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Howdy Razzballero, and welcome to the second half of the MLB (and fantasy) season. Hopefully, you were all able to recharge the batteries a bit over the All Star break and prepare yourselves for the fantasy baseball stretch run. I enjoyed a random viewing of the movie Minority Report last week during the down time and, when looking at the reboot-happy nature of Hollywood these days with projects like the new Ghostbusters movie, it got me thinking about a fantasy themed reboot of the 2002 Stephen Spielberg film. It can be called Majority Report starring Grey in the Tom Cruise protagonist role where he can be credited as Ice Tumors or Crime Oust (because a Tom Cruise anagram as an alias to protect his alias somehow makes sense to me) and I could have a cameo role as one of the lesser precogs who is occasionally (but not usually) able to predict the future of the fantasy landscape. I haven't figured out the plot yet, though it would probably involve Grey stalking Giancarlo for one reason or another. Ok, so it's more of just an extremely lazy re-imagining than anything else, but last week would've been one of those rare scenes that my character was able to predict the transaction future of the fantasy baseball landscape. As of yesterday, the five most added players in ESPN leagues over the past seven days (Koji Uehara, Randal Grichuk, Brandon McCarthy, Hector Santiago, and Yangervis Solarte) as well as two out of the next four most added players (Anthony DeSclafani and Max Kepler) are ones that I discussed in my second half difference maker articles last week (the hitters can be found here while the pitchers can be found here). In short, if these players are still available in your league, add them! Anyway, let's move on to a few players who are more likely to still be sitting on the waiver wire, shall we? Here are a few other interesting adds/drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Wed 5/21
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | OAK | SF
Despite it only being a three day work week for us fantasy baseballers, there’s no rest for the weary here at RCL HQ.  We’re still here, crunching the numbers and cranking out standings for you all.  Many of you took advantage of the time with no games to do some self-reflecting.  Looking inward you identified your team’s weaknesses and set about addressing them.  Like any good rehabilitation process, you’ve come to terms with your team’s issues and now it’s time to fix them.  After only eight trades last week there were eighteen this week.  Looks like you all are gearing up for that second half run.  Let’s take a look at those trades and what else happened in RCLs in the shortened week that was, week 15.
If you paid attention to Major League Baseball on Monday night, you know that the Tigers beat the Twins 1-0. BORING. The over/under for Monday's game was set at 10 1/2. I hope at least one reader put a couple of bucks on the under. Tonight will be different. I will put my guarantee down that more than one run will be scored by the Twins and Tigers on Tuesday night. In fact, it will be a completely different game. So, who is going to set the table for a high-scoring affair? Easy. Ian Kinsler! He will set the table for Detroit's offense, which works out well considering he's 5-for-10 lifetime against Tommy Milone. Monday night may not have worked out as planned, but I am doubling down and putting all of my money on Kinsler and the Tigers. You should do the same! New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run next Monday, July 25th, to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. Wanna know what the best part is about signing up with us? The free subscription for the rest of the season to our DFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.
We're back with a hot-off-the-presses Razzball Pod, and on today's show we recap the past week including the Drew Pomeranz trade, Michael Conforto getting called back up, and how Yulieski Gurriel impacts the timeline of Alex Bregman. We then go through some hot, hard-throwing pitchers including Chad Kuhl, and Dylan Bundy's stock in dynasty. Lastly we review some hot schmotato bats, with one schmotato totally making Grey change his tune. And if by tune you mean Joe Ross music, it makes another appearance! Even though it's more like going to the club with a massive hangover rather than dropping Molly, stupid Joe Ross's shoulder... Here's out latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast: Download from iTunes
"But I can't Jo-Fer that (Jo can do).  No, I can't Jo-Fer that, (Jo can do).  Oh, I can't Jo-Fer that (Jo can do), I can't Jo-Fer that, can't Jo-Fer that, can't Jo-Fer that, but Jo can do!"  I can do this all day.  Seriously.  That yin vs. yang, angel vs. devil, Ho-Hos vs. Yodels constant battle wrecks havoc on me.  Jose Fernandez showed why he's one of my favorite pitchers yesterday.  I mean, goddamn, he made that pitch famous, he made that pitch famous!  His line:  6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 14 Ks.  So, what's the problem?  What is the yang, devil, Yodel?  That he will be shut down barely into September.  If the Marlins stay in the pennant race, Jo-Fer may even be shut down earlier to give him a chance to pitch in October.  I love him, but if you can get anything close to equal in value for him, I could see trading him in redraft leagues.  Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Ohhhhh, an MLB debut on Sunday!  Perfect for the Pitcher Profile!  Starting the second half with a bang! Even though he was likely not throwing too many pitches, I decided to take a flier on Dylan Bundy in most of my redraft leagues.  He was the talk of the prospect community way back in 2012 where he terrorized the Minors and actually picked up 1.2 innings in the Majors that season, progressing all the way from A ball.  Unfortunately, as is the case with a ton of pitcher prospects, injuries reared their ugly head with a TJ surgery and shoulder issues, and he hasn't pitched 100 professional innings since.  I remember going coocoo for Cocoa Puffs for him back in the day, so I was all decked out in my proverbial Bundy gear to prepare for his first Major League start.  Here's how he looked yesterday afternoon at the Rays:
I ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'. Please, don't leave me, girl. (Don't you go!) Truth is I could recite just about any Temptations song to you. Growing up with a dad who only listened to Motown and oldies, the moment I started to take interest in ladies I had a song for every occasion. Now, granted, I was about 10 or so when I asked out my first girlfriend, so the stakes weren't crazy high. But whether a fifth grade swing or a fifteen year old fling, my adolescence knew how to swoon a girl. And I know how to spot a keeper. Now if I gotta cry to keep you, I don't mind weepin' if it'll keep you by my side. Will tears flow from my now 30-year old eyes as I'm writing this? Um. No. That's one thing I've matured in since the teenage years (and for the sake of my friends, my family, my wife, my children and my masculinity, thank Heavens). But I'd do just about everything I could short of that to make sure I got this week's Creeper of the Week onto my roster and, in keeper leagues, locked in for next year. And if you miss out on him, you'll be bregging to get him from someone else. See what I did there?
  • Alex Bregman, SS (17.1%) - So what if the 'Stros decided not to bring Bregman up to start the second half. They're just being silly. Just about the only universal commentary from the All-Star Weekend was that Alex Bregman was overwhelmingly ready for the Majors. He raked two extra-base hits in the Futures game, and has his signature already written and waiting on him at 3B in Houston. The beauty of playing the hot corner with the SS eligibility, a la Manny Machado, is that he must have enough pop to play there while being eligible at a weak position. Bergman has the potential to come up and challenge the numbers of any of those top SS listed in the rankings below. And since this is all about finding a player owned in less than 20% of ESPN leagues, welp, now's your chance. His 17.1% mark will balloon to north of 65% within a week of his call-up. And why all the fuss? The #2 overall pick in 2015 has dominated at the plate by producing 23 HR and 18 SB in his first 600 MiLB ABs across the top four levels. He doesn't K much, walks about 10% of the time, and currently sports a .388 ISO in 11 AAA games, surpassing his .263 mark in 62 AA games. Sweet mercy, come and come quick, young man. You're being patiently awaited for on 5 of my teams. Thank you! And for you that pick him up...you're welcome.
Now enough creepin'...let's get to the Rankings. BUT WAIT!!!
I have waxed poetic about him for three straight weeks and still have never given him the lede.  Well, Travis is the pure definition of what SAGNOF is.  It's Grey's term, but next to it in the glossary of Razz-terms, there should be a picture of Mr. Jankowski drinking a mai-tai while laying around on one of those full size ab-machines that he uses as a lounge chair.  All the dude has done is have basically half the plate appearances of a regular over the past 30 days, post a near .400 OBP, and have one less steal in that time than MLB leader Starling Marte (with 12).  Now, I am no numbers genius, I am a realist, and I really like the low-cost ability that he has for a team that has no other real choice but to play him, if he continues to do what he do. In all seriousness, where are the Padres going?  No wheres is the answer.  Guy is a newly minted 25, has shown decent enough OBP skills and prowess for thievery, that he may be wax-penciled into their lineup next year as someone they should try and build around and play smaller ball with.  I mean, they could do worse... they could sign Melvin Upton.  Oh, wait, that turned out good.  They can see if Wil Myers can play first base on the regular, yet again something else that went right.  For the small things, maybe the Fathers are starting to get things in the right direction, and instead of spending crazy stupid money for free agents and trading assets, they should start modeling themselves after what A.J Preller knows best.  They are a small market club with big club aspirations, start acting like it.  Just my two cents.  Let's see what else is going down on the 90 feet thieves and sneaky saves department...
Welcome back Y'all, I hope everyone enjoyed the All-Star break. I don't know about you, but I dread the break, then it comes and I'm actually thankful for it. I feel revived and ready for the second half push, but part of me is still on break until today. So now it's time to shake off that DK rust, take a deep whiff of some Nitro and get this biatch started. If you're a little confused about the lead, let me help clear it up. The two L's I'm referring to are Jon Lester, $9,400 vs the Mets and Mike Leake, $8,200 vs the Padres. Lester had a rough end to the first half pitching 6 of his last 7 games on the road and he got absolutely hammered for 8 ER at NYM two weeks ago, so why would I roll with him today? He's a veteran who got some much needed rest over the break. Granted, he threw one inning at Petco last Tuesday but I think he'll be extremely under owned across the board with J-Fer, Sale and Kluber all going tonight. Lester has been great at home this year with a 2.32 ERA while striking out 62 batters over 54 innings and the Mets are second to last in runs scored vs LHP. Wrigley Field is just what the doctor ordered for Lester's recent road ails as he's due to get back on track vs a depleted Mets lineup. Mike Leake turns into Mike Stopper when July 1st rolls around. There's just something that happens to him when the calendar turns on June 30th as he goes lights out on the mound. It's time to own him in daily and RCL, at least for the next 3 weeks. He went into the break on a high note striking out 10 in Milwaukee over 7 innings. He's got a solid matchup at home tonight against the Padres who probably didn't got into St. Louis at a cushy 4 AM Central this morning. I'm counting on Sneaky Leaky to put up a solid line of at least 8 K's while he puts it to a weary San Diego team that's still in vacation mode. New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run today 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.
The other day the Astros signed the coveted Cuban refugee, Yulieski Gourriel.  One time!  Yulieski is as apple pie as a Canadian tenor group making a political statement during the All-Star Game.  He's 32 years old.  If he went by YuGo, that would make him the newest car in Cuba.  "Bueno Model T, amigo!  Now, tell me about this Ford Taurus I hear so much about."  You know who a 32-year-old Cuban immediately reminds me of?  Hector Olivera and Alex Guerrero.  Sloppy comparison maybe.  Hey, that gives me an idea.  Whenever doing a sloppy comparison between players who just happen to be Cuban, we should call them Sloppy Jose's.  We need a similar term for when making a sloppy comparison between Japanese players; please suggest in the comments.  As for Gourriel, yeah, I don't see much here.  I watched video of him, and he looks like a 15 HR, 6 SB, .260 hitter, which is Hector Olivera.  I'm sorry, but those Sloppy Joses make sense sometimes.  This Gourriel signing obviously delays Bregman's arrival, so boo, you mothereffer, boo.  Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Michael Scott

And they're off! Again! For the Second Time! Part Two! Two Dragons! (I'll secretly do almost anything to word sneak in an unsneaky way Starchy & Hutch's 'Two Dragons' reference into juuuust about anything. You're welcome.) But for real...it's the second half! (Insert explosions, fireworks, train horns, sirens, babies screaming, and horses charging) I got all the feels! Here at the balls of Razz we've already posted many-a rankings for the second half to prime you for the stretch run (@Grey, @malamoney, @Big Magoo). And well, here comes another. If you showed up looking for the Week 16 Tw0-Start Pitcher Rankings, tough luck...the MLB teams are characteristically late in announcing much of anything valuable coming out of the All-Star Break, so we don't know the rotations for Week 16. The three game soiree that is the first weekend of the second half is the recalibration many teams needs after taking the week off. By the time this article is posted there may be a list of Two-Start options available, but as for when I'm penning this piece it's unfortunately not. So, I'll join the bandwagon of the other writers and personally lay down the challenge to ol' @JB Gilpin, my pitcher counterpart, and say that these rankings are the ones you need for the second-half in evaluating Starting Pitchers. He may be 6'7", but I'll take him out faster than Jose Canseco's interview on the Razzball podcast two weeks ago (Seriously...if you haven't heard it yet, sweet mercy, go download that sheen right meow). And without further adieu, which no one actually uses in any common vernacular anymore outside of that phrase, here are the Top 100 Second Half Starting Pitcher Rankings! Hopefully some of the top options throw twice next week! Note: I have not looked at JB's or anyone else's rankings at Razzball yet. I know, I'm a great teammate. But I wasn't influenced by theirs in any capacity.
Hello everyone, and welcome to Sunday! We have a very healthy 10-game main slate on our hands today, with four pitchers being priced above $10k, and those being Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Michael Fulmer, and Jon Gray, but for tournaments, I like none of them. You'll have to keep reading! Instead, I wanted to talk about the Washington Nationals bats today against the extreme gas can that is Chad Kuhl, who owns a 5.67 SIERA, a 12.9% K-rate, a 7.9% SwK-rate, and a 31% GB-rate. But usually, I dive a little deeper in my articles, and see who has the better matchups, lefties or righties, and how they do against RHP's. But here's the catch, everyone is in play, and by everyone, I mean, everyone. I can't list out the entire Nationals starting lineup, but look at the lefty-righty splits Kuhl has-
vs. L vs. R
xFIP: 6.45 xFIP: 5.64
K%: 10.8% K%: 16.0%
BB%: 8.1% BB%: 8.0%
wOBA: .407 wOBA: .376
Hard%: 40.0% Hard%: 42.1%
Yes, it seems like lefties have the advantage, but if this pitcher was good against lefty bats, then we would be firing up the righties with confidence. So if there are any Nationals bats you would want to roster, you won't hear me complaining. New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday July 18th 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.