Bullpen Report, Week 16: Something’s Brewin’ for Holds

July 23, 2015 | Middle Relievers | 30 Comments

Here I thought the Brew Crew were a dying entity this year with all this talk of punting and trading all their mid-level talent. For soothe, they have had an impressive last 30 days in the Holds department. It isn't just one guy garnering them either... It is a multi-syllabic hold dragon with three heads. Each head is completely different and has a really cool story. The first is the Fresh Prince of Holds, Will Smith. He has basically been what we all thought Jonathan Broxton would be this year, but probably with more success. Over the last 30 days he has 5 holds, 2 Wins, and a K/9 rate over pushing 14. That is sassy with a Jor and extra emphasis on the dache. The next is Michael Blazek, who in some weird way is basically Jeremy Jeffress's boy by name only. I will call them Smoke, and yes please. Common sense is there for anyone who knows dudes history. He is my honorary hero and on the Smokey hall of fame wall with Lincecum, Chris Perez, and Dock Ellis. So to their stats before I teeter out from pure excitement... Blazek and Jeremy have both garnered 4 holds over the last 30 and form a power/finesse RH combo in front or beside Smith, and in front of K-Rod. With all the trade talk surrounding basically everyone in baseball, it seems if K-Rod gets bounced out I have them Smith and Jeffress in a tie, then Blazek for saves, with Broxton on ready for that veteran preference. So let's see what other bags of factoidal goodness I can come up with and of course the Holds chart for some good toilet reading...

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DraftKings: Go Big Or Go Home

July 23, 2015 | DraftKings | 3 Comments

by: waterloo

Happy first Thursday after the All-Star break. I won't lie, I missed sitting down with a glass of Pinot Noir to write my weekly advice piece last Wednesday. The first thing I noticed when I opened up my DraftKings app was how damn expensive Clayton Kershaw is. I mean, he's still the best pitcher in baseball despite his numbers not reflecting it this year, but is he worth spending $14,500 on? Well, he's facing the Mets, so yeah. In face, my last article was title "Dream of Californication" due to the amount of Dodgers and Angels in my lineup. That title could apply here, too. Let's get straight to the cash, homie. New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 15 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.

Is That M-Brant Still Baroque?

July 23, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 568 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Michael Brantley went 4-for-5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs with his 7th homer. One big day for a 2nd rounder is more than Ian Desmond owners can say. Yes, everything's better when compared to Ian Desmond. "Maw, this spinach is still half-frozen and spinach juice is dripping into my Salisbury steak." "In some countries, all children have is a 2nd round draft pick of Ian Desmond." "You're right, maw, you're right. I'm an ingrate!" That's a 34-year-old you after coming up from your mom's basement for dinner. One of my biggest regrets of this season was not labeling Brantley a Noid and telling you to avoid. I didn't rank him in the preseason crazy high so you would draft him, but I didn't outright say, "Look elsewhere, prematurely balding man." Meh, I guess my regrets could be worse. I mean, look at Lindsay Lohan's last ten years. If you own Brantley, I think at this point you have to hold tight and either go down with the ship or hope some of his cream rises -- mixed metaphor points! If you don't own Brantley like me, well, whew. I'm empathetic though. Kinda. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Second Half Rookie Nookie

July 22, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 180 Comments

by: Mike

Here's a prospect post that even a redraft leaguer can love. At Razzball there are a lot of great tools, but the one I use the most when looking at potential trades or player acquisitions is the player rater. It's basically a way to evaluate players based on Steamer's projections for the rest of the year. What makes it particularly useful is the fact that it's also updated daily by Rudy to account for playing time changes, lineup changes, injuries, etc. I thought it would be fun to look at how our rookies are faring in the machine. I found 54 players in the rater who were under the 130 AB/50 IP cutoff to start the year. Then I sorted into three subcategories for the hell of it. I'm sure I've forgotten a couple of names (hopefully no big ones) and there's probably nothing incredibly enlightening to glean from this (Correa is good at baseball and projects to be good at baseball in the second half...thanks Mike!). But...there were some surprises for me when I gathered it together. At any rate, hopefully it spurs some discussion and provides a snapshot for the massive wave of quality prospects we're seeing reach the majors in 2015.

The Most Under-Drafted Player of the Last Five Years

July 22, 2015 | Y to Z | 14 Comments

by: paul

Who was actually good... Last time, I used ADP data and player values to determine Kyle Lohse was the most under-drafted player of the last five years. Turns out, there are some assumptions in the calculation that could be tweaked, and the result could be a totally different most under-drafted player. Go figure! The methodology was to take the difference between a player's preseason ADP and his end-of-season rank to determine "undervalued-ness". This time we're still going to take the difference, but it'll be between the square root of his ADP and the square root of his EOS rank. Why the square rooting? The reason is to give more weight to better players, which square rooting accomplishes. For reference, here's the list from last time (that won one lucky man a Razzball T-Shirt):

DraftKings: DFS Crushes

July 22, 2015 | DraftKings | 9 Comments

by: jasonwalker

I get them all the time. The DFS man-crush. The players in the game that I latch onto and can't stop rostering them, through the good times and bad. This isn't a bad thing. In fact, when you know a guy is in a good spot, it's important that you not bail like a newb at the first 0-4. Park is good, he's making hard contact, the handedness is in his favor again, then don't worry, just go with it. In fact, it may make sense to commit to a player for a whole week if he's locked in and hitting with authority. Right now my DFS crush has been J.D. Martinez and has been for almost two months. I've had exposure into J.D. almost every game for between 30-45 games and the results have been fantastic. He's been the top hard contact/expected power player over the last 30 days and has launched 13 home runs over that period of time. There have been clunkers, too, but knowing he was going good and having the prices way below his production, those days were mere speed bumps on the way to the cash freeway. Some crushes last shorter than others. The 2014 summer of Scooter Gennett was fun. Johnny Paredes had his week or two this season and Gerardo Parra has been on man crush status for some guys as long as I've been on Martinez. Parra is still inexpensive, too. The newest sensation is Kyle Schwarber in Chicago. The catcher eligible slugger popped two home runs and scored 40 points Tuesday night, which may have just made many a DFS player swoon right into crushdom. They wear off eventually - everything has to come to an end, but it's a fun ride. 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.

Nola Tengo

July 22, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 655 Comments

by: Grey

"I don't know what my face is doing right now." "It looks like you ate a full Tony Luke's cheesesteak and forgot to swallow." "No. I mean, I did, but I took the sub out of mouth and put it in my glove compartment for later. But this is something else. Feel my cheeks, they're, like, pushed up." "You get that f**kin' Botox?" "No! I'm a 45-year-old construction worker with bad knees. Why would I get Botox?" "Then what's wrong with your cheeks? You're freaking me out!" "Wait, I know what it is. I'm...I'm smiling and I'm a Phillies fan. This is better than the day Charlie Manuel stopped at our job site to use our Porta-Potty!" Yesterday, Aaron Nola looked great -- 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, and Phillies fans, or Phans, have something to smile about. I watched a portion of the game and he looked like he could be an ace. Love, love, lurve the control and mid-90's fastball. At worst, he's a number three. I was pretty jazzed at what I saw. Whenever you have a guy that has great command and can strike out people, there's a chance for wonderful. With that said (hold on to the starboard, Grey's turning around!), he's a rookie and there will be some Growing Pains, and not the good kind of boners. I would absolutely own him, but in shallower leagues I'd be careful of roofies. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

One Man’s Trash: May the Schwarber Be with You

July 21, 2015 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 48 Comments

by: Big Magoo

Kyle Schwarber (+46.9%) was the most added player in fantasy baseball this past week. What hasn't been said about this elite prospect over the past few weeks? Here's an interesting stat that might surprise you. He's sneaky fast! Ok, maybe not, but it is a fun piece of trivia that could impress your friends and co-workers at the next social gathering. You'll be the life of the party! Schwarber is back with the Cubs after a brief cup of coffee in June to serve as the club's DH during interleague play. Due to Miguel Montero's recent thumb injury that's likely to keep him on the DL for another month or more, Schwarber has a chance to log some serious playing time in the near future. In 34 plate appearances at the MLB level this season, he's produced a .375/.412/.563 triple slash line with a homer, 8 runs scored, and 6 RBI. His minor league numbers aren't too bad either, as he combined to hit .323/.430/.591 with 16 homers, 46 runs, and 49 RBI in 310 PA across the AA and AAA levels this season. Power, pedigree, and catcher-eligibility - oh my! Could be a difference maker this year. Grab him if he's somehow still available in your league. Here are a couple of other significant adds and drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:

Kyle Hendricks: Pitch Perfect 3

July 21, 2015 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 3 Comments

by: Davidwiers

With apologies to the talented Anna Kendrick, if Kyle Hendricks can sing a decent version of Don't You (Forget About Me), then I would absolutely accept Hendricks to step in for the next Pitch Perfect. Heck, even if Hendricks can't sing, he's shown enough control in his pitching career to warrant some praise. On top of his excellent 1.55 BB/9 this year — and 1.61 for his career — Hendricks is flashing a few more strikeouts this year. Rather than wax poetic about his control, check out the table below for his rankings among the 77 starting pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched this season (prior to yesterday's games). Arbitrary endpoint alert, but it represents about half a season, perfect for this time of year.

RCL Update, Week 16: Candles

July 21, 2015 | Our Leagues | 58 Comments

by: J-FOH

As you can see I didn't go with the traditional dong GIF. Instead, I went with the look of horror on the ladies face when you tell them you play fantasy baseball GIF. You could be cool and say "fantasy football: because that's what the cool kids do". Or so I hear. Speaking of fantasy football, have you been following Jay on the football side? Wait a minute, why am I making a shameless plug for the football side? I'm talking about dongs and that is Razzball baseball. Don't worry, I have a GIF of the Donger. Who would I be to deny you guys... and girls of some dong in action? Trust me, that's totally safe for work. If this was the comments section, I could start the countdown to when Sky would post the girl getting pelted in the face with hot dogs GIF. Speaking of Sky, have you played DFS? It might be better than regular fantasy, and no, I don't mean H2H fantasy, that shizz sucks.

DraftKings: Left on Greene

July 21, 2015 | DraftKings | 29 Comments

by: MattTruss

Remember when Shane Greene was a thing? Those were the days, spring had just sprung and there was so much hope, so much optimism. Your team ERA was so pretty then. You had a shiny new toy fresh from the free agent pool and after his second of two 8 IP, 0 ER gems, you were feeling like the smartest guy your league. Then, April 24th happened. 4 IP, 8 ER vs. the lefty-heavy Indians lineup. Still you believed and then, 4.1 IP, 7 ER. You were wounded, beaten, bloodied and you team ERA was approaching the double digit mark. If this sounds familiar, it’s OK, we’ve all been there. Now is the time to act and seek a little revenge against the one who hurt you. It became apparent fairly early that Greene had some trouble with southpaws. In fact, his season splits read like a hall of famer to be, lefties are slashing .349/.401/.592. There are a handful of pitchers I adore stacking against and when Greene was optioned to AAA, I was sad to lose one of the best. Aaron Harang and Bud Norris can only do so much here. Greene is back now though and in his first start back in the majors proceeded to go 4.2 IP and give up 7 ERs. There’s the Shane we know and love. I really can’t dream up a more nightmarish match-up for Shane besides maybe the Yankees in the house that Jeter built. Seattle can go lefty-heavy with the best of ‘em and I could easily see another 3 IP, 8 ER outing here. There’s not a Seattle lefty I won’t be trying to squeeze into my lineup tonight and I’ll mention one or two below so you don’t forget. Just remember, left on Greene and you’ll be on the road to sweet redemption. 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.

Piscotty Ready For His Cup Of Coffee

July 21, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 583 Comments

by: Grey

The Cardinals called up their top hitting prospect, Stephen Piscotty, who has a great eye, and could hit .320 with 20+ homers and 15+ steals in his prime. What will he do this year though? Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! He could play 1st base for the suddenly old-looking and decrepit Mini Donkey. Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty could play some outfield, but where? Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! I'm wondering something else. The Cardinals make a mountain out of molehill prospects, always. A prospect no one cares about comes up and the Cardinals make them look terrific. So, will Piscotty come up and be the opposite? Like the Law of Inverse Properties, which is in no way related to the douchey guy on HGTV that hosts Income Property. Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! Piscotty Doesn't Know! I'd grab Piscotty in all leagues since he's essentially Matt Holliday right before he entered his prime, but I'm guessing Piscotty won't play enough to be a factor this year in shallower than 15-team mixed leagues. He could though. Grey doesn't know! Grey doesn't know! Grey doesn't know! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball: