Guess who's back? Back again! No, that's not The Greek God of Walks, Kevin Youkilis, sufferer of chronic back pain, singing. Besides, it's "who's back," not "whose back." We're not trying to identify a back! Byron Buxton's back, baby, yeah. With every positive reaction, there's an equal opposite negative reaction, or so said Einstein when he was fiddling with refrigerator magnets. And the negative reaction to Buxton coming back is Aaron Hicks hit the DL. Too bad, so sad. Buxton didn't do much in his first stint in the majors, but he could be easily as good as Schwarber, Sano or any other rookie nookie that's got your cookie all melty. I would grab Buxton in every league. I'm excited. Uppercase yay! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Monthly Archives: August 2015
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We Rebuilt This City On Rock And Roll
August 19, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Keeper Leagues | 91 Commentsby: Mike
It happens every year. Bath time is disrupted by the ringing of my flip phone. Thinking it's Subway getting back to me about my sandwich artist application, I rush out of the tub to answer. Alas, it's just a college buddy wanting me to fill an abandoned team in his dynasty league. Now there's water all over the floor. These teams are almost always terrible. It's like buying a car and finding out there's no engine and the seat cushions smell like homicide. Now what? We rebuild it baby! Whether the team's suckiness is your own doing or the work of a deadbeat previous owner, rebuilding can be painful. If the team is just completely barren or is full of bloated contracts, there are players you can target now to speed up the process and get things moving in the right direction.
[player]Drew Smyly[/player]'s first start in over three months didn't exactly go as planned. The left-hander opted for the rehab route over season ending surgery on his torn left labrum, and managed to make it back in time to contribute. Despite successfully coming back, Smyly's outing on Sunday didn't have the best results. He tossed four innings, surrendering five runs — including a pair of solo shots — on seven hits and two walks. There was good news as Smyly managed to sit down four Rangers on strikes and induced 11 swinging strikes on 95 pitches.
One of the statistics that a lot of daily fantasy players look at is Weighted On-Base Average, or wOBA for short. wOBA attempts to credit extra base hits and find the statistical balance between the values of all the possible ways to get on base. This number attempts to show the true value of a hitter, or pitcher, in its form.
Daily fantasy players look at wOBA but more specifically they look at what the wOBA is in terms of the handedness of the pitcher they are facing. Most players, as we know, will do better against the opposite handedness of pitcher. Examples are that Lefties hit Righties better and vice versa.
So to see who might have the best advantages for a given night, one would look at the combination of how the SP fares against the different handedness of pitchers and how the hitters fare against those pitchers.
For example, Wednesday's games have a couple of LHP going and some of these guys can really hammer left-handed pitching. Goldschmidt, for example, will go against J.A. Happ, who is left-handed and is okay overall against right-handed hitters. Goldy, though, has a massive .479 wOBA against lefties. For context, Josh Donaldson, another known lefty hammer, has a .439 wOBA against lefties and the league average for wOBA overall is around .315.
So, even though Goldy's price tag is high, you might want to make sure you find a way to get him in the lineup against lefties. The splits say so.
The same goes for SP. Keuchel gets the Rays who are tough on the road against LHP but Dallas has a remarkable .249 wOBA at home this season. LHP Adam Morgan, who we will call out a couple of times below, has a .358 wOBA against righties. For comparison, Keuchel, also left-handed, has a more reasonable .284 wOBA against righties.
So look around, find some winning matchups and win all the monies! Good luck!
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.
Sully Sells Seashells By The Sawx Shaw
August 19, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 462 Commentsby: Grey
After the first two homer-game, I was like, "Yo, Grey, stop twirling your mustache and trying to squeeze into your Z. Cavariccis from high school and check out Travis Shaw." And I did. Only, I wasn't that impressed. He had five homers in 77 games in Triple-A. Then, a week or so later, he had his 2nd two-homer game and I was like, "Yo, Sir Hairlip-A-Lot, those Zubaz look awful on you, and maybe you look at Shaw's numbers again." And I did. His 'big' year in Double-A saw him hit 16 homers with a .221 average and again I came away yawnstipated; must be he's showing some Maas appeal. Then, yesterday, he went 4-for-4 with two runs and is hitting .371 in 22 games, and I was like, "Yo, Fantasy Master Lothario, just let Cougs clean out your closet for you and really delve into Shaw's numbers!" No, I don't know what delve means but it sounds smart when I'm talking to myself. I've said it before, but Shaw feels exactly like a Maas appeal-type player. I bet after September he never even plays regularly on the Sawx again. But now suddenly you're worried about the future? You weren't when you were writing to the National Institute of Health about having nacho cheese classified as a vegetable. Get a 401K and grab Shaw until he stops hitting. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
David Peralta (+25.8%) was the most added player in fantasy baseball this past week. Crotalus atrox (aka the Western diamondback rattlesnake) is widely considered to be the most dangerous snake in North America, but since the MLB All-Star break, another Diamondback has given that species a run for it's money as far as that distinction goes. In 27 second half games (101 PA), Peralta has been on an absolute tear, producing a .409/.446/.677 triple slash line (1.123 OPS - tied for 4th best in MLB) with 12 runs, 4 homers, 25 RBI, and 1 steal. Sure, Peralta's .500 BABIP over that span might come down a hair (or three) over the long haul, but he's been an RBI machine (64) while hitting cleanup behind one of the best hitters in baseball (Paul Goldschmidt, in case you're having a brain fart), and has managed to put up solid power numbers (12 HR, .222 ISO) and a plus batting average (.306) over the course of the season. While Chase Field has been one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks over the past few seasons, Peralta has been almost as good on the road (.874 OPS) as he has been at home (.926 OPS) this season as well. He still sits against tough left-handed pitchers and had some split issues last season, but he's at least held his own against southpaws this year (.286/.375/.411 in 64 PA). Grab him if he's still available, but make sure to bring some anti-venom just in case. Those diamondbacks pack a wallop!
Here are a couple of other significant adds and drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:
No, I'm not going to link Doors songs or talk about how I wonder if when they started the motion picture company, they didn't think they would last as long as they did. I'm also not going to talk about RCL strategy or how awesome Sky is when dealing with the general public. [Jay's Note: The interesting part is that we've had contributors to go on and write at FanGraphs while FanGraphs has had contributors go on and write for us...] Instead I will use Charles Bradley's (he is sorta new-ish but sounds like he recorded this 45 years ago in the 20th century) song titles to write the rest of this opener. This is strictly reserved for you, the RCL players who support all that is this, the Update. We've had our heartaches and pain this year and if you think you got the gold then you better check yourself for we have no time for dreaming. I'll slip away now for this world is yours...and because no razzball contributer will be winning the whole effing thing.
Note: Want to expand your RCL prowess? Our Fantasy Football Commenter Leagues are now open, and we have some really sweet prizes for you this season...
It’s good to be back my friends. After a week away, I’m ready and raring to go. I took a full week off from DFS (That’s a lie, I played in the PGA Championship MIlly Maker, but who’s counting) and it was a nice reprieve. MLB is a crazy long season and in the midst of the dog days, it can really be a grind. Taking some much needed time off was great and if you’re feeling sluggish when building lineups I suggest you do the same. Enough about my time off though, let’s get back to business: the business of making cash. Obviously, you have a decision to make tonight and that is what to do with Coors field. Bryce Harper is ludacris expensive tonight, $6,400, but for good reason. Bryce gets to face off against David Hale and his 5.69 ERA, 5.23 FIP and 2.0 HR/9 in Coors field. Do you dare fade the kid? If you do choose to fade Coors this evening, I’d look to the game over in Miller Park. Miller Park, believe it or not, is numero uno in HR park factor in 2015. Of course, park factors are victim to small sample size noise when only looking at a single season, but being number one in HR by a comfortable margin this year isn’t nothing. Miller is top five in runs for good measure as well. I’ll be making a few Miller and Coors recommendations below so you don’t forget, so raise a glass and follow me.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 12 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.
I was able to pick up Pedro Alvarez (2-for-4, 19th homer) for the batty call yesterday, which is kinda silly since he has four homers in the last week, and now I don't see how I can drop him. Wouldn't be the first time a batty call turned into living with each other for a few years, until the fighting becomes too much for each us. But we're not brave enough to leave, so we bitterly sleep with our backs to each other, and when Pedro falls asleep before me, I pull out my iPad, lower the volume so he can't hear the sites I'm visiting and I excite my "Josh Reddick" until my "Marcus Semien" arrives and I cry myself to sleep. Or something along those lines! *giggles awkwardly, coughs, clears throat* So, yes, that's a vote for Pedro (just don't get married to him). Seriously, he's hitting .252 with 19 homers, how is he only owned in 50% of leagues? Not to answer, but to judge others. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Well, if you like a podcast that talks about everything, then this is the show for you. Grey and I cover (takes a deep breath) J.B.'s impending wedding, the wonders of Philadelphia and New Jersey, segues (both the transitional definition and actual mobility device), the new movie: Straight Outta Compton, micro-ing stuff, Fantasy Football RCL's opening up soon, and our mothers. Somewhere in between all of those things, yes, I can confirm, baseball was talked about. A little. Alright, a lot, let's just say we fit everything AND the proverbial kitchen sink in this shin dig, including on where Bryce Harper stands compared to Mike Trout for next season, Michael Taylor and Billy Hamilton's batting averages and the toll they take on their counting stats, Alex Wood's struggles this year, and some tips on how to close the gap or stay atop the standings as the baseball season goes into it's last month. Enjoy! 
Here's what I don't like about SAGNOF. Writing about crappy relief pitchers is a large part of what the SAGNOF Special is about, because Saves Ain't Got No Face sometimes means there are a lot of terrible relievers in a position to get saves. The past week or so has been rough as we've seen Tommy Kahnle and Edward Mujica get pounded. For that matter, the performance of the entire Rockies bullpen is making us long for the good ol' days of LaTroy Hawkins. The situation in Boston (Junichi Tazawa vs Jean Machi) has little clarity and there was not a single save for Boston, Oakland or Colorado in the past week. It's been brutal out there for those scrambling for saves and it's made me yearn for that time when I could recommend A.J. Ramos and Shawn Tolleson and legitimately feel good about it. Because of the nature of SAGNOF in 12 team or deeper leagues, this late in the season, I've no choice but to recommend these at best mediocre relievers because there is literally no where else to turn for saves right now. (Fortunately in 10 team leagues it's more obvious that these types don't need to be rostered). There just isn't enough time in the season right now for the Joe Smith's of the reliever world to have any real chance to see saves this year due to injury or failure of the current closer.
I'm standing outside the club, I got my shirt off, I'm screaming at the top of my lungs. Who want to F*** wit Hollywood Cole? Huh?!? You want some of this 9.02 K/9? You want to try and swing for the fences when I got this .48 HR/9 sitting on my waist? Nah, none of y'all can test Hollywood Cole! My mom calls me Gerrit but it's Hollywood to you. I got 14 wins so far and I'm looking to make it 15. You got Gold in the middle of your lineup. So what! I got gold in this here fastball. Blow it by you at 96 and follow it up with a slide piece. So what's up you wanna F*** wit Hollywood Cole? You can if you'd like, just got to hop onto DraftKings, pay $10,600, and see what happens. This was just a really elaborate way to say start Gerrit Cole, he good. Now someone get me a mystic, I'm thirsty!
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 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.
