You’ve been following TDGX. You love TDGX. We all love TDGX.  And every week here at The Dynasty Guru, I am going to be bringing you commentary from our flagship experts’ league, directly from the participants themselves.

The goal here is to give you insight into the moves made by our group of experts so that you can use this information the next time you need to make a trade or prominent FA move in your league. So let’s not mess around with too much longer of an introduction. We’re going to break this up into three sections: trades, major league additions, minor league additions.

TRADES

Craig Glaser/Tom Trudeau trade Eugenio Suarez to Luke Chatelain for Michael Cuddyer

Tom: “Before the draft we reasoned that focusing exclusively 2015 afforded us a chance to buy on injured veterans during the 2014 season at a discount. We didn’t necessarily expect to target a 35-year-old, but Cuddyer accelerates our ability to compete next season. The cost is Suarez, someone we’re gambling isn’t a Major League regular long-term. If we’re wrong, it may be that Suarez was underrated due to his relative youth in the minors . He was a league average hitter in double-A at 21 years old last season. That’s a stop many good prospects make when they’re 23.”

Luke: “Cuddyer is 35 and while his bat plays up at Coors he’s now slated to miss 6-8 weeks plus rehab games. That pretty much nulls his value for 2014 and for a team looking to contend this is obviously a bad thing. Throw in the fact that next year Cuddy will most likely not be with the Rockies and his value takes another ding. The cost is Suarez, someone we’re gambling is a Major League regular long-term. If we’re wrong, it may be that Suarez was correctly underrated  in the minors. However, he was a league average hitter in double-A at 21 years old last season. That’s a stop many good prospects make when they’re 23. (Partially plagiarized from Tom Trudeau and edited to fit your screen)”

Nick Doran trades two third round picks to Mike Buttil for Collin McHugh
J.P. Breen trades a second round pick to Mike Buttil for Lorenzo Cain

Nick: “I am not a true believer in McHugh just yet, but I have been actively working to upgrade my starting pitching options and was able to swing a deal for this hot hurler. McHugh has been very good thus far and I am willing to take the chance that he can be a viable fantasy starter for the rest of the year and beyond. He has very good peripheral stats and there are no red flags hiding in there to make me doubt his chances of remaining effective. On the other hand we are still looking at a fairly small sample of success and he could still be a fluke. The Astros have been surprisingly good this year and they still have lots of talent in the pipeline, so I think McHugh stands a good chance of being a nice fantasy commodity moving forward.”

Mike: “Both trades involve players we didn’t intend on keeping. At 27, Cain was a seasoned veteran on our squad and we prefer AJ Pollock of the two outfielders we made available. McHugh was a nice ride from the waiver wire, but he’s not part of the big picture for us. We’ve gathered together a group of picks we are very happy with, including 11 of the first 60 picks in next year’s draft.”

J.P.: “I’ve amassed a few extra draft picks over the past couple months, and I utilized one of them to acquire a legitimate starting outfielder in Lorenzo Cain. The name of the game is acquiring everyday players for cheap. I feel I did that here.”

MAJOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS

Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell add Jeff Locke for $25

“Our team is closer heavy and starter thin which has led to a drop in the standings in both Strikeouts and Wins. Combine that with a couple of our starters struggling and we were in need of some quality innings along with the added K’s and Wins. Locke has pitched well sicne his promotion and pitched well for a significant part of 2013. We took a chance that he sticks and continues the good pitching.”

Ian Kahn/Tim McLeod add Tyler Matzek for $12

“We felt good about grabbing a possible 2nd round value in next year’s draft for a small bite of FAAB. The 9th pick in the 2009 draft who has more than struggled with command, though looked every bit a definite possibility in his first start in Coors. We have 50 minor league eligible innings ahead to see what’s what, and with a mid 90’s heater with movement coming from the southpaw side? Worth a look.”

Craig Goldstein/Mauricio Rubio add Brandon Barnes for $10

“The reason we bid on Brandon Barnes is simple: he’s hitting .288 in Colorado and mercy knows we could use the average. We are happy with our OF situation but we suffered when Beltran went down with injury and Michael Choice was a subpar replacement. Barnes is a cheap filler guy who can step in when there’s and injury and not kill us.”

J.P. Breen adds Alberto Callaspo for $2

“Callaspo was dropped last week, and while he’s not going to win a Silver Slugger award anytime soon, he has an everyday role on an above-average offense. He should score runs and have ample opportunity to drive in runs. He may be relegated to a utility role next season, but as of now, he’s an attractive piece in any ridiculously deep league … as this is.”

Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell add Robinson Chirinos for $2

“Tyler Flowers has potential as an offensive catcher at a thin position but his recent struggles had gotten to the point where we had to replace him until he turns it around. Robinson Chirinos is also a talented offensive catcher. He could prove to be a good keeper but for now, the way he has been hitting, he is a significant upgrade over what Flowers has been the last 3-4 weeks.”

Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell add John Mayberry for $2

“Injuries have crippled our team and it came to a head this week when both Justin Smoak and Emilion Bonifacio both went on the DL. Mayberry has been playing sporadically but has some offensive potential in a hitter friendly park. Upside combined with the hope of some selling in Philadelphia could lead to more at bats and some nice production in the outfield.”

Wilson Karaman adds Daniel Nava for $1

“I’ve been able to scrape together the bottom half of my outfield pretty effectively this season, getting very solid production in stretches out of guys like Collin Cowgill and Josh Harrison. Now it appears Daniel Nava is starting to find the stroke that led him to the green pastures of a .300 season last year. He’s 6 for his last 16 and seems intent on forcing some tough decisions for Boston’s brass when Shane Victorino proves himself ready to return later in the week. Word is Will Middlebrooks is going to be receiving some reps in the OF during his rehab stint as well, which further clouds the picture. Still, Boston doesn’t have the luxury of sitting a hot hand right now, and on the off chance Nava keeps it up and continues earning consistent playing time I want to ride the wave as his stat line plays catch-up.”

Nick Doran adds Matt Shoemaker for $1

“Shoemaker is similar to McHugh in that he has come up from a non-distinguished minor league career to fare very well in his first handful of starts in the majors. His component stats look good. He pitches for a good team in a strong pitcher’s park. Why not take a flyer on this guy?”

Wilson Karaman adds Neil Ramirez for $1

“I didn’t entirely mean to spend the measly remaining balance of my FAAB budget this week, but I’ll gladly accept the fate if Ramirez’s stellar work in the closer’s role over the past week is rewarded with more opportunities. It’s certainly far from a sure bet that he’ll continue to garner opportunities, but given the astronomical prices I and others have paid for closers in this league I was still surprised to snag a guy with three lockdown saves over the past week for just a buck. Rondon was supposedly available on Sunday and Rick Renteria still turned to Ramirez in the ninth, which may or may not mean anything. Either way, Ramirez’s 26:5 K:BB in his first 17 innings has been supported by a swing-and-miss rate that would be 8th in baseball if he had enough innings to qualify. And the uncertainties surrounding Rondon’s elbow don’t just disappear because he’s been cleared to throw. The package adds up to a strong speculative play at worst and a coup of save vulturing prowess at best.”

Jason Hunt adds Stephen Vogt for $0

“Vogt has been seeing slightly more playing time than Eric Campbell was, including some time in right field while Josh Reddick is on the disabled list. He should be good for a decent average when he plays, and potential a couple home runs.”

Mike Buttil adds Roberto Hernandez for $0

“Without many starting pitching options on the waiver wire, Hernandez will replace the recently traded McHugh in our lineup. If we can just get JP Breen to trade us Maikel Franco, we’ll be able to complete the Philly set.”

Nick Doran adds Jean Machi for $0

“This is less about Machi and more about Sergio Romo. I think Romo is a very good pitcher who is unlikely to lose his closer’s role, at least not permanently. But he blew two saves in a row in spectacular fashion over the weekend and could be in the doghouse. If the Giants decide to make a change I want to be the guy who benefits from it.”

MINOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS

Ian Kahn/Tim McLeod add Trevor May for $3

“Trevor May might actually end up being a smarter buy than Matzek was at $12. Eleven K’s against Pawtucket Monday night gives a hint of what just might be. Just a lottery ticket with a small price tag.”

Bret Sayre adds Manuel Margot for $3

“Ever since I didn’t realize that Craig/Tom dropped Margot the first time (it’s the curse of being in like 12 leagues), I swore that I wouldn’t let it happen again. Lo and behold I was given a second chance to get the Red Sox outfield prospect this week and I followed through. Margot has cooled off a bit, but is still hitting .262 with four homers and 22 steals as a 19 year old in Low-A. I like his chances of being a top-100 fantasy prospect by the end of the season.”

J.P. Breen adds Mitch Haniger for $1

“The Brewers organization views Haniger as a potential everyday corner outfielder, and he’s heating up at the plate. This is an opportunity for me to acquire a potential everyday guy who could contribute at some point in 2015, while dropping a prospect who is a few years away from even sniffing the big leagues. I like Guzman. I think he can hit, and I think he’ll grow into his power. He’s just expendable for me at this point.”

Wilson Karaman adds Blake Snell for $0

“Perhaps it’s just lingering nostalgia for that brief stretch of aught-seven when a Snell of a different stripe carried my staff to the precipice of fantasy glory, but I don’t think so. Reports (and stats) indicate the former supplemental first rounder has made some legitimate strides in refining his bugaboo command this spring, and he recently earned a promotion to High-A. He still has a long way to go, but then again so did Simon Mercedes, who I dropped in Snell’s favor. And lefthanders who throw in the 90’s with a potentially knockout change-up are worth waiting for. His levers are long and he could use some bulk to balance him out and ease durability concerns. But he’s got exactly the type of tool box you want to see an unrefined young lefty carrying off to work, and on the chance he’s able to continue gaining consistency with his arsenal I want to be the one benefiting from it.”