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I love keeper leagues. Love ‘em. Can’t get enough of ‘em. Redraft leagues are fine and all but with keeper leagues you become more connected to certain players and have an affinity for them over all others. They become the unofficial “face of your franchise” and are synonymous with your team. Hanley Ramirez will always be one of my favorite players because he was one of my keepers from 2007 (back when he was a 50 base stealing FLORIDA Marlins shortstop) until 2012. I grabbed 26 error third basemen Ryan Braun in 2007 and he was my ride or die until he was 61 games-played outfielder Ryan Braun in 2013. I still haven’t forgiven him for embarrassing the Roswell Aliens like that… Keeper leagues add a new wrinkle to your draft strategy. You’re keeping Gary Sanchez? Great! You don’t have to decide whether you want to draft James McCann or Tucker Barnhart in the 25th round!  Keeping one of the big-4 aces? Wonderful! You can now load up on offense early and wait to take Kyle Hendricks as your second starter. If I were writing this article pre-season 2017 pitchers would be few and far between on this list. Only Clayton Kershaw would’ve been found in the top 25. Now, in this juiced ball era, starting pitchers find themselves a bit more valuable. Although, with this universal humidor situation it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the faces of our teams. For example, the day after the Arizona Diamondbacks announced that they would utilize a humidor in their stadium I saw a tweet that said Paul Goldschmidt fell to the 15th overall pick in one draft. If they kept Paul Goldschmidt himself in a humidor for all of 2018 I’d still draft him before pick 15. Let’s get into my methodology here. I’m going to be mainly focusing on 2018 because the future is hard to predict. However I’m not going to completely ignore that if you’re reading this article you’re probably not in a 1-year keeper league so there will be some projecting for the next few years as well. That means age will be a factor here. Joey Votto can still smash, but is 34 while his younger brother Freddie Freeman hits just as well and is only turning 29 at the end of this season. Position will also be a factor. Needing 1 second basemen in a shallow pool means that they’re more valuable than the 3-5 outfielders you’ll need. The intersectionality of speed/power and age will also be considered. Dee Gordon is turning 30 in April -- how long will his legs hold up? Chone Figgins went to Seattle in his 30’s in 2012 and his career was donezo by 2013. Injury history should also be considered. Giancarlo Stanton was an MVP in 2017, but had over 500 ABs just twice in his previous 7 seasons. As a Yankee fan I’m hoping he stays healthy, but as a fantasy baseball owner I’m cautious. Have any of you actually read any of this or did you just jump straight to the chart to find your players? Oh well, enough jibber-jabber! Let’s get into it: The 2018 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join with prizes! All the exclamation points!

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Wed 5/14
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
With the advent of the 10-day disabled lists the MLB saw an uptick in the number of DL visits in 2017. But the only thing that matters to us fantasy ballers is how it affects our leagues? One initial response I've seem from some in my leagues is that we need more DL spots. On the surface it makes sense, but when you dig a bit below the surface, I don't think it's really true. Before I make any official statements let me say that this all depends on the composition of your league's roster definition. How many players in your active lineup, how many bench players and how many DL spots do you already have. In most cases I don't think the introduction of the 10-day DL changes things. That is, of course, unless your league's settings already had you on the fence or you were already in a compromising (under-benched) situation. In one of my leagues there have been a few requests for an additional DL spot in response to the 10-day DL. When considering how to deal with this, here is how I decided to proceed.
The fairest way to decide if there should be an additional DL spot was to examine the number of DL stints last year as opposed to previous season. A bit below are the number of DL stints for the last three seasons. 15-day DL visits went from 423 (2015) down to 358 (2016) and then up to 495 (2017) when the 15-day became the 10-day. I could not find data prior to 2015. So according to the numbers, there was an average of 393 15-day DL visits in 2015/16. In 2017 there were 102 additional visits. While this sounds like a lot, it's not. Playing the law of averages game (not an exact science) let's say all 102 of those additional visits were associated with a player rostered on a team in your league. This is very unlikely, but worst case scenario. Across 12 teams, that would be an additional 8.5 DL visits per team over the course of the season. But let's be real here, maybe half of those 102 visits are actually relevant. Many were to players that not even rostered. That cuts the number of additional DL stints to about 4 per team over the year. Given this, I couldn't justify adding another DL spot.
Yup, I'm going for the stars of schmohawks this year.  What fun is it pussyfooting around saying some guys are overrated whom no one is drafting?  By the by, there's millennials right now squinting at my use of pussyfooting, thinking, "That's not a very woke word.  Can't we make that word more cisgender, non-binary?  How about codpiecefooting?  Ken Doll's groinfooting? An innie-on-the-no-no-touch-area-footing?"  However you want to get to that word is on you.  Or is it "howmever?"  Never the hoo!  Carlos Correa is the latest guy to get clowned and frowned on.  To get the sour candy face.  To get the head nod, then when I pass them, I fart.  All that's left to draft in the first two rounds is Mike Trout and Jose Altuve.  Mea culpa, my Latin friends.  Ain't how I drew it up originally, but the more I dug into the numbers it was where I ended up and...*bangs phone*  Why did Waze take me down a dead end?!  So, what can we expect from Carlos Correa for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?
Last week we covered why you should join a Razzball Commenter League, so this week let’s start covering what to do once you’re in there.  To be honest, most all of this has been covered somewhere on the site over the years, most often by Rudy. If you haven’t been playing in Razzball Commenter Leagues though, I could see how some of this has been glossed over, so I’ll try to consolidate some info for the newbies.  Even with the recent rule changes, I don’t think the strategy is going to change a ton.  We’ll all be learning and adapting to the new format together though, so even RCL rookies will be on an even playing field to start.  If you disagree, or think my strategy is whack, let’s talk about it in the comments.  Like I said, we’ll all be trying out the new format for the first year together, so let’s see what we dig up.
Fresh off the Aaron Judge Schmohawk backlash, Grey Albright AKA "The Fantasy Master Lothario" returns for another week of "Grey's rankings on audiobook" otherwise known as the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast. This week on the show Mr. Albright and I dig into the top 40 Outfielders for 2018 Fantasy Baseball. Listen as we go player by player through Grey's outfield ranks. We talk Aaron Judge, J.D. Martinez's fit in Fenway, is Tommy Pham overrated? We play Starling Marte vs. Andrew Benintendi, and then I blow my top discussing my love for both Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. We in fact cover 40 outfielders on this show, so strap in and get ready for the speed sermon. 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 Podcast:
*karate chops the air* HiiiiiiiiiiYA!  Chopping down overrated players with the quickness and I've set my sights on Tommy Pham.  Speaking of karate, you have to bow if your opponent bows, right?  So, I'd be a World Karate Champion by bowing non-stop with a sneak attack worked in.  They'd call me, Bowing Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I'd be fierce.  *wavy lines signaling dream sequence*  I bow, opponent bows, I bow again and opponent knocks me out with one kick.  *wavy lines signaling end of dream sequence*  Damn, I can't even make myself a karate champion in my dreams.  You know what?  I don't need kay-ROT-té!  I have fantasy baseball!  However, what I don't have on my fantasy baseball teams this year is Tommy Pham.  "Land mine, right ahead!"  That's the remake of the Titanic after a nuclear holocaust and someone and someone accidentally merges the Titanic wiki page with Princess Di's.  By the way, imagine watching Survivor after a nuclear war.  "Um, yeah, so they're starving, so what?  So am I!"  Am I the only excited for the new season of Survivor?  Prolly, unless a time traveler from 2002 is reading this.  Any hoo!  I didn't think I was gonna have to write this post, but I see some very smart fantasy baseball people being trip-wired by Pham, so I need to lift the haze.  Illuminate the love story in the genre-bending, The Crying Game, and make the world less Phambiguous.  Ignite a roadside flare in your brain.  So, what can we expect from Tommy Pham for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?
It’s that magical time of year again, when players report to spring training and nerds report to their keyboards with dreams of drafting an all-star fantasy team. Looking to go beyond the copious 2018 fantasy baseball draft tools and online fantasy baseball war room? Do you yearn to have the ultimate drafting tool, to track goals and keep track of how other teams are doing? Want rankings based on points/OPS/etc instead of just plain old roto? Aiming to fill your roster with not just stars but also the occasional diamond in the rough, still available far beyond a reasonable ADP? Look no further - it’s here… the downloadable 2018 fantasy baseball war room! The 2018 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join with prizes! All the exclamation points!
Michael Wacha holds a special place in my heart. When Albert Pujols left the Cardinals for the west coast during December of 2011, I partially disowned the player I was most fond of in my childhood; the reason I became a Cardinals fan back in 2001. (Hopefully I didn't just lose a lot of readers...) Having a vague understanding of compensatory draft picks, I paid attention to the 2012 MLB Draft. When the 19th pick came up, and St. Louis selected the tall righty from Texas A&M, I associated some of my fleeting distaste for Pujols with the gift given due to his departure. The logic of disowning a player for nothing more than assuming his blind loyalty, which no player should have, in retrospect, was terrible. But the product of my now-distant bitterness was admiration for Wacha. That affinity soared when he broke out during the 2013 Postseason, mowing through the Pirates and Dodgers before collapsing in Fenway during the final game of the World Series. Wacha then evolved into the low hanging fruit of regression candidates when 2015 finished, fulling that tag a year later when the product didn't match his peripherals. But an aggregated look at last season stands out for the 26-year-old. A noticeable jump in strikeouts, coupled with usage tinkering, results in an intriguing starting pitcher who lasts into the 20th round of drafts on average. Rudy has Wacha 175th overall on Razzball's Player Rater for 15-team NFBC leagues, a solid five rounds ahead of his current NFBC price tag.  Grey is even more aggressive on Wacha, ranking him as a viable SP3, inside his top 40 pitchers and inside his top 125 overall. There is love for Wacha on Razzball and I support the aggression. It's hard to think of Wacha without citing his injury history and his ADP may be a tangible result of his unfortunate doctor visits. I alternate my perception of Wacha's injuries between two categories of thought: development and mechanical. Development is all eye-test or feel based. I hold a space in my mind, with every young arm, that aging and growth can help mature one's body out of recurring injuries. Others are simply just injury prone. If that doesn't quench your thirst for understanding - it shouldn't - then the folks over on Top Velocity's YouTube channel might help. I've cited their expertise multiple times with Ralph on the Razzball Prospect Podcast, and do so again here to fulfill the "mechanical" portion of my thoughts on Wacha's injuries. One of the things they point out is the lack of engagement in Wacha's lower half. It might look like he's driving off his back leg after you observe his toe drag away from the rubber, but that's a deceptive trick of the eye when you compare his lower half to a pitcher like Noah Syndergaard.
I know the consensus opinion of the worldwide web aka internet aka 4chan aka Russian bots on Twitter.  Saying Aaron Judge is overrated is not going to be a popular opinion.  I may as well go to a Kiwanis club on vet night and tell them they fought in The Great War so we could now have Lady Doritos, then tell them I refuse to eat Lady Doritos until we have non-binary Doritos.  "This Spicy Not-Ya-Sex chip is delicious."  That's me eating non-binary Doritos.   On the bright side, finally, we can do a baby reveal party with Doritos.  That would be as popular as calling Aaron Judge overrated.  Walking into a Korean spa and telling the owners I was there to check for hidden cameras would be greeted more enthusiastically.  Standing behind the counter at Chipotle, announcing there's no more avocados, would be greeted more warmly.  Saying Aaron Judge is overrated is a real pickle.  However, for Christmas, I got a sous vide machine and I've made pickles every weekend for the last six weeks, so I drink up your pickle!  I drink it up!  Wow, that sounds very wrong.  Keeping with the recurring theme that wasn't recurring until right now, Aaron Judge is butter pickles.  Could be sweet, but I don't like sweet pickles.  I like them shizzes sour.  Then again, I'm sour on Judge, so I should be all right with him; I'm not, though.  So, why is Aaron Judge overrated and what can we expect from him for 2018 fantasy baseball?
Welcome to Razzball’s 2018 team previews. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be previewing all of the teams and talking to writers who represent those teams around the web. We want to provide the best and most in-depth fantasy projections to go along with the asking the most useful questions to those who know their teams best. We want to talk about the players in the first half of your draft and also the deep sleepers that make you log into google and start watching Midwest Single-A ball for hours. Just kidding, don’t do that, hopefully we don’t go that far… The Twins shocked everyone in 2017 as they became the first team in the history of baseball to go from losing over 100 games to making the playoffs the following season. The new front office regime headed by Thad Levine and Derek Falvey are yanking the organization into the modern era and expanding their analytics department. I asked Brandon Warne of The Athletic Minnesota about some of the most hotly debated players on this ascending roster. Of course, the Twins continued to make moves late into the offseason, signing Anibal Sanchez and trading for Jake Odorizzi shortly after I spoke to Brandon. Sanchez should serve as a stopgap until Ervin Santana makes his way back from finger surgery, but Odorizzi provides some much needed mid-rotation stability. Let's get Brandon's take on some of the other players and situations of interest!
Why can't any of these elbows stay healthy? Why is Dr. Nick still the head of the Mets medical staff?!? I kid, I kid Mets fans! Or do I? Seriously, I'm not 100% joking, you know it, I know it, Fred Wilpon's tailor knows it. The Mets have done an unbelievable job of messing up a good thing. They are not only in one of the biggest media markets on earth, they have a passionate and loyal fanbase. Yet, due to mismanagement on a gargantuan scale, they've come to be known as the cash strapped neighbors of the Yankees. The Mets have screwed up a golden generation of pitchers, to the point that their players' elbows are a punchline. It's not just their major league rotation either, there's at least three players below with elbow injuries. Perhaps some of it's bad luck, maybe there's a curse, or it's just a thing called Mets. Dude, they're still paying Bobby Bonilla!!! Mets fans are good people, I know a few. This is for you, because with the yawn inspiring nature of this system, I needed something to keep me going. Anyway, this is one of the weaker systems in the game, it's the New York Mets Top Prospects for 2018 Fantasy Baseball.
Welcome to Razzball’s 2018 team previews. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be previewing all of the teams and talking to writers who represent those teams around the web. We want to provide the best and most in-depth fantasy projections to go along with the asking the most useful questions to those who know their teams best. We want to talk about the players in the first half of your draft and also the deep sleepers that make you log into google and start watching Midwest Single-A ball for hours. Just kidding, don’t do that, hopefully we don’t go that far… The Cincinnati Reds may be a team that struggles for victories for another season, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a plethora of fantasy baseball talent all over the field. Of course, there is Joey Votto who remains an ageless wonder over at first base. There are also flamethrowers Luis Castillo and Raisel Iglesias. Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett showed some power potential last season and Billy Hamilton will not be lacking in the stolen base category. There are many interesting aspects to talk about so I grabbed On Baseball Writing Podcast host Eric Roseberry.