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

(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)

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:
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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.***
A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.
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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
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
MLB DFS Picks For FanDuel – 4/22/16

Longoria has bashed 6 HRs in 64 career AB vs CC Sabathia, and is the bargain of the night at just $2900 on FanDuel.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 Follow @mlbreports
Coming off a No hitter in Cincinnati on Thursday, I love the Cubs to continue their dominance over the Reds this weekend. While I would say that Chicago will win the game handedly, the prices are just too high for some of the hitters.
I love picking Bryce Harper in any lineup right now. You always know he will walk even if he doesn’t club the ball out of the yard. I am calling for a stack against the Twins Kyle Gibson.
I also went with 3 Baltimore Orioles vs Chris Young in KC – who is yet to his stride this year.
Chris Davis has got to be the best play in the Majors besides Bryce Harper tomorrow. He should get some lemons to hit over the wall.
I love playing Matt Moore against the struggling Yankees lineup. Their Left Handed hitters like Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner should have a tough time.
The Rays chucker has not allowed a HR to New York’s hitters through 54 AB. Meanwhile, the Rays should be able to score versus an aging CC Sabathia.
Evan Longoria has feasted on the man, and Logan Forsythe has a great short history versus him as well. Read the rest of this entry
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: American League East

Shane Kay (Featured BBBA Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com) Follow @sonsof84tigers Follow @mlbreports
Monday we explored hot (and not) starts from players around the National League East, with Bryce Harper leading the way. Today we focus on the American League East and who is off to blazing starts and exploring to find those that are not.
Baltimore Orioles
Hot
Mark Trumbo, OF – Trumbo has already hit 5 homers in 11 games for Baltimore and is hitting .386 with 11 RBI, and 1.163 OPS to this point
Manny Machado, 3B – Machado is just a little less hot than Trumbo, as he has started off with a .383 average, 4 homers, 4 doubles, 5 RBI, and a 1.155 OPS
Not
Chris Davis, 1B – Yes, Davis has hit 5 home runs and I guess it can be said he is making the most of his 9 hits, but he is hitting just .225 and has struck out 16 times so far.
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
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
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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.
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
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
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
2016 MLB Shutout Survivor (LAA + SD Eliminated) + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update (LAD, SF + COL All With 10 Runs Or More

It something small yes, however it took 49 games for the 2014 Los Angeles Angels to be shutout in that campaign. They won this competition. As of right now, they will finish 29th for this category, with being on the back end of a 9 – 0 drubbing in Interleague courtesy of the Chicago Cubs at Angel Stadium last night in Anaheim.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It almost always happens in Game 1 for at least a few clubs. Last night the Cubs blanked the Angels 9 – 0 and San Diego was massively speedbagged 15- 0 behind the brilliant pitching effort of Clayton Kershaw.
With the Tigers, Marlins, Red Sox, Indians,. Astros and Yankees all yet to play – it would take a 16 – 0 score or higher today for San Diego not to be the loser of this contest.
On the other side of the Survivor Pools was a bunch of high scoring games in the NL West.
The Dodgers, Giants and the Rockies all plated at least 10 runs or more, with the totals of 15, 12 and 10 respectively in their games. Scoring 10 or more runs is the second hardest mark to acquire in the contest for the 11 variations of 0 – 10+.
The Cubs racking up a 9 spot on the Angels bodes well for them to complete the quest early. Scoring 9 men in a game is the single hardest amount. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Answer me a question bet365.com? The Dodgers were a +1500 odd when the start of Spring Training commenced, are without Corey Seager, Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal, Brett Anderson, Andre Ethier as of right now on the big roster, and you saw fit to move them to +1300. Wrong. They automatically go to a poor wager from a good one just weeks ago.
The Jays have also jumped from +1000 to +800 but since I have them and the Cubs winning their respective leagues. the odds are about where they should be.
Previously I had the Giants on the bad odd list, however with the recent rash of injuries to Los Angeles, and a horrible break for A.J. Pollock of the D’Backs, confidence is at an all time high for the Giants to take the NL West.
The Kansas City Royals have a lower win total on the year over/under than Cleveland. but have a +1300 odd to win the World Series. Baffles me guys.
The Cardinals lose just one game and now are on par with the Pirates as the 10th best favorite to win. Love the odds for both of these clubs.
Detroit was a good bet last month at +2500, but are now properly pegged, as are Cleveland.
With the Angels having such a thin roster it surprises me that they are sitting up with the Mariners for value, as opposed to being near the A’s,where they probably should be. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings: April 2016

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.
Yesterday won’t change much for the rankings. Although it kicked off interleague with the Royals beating the Mets 4 – 3, and starts the Junior Circuit looking to win the AL vs NL competition for a 13th straight year.
Pittsburgh also beat the Cardinals. I have them both ending the year win 91 victories, but these squad’s really intrigue me.
There are a multitude of reasons why I have picked the Cubs as the #1 team. I explain them in the writeup.
Each Monday, we will post a new set of power rankings and go over the week that was. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 4, 2016

LG PATTERSON/MLB PHOTOS
I check in throughout the day as the season officially began for three times, did not for two more and was blacked out for the finale.
It is a “Let’s Get Things Started” episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Francisco Liriano, Marcus Stroman, Gregory Polanco, Eric Hosmer, Michael Conforto and Evan Longoria all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball.
Read the rest of this entry





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