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High Stakes Heat - Fantasy Baseball

High Stakes Heat - Fantasy Baseball

By RotoSaurus.com

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball. Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!
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Player Spotlights Shine Bright

High Stakes Heat - Fantasy BaseballJan 21, 2024

00:00
01:41:09
Player Spotlights Shine Bright
Jan 21, 202401:41:09
Extinction Got Nothin' on Us

Extinction Got Nothin' on Us

We heard you missed us; we're back! Don't act like you didn't...

*First, the boys talk lessons learned in 2023 and what that means they are changing in the new draft season, covering:

  • Closer strategies
  • Being boring
  • Don't set the mins
  • Less dumpster-diving on catchers
  • Jake's WHIP problems
  • Dave is OK with injury risks?!?!
  • Still gotta have speed

*It's the "He Went to Driveline" crew; does it mean anything?

  • Sean Manaea
  • JP Crawford
  • Joe Ryan
  • Ty France
  • Paul Goldschmidt
  • Henry Davis
  • Shane Bieber
  • Cole Ragans
  • Zack Thompson
  • and many more

*Why are the Mariners pushing splitters on seemingly all of their starters?

*Dave's foolhardy wagers in the weekly Fish Call

*The Debut of Jake's Etymology of Baseball

*The GLARF Dynasty and this year's EARTH Leagues charity


Thanks for coming back to us! Let's get it in 2024!!


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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball. Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues! Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback. Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out ⁠RotoSaurus.com/merch⁠ to support the pod!

Follow Dave (⁠@RunDMcD⁠) and Jake (⁠@TheDustmite⁠) on Xwitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (⁠www.coroflot.com/krysiart⁠)

Show Tune - The 126ers - ⁠Black Moons

Jan 13, 202401:49:58
The DeadPullHitter Rob DiPietro Goes Deep

The DeadPullHitter Rob DiPietro Goes Deep

We welcome the @deadpullhitter Rob DiPietro for a long-awaited appearance on High Stakes Heat!  Rob goes deep about where he got his love of fantasy, how he's grown into a high stakes sniper, and a lot of his overarching draft prep process.  We also learn a lot about Rob as a person with some deep topics of interest at the end.  Strap in!

*Rob's origins with his family and Strat-O-Matic

*Basketball before baseball??

*What led to the Draft Champions overall title in 2020

*Following that success up with a massive 2021

*Tag team partners with Jenny Butler

*Where should we draft saves?

*EARTH leagues conversation

*Does Rob subscribe to the Player Eliminator practice?

*How does Rob use and aggregate projection systems?

*SGP and how to use it

*Rob as "The Sponge," soaking up all the info he can

*Lessons learned from 2021

*Rob's biggest weakness and edge as a fantasy player

*Build your own "supergroup" for success

AND FOR FUN

*Music of the 90s, and how we are affected by it to this day

*Rob's colloquialisms

*Victory Garden with the DeadPullHitter

*IS ROB DR. DAVE??

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Mar 04, 202202:30:46
The Player Eliminator & Battle of the Pods SZN3

The Player Eliminator & Battle of the Pods SZN3

Dave and Jake recently finished their Battle of the Podcasts league draft, presented by Zack Waxman and hosted by the NFBC.  This pod is a full review of the league, looking at each team in depth (including their own) and offering strengths, weaknesses, perceived strategy, best/worst picks, and their selections to compete for the title.  The draft order and represented pods for this 50 round NFBC draft & hold format league is:

*1 Justin Mason, Friends with Fantasy Benefits

*2 John Laghezza, Corked Stats

*3 Matt Williams, Turn Two

*4 Jake and Dave

*5 Chris M, @baseballpods

*6 Zack Waxman, Draft Champions Network

*7 Eric Cross/Chris Clegg, Fantrax Toolshed

*8 Rob DePietro, Pull Hitter (Season 2 champ)

*9 Matthew Davis, FTN Fantasy Baseball

*10 Drew Morris, Common Sense Fantasy Baseball (Season 1 champ)

*11 Michael Simione, SP Streamer

*12 Bubba Entrekin, Benched with Bubba

*13 Toby Guevin, BatFlipCrazy

*14 Jorge Montanez/Mike Kurland, Bases Loaded

*15 Michael Govier, Hey It's Enrico Pallazzo!


*We discuss Jake's recent exercise of separating the top 150 ADP players (over the last three weeks) into three different categories: players he'd draft at or before ADP, players he'd consider in certain situations with a discount, and players he is crossing off his list.  He tweeted about it here on Saturday.  There were surprising results, even though we've been crossing players off our draftlists for well over a decade.

*We also go over our TGFBI leagues, 4 and 5

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Feb 08, 202203:18:53
Darik Buchar on Everything NFBC

Darik Buchar on Everything NFBC

The Vegas crew of Dave, Tony, and Jake are very excited to bring on the do-it-all of the National Fantasy Championship contests, Darik Buchar @dbuchar).  We had a ton of fun and laughs talking shop with Darik about all things NFBC (@TheNFBC)and everything their live events can be!

*A viking among cheeseheads; a kicker AND a catcher

*Darik's history as an NFBC player, and how he moved to the other side of the game

*A couple of hot takes

*Who is the best high stakes player?  Who will win the Main Event in 2022?

*Tons about the live events in Vegas/NYC/Chicago, and why you'll never want to draft any other way

*NFBC is the gold standard of contests

*Storytime: a broken hair dryer, Dave oversleeps a main event, the half-eaten cookie, "draft" beers, and the infamous Bellinger autodraft

*Darik's early beef with Mark Srebro (Gekko)

*His unique perspective on how our seasonal game is changing

*Don't just copy someone else; find what works for you on your own!

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jan 21, 202201:43:59
Cue the Hatemail, with NFBC Monster Jason Duponte

Cue the Hatemail, with NFBC Monster Jason Duponte

Jason Duponte @papelbeast joins the guys to give the perspective of a long-time NFBC player with tons of experience at the highest of stakes!  Quite a bit of extremely useful strategy in this one!

*Jumping right into the deep end for $5000

*Cue the Duckboats, better than going to Disney World

*Stories of the Red Sox beating Cleveland in the 2007 ALCS, much to our delight

*More on why the Guardians' ownership can suck it

*Mike the Mouth NYC Ultimate leagues: like a home league, only more expensive

*The challenges of playing at the $15000 price point in the NFBC Platinum

*Why auctions are the best thing in fantasy baseball

*Shifting focuses and contest selection

*Who is the best player in the high stakes world?

*Jason's biggest strength and weakness

*More on how the seasonal fantasy baseball game is changing...adapt or die!

*Are we in or out on players going within the ADP Top 50

  -Fernando Tatis, Jr

  -Ronald Acuna, Jr

  -Mookie Betts

  -Mike Trout

  -Nick Pivetta > Jacob deGrom??

  -Shane Bieber

  -Cedric Mullins

  -Whit Merrifield

  -Robbie Ray

  -Tyler O'Neill

  -Chris Sale

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jan 14, 202202:28:45
2020 NFBC Main Event Champ Jim Tomony

2020 NFBC Main Event Champ Jim Tomony

The boys flip the calendar to 2022 by bringing in one of the best players in the NFBC right now, and he has the hardware to prove it!  2020 Main Event overall champion Jim Tomony joins the show to explain just what goes into being a consistent winner at the highest level of fantasy baseball.

*Jim's start in fantasy, and how he married the Fantasy Baseball Queen of Ann Arbor

*What spurred his big win in 2020?

*Why does he use song titles to name all of his squads?

*12 team or 15 team leagues?

*Jim's biggest weakness and strength as a player

*How is the high stakes realm changing over the last few years?

*The gentlemen give one player to hit and one player to bust from four different ADP ranges!

----> 1-100: Sal Perez, Alex Bregman, Jose Abreu, Francisco Lindor, Mookie Betts, Trevor Rogers

----> 101-200: Rhys Hoskins, Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Taylor, Carlos Rodon, Justin Verlander

----> 201-300: Alex Wood, Jesus Sanchez, Gavin Lux, Bailey Ober, Nathaniel Lowe, Andrew Kittredge

----> 301-450: Luis Arraez, Rowdy Tellez, Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Lewis, Cristian Javier, Tylor Megill

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jan 07, 202202:40:18
Early ADP Looks for Draft Champions

Early ADP Looks for Draft Champions

Dave and Jake dive into ADP for the last three weeks of NFBC Draft Champions leagues, giving you some players they think you should move up or down your draft boards.

    *Going too early: Kopech, Semien, Witt Jr., Franco, Gallegos, Chisholm, C Seager

    *Going too late: Torres, Bogaerts, Lindor, Story, Snell, Kimbrel, Rogers

Jake is taking part in his first NFBC DC, which also happens to be the "Beat Razzball's Grey Albright" league.

    *Jake runs through his strategy going in from pick 12, and how it ended up playing out

    *Analysis of the roster construction of each team, highlighting items to keep in mind when you're drafting

    *They feel that lots of teams have no shot at this league; lots of incomplete teams in this one

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Dec 10, 202102:20:56
Manfred Can't Lock You Out of This

Manfred Can't Lock You Out of This

The commissioner has locked out the players because he "had to," but that won't stop us from commenting on the absolute flurry of activity in MLB leading up to this dreadful day.  Jake and Dave discuss the fantasy implication of tons of moves, and also laugh heartily at the teams that deserve it (we're looking at you, Guardians).

*Astros resign Justin Verlander, 2y/$50mil

*Cubs sign Marcus Stroman, 3y/$71mil

*Dodgers resign Chris Taylor, 4y/$60mil

*Max Muncy's injured elbow

*Twins resign Byron Buxton, 7y/$100mil

*Cards sign Steven Matz, 4y/$44mil

*Orioles sign Jordan Lyles, 1y/$7mil

*DBacks sign Mark Melancon, 2y/$14mil

*Phillies sign Corey Knebel, 1y/$10mil

*Padres sign Robert Suarez, 1y; Nick Martinez, 4y/$20mil

*Rays sign Corey Kluber, 1y/$8mil; extend Wander Franco, 11y/$182mil

*Marlins acquire Joey Wendle; extend Sandy Alcantara, 5y/$56mil; sign Avisail Garcia, 4y/$53mil

*Mariners sign Robbie Ray, 5y/$115mil; acquire Adam Frazier

*Jays resign Jose Berrios, 7y/$131mil; sign Kevin Gausman, 5y/$110mil

*Would you rather draft deGrom or Gausman?

*Red Sox sign Rich Hill, 1y/$5mil; sign Michael Wacha, 1y/$7mil; sign James Paxton, 1y/$10mil w option

*Brewers acquire Hunter Renfroe from Red Sox for Jackie Bradley, Jr.

*Angels resign Raisel Iglesias, 4y/$100mil; sign Noah Syndergaard, 1y/$21mil; Michael Lorenzen, 1y/$7mil

*Giants resign Anthony DeSclafani, 3y/$36mil; resign Alex Wood, 2y/$25mil; sign Alex Cobb, 2y/$20mil

*Tigers sign Javier Baez, 6y/$140mil; sign Eduardo Rodriguez, 5y/$77mil

*Rangers sign Corey Seager, 10y/$325mil; sign Marcus Semien, 7y/$175mil; sign Jon Gray, 4y/$56mil; sign Kole Calhoun, 1y/$5.2mil

*Mets sign Eduardo Escobar, 2y/$20mil; sign Mark Canha, 2y/$25.5mil; sign Starling Marte, 4y/$78mil; sign Max Scherzer, 3y/$130mil

*Marcell Ozuna's suspension is over, where should you draft him?


*Our slow drafting plans

*Should you have a strategy for drafting from every single draft slot?  NFBC vs lower stakes


******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Dec 03, 202103:12:10
Crossing Streams with Michael Simione

Crossing Streams with Michael Simione

The illustrious SPStreamer Michael Simione (@SPStreamer) lends his talents to High Stakes Heat tonight as he walks the boys through his growth both as a player and as an analysis brand. 

*The FPAZ experience: people, panels, and poker

*A look at the FPAZ draft from mid-October with many fantasy analyst participants

*Michael's journey to high stakes

*Learning from 2021 and moving forward to 2022

*The TURF League, members of EARTH

*Does a league have to have an entry fee to be a priority for all?

*The method of the Stream

*Michael's 2021 record for streaming

*Early overvalued/undervalued starters

Make sure to check out Michael and the crew over at SPStreamer.com!

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Nov 19, 202101:47:35
Dissecting Jake's Painful 2021
Nov 13, 202102:30:05
Overall, You Still Have a Shot at Winning Money

Overall, You Still Have a Shot at Winning Money

Dave, Jake, and Tony @Spectre14 all together IN THE SAME STUDIO!  What better way could there be to jump start High Stakes Heat again!?  

*An update on our high dollar and industry league teams

*Players that each of us has gotten right and wrong, as we currently stand

*Some players that look due for a good or improved second half

*A speculative saves list of ten relievers from Dave

*A look at possible innings limits in the second half

*What should you be doing right now if you're in an overall competition? (Hint: NOT GIVING UP)

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high  stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and  they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing  in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have  done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few  moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we  really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars  who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jul 17, 202102:15:58
Draft Strat Blowout! Auctions, 12&15 Snakes

Draft Strat Blowout! Auctions, 12&15 Snakes

We are one week from another beautiful (full) baseball season, and Jake and Tony @Spectre14 are here to give you an evergreen draft strategy pod for the ages!  This episode is essentially devoid of specific player analysis, and it is meant for you to use as a comprehensive strategy primer for any of your drafts this last week of March, and even beyond to other seasons.  

*Why drafting live is just plain awesome

*What to do to prepare for your live draft (with us in Vegas)

*What to expect at the live draft table, and how it's different from drafting from your home computer

*Overarching strategy for 12 team Roto, like the $350 NFBC Rotowire Online Championship

*Overarching strategy for 15 team Roto, like the $1700 NFBC Main Event

*15 team auction strategy from the 2019 $1400 NFBC Auction Overall Champion

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Mar 23, 202102:50:23
Heel Pod! Part 2 with John L

Heel Pod! Part 2 with John L

Big Sexy John L @MLBMovingAvg is back for Round 2 with Dave and Jake, and the heat does not stop until the outro plays!  

*The @baseballpods Podcast Bracket "controversy"

*John breaks down the NFBC Tag Team draft and doesn't hold back...Check the DRAFT BOARD

*Checking in on our TGFBI drafts after one week (John #19, Dave #3, Jake #2)

*The Great Lakes Area Roto Fantasy (GLARF) League update, Dave's and Jake's teams

*Differences when approaching a QS/OBP league as opposed to the norm

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Mar 09, 202101:45:41
Heel Pod! Part 1 with John L

Heel Pod! Part 1 with John L

Big John Stud @MLBMovingAvg joins the boys and there's no stopping this train!  We went for a whopping 225 minutes, so we slashed this episode in two; look for the second part to drop Tuesday.

*Injuries to Calhoun, Bogaerts, Woodruff, Kelenic

*John's feeling on the Yankees rotation

*Aaron Civale has new mechanics

*How do we feel about Bellinger's recovery?

*Kimbrel and Colome got blasted

*Flaherty looked better the second time around

*John's background and start in fantasy

*It's all an investment; gotta make that money

*Diversifying your portfolio

*How did John change his process coming into the 2021 draft season?

*The Trout vs. Soto debate finally happens

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Mar 07, 202101:59:12
Tag Teams, Tourneys, and Tweetstorms

Tag Teams, Tourneys, and Tweetstorms

Check this behemoth!  Shout out to the Dingers pod for our epic first round battle in the Baseballpods Tourney!

*Justin Mason's Podapolooza this Saturday/Sunday Feb. 27-28

*When will the Blue Jays migrate back to Buffalo?

*COVID cases, news, and signings

*How can you determine who closes in a murky backend bullpen situation?

*Do people still think that Mondesi hits second?  Referencing this tweet

*Jacob deGrom is a first round talent, but we're not comfortable drafting him

*Just stop listening and trust yourself

*Dave and Tony break down their NFBC Tag Team Tournament draft from Feb. 22; the live analysis from John L and others here!

*Our leagues in TGFBI

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Feb 26, 202102:14:22
Objectively, Projections Are Flawed

Objectively, Projections Are Flawed

We heard you missed us; we're back!  There are tons of things to cover in the world of fantasy baseball:

*So many transactions! 15+ players/situations to discuss

*MLB changing the baseball and actually TELLING us about it??

*Can there be objective truth in fantasy?

*How much we should use or "rely on" projections

*Battle of the Podcasts draft review (courtesy of @draftchampagne)


Thanks to everyone for putting us over the 5000 listen mark!!!

******************************************

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Feb 10, 202102:11:57
A Veritable Smorgasbord of Baseball Goodness
Jan 15, 202102:07:18
ROBOT POD!! Phil Dussault Takes Over HSH!

ROBOT POD!! Phil Dussault Takes Over HSH!

--INITIATE SHOW NOTE TRANSMISSION--

The Robot's infamous System has seized control of High Stakes Heat!  Phil Dussault (@PhilDussault27) has written our entire script for us and is forcing us to execute his fantasy baseball wishes.  Tune in for a wide variety of heinous topics that the Robot has prepared for us!

*Landing spots for Bauer and Lindor

*Can Giolito be elite?

*Stolen base theories

*The Consortium on Survivor?

*Dave and Jake, South Korean immigrants

*Luis Robert vs. Kyle Tucker

*ADP comparisons

*Injured pitchers that we won't touch in 2021

*Auction build strategies

*Closer free agents that could steal jobs

*A hitter, starter, and reliever that we both like post-300 ADP

This episode is brought to you by Sports Jerseys Canada, selling NHL jerseys as well as custom hockey and baseball jerseys for your own teams!  The custom jerseys are only for Canadians but the NHL jerseys can be shipped worldwide.  If you are interested, check out the website sportsjerseyscanada.ca or contact Phil Dussault on Twitter @PhilDussault27

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Dec 18, 202002:23:30
A Non-tender Look at Bestball and Avoiding Landmines

A Non-tender Look at Bestball and Avoiding Landmines

Happy December!  Only the best and bravest are diving  into their analysis at this point, and we have you covered as you foray deep into your prep for 2021.  Topics covered include:

*Analyzing the non-tenders of note

*Urshela elbow surgery, Wander Franco biceps injury

*Concerns with Tyler Glasnow

*Why all the hate for Dylan Moore?

*Dave rantin' on Stanton

*Jake approach to the #pullhitterbestball draft

*Early NFBC trends/observations

*Hit up the Rotosaurus Merch Department!

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com/merch to support the pod; new Christmas Dino gear dropping on Sunday!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Designs - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Dec 06, 202001:37:13
Onward to 2021! Please? Can We?

Onward to 2021! Please? Can We?

It's time to turn the page to 2021!  Well, at least in terms of fantasy baseball anyway...still gotta get through 6 more weeks of this garbage in real life.  Dave and Jake are back and they're ready to move forward with draft prep for the new season.  Let's start getting ready to dominate!

*Why the Dolans are horrible

*Smyly gets $11mil?

*Clevinger gets Tommy John

*We're trying to help, really!

*Digging deep into Dave's mock draft with the boys from RotoFanatic, find the board here

*Why Dave won't draft deGrom this year

*Some early round NFBC ADP looks

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com... NEW MERCH DROPPING SOON!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Nov 17, 202001:37:42
2020 Season Retrospective, Part 2

2020 Season Retrospective, Part 2

The second half of our season retrospective closely examines the pitching hits and misses from the less than optimal year 2020.  Dave, Tony (@Spectre14), and Jake blaze through a vast number of starters and relievers...would they do it all again the same way?  Listen in to find out!

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Oct 07, 202002:13:42
2020 Season Retrospective, Part 1
Oct 02, 202002:39:54
The Final Weekend Rundown

The Final Weekend Rundown

Dave and Jake work to carry you to the finish line in today's episode, both helping you to set that final weekend offensive lineup in NFBC and looking ahead to a number of topics that will dominate our thoughts heading into 2021.  Best of luck to all our listeners as they close out their championships!

*Injuries and players returning that could affect your weekend

*Reevaluate your standings

*Hitters to get into your lineups for the last three days

*Our top 5 SPs heading into 2021

*Limited pitcher workloads in 202 and how it could affect next year

*What we'd like to hear from others in the industry

*How much will this season change what we do next year?

*Our most valuable takeaway from this outlier year

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Sep 25, 202001:08:20
How to Approach the Final Week

How to Approach the Final Week

The boys are again joined by their close friend and another member of The Consortium, Tony DiVincenzo (@Spectre14), and together they tackle what everyone should be looking at heading into the final week of baseball.  There's a ton of great strategy points in here, and they also have an opportunity at the end to give some advice on targets for your final Sunday of FAAB.  What's inside:

*Injury returns now: Teoscar, Pham, Hosmer

*Injury returns soon: Sonny Gray, Gallegos, Berti, deGrom, Clevinger

*Other news of the weekend

*Teams and their playoff pictures; will they play it out, or will they rest guys?

*Starting pitchers who could be rested as teams align postseason rotations

*Teams whose hitters to target/avoid

*Strategy when approaching the end of the season

*How to tailor your lineup and roster to attack categories

*Overall team schedules to target

*Players to look at in the last week of FAAB

*Shout outs and thank yous

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - the great Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Sep 20, 202001:16:53
Closer Conversation with the FAABulous Scott Jenstad

Closer Conversation with the FAABulous Scott Jenstad

Dave and Jake are excited to welcome another incredible NFBC stalwart to the pod in RotoWire's Scott Jenstad (@ScottJenstad)!  The gentlemen hit on tons of ever-in-flux closer situations, some injury and promotion news, plenty of in-season management strategy topics, and a number of great listener questions.  Scott is an exemplary guest, and it was an absolute blast having him on the pod!  We will cover:

*Scott's early fantasy career pre-NFBC

*How he got started in the industry

*Scott doesn't know how to share

*Closer situations for 15 different teams

*Unwritten rules are dumb

*Starter call-ups - Ian Anderson (likely), McKenzie, Mize, Skubal, Dunning, Sixto

*Hitter call-ups - Mountcastle, Bart

*Injuries to Chirinos, Yordan, Buxton, Paxton, Dylan Moore

*Challenges in the short season

*What are we seeing in FAAB as we move into the second half?

*Possible other FAAB targets in week 6: Tapia, Candelario, Mullins, Haggerty, Paredes, Farmer

*Tons of great listener questions

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter; be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Aug 25, 202001:44:28
Fraternizing with the FAAB Whisperer, Vlad Sedler

Fraternizing with the FAAB Whisperer, Vlad Sedler

Episode 9 of the pod features the incredibly successful high stakes redraft and DFS player Vlad Sedler (@RotoGut) of Guru Elite fame!  This is an absolutely jam-packed show, full of insights into who Vlad is and what makes him a winner, plenty of player analysis and news, and short season adjustments.  More specifically, we will cover:

*Vlad's beginnings playing and analyzing fantasy

*The makings of a FAAB Whisperer

*Tough pitcher holds - Manaea, Boyd, Ray, Verlander, Morton

*Hot FAAB hitters - Cronenworth, Tauchman, Dylan Moore, Andres Gimenez, Slater, Lopes, Rio Ruiz

*Streamers and whether they could be more - Gausman, Peterson, Sandoval, Toussaint, Elieser Hernandez, Pablo Lopez, Brad Keller, Arrieta, Milone

*Injuries to Judge, Cron, Yates, McNeil

*Dylan Carlson and Alec Bohm getting the call

*Vlad's short season adjustments 

*Bundy and Castellanos love

*Vlad's most owned players this year

*Great listener questions from Lucas Biery, Dave Duncan, Aaron Stoltenberg

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Aug 14, 202001:38:53
FAAB and Main Event Strategies with Justin Mason

FAAB and Main Event Strategies with Justin Mason

The boys return with special guest Justin Mason (@JustinMasonFWFB), the busiest analyst in fantasy baseball and an all-around great guy.  He is nothing but candid with us about his process, experience, and life in general; plenty to take out of this episode!  Among the topics covered:

*Justin and his career

*FWFB, TGFBI, and the Mason Face

*Cleveland's discipline breakdown

*Pitchers galore on the IL

*Tons of other news

*Toxic masculinity

*Sunday's NFBC FAAB results

*FAAB processes in a shortened season

*Justin's Main Event approach and live drafting strategies


We are displeased with Dave's audio quality in this episode, but unfortunately we are unable to make it any louder.  Rest assured that it will not be an issue in the future!

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Aug 11, 202002:14:39
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto (Phil Dussault)

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto (Phil Dussault)

Dave and Jake are joined by the Robot himself, Phil Dussault (@PhilDussault27)!  Phil has only played in the NFBC for four seasons, but he brings a wealth of successful experience and heavy analysis to the pod.  Together they cover a plethora of topics:

-The wackiest NFBC Sunday FAAB we've ever seen

-Tons and tons of closing situations in flux

-A retrospective on Phil's heavily automated draft system, with discussion about any factors that he would change

-Covid and injury news galore

-Our first ever round of listener questions  

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Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Aug 04, 202001:37:22
Main Events & the Dumpster Fire That Is 2020

Main Events & the Dumpster Fire That Is 2020

The boys are back after their long drafting hiatus, and they brought in their long-time friend and Dave's Main Event partner, Tony DiVincenzo (@Spectre14)!  The three review their strategies for drafting their four total $1200 NFBC Sprint Main Event leagues, as they highlight their primary points of focus in building their teams facing the Covid nightmare season.  They then turn to the topic of injury risk assessment, which all RotoSaurus followers know as one of their main foundations of draft prep and analysis in any season.  Then they finish with a flurry of MLB news, obviously covering the unfortunate outbreak in the Miami clubhouse, along with a lot of other nuggets.

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts, Jake's two-start pitcher lists, and their comprehensive three-week pitching schedules!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak (www.coroflot.com/krysiart)

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jul 29, 202001:40:01
ADP, Pitcher Scheduling, and Mrs. Keuchel

ADP, Pitcher Scheduling, and Mrs. Keuchel

The summer rolls on, and your intrepid NFBCers fill you in on the news, some of which can be found at the Covid Watch.   The Main Event drafts started on Sunday, but there's not enough ADP data yet for solid analysis; however, there is more than enough July Online Championship data to get a good feel for where we are.  Dave and Jake also take a look at pitcher schedules through week 3, highlighting some delectable matchups and others not so much.  Plus, Dave stuck another of his #NoFilter rants in there...are we developing a bit here?

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.  Thank you so much to those of you all-stars who have done so already!

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts and other info!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak

Show Tune - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jul 14, 202001:35:51
The Do's and Don'ts of Drafting

The Do's and Don'ts of Drafting

Dave and Jake return to bring you some summer updates and direct you to RotoSaurus's Covid Watch.  The boys touch on setting your KDS (Kentucky Derby Style) order for your drafts, some rarer resources to be targeting, and many of their DOs and DON'Ts for drafting in roto leagues.  They may even debut a new segment!  They then close by evaluating how the 60 game season affects 15 different prominent hitters.  

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts and other info!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak

Show Open - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jul 10, 202001:26:06
KC at the Bat

KC at the Bat

Dave and Jake wrangle all of the news from the beginning of the 'Summer Training' period (You like that, Jon Heyman?) for you: Covid diagnoses, opt-outs, new births, managerial comments...all to help you organize everything as you prep for more drafts.  Dave warns you again about drafting Josh Hader as your first closer, when you should be drafting your first or second SP.  Then the boys break down an interview from March of NFBC Hall of Famer KC Cha conducted by Vlad Sedler of Elite Fantasy, highlighting a ton of great insights provided by the high stakes stalwart.  This interview is from four months ago, but the guys touch on an array of evergreen points within it that you can apply to your drafts this July and beyond. 

Dave McDonald and Jake Halusker are consistently successful high stakes players in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and they share with listeners their strategies and experiences of competing in the highest levels of fantasy baseball.  Listen to the guys who have done it before to learn how to win your leagues!  Please take a few moments to rate and review the podcast on your platform of choice; we really want your feedback.

Check out RotoSaurus.com for all of Dave's closer charts and other info!

Follow Dave (@RunDMcD) and Jake (@TheDustmite) on Twitter, be sure to send them your barbs and accolades.

Logo Design - Matt Krysiak

Show Open - The 126ers - Black Moons

Jul 06, 202001:13:18
Long Views on a Short Season
Jul 01, 202001:15:07
A Dave and His Dustmite
Jun 27, 202001:09:19