Podcast: Second Half Preview Spectacular!

July 13, 2016 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 94 Comments

The second half is here! Ya know, people always gripe about how long baseball is, but it seems like every season we always say "it's flown by!" I should become a baseball psychologist. Although I guess Grey would be one of my patients... I immediately rescind this idea! On today's show, we break down Grey's Top 100 for the 2nd Half where I nitpick the hell outta all of Grey's work. His rankings make no sense! Everyone wants more Grey and JB arguing, and we deliver on this show! We also talk about how team needs play into value ROS and how the Razzball Player Rater differs from the ESPN Player Rater. Our numbers Sherpa Rudy can explain better than us cackling morons! Here's out latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast: Download from iTunes

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#	MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 6/17
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| OAK \| SD

One Man’s Trash: Second Half Difference Makers, Part One: Hitters

July 12, 2016 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 77 Comments

by: Big Magoo

If your fantasy portfolio is anything like mine, it probably means that there's some work to be done to ensure you're sitting at the top of the standings at the end of the season. Sure, there have been some good calls along the way. Drafting Mookie Betts looks like it'll work out just fine. That late round SAGNOF pick of Jonathan Villar is making you look like Nostradamus right about now. But it hasn't exactly been all sunshine and katydids for your fake teams. That Stanton/Upton/Heyward monster outfield that you assembled on draft day has put up some scary numbers this year (and not in a good way). Perhaps you decided to go the two ace route since a Harvey/Archer combo was just too good to pass up back in March. And just like that, you went from feeling like Nostradamus to Nostradumbass. Fantasy can be so cruel sometimes. The point is that things don't always go according to plan. Fortunately, there's still plenty of time to turn things around, and plenty of widely available players with which to do so. The purpose of this article is to identify some of those players who have the potential to provide significant fantasy value in the second half of the season as well as a few of the expendable players who might be burning holes in your roster. Today, we're going to look at some hitters of interest while focusing on pitchers in the near future. Without further ado, here are some potential second half treasures on the hitting side who are widely available in ESPN leagues (ownership percentage in parentheses):

RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 14

July 12, 2016 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 3 Comments

by: MattTruss

Have you seen your family today? They’ve missed you. Spend the next couple days convincing them you’re in good health and that it’s fantasy baseball that has kept you away all this time, not a crazy, religious cult that demanded you move into a hut in the woods and live off wild mushrooms. We’re at the unofficial halfway point and it’s time to take a breather, reflect, regroup and get back to the grind on Friday. Maybe you can visit the Fantasy Golf section of the site and dabble in some PGA DFS for The Open. Say “hi” to Joe, he gets lonely over there from time to time. Speaking of lonely, it’s lonely at the top and that’s where Cram It remains for another week. This guy is a machine. He has now dispatched of fellow frequent commenter, MauledByPandas, who had been his closest league competition and is now fending off one of our five female readers, frequent commenter, MuneForNothing. By “fending off” I mean, keeping a healthy twelve point cushion as he steamrolls us. At this point, we’re all just his little helpers, keeping that LCI high so Crammy can stay at the top of the Master Standings…I feel so used. Kick back with that knitting project you left collecting dust in March and let’s check out the other RCL goings on in the week that was, Week 14.

Top 100 for 2nd Half of 2016 Fantasy Baseball

July 12, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 714 Comments

by: Grey

Welcome, prematurely balding men and five women who are married to prematurely balding men and decided if you can’t beat them, join them! Make yourself comfortable, this is gonna be a long post. Here, enjoy some coffee. Oops, you just drank rat poison. Don’t worry, it can’t be worse than owning Chris Archer in the 1st half. Oh, you owned him and that’s why you drank the poison! Now, I’m following! Hey, I'm supposed to be leading! Before we get into the top 100 for the 2nd half of 2016 fantasy baseball, let’s just be glad our 18-year-old selves can’t see us now, we’d get beat up! But our twelve-year-old selves would think we’re the coolest! So, as with all of the other 2016 fantasy baseball rankings, take this list with a grain of salt. If you need a 2nd baseman, but an outfielder is above him that doesn’t mean you can’t trade that outfielder for that 2nd baseman. Also, things change in fantasy baseball. Daily. I could put Bryce Harper number two on the top 100 list for the second half of 2016 and he could pull a–Well, we won’t even mention an injury with Bryce. Why soil a good thing, ya know? This list is a road map for where I think guys are valued. It’s not the Holy Grail in the Church of Grey, that would be my mustache. This list is NOT (caps for emphasis, not aesthetics) where I see guys ending up if you were to take their first half and combine it with the 2nd half. This is simply a list of the top hundred fantasy baseball players if you were to pick them up today. So while David Price did not have the greatest first half, he will appear on this list because I still believe. The projections are not their combined 1st half and 2nd half numbers; these are their projections for the 2nd half of 2016. I also liberally used our rest of the season Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. That’s right, we have a Player Rater that tells you what players will do. It’s like that camera from The Twilight Zone. Welcome to the future! Anyway, here’s the top 100 for fantasy baseball for the 2nd half of 2016:

Glasnow Or Later? …And The Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 15

July 11, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 77 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

The sexy prospects are finally making it baby! It's good to be back to the Pitcher Profile, with so many hot options out there to break down as we head into the ASB. While Lucas Giolito (who I was always spell wrong with two T's the first time I type his name) has more "overall" prospect buzz, I think I might have been more excited that we finally got the Tyler Glasnow callup. I had continually been ranking him very favorably in my ranks in the 60s, and I'm not gonna lie, when I saw Steven Brault got the call before him (and this is even after Chad Kuhl too), I was dismayed. But alas! Glasnow made his debut last Thursday afternoon against the Cardinals with a lot of encouraging stuff coming out of it. Not too surprisingly, he was sent back down as he wasn't needed for another start before the All-Star Break, but will he be back soon sooner or later? Well, here's how he looked in his MLB debut, and an analysis on if you should be holding onto him on redraft rosters:

I Wish I Was a Kevin Kiermaier Dinger …And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 15

July 11, 2016 | Creeper of the Week, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 32 Comments

by: M@

No, no, no. Haha, I don't think this song would fit in with culture 50 years later. Actually, I'm quite certain that for anyone under the age of 24 it probably didn't fit in well in 1965. You really gonna sing a song about wanting to be a weiner? I mean, c'mon... So, let's change the name and have a little rhyme time of our own. But instead of getting horribly inappropriate, because when does that ever happen on this site, we'll just talk about the dingers, not the weiners, of Kevin Kiermaier, not Oscar Mayer. That dude's a grouch, anywho...

Kevin Kiermaier, OF (6.4% Owned) - Currently on the DL, Kiermaier's an interesting case for how to properly and effectively skim the waiver wire for the hidden gems. Before he hit the shelf Kiermaier posted a slash line of .231/18/5/16/6 in 137 ABs. While that won't blow you away, it's a pace that was on target to approach an esteemed 25/25 mark. Improving every single major offensive statistic from his 2015 breakout-ish total of .263/62/10/40/18 in 535 ABs, I'm giving Kevin the nod this week, because he's due to return shortly after the All-Star Break. If he gives you another 250 ABs to finish the season he could be a Top 25-30 OF for the second-half. An improved ISO (.211), increased BB% (8%), and decreased K% (16.1%) were harbingers of his good numbers to start the year. What really excited me for his second-half, though, is his terribly unlucky BABIP (.247). For a guy with 25 SB upside, that's really low and unlucky. Like, the only thing more unlucky would be if you were caught singing that song posted at the top of this article that's most certainly stuck in your head now. HA! Gotcha! Now go stick Kiermaier in your DL slots before it's too late. Here's to the second-half!

And HERE'S TO THE ALL-STAR BREAK! 1st half is in the books! But enough creepin'...Here are those Top 100 Hitters for Week 15...THE ALL-STAR BREAK!

SAGNOF Report: Street Detour, Snakes On A Save And Boston Duo

July 11, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 42 Comments

by: Smokey

The changing parabola that is the saves game is taking over the first "S" in this weeks post. Steaks are boring, throw rocks at them. The "saver stitch" has changed in several different destinations, and the funny thing is, I just wrote about closing situations two-and-half-days ago. Strange days indeed, my friends. The closer in the Desert, the Beantown, and now, the City of Angels, is possibly up for grabs. Check the bottom for the first two, as I would like to concentrate on Huston Street. He pulled up lame on Sunday and with the All-Star break here, we will anxiously await his massive 5.7 K/9 rate. The rumor mill was already circling for Street to be a trade candidate in a few weeks, now the possible injury puts a dent in the already dented can. The adds for the Angels are a yuck Joe Smith, who if possible, has been equally as bad as Street. My speculative pick if Street is more injured than it appears is Deolis Guerra for a bit, before seeing what Cam Bedrosian has. Baby Bedrock was a tout of mine a few months back and stumbled. Guess what? He is back, but no one cares because the Angels are bad and not anything or anyone watches except the cast of Angels in the Outfield. So those looking for a speculative add for the boring non-three days of fantasy, check the stacks of Angels and be ahead of the curve, instead of having trouble with it.

Sawx Turn To The O.G. Koji As Kimbrel’s All-Star Breaks Bad

July 11, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 483 Comments

by: Grey

*nervous finger tap* How many days without baseball? So, I can close my fantasy baseball team browser window without missing anything? Okay. *throws computer out window* What? Was there another way to close my fantasy team page? I hadn't in so long I forgot. What do you mean I can go outside without worrying about missing anything in baseball? But there's real people out there! I'm staying right here, thank you very much! So, we're headed to the break, but Craig Kimbrel just has a tear, no break. He hit the DL with a medial meniscus tear in his knee. Oddly enough, a remedial mend-iscus Band-Aid is not used to fix this. I think you messed up modern medicine, but I'll reserve judgment. This will sideline Kimbrel for about four weeks. In his place will be Koji Uehara. Koji is famous for his food truck and 41-year-old junk pitches. The newly-acquired Brad Ziegler, who should put a Z like Zorro on the mound after every strikeout, will back up Uehara, because Ziegler's kinda bleh (1.40+ WHIP, 6-ish K/9) and Koji's been in Boston a while. Since Boston's colors are red, they should call him Scarlett Uehara. As for over in Arizona, I agree with Dan Pants in Saturday's roundup. The non-Yankee Clippard is the one to own. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Minor League Update: Palka Band Plays a Twofer

July 10, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 114 Comments

by: Geoff

We all have our things, Grey has Giancarlo and mustaches, Smokey has bullpens and go-go bars, and I have pantsuited women and over aged power prospects. What can I say there's just something about a professional lady that gets the blood flowing. Same goes for mid-20's hitters in the minors with the boom-boom. I drafted Adam Duvall everywhere in re-draft for that reason, and there's a new old ass prospect to fill the void in my heart. This hunk of thunderstick goes by the name of Daniel Palka, and he's a newly minted AAA outfielder and cleanup hitter for the prospect flush Twins. In his AAA debut Thursday night Palka went yard twice as the Red Wings downed the Iron Pigs 8-7 in a slugfest. Palka entered the season in non-prospect territory, not making Baseball America's prospect bible, and not appearing on any organizational top 30 list for the Twins or Diamondbacks (his previous employer). He strikes-out a ton, 29ish% k rates over the last couple of years, but he also walks a ton, never walking at a clip lower than 8% at any one level. My real interest in Palka isn't his path to the high minors or even his glorious walk rates, but his hot steaming power. Power that's produced a 25 homer campaign in 2014, a 29 homer campaign in 2015, and a projected 35+ homer campaign this season.

DraftKings: The Return

July 10, 2016 | DraftKings | 2 Comments

by: Zach

Hey everyone and welcome to Sunday! Remember me? It's Zach! Your good ol'... Zach. Anyways, I have been gone since the 20th, and I got back last Sunday, on a really awesome trip to Alaska. But alas(ka), I have not written in quite a while and it is good to be back! Huge, huge thanks to the main men Teddy Heater and Gern for not missing a beat and providing some great coverage of the Sunday's that I missed. Tip of the cap to you fellas. So where are we for today? We have 3 pitchers taking the mound for us today that are $10k+ on DraftKings: Carlos Carrasco, John Lackey, and David Price, with Carrasco being the most expensive at $11.6k. And he's who we'll start of this lovely Sunday with. New to DraftKings? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday July 11th to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! 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.

Buy Clippard If You Need A Closer Save

July 9, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 70 Comments

by: Dan Pants

After swinging a deal for Aaron Hill on Wednesday, the Red Sox have beefed up their bullpen trading for [player]Brad Ziegler[/player]. Ziegler was rocking a 2.82 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 18 saves with Arizona but he will likely be relegated to set up duty in Bean town. This is not to say his value is completely shot...yet. With Craig Kimbrel crying about his sore knee, Boston may be in need of an interim closer. [player]Koji Uehara[/player][player][/player] is the obvious first choice but his 4.96 ERA and 8 homers allowed in 32.2 IP make it seem like the choice ain't so obvious. Still Koji's 46/9 K/BB ratio makes me happy, and he notched the save Friday night (after surrendering a home run), so he's the best bet for saves if Kimbrel misses any time. As for your new closer in the land of the rising sun? [player]Tyler Clippard[/player] is the most likely candidate if you need saves or a buzz cut. He's got a 3.06 ERA with 39 strikeouts over 32.1 IP, and saved 19 games for the Mets and A's last year, but his career 57% save conversion rate certainly doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. [player]Daniel Hudson[/player] is the ideal saves candidate in Zona but has struggled mightily over the past month (12.96 ERA, 2.40 WHIP in 8.1 innings). Regardless, if you need a save and a haircut, I'd grab Clippard and Hudson in that order. And if you're a Boston Red Sox team that desperately needs starting pitching, I'd recommend trading for a infielder and a relief pitcher. Here's what else I saw Friday night in fantasy baseball:

DraftKings: Take a Chance on Lance

July 9, 2016 | DraftKings |

by: Gern Blanston

Take a chance on Lance! He's gonna do his very best and it ain't no lie. If you put him to the test, if you let him try. Take a chance on Lance! All Lance McCullers needed was to get a blister and some rest to get back to his 2015 self. In his last start against the Mariners he threw 7 innings of 1 run ball, giving up 5 hits and 1 BB, while racking up 10 K. Mariners are no slouch against RHP either. They have a 114 wRC+ and a 19.6% K%. This time out, Lance draws the Athletics, who only have a 84 wRC+ and a slightly lower K% at 18.1%. McCullers best pitch this season has been his curveball, which he throws 47% of the time and generates 23% whiffs. The only batters he needs to watch out for are Valencia and Davis. Valencia has been the best Athletics hitter vs RHP, and Davis has hit curveballs well throughout his career. Lance has been struggling with walks this season, but has been striking out batters to help limit the damage. He is tied for second highest K-rate for today's slate at 28.3% with Danny Salazar, behind Scherzer at 32.8%. More good news for those willing to take the chance, Lance has been much better pitching at Minute Maid Park. There, he has a career 1.97 ERA and a .612 OPS against. At $9,700 he won't break the bank, and you should be able to squeeze in an extra bat. All Abba and I ask is to take a chance on Lance. And with that, here are the rest of my Saturday DFS picks. New to DraftKings? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday July 11th to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! 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.