Prospect Power Rankings — Week 5

April 30, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 134 Comments

Ranking prospects for fantasy purposes is a tricky exercise. The variables involved are constantly in flux — talent emerges, talent regresses… opportunity comes, opportunity goes… clubs get cold feet because of service time, clubs don’t give a shizz about service time. So, given the fluid nature of this prospect business, we’re going to keep a running ranking throughout the season. This post will run every other Wednesday, providing a biweekly glimpse of the soon-to-arrive impact talent. 1. [player]Gregory Polanco[/player], OF, Pirates (Previously Ranked #2): He's hitting .400/.457/.632 with 4 HR and 4 SB through 105 PA at Triple-A Indianapolis. Need I say more? If I do need to say more, then please refer to Sunday's Minor Accomplishments post, where Polanco headlined.

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#	MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 5/19
	ARI \| ATH \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| PHI \| PIT \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| ATL \| NYY \| OAK \| SD \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH

DraftKings – Mad Max is the Scher Thing

April 30, 2014 | DraftKings | 27 Comments

by: The Guru

Before we jump into the cash-filled DraftKings pool, let your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru pull on your coat about something cool happening here that will change your life forever – Razzball Radio is ready to launch! Starting on Monday there will be daily fantasy talk with Nick, Grey, Rudy and all your fave Razzballin’ personalities. And Tehol. I sure hope my new turban arrives from Calcutta in time. Let the stalking begin! As I said last week I’ll be letting you follow my DraftKings progress through the season as I try to build that bankroll to the point where I can spend a few of the winter months in Cancun. However, after my showing last week it may just be a couple days in Newark. Ouch. Over the last seven days I've been mired in a 20-for-60 slump including a loss to Tehol who spanked me good and seemed to enjoy it just a bit too much. I was able to rebound later in the week cashing in seven of my final eight contests, but ultimately ended up in the red for the week. On the season, the bankroll has doubled and it’s time to get back to the winning ways. For those familiar with DFS play feel free to skip ahead to today’s lineup as I share some strategies for choosing hitters. My downfall last week was hitting. I stacked the wrong teams, terrible starters pitched gems against good lineups and I was convinced someone had a Guru voodoo doll. Despite the tough week, I will stick to my system for picking hitters as it has paid off well in the past. I’m not one to junk my entire philosophy on one bad stretch. Here are the five things I look at when building a DFS lineup: 1) Pick on the day’s worst pitchers in the best hitters parks. 2) Check the Vegas o/u. Look for high scoring games. Vegas knows what they’re doing. Use them. 3) Forget batter vs. pitcher matchups if the sample is less than 100 AB’s. The sample size is just too small. 4) Check the lefty-righty splits. If I’m on the fence between two equal bats I’ll choose the bat with the better numbers against the splits, i.e. a right-handed bat vs. a left-handed pitcher or vice versa. 5) Embrace the wOBA. What the hell is that, Guru? The new Star Wars villain? Well, my sabermetricly challenged friend in the Yoda mask, "wOBA" is weighted on-base average and is the stat I look at the most when deciding on hitters. I won’t get into the science of the power of the wOBA, but know that it’s a stat that can accurately predict a hitters value. The DFS sharks love their wOBA, but don’t like to tell. Alrighty my Razzballers, here’s your dirty turbaned Guru’s lineup for Wednesday’s 4/30 contests on DraftKings for 2014 Fantasy Baseball. Remember to check the lineups and the Doppler radar. Don’t get left with a big fat zero if it starts raining frogs in Boston. Good luck.

Bauer Set To Restart Ticking Clock?

April 30, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 807 Comments

by: Grey

[player]Carlos Carrasco[/player] was bumped from the rotation. Do I smell a 400-foot, long-tossing fool from Columbus, Ohio that has a rap group that plays to sell-out shows in the furnished basement of his parents' house? [player]Trevor Bauer[/player], your time is near. I said that last line in a Darth Vader voice. Trevor, I am your father. I said that in the voice of someone who has a son named Trevor. Am I confusing you? How about now? Trevor Bauer may have overcome his past WHIPping post issues and could be usable in all mixed leagues. They worked with Trevor in Triple-A. They taught him to pitch from the rubber instead of short center. I would speculate on him, as I said in Friday's Buy column, I wouldn't go and drop anyone too crazy valuable. [player]Josh Tomlin[/player] may instead be called up to replace Carrasco. Tomlin can't pitch out of the bullpen because it takes him like 2 innings to get out of his oversized chair. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

The Razzball Podcast — The One Where We Do Our Last Podcast And Prep For First Radio Show

April 29, 2014 | All Podcasts | 396 Comments

by: Grey

Easy now, pardner. We're not doing podcasts anymore, but we are going to start doing a daily radio show as of next Monday. Our fantasy baseball radio show will live under that link-ma-jiggie that I just linked to. Seamless! To give you an idea of a schedule, Nick will be taping every day at around 10 PM EST and uploading to Razzball Radio. He'll have all the usual Hawks of Schmo on over there, including Rudy and I. I'm in for two days a week, but that will fluctuate to more or less depending on schedules. This won't be the last time I tell you to go over there, so you can put this information in the same place you put all the other info I've told you that you've chosen to ignore. Too bad you didn't ignore the part where I said to draft Brad Miller, huh? He's a crumb-bum! On today's podcast, I dissect Nick's poorly-managed RCL team, my thoughts on [player]Justin Morneau[/player], [player]David Wright[/player] and we spend about 315 minutes talking about [player]Masahiro Tanaka[/player]. That's all after I tell you about my absolute worst get-rich scheme. Anyway, here's the Razzball Podcast (now with a final adieu which will lead you to asking next week, "This is kinda still a podcast, why are they calling it a radio show?" Good question!):

RCL Update, Week 5: I Like The Cut of My Jib

April 29, 2014 | Razzball Commenters League | 55 Comments

by: Jay

And why wouldn't I? As the District's most profound half-Irish/half-Korean bachelor, I'm a pretty decent fish in this pretty swampy pond. Razzball Commentator J-Money knows this. How does he know this? If you missed last week's Razzball Podcast, Nick the ~~Podcast~~ Radio Host announced the first 32in32in32 Tour contest. The first person to find my OkCupid dating profile would win two free tickets to the tour and get a beer from each of us. To be honest, I figured it would take longer then a span of four hours, but I didn't realize plenty of clues were left during my long tenure here at Razz. Also, I didn't realize you guys could do stalker so well. MORE OF YOU NEED TO BE WOMEN. That's the lesson here. Regardless, since it is public record and has been discovered, yes, my dating profile is now available to the Razz-community. Please share it with your sisters and/or mothers. For research I guess. Speaking of research, here's an online dating pro-tip: Stay away from profiles that have buzz-phrases like... I love to laugh. Really... who doesn't love to laugh? I'm a down-to-earth kind of girl. Yeah, gravity will do that to ya. I like going out with friends. No sh*t. I'm looking for a real man. Yeah, all those mannequins dressed up as Joe Manganiello must take up a lot of square footage. Oh, and last one, if they mention drama free or no drama anywhere on their profile, it means they are at the center of it. And we're talking about a hurricane-rash on Jupiter sized level of drama. Rash's are contagious. Remember that. Sooooo, baseball much?

DraftKings – You Play…You Pay

April 29, 2014 | DraftKings | 13 Comments

by: Schlurricane

Weekends are great reminders. So are Mondays. Nearly 50 baseball games through the weekend compete with the number of beers you consume. Lots of baseball is awesome. Not working is phenomenal. Monday you pay. The schedule shrivels and shrinks and the empty bottles come looking for penance as you feign typing in your cubicle. Hope you got some rest for Tuesday cuz a full slate of games returns. Opportunity strikes those who shop wisely. Clip your coupons ya’ll cuz it’s time to eat like DraftKings. We got some nice picks for you today. The Stream-O-Nator and HitterTron are fired up. Stacks galore today. Take a looksee and then get your DraftKings account situated. It’s time to make some money. Unless you’re an actual Draft King you gotta pony some bucks for a pitcher. There’s two hugely advantageous matchups for two of the best pitchers over the past 12 months. [player]Jose Fernandez[/player] and [player]Zach Greinke[/player] are absolutely killing it right now. My money is on Fernandez to put up the best line tomorrow, but Greinke has done hardly anything wrong this year and he tends to contribute to his own Ws with the bat. $11,600 for Jo-Fer or $11,000 Greinke. Rest of spending is frugal:

It’s Always Sonny In Grayadelphia

April 29, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 441 Comments

by: Rudy Gamble

[player]Sonny Gray[/player] - aka "The Oxymornic Forecast" - stormed through Texas with a 3-hit shutout (6 K's) that netted him his 4th win and an ERA/WHIP of 1.76/1.14. Not bad for a 16-year old if you ask me. Is he getting a little lucky? Yes he is, question I just asked myself. But he certainly looks like (at least) a top 25 SP right now and has the benefit of a nice home park. Makes me wish I had him on one of my eleventy teams (why don't you like him Steamer?) Anyway, the other oxymoronic Grey asked me to pinch-hit as he was going to a 'one-man show' tonight. Hoping that isn't code for renting a hotel room by himself and running up adult movie charges on the Razzball corporate card.

Pitcher Profile: Who The Hell Is This Collin McHugh Dude?

April 28, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 136 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Razzball Nation! I used today's title to try and embody the question everyone is having looking at their waiver wires... Who the hell is this guy?! Before his ridiculous debut at Safeco, [player]Collin McHugh[/player] had pitched less than 50 ML innings with an ERA that resembled an Extenze advertising claim. Called up to fill in for a DL-bound ~~Corey~~ [player]Scott Feldman[/player], McHugh got a struggling Mariners offense with swiss cheese bats for 12 Ks and no walks in 6.2 for his first win - giving up three singles and no earned. I love that before the start, Bo Porter said McHugh is a "pitch to contact guy." Good thing the Mariners ain't got no contact right now! I watched some highlights of the Ks that game and was lukewarm impressed, but McHugh went out and shut down the A's, who have a pretty solid O these days. #Moneyball! So I decided to take a deeper look at his hot start to 2014 and break down what he could offer fantasy owners looking for some SP help:

Ambulance Chasers: Buying Low and Selling High on Injured Pitchers

April 28, 2014 | Uncategorized | 78 Comments

by: SethDaSportsMan

Dealing in the misfortunes of athletes is something you do without a heavy heart. Players, like us, feel pain. If you punch them in the face, do they not receive a cut under their eye? If you stick them with a hypodermic needle, do they not bleed? As fantasy baseball owners, we have less of a conscience. If a player's hurt, we basically employ a "screw you, get off my team" attitude -- but not before we trade him to someone else in our league, of course. I featured this column with suggestions last week of which injured or injury-prone hitters were worth buying low and selling high on. Today, I'll be delving into the pitchers that fall under those designations. It's not something Sister Mary Margaret would approve of, but taking advantage of injuries by either trading hurt players or speculating when one will become hurt, can be very beneficial to your fantasy team in the long run -- so pay attention!

That’s So Maybin

April 28, 2014 | Steals | 77 Comments

by: Mike

One of the perks of getting burned by the same player year after year (in this case [player]Cameron Maybin[/player]) is that I get to come up with a different pun for a title each season. This one wasn't my brainchild, though. It comes to us courtesy of Rudy Gamble. He's not just a stat guy. He's pretty hilarious, especially on Twitter. Maybin burns me every year because I get sucked in to the youth (he's still just 27) and the glimpses of upside he still flashes from time to time. Take last year for example, when he came back to the field for what ended up being just a handful of games, but still stole four bases. Maybin was one of my offseason choices for SAGNOF outfielders simply because he still has that 30-40 stolen base potential in his legs. He'll have to hit and hit well to earn his keep in the crowded San Diego outfield, and health is obviously a major concern, but when he's on the field he's still a good steals play. The center fielder will draw the Giants and Diamondbacks this week. Both teams are in the top-10 in baseball this season for steals allowed. Lots of options for steals with some recent injuries so let's get to it...

DraftKings – Our Pets’ Heads Are Fallin’ Off!

April 28, 2014 | DraftKings | 18 Comments

by: BTXJ

I’m just going to assume you’ve seen Dumb & Dumber, and if that’s not the case, drop what you’re doing, go find the DVD somewhere for five bucks, and start living your life right. Anyways, many seasonal fantasy baseball players are feeling like Lloyd Christmas after discovering Petey the parakeet’s head had “fallen off” that dark day in Providence, Rhode Island. A rash of injuries has the DL chock full of relevant players, which has owners all over fantasyland at their breaking point, just wanting to get away. “Where are we gonna go?” they say. I’ll tell you where. Some place warm - a place where the beer flows like wine - where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I’m talking about a little place called DraftKings. Okay, none of that beer and salmon talk is true, but there is no DL to frustrate us or invoke fear; and if it’s pink fish and pretty ladies you fancy, it’s a good place to win some extra cash to help get those things. Let’s find your Mary Swanson for tonight.

There’s Thumb Thing Harpering Here

April 28, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 904 Comments

by: Grey

...what it is ain't exactly clear. You gotta stop, doctor, take an MRI, see if any ligaments gone awry. Cause this is just more signs of a local Harper unravelin'. His hustlin' got my ass wondering where Chris Colabello is in all of this crisis. Harper had game. We had [player]Bryce Harper[/player]'s game. Behind the game. Ah, you didn't know it was gonna be the Public Enemy remix. You know, hustle is a'ight when you're trying to keep your honey in check. Or when you're trying to make an airplane that leaves in fifteen minutes and you have to do a number two in the airport bathroom before you get on the plane. Hustling to such an extreme that it knocks you to the DL at least once a year is not cool. You're out of control, peckerwood! It sounds like he could miss as much as two months, but official word on how long he's gonna be out has not come out yet. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball: