Bullpen Report, Week 14: Edwinning The Relief Game

July 9, 2016 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 43 Comments

I figured out the best concoction for delivering fantasy baseball... First, go to liquor store and grab your consumption of choice. Next, convey your thoughts about fantasy bullpens to the masses in a cognitive and fluid way that makes sense to... the masses. Mission One: check, Mission Two: to be determined. This week, I wanna touch base on the neophyte in Seattle's Edwin Diaz, the once highly-touted starting pitcher prospect that is now occupying the first chair in Seattle. He is sorta the new kid in class, and the trust level to let him borrow a Nintendo game just isn't there yet. The stats will speak differently though. Check the rhythm of the rhyme I wrote and while I got a chance here, let me clear my throat. For the last month, he has been chipping away at the Benoit salad in Seattle's pecking order. Well, now he is the goods by setting up a Cishek. Cishek in this case is Swahili for "not for long". Over the last fortnight, he leads all of baseball in holds with 5, and his 20.57 K/9, which is basically unparalleled by anyone. Listen, Cishek has the job and he isn't getting shipped anywhere while the Mariners are in a wildcard hunt. But isn't it fun to own the guy who is sexy now before you start seeing kids in the mall all wearing him like he is the new Cavaricci? Diaz is his name and RP satisfaction is his game, green is his color... blue is the other. So hop on the good foot and add the sure thing. While you're at it, check some other delectable sundries that I have in the shape of bullpens and their place in society...

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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 \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| OAK

Buy, Bregman, Borrow, Or Steal

July 8, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 538 Comments

by: Grey

Craig Biggio. It's a sloppy, imperfect comparison, but that's who Alex Bregman looks like. I watched three minutes of video of him. So, that's like saying there's smoke emitting from every New York City manhole because underneath are old Filipino women making hot pretzels, who then transport them to the above ground vendors, because you found an old Filipino woman underneath one manhole cover making pretzels. Luke, small is your sample size, said Yoda. Now, if you buy into the Biggio comparison, which you should because Filipino women are making pretzels below New York City manholes, Biggio had three homers, six steals and hit .211 in his first 50 games. Ya know, Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio. Biggio was older then than (stutterer!) Bregman is now, if you were looking for an excuse. Rookies sure are fun, right? They mostly cause ulcers. They. Mostly. Cause. Ulcers. TMCU, for short. So, Bregman is crazy talented, he could be up soon, I would own him, but, for this year, I'd keep my expectations in Slovakia, or even Czech. For further reading, Prospector Ralph has him number one on the top 100 fantasy baseball prospects. Anyway, here's some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Points Leagues: 20/20 Vision

July 8, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 3 Comments

by: malamoney

Last year there were only four players that made it to the 20/20 club. Those players were A.J. Pollock, Ryan Braun, Paul Goldschmidt and Manny Machado. The year before, 2014, there were five members. Carlos Gomez, Ian Desmond, Michael Brantley, Brian Dozier and Todd Frazier. In 2013 there were nine. Carlos Gomez, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Pence, Will Veneble, Coco Crisp, Ian Desmond, Carlos Gonzalez and Shin-Soo Choo. Back in 2009 there were 14 players that hit at least 20 home runs and stole at least 20 bases. Attendance at the 20/20 club has been steadily falling. Are the days of the 20/20 player disappearing? How is Mike Trout's name only listed once? What happened to Carlos Gomez? Coco Crisp? Will Veneble? More like Will Vdisable. So how does the 2016 landscape look for 20/20 hopefuls? Based on each players' current pace, here are the players on track for 20/20...

OPS Leaguers Unite! C’mon Jason Heyward, Get Your Shizz Together!

July 8, 2016 | OPS Leagues | 7 Comments

by: Phil B.

Jason Heyward has really been a thorn in my fantasy baseball (and real baseball) side for too long. He keeps poking me with his thorns and I do not like it. It’s been an up-and-down ride with him for me the last couple seasons. Prior to 2015 he was a member of the Atlanta Braves and he had the look of a future 30/20 guy at worst. In 2012 he hit 27 homers with 21 steals at age 22! He looked like a power hitter, and he had a solid defensive game to boot. A future superstar. But there were signs he wasn’t all that (his minor league numbers showed little power) and they continued in subsequent seasons with the Braves, where he only stole bases and never hit more than 14 homers. The Cardinals thought they were getting a good deal for Shelby Miller (not as good as the Braves got for Miller sheesh) and Heyward produced a decent fantasy season with 13 homers and 23 steals and a .797 OPS. So, being a Cubs fan and a (now former) St. Louis resident when he signed with the Cubs I was pretty excited. He was a bonus to the Cubs and it made Cardinal fans pissed; that’s a win-win for me. Now all he had to be was as good as he was on the Cardinals and it’d be a win-win-win. Even though the Cubs are doing really well Heyward has stunk. Like terribly as many of you are aware. In 75 games so far he has four homers and seven steals and a .089 ISO and an OPS killing .649. If he’s bringing steals then you could argue him as a fifth OF, but he’s not even doing that. At least Joe Maddon finally, this past week, put him down, er, moved him down in the order. I can’t believe it took that long...

DraftKings: Sean Of The Dead

July 8, 2016 | DraftKings | 7 Comments

by: Sky

Coors days are funny days. Note I didn't say 'fun', I said 'funny'. I find them downright exasperating simply because you feel compelled to have a Colorado stack out there, even if and when it's not really the best situation. Look, I'm not gonna sit here - and yes I am sitting - and tell you that Coors is an outright fade today but I will tell you the arms going in that one ain't slouches. Yes, we know that any arm that lands in the Rockies can get touched up. It's, like, science and stuff. Overall, though, I am here to tell you quite simply: there are a lot of good plays for bats out there tonight and I, for one, won't be forcing a Rocky mountain high into my life. In fact, I'd rather just tell you about the glory that is stacking against Sean O'Sullivan. There are some big time prices on bats today across the board, but somehow DK missed that Sean has some straight scary career numbers. Over 318.2 IP, Big Sean has a 4.35 K/9, a 3.22 BB/9 and a 5.22 xFIP while his career HR/9 sits at 1.64. A journeyman in every sense of the word, look to the Rays bats to come alive tonight and you don't have to pay top dollar to push this stack in. Their most expensive bat is Brad Miller at $4,500 and you don't need to go that route. For me, gimme some Evan Longoria, Logan Forsythe, Oswaldo Arcia, and other bits and parts that I can find that are in that starting lineup and let it ride, using the savings to pay up for pitching on the night. Rays the roof fellas. But enough about that, let's move on to this. Here's my Coors swerve taeks for this Friday DK slate... 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 11th 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.

Harvey’s Shoulder Is Getting On His Nerves

July 8, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 368 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Matt Harvey met with the Mets' front office and told them, "You ruined my shoulder! I was the Dark Knight! Now I'm 1960s Batman in hard-to-watch Technicolor unable to move my arms to do the Batusi!" Matt Harvey asked Bartolo if this ever happened to him and he said, "Nah, I am 90% jelly and custard. My nerves are coated in more sugar than a churro." Harvey needs shoulder surgery due to thoracic outlet syndrome. Sandy Alderson said it's inevitable. Pitchers who have had this surgery take at least a year to recover and sometimes never regain past form. It could not only be a season killer, it could be the end of Harvey as we know him. He could opt to rehab his shoulder without surgery, but rehabbing it won't magically make his pitching better than he's been all year, which is atrocious. If you don't have DL room, I could see dropping him. Fun fact! You know who suffered from thoracic outlet syndrome? The Lispasaurus. Tiny arms, big body. Other dinosaurs pickin' on 'em because of their lisp -- why'd every dinosaur have to have an S sound in its name?! Total recipe for messed-up shoulders. "I hate Thoracic Park!" Spielberg can make a Thoracic Park movie where an injured pitcher tries to repair his relationship with his pre-teen son while genetically-modified dinosaurs chase after them. "I know I wasn't there for you when you were growing up or for your keeper league team in 2014 or for that velociraptor attack 15 minutes ago, but I'm here for you now." The boy looks up, "How did that velociraptor throw a Warthen slider?" The father responds, "He's learning!" Seth Smith is working on the script. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Bear Or Bull: To Be A Francophile Or A Francophobe

July 7, 2016 | Uncategorized | 35 Comments

by: Big Magoo

With just over half of the MLB season in the rear view mirror, you should have a pretty good idea of where your fantasy team stands at the moment. The seasonal sample size is sufficient to properly evaluate the majority of the everyday players, and now is a good time to try to swing a deal to strengthen any weaknesses and make a push for the league title. The players on the extreme ends of the talent/production spectrum are fairly easy to identify. Who doesn't want Mike Trout or Clayton Kershaw on their fake teams? At the same time, it might be better to leave a lineup slot empty than to use either Alexei Ramirez or Yonder Alonso at any given time. Those are the easy decisions. The tough ones involve the players who are hovering somewhere in the middle, teetering on the edge of breakout or bust. Philadelphia Phillies 23-year-old third baseman Maikel Franco is such a player. After leading the Grapefruit League in homers and RBIs this spring, Franco looked as appetizing to fantasy players as an authentic Philly cheesesteak wiz wit. The first couple of months of the regular season weren't all fresh Amoroso rolls and grilled onions for the second year player though. Through June 19th (263 plate appearances), Franco was sporting a .236/.281/.409 triple slash line with 19 runs, 11 homers, 33 RBIs, and zero steals. Not exactly the type of production that his owners had in mind. However, in his last 15 games and 66 PAs since then, Franco has slashed .375/.470/.786 with 14 runs, 6 homers, and 16 RBIs. So who is the real Franco? The mediocre three category liability that opened the season or the Miguel Cabrera clone of the last few weeks? Let's take a look at Franco's profile to determine what can be expected from him over the remainder of the 2016 season. Here are a few observations:

2016 REL Dynasty League Update: Week 14

July 7, 2016 | Razzball Elite League | 6 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Nearing the break! Unlike the lunacy of MLB front offices, teams in the REL have been buying and selling in rebuilds and postseason aspirations since the first few weeks. I still don't understand why rebuild teams in real life don't start trading guys right away! I'm mostly mad the Brewers didn't sell Chris Carter when I did in the REL... Why I should be their GM! Not some nerd who played Rotisserie baseball at Harvard... Nothing too huge in the standings, with the Nats still steamrolling the NL, but at least my Brewers gave em a 0-1 loss when I saw them play on July 4th! The AL is much more interesting, with the Blue Jays perched atop the standings. The Orange Birds and The Tribe both are within striking distance, while co-commish Slim has pushed the Astros into contention. With all their younguns, this should be quite the race! Here's how week 14 went down in the 2016 REL League:

DraftKings: Always Ruppin’

July 7, 2016 | DraftKings |

by: wheyen3

Lately, thanks to my home league dynasty team, I've noticed the production of a catcher that still too few people have noticed. His name: Cameron Rupp. This guy is your stereotypical catcher; he's a bulky guy, sweet beard, and oh yeah, lately he's been raking. He takes a trip to the thin air of Denver today, and will be the catcher you need to have in your lineup. There is no doubt in my mind he will have no problem hitting a couple Rupp jobs off of Chad Bettis. 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 11th 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 ourDFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.

So Excited For Tyler My Nips Can Cut Glasnow

July 7, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 532 Comments

by: Grey

With Tyler Glasnow being called up, let's go over what we know so far about him. 1) In Triple-A, he had 113 Ks in only 96 IP. 2) He had a 1.78 ERA. 3) There's no C, since we're not even lettering these facts. D) And now we are lettering them, great! E) Glasnow enters to bagpipes and wears a kilt on the mound. F) This. I didn't get him in one single league! G) Money. H) His command in Triple-A was wonky as all get-out -- 4.9 BB/9. I) could see some major blowups if he loses command of the strike zone. J) abba the Hut failed with the Cookie Diet. K) Glasnow likely won't pitch an entire season. L) M, N, O P Q) How many innings? Arrgh) Likely close to 50 IP S)o that's still into September. T) for two! U) The letter U looks like Jon Niese looking down. V) What a great show! Remake it, again! W) Should officially change its name to Dubya. X) Marks that one spot where the two lines intersect or the entire area of the X? Y) Cause. Z) Yes, I'd grab Glasnow in all leagues. Prospector Ralph even ranked Glasnow number two for all the 2nd half fantasy baseball prospects, so you know shizz is real. AA) My name is Grey Albright-- Oh, we're done with the lettering. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Razznasty League Update: Can’t Truss It!!

July 6, 2016 | Our Leagues | 25 Comments

by: Geoff

Sometimes you ask and you shall receive and in that vein, I begin this month's Razznasty update. Now I know the two questions you're asking, what did you ask for and receive? And which vein? First, it's the main vein, you know the one in the middle.... Secondly, I asked our very own Hippo in the bush Matt Truss to make a push in the standings over the course of June so I could name the next update "Can't Truss It". Done and done. I told Mr. Truss-ah Truss that I'd dress as Flavor Flav from this video while I wrote it. Truss, that I held up my end of the bargain, picture me decked out in white tuxedo with top hat and Batman glasses. Unfortunately I can't share with all of you due to a shortage on the correct cartridges for my vintage Polaroid Sun 600. Sorry boys, and whatever number of girls are reading this year. I believe we were up to five, but we might have lost a few after the Jose Canseco interview. There's nothing that upsets the ladies more than invasive question about Madonna's early 90's sperm brokering. Enough of the bollocks, onto the Razznasty update for June. Dynasty League Baseball at it's finest.

The Value of a Dollar

July 6, 2016 | 2016 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 13 Comments

by: malamoney

A dollar doesn't buy you much anymore in this world. It's disappointing how much the value of the dollar has diminished over the last many years. I gave a bank teller a George Washington and he handed me back 90 cents. Who am I to argue with a teller. I gave a homeless woman a dollar the other day and she called me a pathetic cheapskate. Did she really have to use the word "pathetic"? Even the Wu Tang Clan is looking to replace the words dollar bill from C.R.E.A.M. Is the dollar on life support? I just don't know. But I'll tell you one thing a dollar can buy you... fantasy baseball players that will make you the owner of a first place team. Rostering only players that cost $1, including players that were not drafted at all, I could easily assemble a first place team. I'm including players that were not drafted because they could have been for a dollar. I realize that hindsight is 20/20, but let me show you what $10 could have gotten you in your 2016 fantasy baseball auction draft...