Hello and welcome everyone, I first want to apologize for Thames not being in the lineup last week. Thames has sat against very good matchups twice now in the last few weeks. I don't understand why but he has, I'll try to get better moving forward and I hope Eric Thames plays Wednesday. Anyway, There's quite a few guys I like today but one that stands out to me is Chris Young at $2,500. Against LHP he will not only be in the lineup (I hope...) but he'll also be batting 4th in the lineup. I don't know much about the pitcher for Minnesota, but I know Young will be in a power position and hits LHP much better then RHP over his career. His price of $2,500 makes him the best value play of the day for me.
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Monthly Archives: June 2017
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Alex Giveth A Ray, Alex Taketh Away
June 28, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 495 Commentsby: Grey
Uh-oh, the double lede! This is more spectacular than the double rainbow. WHOA, DOUBLE LEDE! Alex Cobb threw a gem yesterday -- 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners (2 Hits), 4 Ks, ERA at 3.73, but his brother from another mother and father, Alex Colome blew the game, going 1 IP, 2 ER, and now has given up seven earned -- sevearned? -- in his last three appearances. Alex Cobb carried a no-hitter into the 7th and was so good yesterday that Robert Wuhl is writing the screenplay to Cobb 2: More Corn. However, do the Rays play Blondie "Call Me" when Colome comes in? If so, stop! If not, give it a try because we need to shake things up. I grabbed Danny Farquhar before the game even ended. Lord Farq could get a few saves if Colome remains dreck. ...Cause somebody once told me that Farquhar is an 'own me,' and I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed! Colome was looking kind of dumb with a crooked number on the board and an L shape hanging on his scorecard. Well, the years start coming-- Okay, I will stop now. In the end, Tommy Hunter got the save after the blown save, so he could also be in the mix if Colome needs a little rest. In one league, I grabbed Farquhar; in one league, I grabbed Hunter for ye ol' hedge. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Michael Taylor of the Washington Nationals is:
A) A bad baseball player.B) An improving baseball player.C) A good baseball player.D) A good looking baseball player.R) All of the above.
If you selected A, then you are correct. Anytime a headline for a story reads, "Nationals' Michael Taylor Might Have Had The Worst Game In Baseball History," you're always in consideration for being labelled a bad baseball player. I mean, the article opens with, "We're not even exaggerating..." So, Taylor went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts and left five men on base in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's not even the end of the story. In the bottom of the ninth, with the Nationals up by one run, Taylor charged a ball hit by Yasiel Puig but the ball went under his glove, which allowed two runs to score. Okay, one game does not make a player bad. It just means one game was played poorly. You gotta admit, though. That was pretty bad.
RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 12
June 27, 2017 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 32 Commentsby: MattTruss
I spent the past week vacationing in the armpit of the United States, New Jersey! I kid, there are actually a few nice spots in New Jersey. You'll just have to trust me. It's Grey’s old stomping ground, so you could say, I spent the week in the birthplace of Razzball. As I’m sure everyone who is hyper-competitive in the Razzball Commenter Leagues knows, vacation can really put a damper on your ability to grab players right before and after lineup lock. It’s the cross we bear. If there’s anything we’ve talked about ad nauseum, it’s the amount of time required in these daily move leagues. This is magnified for those of us in multiple RCLs. So, before setting out on vacation, make sure the wifi is suitable and maybe keep your options open around 7:05 PM EST. Can we all vent for a moment on the travesty that is the ESPN mobile app as well? 3 or 4G is great and all, but when you can’t even sort pitchers between SP or RP on the app, that’s a problem. Everything, it seems, takes at least 4 times as long on the app as well. Oh well, we can hope they get the hint someday and improve that shizzshow. Until then, keep that laptop handy and those vacations flexible.
Y'all better be ready. (Gotta love some fantasy baseball puns that involve some Cypress Hill.) Well, even if you didn't like it, I did. So there's that. So A.A. Ron Hicks hit the DL with an oblique injury... but I have to ask: Why is it so oblique if we actually know what it is? If anything, it's an un-oblique injury because we know what the injury is. Regardless, and I am dropping the "ir" because it is not a word, though it should be. Jacoby Ellsbury has returned like a stallion on a white stallion. Unfortunately for fantasy, Jacoby hasn't been such since dunkaroos were still a cool snack. As a Yankee rooter, Hicks' injury hurts because he is versatile and Ellsbury is just a DL nightmare. The rewards that you reaped from the waiver wire add of Hicks aren't lost though, because it is a substitute by substitute principle. It's like walking through the store and finding a 20 dollar bill. Only to realize that a month later it was your money to begin with. So reinvest that sorta found money to the waiver wire and keep digging. The expectations for Ellsbury should remain limited, but are boosted by where he bats in the Yankee lineup. Though in his SAGNOF defense, he did have 8 steals in just 149 plate appearances, so he does have some value as it relates to steals and such. And with the scuppering Yankees in a fall from fantasy grace, minus Judge, he could ease out some OF 4-5 value. Stay glued to that chair, more goodies after the jump on swipes, thievery and save-dom.
For lack of a better word, Mike Fiers ($15,000) is currently on fire. It was not too long ago that the DFS community was stacking against the Astros RHP and now I am recommending him as a must start tonight vs. the Oakland A's. Over his last 7 starts he is carrying a 2.40 ERA and just beat the As last week and pitched very well (6 IP 1 ER 5 Ks). The A's have been better against Righties than they have against Lefties but they still ranked towards the middle of the pack in AVG and OPS vs RHP (.244/.759). One thing they do offer is strikeout potential as they are 3rd in the league in Ks. He can be a nice compliment to Max Scherzer ($25,200) and still allow you to get some nice bats in your line up. Lets take a look at the picks...right after that editing dillweed tells you about something else...EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm beginning to feel like I've wronged you, Ignacio...neverthewho! Gang, the Tuesday Razzball Listener's League is on this week so bring your five bucks to the checkout stand and purchase one of the twenty spots, m'kay? If not for us, do it for yourself. NOW on to the picks...
New to FantasyDraft? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Technical difficulties forced us to re-record the final 45 minutes of the podcast, and Grey came out extra punchy for the second take. One second he is threatening to strangle me, and the next he is professing his love for me. Speaking of love, Grey also reveals that he was actually trying to get a job the first time he accidently hit on Cougs at the Chiropractor’s office (he still struggles to get her to read his scripts). On the fantasy baseball side, we cover a lot of ground, starting with Starling Marte, Carlos Rodon, Franklin Barreto, and Blake Snell, before moving on to some players on the rise, including Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Mike Montgomery, and Travis Shaw. Finally, I congratulate MattTruss for absolutely dominating the Razzball Only FantasyDraft Contest last week, and look forward to attempt to take him down in tonight's contest. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:
Elvis Has Left The Building Twice
June 27, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 380 Commentsby: Grey
There is no truth to the rumor that Elvis Andrus stole his entire playing career from "Fats" Domingo, "Ivory" Roberto Kelly or Nate King Colbert. Elvis hits the covers off the ball better than Cam "Carl" Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis Brinson. It is not Elvis' fault that the way he plays the bat is seen as an appropriation of a top shortstop of yesteryear. He's got the chops to knock down that axe! (All guitar knowledge I possess was used in that nine word sentence.) Yesterday, Elvis Andrus had the best game of an already great season, going 3-for-4, 3 runs, 4 RBIs with his 8th and 9th homers. On our Player Rater, he's in the top 20 overall. Not for shortstops, for all hitters and pitchers. Love me tender! Some of the names he's above Giancarlo, Correa, Mookie and Dee Gordon. Love me sweet! Never let me go! Well, not so fast there. If I thought you could actually get value for Andrus in a trade, I could see it since he's likely at his peak value. Unfortunately, there's little chance you'd get back in a trade anything resembling Andrus' value, so I'd Bubba hold Tep. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
One of the things I love most about baseball, but particularly covering prospects, is when a guy I totally missed on pops up, and exceeds expectations. Sure, I could become obsessed with my own reputation, and shoot down any suggestion that I missed on a player. But what fun is that? So, when it comes to Nick Pivetta, I'm not ashamed to say I didn't see this coming. Hell, I wrote up 15+ Phillies prospects, and name dropped another 7-8, and didn't even mention Pivetta. Fangraphs covered 33 Phillies prospects, and Pivetta ranked in at 27! All this to say, that the "out of nowhere" label is somewhat appropriate when it comes to the Phil's righthander. After an outstanding outing vs the Red Sox at home a few weeks ago, the strikeouts, and numbers in general seem to be trending in the right direction. So why not check him out, and see if we in fact have a breakout bubbling. Before we begin, big shouts to Oaktown Steve, who's been hyping up Pivetta in the comments the past few weeks like a Sabermetrics Flavor Flav. Only he turned in his giant clock (read that fast), for an abacus, which I've heard can get a bit bulky when worn as a necklace. Anyway, let's get into Pivetta's last start vs the Cardinals at home, the second time he's faced the Redbirds in four starts. He's going today in Arizona, so maybe we'll see if he's worth rolling out... Actually no rookie pitcher with a heavy fly-ball approach should be started in Arizona, but that's just common sense. On to the profile!
Is Carlos Gomez Back? …And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 13
June 26, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 31 Commentsby: mikeMaher
The theme of the Top 100 hitters this week is triumphant returns. Carlos Gomez is back from his latest trip to the disabled list and is mashing. Ab-so-lute-ly mash-ing. Keon Broxton, left for dead just a few weeks ago, is the hottest power-speed combo hunk in all the land. Even Cameron Maybin has returned to our ranks, though his return has been more gradual over the last few weeks since we lost our beloved Mike Trout.
I have not been overly kind to the newcomers since taking over this series. Perhaps that is my way of initiating them and making sure they belong among us Top 100ers. This week, though, my heart is filled with warmth. Perhaps it is because I am looking ahead to a mini 4th of July vacation, or maybe I am just getting soft in my old age :::pause here and smirk as you slowly look around the room:::.
Let's be honest...the vast majority of times someone claims in a DFS-article some super secret strategy or piece of information that will give you a massive edge, they’re entirely full of it. For once, I can actually offer you something quite useful: Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks) is about to take a massive decrease in its offensive-friendliness. As of today, Chase Field is the 2nd best stadium in 2017 for offense, and it’s always been a top-3 hitter friendly park. The Diamondbacks announced before the season started that they would begin using a humidor similar to what is used in Coors Field, but they could not give an exact timeline as to when it would begin being used other than it wouldn’t be immediately. It appears it’s going to be very, very soon. My best guess would be it begins being used right after the All-Star Break, and I doubt it will garner a lot of attention, but there’s a very good chance the humidor will turn Chase Field into a ballpark that is offense-neutral (specifically, power-neutral).
On to the picks once Chase Field uses a humidor...
Cheese Says Burrata, A’s Says Barreto
June 26, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 494 Commentsby: Grey
Oakland promoted Franklin Barreto this weekend, and a friend of mine who I only see when he's mowing my lawn said, "You got to go to The Mission if you really want a Barreto." Recalling my 1600 Yelp reviews of every Chipotle in Los Angeles county, I exclaimed, "No way, Jose!" But he replied, "Mr. Grey, my name is Julio." Then we laughed, and, even though he laughed with jajajajaja and I laughed with hahahaha, we found a common ground. As for fantasy, Prospector Ralph said, "Barreto offers hard contact, some speed. Gets caught a lot, and who knows how much the A's send him. He's exciting though. Upside guy with a low floor this season. Now can I go back to bitching about Tanaka?" There ya go! Right from the prospect whore's mouth! I tried to get Barreto in all of my leagues, but, alas, he was gone. Yesterday, he went 2-for-5, 1 run, after homering in his first game on Saturday. He's worth a flyer in all leagues in case he sticks with Semien. Ew. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
