The other day I went over my 2013 ESPN ranklings. There, I was all fire, brimstone and gangsta rap. Saying eff this, and eff that. I was pissed off like I was Tim Dog right after landing at LAX. I was spitting bullets, y’all needed to wear a vest. Now, I’m looking at Yahoo’s 2013 fantasy baseball rankings and Tim Dog didn’t get enough penicillin on wax and now he’s RIP. BTW, If you were a rapper in the 80′s or early 90′s or a professional wrestler, watch over your shoulder, son, the reaper is comin’ for you. “Multivitamins are better than any alcohol or aphrodisiac…” That’s Tone Loc working on a new song. More people use Yahoo than any other fantasy baseball game provider thing-a-ma-boobie, so more schmohawks are reading their rankings than any other rankings, yet I never take their rankings serious. Quick analogy that may or may not make sense: There’s years of looking up to your father, whether you agree all the time or not. Then, one day, he takes a poop on your couch. He should take him to the hospital; he’s in need of some sort of psychology examination. If the tests come back conclusive that he pooped the couch simply out of laziness, then that’s ESPN. Okay, now, Yahoo is your 8-year-old cousin pooping your couch. You’re annoyed, but you’re not sending the kid for psychology examinations. In other words, I always feel like ESPN should know better, but Yahoo, well, they have The Noise ranking Curtis Granderson 14th overall. Even Jose Canseco knows Granderson may have hit 60 homers in 30,000 BC due to a lack of gravity, but he still would need a ton of luck to hit .240. My apologies to Saltines, but Grandy at 14th overall is crackers (even before the injury).
Still, we should all be thanking Yahoo. Since they’re hosting more fantasy drafts than anyone else, they’re also steering more people in the most head-scratching ways. I really want Justin Upton this year (as my top 10 shows). Thanks to The Noise ranking him 32nd overall, Upton is all the way down at twenty-one in Yahoo’s overall rankings. More Upton for us, so thank you. They’ve killed any chance for Strasburg by ranking him 13th overall, but they’ve also buried Adam Jones (36), Adrian Gonzalez (45), Goldschmidt (48) and Matt Holliday (45). On the flip side, they’ve made it really easy to ignore guys that are ranked too high like Kipnis (56), Jered Weaver (43), Dickey (54) and Jacoby Ellsbury (35). Didn’t want to have make a decision on Rizzo and whether or not he’d have a sophomore slump? Now you don’t have to because they ranked him 63rd. I didn’t see Dee Gordon ranked in their top 100 this year after they ranked him in the 7th round last year, but maybe I missed him.
The biggest question I get is, “Do you use hair care products on your upper lip?” The second biggest question I get is, “If Yahoo (ESPN, CBS, Fox, whoever) ranks this player way after you’ve ranked them, do you wait to draft them?” The short answer is depends. The long answer is deeeeeeeeeeeeepends. In our first draft of the season, we wanted Beckett and had him at the top of our draft board when the 130th pick was coming off the board, but he was ranked in the 200′s by the place where we were drafting, so we didn’t take him at our 139th overall pick, or our 169th pick, or our 192th pick… We took him 222th overall. Now, I also don’t risk losing a player I really want. We wanted Goldschmidt and could have either drafted him 19th overall (which we did) or hoped he was around for our next pick at 42. Why wait when you want someone? I’d much rather draft a team I want, then try to play cute.
(BTW, for those wondering if I’m going to look at CBS’s rankings, I’m not. To throw it back to the intro analogy, CBS’s rankings are like a 3-month-old pooping on your couch. If you use CBS’s rankings, you should’ve known better to leave non-diapered rankings where you didn’t want them to defecate.)
So, let’s cut out the jibber-jabbering, though I’m already failing on that front. Sometimes I just can’t keep my big mouth shut. Thankfully, since I type with my tongue. You know, when I type “Mmm…,” I really mean it. That sounds like the start of a bad Yelp review, which is redundant because there are no good Yelp reviews. “The food was great, but I’m giving this restaurant one star because there was no parking. Knock down the homeless shelter next door and put up some parking meters!” That’s helpful, thanks Gael Greene! Any the hoo! I’m going to list players in a handy chart like I did the other day with ESPN. The Thank You’s have it. It being good value from my rankings vs. Yahoo’s. The No Thank You’s don’t have it. They’re bad people. Meh, they might be okay people, but they’re likely not ending up on any of my Yahoo drafted teams. For this, I’ll be using my 2013 fantasy baseball rankings (go figure!) and Yahoo’s 2013 fantasy baseball rankings (crazy, right?). For overall ranking, I’m going on Yahoo’s top 100 and not on their pre-draft rankings that are in your league tab because those don’t match up with their experts’ rankings (yeah, I have no idea either).
THANK YOU
| Player | Grey’s Ranking | Yahoo’s Ranking | Overall Difference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Position Ranking | Overall | Position Ranking | ||
| Adam Jones | 13 | 7 | 36 | 13 | 23 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 19 | 4 | 48 | 8 | 29 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 20 | 5 | 45 | 7 | 25 |
| Brandon Phillips | 38 | 4 | 64 | 5 | 26 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 35 | 14 | 79 | 22 | 44 |
| Pablo Sandoval | 43 | 7 | 62 | 8 | 19 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 47 | 6 | 71 | 8 | 24 |
| Jordan Zimmermann | 64 | 14 | 80 | 23 | 16 |
| Aroldis Chapman | 69 | 17 | 84 | unranked | 15 |
| Austin Jackson | 72 | 22 | 98 | 24 | 26 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 100 | 30 | 121 | 29 | 21 |
| Josh Rutledge | 101 | 8 | 204 | 14 | 103 |
NO THANK YOU
| Player | Grey’s Ranking | Yahoo’s Ranking | Overall Difference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Position Ranking | Overall | Position Ranking | ||
| Matt Kemp | 14 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 40 | 4 | 12 | 1 (tie) | 12 |
| Stephen Strasburg | 25 | 2 | 13 | 1 (tie) | 12 |
| Curtis Granderson | 114 | 31 | 31 | 12 | 83 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 51 | 20 | 35 | 14 | 16 |
| Jered Weaver | 80 | 18 | 43 | 10 | 37 |
| R.A. Dickey | 84 | 21 | 54 | 15 | 30 |
| Jason Kipnis | 119 | 12 | 56 | 4 | 63 |
| Roy Halladay | 98 | 28 | 61 | 17 | 37 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 91 | 14 | 63 | 11 | 28 |
| Chris Sale | 83 | 20 | 66 | 18 | 17 |
| Joe Mauer | 93 | 4 | 72 | 2 | 21 |
| Yadier Molina | 179 | 12 | 87 | 4 | 92 |
| Michael Bourn | 125 | 34 | 88 | 23 | 37 |
| Dan Uggla | 122 | 15 | 99 | 11 | 23 |
| Martin Prado | 123 | 19 | 100 | 10 | 23 |
I was hoping you would of commented on the high catcher rankigs in yah-hooz.
@Jack Full of Hate: Which ones?
@Grey: here’s a lot of bad and very little good.
Razz Yahoo Difference
Mauer 92 70 + 22
Molina 179 78 +101
V-Mart 117 90 +27
Rosario 138 97 +41
M. Montero 178 114 +64
McCann 181 129 +52
Napoli 171 139 +32
Santana 61 79 -18
Perez 109 130 -21
From a strategy standpoint for Yahoo users you better target Perez and Santana.
Ah… Gotcha… Yeah, I’m not sure if after the top 100 is actually Yahoo’s rankings anymore… I mean, technically… I think they bring in Rotowire’s rankings, unless I missed something…
@Grey: so yahoo is so lazy that they outsource their rankings.
I see a lot of parallel’s with razzball and DJ from “Hustle and Flow”
I think so… But honestly I’m not 100% sure… It’s definitely weird they rank the top 100 then the rankings just stop…
@Grey: what do you mean by stop?
There’s a top 100 for all the ‘perts on Yahoo… Then there’s a top 1000 or something in the pre-draft rankings for your team… But the pre-draft rankings for your teams don’t match up to the ‘perts rankings and there’s nothing that leads me to believe those are the ‘pert rankings…
@Grey: I only look at the pre draft ranks in the players section because that is what you will see when you draft
Yeah, I don’t think that’s Yahoo… I think they farm that out to Rotowire…
If I recall correctly, They have Fister and Harvey rated much higher than you as well. I still like Harvey’s upside, but agree with Fister. Surprised you didn’t mention Niese or Ryu.
By the way, what is the answer to the biggest question you get asked?
@bossmanjunior: Yes… I didn’t go past the top 100 because I don’t think Yahoo does… Those other rankings I believe are Rotowire… (The stuff found in your pre-draft rankings for your team…)
This column is super helpful, as always, thanks Grey for your wisdom/smarm combo.
Keeper question — can keep five of these guys at this round/value, 13 team 5×5 keeper league with a 3 year limit on keepers. Which five do you keep?
Picking 6th in odd rounds and 8th in even rounds FYI…
Kemp as a 2nd rounder
Ike Davis – 13th
Aaron Hill – 10th
Ian Desmond – 16th
Jake Peavy – 24th
Mike Fiers – 20th (all undrafted players can be kept as 20th round picks)
Matt Harvey – 20th
Fernando Rodney – 20th
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks, Mom! Kemp, Davis, Desmond, Peavy, Harvey…
@Grey: @Grey: Thanks so much!
No problem
Reckon Motte’s worth keeping for a year at 11 bucks? See you have him valued bang on that mark in your point shares. Would be my final keeoer and only closer, but if not ill keep 7 rather than 8. Know you dont like paying for saves though, SAGNOF!
@TheNewGuy: I’d keep him at $11. I think Motte is the #2 closer right now albeit WAAAAY behind Kimbrel and I like about 10 guys just about as much as Motte. But he’s going for $15 in a draft.
Also keep going back and forth over Encarnacion. Definately wanna keep him but question is 2 years ($8) or 3 ($12)? Im very hesitant to commit to a guy for 3 years especially to a 30yr old but could it be worth it? Or should I play it safe with 2.
@TheNewGuy: 2 years
Thank you, Grey! I find these charts informative each year.
Now for a public service announcement:
Great H2H keeper league that I run has 2 openings. Several managers are Razzballites. Fell details here:
http://razzball.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=31772
Cheers, all.
RIV
@RandomItalicizedVoice:
Both teams are spoken for, pending confirmation at the moment.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.
Using your rankings for a Yahoo draft, I was able to draft Braun, Longoria, Upton, and Goldchmidt! Thanks Grey! Oh and also, Hyun-Jin Ryu ranked 317th overall, was a nice late round grab.
@Evan F: Nice!
@Evan F:
I’m hoping for the same. I’ve got a bunch of dopes who follow the yahoo recommended rankings to a T.
I hat the Yelp reviews where the person writes an ode to the restaurant: Oh BBQ rib place how I love thee….
Way too many of this shitty reviews. Blech.
@Schlitzy: Ha. I hate it more when they go on and on about the service or “I rate this BBQ place 2 stars because I’m a vegan and the vegan options were limited”.
@Rudy Gamble: “There was this REALLY obnoxious group of people sitting next to us… 1 star.”
I asked the bartender for a highchair and he looked at me quizzically. One star.
My date wouldn’t put out after I bought her an expensive meal at this restaurant. One star.
(Not kidding…I saw a comment along these lines once).
Haha… “Not sure why they can’t cook the food in the back.” Benihana review.
@Rudy Gamble: I also hate these ones (this is from a real 1 star review): “I really wanted to say great things about this place because the food was absolutely delicious, but the service that me and my friend got at this spot last night was rather unfriendly and very unprofessional. First we were late for our table, which of course, completely our fault, but…….”
Zimmerman is only a 16 overall difference, not 24. Thanks for posting this.
@Kinghippo: Oops
On Yahoo: At least, their system and page is easier to navigate – to some degree
Not that Yahoo does not have its problems – TOTAL PRE DRAFT LOCK OUT and TOTAL IN DRAFT SHUT DOWN are always problems on Yahoo lurking there to ruin your draft .. Testing your personal fantasy rage gauge to the limits … Maybe even, shattering the glass on it..
And the lesser, YAHOO IN DRAFT BUMP OFF is a minor to major pisser too… These can occur to your team at anytime before or during draft…. Like when you wind up with Granderson on your team in the 2nd round before you can get back on to stop Yahoo from taking over your team….
In all of these, your team falls into YAHOO AutoWorld – a really bad place to be…. Look what it did to your write up today, Mr Gray!!!!…
It happens about every 4 or 5 Yahoo drafts for me historically… We had a big private league on there for 5 years… Every year someone got the Yahoo hit to some degree… I got a major Yahoo BooBoo one year… I just froze my team… That’s what I always do in those leagues where it happens…
Moving on…
Went back to edit draft ranking page on ESPN had been doing better for about a half hour – when – I highlighted a player – mistakenly it turned out -just to see what it would do – and it froze the entire page… The ranking page is still a nightmare for me… It needs some help in a big way… Drag and drop sucks!!!
HEY, ESPN DO SOMETHING TO THAT SYSTEM!!!!!
For all my bellyaching I will give both ESPN and Yahoo one thing they are both perfect at = They are FREE!!! A nice thing to have out there for everyone… Having played in the full blown “$$$players$$$” leagues in the past, I know how nice Free is… And none of the drama either… Most of which is normally self inflicted BTW…
??????????????
Granderson???? Here is a fella set to miss 6 weeks of the season with a lower arm injury (never a good thing for a hitter)…
How big a discount does the Razzman give him now???…. You have already got him lower than most… His BA is a killer for an OF.. ((But still, you have been too harsh on him IMO – It seems you accept potential in others – why not him = 30+ / 100+ potential doesn’t grow on trees ?? … He is only 31 or 32 YO)
In Yahoo and ESPN with only one DL slot I have found it is hard to carrying DLed players on your bench at kick off…
That said, for a Granderson or any around top 100*** player or above one makes exceptions– (where we are finding him) … ((( I bet in all your drafts he had gone in the top 100 players – not by you and me maybe – but by others)))
When players are injured their total #s are going to be added to by a fill-in in a pure way… This must be factored in when discounting them… As they will return as full time players —
They become A + B = C players … This better than running a lesser player all year…
What is your ranking on him now … Down 3 rounds????
E S T R A D A !!!!!!
@T Moore: FYI, Grey updated Granderson’s ranking and I’ve updated his mixed league 5×5 $. I have him now at 398 PA from ~550 so his value will definitely go down. Could be a solid gamble in shallow leagues b/c you can DL him and pick up a FA. Prefer that than have to waste a bench spot on a minor leaguer when I could stash more pitchers (one of the reasons, regrettably, I didn’t draft Trout in last year’s RCL).
@Rudy Gamble:
Thanks Rudy and Gray…
Top drawer per usual…
And thanks for putting up with me too…
Thanks!
@T Moore: Agreed, Yahoo has its snafus…. But like you said, they all do… I changed Grandy’s rankings already: http://razzball.com/top-400-for-2013-fantasy-baseball/ and http://razzball.com/top-40-outfielders-for-2013-fantasy-baseball/ I didn’t like him before, as you can imagine, that injury didn’t make me like him more…
@T Moore: Are you on a slow internet connection or on a very old computer? I’ve never had a problem with either Yahoo or ESPN freezing.
@Steve: I did get thrown off Yahoo during a draft once (and got autodrafted Chipper right after I picked A-Ram) but that was down to my internet connection, not Yahoo.
I think it may also be specific to OS/browser. I feel like Grey (Mac) gets bumped or frozen more than me (PC).
I think this will be more common going forward for draft room built in Flash. Has anyone noticed that the Flash plugins for Chrome and Firefox crash constantly?
@Rudy Gamble: On a separate note I’m getting issues with Razzball on my iphone 5. home page loads fine but page stalls when i hit “please blog, may i have some mo”. Anyone else having issues?
I tested on my iPhone 4 and the ‘Please blog’ button is working fine.
And how did the Oscars not celebrate musicals with a selection from Oliver!
It seems like there’s an issues on posts with tables like my latest… Looking into it now…
@Grey: thx. in return i will glady provide a thousand pageviews (monetized @ a $1 CPM?)…assuming you guys are monetizing mobile now or in the future
I have the web person looking at it… I’m gonna hold you to that dollar…
It is just table posts that are gagging on the mobile load… Other pages seem to be fine… ETA for a solution is currently tomorrow…
@Rudy Gamble: flash plugin for chrome craches on this site all the time
Flash plugin for Chrome crashes everywhere – you just happen to be on our site a lot
Grey, read your detailed analysis a couple of weeks ago as to type of position player/stats to draft after your #1 pick – and agree with most of it – but did I miss your order between Miggy, Trout, & Braun?
@Mark Robinson: http://razzball.com/2013-fantasy-baseball-rankings/
@Grey: That guy is going to have his mind f’ing blown when he finds the ‘Rankings’ tab at the top of this page.
Ha! Mind: Blown
Grey I loved that you came out spitting fire about spitting fire.
My keepers for next year-
Mccutchen, J-Upton, Ginacarlo Stanton, Jose Reyes
My team is loaded, but for the 5th spot i’m debating between Goldy and E5. I think I’m with you and I’m going to be drinking the Goldschlager.
Thanks for your help and mustache insight!
@Hooverville: Ha, thanks! No problem…
Feeling that intro Grey! Your reference to puttin it on wax has had me waxing nostalgic all morning.
Keeper question — can keep four of these guys at this round/value, 14 team 5×5 keeper league.
Picking 14th in odd rounds and 2nd in even rounds (deep league with 70 keepers)
Stanton – 2nd
Heyward – 6th
Aramis Ramirez – 6th
Cespedes – 15th
Chris Davis – 23rd
Matt Cain – 5th
Kris Medlen – 20th
Sergio Romo – 24th
Which four would you keep?
@B-Leaguered: Seems a clear top 3 in Stanton/Heyward/Cespedes.
Then either Cain or Medlen. I’d take Medlen because he’s good enough and much cheaper.
@james d: Thanks!
@B-Leaguered: Thanks! Stanton, Heyward, Cespedes, Medlen…
@Grey: thanks!
No problem…
Prospect Question: In keeper leagues, outside of Profar, Myers, Taveras, and d’Arnaud, who would you suggest to be a better offensive prospect to target than Christian Yelich? I currently own Profar, Myers, and Yelich in my farm, and I have plenty of trade bait. Should I go get someone to replace Yelich? I like him a lot, but I was curious. I tend not to go after minor league pitchers, since it takes a while to get their innings up, and they get hurt more often. Love your site. Thanks!
@Aaron: Jedd Gyorko could a worth a gander. Tryin out for the 2b job in SD. Hit a thunderous bomb on Friday for a grand slam. Pop from the thin 2b slot with 3b eligibility also. Yes please. Watch this space.
@Aaron: Thanks! Scott, our prospect writer, is a good person to ask… I agree with Paddyman too…
@Aaron: Not a ton of cant-miss position guys…here are three that might see playing time in 2013 – Nick Franklin (SS) and Mike Zunino (C/DH) on Seattle, Aaron Hicks (OF) on Twins, Hunter Morris (1B) on Brewers
@Aaron: Bundy
In an 8 Team H2H where most people keep bats, and we keep 5, would you look at an arm with your first pick or stick with bats? I REALLY want Goldy, even though I have Prince, because he can be the utility man of my dreams. But not sure if I should look for him in the first round or look at the best available arm (which is technically the 6th round). Now that I think about it, I won last year so I have two picks in a row. So do I go with best two bats, or best bat and arm?
I’m fairly certain I can squeak a decent rotation out of arms down the road and dominate with the bats if I stockpile early. We have some dumbasses, who surprisingly read this site, but still go with pitchers early and then end up with Marin Prado as their starting 3rd baseman. No wonder I’m sitting on a three-peat…
@Wilsonian: FYI, I’m keeping Prince, Longo, J-Up, Tulo, and Adam Jones.
@Wilsonian: Yeah, I’d continue with bats in a crazy shallow league like that…
Aw, I was hoping you’d go farther than the top 100 for Yahoo — it’s weird that the expert rankings don’t line up with the autodraft rankings, but it’s the autodraft rankings that really matter for those of us playing in Yahoo leagues.
For the Public Good, here are some more Yahoo bargains beyond those listed above, presented as Name/Grey’s Ranking/Yahoo’s Ranking:
Max Scherzer/57/85
Ike Davis/60/107
Austin Jackson/72/91
Alex Gordon/73/92
Hunter Pence/74/125
Nelson Cruz/76/101
Mark Trumbo/79/135
Jake Peavy/89/109
Danny Espinosa/90/161
Mariano Rivera/95/124
Chris Davis/96/158
Todd Frazier/103/203
Kendrys Morales/107/174
Salvador Perez/110/130
Hyun-Jin Ryu/111/317
Jonathon Niese/112/168
@Dingbat: I don’t think past the top 100 is actually Yahoo’s rankings… I think they outsource them from Rotowire… Or I just missed where Funston et al’s rankings were listed past the top 100…
Between Lawrie, Hosmer and Frazier – who has the lowest floor for 2013 (highest risk) and who do you think has the best long-term future?
@Jon: Highest risk is Frazier, best long term is Lawrie…
I am wary of Rutledge.
He does play at Coors which helps but I think the chances of a sophomore slump is greater than that of a breakout.
(I play in a league that counts both BA and OBP, so for me his value is lower than would be in a standard 5×5.)
@papasmurf: His lack of a walk rate isn’t great, and in a BA and OBP league I’d be wary too…
@Your Mom: @Grey: Bit wary of hanging my hat on Ryu also. Apparently he’s quite rotund, and competing with Lilly, Capuano and a few more for the fifth spot. I guess Koufax is working with him on his curve. He’s worth nothing till he secures the spot.
I agree that ESPN and Yahoo seem to be crappy but ESPN staff rankings are 5th in accuracy ranking at Fantasy Pros, and the Yahoo crew individually fairs pretty well too. What’s up with that? And where would the Razzers stack up?
http://www.fantasypros.com/mlb/accuracy/
http://razzball.com/fantasy-baseball-projections-review-2012/
@Grey:
Thanks. Missed that one.
You should do CBS just for kicks. They’ve got McCutchen @ 29.
Yeah, CBS doesn’t make any sense… I am doing a draft there tomorrow… I don’t think I’ve ever done a snake there though…
@Jon F: Besides projections (the one Grey linked to), I specifically tested Rankings for the past 2 years (http://razzball.com/fantasy-baseball-rankings-review-2012/, http://razzball.com/review-of-2011-fantasy-baseball-player-rankings/) and ESPN does not fare well when compared to RCL team success.
My methodology for Rankings is different than FantasyPros. I think FantasyPros’ make a certain amount of sense IF you don’t actually have real fantasy baseball league data. If you read my rankings review post, you’ll see why I think our methodology which leverages RCL league data is superior. On a quick glance, it does appear that we grade common rankings sources similarly aside from ESPN. I still think there may be a bias against ESPN in my test because the drafts are held on ESPN (and worse players might depend on ADP more than better players) but generally would only use ESPN to gauge how the average person will draft vs. how I should rank players.
***WE NEED MORE COMMISSIONERS***
http://razzball.com/2013-razzball-commenter-leagues/
Thanks for this Grey! Always appreciate the little things like this that I wouldn’t normally think of.
Anywho, I was wanting your opinion on a possible trade in a 14 team H2H keeper (forever) league.
I’d be giving up Brandon Phillips, Michael Bourn, and Yovani Gallardo for Giancarlo + some other piece (waiting till post-draft to figure that one out)
Bourn is my only keeper OF’er, and I could replace Phillips at 2B with Rutledge (have Zobrist as SS) and then would still have Dickey/Medlen/Shields as my keeper SP’s.
There’s no way I pass up getting Stanton right?
Thanks!
I’d take Stanton…
20-team, Mixed, H2H-Points Auction League w/$300 cap
I have speed to burn…McCutchen $37, Pagan $10, Span $13, Stubbs $15 and Rajai Davis $8.
Looking for a little pop. Trade Pagan $10 and Davis $8 for Rios $17?
Sounds good…
So are Fox’s rankings like when your dog defecates on your couch and looks you dead in the eye as you clean it up?
Ha… Yup!
Any worries on Garza? Good buy low?
Is he now much lower in people’s opinions?
@Grey:
Owner is down on him. He had kept Garza at $15, but now I can get him thrown into the Pagan/Rios trade I asked about above (two posts) if I include Avisail Garcia $1.
No brainer, right?
Yup, no brainer…
So, I was planning on keeping Grandy with a 9th rd pick in a 10 team league, is he still worth keeping? My other options are R Soriano 22nd round, Machado 21st round, Profar 23rd rd, Kimbrel 4th pick.. C Lee 2nd rd. who would you keep?
@MarkC: In a 10 team league, I’d say let him go. Maybe hang on to Soriano? They other guys don’t really offer much in the way of value.
Machado
Which combo would you rather have? Cano/Hanley, or Longoria/Pedroia? Thanks!
Cano…
My hero: Great article wise one, I’ve been waiting on this write-up, Theres some great values over at yahoo if you believe in Grey and do as Grey says…Funny story, I was in a mock at yahoo the other night and noticed a lot of Greys “loved” players were being taken by the mockers, so I start striking up a convo and over HALF the room was using your rankings…The “razz word” is getting out too fast in my opinion. Great for this site and great for you but bad for us that have been following you for years and killing our leagues. I’m not so sure if your values will benefit us as much as in the past….Ah well…Have to adjust and deal….PS please take this article off the main page and bury deep…:) Peace!
Ha! Okay, will do…
I am drafting 9th and 12th in a Y! 5×5 w/OBP keeper league where 80 players total are already kept. I currently have no pitching and have a nice little stable of keepers. Kinsler, McCutchen, Heyward, Headley, Castro, Adam Jones, Justin Upton and Austin Jackson. I seriously need to focus on pitching and can probably land Moore and Scherzer, but do I want to draft them at 9th and 12th respectively.
Here is the list of what will be available come draft day.
1. Miggy
2. Cano
3. Pujols
4. Verlander
5. Granderson
6. Weaver
7. Greinke
8. Holliday
9. Butler
10. Zimmerman
11. Gio
12. Tex
13. Darvish
14. Andrus
15. Phillips
16. Hill
17. Mauer
18. Zobrist
19. Ortiz
20. Rollins
21. Moore
22. Aramis
23. Scherzer
24. Gallardo
25. Zimmerman, J.
26. Choo
27. V-Mart
28. Gordon
29. Papelbon
30. AssDribble
Do I pass on Zimmerman bc I have Headley and take the two pitchers I like best?
Yeah, go with two pitchers…
@Grey: Great! OK, so I have no 4th rounder either and I am traditionally weak at closer. Should I take Pap in the third and Motte in the 5th or try and land some sticks that fall?
No, there’s no reason to draft a top closer or two…
@Grey: @Grey: OK so Scherzer was kept! Do I Grab Zimmerman and Moore with my first two picks or Moore and Darvish? Phillips and Zimmerman, R will be available there too, but I have Kinsler and Headley.
Funny you should mention tearing down a homeless shelter to put up parking. I live next to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and that’s exactly what happened last year. There were widespread protests, but only because none of the spots were reserved for my neighbors. We keep it classy!
Separately, Fernando Rodney is getting drafted average 102 in Yahoo. Just sayin’…
Ha, there ya go! Gotcha re: Rodney…
@Long Bawls: So not a case of paving paradise to put up a parking lot.
I have a dilema, I really want a second baseman, and am eye balling a $22 Pedroia, my thoughts are giving the guy Carlos Santana -$12- (I have a huge man crush on Carlos but I also have Salvador Perez ($1) now, so it’s not as huge as it use to be) and Choo -$18- (Don’t plan on keeping Choo for I have better options), should I offer up the deal? 10 team keeper, keep 5 over $5 and 8 at $5 and under.
Sound decent…
I’m in a traditional 5×5 roto league with 14 hitters and 8 pitchers (5 sp, 2 rp, 1 p). There are from 10-13 teams in the league depending on the year. It is unique in that there is no bench and we get 1 add/drop a week, all on the same day. Given this restriction how would you change your draft strategy?
I’d draft better starters than I normally would since I couldn’t bench fringe starters if their matchups aren’t great…
@Grey:
Thanks, that’s kind of what I thought. Also, when you “I ‘d take them if they fall to me” , how far a fall are you talking about? 1 round, 2 rounds, more in later rounds?
Depends on who we’re talking about…
This wouldn’t change hitter strategy much but it greatly changes how one has to value pitching. Not only is streaming taken out of the equation but you can’t bench pitchers with a bad matchup (e.g,. @COL). I’d invest more in quality SP and aim to go with 6 SP. For closers, I’d probably aim for one guy in the middle of the pack and another guy who is a borderline closer – figuring you can always drop him for his replacement if he falters.
@Rudy Gamble: Thank you both, great advice for a problem I’ve been wrestling with for several years.
casey janssen. Jose veras. Bobby Parnell. Rafael Betancourt. Huston street. Jonathan broxton. Pick 3.
Thanks!
Street, Broxton, Betancourt…
I believe that we discussed the issue that arises from hittracker’s data – whether someone who hits a lot of JE or Lucky HR one year will hit less HR the following year – and all came to the conclusion that someone should figure it out. Well, someone did, and the analysis shows that a batter with a high JE/HR ratio is likely to hit less HR the following year. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/the-definitive-espn-home-run-tracker-study/
Now it’s time to comb the data!
So what we thought would be true turned out to be true… Nice, glad I didn’t comb the data for those conclusions, but glad someone did…
@Grey: Yeah, it seemed pretty logical, but it’s nice that someone went out and showed that it was true. Too bad, as I mention below, that the information is not very helpful this year in the fantasy world. The idea made me avoid McGehee way back when, so that’s nice. But I wasn’t going after McCann, Smoak, or Stubbs anyway, so I’ll just have to remember this for the future.
@royce!: So far I can’t find anyone with an egregiously high JE/HR ratio…well, 10 of McCann’s 20 were JE, which is pretty bad…in the NL, the high JE guys mostly hit about 1/3 JEs, so nothing seems to stand out…Stubbs % was over 50 (8 JE of 14 HR)…in the AL, only Smoak seems to stand out (9 of 19), but I don’t think many people were drafting him anyway…meh, not as interesting as I thought.
Ha… Yeah, I think it just confirms what we all thought anyway…
Written by Mike Podhorzer who will be competing in the RCL Expert league.
Yeah, this makes sense. I think the question I have is that I imagine the projection systems already regress the HRs for established players with a high % of JE/HR just by the nature that their latest year was anomalous for power. I know Asdrubal had a lot of ‘just enough’ HRs in 2011 and his HR projections from ZiPS/Steamer were lower than his 2011. But it’s definitely something to keep in mind when deciding b/w two players.
@Rudy Gamble: I agree that the projection systems probably already account for this just based on the player’s previous years, but I think that some rankings and FBB managers fail to do so, leading them to overvalue a player based on their last year’s numbers.
Asdrubal’s a great example. He had 15 JE in 2011, and only 5 last year, dropping his HR from 25 to 16. (Seems that around 1/3 is the normal ratio for JE/HR). ESPN’s 2012 early rankings had him at 63, Now they’ve got him at 93 and they project him to hit 19 HR. I can’t find what they projected for him in 2012, though I expect it was in the mid-20s for HR. Steamer and James, on the other hand, project him for 15 or 16 HR. Anyhow, ESPN still seems to think that the 25 HR were not an outlier, and just bumped him down a couple rounds based on last year’s numbers.
The problem with expecting the projection systems to account for it is that they don’t seem to distinguish between legitimate strides in power and those that are more attributable to luck, so this information could provide a slight advantage (of course, it depends on there actually being interesting players with a high JE/HR ratio, and it seems there really aren’t many this year).
I’ll have to take a look at those players with low JE/HR ratios…seems that for those with any power, one could generally expect an increase in HR.
Thanks Royce. FWIW, I’d like to say that ESPN hitting projects are s**t and are much better but there’s no real clear distinction between them – http://razzball.com/fantasy-baseball-projections-review-2012/.
And you are right that I don’t think any projection system factors ‘just enough’ HRs – but because they regress anomalous HR spikes, it’s possible that someone self-correcting might actually over-count this factor.
@royce!: This is great, Royce… thanks for posting!
Just wondering whats the best way to use your rankings for my drafts? Was gonna use your top 400 page but noticed its sorted by draft ranking rather than position. I rather use ones that has the players sorted by position with ranking next to them. Makes it easier to find players.
Do most razzers just normally print off this page? http://razzball.com/top-400-for-2013-fantasy-baseball/
@TheNewGuy: I recommend downloading and using (or printing) one of the spreadsheets found here:
http://razzball.com/2013-fantasy-baseball-war-room/
You can just print the tab that ranks all of the players by position.
@TheNewGuy: If you use these rankings:
http://razzball.com/grey-fantasybaseballprojections-2013/
You can sort by any of the headings at the top of the table.
News: Carnac (arm) played catch from 60 feet for 30 minutes on Sunday.
Analysis: Early reports indicate he is experiencing extreme soreness this morning. He is considered doubtful for opening day.
Can Carnac still raise his envelope to his swami head?
@Grey: @Grey:
Answer: Hot Pujols & Injured Cruz
Question: Name two things that give nightmares to Carnival customers.
Ha! Slow-moving Cruz with a foul stench…
See any glaring flaws or big needs on this team? 10-team H2H keeper league. War Room has me low on stolen bases and saves (sagnof!) but solid everywhere else.
C Posey
1B AGon
2B Cano
3B Lawrie
SS Tulo
MI Desmond
CI Frazier
OF Stanton
OF Choo
OF Jennings
OF A Jackson
DH Hosmer
SP Bumgarner
SP Zimmermann
SP Medlen
SP Niese
SP Ryu
SP Anderson
SP Harvey
SP Hammels
RP Wilhelmsen, Holland, Kenley Jansen, Robertson, Cook
Bench/Minors/DL: Segura, Gyorko, Olt, Eaton, Marte, Luebke (DL), Straily, Skaggs, Teheran
I agree with the War Room… Team look solid outside of those two categories…
@Grey: If you could add either Moore or Sandoval to that team above… who would you choose?
Sandoval
Hey @Grey: Draft Question – 12 Team H2H – Long Term Keeper League(8 keepers per team) – BA, R, AVG, SB, BB, HR, RBI, TB, ERA, WHIP, K, QS, IP, K, SV, L
Keepers are Prince, McCutchen, Ellsbury, AGon, D. Jennings, Scherzer, Wainwright
My first draft pick will be either Sandoval or Choo. Who should I take? I dont have a pick for a few more rounds after that and the only 3B that will be left are Aramis and Alvarez.
Sandoval
would you trade reyes or kinsler for bruce in a keeper league? no limit on years kept and will be same cost to keep reyes/kinsler/bruce (7th rd pick). if yes, would you rather trade reyes or kinsler (i also have tulo and weeks as a last rd keeper). 2b/ss/MI
I’d trade Reyes for him…
@Grey: thanks – would you do kinsler?
Nope…
Are you guys going to release a new war room download with updated rankings after some of spring training? If yeah, will I be able to just copy and paste the “Player” and “Dashboard” pages with the new rankings over the current file? I’ve made some edits to other parts, which is why I ask.
Thanks for all the great work. You guys are top shelf.
Thanks! But there’s no plan to release another war room with updated rankings…
Long time listener, first time commenter. Keeper league, keep asscab or andrelton?
Asdrubal
12 team H2H points league had a scoring change this off-season for pitchers:
W: 5 points (down from 10)
L: -5 points
S: 5 points (down from 7)
Blown Save: -2 (down from 0)
Quality Start: 5 points (previously not available; not a fan of this stat)
IP, K: 1 point
ER: -1 point
We start 4 SP and 2RP each week for H2H matchups. I’m thinking the new scoring devalues RP’s significantly by 2 less points per save, -2 points for blown save, and no quality start chances. However, players with SP/RP eligibility have much more value for one of the RP slots. Seems like elite pitchers with a history of quality starts are most likely to score most points as opposed to guys who struggle to get to 6 innings (Captain Obvious reporting). Agree with this assessment or have any other ideas? Thanks!
Elite pitchers get a bump, yes… Your league has also devalued saves and closers in general by a lot…
I play in a 14 team league with 9 offensive cats (R, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SB, K, AVG, OPS).
I’m already going to keep Upton in the 1st and Hamilton in the 3rd. I know your feelings on Kipnis are MUCH lower than everyone else but do you feel he has some value keeping in the 11th round? I could also keep Yadier in the 19th which I feel is pretty awesome, but also hate catchers and feel like they all put up the same-ish numbers anyways. It’s just the more I look at 2B this year the more thin I think it is.
My league also has 9 pitching cats (W, L, K/BB, K, SV, HLD, ERA, WHIP, QS) but it seems the entire league values hitting way more than pitching. Of the 42 players being kept probably a max of 6 will be pitchers. My pitching keeping options would be:
Bumgarner (5th)
Gio (6th)
Zimmerman (8th)
Minor (18th)
I like the PEDS strategy and will definitely be implementing most of it but I also LOVE the Rudy strategy of the value based first 9 picks setup. Like the flexibility it offers cause I hate being pigeon-holed into certain positions/categories.
So I guess my question is should I trust my gut and keep Kipnis (11) due to thin 2B, the trusted yet boring C stud Molina (19), or should I zig when everyone is zagging and keep one of my pitchers (Gio, Zimmerman and Minor all stand out to me)?
Grey I also heard through the interweb people grapevine I know that you live in Austin? If so I manage a wine bar/cafe in town with plenty of cougars, $12 salads and am known to rock a wonderful mustache from time to time. Come to Apothecary and I’ll buy you a glass of our finest cheap wine, sorry no daquiris.
I love cougars and Austin, but I don’t live there, Rudy does… He’s been known to hit wine bars in a smoking jacket, you should tell him about it… I’d keep Kipnis… At 11th round, it’s too good of value to pass up…
@Grey: Thank you sir, I thought I should trust my gut just needed some outside input.
Rudy the same offer applies, if you’d like to discuss draft strategy over a glass of wine here in the lovely ATX I’m happy to oblige here at Apothecary…. First glass and cougars are free, Mac and Cheese is on you though
No problem… Where is it? I’ve been to your city a few times…
ha, yeah, i live near Apothecary. Solid place. I’m more of a beer man though – Pinthouse and Workhorse kick ass.
@Grey: It’s North Central-ish….
@Rudy Gamble: I love both of those establishments. I am a beer man as well but I do love my cougs so have to pander to them. You know, I don’t drink Alizea, but bitches do!
Did you take me there? It sounds familiar…
Hey Grey,
Love the site, I’ve been following for two years now, and you helped steer me to my first win last year.
Quick questions. I’m in a OPS keeper league, where we keep up to 8, and I have 9 definite keepers: Tulo, Verlander, Posey, Price, and 5 Outfielders: Stanton, Trout, Bruce, Jones, and J. Upton. I need to do a 2-for-1 deal, but I don’t know who to target, and who to give up. Any insight?
Thanks! Give up Bruce and Posey for a top 3 1st baseman or Miggy…
@Grey:
Thanks! Are you 100% about Jones over Bruce in the long run?
Keep in mind, I’m in a 9×9 league, and hitting stats include XBHs, BBs, Ks, and OPS.
I’ll probably target Votto, Miggy or Cano.
Yeah, I like Jones better…
Grey
2 Questions
1. Why so high on Longoria but so low on Tulo? They’ve missed nearly identical number of games have equal output plus Tulo’s position is lighter.
2. Why so low on Billy Butler? Do you think he will regress? His numbers last year are about what Votto puts up in a whole year. Guy’s just turning 26.. I would think his projections should at least put him with A Gonz.
1. Tulo’s more injury prone… 2. Butler’s a 26 homer guy going on 24 and A-Gon and Votto are 26 homer guys going on 30…
Grey – If Collin Cowgill get the everyday OF position how and where does he change on your rankings?
He moves up to around Adam Eaton’s ranking…
Nice rankings, snagged this little group in a Yahoo 12-m:
POS R HR RBI SB AVG
C Jesus Montero 66 18 84 0 .269
1B Anthony Rizzo 74 24 86 6 .259
2B Ian Kinsler 102 25 77 20 .258
SS Jose Reyes 110 12 60 40 .285
3B Ryan Zimmerman 88 27 108 6 .293
OF Andrew McCutchen 102 30 107 27 .295
OF Adam Jones 90 34 100 15 .284
OF Shin-Soo Choo 108 23 79 20 .296
UTIL Carl Crawford 78 12 84 31 .270
UTIL Eric Hosmer 75 22 90 12 .280
Total 893 227 875 177 .279
Goal 838 211 804 163 .270
% Goal 107% 108% 109% 109% 103%
Pitching notables include Zimmerman, Moore, Sama, Ryu, Hughes Estrada.
Very nice… Looks like a Razzball special sauce team…
I know you like Kendrys Moraels as a sleeper this year… but would you got as far as to recommend waiting until the double-digit rounds to draft him as your starting 1B if you missed one of the top 5 guys? That has been my strategy while doing mocks.
Thanks in advance.
Nah, he’s a corner man… You need a top 1st baseman…
I’ve been offered Strasburg but I have to give up the Dread Pirate. Before you scoff, maybe my roster will help:
S. Perez
I. Davis
R. Zimmerman
I. Desmond
The Dread Pirate
J. Upton
A. Jones
C. Headly
S. Choo
BN – C Davis
BN – Wil Myer
BN – T. Frazier
Mad Max
J Zimm
Samardzija
Niese
Ryu
Shelby Miller
Maholm
Kendrick
CL – Wilhelmssen
CL – Janssen
What do you think?
Oh and Grey, the next time you feel the urge to destroy what little competitive advantage I have, please hold your breath and publish in April! Because now, there is no way they’re gonna let me get an outfield like that again! Upton will now be snagged, Jones will be kidnapped and Choo will be pilfered!
Ha… Yeah, I don’t like that trade at all…
OK. I’ll keep the Pirate then!
Thanks!
Hi Grey -
Similar question to guy up above.
I have picks 13 and 16 in a 14-team, 6 x 6 (R, HR, TBs, RBI, SB, OBP x 5 cats + holds) keeper league, where the first four rounds (top 56) are already kept. My four keepers are Miggy, Hamilton, Castro, and Bruce. Next year we move to six keepers; year after that, it moves to eight – unless someone repeats, then the league resets. Anyway, this set-up seemingly adds even more value to the youngsters – but also creates market opportunities bc people will be undervaluing the old guys.
I’m finding it hard to determine the right balance, howev – so just looking for advice on my first two picks, which should help gauge your thoughts on a draft strategy for our league…
Here’s my current top 20 of who’s available.
1. J-Up
2. Reyes
3. Encarnacion
4. Zobrist
5. Mauer
6. Butler
7. Cliff Lee
8. Machado
9. Hosmer
10. Craig
11. Freeman
12. Gio
13. Moore
14. Bumgarner
15. Choo
16. Wainwright
17. Rizzo
18. Ellsbury
19. Jennings
20. Dunn
Considering all these factors…
1. Would you rate guys like Profar and Myers even higher than I have them (right now, both are around mid-40s in my ranks) and move all in to nab one-of-’em with my first two picks?
2. I have Machado way up there already – I know you like him too. I’m high on Hosmer too. But say these two and Cliff Lee fall to me at 13. Would you take the Adverb, or target the next-Hanley-looking-ish or Hosmer-looking-ish dude?
3. And finally, if everything happens to go according to my ranks, would you go with two SPs with my first two picks (Moore + Wainwright) – or would you advise taking at least one SP with these two picks but def a bat with the other (Moore + Rizzo; Choo + Wainwright; etc)?
Thank you, mon frere!
1. I don’t know who is 21-40, but I’d rank Myers and Profar above Dunn… I get that it’s a OBP league, but at 20 is crazy… 2. I’d take Lee 3. An SP and a bat
I know you don’t care for “scripted” TV, but have you caught Legit?
Nah, I haven’t… Any good?
@Grey: I like it, it’s jim jeffries show on FX. really wrong in a lot of ways but thats what I like about it. He plays him self and lives with his best friend and his best friends brother who has Muscular Dystrophy and is in a wheel chair. It’s on Thursday nights.
Ha… Sounds kinda wonderful… Will have to set the DVR… I like comedy that is wrong…
@Grey: All i got to say is “leaving the room”, when you watch it you will understand.
Watching worst cooks right now and what is up with Dr.Bob, i wouldn’t let that guy near me.
I haven’t watched it, don’t ruin anything…
@Grey: The pilot is about them breaking the brother with MD (played by DJ Qualls) out of his nursing home and taking him to Nevada so he can go to a cat house and lose his virginity with a pro. Of course trying to convince a hooker to do a guy with MD is part of the battle.
I love it already…
Time to play…..Advising a Hippo… again Grey.
10 team keeper, 300 cap.
I’m keeping
Posey 22
Craig 6
Cespedes 6
Strasburg 10
Pick 2 more, keep in mind I prolly need to go cheap so as to load up on offense. Thanks in advance.
Hamels 34
Latos 23
Estrada 5
Peavy 5
Bundy 5
Minor 6
Peavy, Minor…
@Grey: Thanks.
I was leaning towards Peavy and Estrada but I’ll keep Minor. Didn’t think you’d be high on Peavy but I think he’s back to form.
Yeah, as long as he stays healthy… We’re in this thing together, Hippo….
@Grey: I’m putting the Steve hex on…
Not right now, I’m drafting….
Grey,
12 team, 14 keeper 5×5 ESPN league, I am the defending champ, per the top 400 here are the guys on my squad:
7 Prince Fielder DET 1B
18 Jose Bautista TOR OF
30 Buster Posey SF C,1B
31 Hanley Ramirez LAD SS,3B
42 Zack Greinke LAD SP
50 Jacoby Ellsbury BOS OF
52 Madison Bumgarner SF SP
69 Aaron Hill ARI 2B
70 Elvis Andrus TEX SS
73 Hunter Pence SF OF
111 Jon Niese NYN SP
118 Rickie Weeks MIL 2B
124 Ichiro Suzuki NYA OF
133 Sergio Romo SF RP
151 Starling Marte PIT OF
153 Michael Cuddyer COL 1B,OF
201 Jim Johnson BAL RP
Should I go with the top 14 on my list and see who’s left at 1.12 out of my non keepers? I’m not thrilled with keeping Weeks, and this league is RP loco in drafts so I might not get Johnson back if I dont keep him. I know I wont get Marte back either as 2 guys that pick ahead of me are huge Pirates homers. Thoughts?
Grey I also have Oscar Tavares and Adam Eaton on my roster, if that impacts your decision.
This doesn’t help me see your team…
C: Posey
1B: Fielder
CI:
ETC… Would help…
@Grey:
Sorry man, here is my starting lineup with the people I know I am keeping:
C Posey
1B Fielder
2B Hill
3B HanRam
SS Andrus
OF Bautista
OF Ellsbury
OF Pence
Util
Util
SP Greinke
SP MadBum
RP Romo
RP
P
P
P
P
So I basically need to decide on 3 more keepers out of the rest of that list
Marte over Ichiro…
http://www.fantasypros.com/mlb/accuracy/#pay
Ranks the “experts” i think they need grey in there. First name i looked for
Surprised we’re not listed, but whatever…
@Grey: Not particularly related, but fantasy readership can present a unique dichotomy: the more a user enjoys the content, the less-likely the user may be to share it with his (or 4 hers) network. It’s not like this with other content/media. (Except maybe porn?)
Fantasy Baseball Expert: for when your regular life as a writer isn’t challenging enough.
HA! Totally…. I have to reach one person at a friggin’ time… Is there any other example?
@Grey: For real. This may have a lot to do with what we perceive to be ESPN’s (and others’) laziness: they’re producing content for content’s sake. Like Bleacher Report.
They aren’t interested in spending the time/money in creating QUALITY content. They don’t need (or want) to make that investment because they’re just trying to drive traffic to their online ecosystem. “Ok, boys, just make sure we have new, glossy widgets 3-4 times a day to keep ‘em coming back.”
It’s been a while since I’ve paid attention, but ever notice how ESPN only cross-references new material, not older stuff? They don’t invest enough for any of their content to have a shelf life. It goes stale (and/or rotten) in a week. The only thing they have to link to is their newer stuff. Keep you in their ecosystem another 2-3 minutes, give hits to another couple pages, that’s it.
It’s a craven approach to content that attracts the lowest common denominator of consumer (which happens to be the majority of consumers… not sure how the math works on that one). Just check out their comment section and/or message boards. But, come on, the boss is Mickey Mouse; Matthew Berry is no more and expert than Selena Gomez is an actor.
Can’t argue with any of that… You might’ve just made your way onto the comment of the week segment on the new and improved podcast coming in March… You’re right, they don’t need good content… In fact, the shoddier the content the better they might be because then people click around to their other writers to see if someone else is making more sense…
@Grey: I think i’m going to start applying for jobs writing for all these LCD FBB sites. I can just ramble senselessly like I do in here on a regular basis. Don’t tell T Moore, I don’t need the competition.
T moore would house you in rambling!
@Grey: Thank You, I take that as a compliment. He would be perfect at CBS.
But as a spy… Our own Inspector Clouseau…
@Grey: spy on what? bad content how not to write an article
Hmm… Good point… I know! Maybe he goes there yelling about E S T R A D A ! ! ! ! but since it’s coming from him others get worried and let him go in drafts?
@Grey: it would shake their credibility and then total collapse of the fantasy department
Ha… I think so too!
@Grey: we plant moles in every major fantasy site and then slowly ruin them over time while at the same time feeding their readers links to razzball. then they have no choice but to beg for mercy and razzball is crowned king and has its own cable channel. Coup d’ Grayw
Muahahahahaha…
I thought Granderson’s injury was a blessing in a Groucho-mustache disguise; $16 keeper? I can do better. But then I looked at my options:
Complete my MIs with Hill ($8) – and potentially leave most of the league to fight over the Weeks brothers at 2B? Other options: Middlebrooks ($3) is there, but I’m not impressed, McKayla. Nor am I blown away by the values of potential pitching keepers: Peavy ($6), Zimmermann ($13), Motte ($11), Axford ($6).
My other 5 are Altuve ($7), Rutledge ($1), Kemp ($37), BJ ($20) and Wainwright ($11).
Eh, Peavy’s decent for $6, if you’re not feeling him I’d go with Hill…
@Grey: Gotcha, thanks. Peavy does offer decent value, it’s just hard to get too excited because of injury risk and Hawk calling all those games.
Yeah, nothing at all exciting about him…
Nver mind the rug burn from the dog, why is he staying at Cole Hamels’ apartment?
http://www.natsenquirer.com/2013/02/gio-gonzalez-got-rug-burn-on-his-head-from-playing-with-his-bulldog-hollywood.html
HA! “Gio, don’t write on that calendar, we’re gonna auction it off for charity.”
I’m in a slow draft, OPS league, 15 teams.
I’ve drafted Miggy and David Wright so far.
In the third round would it be crazy to take Edwin Encarnacion (I’m a Jays fan)? Or should I take Hanley instead since I already have two 3B’s?
I’d take neither probably… But Edwin between those two…
The O-Ranks (the ones in the draft room) are Yahoo’s top-300 aggregate rankings (not outsourced from RotoWire). The reason the current top-100 composite may not quite match up exactly is just because that was added like a week later, so some rankers probably changed/updated their lists by then.
Ah… Gotcha… Was confused by that (obviously)…
2 keeper questions
In a 12 team mixed yahoo roto 5×5 non snake draft, I have 8th pick. They have a different keeper setup. You have to keep 5 players and are given a total of 12 yrs to assign to them with no draft penalty. 10 of your top 50 will be in the draft this year with no position being unreasonably short and lots of arms out there. I am committed to Ian Kinsler 2yrs, Adrian Gonzalez 2yrs, Carlos Santana 3yrs, leaving me 2 keeper spots and 5 yrs. My options are:
Jay Bruce, Allen Craig, Yoenis Céspedes, Manny Machado, Aroldis Chapman
Any advice on which two to keep and for how long?
Any advice for getting an offseason trade for draft picks?
Tough call… I’d go with Bruce for two years and Machado for three years… Could go a number of ways… I’d try to trade some of the other guys for anything in the way of draft picks you can get…
@Grey:
Thanks for the help. Unfortunately I am paying for being an inexperienced manager last year and am stuck with Santana. Your site has been very enlightening.
Grey,
In my 10 tm h2h dynasty league, we only have 3 OF slots. The past two years I’ve been collecting OF’ers like they are candy and I’m a fat kid, resulting in my roster having Braun, Bruce, Granderson, BJ Upton, Bourn, Smelly Cruz and last year I even grabbed Starling Marte for good measure.
We have three UTIL slots, so I can play the top guys regularly but mostly two or three ride the pine. Most other teams have the same crowded OF shituation, making trades involving middle to lower end OF guys impossible (I tried moving Granderson last year and the returns were underwhelming). My query is, given your rankings & the afforementioned roster squeeze, am I crazy for thinking about letting all but Braun, Bruce, Upton go? It gives me more draft picks, better roster flexibility & and overall better feeling about my life. The cons are I could be giving up Bourn’s SB’s and Grandy’s low av/high hr totals. Plus Marte still has a high ceiling, so it wouldn’t kill me to hold him & see what develops. Thoughts?
I’d lose Bourn but DL Grandy and keep the top three (so four altogether)….
Need some help with my keepers. Here are my options, kemp 1st rd, votto 2nd rd, kershaw 3rd rd, Stanton 4th rd, Holliday 5th rd, bumgarner 16th rd, Desmond in like the 24 rd, . Can only select 5 keepers, I also have the choice of keepers FA that I picked up last yr and you lose your very last round picks by keeping them. My FA options would be Headley, goldschmidt, Napoli, . I want to keep goldschmidt or headley but with my early round keepers I don’t think I can. I think I’m gonna keep kemp, votto, kershaw, Stanton and bumgarner. I lose my first 4 rounds picks but with those players that’s huge value, don’t think I could repeat those first 4 rounds again. Thoughts?
Kemp, Votto, Kershaw, Stanton and Bumgarner makes sense…