Fantasy Baseball Dugout

Sure, they’ve got an ace and a good second baseman in Ian Kinsler on their roster, but I’m pretty sure Tyson Chandler, Aaron Hernandez and Clay Matthews would have a hard time hitting a curve ball.

Then again, pretty sure Kershaw wouldn’t last three Mississippi’s in the pocket with Matthews lining up on the other side of the field.

From the press release…

CytoSport™, one of the largest sports nutrition companies in the U.S. and parent company to Muscle Milk®, announced today that it has signed an exclusive partnership with Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw.   As part of the partnership, Muscle Milk has committed $100 for every strikeout he throws during the program period to Kershaw’s Challenge, a nonprofit organization founded by Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, to assist at-risk children and provide valuable resources for underserved communities in Zambia, Los Angeles and their hometown of Dallas.   Read the rest of this entry »

Major League Baseball and digital cable and telco providers around the country announce the 2013 season of the MLB EXTRA INNINGS package, distributed nationally by iN DEMAND. This season, a free preview will run for seven days, from April 1 through 7, pitching out an exciting inaugural week of about 80 games.  The full package delivers a total of well over 2,000 out-of-market baseball game telecasts during the regular season, including up to 80 games each week. The early bird offer for digital customers is $189, a $10 savings off of the full-season price if they order before April 8.  Systems will then offer the package at last year’s price of $199 (SRP)* for the regular season. Included enhancements are dual-broadcast feeds and the popular multi-screen mosaic.

This season iN DEMAND will distribute the MLB EXTRA INNINGS package to the following cable, telco and other video providers: Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, FiOS TV, Charter Communications, Cablevision Systems, RCN, Midcontinent, Service Electric Cable TV, MetroCast Communications and many independent affiliates serving avid fans across the nation.  Read the rest of this entry »

Baseball season is upon us, and hardcore Fantasy league players are starting their player draft and hoping to win their leagues. But once the teams are set, how do the team owners track their fantasy players on the fly, especially if they have multiple teams or teams on different Fantasy sites? With the free Fantasy Baseball Beta now available on Thuuz Sports app for iOS and Android, users can automatically import their fantasy players, track player performances, and never miss those exciting, point-scoring moments.

“Thuuz apps are all about making sure our users never miss an exciting moment in sports,” says Thuuz CEO Warren Packard. “Fantasy owners have their favorite teams and sports like any other fan, but they also get excited about games based on the performance of their Fantasy players. Having a single app that can keep you up-to-date on your sports as a fan and as a Fantasy team owner is an entirely unique value proposition.”

Owners can track their fantasy players’ status in three ways:  through their Thuuz Feed; on the dedicated Fantasy Tab; and through Thuuz notifications. Features include:

• Track real-time stat performance of all their players by team within Thuuz
• Receive tune-in information when it’s worth tuning into a great performance
• Receive “in scoring position” alerts and feed updates
• Receive “hot player” alerts and feed updates
• Receive “fantasy match up” alerts and feed updates
• Automatically import any fantasy players from ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, MLB.com and others

The Thuuz app also allows Fantasy teams owners to follow some of the best and brightest baseball and fantasy baseball experts to give insights and analysis during live games.

For more information on Thuuz, please visit http://www.Thuuz.com/. You can also find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thuuz, and you can follow Thuuz on Twitter @Thuuz.

There are still some good fantasy baseball outfielders picks in the later rounds that you can choose in your cash fantasy baseball or free fantasy baseball league. Here are the picks for those later rounds:

31. Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers

Cruz played in 159 games (previous high was 128) so his 24 HR were disappointing for him. Cruz hit under .265 (.260) for the third time in four seasons and did not reach double-digit steals for the second straight year. Cruz turns 33 in July.

32. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers

Gomez stole 37 bases and hit 19 homers. He had stolen over 30 in 2008 but his previous HR high was 8. Gomez hit .260 and has a career BA of .247. He turned 27 in December.

33. Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants

Pagan stole 29 bases, just missing his third straight 30-steal season.  He hit .288 and has a career BA of .281. Pagan scored a career-high 95 runs.

34. Norichika Aoki, Milwaukee Brewers

Aoki, now 31, hit .288 with 30 steals and 10 homers in his first MLB season. Only two other players had as high a BA, 30 steals and double-digit homers – Braun and Trout. 

35. Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays

Cabrera was hitting .346 in August when he was suspended the rest of the season for PEDs. Then his name came up in a new PED controversy this winter.  Whichever version of Cabrera turns up this year, at least he’s in a good ballpark and lineup in Toronto.

To see which players made the cut from 36 to 45…  Read the rest of this entry »

You may not have the opportunity to draft all of your outfielders in your fantasy baseball money league or your free fantasy league in the early rounds. So use this list to help you decide who else to pick in your draft.

16. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals

Holliday has seven straight 20-HR seasons and a career BA of .313. He turned 33 in January.

17. B.J. Upton, Atlanta Braves

Upton has five straight 30-steal seasons and 51 HR over the last two years. But  his.246 BA was highest in last four seasons.  Career .336 OBP, .422 SLG at home, .335 OBP, .422 SLG on road.

18. Michael Bourn, Cleveland Indians

After stealing 61, 52 and 61 bases from 2009-11, Bourn stole 42 in his walk year. He hit .225 in the second half and has a .272 career BA. Bourn turned 30 in December.

19. Shin-Soo Choo, Cincinnati Reds

Choo’s 16 HR, 21 steals and .283 BA didn’t match his consecutive 20-20-.300 seasons of 2009 and 2010, but now he moves to a better ballpark and lineup in Cincinnati.

20. Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox

Rios had his second 20-20 season in the last three with career highs in HR (25) and BA (.304). But he hit just .227 in 2011 and .247 in 2009 with a total of 30 HR. The inconsistent Rios turned 32 in February.

For players 21 to 30…  Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you play fantasy baseball for free, or participate in a fantasy baseball money league, you need to find great outfielders. Here is our list of the top 15 picks:

1. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Braun had over 30 HR, 100 RBI and a .300 BA for the fifth time each in six seasons, and also stole over 30 bases for the second straight year.

2. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Trout was one steal short of becoming the third player in MLB history to have 30 homers and 50 steals in a season. He also hit .326 and his 129 runs scored were 20 more than anyone else.

3. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

McCutchen hit .327 and joined Braun and Trout as the only three players to have 30 HR and 20 steals.

4. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

Kemp hit 12 HR in April but would play in just 106 games due to hamstring woes.  He is recovering in spring training from offseason shoulder surgery.

5. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

Stanton hit 37 HR in 123 games and batted .290. No other Marlin managed 15 HR or 60 RBI, so he was already playing in a lineup without much protection.

Players six through fifteen can be found AFTER the jump…  Read the rest of this entry »

“Epic Rap Battles of History” (ERB), Maker Studios’ record-breaking series created by Peter Shukoff (aka Nice Peter) and Lloyd Ahlquist (aka EpicLLOYD) returned Monday with Lance Armstrong vs. Babe Ruth. Watch as fallen sports hero and cyclist Lance Armstrong (Nice Peter) pedals up to home plate to take on the legendary Babe Ruth (EpicLLOYD) in a true battle of athletic performance and prowess.

The fourth of six new battles, a new episode is set to launch every other Monday through April 22. “ERB” features comedic altercations between historical and/or pop culture figures in a rap music format.

If you are getting ready for fantasy baseball season, here are some tips about last year’s top fantasy baseball rookies in the National League.

Bryce Harper was the big National League rookie name going into the 2012 season and he ended up winning NL Rookie of the Year, but the four other players who finished in the top five could also have bright fantasy futures.  Read the rest of this entry »