Has there been a bigger surprise this season than the 26 bombs Eugenio Suarez has dropped? Guy has gone from fringe infielder to power corner while holding down one of the game's nice young prospects. Adapting your preexisting evaluation of players is one of the harder things to do in the course of a season. Suarez is a top play now, especially against lefties. Let's see who else you need to consider on
Draft.com today
.
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Lance Lynn had to shave his beard to play for the Yankees, because the Yankees are fascists. I wish Giancarlo would grow a mustache as giant FU. What, are they going to bench him until he shaves? Actually, Giancarlo should carve an F and a U in both of his sideburns. That would be such a 1970's move. You could see Willie Stargell, high as a kite, being like, "Carve, 'Down with Whitey' in my sideburns." Little did we know a clean-shaven Lynn would be an all-new pitcher, throwing 7 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 1 walk, ERA at 4.58. Prior to the trade, here's the Twins pitching coach talking to the bullpen catcher, "Do you think Lynn might be dragging his right side a little bit because of all that facial hair?" "I don't know, but Sasquatches have been deemed the new sexy 'It Thing,' so who's to argue?" Yesterday, we saw more of Lynn (literally and figuratively) of what made him a solid starter in St. Louis for many years. His season numbers are still garbage but, if nothing else, the
Stream-o-Nator loves his next start. If he can command his pitches, he could have a solid final seven weeks. It's all about The Art of Shaving two walks off his rate. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Jon Gray made two starts in the minor leagues on July 3 and 8. His first was ok (6 IP, 2 ER, o BB, 6 K) and his second wasn't great (4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K). Craig Edwards of Fangraphs wrote a great column on whether Gray
deserved his demotion. His premise highlighted the
massive discrepancy between Gray's ERA and FIP, something brought on by a mix Coors Field and poor luck.
My affinity for statistics often wins out over "gut feelings" and other intangible factors, but I've also never been in the shoes of a baseball operations employee staring at seven consecutive starts of more than three earned runs and considered how confident I was in the numbers winning out. Particularly odd about the demotion is the seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance Gray twirled against the Marlins after his stretch of misery. He followed this rebound up with another poor outing on August 28 and
then was demoted. If anything, I would've been encouraged Gray's dominance of the Marlins and more willing to tolerate a poor performance similar to his prior stretch. The Rockies were not that tolerable.
Join the 2018-19 Razzball Fantasy Premier League for a chance at prizes! Don’t know about Fantasy Soccer? That’s okay, Smokey is here to walk with you throughout this journey of exploration and an absurd amount of accent marks on player names. So probably hide all your snacks. It’ll be a long journey…
Ah, words. It is funny how the simplest play on words could lead to such stupid humor. Because on one hand,
Mallex Smith could be an exotic dancer... on the basepaths, and the other? Well, we know the implication. Either way, in his artistry it can only be called one thing: SAGNOF sexy. The base-stealing profession hasn't been the most flourishing business, with the price of liquor licenses and the growing deficit of accumulation on the stat. It is a dying business. One that allows you to jump all nimbly-pimbly from steal branch to steal branch. When looking at steals, especially in the SAGNOF world, I try to break them down into a two week stretch. I look for who is getting the at-bats, who is getting on base, and of course who is actually stealing bases. Over that 14 game stretch, Mallex is doing all three. He is getting at-bats, and not all from the leadoff spot either. ( He's getting on base at a .528 clip, with a BB% of 13%.) These numbers are all the dream scenario for a SAGNOF savior for a week or three. Steals? Well, he stole more bases (6) than everyone in baseball not named
Jose Ramirez or
Whit Merrifield. The joyous thing about this, is that the Rays are basically punting but not actually trying to lose. So the at-bats and opportunities will and should continue. As with most saviors of the theft, counting stats are going to be spotty and the one thing you can count on slightly are runs scored, but in smaller comparisons, because... well, the Rays don't score a ton. So if you are on the lookout for a few here and few there steals, then Mallex is your boy for the next few games, or even a week. But don't fall in love, because he will break your heart by Labor Day. Cheers!
Spinoffs are a risky business with some great hits (
The Colbert Report, Better Call Saul, The Jeffersons) and others that never made it (
After Mash, The Conners, Joey). I’m taking the risk of writing a spin off article from the
2019 Players To Target Now In Dynasty? The article highlighted players whose value could change in 2019 that you can obtain on the cheap now. This piece has a similar target, but for players who haven’t performed up to expectations in 2018 that I expect to bounce back in 2019.
As a Giants fan, it pains me to say this, but you really should get
Charlie Morton in your lineups today. Come for that great sub-3 ERA, but stay for the 159 Ks in 124 innings. Add in the fact that he takes the mound in the Bay against a Giants team that doesn't score a ton of runs and is still missing Brandon Belt. Buster Posey has also been plagued by injuries this season, so I wouldn't be shocked if he gets a rest. Mix all that together and we're looking at great things from Morton. I think we should expect a steak dinner.
New to Draft? 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!
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Matt Olson, affectionately known as Allahson by people in Middle East Bay, hit his 22nd homer yesterday. An inconsequential home run to the game, but it's a part of a larger tapestry. Khris Davis hit his 31st homer, his 4th homer of the week, but, again, pull back, view the larger picture. That home run didn't matter! Speaking of a matter, Matt Chapman hit his 15th homer, as he hit out of the two-hole, because the A's can. Sure, the A's can and two-hole are synonymous. But, of course, all of this happened. Look at the larger picture! Trevor Cahill went 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 3.12, which is exactly what was always meant to happen. Don't you see it yet? On Saturday, Edwin Jackson went 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.87. No one on the A's will have a bad game this year. Know why? Are you pulled back far enough to see the larger picture? No one will have a bad game because no one sells their soul and doesn't specify they want to be good until the end of the season. "Hey, cool horns and pitchfork. So, yeah, here's my soul, and can you make me pitch well until the first week of August?" That would never happen! The A's aren't the best team in baseball without serious voodoo, soul-selling! I have it on good authority someone was seen in the A's clubhouse with a 1970's-style mustache hiding horns on top of their head! That's the devil, unless Rollie Fingers remodeled his face. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Matt Carpenter (up 36 spots): In his first 186 ABs: 23 runs, 7 HR, 21 RBI, .215 AVG. In his next 183 ABs: 47 runs, 19 HRs, 36 RBI, .339 AVG. End paragraph.
There's a few guys every week who I'm keeping a close eye on who are on the cusp of making the Top 100 Hitters list. This week the guys on the bubble are: Mallex Smith, Kole Calhoun and Ian Kinsler. Smith is looking like everything we want Billy Hamilton to be. Like Hamilton, Smith had an eye-popping stolen base season in the minors (92 in 2014!) But Mallex is actually getting on base at a great rate (.357) this year, something Hamilton has sworn against. Mallex has all the speed of Hamilton and with opportunity could put together an amazing full season next year. I'm sure you already realized this, but Kole Calhoun was just the worst until the end of May. .162 batting average. That's worse than some pitchers! Maybe -- I don't know. I'm pro-NL-DH. Haters gonna hate! Well Kole world got demoted and found the ghost of Babe Ruth while hitting for the Salt Lake Bees. (Beads?!) Since his return to The Los Angeles Trouts he's hitting .302 with 27 runs, 13 HRs, 30 RBI and has even stolen 2 bases just for fun. If this pace keeps up, he'll be rocketing up this list. Finally, Ian Kinsler has a pretty nice 20 game hot streak. He's got 15 runs, 2 HRs, 10 RBI, 2 SBs, and a .347 AVG in that span. Now, put those numbers batting 6th behind Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and friends. His value just got a nice shot in the arm.
Tyler O'Neill (10-15% FAAB) is currently the most exciting outfield option for the St. Louis Cardinals. His combination of speed, power, and pedigree place him high on my list of fantasy prospects. There is an existing narrative that he strikes out too much for the big leagues. However, O'Neill dropped his K% down to 23.8% in AAA this season before his promotion this past week. This vast improvement is a sign from God for the fantasy baseball world. Still only 23-years-old, this bodybuilding outfielder looks to make the most of his debut. I am a firm believer in the talent this bat possesses, and he's even stolen double-digit bases in the past. O'Neill is extremely athletic with the potential to blast off during these last few months. If your team needs some serious upside for a final push in the standings, here's your guy.
1939 was a
great year for movies. You've got
Gone with the Wind,
Goodbye Mr. Chips and, of course,
The Wizard Of Oz. Dorothy told us there's
no place like home, and that's the mantra for #1 on today's
Streamonator:
Aaron Nola. Nola's home numbers are mind blowing. Get this: 8-0, 1.99 ERA, .985 WHIP. And today his victims are the sad Miami Marlins, who hit Nola to a weak .214 batting average and .512 OPS. Others may be focused on Gerrit Cole, but he's facing the Dodgers, who know him well and have had some success against him. Go with Nola and
melt your competition like sweet little Dorothy. Now let’s look at a few more early-, middle- and late-round picks for your
Draft…drafts!
New to Draft? 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 you do. It’s how we know you care!
Is it too early to update my first year player draft rankings? Because we have a battle to replace Alec Bohm at the top of the list. In one corner we have Cardinals wunderkind Nolan Gorman. A power-hitting prodigy, with Herculean raw power, and a bat so quick and compact he could turn on a hollow-point on the inside. At 18 he already has a big league body, and the pretty swing to match. St. Louis was aggressive with him, skipping the Gulf Coast League for the more advanced Appy league. The results have certainly backed that decision, through 33 games the third basemen is slashing .341/.437/.682. In yesterday’s game he connected for his 11th homer of the season, as part of a 4-for-6 performance. He’s in the midst of a 7 game hitting streak and has homers in three straight. Actually he has homers in four of his last five games, slugging two doubles on Tuesday in his homer-less game. So this leads us back to our original question; Is Gorman the number 1 pick in FYPD? The question is yes and no, for me it’s a two man battle between Gorman, and Jonathan India, more on him later. But it’s tough to argue against Gorman’s bat at the moment. If you were to say he was the best hitter in the draft, you might be right. He’s been great so far, and a promotion to the full season Midwest League could come shortly. For now consider Gorman a major mover in my forthcoming Top 500 update.
