Not Your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…
Back when I was just a young Jack, Grandpa-Donk would regale all us little Donks with tales of his extensive world travels. The old donk especially enjoyed visiting Mexico. On his first venture down south of the border, gramps experienced the full wrath of Montezuma's Revenge. His exact words, "Coming out both ends for days". But somehow, after that maiden voyage to the other side of the Rio Grande, G-Donk never again suffered the Hispanic Hershey Squirts.
This reminds me of the curious case of Francellis "Frankie" Montas. Last year Montas started 11 games from the end of May thru October. After posting three quality starts in his first three outings, Montaszuma's Revenge hit abruptly, as Frankie managed only 2 quality starts over the course of his next eight outings. The Runs were plentiful, if you know what I'm saying.
This season Montas has come out with some solid logs. Game logs, I mean. Thru his first four 2019 starts, the one named Francellis has thrown 23 1/3 IP, boasting three quality starts, a 2.70 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, an increased K rate, decreased walk rate, and loads of fiber in his diet. One cause for optimism this go round, is the addition of a nasty splitter to his repertoire this year which opponents are batting a measly .143 against. The splitter complements an elite fastball which is up almost one full mile per hour from last season, now sitting at an average velocity of 96.6 mph, along with an above average slider. Mr. Montaszuma has also been getting ahead of hitters often in the early going with a lofty 63% first pitch strike rate. Make sure Montas isn't available in your league, I can wait.
Monthly Archives: April 2019
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SAGNOF!, Week 4: Pop A Peep
April 22, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, SAGNOF | 4 Commentsby: Roto-Wan
Spring is here. I hope everyone had a good Easter and Passover. Chasing steals is much like the loved/hated holiday mascot, Peeps. You don't want to eat them as much as they're part of the experience. Make the most of it, just don't go overboard or they expand in your stomach/roster and make you feel bloated...
FanDuel: Everything is on (Chris) Sale
April 22, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |by: wander34
Monday’s 10 game slate lack’s a sure thing starting pitcher. But with Chris Sale priced way down ($8,400), it sure is tough to look past the scissor-wielding ace of the Boston Red Sox. This may be more of a GPP play than cash one given his recent performance. But at his price, FanDuel is begging us to play Sale. Not only did the southpaw see his velocity return in his last start, but this is also a great matchup for the Red Sox starter. The Tigers’ have putrid numbers against lefties in 2019, and are found near the bottom of the league in all relevant offensive stats. They own a .086 ISO, .200 BAA and a 25.6% K-rate against left-handed pitching in 2019. And Vegas agrees as Boston opened up as the biggest favorites on the slate at -230, and the Tigers’ over/under run total at just three. His suppressed price tag should allow for you to get some Coors’ exposure, as well as take advantage of the other prime matchups listed below.
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Tucker: The Man And His Dreamy Speed
April 22, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 766 Commentsby: Grey
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If you said you loved Kevin Kline in the role of Cole Tucker, you wouldn't be wrong. What can't Kevin Kline do? Yo, Kevin Kline, wanna be my father? "Sir, this is a Cheesecake Factory and that's James, our short-order cook, not Kevin Kline." I'm crazy for rookie bats. As crazy as I am for rookie bats, I'm tepid on rookie arms. I don't dislike them, but roofies are real and dangerous. Rookie bats, however...*places nose right above a stick of butter, inhales deeply* So, the Pirates called up Cole Tucker. He's the sexiest Pittsburgh shortstop since....uh Jack Wilson wasn't very sexy...uh...Jordy Mercer God no...Erik Gonzalez bleh...Arky Vaughan! Arky took no crap, quitting for three years at one point because he got sore at Leo Durocher for talking to the press about a teammate. And Arky still made the Hall of Fame! Of course, he had to wait 33 years after his death. Any hoo! Besides Cole Tucker sounding like he wears Vineyard Vines, what do we know about Tucker? He has 30-steal speed. Love that. Where else are we finding that? That alone is reason to grab him in every league. Yes, every league. Next up, he made swing adjustments and is more a 17-homer hitter than the under-5 homer guy he showed before this year. In 18 spring at-bats, he hit two homers. In 57 Triple-A at-bats, he hit three homers. In his first career at-bat with the Pirates, he homered. For power, I'm going to start saying Triple-A is samesies with the majors. We'll see if my new approach pans out! So, 17/30/.250 while also taking a walk? I told you every league. The Ghost of Arky Vaughan can eat a D! (If the site suddenly goes down for three years, we know why.) Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Top 100 Hitters, Week 4: Jose Ramirez Watch
April 21, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Hitters | 41 Commentsby: Kerry Klug
I'm starting a new feature for this column -- Jose Ramirez Watch! The mood is tense! No one is losing more value than Ramirez right now. In a lot of leagues he was a top-10 pick and right now he isn't even justifying a top-100 pick. It's still early for him -- but his owners have to be disappointed.
Last Week: 14 | This Week: 25
Last 7 days: 5/22, 6 runs, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 227 AVG
Another disappointing week for J-Ram, however, it is better than the previous week when he went 2 for 25. Baby steps? Here’s what I said to a commenter in last week’s top 100 column:
“JRam wasn’t hitting over .250 until April 24th last year.He’s got a higher hard contact rate so far this season (yay!) but also a higher soft contact rate (boo!) His BABIP is only .167 after last year’s 252. I’d obviously hold and wait until May 1. I think he’ll be fine — not 2018 foooiinnneee — but 2019 fine.”
Let’s see where his average sits later this week...
There’s nothing quite like the mid-season grind and we’re in the thick of it at this point. Something I’m looking forward to this week is all of the players returning from the IL. While that doesn’t necessarily impact our streamers, it is something to keep an eye on when constructing lineups. In terms of streamers, we need to keep track of the weather. There is rain forecasted all over the country in the midst of spring and it could definitely alter some of these starts. With that in mind, let’s get started with some two-start streamers.
FanDuel: Paxt(ing)on The Pounds
April 21, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |by: NichFields
For many of us today is a day of celebration; we spend time with community, with family, we eat way too freaking much, and it is glorious. May fat and happy be the goal for us all today. Let's fill our waistlines, lean back and enjoy the feast before us.
And what better way to pack on the pounds than with James Paxton ($9,600). It was meant to be; we have to play him. It’s a good thing he’s also a great value. He should be the cornerstone of our lineup construction this slate. He is coming off a 70 point performance against Boston, he has elite velocity that gets better as the game rolls on, and he is facing a team that is in the bottom tier against LHP. Paxton is the best value on the slate by a good margin, and he should be owned in a sizable chunk of our lineups, possibly upwards of 40-50 percent. Now, let’s take a look at the rest of our favorite picks for the FanDuel main slate.
Have a great holiday weekend!
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Prospect News: Honeynotwell
April 21, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 48 Commentsby: Mike
As if it weren't enough that the injury bugs are destroying our MLB fantasy teams in the early weeks of the season, they're apparently coming after our precious pitching prospects now too. Brent Honeywell, number 21 in your programs but number one in your hearts, experienced some forearm soreness and will be shutting it down for at least a week or so. If somebody like me gets forearm soreness it's no big deal and people just question what I do with my free time. But for Honeywell, who is coming off Tommy John surgery and was a sexy pick for some second half starts with the Rays, this is crappy news. Hopefully this is just a case of the Rays being extra cautious with a top prospect and in two weeks we can put the noose back in our underwear drawer. *assistant whispers in my ear that not everyone keeps a noose in their underwear drawer* Well then, Mr. Happy, here's what else is happening around the minor leagues...
The only reason Junis has the lede is because his name enabled the title. His points per start is piss poor at 10.25 points and it seems he must have eaten some stale matzah before Friday night's start in New York because it was terrible. Here are my four questions. Why is this night different from all nights? It's not. Jakob's performance really put a damper on seders throughout the fantasy community. However... I am still a believer. In Junis that is. After all it has only been four starts. My preseason estimations had him at about 13 and change points per start, but I was/am optimistic that he'd outperform those numbers. I still think he gets there, but he has some work to do. In 22 innings he does have 24 strikeout. So there's that. Like I said, it's only been four starts. Look at Jameson Taillon, he's averaging 8.75 points per start. Anyone ready to throw in the towel on him yet? I do realize that we are talking about pitchers of differing pedigree, but the point is four starts a season does not make. Instead of Junis, let's take a look at a few starting pitchers that are off to an excellent start (pun intended). 
Lyles Got Styles You Don’t Wanna Passover
April 20, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 65 Commentsby: Dan Pants
Jordan Lyles was exceptional Friday night capturing his second win of the year going six strong innings allowing just four hits, a walk and striking out six. He now leads the league with a 0.53 ERA. Mazel tov, Jordan, and happy Pesach! Well, someone clearly did not observe the High Sabbath last night. He had better things to do, busy mowing down the San Francisco hitters. So is the Bucs pitching coach Ray Searage is a miracle worker or a Three Eyed Raven or some kind of warg magic man?? The Pirates pitching staff now boasts a league best 2.54 ERA. But back to Jordan. Lyles has now struck out 16 over his past two starts and holds some real pretty ratios like that league leading 0.53 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP with an 19/5 K/BB. Yes, more please. Put that on your seder plate. After the all star break last year, Lyles started relying more on a combination of his curve ball and 4-seam fastball and benefited from this greatly posting a 3.00 ERA with hitters batting just .213 against him. His curve ball, in particular, can be pretty nasty when its on and when he's mixing in the 4-seamer effectively Jordan has looked like a dominant pitcher. Seems like he's brought this strategy with him to Pittsburgh and things with Searage have clicked. He had his outing shortened Friday after taking a line drive off the hand but the injury does not appear to be serious and he is expected to make his next start Wednesday versus Arizona. Lyles is available in over 75% of fantasy leagues and worth your streaming consideration at the very least. He's starting to look like a steal for Pittsburgh, and he seems like a real mensch you may not want to Pass over!
Here's what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:
FanDuel: Lauer-ing The Boom
April 20, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel, Fantasy Baseball DFS | 5 Commentsby: MattTruss
Happy Easter Eve to you all, I wish you all the best of luck tomorrow in your adult Easter egg hunts. Yes, that is actually a thing and yes, I'm just as surprised as you to learn about them. We’ve got a very odd slate scheduled for this Saturday. There are several games in the 4-6 o'clock hour that FanDuel is choosing to ignore unless you spring for the “All Day” slate. The rainouts yesterday have wreaked havoc as well. There is also a 4 game early slate, but we’ll be focusing on the Main Slate today which is the standard 7 PM ET time slot. We’ve got 5 games to cover here including everyone’s favorite, Coors Field! For my best value starting pitcher on the main slate I’m springing for Eric Lauer ($7,300). We love us some Hodgepadres around these parts and Lauer fits the bill perfectly. Lauer’s 4.51 FIP isn’t the most inspiring thing but his opponent isn’t either. The Reds haven’t exactly been dynamite to start the season, in fact, they have the league’s 6th worst team OPS. I’m banking on the mediocre pitcher here taking down the mediocre offense. On a day with jacked up Coors bat prices, I like the discount at SP that Lauer allows.
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!
