Here we go with the first Razzball FanDuel Freeroll Tournament of the season. I hope your hearts can handle the excitement, anticipation, and/or the 10 Doritos Locos Tacos you are currently shoveling down your gullet. Remember the word free because that’s what it is.
Please, blog, may I have some more?2012 Fantasy Baseball
First off, you can thank Keanu Reeves for the idea of this post. I somehow watched the entirety of Little Buddha a long time ago and one line truly comes back to me from that movie over and over again when I begin ranking players for myself or trying to find value in drafts or in trade targets: The path is in the middle way. The line can be seen at about the 3:00 mark here in all it’s hairy, emaciated Keanu glory. It’s a reminder that baseball, much like life, takes a long time to play out. A player isn’t proven bad or good by a week, a month, or even a year of play. Underlying skill sets can be reached or breached to the over or under but it still does not change the underlying player themselves. Now snatch these pebbles from my hand, young grasshopper and we’ll begin the article…no I said from my hand, grasshopper. Unless of course I’ve somehow stumbled into the doctor’s office and need to turn my head and cough. If so, my insurance better cover this. Cue abrupt and awkward segue!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
(Before I get to blabbing about Daily Leagues I’ll cut to the chase for all those that have played before: Razzball Baseball Freeroll)
Playing season long draft and trade fantasy baseball is what I grew up on, but without fail, after spending many thankless hours researching and working toward making that one team perfect, inevitably it isn’t quite so perfect.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
From 2008-2010, Ryan Dempster posted a 3.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 2.50 K:BB rate over 622 innings. He averaged 189 K’s a season during that stretch and was a great fantasy baseball contributor, i.e. he was all Henry Rowengartner.
Then, Dempster turned 34 and became all Chet Steadman.
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As the world continues to be hyper about “what have you done for me lately,” fantasy baseball owners rejoice. It’s nice when your opponents look at 2011′s stats and think they are gospel because then guys who had bad years last year fall through the cracks.
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Some people will tell you Giancarlo Stanton‘s plate discipline has improved while in the majors and that his comps suggest further reduction in K% and growth in BB%. Most will boast he’s one of a Lilliputian handful of players with a legitimate shot at 40+ HR and that he has room to improve on his power. Many will point to the improved lineup around him as RBI and R opportunities waiting to sustain your fantasy team like mana (or homers) from heaven. Some will note his career BABIP is high, but that it’s because he’s got plus speed for a 6-5, 235 pound hunk of beef and can chip in a few SBs. While I’ve never seen a steak plow through a catcher or slide willingly onto my plate, I can tell you the majority of these people are right about Giancarlo Stanton.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
This is the league we won last year hosted by Scott White of CBS Sports. Yay, us. Okay, new year, new league. Well, not so fast. Last year’s league coasted through the season in first place from about May on and if you were industrious enough to click on that link, you’ll see it looks like a bit of a mess. We won with Freddy Sanchez and Skip Schumaker? We didn’t just win; we won in a walk. I don’t tell you to beat into your heads how good we are (maybe a little). I tell you this so you know how deep the league is you’re about to look at. No, I don’t like Clint Barmes, but if he’s getting ABs at MI in this here league, he’s worth a roster spot. Anyway, here’s our 2012 fantasy baseball team with thoughts on different draft picks:
For sake of clarity: 12 teams, NL-Only, Roto, 5 x 5 — C, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util, BN, BN, BN — P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
C – Ryan Hanigan $4
C – Geovany Soto $11
1B – Gaby Sanchez $17
2B – Aaron Hill $13
3B – Pablo Sandoval $24
SS – Alex Gonzalez $3
MI – Clint Barmes $6
CI – Ryan Zimmerman $26
OF – Jay Bruce $27
OF – Tony Campana $5
OF – Jason Kubel $10
OF – Laynce Nix $0 (free round)
OF – Justin Upton $36
U – Gerardo Parra $1
Bench – Stephen Lombardozzi $0 (free round)
Bench – Chase d’Arnaud $0 (free round)
Bench – Tony Gwynn $0 (free round)
Bench – Brett Jackson $4
P – Trevor Cahill $10
P – Daniel Hudson $19
P – Anibal Sanchez $14
P – Ricky Nolasco $4
P – Juan Nicasio $4
P – Chris Narveson $1
P – Aaron Harang $2
P – Javy Guerra $11
P – Luke Gregerson $8
Bench – Brad Lidge $0 (free round)
Bench – Brandon Lyon $0 (free round)
Bench – Travis Wood $0 (free round)
THAT’S NOT SAGNOF… THIS IS SAGNOF!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Traditional, smarishional, am I right?
I mean, long gone are the days when your soon-to-be father-in-law would actually pay you (in sheep, no less) to take his wretched daughter off his hands.
Similarly, Razzballers are becoming masters of their own domains and kicking the traditional 5×5 fantasy baseball game to the curb.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
It appears another National League contending club is giving the starting shortstop keys to a relatively unproven youngster. As of now, Zack Cozart is slated to be at short on opening day for the Cincinnati Reds.
In 2007, the Reds drafted Cozart in the second round (they also drafted Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco – what a haul).
Please, blog, may I have some more?
We ran two polls in the past week to understand in which types of leagues that Razzball readers will be playing in 2012. We got an overwhelming response (2,500 total responses between the two polls).
The volume of the response wasn’t the only surprise. Other surprises include:
Only about 15% of Razzpondents plan on playing in a MLB league with 15, 16, 18, or 20 teams. We expected more. It must be that the people in those league formats disproportionately comment.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
