years with the Tigers, and he currently plays for the Texas Rangers. Prince is a 6x All-Star and a 3x Silver Slugger.
View original post 487 more words
Bold Predictions For The 2016 MLB Year
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Every year we do an article called “Bold Predictions”. I love this concept as most of these ideas are so preposterous that none of them will actually happen. I liken it to the “Riverboat Gambler Theory” where you can really get rich quick if it were to come to fruition.
There may not be too many secrets in the National League where the clubs seems to be either really good or really bad. The American League has a lot more parity.
I suppose I could start off by saying that the NL would win the Interleague series versus the AL, but that it is probably not going to happen based on a 12 year losing streak. Read the rest of this entry
You must be logged in to post a comment.