Bear or Bull: Moose on the Loose

May 28, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 41 Comments

Over the past few weeks, we've taken a closer look at veteran players such as David Ortiz, Matt Holliday, and Adrian Beltre to determine how much gas is left in their respective tanks and whether or not they're still capable of being the same fantasy studs that we've come to know over the past several years. Players who, in terms of their MLB careers, are in the autumn of the year as the late, great Frank Sinatra might say. However, this column's intent isn't to focus solely on the old guard who would be ideal candidates to endorse a product such as this. Now that it's just about two months (or almost one-third of the way) into the 2015 regular season, the sample size has become significant enough to be able to identify the players who have exhibited significant changes in skills or approach that could lead to sustainable changes in performance and production moving forward. That brings us to Mike Moustakas.

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Sun 5/11
	ARI \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| ATH \| OAK

Bullpen Report, Week 8: It’s Time for the Perk-ulator

May 28, 2015 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 65 Comments

by: Smokey

Any god fearing Jersey-ian grew up with the song of this week's title track. It was bred into our systems much like the IOU sweatshirt craze during the same time frame. It's catchy, is easy to sing, sounds like some sorta bubbles being blown somewhere, and there's some booty shaking. Bubbles and booty, what could be better? Another "B" obviously. Bullpens! I am turning this week's eye to not only Glen Perkins, but the entire Twins' bullpen. POerkins has rebounded fantastically from last years injury blip which lead to him being ineffective. He is the "watching paint dry", 9 k/9 closer that is doing it well. His effectiveness, he is 17/17 in save opps. That is basically like going all Curt Henning on the save department. This time next week he will be climbing the corporate ladder of the save chart, book it. The thing that I love is the set-up chaps that are running-a-muck, in a good way, to completely be crushing the hold department, namely Blaine Boyer and Aaron Thompson. They have both successfully made their way into the top-15 in holds on the year. A good bullpen will always, always go a long way to propel a successful team. It's just fact, the two don't usually meet at more then a passing glance from normal fantasy players, because they have their starters, and they have their closers. The middle is always sketchy, it's like where certain food comes from... who cares really? Just as long as it is prepared the way you like it before you eat it.

DraftKings: Long Kang

May 28, 2015 | DraftKings | 8 Comments

by: waterloo

Earlier this season, DraftKings did us all the favor and left a no named Jimmy Paredes at a mere $2,000 for a week. In a previous post, I wrote that I was going to take advantage of the pricing until they adjusted, which they eventually did, raising him to $4,000. This time around, my go-to guy is Jung-Ho Kang for the Pirates. Not only is Kang practically starting everyday for the Pirates, he's producing, too. It may not be the power numbers that he showed in South Korea, but the Pirates will take it. And I will, too. Kang has led me to cash in his past three starts, as he comes in at a cheap $3,300. I'll take it once again as long as he's in the lineup and as long as DraftKings doesn't become the wiser. Straight to the cash, homie. New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 20 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.

Archer Takes A Bow For K-ing 12 Mariners

May 28, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 648 Comments

by: Grey

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:

Prospect Profile: Alen Hanson

May 27, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 129 Comments

by: Mike

Alen Hanson was signed by the Pirates as a teenager way back in 2009, so it probably feels like he's been around forever. I guess this post is my way of saying I hope you didn't fall asleep on him, as he's finally getting close to the major leagues. Don't get me wrong - he won't be up anytime soon with Neil Walker established at second base, but we could see Hanson take over at the keystone in 2016. There are a couple of factors that I think have made Hanson an underrated fantasy prospect. One is that he's simply in a loaded system. The Pirates have one of the best farms in baseball. The other is that he falters on traditional prospect lists thanks to concerns over his defense as well as his makeup. So why does Hanson raise my Jolly Roger? Let's take a closer look in this week's profile...

The Gas House Gang, Part I

May 27, 2015 | Y to Z | 29 Comments

by: Paulie Allnuts

This is the first part in what will be a very special mini-series covering the fascinating history of "The Gas House Gang". Join Paulie over the next few weeks to uncover not just a story about baseball, but one about ourselves... -Jay

There have been many memorable teams in the storied history of baseball: McGraw’s feisty Baltimore Orioles squads of the Gay 90's; his NY Giant teams which dominated the early decades of the 20th century; the powerful Cub squads of the first decade of the 20th century; the several dynastic periods of Connie’s Philadelphia Athletic Mack-Men; the immortal Yankee dynasties of Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Jeter; the Bums of Brooklyn in the 40's-50's; the Big Red Machine; Earl Weaver’s Orioles of the late 60's-early 70's; and, of course, Charlie O’s mustachioed masters of the diamond, also of the early 70's. All of these teams were powerful; some were awesome; and, many were endearing. But, none of them were as colorful as the St. Louis Cardinal’s Gas House Gang of 1934.

DraftKings: Know When To Walk Away, Know When To Run

May 27, 2015 | DraftKings | 10 Comments

by: jasonwalker

Daily Fantasy Baseball is a lot of fun. A tremendous amount of fun, really. I hope you can tell by our writing and coverage here that we really have a passion and a heart for this game. Every day/night we look over the slate, check out the weather, lineups, matchups, etc., and roster a team, or teams, if you like. We watch in excitement, heartache and sometimes more heartache. We sweat, hold, pump fists, tweet, tweet some more, and then call it a night before doing it all over again. Heck, I'm smiling just thinking about it. But here's the thing. Sometimes, when you're not feeling it, just walk away for the night, turn off the phone and don't play. Wait, what? Why would you walk away when you are having a great time? Well, maybe you're not having a great time. Maybe it's a slate on which you just aren't feeling it or can't get a handle. Take the night off. Or, at least, don't play as much bankroll as you normally would. If you are a 10 percenter, which means 10 percent of your current balance is all you will play, at the max, then maybe on a night like I described you pare that back to 2-5 percent or only play cash games. I love to play, but there have been times when I wished I listened to my gut and cut it back because I just didn't know what to do at SP or struggled with putting together a fun, sound lineup for tournaments. I'll do my part here, I'll give you what I think for Wednesday's later games (330pm EST and later), the rest is up to you. Good luck! New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 25 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.

Your One Penny Reserve Bid On Callaspo Has Been Met

May 27, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 728 Comments

by: Grey

At first, it was reported that Alberto Callaspo rejected the trade to the Dodgers. Leaving Alex Guerrero (1-for-2) to stare at Callaspo's smugshot-slash-you mad bro? face. Then, later in the evening, Callaspo apparently approved the trade of him going to the Dodgers and Juan Uribe heading the other way. A commenter mentioned how in the preseason, the management didn't have faith in Mattingly to start Pederson, so they traded away Kemp. It's a fun theory. One that might have a morsel of truth, but I think this trade might backfire. Here's a scenario for our five girl readers: imagine you were trying to get your man to change their yellow-pitted t-shirt, so you remove all the stained t-shirts from their hamper and throw them away, even his Bob Marley Buffalo Soldier t-shirt. When he realizes all his stained shirts are gone, what does he do? Does he wear the new shirts you bought him? Or does he scribble an oddly racist-looking Bob Marley on a hand towel and tape it to his chest? Mattingly could play Alex Guerrero at third with Uribe gone, but Justin Turner had started at 3rd base five times in the last week, not Guerrero, even with Uribe still in LA, and Callaspo is a 3rd baseman. So Uribe's gone, but I think Mattingly just wears a masking-taped, hand towel now. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

One Man’s Trash: The San Francisco Treats

May 26, 2015 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 54 Comments

by: Big Magoo

Greetings all and welcome to the post-Memorial Day, all-Giants edition of One Man's Trash. If you took a fantasy vacation over the weekend in favor of the consumption of mass quantities of alcohol and charred animal flesh, well, good for you. That's what the holidays are all about - gluttony. Oh, and family and stuff, if you're into that kind of thing. In case you missed it, I'm here to inform you that Brandon Crawford (+35.3%) was the most added player in fantasy baseball this past week. While you're feasting on leftover burgers and potato salad this afternoon, you might be surprised to learn that Crawford ranks 1st among all qualified MLB shortstops in RBIs (31), on-base percentage (.382), and slugging percentage (.514), is tied for 1st with 6 HR, and is in the top 4 in both runs scored (23 - 4th) and batting average (.301 - 3rd) at that position. He's even chipped in 2 steals as well. His .345 BABIP (.296 career) and 15.8% HR/FB (6.7% career) suggest that his batting average and power numbers are likely to regress somewhat, but his K% is slightly down, LD% is slightly up, and his 38.8% hard hit percentage is 2nd among shortstops and 20th best in all of baseball. Also, the HR/FB ratio might not regress as much as you might think due to the fact that his 315.53 ft average fly ball distance is currently the 10th highest mark in MLB. He's basically performed at the level that was expected of Robinson Cano coming into this season. While Crawford is unlikely to maintain his current blistering pace, everything points to this season being a career year for the 28-year-old. Enjoy the ride. Here were a couple of other big adds and drops in fantasy baseball from this past week:

RCL Update, Week 8: It’s Enough

May 26, 2015 | Our Leagues | 35 Comments

by: J-FOH

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day filled with fun, booze, and fire. And if you used your booze to start that fire then you get bonus points. Fireball! Damn I loved that movie growing up, it taught me so much about life. Funny story, my mom took my brother, his friend, and I to see that in the theater not noticing it was rated R, but even when she figured it out let us stay and watch anyway. In hindsight, probably not the best idea when my eight and nine-year-old self would repetitively repeat "thats my pie!" and "we got bush!" at all the wrong times. Before I move on, I have to share one of my favorite scenes. Okay, enough screwing around. This week, we get the usual suspects (weekly leaders and top-10), plus the return of the top-5 trades according to me, because I write this and get carte blanche on that content. *Does Poindexter dance.*

DraftKings: Scoring Some Buchs

May 26, 2015 | DraftKings | 35 Comments

by: MattTruss

Hopefully everyone is rested up after the Memorial Day holiday and is ready for some DFS action. I know I am. There’s a slew of aces with mint match-ups throwing tonight, so I’ll be digging past the Clayton Kershaw vs. the Braves and Jacob deGrom (Are his initials written as J.d., J.deG. or J.G.? These are the things I think about) vs. the Phillies and getting into the nitty gritty. These guys are great, if you can afford them, by all means. I generally like to pair an ace with a cheap option with high strikeout upside. My favorite pairing option will be Clay Buchholz tonight. Alright, you can stop snickering now. Clay, of course has the ability to make me look like a complete moron tonight and go 1.2 IP and give up 8 ER, but, it’s the upside that intrigues me. It’s always a risk vs. reward vs. price battle with DFS and I like the potential return. Grey already gave you the Buchholz buy recommendation a few weeks ago. Since then his ERA is 2.49 and he’s struck out 18 in 21.2 IP while only walking 5. A funny thing happened on the way to everyone burying Clay and leaving him for dead. First, his insane .407 BAbip straightened out (.236 over the last 3 starts). Next, his luck leaving men on base normalized a bit. After two starts early in the year where he only left 12% and 28% of men on base (If you got on base, you scored basically) he’s stranded no less than 70% the last three starts, which is about league average. Finally, he got his Bullfrog sponsor back *insert rim shot*. Really though, the biggest thing we care about for DraftKings scoring, the strikeouts have been there all along. Clay is rocking the sunscreen as well as a 9.85 K/9. The Twinkies are bottom 5 in team OPS vs. right handers and the price is right tonight at $7,700. Let’s take a look at the rest of the picks and all make some Buchs tonight, shall we? New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 25 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.

Yanks To Retire Memorial Day

May 26, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 640 Comments

by: Grey

This was just announced by the Yankees' front office. "No Yankee will ever wear the last Monday of May on their jersey. 5/25-5/31 will all be retired. We dedicate this to all the Yankees who served honorably on federal holidays." When asked why Memorial Day and not Veteran's Day, the Yankees' brass said their roster celebrates Veteran's Day every day. The Yankees exploded for 14 runs yesterday on five home runs as Jeremy Guthrie (1 IP, 11 ER) got Vin Mazzacred! Chase Headley went 3-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 6th homer as Headley helped *pinkie to mouth* Chase! Guthrie. In the 1st inning, Brian McCann got into the action (1-for-3, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) with his 5th homer as he put up the bangfizzle, Stephen Drew added his one hit in five at-bats, his 5th homer, and, because Guthrie was doing a special Memorial Day giveaway with homers going to the first seven batters in attendance, even Slade Heathcott (2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) got into the action, hitting his 1st homer, and Slade Heathcott is merely just a name spit out by the Preppie Name Generator. But the one I really want to talk about after this clunky sentence intro is Brett Gardner (2-for-4, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and his 4th homer, hitting .285 and has 12 steals). Gardner gives you around the stats you were hoping to get from Jacoby Ellsbury, and at a fraction of the draft day cost. To quote Fonzie's horse, nay! It's not just Gardner's draft day cost, he's still likely cheap as dog balls to acquire in a trade. Everyone on the Yankees gets overrated, but somehow Gardner never does. Weird and interesting and everything you could want from a novel you find tucked away in someone else's beach blanket that you steal. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball: