Blog Archives
Marcus Semien should be Heart & Hustle Award’s overall winner
If there ever were criteria for an award that matched up with Marcus Semien it would be the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association’s (MLBPAA) “Heart and Hustle Award.” The award is given to one player on each team that,
“Demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game. One player from each Major League team is chosen by the committees based on their passion, desire and work ethic demonstrated both on and off the field.”
Thankfully the members of the MLBPAA noticed this close comparison and named Semien the winner of the award for the Oakland Athletics. Of course there is a bigger, overall award that is voted on by former MLB players. It is the only award of its kind as only former players may vote for the winner.
The MLB winner will be announced on Nov. 15, 2016 at the 17th annual Legends for Youth Dinner in New York. The award is only about a decade old and the past overall winners include David Eckstein (2005), Craig Biggio (2006, 2007), Grady Sizemore (2008), Albert Pujols(2009), Roy Halladay (2010), Torii Hunter (2011), Mike Trout (2012), Dustin Pedroia (2013), Josh Harrison (2014) and Anthony Rizzo (2015).
It would be great to see Semien as the overall winner. As I highlighted above the award is mainly based on “passion, desire and work ethic.” I do not believe there is a better candidate out there than Marcus Semien.
To read more of this story on BBST – Click Here!
5 MLB Hitters Who Have Made Their Slow Starts in 2016 a Distant Memory
Slumping to start a baseball season is every hitter’s worst nightmare, but sometimes, it’s unavoidable.
No matter how good a big leaguer is, there will be times when they look like a shell of who they actually are. In hindsight, experiencing a slump earlier rather than later might actually be better because a player is forced to immediately work out of it. Doing so toughens them up for the daily grind that is the MLB regular-season schedule.
The following five position players went through tough times in the first month of 2016. Those struggles are now a distant memory, and nobody would ever realize how badly they slumped just by looking at their overall season stats.
MLB Fantasy Daily (DFS) Picks For DraftKings – 5/17/16
Cabrera has absolutely destroyed Starter Phil Hughes in his career, – with 6 Bolts in just 43 AB. He and the Tigers take their road act to Target Field again tonight. Last evening they scored 10 runs for the 1st time all season. i would not be surprised to see them turn the feat again tonight. The Tigers are also not overpriced yet as they have struggled most of the year. They are the top stacking option lineup all night.
Hunter Stokes (BBBA Featured Writer) Follow @stokes_Hunter21
Follow The BBBA On Twitter Follow @baseballblogs
15 Games – ALL Day Slate (DraftKings, Tuesday May 17, 2016)
Stacking Options tonight Rank
(1) Baltimore vs Wade Miley
(2) Detroit Tigers vs Phil Hughes
(3) Houston vs Carlos Rodon
(5) LA Dodgers vs Jered Weaver
(5) Chicago Cubs vs Chase Anderson
3 Pitchers to use.
(1) Clayton Kershaw, LAA @ LAD, $13, 700
(2) Wei-Yin Chen. MIA @ PHI, $8500
(3) Juan Nicasio, ATL @ PIT, $7300 Read the rest of this entry
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 5/10/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) and my Twitter for updates.
P- Kevin Gausman (vs. Minnesota Twins): $8,200. Gausman has proven he is a great play in daily fantasy over his first few starts in 2016. He is currently averaging 18.8 points per game on DraftKings this season. He will be facing the 26th ranked offense on Tuesday, whom ranks as the 4th worst in the MLB when it comes to striking out. To top it all off, there is an 11 MPH wind blowing towards home plate, so the baseball should stay in the ballpark on Tuesday.
P- Derek Holland (vs. Chicago White Sox): $6,200. Holland hasn’t been spectacular in 2016, but Tuesday could be the day to turn it around. He is facing the Chicago White Sox, whom are ranked as the 18th overall offense in the MLB. When it comes to facing left-handed pitching, the White Sox are hitting a mediocre .237. There will also be some very favorable weather for Mr. Holland on Tuesday. In Texas, it is expected to see winds upwards of 20 MPH towards home plate, which means there is a very slim chance of any power production.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/8/16
If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me @dynasty_digest. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog (dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) and my Twitter for updates. For those of you who follow my lineups daily, you are used to my explanations on each player. I apologize, but I can’t do that today or tomorrow. My girlfriend is graduating college this weekend and I’m right in the middle of finals week, so it’s a pretty hectic time period. My Draft Kings lineups will be back to normal on Sunday!
P- Jose Quintana (vs. Minnesota Twins): $10,600
P- Justin Nicolino (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $5,300
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/2/16
P- Jon Gray (vs. San Diego Padres): $7,900. This is a pretty risky play on Monday, but many factors point towards Gray having a big game. Gray struggled in his first two starts this season, but they have been against two very tough teams, the Pirates and Dodgers, and they were played at Coors Field. Coors Field has not been kind to Gray in his 7 career starts at home. In those starts, he has thrown 29.1 innings, with a 9.20 ERA, 52 hits against, 9 walks, and 29 strikeouts. In 4 career starts on the road, he has thrown 20 innings, with a 2.70 ERA, 16 hits, 8 walks, and 25 strikeouts. Luckily, Gray will be on the road on Monday. Not only will he be on the road, but he is pitching at a pitcher’s park in San Diego against a mediocre offense. In his only career start versus the Padres, he threw 5 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Gray’s impressive career strikeout rate (9.5 strikeouts per 9 innings), success on the road, and favorable matchup all point to a great performance on Monday.
P- Johnny Cueto (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $10,800. This start is going to be an emotional one for Cueto. He will be returning to Cincinnati for the first time since he was traded. He played 8 years in Cincinnati, so the fans will be behind him and I’m sure he wants to put on a show. Not only will his emotions play a factor, but he is facing one of the worst offenses in Major League Baseball. The Reds are ranked as the 28th overall offense, which is clearly a huge advantage for Cueto. In Cueto’s first 5 starts in 2016, he is 4-1, with a 2.65 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and only 5 walks. In his 98 career starts at Cincinnati’s home stadium, he has a 48-22 record, and a 2.91 ERA. All signs point to a huge day for Cueto on Monday. He is averaging 25 points per game on Draft Kings this season.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 4/30/16
P- Jordan Zimmermann (vs. Minnesota Twins): $2,300. Zimmermann has been absolutely dominant since joining the Tigers in the offseason. In 26 innings this season, he is 4-0, with a 0.35 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and 7 walks. He isn’t going to get a ton of strikeouts, which could hurt in daily fantasy, but he is going to limit the runs and pitch deep into games. In the 4 starts he has dominated this year, he has faced some very good offenses, which includes the Yankees, Pirates, Royals, and A’s. He will be facing a very lackluster offense on Saturday, the Minnesota Twins, so this should be a great match-up for Zimmermann.
P- Kevin Gausman (vs. Chicago White Sox): $7,500. Gausman put on quite a show in his season debut earlier this week. In 5 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, he gave up 1 earned run, on 3 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts. He was pulled in 5 innings after throwing 91 pitches. Considering that was his first game since coming off the DL, it wasn’t surprising to see him pulled out of the game early. Now that he has a game under his belt, hopefully the Orioles will let him go a little longer on Saturday. He will be facing the Chicago White Sox, but they shouldn’t be a very tough offense to take care of for Gausman.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB Picks For Draft Kings 4/28/16
Note: There are only 8 games on Thursday, which means the match-ups are very limited. There is also a very good chance of rain for the following games, so pay attention to the forecast: Phillies vs. Nationals, Pirates vs. Rockies, Athletics vs. Tigers.
P- Jon Lester (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): Through 4 starts in 2016, Lester has been absolutely dominant. In 27.1 innings pitched, he has a 1.98 ERA, 23 strikeouts, 5 walks, and a 2-1 record. The Brewers’ offense has struggled this season. They are currently ranked as the 25th ranked offense in Major League Baseball. Lester will be throwing off of his home mound on Thursday as well. All of these factors should work in Lester’s favor. NOTE: The Chicago Cubs game was postponed on Wednesday night, so Jake Arrieta may take Lester’s spot on Thursday, and if that is the case, Arrieta is a must add.
P- Tanner Roark (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): Roark has been a pleasant surprise for the Washington Nationals this season. In his first 4 starts, he has thrown 24 innings, with a 2.63 ERA, 24 strikeouts, 11 walks, and a 2-2 record. In his most recent start, he threw 7 innings against the Minnesota Twins, giving up 0 runs, striking out 15, and walking 3. He has a favorable matchup against the Phillies on Thursday, so he is a great start in daily fantasy baseball.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 4/24/16
P- Jared Eickhoff (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $8,500. Eickhoff has been a stud all year long. He is averaging 22.9 points on Draft Kings this season. In his first 3 starts, he has thrown 19 innings, 1.89 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and only 5 walks. He will be facing the Brewer’s offense, which is nothing special. Through the first few weeks of the season, the Brewers are ranked as the 29th best offense… that’s bad. They also strikeout the third most (156 total strikeouts) in the Major Leagues, which is great for a strikeout-pitcher such as Eickhoff.
P- Aaron Blair (vs. New York Mets): $6,800. I’m going out on a limb here, but I love Blair in this match-up. He is making his Major League debut and he is playing in his home stadium. The crowd will be behind him and he will be pumped up. The Mets offense has struggled all year long, so this could be a good first taste of the big leagues for Blair. In Blair’s minor league career, he is averaging 8.3 strikeouts per 9 innings, with a 3.13 ERA. This start could backfire considering no one knows how Blair will fair in the bigs, but at only $6,800, it won’t hurt too badly.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
MLB Power Rankings: Week 1 Results – April 2016
Hunter Stokes (BBBA Featured Writer) Follow @stokes_Hunter21
Follow The BBBA On Twitter Follow @baseballblogs
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
Cardinal70
FoulBallzEd
Baseball Bloggers Alliance 