I'm a self-confessed/afflicted Mariners fan. I have been since the days of The Kid, Bones and 'The Martinez Brothers'. I remember Mike Blowers catching fire in the second half of 1995 as Seattle surged to take over the AL West pennant from a team led by a guy with a fish for a last name. Fast forward 19 years - make sure you don't wear out your VCR doing that, it'll take a while - and the Mariners are still chasing an Angels team that's led by a guy with a fish for a last name, only now there is no Blowers, we traded for or signed at least 5 DHs in the off-season and get shut down by pitchers like [player]Brett Oberholtzer[/player], who sounds more like an item at IKEA than a major league ball player. All this to say, as a man who plays over at DraftKings, I know what to do with the pain of having this kind of struggle from my home team - take advantage of it. There's a reason [player]Brandon Maurer[/player] is only $5,500 over on the good 'ole DK. No, I'm not suggesting you play Maurer. You think I'd start with this depressing open and then tell you to roll him out there? His ERA is 6.99. ERA not predictive enough for you? How about an xFIP of 5.09? Or a K/9 of 4.76? Seriously, trade for Danny Worth at this stage, M's, and let him run out there in Maurer's stead please. But until they do, consider any and all Angels in play. Consider this your fall-back stack for the day which probably will be overplayed in GPP but should bring reasonable value. No Mariners fan is safe tomorrow, that doesn't mean you can't reap the benefits. And just in case you think I'm cray cray bae, HitterTron has got my back on this...and now it's covered in oil discharge...if you'll excuse me for a moment I'll go clean up and finish off the rest of calling out these DK values. Oh and if you're wondering where J-FOH is today, he called in sick with his own oily discharge going on. Feel free to Tweet at him random forms of sickness and hashtag it with #JFOHsIllness to make him feel better. No really, he loves ridicule. Promise!
Monthly Archives: May 2014
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Streetcar Named Middle Infielder
May 29, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 622 Commentsby: Grey
The Braves called [player]Tommy La Stella[/player] up to replace Fuggla. Here's what I said about a month ago, "Incredibly, we already had a Tommy La Stella fantasy post. Don’t you people sleep?! There, Dano compared him to Pedroia and not because he needs his tippy toes to get on a roller coaster. I think that comparison might be a tad bizzonkers. Or as the gentle fantasy writers of our day would say, “That’s a bit more bullish than I’d say.” Has any group of people said the word bullish more? This word feels like it’s dominating all fantasy conversations. It’s a polite way to say, someone is smoking more crack than another person. Of course, in a world of small sample sizes, anything could happen, but La Stellllllllllla looks like an NL-Only play with a chance for 5 homers, 7 steals and a decent average if he were called up in June." And that's me quoting me! Now that he's been called up, I'd add him in deeper mixed leagues (think 15+), but I still don't have high hopes for him outside of maybe a decent average. He's basically a forty-twenty. If Fredi Gonzalez had any brains in that squishy melon on his shoulders, he'd bat La Stella leadoff and move Heyward down the order. Smarts and managing baseball teams don't always go hand-in-hand though. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Bear or Bull: No More Mr. Price Guy
May 28, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 36 Commentsby: Jeremy
Ah yes, [player]David Price[/player]. I like to think of Price as a great pitcher who flies under the radar. He’s like the Spinal Tap of baseball. Feel free to call me out on this, I did five minutes of research/thinking in the shower for that simile. Sure, we all know his name, but how often does he come up when you compare him to his peers: [player]Clayton Kershaw[/player], [player]Justin Verlander[/player], [player]Felix Hernandez[/player], [player]Adam Wainwright[/player], and [player]Stephen Strasburg[/player]? Price is looking to dominate in what looks like his last year with the Rays. If he plays well, I fully expect the Yankees to offer him a $400 million, 10-year contract.
Prospect Power Rankings — Week 9
May 28, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 74 Commentsby: Scott Evans
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.
Lineup Maximizer: Go Jonny Go-mes Part Deux
May 28, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 5 Commentsby: paul
Welcome to the second edition of the Lineup Maximizer! If you’re here as a result of my Reddit AMA, glad to know that that day wasn’t all for naught. Kidding! My motivations for dispensing fantasy advice are purely altruistic.
Before we get under with this week’s streaming picks, let’s recap how we did last week in honor of commenter Simply Fred. Record-keeping and accountability are taken seriously around these parts.
Last Week & Season Results
16 AB, 2 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, .188 AVG.
My first edition's picks did perform as well as hoped, but if you agree with the process, results should follow over a larger sample. The question should be raised though, what should we expect from these players? Sure, most of them have favorable matchups, that's why I highlight them in the article. But they are still available in the vast majority of leagues for a reason, that reason being they aren't good enough to be owned in the vast majority of leagues.
I could try to compute a baseline scientifically, something like the rate at which replacement level hitters score runs, homers, etc. on a per game basis, but let's instead just do something that feels nice. A .250 average, that feels nice. If the hitters I suggest here end up getting one hit for every four at-bats, I think everyone would agree it was worth our time to do this. Also arbitrary, I'll aim for .5 runs per game, .5 RBI, .2 HR, and .2 SB. If one of every five players hits a home run (one per article), I think we all go home happy.
If you're a regular listener to the Razzball Hot Sheet and Razzball Radio then you know I wear a handsome turban and we Razzicians love our wOBA. "Guru, what the hell is wOBA?" That's a great question disembodied voice of Razzball Nation that sounds slightly like my ex-girlfriend. Brenda, stop stalking me! When it comes to my daily routine for DraftKings there are a few things I do: 1) Drink a Bloody Mary. 2) Check the daily salaries, cross out the overvalued guys. 3) Check the weather and the Vegas lines. 4) Look at batter vs. pitcher stats then ignore them. 5) Dive into the wOBA and drink another Bloody. Basically, wOBA (weighted on-base average) is a way to measure a hitter's overall offensive performance. wOBA is calculated by giving a value to each type of offensive stat including walks, singles, doubles, etc. with the player's totals for each being combined and then divided by their total plate appearances to arrive at their weighted on-base average. That explains why I have this tattooed on my chest all Memento-style: (0.72 x NIBB) + (0.75 x HBP) + (0.90 x 1B) + (0.92 x RBOE) + (1.24 x 2B) + (1.56 x 3B) + (1.95 x HR) / PA. Math is fun! Thanks, handy abacus. If you're curious to learn more check out The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball by Tom Tango and some other aliens that have a love for baseball stats and anal probing.
We have 12 games on the night slate with a couple aces on the mound in [player]Clayton Kershaw[/player] and [player]Felix Hernandez [/player]along with some pricey big bats that'll make putting together a solid team a challenge. Fortunately, we have the Hitter-Tron, the Stream-o-Nator and the DFSbot to help us out. Is that cheating? Hell, no! We're Razzaholics. Let's get to it, here’s your dirty turbaned Guru’s all-wOBA team for Wednesday 5/28. Of course all these players won't fit on one team, but there's a good chance you can get more than a few of them in tonight.
V-Neck Shirt Good, Yu-Neck Stiff Bad
May 28, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 868 Commentsby: Grey
For the 2nd time in two months, [player]Yu Darvish[/player] has woken with a stiffy. A stiff neck, that is. Perhaps he should swallow the Viagra pill rather than letting it dissolve in his mouth before bedtime. On the fo'serious, what's the problem with Texas and necks? I blame the NRA. They insert themselves in national debate, always pointing their finger at people and away from themselves. That's the Neck Rehab Association. That was clear, right? What does Yu's bed and pillow arrangement look like? Did he have his favorite Japanese architect of those tiny little cot-beds that are in hotels in Tokyo design his house? Maybe the Hello Kitty pillow is meant more for adornment rather than comfort. Can I have answers, I insist on truthiness. If I were the Rangers, I'd probably take a look at how he's sleeping, that's all I'm sayin'. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
It was easy to accept Jay(Wrong)'s offer to add an additional column when I heard his idea. The concept was simple: take a look through the most added and dropped players and decide which ones are actually deserving of their big gains or declines in ownership percentage. Every fantasy baseball platform has some version of the 'Most Added/Dropped' sheet, but for the purposes of this column, I'll use ESPN's data. I don't consider ownership percentages to be research. In fact, if you you are using ownership percentages as your only barometer for player evaluations, then you probably found Razzball by mistake. Welcome. We're here to help.
What is interesting about these numbers is that they offer a window into the minds of all the other teams out there patrolling the waiver wire. We see a player on our roster or in free agency with the double digit red/green numbers next to his name and we tend to think, "What am I missing?" There are two feelings I hate in fantasy baseball- the feeling that I just dropped somebody I shouldn't have, and the feeling I just picked up a guy who's about to go as cold as ice. God forbid we tick both boxes in the same move (I've done this).
Each week, we'll look at one of the biggest adds or drops, then I'll suggest one player from the most added column that I feel is actually trash, and one player from the most dropped list that is actually a treasure.
RCL Update, Week 9: Memorial Day, Perfect Timing Bro
May 27, 2014 | Razzball Commenters League | 28 Commentsby: Jay
Looking for the Razzball Podcast? TOO BAD! It’s now Razzball Radio, and you can check out all the episodes here!
With only two (three if you are including the eventual death of [player]Yordano Ventura[/player]'s elbow) notable names going on the Disabled List this past week ([player]Mike Napoli[/player] and [player]Noah Syndergaard[/player], who probably pulled something while pillaging a camp near the North Sea... HAHA Viking jokes, so good), things are looking a tad bit brighter. But not really, since there are still about 983 players currently on the DL according to my last count. Which seems low, but what do I know? Rudy does all my counting for me. And, as we took a moment this weekend, between relaxing and cooking stuff, to honor all the men and women, active, retired, and tragically lost while defending their county, in all the armed services, we should take a moment today to remember that [player]Jose Fernandez[/player] is awesome. [player]Prince Fielder[/player], well, he's fat. [player]Matt Wieters[/player]' elbow just seems to be one angry effer. [player]Kris Medlen[/player] is strikingly average, but some [player]Patrick Corbin[/player] could have been nice. Special thanks to [player]Bobby Parnell[/player] for the wake he's left in New York. [player]Jose Valverde[/player]... more like Jose LOLverde. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, which is probably the most apt metaphor ever. EVAAR. I mean, just check out my team's start of the season, in picture form:
So, after taking a moment yesterday to remember all of those brave souls that we've lost, and all those who have served and are serving now to preserve our way of life, let us take a moment today, Tuesday, to remember all the hamstrings that have been pulled, all the obliques that have exploded, and all the ulnar collateral ligament's that have just simply dropped dead, and honor their sacrifice. How did I honor them, you might ask? By doing what I usually do when perusing my leagues available player list...
So, after taking a moment yesterday to remember all of those brave souls that we've lost, and all those who have served and are serving now to preserve our way of life, let us take a moment today, Tuesday, to remember all the hamstrings that have been pulled, all the obliques that have exploded, and all the ulnar collateral ligament's that have just simply dropped dead, and honor their sacrifice. How did I honor them, you might ask? By doing what I usually do when perusing my leagues available player list...
My Fantasy Baseball brethen... 2014, the year of the DL... always remember.
I’m in three dynasty leagues that I impulsively attend to. I’m all about the win-now, so I’ll trade my top prospects for immediate impact. In all three of these leagues, I was looking to displace an empty prospect slot, and with my MLB catchers lacking value...
The following catchers were already owned in at least 2/3rd's of those leagues: [player]Austin Hedges[/player], [player]Jorge Alfaro[/player], [player]Gary Sanchez[/player], [player]Blake Swihart[/player] (be me, in one league), [player]Christian Bethancourt[/player] and [player]Reese McGuire[/player]. [player]Tom Murphy[/player] (probably because of his eventual stomping ground, Colorado) and [player]Stryker Trahan[/player] are also owned in at least one of the leagues.
DraftKings – Even the Rain Has East Coast Bias
May 27, 2014 | DraftKings | 4 Commentsby: Schlurricane
If you haven’t heard about the fiasco surrounding the new Dodgers television deal then good for you. There are a lot more important and interesting things to talk/think/know about. If you want to know check out this article. The Dodgers are finding other ways to get their fans an opportunity to watch and it’s benefitting true baseball fans everywhere. It seems that the pitching staff is attempting to throw no-hitters on a daily basis so that MLB Network will show the late innings of games across the country including in the Los Angeles Area.
So… cable packages are skyrocketing out west. Join the party. Gas prices are highest in the country. Home prices are astronomical. Magic Johnson can’t be blamed for all of this. What has caused this? Well, it could be the fact that you get to watch championship caliber sports all year around—Seahawks, 49ers, Sharks, Kings, Ducks, Warriors, Giants and A’s. It could be that you don’t have to stay up until 2am to watch a full slate of games on a given day. Or, it could be the weather.
As I look across the slate of games on the menu today, every single game not being played on the west coast has a chance of rain. Every west coast game has a 0% chance of rain. I had to check 5 times to believe it myself. Yes, a couple of parks have retractable roofs which can minimalize the weather impact and some have only 20% chance, but that’s a scary sight to look at for daily fantasy.
Losing sucks. And when your players don’t play you tend to lose. I don’t wanna play that game today. I don’t want to hinge my dollars on the meteorologists. They have the only profession where a success rate worse than a major league hitter is acceptable. I’m not scared of rain, but as we all know by now millionaire baseball players are deathly afraid of playing in the rain. So there might not be too much baseball happening until 10pm EST.
No need to take the day off from Draftkings! It’s time for a late night party. There are options to participate in contests that only include early games or late games depending on the schedule for the day. Today offers “Late Games Only” contests on Draftkings. Let’s head out west. Remember, if you haven’t already signed up, this link will get you a free contest right off the bat—insinuating you have to hit the ball first. If you’re a swing and miss type of person, this probably isn’t for you. You'll have to pony up some money.
These are my picks and I scoured every bit of information. As the whifey will attest, I’ve overlooked two things in my entire life—ok maybe that’s my version of the truth. Make sure you take a look at what the DFSBot has to say about points projections and price relative value before you set your lineups. Mrs. DFSBot has nothing bad to say about him so he must be perfect. Or abusive. I mean definitely perfect.
I put a poster of David DeJesus up on my bedroom wall. Cougs said to me, "Grey, why do we have a picture of David DeJesus on our bedroom wall?" She was right. It was silly to put DeJesus up on my wall. So I cut out his face, cut out his lips, cut out his eyes and taped it around her face with masking tape, so she could see and talk to me through DeJesus. Then I asked my religious poster-ography if it could please leave my sweet, sweet upside pitchers alone. DeJesus said back to me, "Yes, can you please untape this thing from my head now?" DeJesus spoke to me! Too bad I didn't do this prior to [player]Yordano Ventura[/player] going out and getting rocked (2 2/3 IP, 5 ER) and then complaining after the game of elbow discomfort. Dah! As we know by now, no pitchers get away with elbow discomfort without a DL stint. The MRI will either lead him to a 15-day DL stint or a 12-18 month one. Lowercase yay. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
