An Angels Post That Isn’t About Ohtani or Trout…

January 17, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 27 Comments

Love is too strong of a word. I like The Los Angeles Angels' acquisition of shortstop Zack Cozart. As I write this column, it's the Halos' most recent power move. Subsequent to winning the lottery with Shohei Ohtani and trading for second baseman Ian Kinsler, while rumors pointed to Mike Moustakas, Billy Eppler zagged towards a more cost-effective option at third base. Rarely, however, is a cost-effective option also the better option. If Cozart ends up as a more productive player than Moustakas in 2018, I won't be stunned. (Hot take level? Medium). Think of it like this. You go to Whole Foods with a $20 budget. Instead of buying two pints of $10 ice cream, you purchase four pints of $5 ice cream. Then, you find out the $10 ice cream is actually worse for you than the $5 ice cream. Cozart is the $5 ice cream. Moustakas is the $10 ice cream. (Side note - Haagen Dazs is the best ice cream). Well, that metaphor and my praise only work if we're talking real-life value.

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Top 20 Catchers for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 17, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 199 Comments

by: Grey

After going over the top 10 for 2018 fantasy baseball and the top 20 for 2018 fantasy baseball (clickbait!), it's now time to turn our lonely eyes to you, Mr. Robinson Chirinos. To paraphrase The Refreshments from their should-be smash hit, Fonder and Blonder, "Who said absence makes the heart grow fonder. Pitches are thrown to catchers, but that doesn't make my heart grow fonder." Later in that song, they sing, "I'll be scratchin' it down," which sounds like it applies to all baseball players. Or as the rhyming dictionary has never said, applies to oranges. Any hoo! The projections noted in the post are my own, and I mention where tiers start and stop. I also mention a bunch of hullabaloo, so let’s get to it. Anyway, here's the top 20 catchers for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Fantasy Baseball Podcast: The Top 20 Players for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 16, 2018 | All Podcasts, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Razzball Podcast | 46 Comments

by: Geoff

The dynamic duo is back for the second time. Or potentially the first. Were we in fact back the first time if we had never been there before? Wow, I've talked myself into a circle. Any the flippidy flap, January Grey is back, and he brought his Top 20 with him! That's right, these are the spoken words to go with the written ones. We talk about why Mike Trout is good, Goldy vs. Jose Altuve, Freeman vs. Rizzo, and Lindor vs. Jose Ramirez (psssst not the Braves reliever). We pretty much make all the decisions in the first two rounds for you. It's a glorious discussion of what will be in the two dot eighteen. When Grey isn't dropping Top 20 knowledge, he's rapping lyrics to Belly. Enough of the spoilers, just listen blood! Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 20% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Top 20 for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 16, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 246 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, I went over the top 10 for 2018 fantasy baseball. Today, I throw out preconceived notions, drink some potions and lather up my body with lotions as I sloppily slip and slide my way through the most precarious top 20 for fantasy baseball I’ve ever encountered. This top twenty is a blind man playing Twister. Half the time, I’m grabbing for things not knowing if they’re there or not. I legit think this top 20 could go countless other ways. Is countless a widowed Countess? No, it’s not, it’s a confusing AF top 20 for fantasy baseball. Last year, I ranked no starters in the top 20. This year I decided to rank one so low you'd never draft him. If you want to bemoan my low ranking of one starter, then bemoan away. Just remember, a bemoaner sounds a bit to me like “U be a boner.” All the positional rankings will live under the 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Anyway, here’s the top 20 for 2018 fantasy baseball:

RCL Update: Bring It In 2018

January 15, 2018 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 73 Comments

by: MattTruss

Welcome Razzball Commenter Leagues friends to the preseason edition of the RCL update. I can't wait to get leagues kicked off in 2018. Football just doesn't satiate me the way fantasy baseball does and we have lots of excitement around the RCLs this year, as you'll see in a moment. I’m not sure if this makes me sound like a total old fart or not, but in 2017 I discovered there’s a lot of great content on YouTube. Pre 2017 I would only jump on YouTube to figure out how to do something on my vehicle, my lawnmower, my generator or some other small motor around my house that needed fixing. One of my favorite finds of 2017 was/is the VlogBrothers YouTube channel, specifically the videos posted by John Green. I’m a big fan of his books and discovered the channel while searching out a pre-order of his latest work. A recent post of his was about a concept presented to him by his therapist. The idea was to write a letter to yourself at the New Year stating what you will be leaving behind in the previous year and what you will be bringing to the coming year. That inspired me to do something similar with this first RCL post. There are some big changes coming to the RCLs this year and Razzball is looking for your input. So, click below and see what we’re leaving in 2017 and what we’re bringing to 2018. Make sure to cast a vote as we’ll be catering the RCLs to your wants and needs. How cool is that? Very!

Top 10 for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 15, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 247 Comments

by: Grey

I sure wish Grey would do his 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Wait, I am Grey and this is those rankings! AHHHHH!!! I need to sit down. Wait, I am sitting!!! I can’t handle all of this!!! I’m going to put on a pair of pants and go dance in the street. Meh, let’s be honest, pants are a chore. So, this is the greatest day ever! Now, only 400,000 words more until I finish my top 500 and I’ll be done. Worst day ever! Damn, that excitement was fleeting. Well, not for you because you don’t have to write all the rankings. You lucky son of a gun! I wish I were you… *wavy lines* Hey, why am I balding and have lost all definition in my buttocks? *wavy lines* Hmm, I’m gonna stay me. Now before we get into the top 10 for 2018 fantasy baseball (though I imagine every single one of you has skipped this intro paragraph), I’m gonna lay down some exposition. Here’s where you follow us on Twitter. Here’s where you follow us on Facebook. Here’s our fantasy baseball player rater. Here’s our fantasy baseball team name generator. Here is all of our 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. Here’s the position eligibility chart for 2018 fantasy baseball. And here is a picture of my son. What a punim! You may not get all of those links in such a handy, easy-to-use format ever again this year, so make proper note. (Unless you just go to the top menu on this page that says “Rankings” and click it, but semantics, my over-the-internet friend, semantics.) Also, as you might've noticed upfront, this year we're dipping our big toe into video. Yes, we only have one big toe, it is not plural. The preseason videos will be more rankings flotsam that washed up into my brain. They're also animated to reach that target 7-12 demographic. That's not 7 to 12-year-olds, that's the 7 to 12 adult males that enjoy animation. If the preseason videos are met with enthusiasm, we'll continue into the season. Now my expositional half insists I breakdown some generalizations about these 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. The 2018 fantasy baseball rankings will be an ever-evolving mass like the blob. This fantasy baseball top 10 for 2018 list is as of right now and could potentially change with a big injury or Mike Trout quitting baseball because he’s bored with being the best and wants to play competitive Mahjong. (I’m not sure yet where Trout would rank in my Mahjong Top 10.) So while it is the 2018 fantasy baseball gospel, take it with a tablet of salt. Tomorrow we will cover the rest of the top twenty for 2018 fantasy baseball, then we will go around the horn with a top 20 (more like 50) list for every position. Then for pitchers and outfielders, I’ll turn the dial to 100 (more like 140). Listed with each player are my 2018 projections. Did I consult with anyone else who does projections? It would be ignorant not to, but, in the end, these are my projections. Players need 5 games started at a position to get included in the positional rankings. Finally, as with each list in the 2018 fantasy baseball rankings, I will be mentioning where I see tiers start and stop. I look at tiers like this, if Jose Altuve and Paul Goldschmidt are in the same tier, it doesn’t matter if one guy is ranked 2nd and one guy is ranked 3rd, they’re both very close. It comes down to personal preference. I would prefer the guy at number two over the guy at three, but you do you, I’ll do me and let’s hope we don’t go blind. Anyway, here’s the top 10 for 2018 fantasy baseball:

2018 Kansas City Royals Minor League Preview

January 14, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 46 Comments

by: Geoff

Recently someone told me "The Royals ain't got no prospects", I encouraged this person to look deeper because the Royals got prospects. The problem just so happens to be, they only have about six good ones. Then again, that's what happens when you do nothing but draft lefthanded starters that can't find the plate, and dudes named Bubba and Hunter. For a team that knew they could lose multiple players to free agency, the Royals did very little to turn that into controllable assets. What you're left with is the list below. Best described as a handful of bright spots, some solid depth arms, and a couple of fringy bats destined for quad-A labels. The one truly fantasy relevant angle to this whole post is the opportunity that exists at the major level, at least as of writing this. Even if Eric Hosmer is re-signed, or other cheap vets are brought in, there's simply not enough depth for the Royals to not employ a few hitters from this list. One note, I'm not writing about Kyle Zimmer. Okay, I'll probably still write about Kyle Zimmer. You know why? Because everyone needs to know about the prospects the Royals got. Everyone! Readers go out into the world and share this like made up political memes or President Trump tweets or tweets about Doanld Trump tweets. So share. Because we need to know the good word about an awful system. It's the Kansas City Royals top prospects for 2018.

Rick Perry Convinced Astros To Invest In Cole

January 13, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 49 Comments

by: Grey

Yo, this winter trading season has been a Bomb Cyclone, but not as in the winter storm, or a flurry of moves, but rather the Bomb Cyclone, the Coney Island roller coaster that kills one of four riders. "This doesn't seem that rickety." Three minutes later, "Is the wooden plank I'm sitting on supposed to be falling to the ground from 75 feet in the air?" Seriously, is this the worst offseason for player signings and/or trades? Players aren't even signing in dribs and drabs, they're not signing at all. My rankings start on Monday, and I have dozens of players that read something like, "Still a free agent, so this could change." By the way, a urologist should put on his business card, "Specializes in drips and drabs." As for Gerrit Cole being traded to the Astros, this sorta sums him up:

Astros fans: Gerrit Cole is so much better than his numbers. Pirates fans: So glad we're no longer the ones justifying how Gerrit Cole is better than his numbers.
— Razzball (@Razzball) January 10, 2018

I might go back in on Cole if he can turn his career around from his 4.26 ERA last year, but I'm waiting for him to flip a U-ey before I hunker down in his bunker. I've been burned way too many times by, "Cole's looking great in his start...Damn, if it wasn't for that 3-run homer he allowed in the sixth, that would've been a solid start." Yeah, I'm done with that. Since I wasn't going near Cole anyway, I'm actually more disappointed by this move because it bumps Brad Peacock from the rotation. Peacock's bloomage looked to be peaking. All of Peacock's numbers were more attractive to me than Cole. Alas, it doesn't matter. Peacock is out of the rotation until there's an injury. Though, this does help solidify Trevor Williams' place in the Pirates' rotation. Here's my Trevor Williams sleeper. Me likey! For 2018, I'll give Gerrit Cole the projections of 13-10/3.78/1.23/181 in 195 IP. Anyway, here's what else I saw this offseason for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Prospect Podcast: 2018 Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects

January 13, 2018 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 50 Comments

by: Geoff

When you write, research, and talk ad nauseam about minor league systems for four to five months exclusively, you look forward to some systems more than others. The Cincinnati Reds are a team I couldn't wait to cover. From Nick Senzel to Taylor Trammell, Hunter Greene, and the rest, this organization is full of talents with fantasy upside. My compadre Lance Brozdowski and I dive in on all the top names and pretty much talk about the top three like they're our children. Seriously I think we talk about Nick Senzel for 47 minutes. He's that good... But in truth we cover the top 15 prospects, the arms, the bats, the 80 grade names. We learn that the words Cash and Case together form a massive tongue twister for Lance. Then again Cash Case is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, who speaks Mandarin. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 20% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:

Ian Happ, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 12, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 140 Comments

by: Grey

Ian Happ doesn't even have a starting job, but I'm crazy excited about him. I think he's the first player I've ever written a sleeper post about without a guaranteed starting job. He's going to lack runs and RBIs, because Joe Maddon is so smart he needs to outwit himself to stay one step of himself. Make sense? It's not supposed to. Last year, he had 24 HRs, 8 SBs and .253 in only 364 ABs. *fighting urge to prorate* Ugh! I'm not mentally strong enough to avoid the Prorating Monster. Last year, he had 65% of an everyday player's at-bats, so with a full-time job he would've had 32 homers, 11 steals in his rookie year. *eyes roll up in top of head, faints, Giancarlo catches me in his arms, wiping my brow with his handkerchief* "Thank you, Giancarlo. Wait, that's not your arm you caught me with?" You might be thinking, as a rational person would, that Ian Happ was platooned because of his huge platoon splits. Haha, yeah, no. He's a switch hitter with no real splits. Also, you might be thinking he is stuck behind someone who absolutely has to play every day. Yeah, nope. He played 145 games last year across five positions. The Cubs are just kinda stacked and Happ played everywhere. Last year, he played the most games at center field. Right now, he's still projected to see the most time in center. Guess who's in front of him. Go ahead, I won't laugh if you say the wrong name. Did you just say Crash Bandicoot? That's the worst guess I've ever heard. In front of Happ is Albert Almora Jr. I'm sorry, Maddon does bonkers shizz, but there's no way Almora moves Happ to the bench more than a few times a week, and those times Happ can just play another position. So, what can we expect from Ian Happ for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Kevin Gausman, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 11, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 124 Comments

by: Grey

Me don't like focusing so much on AL East starters for sleepers. Me do like talking like a leprechaun. Kevin Gausman is stealing me Lucky Charms! Last year, Gausman's record was 11-12/4.68/1.49/179 in 186 2/3 IP. Here's what I said towards the end of last year, "This year, like a case of lice, Gausman is a real head scratcher. Looking at his perfs (kids say this; think it’s short for perfumes), Gausman is having a garbage year. Velocity is there, so doubt it’s a hidden injury. The walks are way up, Ks are down, and the culprit appears to be his fastball. Went from a near-10 in pitch value on his speed ball to a negative. FS shouldn’t abbreviate fastball, it should be for 'F**k’s sake.' The good news is this sounds like a mechanics problem, and might’ve been fixed already. Thanks, Pep Boys! His 1st half vs. 2nd half: 5.85 ERA vs. 3.44; 7.7 K/9 vs. 9.6 K/9; 4 BB/9 vs. 3.2. Yeah, sadly enough, it’s going to be hard to avoid him in 2018 again." And that's me quoting me! So, what can we expect for Kevin Gausman for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Patrick Corbin, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 10, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 102 Comments

by: Grey

Patrick Corbin will be only 28 years old for half of the 2018 season. I know, surprised me too. How did I know that would surprise you? I read your mind, man. What's that? You're now thinking string cheese would make a good tampon for a mouse? Hmm, all right, you shouldn't share that with anyone. What is that you are thinking now? Why not take one McRib and make a McEve? Okay, I think I'm going to stop reading your mind now. Seriously *motions to your head* things are going on up there we don't need to talk about. Last year, Patrick Corbin, or as a serial killer would call him Pat Rick Corbin, went 14-13/4.03/1.42/178, and I fell asleep in the middle of that stat line. 1.42 isn't a WHIP it's my college GPA. Four-oh-three isn't an ERA, it's an ate-testant's starting weight on The Biggest Loser. 178 isn't strikeouts it's--Actually that's not bad. As a male porn actor once said, it's about time we went under the hood. So, what can we expect from Patrick Corbin for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?