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2017 All-Money Team: The Highest-Paid MLB Players at Each Position
While it may not feel like spring is on the way in certain parts of the country, it’s closer than you think. Why? Well, the start of Spring Training is less than three weeks away, and we all know that the mere sight of players on a baseball field gives people the warm and fuzzies — no matter what the thermometer says.
Another year of MLB action means there will be lots of money earned by the league’s best players. But who gets the honor of being the top earner at their position this season? That was a question we wanted to answer with the 2017 All-Money team.
Thanks to Spotrac, it was easy to check out the payroll salaries at each position to see who is bringing home the most bacon over the next few months. Here’s a squad that would be pretty darn good overall, but just a tad bit expensive.
Robinson Cano’s 2016 Season Was a Flashback to His Yankee Days
Handing out a lucrative, multi-year contract to a player is always risky for an MLB organization, no matter how much of a no-brainer it appears to be. That risk factor goes through the roof when it’s a 10-year, $240 million deal, like the one Robinson Cano signed prior to the 2014 season.
Outside of a dip in power, his first season in Seattle was a success. He hit .314/.382/.454 with 14 home runs and 82 RBI, producing a wRC+ of 137 and a 5.2 fWAR – the fifth consecutive year he surpassed 5.0.
It was the first half of 2015 when people likely started to freak out, to a degree.
He limped into the All-Star break with a lackluster triple slash of .251/.290/.370, accompanied by just 6 home runs, 30 RBI and an wRC+ of 86. Providing power as a second baseman had always been one of his best attributes, but a .118 first-half ISO showed that the only thing his power was doing was continuing to deteriorate.
Cano did start to look like himself again following the midsummer classic — he hit .331/.387/.540 with 15 home runs, 40 RBI, a wRC+ of 157, and most importantly, his ISO jumped back up to .209.
That second-half performance ended up being a sign of what was to come.
Were there any similarities between 2016 and his prime years in the Bronx from 2010-12 when Cano’s ISO never dipped below .214 while posting a .311/.370/.539 line with a combined 90 homers and 321 RBI?
Yes, but there are also some interesting differences showing how his game has transformed over the years.
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/1/16
P- Jaime Garcia (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $8,400. Garcia is facing the 23rd ranked Brewers’ offense on Wednesday. In 131 career at bats against Garcia, the Brewers’ offense is only batting .191, with two home runs, 12 RBIs, 29 strikeouts, and a .230 OBP. In the past seven days, the Brewers’ offense has struck out 73 times, which is the third worst in Major League Baseball.
P- Masahiro Tanaka (vs. Toronto Blue Jays): Tanaka will be facing the 24th ranked Blue Jays’ offense on Wednesday. In 81 career at bats against Tanaka, the Blue Jays are batting .198, with three home runs, seven RBIs, 27 strikeouts, and a .252 OBP. The Yankees are 6.5 games out of first place, so these divisional games are a must-win, which should have Tanaka fired up.
To view the rest of the picks, click the link below:
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 5/31/16
P- CC Sabathia (vs. Toronto Blue Jays): $9,000. In 177 career at bats against Sabathia, the Blue Jays lineup is only batting .186, with three home runs, 12 RBIs, 46 strikeouts, and a .239 OBP. Sabathia faced the Blue Jays in his last start and he was very successful. In seven innings, Sabathia gave up two hits, zero earned runs, walked one, and struck out seven. In 2016, Sabathia owns a 3-3 record, 2.83 ERA, 36 hits against, 36 strikeouts, and 15 walks in 41.1 innings pitched.
P- Mat Latos (vs. New York Mets): $6,700. In 90 career at bats against Latos, the Mets’ offense is batting .222, with there home runs, nine RBIs, 19 strikeouts, and a .313 OBP. Latos has found his groove in 2016 after a few rough years. He is facing the 24th ranked offense in baseball, so this could be a good matchup for Latos. At only $6,700, he provides a lot of value to spread the rest of your cash out to your offense.
To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:
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:
M’s Get Blanked Tuesday: 22 Teams Left In 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update
The Mariners were blanked last night 8 – 0. Seattle is now 0 – 5 at home, and can’t buy any hits on home turf. 7 runs in 5 games is not the way to start your campaign at Safeco Field. This is not foreign territory for the Mariners, who routinely have the worst batting numbers at home every year. Playing games versus AL West counterparts the A’s and Rangers – they have posted just an .486 OPS while at home in 2016.
Chuck Booth (BBBA President/Majority Owner – mlbreports.com) Follow @chuckbooth3024
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A quick start by Robinson Cano has quickly faded into a Batting Average of .182. Dae-Hoo Lee and Adam Lind have collected just 3 hits in the eight total contests thus far.
Kyle Seager and Ketel Marte have provided little punch from the Left side of the infield. I expect Seager to turn himself around, but I was one to always question why the franchise didn’t go outside the squad to bring in a new veteran shortstop.
Both clubs were eliminated from MLB Shutout Survivor, and must get their lineups back in order, or they will also fall way back in MLB Runs Scoring Survivor too, having picked off all of the low run scoring totals.
The Padres were blanked for a 4th time in 8 games, and still only have 3 different variations on their season. This is tied with Tampa and Detroit for the fewest marks off the scoresheet, but they have played one more game than the Rays and 2 more contests than the Tigers, so they are ranked 30th in this competition.
Chicago continues to lead the movement to all 11 runs scored scenarios, with having plated a different amount of guys in every single game thus far. All they need to complete this competition are run totals of 0, 1, 3 and 8.
Oakland, Texas, Arizona and Colorado have 6 out of the 11 run totals, but they all need to knock off some of the higher totals – unlike the Cubs. Read the rest of this entry
FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports Selections For MLB Action Apr 11, 2016
Josh Robbins (Featured Fantasy BBBA Writer/60ft6in.com) Follow @Qualcomm98
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Hi, my name is Josh Robbins. I would like to share my Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) strategy with you throughout the MLB season on weekdays. Fanduel is my preferred game of skill.
Welcome to the 2nd week of the 2016 MLB season.
3-Strikes: Here’s what you expect from my daily articles:
My Top 3 Starting Pitchers (aces, mid-level, bargain)
My Top 3 Stacking Options (multiple players from the same team)
My Top 3 BVP (Batter vs. Pitcher) Options Read the rest of this entry
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
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
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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
Robinson Cano: Sleeper, Bounce Back, And Ready To Return To An Elite Second Base Option
Many fantasy baseball owners thought that Robinson Cano was starting to regress last year as he struggled through injuries that affected his first half of the 2015 season, but it looks as if they were wrong. In the first half of 2015, he hit only .251 and struggled to produce his typical run production. This rough first half was due to an abdominal strain and a terrible stomach condition that affected his energy. Cano was quoted saying that some days he could barely drink water without feeling like he was going to get sick, which shows that his energy wasn’t at a normal level. This stomach condition lasted much longer than a typical illness, but not many people were aware of this. Following the all-star break, he entered the second half and posted a .331 batting average. Once he recovered from his bizarre illness, Cano was back to himself. He finished the 2015 season hitting .287 with 21 home runs, 79 RBI’s, 82 runs, and a .334 OBP. To read the rest of the article, click the link below:
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