I'm back baby!
It's been sad these past two weeks off from the Pitcher Profiles, but fortunately I could drown my sorrows in all-inclusive, all-day drinking on the honeymoon. YES I DID GET A STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI, GREY! Although it didn't stain my mustache, especially since a month long of growth would just be shameful peach fuzz...
We're now through the bulk of the season and heading into the stretch run, which means Sky has only September left to get to 1,000 moves in our quote-expert-unquote RCL league. If expert meant constantly dropping 6-7 duds every morning, than I'm an expert in my thrown room if ya catch my drift... And on the pitching side, once you get to about 50ish in my ROS ranks, they all can be given the evacuation. But I've been really bullish on ranking [player]Luis Severino[/player] since his promotion, who I think is a must-own even through these final streaming weeks.
It's a little hard to stay light-hearted and joke-y with what happened in Atlanta on Saturday night, but obviously my condolences to the fan's family and we're supposed to have fun in fantasy, so we won't delve any more into that. Instead, let's embrace what we love on the field, which is some nasty breaking stuff and hitters getting baffled. Who doesn't base their fantasy-team live-watching on their SPs on a given night?! So this was a perfect weekend to get back on the Profiles and check out how Severino looked in a full breakdown:
Here’s a quick comparison for you. Take a look at these two AL third basemen.
| Player A |
.283 |
.350 |
.449 |
15 HR |
56 RBI |
58 R |
| Player B |
.269 |
.330 |
.416 |
14 HR |
57 RBI |
52 R |
Who would you rather own for fantasy? Player A is owned in 72% of ESPN leagues, while Player B is owned in 95% of ESPN leagues.
I'm in New York celebrating my grandfather's 88th birthday, or as he calls it "achy-ache," and we started talking about Caitlyn Jenner, and he said, "She's a hot number, I'd throw her one." Throw her one, I believe, means have sex with her. I thought this was pretty forward thinking for my grandfather, then he continued, "Do you know how they put lost children on the side of a carton of milk? I heard if Caitlyn got lost, they'd put her on a carton of Half & Half." Ah, there he is. Reminds me a bit of Marge Schott, which brings us to Raisel Iglesias, who threw a gem yesterday -- 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 13 Ks. "Raise the Church" has looked far superior since he returned from his stint in the minors with an ERA that's bordering on startable everywhere (3.93), and peripherals that look ownable everywhere (9.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 3.42 xFIP). At this point in the year, I would go one start at a time for him, but I would definitely own him, and start him for his next one. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get back before my grandfather tries to "throw one" at Cougs. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
I'm picturing Droopy Dog saying, "Going down," to my Excitement for Jose Fernandez. My Excitement for J-Fer is hooking up with a strobe light honey at a club, and my Excitement for J-Fer's friend later tells my Excitement for J-Fer, "She was cute, except for that protruding Adam's apple." My Excitement for J-Fer just got a $300 red light camera ticket. My Excitement for J-Fer put the green trash can at the curb the day it was supposed to put the blue can and then puts the black can at the curb the day the green can was supposed to go out. My Excitement for J-Fer exclaims, "Why can't I even throw out the trash right?!" My Excitement for J-Fer sighs and puts an emoji in its text messages that symbolizes its childhood hero Hulk Hogan being a racist. As you've likely heard, Fernandez is out indefinitely with a bicep strain. Hopefully, he can be fine for next spring, i.e., I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't return this year. Otherwise, as the old beer jingle will tell you, J-Fer, the pitcher to draft when you're DL'ing more than one. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
The Indians just unloaded Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher to the Braves, which created some breathing room on the roster. Bradley Zimmer could be one of the guys that benefits the most from all that extra oxygen. I ranked Zimmer 14th on my power rankings last week on a whim, but this recent trade has me looking at him as a legit call-up option as we head into September - one that could make a fantasy impact. I get to the Rubber Duck games in Akron a bunch, and seeing Zimmer in person you can definitely see where the Yelich comps come from. He has a long stride with sneaky plus speed, squares everything up, and shows good instincts on the basepaths. He's one of those players that stands out on the field without even seeing him make a play. Already big and tall, it looks like a frame that could pack on even more muscle. Zimmer is following the typical path of a college bat, and while Double-A is one of the hardest jumps for a prospect, he's holding his own with a .244/.359/.462 slash line, three homers, six doubles, and six steals through 21 games. He has yet to be caught stealing and his strikeout rate hasn't spiked against the tougher arms either. He passes the eye test, the stats are yummy, and we could be looking at not only a September call-up but also a quick promotion to the bigs next summer. His ceiling would look something like .270 with 20 homers and 20+ steals in center or right field. Scoop him up in keepers and keep your eyes on him in redrafts for help down the stretch. Speaking of Akron, come say hi if you're at the Jim Gaffigan show or the Hamburger Festival today. I'm easy to find. Just look for the depressed guy in the Expos cap. Here's what else is happening around the minor leagues...
Razzball Exclusive! The Twins were seen on Saturday at the Factory Outlet Mall in St. Paul, shopping for an outfielder. Unhappy with the selection -- everything was odd-sized or someone they had called up and sent down numerous times -- they headed back to the car, deciding to go on to the Duluth Shop 'n Zoo, a place, contrary to the name, that doesn't sell animals. When they got back to the car, they realized they forgot their change purse in the mall. They raced back, but it was too late; it was gone. Frustrated and angry, they asked to use Spencer Gifts' phone because they didn't want to incur long distance charges on their own. Fed up and at their breaking point, they called up
Byron Buxton, while also spotting a gag gift, fake vomit, that they shoplifted, figuring they can use it to play shortstop. Here's what Prospect Mike said this offseason, "Buxton is ranked numero uno on my
Top 50 fantasy prospects list, and it’s thanks to his ability to fill all five roto categories. He might be the closest thing we have in the minors right now to a first round fantasy talent with the power to hit 20 homers, the speed to swipe 30+ bags, and the ability to hit for a high average. Injuries limited him to 137 plate appearances in 2014, but that shouldn’t stop the 21-year-old from seeing the majors later this season. The ceiling is a perennial All-Star outfielder and a top ten fantasy player overall. In short, he's wonderful and Grey's terrible." Oh, man, c'mon! In Double-A this year, Buxton had six homers, 20 steals (in only 59 games!) and was hitting .283. At points during this season, Mike has compared him to Carlos Gomez. That sounds like an apt comparison, which isn't the same as roomier with two bathrooms. That's an Apt. comparison. You should grab him in every league. Yes, even that 10 team league, where it's you playing against nine of your email aliases. By the way, I can't believe you're losing to
[email protected]. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
When Chris Heston entered the 1st inning and said, "Keep your stupid bats off my pitches, you damn dirty Mets," we should've known we were in for a historic night. Or at least a histrionic one. I was between Mike Foltynewicz (5 2/3 IP, 5 ER) and Heston to stream yesterday, and, well, you can imagine who I went with. What's wrong with me, Dr. Zaius? Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius, ooooooooh, Dr. Zaius. Help me, Dr. Zaius! Yesterday, Heston pitched a no hitter against the Mets, striking out eleven, and just missed a perfect game, due to hitting three batters. Those batters Heston plunked likely critiqued his acting in Soylent Green or supported the Brady Handgun Bill. After this game, Heston's numbers look like a fantasy #2 (8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 3.21 xFIP), but, since he throws around 89 MPH, I'd limit his exposure against tougher hitting teams on the road. Obviously, he's worth owning. On a concluding note, I hate every streamer I see, from streamer A to Chumpanzee. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Felix Hernandez went 9 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners with 8 Ks, but wasn't the best pitcher in yesterday's gaymey. Damn! I wrote the preceding sentence in drool hanging from my mouth while looking at Chris Archer's stats, and got to the very end before my drool failed me, sorta like Boxberger failed the Rays. This post will be one part fawning over Archer, two parts awe and three parts peyote. Speaking of peyote, why are there jam bands, but not jelly bands? I put on 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover by Garfunkel's old partner and fell asleep. When I woke, I started singing, "Chris, there is something you can do to make me smile again. I said I appreciate that and would you please explain the fifty ways you can fix my ratios. You just throw a backdoor curve, swerve! Make a new game plan, man! You don't need to be coy, 12 Ks -- oh, boy! Just get yourself free to pitch every fifth day! Hop on the Nats bus and explain it to Effin Strasburg! You don't need to discuss much because you are so clutch! Just drop off the key and stay with me! There's fifty ways I can leave my Cougar!" Yesterday, Archer's line was 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 baserunners, 12 Ks, lowering his ERA to 2.12. Fancy area code you got there! The crazy thing is his K-rate is 10.9, walk rate is 2.7 and xFIP is 2.59, which means he's as good as he seems. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Yesterday, Jacob deGrom threw 8 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, zero walks and 11 Ks, screaming at the top of his lungs that Metco will now be known as deGromercy Park, and if you missed deGame, then feast your eyes on deROM, because your underwear is now firmware after what he did to Wong -- 2 Ks. Or if you're Asian, then deNom-Nom-Nom, or into deRom-Com with meGrom Ryan and would be the deBomb dot gov. Okay, okay, deCalm down, deGrey, you sound like you're trying to teach Gibberish to a foreigner. I was concerned about deGrom in the opening month, but he's turned on the jets recently (sorry, Sharks). His K-rate is 8.7, walk rate is 2.1 and his xFIP is 3.26. That's a little less than ace numbers, but not too far less. Solid number two, which is actually a good thing in this example. By the by, can someone get in touch with deGrom for me? I have a chapstick called deGrom Lip Balm and I need an endorsement. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
It is about that time...you’re checking Grey’s daily updates, dreaming about your draft position, and in need of those last minute tips. As high-profile fantasy leagues like Tout Wars and broadcasts begin to infuse OBP an advanced way to look at player productivity, this is an effort to provide you with more data for your OBP drafts this year. First, a few notes to consider while reading...
Unlike roto leagues, most points leagues "kick you in the Jimmy" for strikeouts. In a roto league a strikeout is no different than a ground out, a fly out, a pop out, a line out, or making contact with one foot completely outside the batters box. It's just another out. While it doesn't help your batting average, there is no additional penalty for being sent down on strikes.
In points leagues, however, strikeouts can have quite the detrimental effect on the overall value of a hitter. And depending on the number of points deducted for a strikeout, that effect can easily shift a roto-stud to a points league dud. Most leagues usually subtract either half a point or a full point for a strikeout. In leagues that take the full point, you are going to have some frustrating weeks if you own any of the strikeout kings of the league.
Alex Cobb left his start the other day with forearm tightness, but he's not concerned. "Not concerned with forearm tightness" is now the number two reason for Tommy John surgery. Number one is "torn UCL." The number three reason is "I feel great!" If we have one more pitcher say, "I feel great," without someone else saying they're "not concerned with forearm tightness," then it will be a dead heat and could come down to Tanaka's translator chiming in with how Masahiro feels. A pitcher and manager's reporting on an arm issue is like reading a Yelp review written by the owner of the restaurant. "I didn't know scalloped potatoes could be so sublime!" And I didn't know I had to avoid every other starter in drafts, but here we are. Cobb says he should only miss his Opening Day start, but I've lowered Cobb way down in my
top 400 and into my
top 60 starters to a tier where I would not draft him. There's enough to worry about when drafting a team, don't get too cute with "Well, so-and-so fell so far I figured I'd give him a chance even though his arm is dangling at every joint." Anyway, here's what else I saw in spring training for fantasy baseball:
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