1. I, for one, am ‘stoked’ (like back in ’83!) for the Razzball podcast. Perhaps you all will have humorously unexpected voices!

   • @WilyMo, We sound like Lenny and Squiggy.

2. So, some of the discrepancy seems systematic (e.g., you rank closers lower than they) – is that a function of their silly 10-team focus (I would think the opposite) or your studied SAGNOF-iness?

   • @ThirdBase, My SAGNOF-ish.

3. great article!

   • @Khang Do, Thanks!

4. Hi Guys, been away from fantasy baseball for a year and am feeling rusty. I did a mock earlier (standard mixed 5×5 10-team, not ideal, I know) and ended up with the following:

   C Miguel Montero ARI R10 P7
   C J.P. Arencibia TOR R16 P7
   1B Miguel Cabrera DET R1 P4
   1B Paul Goldschmidt ARI R15 P4
   2B Dan Uggla ATL R6 P7
   2B Brandon Phillips CIN R7 P4
   SS Jose Reyes MIA R3 P4
   3B Evan Longoria TB R2 P7
   3B Kevin Youkilis BOS R8 P7
   OF Josh Hamilton TEX R4 P7
   OF Jay Bruce CIN R5 P4
   OF Lance Berkman STL R11 P4
   OF Colby Rasmus TOR R22 P7
   OF Jeff Francoeur KC R23 P4
   SP C.J. Wilson ANA R9 P4
   SP Brandon Beachy ATL R12 P7
   SP Anibal Sanchez MIA R13 P4
   SP Yu Darvish TEX R14 P7
   SP Clay Buchholz BOS R19 P4
   SP Brandon McCarthy OAK R20 P7
   SP Scott Baker MIN R21 P4
   RP Carlos Marmol CHC R17 P4
   RP Sergio Santos TOR R18 P7

   I’m not used to 10-team leagues (and my real league will be a 12-team one), every team looks great! But how did I do? I kind of punted saves and SB, since the league’s so shallow that I guess you can in theory just pick up whatever you want on waivers.

   tl;dr, I should do a 12-team mock next time…

   • @DrEasy, You seem to know the issue with the team… Yeah, do a 12 team mock…

5. @Grey Hilarious! I watched some of the videos, what a sterile environment except of course for the Louis Vuitton chairs! Did they ever relent and send someone to compete in the Razzball ‘pert’ league?

   • @Howard, Nope…

6. What will become of us when ESPN wises up and offers you a fulltime gig. Who will we mock?

   • @Moonlight’s Grahams, Reality TV people…

7. Hey Grey,

   As usual, I love the site! Hands down best Fantasy site on the interwebs. Anyway, I just drafted my team yesterday. What do you think? Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated. (12 Team 7×7 H2H add XBH’s and OBP for hitters and Losses and QS’s for pitchers).

   C) Geovanny Soto
   1B) Adam Lind
   2B) Dan Uggla
   SS) Erick Aybar
   3B) Evan Longoria
   OF) Andrew McCutchen
   OF) Michael Morse
   OF) Jason Heyward
   Util) Brett Lawrie
   Util) Colby Rasmus
   Bench – Alex Rios
   Bench – Vernon Wells

   Sp) Gio Gonzalez
   Sp) Daniel Hudson
   Sp) Anibal Sanchez
   Sp) Wandy Rodriguez
   Sp) Mike Minor
   RP) Jose Valverde
   RP) Sergop Santos
   RP) Kenley Jansen
   Bench) Jonathan Sanchez
   Bench) Trevor Cahill
   Bench) Brad Peacock
   Bench) Brett Cecil
   Bench) Ryan Vogelsong

   Thanks!
   Bryan

   • @Bryan, Thanks for the kind words! Team looks very strong, nice balance of speed and power. Your pitching is a tad risky on the upside tip with your categories…

     • @Grey, Yeah, I figured it’d be way easier to manipulate pitching, especially in a H2H league. I wanted to make sure I had a solid foundation on offense before I started worrying about pitchers.

8. @ everyone :

   i’ve said this before (under the yahoo player ranking thread) .

   i read mlb.com’s player analysis , and ,
   i read Grey’s .

   i do not read yahoo’s nor do i read espn’s .
   they are like the wal-marts of this world , who take away our jobs and
   try and sell you china-mens’ shizz .
   they don’t care what they’re selling , just as long as you are buying .

   it’s strictly a matter of taking your hard-earned dollars and donating to our
   david , or succumb to the goliath’s of this industry .

   and , i don’t think it is by happenstance that a free thinker allows you the opportunity to freely express your opinions , either .

   i’ll admit that , sometimes , Grey really pizzes me off .
   but , you know what ??
   without him , you guys can all go and screw yourselves .

   • @chata,

     case in point :
     every single one of these espn “fantasy roundtable” pieces is preceded
     by a commercial .

     what’s Grey trying to sell you ?

     • @chata,

       Check your spam folder. It should be full of mustache wax ads like mine.

       • @El Famous Burrito,

         nope .

         but i got this :
         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQky19eBsU0

       • @El Famous Burrito, I’m a Dapper Dan man-those ESPN guys use Fop.

         • @Hondo, I with Hondo.

     • @chata, An ebook, some shirts =)

9. Oh man – those videos.

   I’m probably about to commit blasphemy (Grey: Don’t you blaspheme in here! Don’t you blaspheme in here!) but I never realised how cringe-making an earnest discussion about fantasy baseball could actually be. I could barely watch.

   You don’t have to take it seriously to be taken seriously (I just made that up), which is why we like it here so much, I guess.

   Oh – and even though they’re probably props, only one of those ESPN characters – that I saw – had a Mac. Says it all.

   And Grey – please stop talking about Kendrick. You’re making me think I should have told royce! to take him in the keeper draft yesterday…

   • @Steve, Yeah, I think that’s the big issue, feels very earnest and self-important, like they’re curing cancer.

10. I was up for a good laugh to start my monday, but couldn’t get the roundtables to load on my device. Luckily for me, I think I caught a commercial for their forum on the tube. Which one takes off their shoe and bangs it on the table to speed up the proceedings? Is that Cockcroft or B.Roberts?

    • @Buge Hoobs, Ha!

11. I really did enjoy these rankings, thank God I found this site or I would continue to lose my leagues every year following those fools : http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k12_lovehate

    • @Mr2Bits, Cool…

12. Mmmmm….podcast. Cold filtered through Grey’s mustache. This may sate me to the point where I choose not to drink myself to sleep tonight. The voices shall be revealed. I sorta hope you guys sound like Ron Shandler. All fantasybaseballers (Grey’s mother’s term) should sound like Ron Shandler….all accountants too.

    • @The Gig, Ha… Yeah, that’s not happening…

13. ESPN 10- team, H2H, 7×7, 8-keepers

    BATTING – RUNS; STOLEN BASES; HITS; WALKS; RBI’s; OBP-(on bases percentage); XBH-(extra base hits)
    PITCHING – ERA; WHIP; SAVES; HOLDS; K’s; WINS; and QS-(quality starts)

    Drafted last night…What do you think?

    C- McCann
    1B- Miggy
    2B- Utley
    3B- Wright
    SS- Andrus
    IF- Lind
    LF- Kendrick (LF, 2B)
    CF- Bourjos
    RF- Cruz
    OF- Pence
    UTILx2- Reynolds (1B, 3B), Butler (DH)
    BN- Logan Morrison (LF), Rios (CF), Cozart

    SPx3- Greinke, Bumgarner, Anibal Sanchez
    RPx2- Marmol, Street
    Px4- Frank Francisco, Chapman, Robertson, Holland
    BN- Chacin, Peavy, Cahill, Vogelsong, Leake, Peacock

    • @Project_Badass, Team looks very solid, a tad heavy on speed and light on power with how the lineup is set up right now… Pitching looks nice…

14. Will check this post out later, but in an OBP league Grey, where would Napoli rank for you amongst catchers. Does he move up to say 2nd spot?

    • @TheNewGuy, Rudy’s OBP post is coming at 10 AM PST.

      • @Grey, I see he’s going up by $1.2 but how many places in the rankings is that?

15. How much, if any, bump in your rankings would you give Ortiz in a H2H league with total bases and OPS as categories? There are also two UTIL spots.

    • @Jamie, Rudy’s OPS post is coming at 10 AM PST.

16. @ Grey
    @ Fellow Razzballers

    Just finished our CBS Auction draft the other night. Pretty content with the results. Would love to hear any comments/thoughts. Does the team seem sustainable for the long haul?

    C- (1) -Salvador Perez
    1B-(21)-Mike Napoli
    2B-(17)-Brandon Phillips
    3B-(11)-Moustakas
    SS-(9) -Starlin Castro —keeper from 11′
    MI-(14)- D Gordon
    CI-(1) -Mike Morse——keeper from 11′
    OF-(17)-Alex Gordon
    OF-24)-Hunter Pence
    OF(27)-Giancarlo Stanton—keeper from 11′
    Ut-(18)-Lance Berkman
    Ut-(4) -Melky Cabrera
    BE-(1) -Alejandro de Aza
    BE-(1) -Alex Rios

    SP-(32)-Jered Weaver
    SP-(27)-Yovanni Gallardo
    SP-(15)-Jordan Zimmerman
    SP-(7) -Jhoulys Chacin
    SP-(1) -Brandon Beachy—-11′ keeper
    RP-(1) -Kenley Jansen
    RP-(1) -Jim Johnson

    BE-(2)-Brad Peacock
    BE-(7)-Luebke
    BE-(1)-Chris Sale

    As always …thanks for any input.

    • @JG_ism, No idea how many teams…

      • @Grey,
        13 team…sorry

      • @Grey,
        BA/HR/SB/RUNS/RBI
        WHIP/ERA/K/W/SV

        • @JG_ism, You have a bit more risk on hitting than pitching, which isn’t terrific, but I do like the team and the hitting. A lot is riding on the Gordons and your keepers.

17. standard 5×5 roto categories.

18. That table’s not very round.

    • @junker23, Ha!

19. Fine stuff as usual.

    Question: Which infielder should I prefer long-term: Danny Espinosa or Zack Cozart?

    Thanks!

    • @Fanthead, How long? Cozart…

20. Any opinions welcome. Had my 16 team keeper auction draft last night. AKA The Best Night of the Year! It’s 5×5 but we use QS and SV/H instead of W and SV. $250 cap. I’m a little worried about my rotation, but the projections suggest it’ll be fine. What do you think of my roster as a whole?

    C) Ramos $5
    1b) AGonz kept at $28
    2b) Kipnis $9
    3b) Bautista kept at $1
    SS) Aybar $17
    Mi) Aviles $8
    Ci) Alonso $2
    OF) CarGo kept at $15
    OF) McCutchen $33
    OF) Adam Jones $27
    OF) DeAza $12
    U) BButler $21
    U) Boesch $1

    SP) Hamels $29
    SP) DHudson kept at $1
    SP) Marcum $8
    P) Danks $7
    P) Masterson $12
    P) Peacock $1
    RP) Storen $11
    RP) Addison Reed $1
    RP) LGregerson $1

    Our bench is selected in a supplemental serpentine draft and all guys count as $1 in terms of their keeper status:
    Trout $1
    Bauer $1
    Reddick $1
    IStewart $1
    HAlvarez $1
    Matusz $1

    Give it to me straight, Razzers! Thanks.

    • @PublicEnemy#1, I really like this squad. Well done. I think you might end up a little light in steals…the biggest weakness I see is with Marcum, Danks and Masterson. I don’t trust Marcum’s health, and Danks and Masterson are not exactly reliable. I actually Henderson Alvarez better than those two. Solid overall if you can get some saves off the wire.

      • @The Gig, Thanks Gig! The closer issue should be okay for me I think as we use Saves + Holds as opposed to just using saves. Storen will be a solid contributor of course and I figured that AReed was probably a better investment as a possible closer eventually this year than some of the lower tier closers who just end up screwing with ERA and Whip ratios (eg. Myers, JJohnson, Capps, etc).

        You’re right about the Marcum, Danks, Masterson part of my rotation though. Those guys worry me somewhat. I’m cool with Marcum as long as he’s just having a repeat of his early spring arm trouble from last year. As long as he’s on the mound, I think the $8 investment was a good one there. Masterson is in that all important year 3 as a starter so I’m hoping he’s ready to improve upon the progress he made last year. As for Danks, his 2nd half last year was strong after he made us all throw up in our mouths and re-swallow during the first half of 2011.

        Maybe with my excess if offensive production I can swing a deal for a more legit SP. Thanks for the review of the roster. I pretty much so agree for the most part.

    • @PublicEnemy#1, You look light on power and a tad high on speed. Pitching looks fine minus the no saves thing.

    • @PublicEnemy#1,

      how the heck do you get to keep bautista for a dollar ??

      really like your trout and bauer picks .
      and boesch for a dollar is a steal .

      • @chata, Good question. We get to keep a player for two additional years after the initial year they were purchased. Bautista was a nobody when I first got him back in 2010. Then he blew up that year and I kept him in 2011. This will be my final year I get to have him as a keeper. Same thing with CarGo, AGonz and DHudson.

        Trout and Bauer will hopefully be my chance to re-stock on keepers since I have to release my sexy keepers I got to start this year with.

21. Grey,

    Just like with the yahoo article – great stuff. I personally despise ESPN more than yahoo, so this was just solid gold. There’s not enough Fu#& yous in the world for them.

    Can’t wait for the podcast my man! Talk about a pants tent!

    • @Joe, Ha! Thanks!

22. Grey,

    To your point on Reynolds, I took him in the 10th round of my league draft yesterday to fill the Util spot (12-team,H2H, 5×5) and got the usual “whoa he’s terrible, if we got points for Ks that would be a great pickup blah blah blah blaaaaaaah”.

    This is a guy who will most likely go 80/30/80/5 with 1B/3B eligibility and the league does not penalize batter Ks AAAAAND is OBP instead of average! Yeah, keep drinking that Yahoo KoolAid guys, I’m good with my pick. My offense was already squared away save for SS and catcher at that point.

    I also then proceeded to take Adam Lind in the 20th Round (pick 235) for my bench because Adam Lind was still sitting there in the 20th round…I had to check his player notes quickly to make sure he didn’t break both legs on ski trip or something else that would explain him still being available then…

    12-team,H2H, 5×5

    C-Iannetta
    1B-Konerko
    2B-Kinsler
    SS-Aybar
    3B-Zimmerman
    OF-Justin Upton
    OF-Bruce
    OF-Werth
    Util-Reynolds
    BN – LoMo, Lind, Danny Espinosa (my health insurance for Kinsler)

    P-Gallardo
    P-Bumgarner
    P-Valverde
    P-Gio Gonzalez
    P-Scherzer
    P-Cordero
    P-D Holland
    P-F Salas
    P-A Chapman
    BN-Cahill
    BN-Juan Abreu

    • @Ghost of the Purple Porpoise, Yeah, people are crazy down on both of those guys. Your team looks very solid. Surprised you could get someone of the guys you got, looks like a much shallower league team.

      • @Grey,

        My thoughts as well, seemed like most of the guys drafted based on real life performance & sexy/veteran name recognition, and I found I often had several good choices per round based on your rankings. One person drafted pitchers from round 3 thru 12, stopping only to take Desmond Jennings in the 6th Round. Three of those guys were relievers and one was Chris “Bulging Disc” Carpenter.

        Normally I take your advice and draft only pitchers as bench players, but given injury concerns w/ Kinsler & Zimmerman it seemed too good to pass up my bench guys.

        • @Ghost of the Purple Porpoise, Gotcha…

23. Can you give me some insight as to why you have Bonifacio (70/2/40/.265/30) 39 spots ahead of Dee Gordon (80/0/30.265/45)? Seems like I’d take Gordon’s stats all day.

    • @Jeff, The projection for Gordon is more risky.

    • @Jeff, yea, could have something to do with the doode weighing 1.5 spins and likely landing on the DL following being hit by a stiff breeze.

      • @MattTruss223, Ok but shouldn’t the projections reflect that?

        • @Jeff, Good call, I defer to Fred Barker’s response below then. And that Dee’s projections are optomistic of him playing everyday.

24. Grey,

    These tables are interesting, I guess. The ESPN guys are doofuses, and you’re cool, so, yes, as a meek follower, I put more trust in you (even though I play in an eight-team NL 6×6 league that makes most rankings less valuable to me).

    However, I’d like to see another table that shows your 2011 pre-season rank, their 2011 pre-season rank, and ACTUAL 2011 full-year value. Then, give us the hard numbers about who was closer.

    Love,
    Chuckes

    • @Chuckles Tiddlesworth, I went over my preseason rankings and where they ended up back in October.

25. @Jeff, Bonifacio eligible at SS, 3B, and OF.

    • @Fred Barker, I hear ya, but why would you ever play him anywhere but SS, by far the weakest position….and the same position as Dee

      • @Jeff,
        what if your 3rd baseman had monday off ?
        or one of your OF-ers ??

        • @chata, I was definitely thinking about weekly leagues but it’s a great point for daily transaction leagues….especially NL- only. Thanks

26. Pick two of this group:

    Guerra, Thornton, Myers, Jim Johnson

    *of those guys, I think Myers and Johnson are the only ones with the “for sure” closer gig

    • @Wilsonian, They’re all the closers… Thornton, Myers…

      • @Grey, I’d been reading a lot about Crain and/or Reed usurping (big word for me) Thornton from the role…and obviously Guerra has Kenley to contend with, although it appears the No Longer Moustached Manager of the Dodgers is sticking with Guerra (for now).

        • @Wilsonian, Thornton’s not good, but he’s the closer right now.

27. My “Money League” drafted last night. 10 Team 5×5 Yahoo Standard, H2H.

    1. (9) Evan Longoria 3B
    2. (12) Adrián González 1B
    3. (29) Josh Hamilton OF
    4. (32) Félix Hernández SP
    5. (49) Yovani Gallardo SP
    6. (52) Madison Bumgarner SP
    7. (69) Brandon Phillips 2B
    8. (72) B.J. Upton OF
    9. (89) J.J. Putz RP
    10. (92) Lance Berkman 1B,OF
    11. (109) Billy Butler 1B
    12. (112) Jason Motte RP
    13. (129) Gio González SP
    14. (132) Kenley Jansen RP
    15. (149) Max Scherzer SP
    16. (152) Adam Lind 1B
    17. (169) Erick Aybar SS
    18. (172) Jim Johnson RP
    19. (189) Wilson Ramos C
    20. (192) Mike Moustakas 3B
    21. (209) Edwin Jackson SP
    22. (212) Mike Minor SP
    23. (229) Francisco Liriano SP

    My strategy was to win Power and Pitching, which I think I can do. Any useful tidbits you can bestow on a razzball sheep?

    • @RealMcCoy, I Project:
      Batting = 832R / 227HR / 838RBI / 107SB / .271AVG
      Pitching = 113W / 107S / 1695K / 3.37WRA / 1.23WHIP

      • @RealMcCoy, Did you look at this:

        http://razzball.com/10-14-15-16-mixed-league-numbers-to-win-your-espn-and-yahoo-leagues/

        • @Grey, Yes, Thats why I think I can win those Cats…even though I am barely over the mark in some areas

28. From experience, do rcl drafts more follow grey’s rankings, host site (ESPN) or a balance in the middle of the two?

    • @Bourne, In my experience, I’d say 2/3 grey/ 1/3 defaults.

      • @royce!, I’d say mainly Grey. If he doesn’t like a player, they’ll sit up at the top of the list of “best available” for a long time.

29. Oh I hope the podcast has lots over produced cheesy radio voice intros to different segments like all of espn’s shitty sports podcasts where they spend 90 percent of their time talking about non-sports stuff that no one gives a shit about. If not, I have a very good cheesy radio voice and can yell “Sleeper Alert!” with reggae mix tape lasers and sirens blaring in the background.

    • @schlitzy, Ha! Yeah, it’s the radio version of Wayne’s World…

30. My money league 5×5 roto with 10 keepers
    * c santana
    d mesoraco (20)
    1b * Votto
    2b *Kendrick
    Ss *Tulo
    3b *longoria
    CI butler (12)
    MI johnny G (k.c.)23
    Of* kemp
    Of*pence
    Of peter bourjos (16)
    Of d young (21)
    Of l cain (22)
    X m reynolds (14)
    X j bourgous(24)
    Sp *gio
    Sp *kennedy
    Sp *beachy
    Sp garza (11)
    Sp ubaldo (13)
    Sp marcum (17)
    Sp dirty sanchez 25
    Rp motte (15)
    Rp k jansen (18)
    Rp f francisco (19)
    Bench m thornton
    Rate my team: free agents. Quentin, fowler, ian desmond, a. Escobar,m brantley, doumit,smoak,carp
    Thanks

    • @johnny o, No idea how many teams…

      • @Grey, we have 10 teams

31. Less risk in Bonifacio’s stats….Gordon is much more likely to get sent down or lose playing time due to ineffective play.

    That + Bonifacio has 3 position eligibility, including SS.

    • @Chris,

      Oops, the above response was meant for Jeff.

    • @Chris, Bonifacio hasn’t even locked down the CF job. Already in his career, He has gone back and forth several times between starting role and bench player. So I’m not sure why he’s any more of a sure thing for ABs

32. Grey espn has Josh Johnson ranked in the 120′s I know your not high on him but say he falls to the 9-10th round would you draft him there?

    • @mets fan, Very doubtful…

33. Grey good sir,

    Haven’t posted in some time, but have been diligently studying your posts through the offseason and want to thank you kindly for them.

    My 15 team keeper league drafted 2 weeks ago. My rotation is very strong, my batting is above average. Reynolds is currently my starting 3B, but I was offered a deal for Zimmerman. The owner wants Freese, Morrison & Gio for Zimmerman & Cahill. My rotation now is Greinke, Darvish, Hudson, Gio, Minor. My question is; do you think it’s worth breaking up that strong a rotation to acquire Zimmerman? Other notable bats aside from Reynolds are Fielder, Stanton, Phillips, Butler.

    The league tends to value SP highly. Thanks a ton for the time man and enjoy your day!

    Spaceman

    • @The Spaceman, No problem! Where would Zimmerman play?

      • @Grey,

        Hey there Grey, Zimmerman would become my starting 3B. While Reynolds would become occupy 1 of 2 Util spots. I figure it couldn’t hurt to have a legit backup 3B, but am apprehensive about dealing Gio from a strong rotation. Thanks again man! Much appreciated,

        Spaceman

        • @The Spaceman, You should hold…

34. Ugh, I had to go watch one of those videos, and I think this one quote (from the Youkilis debate) says it all:

    Brendan Roberts: “Aramis is coming off a good year. Youkilis is not.”

    When you can say flat-out stupid things with complete earnestness, you know that ESPN will find a home for you.

    • @dingbat, Ha!

35. Loved the reference to Kim Jong-Il’s looking at things blog. Didn’t know about that one.

    • @Frank Kim, Yeah, it’s good stuff.

36. Great post as usual and yes Fantasy Pros is the Bee’s Titties.

    So I draft 4th in 6×6 league, OPS and CG’s are the extra catagories. I am looking at Votto with the first pick maybe even over Pujols,
    A is that crazy and
    B if Teix is there I am thinking of grabbing him for my CI…Totally insane?!

    Why yes I finished last in 2011 in HR’s RBI’s why do you ask?!?!

    • @Shea Sera Sera, Thanks! A and B are both kinda insane.

      • @Grey, Yup, I am feeling Nutty, and the draft is on Saturday so my Irish ass will be drunk any how…

        Hope all is well and best of luck this year.

        • @Shea Sera Sera, You too!

37. Just had my 12-team H2H draft and was hoping to get your insight as to how I did, what I can improve on, etc… here’s my squad with the draft rounds in parentheses:

    C Jesus Montero (13.1)
    1B Miguel Cabrera (1.1)
    2B Dan Uggla (5.1)
    3B David Wright (3.1)
    SS Dee Gordon (14.12)
    IF Mark Reynolds (9.1)
    OF Justin Upton (2.12)
    OF Jay Bruce (4.12)
    OF Peter Bourjos (15.1)
    UTL Kendrys Morales (17.1)

    SP Madison Bumgarner (6.12)
    SP David Price (7.1)
    SP Gio González (8.12)
    RP Ryan Madson (10.12)
    RP Sergio Santos (12.12)
    P Jordan Zimmermann (11.1)
    P Mike Minor (18.12)
    P Brad Peacock (19.1)

    BN Javy Guerra (16.12)
    BN Bryce Harper (20.12)
    BN Brett Myers (21.1)
    BN Brandon Belt (22.12)
    BN Daniel Bard (23.1)
    BN Ricky Nolasco (24.12)
    BN Ryan Doumit (25.1) – Just need till Jesus gets C eligible

    As you can see, I went hitting heavy the 1st 5 rounds and then went pitching heavy the middle rounds.

    I will say that having both Uggla & Reynolds is probably gonna kill my BA, but their power should make up for that…or at least draw some trade interest for Reynolds.

    Thanks as always

    • @Scottie O., forgot to mention it’s a 6X6 league:

      hitters = R, RBI, HR, SB, BA, OPS
      pitchers = W, K, ERA, WHIP, QS, SV

      • @Scottie O., Team looks insanely strong from top to bottom. Uggla and Reynolds are fine in an OPS league…

      • @Scottie O., Justin Upton with the 24th pick in a 12-team league? We should all be so lucky.

        • @L-Boogie, yeah, I just about shizz’d myself when he fell to me. I had planned on McCutch there, but there was an early run on SP’s which left Upton for me… couldn’t pass that up!

38. 12 Team, 5 Keeper, H2H **Points** League
    (Notes: SP very important, Holds get you points as well)

    C-Wieters
    1B-Votto
    2B-Utley
    3B-Moustakas
    SS-Tulowitzki
    OF-Granderson
    OF-Jennings
    OF-Melky
    UTIL-Cuddyer
    UTIL-Morneau
    B-Cespedes

    SP-Verlander
    SP-King Felix
    SP-Strasburg
    SP-Luebke
    SP-Holland
    SP-Liriano
    SP-Johan
    SP-Volquez
    SP-Bedard
    SP-Capuano
    RP-Clippard
    RP-Adams
    CL-Guerra

    What do you think of my squad this year? Any suggestions other than to get another closer? (which i am currently looking to do)

    Thank you very much Grey!

    • @joe from point pleasant, Morneau…Noooo… Your pitching is a lot strong than it needs to be which hurts your hitting a bit. You don’t really have a lot of great arms after the top 3 either… Not in love with the team…

39. @Grey, Thanks for raping my eyes. Good god those videos are awful. Pitty the editor and producer that had to cut that. Whoever directed them should have his director chair taken away. Why did they shoot that in a bare office? Couldn’t it have been lit… at all? Why the reverse shots of Berry and Karabell’s intense curing cancer stares?

    Anywho… this is the results of the 6th annual Yahoo 6×6 (OBP and QS) keeper draft.

    C – Montero
    1B – Pujols (k)
    2B – Ackley
    SS – Starlin (k)
    3B – Panda (k)
    MI – Asdrubal (k)
    CI – Gaby Sanchez
    OF – Bruuuuce
    OF – Gordon
    OF – Hunter
    OF – Bourjos
    UTL – De Aza
    SP – Haren
    SP – Latos
    SP – Kennedy (k)
    SP – Masterson
    SP – Cahill
    SP – Stauffer
    SP – Nicosio
    SP – Bedard
    RP – Motte
    RP – Street
    RP – Farnsworth
    BN – Carp
    BN – J.D. Martinez

    - I was shocked that Bruce fell to me with at the 4th pick. I had the 5th pick as well and took Haren. Holliday went first, than Konerko (all the good 1B’s are kept), than Grienke.

    - I didn’t have a 6th or 7th round pick, when a 2B run developed. In the 8th, I had a choice between Ackley, Kipnis and the Weeks bros. I didn’t have a 9th round pick, so I figured I’d be left overpaying for Johnson, Hill (both of whom I hate) and Altuve. Suddenly my brain farted and I ended up overpaying for Ackley. I immediately regretted it and offered him up for trade to the silenced room. Kipnis ended up going in the 11th. FML

    - Ike and Goldschmidt – who I targeted for CI – took time off from hunting Nazis in South America and went in the 9th round. I ended up with Gaby in the 10th, who’s glad he can find good smoked whitefish in Miami.

    - I was going to punt C until the end but saw others punting too creating what I saw was a bargain in 12th round Montero.

    So I should have gone Ike or Goldy, than Kipnis. Other than that I’m pretty happy with this team. What say you?

    • @3FingersBrown, Ha, yeah, not sure on those videos creatively… Ha : re: Goldschmidt — How many teams?

      • @Grey, Sorry 12 teams. 5 Keepers and 5 man bench (my last 3 starters and BN).

        • @3FingersBrown, You look a bit light on power, which is coming from your pitching that looks a bit strong than it needs to be… Team doesn’t look bad, but Pujols and Bruce may be the only guys that give you 25+ homers…And Sandoval may barely get 20+…

          • @Grey, Power is definitely at a premium this year and I was bummed to not get a young upsidey CI. LoMo and Swish (another two guys I like) went much earlier than I thought they would.

            I’m thinking that the little extra pop I’m getting out of MI and C will help but you’re right. I need some more power. I have a hard time drafting low AVG guys like Uggla and Reynolds, so it’s a familiar theme to my teams.

            Speaking of power. Do you think Chris Davis gets enough AB’s to be relevant? Maybe one of these days Bill James will be right about him.

            • @3FingersBrown, I’m not too optimistic on Davis, but he does have power upside worth sitting on in your case if you have room…

              • @Grey, I’m thinking MMD may have some value as the starting 3B for The Cubbies.

                Would you take MMD or Davis over Carp or J.D. Martinez?

40. Have you followed this Espn Mock Draft on Twitter…..Granderson went 5th overall. Thats all you really need to know. Also on Berry’s Love/Hate column he listed Jennings as a “hate” and said the 10-11th round (10 team) was too early.

    • @Jamie, Ha!

41. I think I finally understand the name of this site now! You “razz” others, and that razzing requires that you have “balls” (metaphorical machismo).

    Why isn’t it called “Razzballs”? Had you participated in a tragic sharpened-pencil-in-the-pocket pickup basketball game?

    I’m all for big-ball razzing, but I suggest that you fill some gaps in your grammar. Please start with researching the differences between “less” and “fewer.”

    Apologies if I sound too razzy – I check this site approximately 20 times per day.

    • @McGibblets, You should check it 21+ times/day. For shame…

42. 10 team, H2H with standard 5×5, 4 player keeper but in offseason can trade draft picks for keepers. C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, UT, 2 SP, 2 RP, 3 P, 5 bench, 2 DL

    And the team:

    C–J.P. Arencibia
    1B–Miguel Cabrera (keeper)
    2B–Ian Kinsler (traded for)
    3B–Ryan Zimmerman (keeper)
    SS–Troy Tulowitzki (keeper)
    OF–Drew Stubbs
    OF–Howie Kendrick
    OF–Logan Morrison
    UT–Pablo Sandoval

    SP–Clayton Kershaw (Keeper)
    SP–Mat Latos
    RP–John Axford
    RP–Huston Street
    P–Jason Motte
    P–Matt Thornton
    P–Vinnie Pestano

    B–Anibal Sanchez
    B–Jhouyls Chacin
    B–Brandon McCarthy
    B–Edison Volquez
    B–Sergio Romo

    My first pick was the 58th overall, and I took Sandoval based on value.

    Kendrick fell all the way to the 103rd. Felt he could be comparable to Shin-Soo Choo, who was selected 79th.

    According to the War Room, I fielded the best team, but I have my concerns:

    A) I have a lot of 3rd basemen and relievers
    B) In comparison to the league (there are 5 teams that are rostering an offensive bench player), I fall toward the bottom in RBI and SB.
    C) I have a ton of relievers.

    I have an offer of Jon Lester for Ryan Zimmerman out there, and currently Nick Swisher, Lucas Duda, and Josh Willingham that I have targeted on the Waiver Wire.

    Also, there is a team in our league that has 3 1B on his bench (2 of whom are Mark Reynolds and Billy Butler), and two closers. By having that many 1B, he has driven down their value to him, and increased the value of my horde of closers. Hoping to land either or those 2 (preferances anyone?) in exchange for Thornton once he is ‘officially’ named the seat warmer for Addison Reed.

    Thoughts?

    • @ChillmanCometh, Your team looks very solid… SBs can be made up in season and you do have a lot of relievers, probably too many. Could trade one for an upgrade somewhere….

43. I am not that high on Kendrick but it’s cuz I play in an OBP league. I didn’t think he could hit 20 homers last yr even though he started off red hot. This year, even with Pujols and expected career progression and all that, I still don’t think he eclipses 20. That’s not to say he’s not one of the better 2b options out there, but I trust Cuddyer more than I do Kendrick.

    • @papasmurf, Yeah, 20 seems like the ceiling…

44. Grey-

    What’s the baseball podcast under on ITunes? I
    Keep searching Razzball and all I get is the football podcast.

    • @MrHappyTime, From my (limited) research, I can’t put it in iTunes until I’ve published it on site… Which is happening at 11 AM PST… Really not sure with iTunes, may take a few days for it to end up there….

45. Grey & co.

    Just found out I have the #2 overall pick in my 12 team 7×7 (standard cats+OBP, 2b, GIDP, HRs allowed) H2H draft on Wednesday night.

    Question 1: I know you have Braun and Miggy as your top 2 overall so is Braun the definite pick if he’s available? I like Miggy a little more between those two because I don’t really want to be stuck with a 2nd tier 1st baseman.

    Question 2: Can you give me a few names you’d be targeting in the 2nd round with the 23rd pick?

    Thanks in advance. Looking forward to another fun season of humorous commentary and solid advice.

    • @letsgobravos, http://razzball.com/2012-fantasy-baseball-draft-prep-pairings/

46. Ha, great article. I love seeing the disparity between your rankings and yahoo/ESPN’s. I will make sure to use these in my upcoming draft to get some steals (pun point?).

    Anywho, I was wanting your opinion on my 14 team H2H keeper league with OBP and Total Bases added for offense and L added for pitching…we kept 14 (yes, 14!) from the year before, and I kinda blew up my team in trades. Here’s the roster:

    C: Salvador Perez
    1B: Albert Pujols
    2B: Michael Cuddyer
    SS: JJ Hardy
    3B: David Wright
    IF: Adam Lind
    LF: Vernon Wells
    CF: BJ Upton
    RF: Shin-Soo Choo
    OF: Dexter Fowler
    Util (2): Coco Crisp/Jason Kubel

    SP: Zack Greinke/Jon Lester/James Shields/Josh Beckett/Jordan Zimmermann/Tim Stauffer
    RP: Joel Hanrahan/Rafael Betancourt/Jim Johnson/Brett Myers

    Thanks, and also, thanks a ton for these almost daily articles. You guys helped me a ton last year with finding those diamonds in the rough.

    • @Son of a Beachy, Cool, no problem… Your pitching looks stronger than your hitting, which isn’t a great thing. Lester was overkill with Greinke… Then don’t love Shields and Beckett…. Fowler and Crisp are the same thing, don’t need both.

47. ***THERE’S A NEW POST***

48. Hey Grey-

    Howzabout giving us a spreadsheet we can sort with this info. I’d like to make a list of “Grey’s Guys” in order of the round they are likely to be picked. I like this format to as it tells us how much more you like/dislike each individual dood… but I have to be able to sort this shizz.

    I guess I could enter it by hand but you and I BOTH know that ain’t gonna happen.

    -LeGade

    • @James L Legade, I don’t know how accurate it is outside of what is in the post: http://razzball.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Grey_ESPN_Rank_Comparison.xlsx

49. ***THERE’S A NEW POST***

50. I see you like Valencia this year? I have him a bargain basement price in a 3 year keeper league. What are you projecting? I’m thinking of throwing him back to get the extra year out of him…worth the gamble? I have to draft 1st/3rd this year…not likin who’s out there at 3rd. Have Freeman at my corner slot.

    • @Amish G, My projections are in my rankings. ***Take followups for me to the newest post****

51. thanks Grey! I just downloaded the podcast and will listen to it in the gym.

    I don’t drive an iPhone so yer iTunes ranking won’t pop… but when you are talking to advertisers feel free to tell them “And you can +1 those rankings due to this guy I know listening on some cheap assed android phone…”

    • @James L Legade, Thanks!

52. Holy shitballs. Newest segment’s on Hanley Ramirez and almost made my head blow up.

    AJ Mass argues Ramirez won’t reach the number of steals ESPN projects (30) because he’ll be batting third now, and too preoccupied with driving Reyes in, second won’t be open if he’s intentionally walked to load the bases (!?), etc…

    To see if this blathering might actually be based on any real data regarding lineup position and steal attempts, I did some Googling. Three seconds or so, in fact. Only article I read was penned by someone literally sitting across the table from Mass – http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k11_stealsinlineup. His conclusion? Probably shouldn’t worry about Hanley’s steals because of his lineup spot.

    • The Mass-hole up to his old tricks…

    • He seems to be over-thinking it. I remember worrying about that kind of thing with Carl Crawford when he was on TB. Or with Carlos Beltran. Never mattered.

      Hanley has been about 30 SBs the last 3 years and players tend to creep down on SB vs. up. I’d say best bet is 25 except for the Ozzie Guillen wildcard factor which maybe gets him to 30….

      • @Rudy Gamble, Agreed. Why Cockcroft didn’t say anything, beyond me.

53. Which ranking of yours are you talking about? I see Kendrick at 146 in your Point Shares, not 46. Excluding positional arguments, I’ve got his projections ranking him #121 overall.

    • Grey does his own rankings. Point Shares are my thing. You can find Grey’s rankings at: http://razzball.com/2012-fantasy-baseball-rankings/

      • And I see your projections have 19 more runs; that actually brings him up from the to the 6th ranked 2B, all the way up from 9th, which is in the ballpark of Brandon Phillips.

        So, if you are thinking about taking Phillips, just wait for Kendrick.

        (FYI my math is based on extrapolating 2012 projections into player rating values like ESPN does, since they don’t provide player ratings for 2012)

54. Please answer this: if you could only play in 1 12-team league league for the rest of time, would it be a non-keeper or a 4-keeper league?

    • @Eng, Non-keeper

55. ***Take followups for me to the newest post****

Comments are closed.