Who doesn't enjoy a fun game. Personally I'm a big fan of both board games and card games. And if you couldn't tell by my profile image, I am an avid Legend of Zelda fan. I have the tattoo on my shoulder to prove it. Just in case I ever need to prove it. For those that like card games I have a solid recommendation. The game is called
Five Crowns and it's pretty awesome. It's best played with five players and a game will take about an hour, but it's an hour well spent. And remember, the game isn't over till the Kings go wild! In the meantime, however, I turn to your attention back to the game at hand. For those that need the rules, you can find them
here.
I know, I know. You're saying to yourself, 'how can the guy with a 6.49 ERA not be free?' It's true, there's nothing glowing about
Adam Morgan's season long stat line. His HR/FB rate is 2.05. Yes, teams are averaging 2 HRs per game off him. He also has a pedestrian K rate sitting at 7.69. So when does the Morgan Freeman narrative kick in to tell me all the good things you want to hear? Well, there may just not be one. I'm leading with Morgan because methinks he's a good to great tourney play for today and there's more upside than he's being given credit for at $5,500. Admittedly, the Twins team has heated up a bit of late but their season stat line still shows an exploitable offense against left handed pitching. Against southpaws on the year, the Twinkies hold a 24.5% K rate which is good for fourth worst in the MLB. Follow that up with a lowly 86 wRC+ and there's reason to believe Morgan can return on value down here in the sub-6K territory. Of course, do realize this is tourney only and John Doe could easily gain the upper hand. Not the Morgan quote you were wanting?
Well then enjoy. But it's time to get busy livin', or else we're gettin' busy dying. Here's my he's right you know hot taeks for this Wednesday DK slate...
New to DraftKings? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday June 27th 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.
Evidently, Corey Kluber made some sort of promise to the city of Cleveland too, and not just to Kl-Uber Drew Carey home any time he sees him drunk-wandering in downtown Cleveland. Yesterday, Kluber went 9 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 9 Ks, lowering his ERA at 3.59. So, I'm going to get completely unscientific, then scientific, then mix the two, Grey says sounding like Don Herbert. (If you knew who Don Herbert was, you are old and a nerd.) Unscientifically, Kluber will have an ERA around 3.60 this year. He'll throw a gem, get the ERA down to 3.40, then throw a stinker and the ERA will rise. It will go on like this all year, because that's what he's done so far. Then he will figure out if he drops his arm angle a little, due to the earth being flat, it will add more spin and he'll have an ERA under zero in September. Again, that was unscientific. Scientifically, his peripherals looks as good as any previous year. His velocity is a notch off previous seasons, but his 9 K-rate, 1.9 BB/9 and 3.27 xFIP are excellent. So, he should be better than he has been, and could end up with a 3.20 ERA with 250 Ks. Now, to mix the two methods, Kluber will match his 3.27 xFIP, and on off days, picket Phil Collins' house with Carl Everett, with a sign reading, "The Book of Genesis Doesn't Have Liner Notes." Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
With the exception of a few dependable options like Jonathan Lucroy, Wilson Ramos, and Buster Posey, the catcher position has (somewhat predictably) been one of the least offensively productive positions in fantasy baseball this season. Yasmani Grandal and Yan Gomes currently have sub-.200 batting averages. Yadier Molina and the recently injured Francisco Cervelli have combined to hit one home run. Arizona backup Chris Herrmann has been a top 10 player at the position thus far this season. I suppose that the term dumpster fire would be a more apt description to characterize the catching landscape. It should come as no surprise, then, that recent Chicago Cubs call-up Willson Contreras (30.5% owned; +27.4% over the past week) is this week's most added player in ESPN leagues. Considered by many to be the top offensive catching prospect in the game, the 24-year-old rookie slashed .353/.442/.593 in 55 Triple-A games this season and launched a homer in his first MLB at-bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday night. His ability to make contact (13.3% K%) while hitting for power (.240 ISO) in the Pacific Coast League this year displayed a rare combination indeed, especially for a catcher. Miguel Montero and David Ross are the incumbents in Chicago, but they shouldn't provide much resistance for playing time if the rookie hits the ground running. Contreras is certainly worth adding if available. There's massive upside here at a thin position.
Here are a couple of other interesting adds/drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:
A little rest never hurt anyone, right? The Marlins had this secret preseason plan to rest
Jose Fernandez during the season and it happened to fall during his last scheduled start. Well, guess what? He's back! Fernandez is a machine. He's filthy, he's dominant, and he's mowing down the competition like Clayton Kershaw; only he's right-handed and gets paid a lot less. Fernandez leads the league with a 13.2 K/9. That equals out to 118 strikeouts in 80.2 innings pitched. His opponent, the Braves, are just so, so bad. Collectively, they're batting .235 and Fernandez is going to make them look absolutely silly. The only caveat here is that you're going to have to use just over 27 percent of your salary just to roster him with a $13,700 price tag. Nevertheless, it's not even a big risk given the opponent. Ole! Use Jose!
New to DraftKings? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday June 27th 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.
Grey and I are back! On today's show, JB grills Grey on some of his preseason calls that we had debates on including
Jonathan Lucroy, Grey grills JB on an awful trade he made earlier this season, then Grey explains why his brain is getting grilled in 120 degree heat. Grey is Fear and Loathing in the California Desert! We also discuss some pitchers who had near no-hitters the past week, a very surprising velocity uptick from a very veteran pitcher, and catch up on the red hot Blue Jays offense. Stupid Google changed what the dance mix song was when I Googled "dance music" at the end too! Ugh, maybe it's a sign
Joe Ross just being OK lately is a sign of things to come... Here's our latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:
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It's time we address the elephant in the room. Not you, Sandoval. I mean that one-time absurdist comedian and Red Sox knuckleballer, Steven Wright, has a 2.01 ERA in almost 100 IP after yesterday's line of 9 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks. The Red Sox are so happy with him they are currently combing the minor league rosters for other Boston comic namelgangers, except for any Dane Cooks because people are going to see his Shocker pitch from a mile away. Denis Leary has some decent pitches he stole from other pitchers, and he keeps trying to smoke his teammates' chew. While Lenny Clarke is a Quad-A pitcher, who everyone says is a great teammate, a real pitcher's pitcher. None are Steven Wright though. Christian Vazquez came up to the mound during yesterday's game and told Steven Wright he could throw a knuckleball at any time, and Steven Wright said, "I decided to throw one during the Renaissance." I did some dirty math on my own fantasy team where I have a 4.03 ERA (yup, my pitching is a mess!). If I had Steven Wright on my team, I'd have a 3.74 ERA -- a quarter of a run better -- and an extra three points. So, as a Bostonian would say, fahk me for not picking him up in April. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
I know, I know. Most boring Pitcher Profile in the lauded history of the Pitcher Profiles... But Tim Lincecum has been the talk of the town in some circles, that is, if the circle you're in is at a retirement home...
I was hotly debating writing this week's profile on the sexy new call-up Cody Reed, but legit decided to flip a coin to see who's 2016 debut I would go with. One side was Jennifer Lawrence and the other side Sir Laurence Olivier. As in he's old! Wait, I don't think he's even alive... Don't fact check that...
It's been several years since Old Tiny Tim has been fantasy relevant, and it's only fitting that the reason why is a hip issue. He shoulda pressed the Life Alert earlier! But now he's had the surgery, showed some flashes in his Minor League rehab games (7 inning 1-hitter with 8 Ks his last AAA start), and debuted for the Angels on Saturday afternoon. Here's how his 2016 debut went down going at the A's:
Why do I continue to highlight songs from my middle school days? I honestly have no idea. But it works. However, I can't take the credit for this one. Thank you, creative Royals fan and MLB.com. If only I could pull the freakin gif off of Twitter now. Ugh. Am I a Royals fan? No. Do I #VoteRoyals? No. Do I still get jiggy with it? Um, I'm not sure that I ever did. I don't know that Will Smith did, either. But in terms of a creeper, it's a perfect moniker for another MI that's already given the boot to one established veteran, and is proving that he's more than worthy of his spot at 2B. Since taking the leadoff slot in the lineup, the Royals are 8-2 in their past 10. Who we talking about?
- Whit Merrifield, 2B (21.2% owned) - He's jumped up just above the 20% threshold with a 15.2+ added percentage. And smart of you if you already grabbed him. Is he cracking the Top 100 quite yet? No. But just barely. Consider him the honorable mention of the week. In the past 15 days Merrifield is tied with Robinson Cano and Paul Goldschmidt for the most hits in the majors (21), Rougned Odor for the most at bats (63), and is tied for 11th in total bases (33) while slashing .333/10/2/8/1. His BABIP is an unsustainable .400, but through the minors he's proven he can get on base (~.350 OBP past three years), provide a little pop and swipe some bases (48 SB in last 750 minors ABs). Hitting atop the Royals lineup should give him ample opportunity to rack up runs, and it seems that he's here to stay after the Royals DFA'd Omar Infante due to Merrifield's emergence. He may slow down a tick, but while he's hot I'd grab him, especially if you need AVG, R and SB help. Let's safely project .275/40/6/30/15 the rest of the way. I can get jiggy with that.
Enough creepin’…Here are those Top 100 Hitters for Week 12!
With the complexity of scoring, much like that of Scrabble, the steals game is all about the triple word score. With names and with letters that are uncommon for words, you know the J's and X's of the world. We all can cheat and make the word "jo" or "ox", but imagine the scoring erection you will get when you use Rajai This wordsmith of the basepaths has been giving new form to the SAGNOF game. Over the last 14 games, no one in the game has more steals than Davis. Rajai has been the Magi of it for years, and it is crazy to think that he's crazy Joe Louis old. He is 35, which isn't quite as old as me, but I also don't even run when chased, let alone run 90 feet from pillow to pillow. For the most part, Rajai is the goods because he basically fills all your SAGNOF needs and isn't and absolute void in other categories like a newly DL'd Mallex. Davis, over the last 14, has put up 2 HRs and a cup full of RBIs. It is more than what we get from Mallex, who offers nothing but steals. even is an abysmal in BA, and his one saving grace is that his OBP is decent because he takes walks at almost a 17% clip. So for the few of you that are surfing for a SAGNOF savior to replace your Mallex fix... here are some names that could be good for now and later. Side note, I used to love that candy.
