On August 1, 2018, the National Hurricane Center began tracking a storm off the coast of Oakland. Residents did not flock to Costco to stockpile supplies or board up their windows in preparation, even though it was classified as a Category 1 hurricane. Granted, the residents don't even flock to Alameda Colisuem on a good day. On August 3, 2018, "El Laureano" made landfall. It got a knock and drove in some runs, but mostly struck out. It languished in the Bay Area for a few weeks, but then started getting stronger. Exhibiting power. Causing an excitement that engulfed the area like a blanket of fog. Then BOOM, BAM, POW! "El Laureano" aka Ramon Laureano now has a .280/.321/.480 slash with 3 home runs and 3 stolen bases. What to make of this tropical force?
Ramon Laureano is a 24-year-old outfielder from the Domincan Republic. He is 5' 11," 185 pounds and bats from the right side of the plate. Laureano was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 16th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. In 2017, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. You all probably know him for this, though:
Monthly Archives: August 2018
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RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 21
August 28, 2018 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 19 Commentsby: MattTruss
As the air starts to turn a bit cooler, the calendar flips to September and a large group of fantasy baseballers turn their attention to fantasy football. There are only five weeks left in the fantasy baseball season but what an important five weeks they are. As the rest of your league checks out to go play the fantasy sport that requires only one day per week of roster setting (or as I like to refer to it, chess vs. checkers) the true competitors remain to grind it out for Razzball Commenter Leagues glory. Right now only 0.2 RCL Points separate first from fourth in the Master Standings, so we should be in for a heck of a finish. We’ll take a look this week at the year long RCL records and what teams have a shot at setting new ones. Does your team have a shot at the RCL record books? Find out this and more in the week that was, week 21:
…You should occasionally look to the results,” goes the rest of the quote by Winston Churchill, but we’re going to ignore that last bit for now (although it’s generally good advice) and talk strategy for our lineup on Draft.com today. It’s an interesting day, given the pitching. We have a bunch of excellent – Cy Young-level excellent -- pitchers who have the misfortune of playing in good hitting parks or facing good hitting teams. And then pitchers who would normally be only mid-tier suddenly get a bump because of the teams they’re facing or the parks they’re pitching in. In short, there’s a lot of pitching and you can probably afford to wait until your second round to grab a pitcher. So I’d aim for a top IF first, then a pitcher, then an OF. Let's take a look at who's out there for the grabbin'.
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Assuming Urias Is Good For 2018 Makes You Or I An Ass
August 28, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 246 Commentsby: Grey
[brid autoplay="true" video="285346" player="10951" title="Fantasy Baseball Mailbag Week 22"]
The Padres began yesterday by lifting their brown, monk robe they purchased from the Dan Brown collection and showed their first twig of the prospect tree they have cloaked beneath: Luis Urias. Whenever you hear the Padres fans shout about their MI prospect -- they scream, "Our Luis Urias," and they sound like John McEnroe barking at a line judge. BTW, you know you're old if you've ever asked a barber to give you a Jimmy Connors, and then complained after they gave you a Pete Rose. Podcaster Ralph and I go over Luis Urias on today's pod, but, I will give you the general gist, which was also my high school band name. You might remember General Gist from such noteworthy songs as, "Keep Me Near You Or Thereabouts." Urias is a solid all-around bat, think .300 hitter, without huge power or speed. He's young though, which means he could blossom, so remain calm. For now, I will call you, Zen Bobrist. I would grab him if you're struggling at MI to see if he can catch fire and master Zen and the Art of MI Maintenance. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
It's the time of year that every counting stat matters down to a single digit. Are you in need of a rabbit or two to help push your stolen base total? Here are some potential sources of speed...
- Greg Allen: Here's a rare gem. Allen has the kind of speed that could equate to 40-50 steals over a full season. He's showing it since getting the call as a regular outfielder, with 6 SBs in the last 14 days. He'll sit occasionally, but the Indians don't seem to have many other options in centerfield.
- Rafael Ortega: There isn't much firepower left in the Marlins lineup, but Ortega has shown the ability to get on base about 35% of the time. That gives an above average opportunity for him ply his trade as a base stealer. He may not be a leadoff man with a career .350 OBP, but you can ride him while he's making contact.
- Amed Rosario: Speed is a large part of the equation for Rosario as a prospect so when he came into the season with a bum wheel it was cause for concern. Rightfully so, as he only managed to steal 6 bases in the first half. He may be over the leg issue, however. He's swiped 4 bags in the last two weeks to bring his second-half total to 9 SBs.
The top bat on the day, according to the all-knowing Hittertron, is none other than Bryce Harper. He's really started to come around in the second half as he’s raised his average up to around .250. That’s still not great, but it’s a far sight better than the sub-.220 it was for a while. Plus, with the power upside he has, you can live with a low average. He was held out of Sunday’s lineup with an illness but was able to come off the bench and go 2/2 with 3 RBIs, so maybe he should play sick more often. It's a good idea to fire him up in your lineup today on Draft.com.
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!
I’m Likin’ This, I’m LiKendrys A Lot
August 27, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 298 Commentsby: Grey
[brid autoplay="true" video="284415" player="10951" title="Fantasy Baseball Buy Sell Hold Week 22"]
Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr. sit in the airport, waiting for their flight out to Toronto, trying to make small talk, "How has post-Hall of Fame life been?" "Good, good, how has post, uh, mustache life been?" "Fine, yeah, fine." Finally, a Cooperstown employee approaches, "Where do you want Dale Long's sarcophagus?" "Are you not staying with it?" "I was just told to deliver it. Now, if Kendrys Morales breaks the home run record, you press this button on the side of the sarcophagus." Ken and Don look at each other and decide to try the button. Dale's sarcophagus opens and what resembles a crypt keeper says, "Wow, I can't believe he broke our record. That's outta sight!" And Dale's mummified eyes spin like a slot machine. This is reenactment of what Mattingly and Griffey are going through as they join Kendrys for the chase of their home runs in eight straight games record. Yesterday, Morales homered in his 7th straight game, going 1-for-3, 2 RBIs, and that was his 21st homer. I actually just picked up Kendrys Morales in my RCL league, after I picked up my jaw from surprise that he was still available. He’s so smooth right now, they call him Kendrys Alba. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Top 100 Hitters, Week 21: Pretty Pathetic Pollock
August 26, 2018 | Top 100 Hitters | 15 Commentsby: Kerry Klug
The 10 HR/8 SB/.302 AVG player we saw from AJ Pollock over the first month or so of the season is a top-20 player if that pace continues for a full season. However we know how this story goes, since May 4th (yes I know there was an injury in there because OF COURSE there was) Pollock has 184 ABs with only 6 HRs and 2 SBs with a .261 AVG. However, I keep him on these rankings because peak Pollock is a 20/40 threat. The only problem is peak Pollock is a pretty preposterous proposition. Whatever is hurting him this time seems to be limiting him on the base paths which is limiting you in your standings.
Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 22: Surviving The Gio-Storm
August 26, 2018 | Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 10 Commentsby: Dokken
For the first time since I can remember (which isn't that long really, thanks vodka) I added far more players back to the list than I took off. Huzzah! It felt good to not have to scrap for back-end-non-difference-makers. We even got Michael Kopech, finally! It even sounds like Eduardo Rodriguez should be back this week, although the same cannot be said about teammate Chris Sale or not-teammate James Paxton. Michael Fulmer returned after a lengthy absence and tossed 4.2 scoreless innings, which gives me hope that down the stretch he can pitch more like the player we expected back in March. Dylan Bundy, unfortunately, put up another dud and is completely off the list. You simply cannot deploy him right now. Here are some of the other notable starters from this past week of action.
As the fantasy baseball year dwindles down, the article this week is going to help to pinpoint the hot streaks you should ride out for the rest of the season. Starting with Greg Allen (FAAB: 2-3%) of the Cleveland Indians who provides speed to desperate squads. Since his recall, Allen has 7 stolen bases, and a homer, with a plus batting average. One of the most significant differences for Allen is an improved contact rate on his small sample from last season's debut. He is currently at 90% Z-Contact and 82.4% Overall Contact compared to 84.8% Z-Contact and 75.7% Overall Contact in 2017. Riding this hot streak will provide a bit of everything necessary to stay ahead in speed, average, and power categories. Plus, Allen has capabilities to supply multiple SB and HR during the week for head-to-head leagues and playoff situations.
In another life, Luis Severino had a 3.33 ERA against the Orioles, and a 3.62 ERA in their home park of Camden Yards, where he is pitching today. That was before the length and strength of that Baltimore lineup, Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop in particular, left to help other teams reach the postseason in the National League. The Yankees are not exactly desperate, but they are in need of a good Severino, and facing this Baltimore lineup is just the trick. It's because of info like this that Severino is #1 with a bullet on our Streamonator. Now let’s look at a few more early-, middle- and late-round picks for your Draft…drafts!
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Minor League Update: Kyle Tucker Is Hotter Than Fefe
August 26, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 43 Commentsby: Geoff
It's Tucking K-way!!! The announcers at Fresno Grizzles games should just yell that out every time Kyle Tucker hits the batters box. Seriously, there is no one hotter on the planet right now than Kyle Tucker. Now gentlemen and three ladies, I know what you're all thinking, "Real nice Ralphie, but where was this in the bigs kid?" BTW all of you have a Southie accent, and at least one Celtic cross tattoo. I just wanted to be clear about that. Oh, what's that? The sound of a walkoff three run dong off the bat of Tucker? He finished up Saturday night 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, a run, a stolen base, and a walk. Tucker is hitting .478/.510/.1.087 with 9 homers, 18 runs, 20 RBI, and 6 steals over his last ten games. That's some hero-ball type of stuff. Despite the struggles in his limited MLB looks I still foresee a future all-star, with 25-30 homer power, 15 steal speed, and a .270-.280 batting average. His setup, and swing are somewhat unique/unorthodox, whatever. With his uppercut bat-path, and upper body heavy swing, sometimes it almost looks like Tucker is throwing the bat, but he manages to get a lot of the barrel in the strike-zone, leading to a ton of good contact. All this to say, don't sell on Tucker. 2018 might not be his year to contribute, but I'd be in on 2019 in all formats. The lingering question is playing time, but Tucker is good enough that he'll force his way. It's easy to forget he's just 21, and will be 22 for the entirety of 2019. So there's plenty of time to get things to click at the big league level. I do think there will be some swing and miss struggles early, but those should stabilize with experience. Tucker is an obvious candidate for a September promotion, and could provide some spark with the right amount of playing time.
Down 6-2 in the bottom of the 9th, it looked like clinching the division would have to wait until Sunday. Then we loaded the bases and scored twice to bring up Kyle Tucker, whose life is a movie. And don't leave the game early!#Growlifornia ?? pic.twitter.com/rlHh1oGqFY
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) August 26, 2018
