Mike Clevinger ($17,600) looks like he should be performing a rock concert with his long grunge band looking hair and his arm full of tattoos but he will be taking the mound in instead. He seems to be a great bargain tonight as he is currently on a nice roll, allowing just 2 ERs in his last three starts and racking 20 Strikeouts during that span. He should continue that trend as he heads to San Francisco to battle one of the worst teams in baseball. The San Francisco Giants are one of the worst hitting teams against RHP, they currently support a .240AVG and .674 OPS against righties . Both of those numbers rank toward the bottom of the league. To add injury to insult, they rank 28th in the league in runs scored and are dead LAST in HRs hit. Clevinger has been hurt by his walks allowed which doesn't let him get deep into games at time but the Giants are one of the most impatient teams and rarely walk.
To go with Clevinger, I'd pair him with JA Happ ($15,000). He's squaring off against a struggling Boston Red Sox team. Over the last week, the Red Sox are hitting .212 as a team and have really had a hard time plating runs. Happ is a very serviceable option that tends to always pitch deeper into games and can be matched with Clayton Kershaw to provide some bats if you'd prefer. Now that we have talked about some pitching options, lets take a look at some bats...
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Monthly Archives: July 2017
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I tried to get Grey going to start the podcast again, but he didn’t take the bait this time. He was too excited over his brand new podcast microphone. I wasn’t sure if I noticed a difference during the show, but listening back, I think he might be clearer. You guys can be the judge of that. We then get right into the blockbuster Jose Quintana trade, and how much this changes his fantasy value, if at all. We discuss Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle heading to Washington, Madison Bumgarner’s return, and Johnny Cueto’s blisters. At the midway point of the show, we bring on Razzball’s own Mike Maher to talk about a few interesting hitters on his Top 100 Hitters post this week, including Marwin Gonzalez, Kyle Seager, Tommy Pham, Chris Taylor, and Keon Broxton. Finally, Grey and I gush over the insanely high quality of RotoWear.com’s t-shirts, and thank Kenny for hooking the Razzball community up with 15% off by entering promo code “SAGNOF.” It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:
Regression Fairies Out Of Cage And Leaving Las Vargas
July 18, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 452 Commentsby: Grey
Hehe, I'm such a jerk. I finally dedicate a lede to Jason Vargas and it's to point out how bad he was last night -- 2 2/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA up to 3.06. Well, look at it this way. If he wasn't good for so long, him being bad wouldn't matter. For unstints, my friend texted me yesterday, "R. Kelly's being accused of holding girls against their will in his cult." I texted back, "That's one cult where you really don't want to drink the Kool-Aid." It was the least surprising news yesterday. 2nd least surprising is the Vargas regression. What happens with regression, stays in Vargas. He's not done regressing either, if his peripherals hold. He has a 6.8 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 4.87 xFIP, i.e., A lost Vargas is not just a Wynn, but one of those sure-cuts, sure-cuts. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Parker Bridwell Can’t Lose …And The Top 100 Starters, Week 16
July 17, 2017 | Pitcher Profiles | 54 Commentsby: Geoff
Way back in April the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Commonwealth of Independent States, sent the notorious "Player To Be Named Later" to the Baltimore Orioles for Parker Bridwell. At the time Bridwell was an unheard of 25 year old righthander with less than 20 innings above AA. The move flew under the radar to most of the baseball world with the exception of the Bridwell family, and an eccentric dyslexic real estate agent named Shelly with a passion for anything bird related. See no one at the time, could have foreseen this unheralded pro in his 7th season in the minors helping a major league ball club. Fast forward 3 months, and here we sit about to breakdown Bridwell's 6th major league start of 2017 against the contending Tampa Bay Rays. What a world!
2017 has been a weird season for baseball. Not only are baseballs leaving ballparks like super balls, but players like Justin Smoak and Logan Morrison are winning fantasy leagues for people. Before the season started, I never thought I would be writing those names on this website. Now, I write them every week (Okay, usually I just have to copy/paste).
While doing some research over the All-Star break, I found more than a dozen players who had already hit more home runs in the first half of 2017 than they ever had in any other full season. That wasn’t even really what I was looking for. I just kept finding more and more of them. One of those players, as you may have guessed because of the title of this article and the number of professional baseball players named Marwin, is Marwin Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is a player I have been keeping an eye on all year and is someone commenters have been asking about a lot lately. Until recently, he still wasn’t playing every day and was moving all over the field. When he did play, though, he was mashing. Son wrote about him in his Bear or Bull series last week, and I recommend going and giving that a read. I’ll wait here while you do.
Like Son goes over in his piece, the biggest difference for Gonzalez this season has been his approach at the plate. His BB% is way up, his K% is way down, and his O-Swing% is down. That all indicates an improved approach at the plate. For proof, here’s a chart!
The greatest rivalry in sports reasserted its standing this weekend.
New York versus Boston; corporate versus blue collar; Mookie Betts versus Aaron Judge; Aroldis Chapman versus.... himself?
Baseball rivalries are unique in the frequency at which the clubs meet. More than twenty times in a given season, you'll see navy and red clash, and even though common intuition might assume this devalues each individual matchup, the tenacity of a decades-old rivalry like this abandons the adoption of that rule.
If you're looking for a fantasy rivalry of the same caliber, it is with great pleasure I bring you a centuries-old matchup.
Grey versus Rudy...
My friends, welcome back from your DFS break if you didn't play last Friday, Saturday, or Sunday...oh who are we kidding, you've been tying off and tapping that fantasy vein so much since the second half started, we should probably get you checked for infection. Well, I've seen Trainspotting so let's avoid that come down process that leads to creepy babies crawling along the ceiling for you and keep you DFS juiced. Today's third most expensive pitcher is Adam Wainwright, so the world is trying to tell you something: start Adam Wainwright. Wait, no! The world is trying to tell you it's a tourney play kinda day. I'd avoid cash play today and stay in the warm GPP waters. But of course, that's not what my title is about. My title is pointing you to Josh Tomlin. Tomlin's a control freak with a minute 1.06 BB/9 with an alright K rate of 6.77 per 9. His big issue is the long ball as he has HR/FB rates of someone pitching BP for the Home Run Derby. Thankfully he gets to pitch against the Giants tonight in AT&T Park, a stadium that ranks last for HR factor. Speaking of, Giants, you might wanna tap Cleveland's shoulder about a trade or something here...anyhoo, enough of me playing GM, let's play DFS. Here's my hot summer taeks for this Monday FD slate...
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!
Matt Grace picked up his 2nd save in as many games on Saturday for the Nationals, and Ben Zobrist's wife started to work on a song titled, "Saving Grace," and requested Ben's trade to Washington. Then, first thing on Sunday, the Nats traded for Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle, and Saving Grace became a B-side for "Halleberrylujah, A Catwoman Licks Herself (Rated PG)." When asked if the trade makes his team better, the Nats' GM said, "That's right," and, "I'm Mike Rizzo." Picture this: Dusty and Rizzo looking at a book called, "Baseball Strategy." Rizzo looks at Dusty, and Dusty says, "I got the baseball part," and Rizzo nods his head. Finally, Rizzo chimes in, "I don't know the 2nd word and I don't think it's worth investigating." Dusty agrees, and that's the Nationals. So, who will close between Madson and Doolittle? Your guess = my guess. I'd want to say Madson, but it could be either, both or neither as they trade for David Robertson or someone else. By the time the calendar turns to August, the Nationals might have five closers from teams not in the pennant chase. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Hey Batter³ Contest, Week 16: Spring(er) Chicken
July 16, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 37 Commentsby: malamoney
It’s the dead of summer and there is nothing better to do here in Tampa other than go to the beach. It’s forbidden to wear jeans during the months of July and August as the temperature rarely dips below 90 degrees. Earlier this week there was a shark attack in the Miami area where a guy was bit on both legs. However, today I’m receiving alerts that there will be a shark attack in the San Diego area. Today Jeff Samardzija takes the mound against Padres in San Diego. This will likely be a favorite just because he is going up against the Padres and that seems to be the trend with every DFS player. Shark has not been impressive at all this season. His home/away splits are not impressive in regards to ERA. One stat that he has consistently maintained is his 9.69 k/9. I think Shark is a must play today given the pitcher friendly park and pitcher friendly lineup.
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!
Two-Start Starters, Week 16: A Worthy Suter?
July 16, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers | 30 Commentsby: mikeMaher
The list of two-start starters for Week 16 is pretty ugly. Not only did it take some time to materialize as teams figured out their rotations following the All-Star break, but once the dust settled and we had a good idea of who would be starting when many of the names we were left with were not all that appealing. Sure, the high-end options like Kershaw (for now), Strasburg, and Greinke were there, but the meat and bones of the list were lacking.
Just ignore Clayton Kershaw. At this point in the season, I am convinced that Dave Roberts reads this post every week and then trolls us all by changing his rotation on Sunday night. He is at the top of the list as of this writing, but that could easily change in the next few seconds. The Dodgers have a dozen or so possible starting pitchers, and Roberts shuffles or adjusts his rotation pretty frequently.
One name to take a look at this week is the soft-tossing Brent Suter. While he does not exactly light up the radar gun, he has been very effective in his recent stint as a starter for the Brewers. In his last two starts, he shut out the Orioles over six innings while striking out eight and then allowed just two earned runs over 6 ? innings against the Yankees while striking out five before the break.
Throughout his career in the minors, Suter has been consistently solid-yet-unremarkable. In other words, he has never really been great but hasn’t been bad, either. He has a 3.44 ERA across six seasons in the minor leagues while throwing to a 3.12 ERA during his time in the show. His 2.96/2.78/8.23/2.63 (see chart below) is also solid.
Streamonator does not like him as much as I do. The ‘nator has Suter up around its 20th best option or so (with a negative value), while I have him at the top of the Standards category below, which puts him around 15th or so. He is, however, only owned in 1% of all RCLs, so he should be available to everyone reading this except the one person who is in the league with that one guy or gal who already picked him up.
If you are in need of an arm in the short term, especially in a two-start week, you can do worse. You can do better, too, but I like Suter as a guy who can offer some solid short term numbers. Other guys Streamonator likes for the upcoming week who are owned in less than 50% of RCLs: Matt Moore, Zack Wheeler, and Rafael Montero.
Minor League Notes: The Devers Hunt is on in Boston
July 16, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 45 Commentsby: Geoff
I was all set to open with Triston McKenzie's 6 no hit innings, but then Rafael Devers collected his third hit of the night in his AAA debut. In the midst of writing this post while regretting my choice to spend my Saturday afternoon, and early evening, and night watching that Marathon Red Sox and Yankees affair, I had the alert pop up on my phone that Devers was about to make his 4th at bat of the night. So I turned away from McKenzie, turned away from Ronald Acuna (2 for 4, 2R, 1Bb, 1 RBI) and Ozzie Albies (1 for 5, 1R) vs Yoan Moncada (1 for 4, 1R, 2 SO's) in the Charlotte vs. Gwinnett game, and tuned into the PawSox vs Syracuse affair to witness Devers 4th at bat of the contest. The Chiefs (Washington's AAA affiliate) brought in veteran Neal Cotts of 10 years MLB experience to get the lefty on lefty matchup with Devers. Ahead of Cotts in a 2-1 count Devers hit a ball middle-up to right field for his first AAA homer.
The following inning he made a bare-handed play on the run, throwing out Pedro Severino.
The rumors are swirling regarding Todd Frazier to the Red Sox, with Ken Rosenthal deducing the trade was "almost inevitable". I for one as a life-long Red Sox fan, and avid follower and fan of prospects, team-building, and organizational depth make this plea to one David Dombrowski. Sir, please don't trade anything for Todd Frazier and his .210 batting average. Give Lin another week or two, let Devers shine in Pawtucket, and call the kid up around the trade deadline. It costs you nothing but a 40 man spot, why delay the inevitable for a rental? Xander Bogaerts came up late in 2013, and was better for his experience down the stretch and into the post-season. Much like Ronald Acuna has in the early stages of his AAA career, Devers may force the Red Sox hand, as he just looks so much better than anything they can acquire. Simple logic really, why give up assets when you don't have to?... Anyway, here's what else I saw in MiLB.
