Week 2 of Razzball’s top 100 hitters is here! Now with actual baseball being played! This list is not going to be overly reactionary after nine days of rainy, snowy baseball. Barring injury you won’t see too many shake-ups among the top hitters. Yes, I see Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, and Anthony Rizzo’s batting averages and I’m not going to freak out and you probably aren't either. Should you try to buy low on them if someone’s entire team is really under-performing: of course you should. In the same vein, if you saw in the comments last week everyone was calling for Jose Martinez to be on the list, but he has just as many multi-hit games as 0-fer games. If he can even that out a little bit he’ll find himself climbing this list faster than the yodeler in a game of Cliffhangers on Price is Right after some fool says that a bag of rice-a-roni costs 10 bucks. Get a grip Suzanne! Shohei Ohtani on the other hand -- after the sloppiest of sloppy springs he is now starting to live up to the Japanese Babe Ruth moniker with HRs in three straight games. He's not in the top 100 proper just yet -- but should he keep this up he'll be rising up.
Monthly Archives: April 2018
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It really doesn’t matter if Yonny Chirinos (24, SP/RP, Tampa Bay Rays: 10% FAAB) is a starter or reliever, as long as he is on the mound in the MLB, he should be on fantasy teams. It only took him 54 pitches to get through 5 scoreless innings of the Red Sox lineup. The sinker has some great movement and he also carries two other pitches above 18+% SwStr% to start the season. He has been a staple on the Fringe Five, written by Carson Cistulli, and the KATOH prospect lists on Fangraphs. This means the numbers have been good, but watching him pitch in the bigs is confirmation. Since reaching A-ball in 2015, he has not posted a BB% above 4.2% and that elite command has been paired with a 50% GB% more often than not. This makes him extremely talented at limiting baserunners, which showed in Fenway. He could become available in more leagues if people are impatient with a hybrid-bullpen role. Yonny will provide serious ratio help and strikeout upside with a nasty slider/splitter combo to play off that bendy sinker. After taking down Boston twice he may cost a bit more, but anything around 10% of your FAAB is acceptable. I can see a 2017 Brad Peacock stat-line at the end of this season for Yonny Chirinos.
Who doesn’t want to draft every Sunday of the fantasy baseball season? Well then, pop on over to DRAFT.com and join a 3, 4, 6 or even 10 player draft. I’ve been playing around over there a bit this first week plus and depending on which size draft your choose will determine how you attack the draft. I’ve been using the principles of Value Based Drafting or VBD to draft my teams. This means taking the projected points for the final player drafted at each position (P, IF, OF) and subtracting from all the players at that position, then re-ranking based on VBD. This is especially easy to pull off if you have subscribed to Rudy’s Tools. If not, you can use the same principles with your own rankings. All that being said, there are three top pitchers on the slate today with Shohei Ohtani, Kershaw and Morton. Ohtani is my top target, because, why not at this point? Ohtani has done nothing but live up to the hype so far with his fastball checking in at the highest velocity among all starting pitchers so far this year. That said, if I were playing a 3 man draft, I’d pass on pitcher until my final pick. In the 4, 6 and especially 10 player drafts though, I’d boost these three up a bit to make sure I nabbed one and would be inclined to reach a tad for Ohtani. Let’s look at a few more early, middle and late round picks for your Draft...drafts!
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On a cold early April night in Connecticut, I got my first looks at both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in the flesh. In a matchup not short on prospects, I met fellow Razzball writers Paul (the) Martin, and Lance Brozdowski, as well as friend Scott Greene, founder of Prospects 1500. The four of us frequently paused baseball and fantasy discussion to get as many clips of Vlad, Bo, Brendan Rodgers, Sam Hilliard, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Garrett Hampson on our phones as we could. In the early going, I was impressed by the Yard Goats starter Jesus Tinoco, who was popping 95 with a wicked breaking ball. Second time through the order was not so kind however. We didn't get a ton of offense from the trio of top prospects, but we did get a two run double from Bichette down the leftfield line, and a chopper just inside the third base bag that went for extra bases from Guerrero. Hartford's Brendan Rodgers went 0-for-4, and Gurriel went 0-for-3 with two walks. One off the radar standout from last night was Yonathan Daza, who hit .341 last season at Lancaster, to go along with 31 steals on 39 attempts. He hit two hard ground balls up the middle, driving in Hartford's lone run. All in all a good night, here's some video from the game, as well as some other noisemakers in the early going of the MiLB season.
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Heck yes we’re going to talk about Scott Schebler today! To be exact, I’m going to write, and you’re going to read but let’s not start by splitting hairs right off the bat. Now where was I? Oh yeah, Scott Schebler. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Moran More Hits for the Bucs
April 7, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 40 Commentsby: Dan Pants
Over the passed six months I have been imprisoned, suspended in static animation in the maximum security Galactic Fantasy Federation facility, falsely accused of recommending buys I would never endorse and urging people to sell players that I actually hold very dear. A couple lucky shots from a make-shift ion blaster I was able to telepathically build in space incarceration using spare pieces from my Mark VII Quantum E-Meter and I have escaped at last. I am writing this through a secure, untraceable VPN so I can provide you loyal readers with the fantasy information you've come to expect from me, even if its information so sensitive and secret that the Galactic Fantasy Federation would do anything to stop me from sharing it. I have time for a quick Friday recap before the space dogs come sniffing around my hiding hole again. And I do mean quick--just eight games on a Friday!? Y tho? Regardless, one of the few games played featured the Pirates of Pittsburgh's plundering of the poor Cincinnati Red Legs. Unlike Sea of Thieves, this Pirates game actually featured a lot of action. The Bucs scored 14 runs on 15 hits, lead by 25-year-old third baseman [player]Colin Moran[/player] who collected four hits, scoring three runs and driving in three. I wrote about Moran last July but that may have been a bit premature. So many super prospects in Houston, it's hard to stand out. In Pittsburgh, almost every prospect they've had over the past five years has been disappointing so the bar is much lower for Colin to excel. The youngster is slashing .318/.348/.545 through five games started with a homer and 8 RBI, but it's that sexy .893 OPS that makes me raise my eyebrow, Dwayne Johnson! It's still early, but Colin should have plenty of opportunity to show what he's got in the surprisingly exciting Bucs line up. Buy Moran, don't be moronic! I think he's worth a flier in all leagues, but don't tell the Galactic Federation I told you that! Moran is Colin you to pick him up!
Here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
FantasyDraft: Cole Mining Won’t Get You Shafted
April 7, 2018 | DFS, FantasyDraft | 1 Commentby: VictoriaB
I’ve held a myriad of weird jobs over the years, none of which I’ve been qualified for: Closed captioner for every episode of The Monkees shown here in Canada (seriously)? Check. Audio engineer in a TV mobile truck for hockey games? Check. Report writer at a geology firm? Check. Writer at Razzball? Check. I have always kind of winged it (wung it?) through life. And that’s the theme for this post: winging it. As I write this on Friday night, the Dodgers-Giants game has just been postponed and God knows who’s going to be playing where tomorrow. Also, I’ll be on a plane (winging it!) so I won’t be able to check for you. So forgive me in advance if everything I say below is irrelevant by the time the first Saturday game starts (and as always, check your lineups, kids). But going with the information we have at present, I’m going to suggest you throw Gerrit Cole into your FantasyDraft team for Saturday. Ya, he has frustrated us all in the past, but he is taking the mound versus the third-worst-in-MLB San Diego Padres. (Aside: You know, someday I’d just like to give the Padres a comforting group hug.) He had an outstanding start last time versus the Rangers, going 7 innings of 2-hit ball, and I think he’s worth the $24,000 today (and yes, that does make him the priciest pitcher on the main slate) — he’s probably going to get you a win. But if you don’t dig him (BECAUSE COAL, GEDDIT… OK, I’ll stope), I’ve excavated some more options for you after the jump.
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Minor league ball is back, and it's "Pants Tent" season at Casa Del Broshitz. We begin this episode with a quick look at the teams to follow early in the minor league season. Which top prospects are playing where, what teams are the most talent rich, we cover it all in the early going. We even get into some good Jay Groome and Ryan Mountcastle talk. Never one to be curt, we devote the second half of the show to the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects. We delve into Mitch Keller, Austin Meadows, Colin Moran, and more. 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:
For thousands of millennia, which is millions of years, Samoans were a persecuted people, due to their big bones. One Samoan, Fa'a'la'a'la'la'la told one reporter, "If you ordered a flank steak, and got a thick ribeye, you'd be so pleased," then Fa'a'la'a'la'la'la got choked up, "But if you order a five-foot, six-inch man and get a 485-pound man wearing a grass skirt, you make fun." However, through all this ridicule, the Samoans always had their main industry on the island. An industry that sustained their people. An industry that brought everyone together. However, this industry has taken a hit this last year. This industry is manufacturing tiki torches. Fa'a'la'a'la'la'la said, "Now tiki torches make us racist?! We're big-boned Islanders, we can't be racist!" Now, the Samoan people may have had their torches snuffed, but have a new bright spot: Sean Manaea. He's not big-boned and he has no apostrophes in his last name, but I can assure you he is Samoan. He's also a straight dazzlenozzle so far this year. His command is at a minuscule 0.6 K/9, and his xFIP is 3.40. His velocity is a little off, and his Ks haven't been outstanding, but in the early going, with pitching as it's been, I'd buy Manaea everywhere. If not for him, do it for Fa'a'la'a'la'la'la. Anyway, here's some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Closer news is nice, but how much fluctuation is really happening in the first eight games of the year? Zero is the answer... but what about Kenley Jansen? If you drafted him, you are riding that gondola to closer purgatory as his draft slot is an inexcusable smorgasbord of devilishness. In layman's terms? You are burnt. So like closers, I also cover their well being of your local neighborhood holds guys too. Early season patterns of usage are a key to early season effectiveness. Managers stick with guys early that have had a good spring and can be relied on to get tough outs. It is no different than later in the season, but some of the faces change because of poor spring, injury returns, and dreaded attrition factors that all relief pitchers battle. The role of the relief pitcher is completely expanding, as more former starters are being used in multi-inning appearances. Would it completely blow your mind if I said there have been more multi-inning appearances of four strikeouts than there have been starts with seven-plus innings? Boom, mind blown. The Peacock effect is in full bloom. Following the Devenski Effect of a year ago, the multi-inning reliever is going to become a hot commodity fantasy-wise... hopefully by Wednesday. The K-factor, the "free inning" factor, and the way you can time a relief pitcher on a down starting pitcher day is the exploitation factor that can vault your rates into the next level. It happens subtly and takes diligence on the wire, but two-3 K's and rates per day at the cost of merely a few innings (as compared to a starter maybe going 5 innings and throwing 85 pitches) makes me wanna puke. Thanks Gabe Kapler. So keep an eye out for multi-inning relief cave dwellers and the goodies that they supply. Or just stick around here and learn about everything else that is happening around the bullpens around fake baseball!
The Keepers Corner: Taking Advantage After Week 1
April 6, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 7 Commentsby: Al Shines
Finally! We have over a week of actual baseball in the books as the 2018 season is in full throttle. Besides players freezing their asses off and at least one postponed game a day, it's been great! I love watching fantasy owners take this insanely long season and juxtaposed with it having define the entire year. There is no reason to trade one of your top picks who’s slumping like a [player]Joey Votto[/player] or [player]Trea Turner[/player] and flip them for [player]Adam Eaton[/player] and some change, I am not treating [player]Patrick Corbin[/player] like a top ten pitcher humidor or not, I don’t think [player]Matt Davidson[/player] is even close to being this season's [player]Aaron Judge[/player], and [player]Kevin Pillar[/player] isn’t a steals specialist after getting three in one game against the same pitcher. Although I don’t look much into the first week, I do like to watch for the amount of playing time that is given to the younger players and who seems to have to most potential for a breakout. In keeper leagues, it's important to always be quick on the waiver wires when these young prospects get called up because you may end up picking up your future last round pick for next season.
What do ya hear? What do ya say? We're a week into the MLB season, are you jumping to conclusions yet? I'm just kidding, we've all been doing that since the very first pitch. While it's nice to see your season-long teams at the top of the standings this early, it's still just one week out of about 25 in the grand scheme of things. It's not meaningless, but, you know, nothing is guaranteed. Plenty of guys who are off to slow starts will catch fire this weekend and vice versa, so it's important not to get too up or too down or too high (especially if you aren't yet on the 40-man roster) or too low. That being said, daily fantasy is a one night stand with no time for regression. You must dance with the matchups you chose when lineups lock, but only until about midnight. Wham, bam, thank you, sirs. Then start all over again tomorrow. But first, here are my picks for tonight's slate on FanDuel.
New to FanDuel? 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!
