WATCH: Two Elite Throws, But Whose Was Better, Aaron Hicks or Yasiel Puig?

Outfielders were showing off their cannons during this past week in Major League Baseball. Aaron Hicks recorded the fastest throw in StatCast history at 105 MPH and Yasiel Puig barehanded a ball and skipped the cut off man to throw out Trevor Story at third base. Both of these throws were elite, but now it is your turn to decide which one was the best. Click the link below to see the videos and please vote!

 

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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 4/20/16

P- Ubaldo Jimenez (vs. Toronto Blue Jays): $7,000. It’s typically not a good idea to start a pitcher against the powerful Blue Jays offense, but Jimenez could be an exception. In 206 career at bats against Jimenez, the Blue Jays are only hitting .204 with 61 strikeouts. With this large sample size, I feel confident enough to say that Jimenez will contain the Jays offense. At this price point, he provides a lot of flexibility with the rest of the lineup.

P- Danny Salazar (vs. Seattle Mariners): $9,500. Danny Salazar is a strikeout machine. Throughout his career, he is averaging 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings. This year is no different. In his first two starts, he has thrown 11 innings with 16 strikeouts. He also has a 2-0 record with a 0.79 ERA. He will be facing the Seattle Mariners, whose offense is pretty average. It shouldn’t be a tough match-up for Salazar on Wednesday. In 35 career at bats against Salazar, the Mariners are hitting .114 with 13 strikeouts.

 

To view the rest of the picks, click the link below:

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MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 2 – April

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.

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.)

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.

Who Owned Baseball April 12, 2016 (Daily MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2016 #WOB Standings

Matt Slocum / AP

Charlie Morton pitched shutout ball into the 7th, finishing 6 2/3 innings, 3 hits and 7 strikeouts, getting the 3-0 decision for Philadelphia over San Diego.

Trevor Brown continued his surprising power surge with a pair of homers and 4 RBI to lead the Giants to a 7-2 victory in Colorado.

Derek Holland gave the Rangers 6 2/3 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 4 in the 8-0 blowout in Seattle.

Justin Upton went 4 for 5 with a homer, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored in the Tigers 8-2 win over Pittsburgh.

They all owned baseball on April 12, 2016.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

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.

Trevor Story Continues To Hit The Ball Out Of The Ballpark, But How Long Will It Last?

Just in case you haven’t been following the first few Major League Baseball games this year, let me introduce you to the hottest bat in baseball, Trevor Story. Trevor Story made his major league debut with the Colorado Rockies on opening day this year. He had a very successful spring training, but no one expected him to produce like has throughout the first three games of his career. In his first three games, he has 14 plate appearances, four hits, seven RBI’s, four runs… oh and those four hits are all home runs. Trevor Story is the first player since 1900 to hit a home run in his first three games. Trevor Story continues to make history, but how long will this last? To read the rest of the article, click the link below:

 

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National League Rookie Of The Year Odds In MLB 2016 Action

Hunter Stokes (BBBA Featured Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21

Follow The BBBA On Twitter Follow @baseballblogs

Corey Seager is not even in the lineup to open the season but he is the overwhelming favorite to the win the NL Rookie Of The Year Award in 2016 MLB Action.

Update:  I was wrong, Seager is was in the lineup for the opener.  Having said this, there is no value to bet on him at the odd given, even though he is the overwhelming favorite.

Like we said the American League odds list, there is never a real need to play a whole season to win this award.  That is unless you have to compete against a 2015’s winner in Kris Bryant, who was brought up in mid April last year.

Really this is Seager’s spot to lose.

I hate the odds for a guy who is injured to begin the campaign, nonetheless he would still be my pick for the Award.

Steven Matz has dubbed the 2nd favorite – along with Kenta Maeda.  Both of these guys broke camp with the big club, and could make 26 – 30 starts this year.

I love the odd better for Maeda, who is slotted higher in the rotation than Matz.  These odds are not glamorous to wager on either.

Perhaps the most intriguing guy on the list is Trevor Story.  He is the starting shortstop while Jose Reyes is still on the inactive list – awaiting a resolution (suspension) for his part in a domestic dispute in Hawaii over the winter.