Top 100 for 2nd Half of 2013 Fantasy Baseball

July 16, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 935 Comments

So it’s not really the 2nd half mark in the fantasy baseball season, but it’s the All-Star Break so what else are we going to talk about? Hell’s Kitchen? Is it even believable that these people would one day be in charge of a kitchen? There’s Real World castmates who seem like they have their shizz together better than these schmohawks. I like the one guy who shaved his head to tell Gordon, "I'm now ready to get down to business." I'm from Jersey with a beautiful head of hair. If I shaved my head, it wouldn't mean I was 'ready for bidness,' it would mean I had completely lost my mind. The hair on the top of my head is my 2nd best attribute! Hair above my lip is number one. MasterChef, though, that show is the Sistine Chapel of reality shows. Okay, as with all of the other 2013 fantasy baseball rankings, take this list with a grain of salt. If you need a 2nd baseman, but an outfielder is above him that doesn’t mean you can’t trade the outfielder for the 2nd baseman. Also, things change in fantasy baseball. Daily. I could put [player]Miguel Cabrera[/player] number one on the top 100 list for the second half of 2013 and he could get in a fight with a bartender (not [player]Tom Wilhelmsen[/player]) tomorrow, then he wouldn’t be number one. See how that works. This list is a road map for where I think guys are valued. It’s not the Holy Grail in the Church of Grey, that would be my mustache. This list is NOT (caps for emphasis, not aesthetics) where I see guys ending up if you were to take their first half and combine it with the 2nd half of their season. This is simply a list of the top hundred fantasy baseball players if you were to pick them up today. So while [player]Josh Hamilton[/player] did not have the greatest first half, he will appear on this list because he’s healthy to start the 2nd half. The projections are not their combined 1st half and 2nd half numbers; these are their projections for the 2nd half of 2013. I also liberally used our rest of the season Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. Anyway, here’s the top 100 for fantasy baseball for the 2nd half of 2013:

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Pitcher Profile: We’ve Got Chris Archer, They’ve Got Golden Arcs

July 15, 2013 | Pitcher Profiles | 66 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Despite not living in an MLB-market area, I have a great AAA team nearby. I got to see [player]Chris Archer[/player] pitch for the AAA Durham Bulls with his great velocity, luckily before his hit role in Coming To Tampa. But after wanting to search for a career, he got promoted from Zamunda and went to ~~Queens~~ Tropicana Field in hopes of a complete game. Well, when Houston is running out [player]Carlos Pena[/player] at leadoff, as Kevin Garnett would exclaim, "Anything is possible!" I've always liked Archer's stuff, but the high WHIP was a big bugaboo. Like Starship Troopers big. But I liked him in spot starts, and all through comments on Grey's articles last week, took Archer as my spot starter of choice against a lot of other fringe-streamers. Score one for JB-O-Nator! Ok, that sounds more like I'm an Austrian movie star in a political position. Let's take a look at how Archer did inning-by-inning, get to the ~~Choppa~~ Pitcher Profile!

Stealing Bases: A First Half Retrospective For Your Perusal

July 15, 2013 | Uncategorized | 21 Comments

by: Mike

Looking back on the unofficial first half of the fantasy baseball season can be a lot of fun, unless of course you are in dead last, in which case it's about as much fun as watching your auntie's cat play with its new Cat's Meow toy while you eat stale Circus Peanuts. In any event, the gods of SAGNOF have not been as kind to us thus far in 2013, and it shows in the numbers. The total number of steals in the league, 1524, is the lowest it's been since 2006. In addition, there are only 21 players with 15 or more steals at this point in the season. That's also the lowest it's been since 2006. It feels even lower given that just last year there were 28 players with 15+ steals at the break and 30 the year before that. This all means that players who steal 30 bags or more are a little harder to come by, and it's no sure thing that each fantasy team will have one or two guys that can carry them in steals like in years past. It also means that having a guy like [player]Ben Revere[/player] break his foot and lose his season is a much bigger blow to our fantasy squads (mine included) than it used to be. So what do we do if we lost a guy like Revere or missed out on a [player]Jacoby Ellsbury[/player] or [player]Everth Cabrera[/player] type? If you read my column regularly, you know I'm a big fan of playing the match-ups when it comes to steals, and seizing the opportunity to eke them out whenever possible against teams that are weak against the run. After all, just because steals are down in general, it doesn't change the fact that they still make up 20% of our offensive points in most leagues.

Tantracized Padres Don’t Get To Lincecum

July 15, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 573 Comments

by: Grey

The night was humid in San Diego. Some fans in the front row brought their own Chardonnay, a mix of floral and fruity notes, which could've also described the crowd's apparel. Tommy Bahama as far as the eye could see. One Padre fan stood up, three glasses of wine in, screaming to let Templeton play. Most of the fans that night were there for a picnic that was billed as 'the best picnic mom's ever packed.' One thing these picnickers never expected was to become a part of history. Whispers amongst the Padre fans began in the 1st inning. "It was going to be a long night." Not because of [player]Tim Lincecum[/player], who began his quest to throw the 700th-something no-hitter in the last ten years. Tonight would drag for these Padre fans because the picnic brie was forgotten at home. Tonight these Padre fans groaned in the first inning because when Lincecum took the mound they thought the game was being preempted for a k.d. lang concert. So, Lincecum wasn't economical in his 148-pitch no-hitter, walking 4 guys and K'ing 13. He's the first pitcher to throw more pitches in a no-hitter than he weighs. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Lincecum doesn't look bad in his peripherals this year. His K-rate and walk rate are pretty close to the numbers he put up when he had a 2.74 ERA in 2011. He didn't make the top 100 for the 2nd half that is coming tomorrow, but I considered it for a long time (about 25 seconds). The unknown right now is whether or not the 148 pitches is going to tire his arm. Obviously, he'll have the All-Star break to rest and I wouldn't be against giving Lincecum a chance on my fantasy team. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Jam it or Cram it: Waiver Wire All-Stars and the Fantasy DT’s

July 14, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell, Players by Position, Strategy | 88 Comments

by: The Guru

Maybe you’re with me, maybe you’re against me on this one, but the MLB All-Star game is an idea that should be buried alongside [player]B.J. Upton[/player], New Coke, Bic Disposable Underwear, and the XFL. He hate me because I hate the All-Star game. Home field in the World Series, whether it comes down to the Tigers and Cardinals or the Red Sox and the Braves, should not be determined by a matchup between [player]Steve Delabar [/player]and [player]Marco Scutaro[/player]. Also, it’s fans like this voting guys in, so the teams are not really the “best of the best” to begin with. Yet they are allowed to affect actual teams in real games? Only Bob Costas loves to hear, “Ladies and gentlemen, warming up in the American League bullpen, [player]Brett Cecil[/player]!” I look forward to the day when my son tugs on my shirtsleeve and says, "Daddy, tell me the story again how [player]Jason Castro [/player]popped up to second in the All-Star game.” And I will turn to him and say, “I have a son? Did your mother work at Applebee’s in 2008?” It’s time we just bury Bud Selig and his “it counts” t-shirt alongside Chris Berman and his Hair in a Can. The All-Star game doesn’t count, it sucks. Bud and Boomer, the people don’t care. Television ratings for the game have been down every year and last year’s game had the worst ever with a 6.8 rating. Know what pulls in those kind of numbers? Sharknado. There must be a way to work that into the Razzball glossary. "[player]Erasmo Ramirez[/player] sharknado’d my ERA this week!" Not sure, but that phrase may have already jumped the… *now back to our regularly scheduled rant* The first televised All-Star game in 1967 pulled in a 25.6 rating. Keep in mind that in 1967 there was one nationally televised baseball game a week, smoking was good for you and a kid’s favorite toy was Hasbro’s Stick with a Nail in it. Times, they are changin’. Sing it Zimmy.

Fantasy Razzball Update: July 14

July 14, 2013 | Our Leagues | 3 Comments

by: VinWins

Fantasy Razzball is the game where the goal is to manage the worst fantasy baseball team possible. You hope to find terrible players who don't get sent to the minors. As in the RCL, a team's points are multiplied by the League Competitive Index. The LCI is based on the total points of the top 8 teams per league. The overall standings can be found below. Points are credited as follows: Hitters (AB = +2, H = -3, R = -4, HR = -6, RBI = -4, K = +2) Pitchers (IP = -1, HR = +4, L = +8, K = -1, ER = +1.5, H+BB = +1). You can find links to the six Fantasy Razzball leagues (along with the 64 RCLs) here.

Minor Accomplishments: Week 15

July 14, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 102 Comments

by: Scott Evans

There are several questionable farm systems in baseball, but the Chicago White Sox are certainly one that stands out. For years now, the Sox have maintained a firm MLB-first approach to player personnel. They're a principled franchise that would rather allocate its baseball operations budget toward free agent signings and MLB extensions than toward draft spending. And when they do stumble upon a real-deal prospect, they usually like to trade him for a veteran dude, someone to help that playoff push. It's a model that occasionally works -- they won a World Series by it in 2005 -- but it's not one that's built to sustain success. And now, in 2013, the White Sox are awful. They're in total rebuild mode -- everything is for sale. This is finally their opportunity to change direction, to try to build a system that cultivates and utilizes impact talent. They've already dealt Matt Thornton to Boston for Brandon Jacobs, an upside outfielder with a skill set that might be very useful in the fantasy game. Don't stop there, Chicago. Tear it all down.

Rays Jarred And Put On A Shelf

July 13, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 105 Comments

by: Dan Pants

[player]Jarred Cosart[/player] was fantastical last night in his season debut pitching 8.0 shutout innings, and surrendering just 2 hits and walking three. The rookie carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning before [player]Ben Zobrist[/player] spoiled his fun with a 1-out single. The 23-year-old had the longest no-hit bid in a debut since 1972, and he was the first Astro to go eight scoreless in his major league debut. The Astros big get from Philly in their [player]Hunter Pence[/player] trade, Cosart has a mid-90's fastball and a sick curve he used to baffle the TB hitters last night as he shut down the scorching hot Rays who had won eight in a row. The fact that Cosart was facing off with Tampa's ace David Price, makes his feat even more impressive. [player]Brandon Barnes[/player] also impressed, making a circus catch in the outfield to preserve Jarred's no-no in the sixth, but who cares, that won't help your fantasy team. Jarred actually had a chance at the complete game shutout in this one and came out for the ninth, but was pulled for Jose Veras after walking the first batter. Naturally, after the game the Astro's sent him down to AAA, but I imagine after this outing he should be back before the end of the month. If he were to get recalled after the All-Star break, he would likely face the Oakland A's next week. Grey told you to BUY him yesterday, so obviously he foretold this start (he's a wiiitch!), but Cosart is certainly worth stashing in deep mixed and all AL-Only leagues. With talented arms like Cosart, Appel, Lyles and Peacock, the Astro's have assembled an impressive "future stars" pitching staff, and if games like this are any indication, we won't be making fun of the Houston Lastros for much longer. Here's what else happened in fantasy baseball last night:

Scouting the Unknown: Yordano Ventura and Maikel Franco

July 13, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 43 Comments

by: Scott Evans

Perhaps you were expecting the usual Saturday morning two-start pitchers post, but it’s All Star week and there are no two-starters. The timing works out well, though – I’ve been vacationing south of the border and had to skip one of our precious Scouting the Unknown posts. We’ll fit that one in now.

I’d Istanbuy, That Man Stanton’s Hopeful

July 12, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 952 Comments

by: Grey

By now you've probably seen [player]Giancarlo Stanton[/player] in ESPN's magazine completely naked. Coincidentally, I looked at the pictures completely naked. Did I say looked? I meant took with a telephoto lens. In all seriousness, I know ESPN loves to copy other people's successes, but if they're going to blatantly try to do an equivalent of SI's swimsuit issue, can they at least do a bikini issue or a thong issue or a Brazilian wax issue? Does the majority of their audience have any interest in seeing guys naked, showing their muscles? If I did, I'd subscribe to Men's Fitness or Playgirl. I mean, for serious, who do they think is buying their magazine? Wait, a bigger question, who even buys magazines? Any the hoo! So far Giancarlo hasn't been the hot butter slicing through a fat man's veins that we've come to expect. He had a near-pulling a Kotchman hamstring injury where he went from fundamental crawling to fundamental running to fundamental running away from me as he exited the shower. It was all very tedious, but he's healthy now and simply slumping. If he can get over the hump with my help, there's very few players that could have the type of 2nd half Giancarlo is capable of. You can count on one hand the guys capable of a 25+ homer 2nd half. Giancarlo would be the player sitting on my thumb. At this point, a down season seems impossible to avoid, but 30 homers overall wouldn't surprise me. That means 22 more. 35 homers would surprise me, but it wouldn't be out of the question. I'd absolutely buy him, and I hear you can get him cheap. What? I've been inquiring. Anyway, here's some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Han-RamNado: Witness his Merciless Destruction of All Competition

July 12, 2013 | Points Leagues | 49 Comments

by: LT Murray IV

Greeting all! Tis I, Tehol Beddict! In Bora Bora I am also known as "El Papino," but that's a story for another time. Wait! Hold on a tick. This wondrous tale includes many of the details of how I obtained this nickname and I highly recommend you read it. With that being said, I am here to alert you to the calamity that is being brought forth to opposing managers, keeping them up nights, plotting on how to stop the monstrosity that is Han-Ram. Let me put it to you like this: There's no stopping what can't be stopped.

Oh, My Goodness Gracious Of All The Dramatic Things I’ve Seen!

July 12, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 493 Comments

by: Grey

[player]Derek Jeter[/player] returned and went 1-for-4 with an RBI, run scored and left with a strained quad. I'm not even joking about the injury. The Yankees should just travel with an MRI machine. Didja know 100% of the babies born in the tri-state area between 1992-2013 have a 98.7% chance of having Jeter as their dad? I know, it’s not easy to look at your dad like this, but he’s old. He’s not the same Pops who used to get drunk and tell you to sit in the closet while he hand feed your mother In N Out. This is a different father. This father of yours has the appeal of an old Prado and I'd rather be a suitcase than an old bag like you. In a full season, you might, maybe, possibly get ten homers and ten steals. In less than half a season, your dad could be replaced by, say, Nick Franklin. Mom might think it's weird, but it's true. I’d own Jeter if I needed an MI, but if you can use him as a sweetener in a trade then Splenda! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball: