It wouldn't truly be baseball without a plethora of injuries to grace your fantasy teams' rosters, now would it?
As I predicted last week, [player]Prince Fielder[/player] is set to undergo surgery, but he isn't the only player lost for an extended period of time. Here are some of the fallen from Week 8 and perhaps some players who could actually be returning (yes, believe it or not, they still practice modern medicine in MLB clubhouses!)
Monthly Archives: May 2014
Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!
The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.
I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!
Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.
It's not even June and the Mariners are on their second leadoff hitter in [player]James Jones[/player]. The 25-year-old center fielder has hit at the top of the Mariners lineup and looks to remain there for the foreseeable future. Yes, I copied and pasted that last sentence from the [player]Abraham Almonte[/player] post. Jones has looked good though, hitting .306 with a .377 OBP in the twenty games since his call up. More importantly, he's swiped three bags already and projects to steal around 15 bases by year's end. That's a serviceable number for deeper mixed league owners struggling to find steals in their lineup. Jones stole 25+ in each of his last two minor league seasons, and he's currently sporting a 62% ground ball percentage which is allowing him to maximize his speed. That percentage is seventh among outfielders with at least 50 plate appearances. This week, Jones gets a favorable match-up against the Tigers, who have allowed the tenth most stolen bases this season (34). A battery of [player]Anibal Sanchez[/player] and [player]Alex Avila[/player] has quickly become one of my favorite to run against since beginning this column. Jones probably won't get to face that specific battery this time around, but one of our other SAGNOF picks will. Here are some of this week's steals plays in fantasy baseball...
With 11 of the 15 games pegged for the early contests on DraftKings, it’s a weird day to be a DFS baseball player, but a damn proud day to be an American. Thousands of men and women died for our freedom; so first and foremost, honor those brave souls any way you can, because without them, we wouldn’t be “enjoying” the daily grinds and the sweats (amongst many other [more important] things). Quit ogling the X-Men for one second and embrace the real heroes.
Now, back to the unique Memorial Day schedule - for the sake of not wasting research cycles, and in honor of my right to a Sunday Fun Day, this column will focus solely on the nighttime four-game set (i.e. the late games). To stand out in GPPs with such limited selection, it will take some creativity and a diamond in the rough or two, but let’s see what advantages we can find in just eight lineup cards. Of course, in-house tools like Hitter-Tron, Steam-o-Nator, and DFSBot are also here to help too. Oh, and on a random side note – why doesn’t [player]Mike Olt[/player] change to #45? Olt 45 – it works every time. Billy Dee would be proud. Someone pass this along to Olt 45 – he can thank me later.
What's more American than Memorial Day weekend? How about an ex-country singer-dating, gun-toting, Texan, a guy that looks like he puts a hot dog in the fly of his pants and goes up to female reporters and asks them if they're hungry, a guy who we call Red State Jeter, a guy that looks like he has the rhythm of Mark Madsen, someone who has Ted Nugent's special I'm-a-huntin' phone number, a guy that Roger Clemens probably watches and thinks, "I wonder if he'll have sex with my wife while I watch," throwing a no-hitter? With a no-hitter on Memorial Day, [player]Josh Beckett[/player] just took your 'Murica and raised it back to its 1950's 'Murica when we were more obvious about our contempt for other nations. Though for our fantasy porpoises -- hey, dolphins! -- I gotta be honest, I'm a bit worried about him throwing 128 pitches, but his peripherals suggest a guy that if healthy can be a solid fantasy number three. He is not an ace now, so if suddenly people think that, feel free to shop him. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
It’s that time of year again when your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru digs out his star-spangled turban, the seersucker suit, and attempts to pull the ol’ “hotdog” trick on the unsuspecting ladies at the annual Razzball cookout. Johnny Manziel’s got nothin’ on me! Welcome once again to the Razzball Lounge where your favorite fake baseball scribes gather to crunch the numbers, drink the grog, and avoid the Tehol – hey, the kid gets all handsy after a few! We raise our glasses this Memorial Day weekend to all those that served and we pour out a little to all those boys of summer that never made it home. Let’s lower the Razzball flag to half-mast in horror honor of the latest fantasy casualties: [player]Prince Fielder[/player] broke his cervix (who knew?), [player]Ryan Braun[/player] strained his oblique (‘roids help with healin’, cust kayin’), [player]Nolan Arenado[/player] broke a finger sliding (here’s a finger for you Nolan) and [player]Mike Moustakas[/player] burned the roof of his mouth on the Hot Pocket Mama Mous made for him. Fielder looks done for the year, Braun was done the minute his medicine cabinet contained nothing but baby aspirin and Ben-Gay, Arenado is down a digit and good ol’ Moosetacos will be spending the summer in Omaha – oh, no, he just fell into the thresher. RIP Moosetacos. Yes, we’re grieving our fake baseball teams in the lounge this long weekend. At the bar we find Sky crying in his Islay, “I’m an organ donor and Arenado can have one of my fingers.” Sky, NO!!!! *raises machete, cuts off pinky* Over at the jukebox is our resident jukebox hero Jay(Wrong) playing “Candle in the Wind” for the 23rd time. “This one’s for you my sweet Prince.” *bottle smashes above head* Sauntering out of the ladies room, zipping up his fly, arm around his latest conquest, is international man of mystery Tehol Beddict, “Why the long faces, gang? I’ve been in last place since April.” *gets punched in the face by J-Foh, breaks nose* Here at the pool table is your humble-but-nonetheless-dejected Guru. *closes eye, takes aim, fires cue ball through window* “All is lost, I’m going to start playing fantasy cricket.” And, with the Razzball crew at an all-time low, who should suddenly grace us all with his presence? The one and only Grey Albright, looking all Gatsby as he exits his convertible amidst a plume of sweet smelling vapor, a coug on each arm, mustache glistening in the summer sun. “Gentleman, don’t lose faith, it’s a long season, and even if we win, if we win, HAH! Even if we win! Even if we play so far above our heads that our noses bleed for a week to ten days; even if God in Heaven above comes down and points his hand at our side of the field; even if every man woman and child held hands together and prayed for us to win, it just wouldn't matter because all the really good looking girls would still go out with the guys from Yahoo because they've got all the money! It just doesn't matter if we win or we lose. IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! Now, Guru, fire up your jammer crammer machine and someone get me a goddamn umbrella drink!”
What do the Rangers do now? Prince has gone belly up. [Jay's Note: More like belly all around, amiright? You know, because he's fat.] Besides [player]Yu Darvish[/player], their pitching is hot garbage. I'm 50/50 if they try to make a deal for [player]Kendrys Morales[/player]. What's really going on in Arlington? Mitch "I get relevant every May" Moreland is what's going on. Over the last three years, the month of May has been by far his best. He's hit .312, with 17 dongs, 46 runs and 38 RBI's. Maybe he has a thing with the letter 'M'? MMMHHHH! - [player]Mitch Moreland[/player] May I? Mitch May Moreland... Is May his middle name? Either way, something good has happened for triple M. [player]Prince Fielder[/player]'s neck couldn't handle all that weight it's been carrying around, and now Mitch gets his shot again. Hey J-FOH, Mitch has never been able to put it together for a whole season? That is correct, diligent random commenter. Mitch has never been able to put it all together for a full season and I don't expect that to change. What I do know is May is almost over, Mitch loves to hit in May, Prince is now a popper... of pain killers, and opportunity is the drug we all subscribe to in fantasy baseball.
[player]Madison Bumgarner[/player] sits on top of the Stream-o-Nator today at a $29 value, yet he'll cost you only $9,600 on DraftKings. There's a lot to like here in both the pitcher himself and today's match-up. This season, Bumgarner sports a 9.97 K/9 to go along with a 2.61 BB/9. He'll face the Twins today, who have the seventh worst strikeout percentage in baseball. For a price tag under $10K, it's as good a play as we'll find. There are a couple of $12K+ options in [player]Adam Wainwright[/player] and [player]Masahiro Tanaka[/player], but I'm finding that spending that much on pitching cripples my ability to spend what I want on hitters. If I can find an arm around $10K instead, I'd rather jump on that and land some better bats. Bumgarner looks like one of those arms today.
If you are new to DraftKings, use our promo link to get started. New players that click on that link will get a free contest ticket with a first time deposit (only new users eligible). The winner of the contest gets entry into our $500k Showcase with a $100k top prize. Also, if you haven't tried the DFSBot via Rudy, check it out: it's a fantastic resource that compares projected values to actual DFS prices for the day. Here are some of today's other picks for DraftKings contests on 5/25/2014...
Minor Accomplishments — Week 8
May 25, 2014 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 97 Commentsby: Scott Evans
No prospect in baseball brings a higher ceiling than [player]Javier Baez[/player]. That much is noted. He gave us a glimpse of the limitless potential last summer when he reached Double-A, drilling 35 XBH (20 HR) in 240 plate appearances during the season's final two months. Then he showed up at big league camp this spring and knocked 5 HR in 18 games, and baseball began to wonder how long the Cubs could keep a talent like this in the minors. I drank the Baez Kool-Aid -- I drank lots of it. I fantasized about scenarios that would've had Javy in the bigs by now, and I advised you to stash him in redraft leagues, and not let go. But then the cant-miss 21-year-old proceeded to miss. He missed just about everything that was thrown to him, to be clear, racking up a K% at Triple-A Iowa north of 35% through the first month and a half of the season. Throughout it all, though, I told you to be patient. I told you he'd turn it around, and once he did, he wouldn't be long for the minors. I admit, anxious feelings about Baez began to creep into the back of my mind in recent weeks, and to a degree, they're still present. These past 10 days, however, have provided much needed relief, as Baez has posted a slash line at .414/.419/.897 with 3 homers and 5 doubles. It'll take several more weeks like this one to repair his line on the year, which sits at .201/.268/.388, but I believe Javy will be up to the challenge. And if, by chance, too much damage has been done to salvage the Triple-A line, he'll still have a clean slate to work with when he surfaces at Wrigley later this summer.
As always, probable pitchers are subject to change. For a look at all fantasy baseball streamers, click this link.
The story of [player]Edinson Volquez[/player] and [player]Johnny Cueto[/player] is the Tale of Two Reds.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times to have Dusty Baker as a manager. It was the age of the possibility, with two pitchers on the same team going after the Cy Young every year. It was the age of those two hurlers sharing an apartment and duking it out on PlayStation. It was the epoch of mid-90s fastballs, it was the epoch of a Cincinnati team that never made it, it was the season of 2008... It was the season of throwing way too many pitches, but it was the spring of hope ...
[player]Nolan Arenado[/player] left last night's game with a left mallet finger fracture. Despite how it sounds, he suffered the injury sliding head first into second base, and not from a giant sledge hammer. That's a broken middle finger for the laymans. The team is saying Arenado could be sidelined for 4-6 weeks, but likely more if he opts for surgery. Oh Nolan, you could really use that middle finger right about now. Arenado has been every bit the dream Coors third baseman we all thought he could be this year, triple slashing a mean .305/.333/.489, with six home runs and 28 RBI. This is just bad news. The good news? Razzball favorite and general disappointment to fantasy owners, [player]Josh Rutledge[/player] will be called up to replace Arenado on the roster. I like to think anyone playing in Colorado is worth a look and JR is no exception, especially if you're hurting at the hot corner. Rutledge did well in limited time with the Rockies in April, batting .318 with a home run in 22 ABs. He played 88 games in 2013, but struggled to hit for average despite flashing some speed and power, and was eventually sent down. In 12 team leagues, I might hold off on grabbing Rutledge until he shows us something, but I'll be watching him as intensely as the last three episodes of Breaking Bad. Here's hoping he can fill the Nolan Arenado-sized hole in our hearts until that finger fully heals.
Here's what else happened in fantasy baseball Friday night:
DraftKings – Houston We Have a Problem, Kluber to the Rescue
May 24, 2014 | DraftKings | 6 Commentsby: Geoff
I had it all setup, I was going to come on here and advocate you buying my favorite breakout player of 2014, [player]Dallas Keuchel[/player]. I compared him to my favorite 90s wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. I even nicknamed Keuchel's slider the diamondcutter after Page's famous finishing move. There were fireworks, boobs, and jokes about the Mariners inability to hit lefties. I even fit in a jab at Teen Mom turned Pornstar Farrah Abraham's lack of understanding of Memorial Day. Well I guess I still got that! Then Bo Porter decided sometime between my bedtime and wakeup that he was going to push back my Southpaw Sweetheart. Well that's fine Bo Porter, I already thought you were a dink. In fact if I ever see you in person, I'm going to walk by you, wait until you are a safe distance away, and then say terrible things and run.
I all seriousness I can't blame you for this move Keuchel did throw 128 pitches on Monday. So it makes sense. Well anyway I'll just move on to another one of my favorite Aces in the making in [player]Corey Kluber[/player]. His Manager is Terry Francona and he and I have an understanding because we both resemble personified turtles. He'd never do this to me!
Starting Kluber today will take some balls. He's going against the Orioles who have been scoring runs in bunches the last week or so. Maybe we'll get lucky and Chris Davis won't play to be with his wife, who's scheduled to give birth tomorrow. Even if Davis is in the lineup fear not; Corey K's is getting to the point of being matchup proof. With a K rate of 10.13 and a walk rate of 2.06 on the season he's pitching like an ace. He get's strikeouts in bunches and in his last 4 starts his k/9 is 12.4, that's a number that's tough to ignore. With a price of $10,300 he's not cheap but well worth the coin.
Before we proceed any further with this madness, let me get in a quick shameless plug. Did you start the season with a roster than included [player]Prince Fielder[/player]? [player]Jose Fernandez[/player]? Did you not listen to Grey and drafted [player]Matt Moore[/player]? Have you been in a coma and completely forgot to change your roster and [player]Mike Moustakas[/player] is your 3rd baseman? Well, get on over to Draftkings, sign up, and let good old Doctor Lifshitz be your guide. Bonus! I don't charge for prostate exams.
OPS Leagues: Having A Higher Slugging Than Stanton
May 24, 2014 | OPS Leagues | 47 Commentsby: Tom Jacks
If anything, highlighting [player]Giancarlo Stanton[/player] after doing just that a couple weeks ago means that [player]David Ortiz[/player] finally has a worthy challenger to the OPS league crown. Regardless, I’m not changing my picture (at least not yet). Anyway, since I recently discussed how Stanton is arguably #1 in OPS leagues, I was curious to see who has a higher slugging than Giancarlo and take a closer look at those players. On a semi-related note, I’m going to do another OBP roundup next week and will include as many of the players suggested in this week’s comments (first come, first served? typed? discussed?) because I decided on that as I was typing this sentence and now seems like a good place to end it. So here are the guys who have had a higher slugging than Mr. Stanton in 2014:
