Brewers prospect Trent Grisham hit for the cycle last night, going 5-for-5 with two homers (25, 26). That's now a six-game hit streak for the slugger and multi-hit games in each of his last four. Grisham is batting a ridiculous .381 with 13 homers and six steals in just 34 games for AAA San Antonio. He was a first-round draft pick back in 2015, but struggled prior to this year - hitting just .229 since he left the rookie leagues. He's always had some patience and some power potential, but this year the breakout is on. He hit 13 homers in 63 games at Double-A earlier this year with the "no-juice" version of a baseball. To put that in perspective, he hit 17 total homers in 299 games across the previous three seasons. To boot, das boot, he's joined the select "walking more than I strike out" club in 2019. To give you an idea of how big this breakout has been, Grisham went from a guy not even being considered in my Brewers Top 10, to a guy I strongly considered putting in my Midseason Top 50 overall. Here's what else is happening around the minor leagues...
See all of today’s starting lineups
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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 |
At this stage of the game, there are not too many consistent fantasy relevant pitchers sitting out there on the wire. There are plenty of guys to stream based on matchups, but then again that can be like playing with fire. Streaming is a huge part of H2H leagues since your ERA essentially resets after every week. So I've always been a fan of streaming pitchers with my last one or two roster spots. Sometimes you'll get the occasional guy that impresses and sticks as a member of your rotation. Below are some guys I've added over the past week or two that can stick and be a viable option to finish the year. Based off ESPN and Yahoo ownership percentages I've labeled one as "Should Be Owned" already in your league, one as "Could Be Owned" in your league, and one that likely "Will Be Owned" in your league.
It's trade deadline day and we’ve got a FanDuel slate that is beyond boring. It’s not even that it’s a garbage slate or a frustrating slate or whatnot - it’s just boring (with the question as of now of who the Mariners are throwing). The only real question is do you pay for deGrom or go grab the savings of Berrios. There’s an offense that if the Mariners don’t throw Wade LeBlanc as the bulk guy, is clearly the chalk (and deservedly so) play. It’s supposed to be moose nuts hot in Texas today, so if you’re not playing four Rangers today in cash (provided they aren’t facing a lefty) you’re doing something wrong. The only other offense to target is expensive, meaning that the cash formula is basically solved - pick deGrom, pick four Rangers (again, provided it’s not a lefty throwing the bulk of the innings) who make the most sense, fill with the values you like, and if that opens up a spot or two for an expensive Astros bat, all the better. That’s it. When you get a slate like this, there is a lot of GPP value. I’m not a GPP player and this isn’t a GPP-focused article, so any GPP advice I give comes with that caveat. Here’s a pretty big note I’ll put up front if the Mariners go lefty in the bulk role: the Rangers become a bit rougher play than normal, and you’re going to play more Giants than you want and trying to jam in Astros, which might necessitate a move to Berrios or Urquidy if you’re feeling a bit frisky in cash.
On to the picks...
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Had our 1st mega trade. Or as far as Trevor Bauer is concerned, might be our first MAGA trade too. Take it easy, it's a joke. An everyday occurrence and tempers flaring might be hard to distinguish for Trevor Bauer since he will now see red all the time. Interestingly, Bauer wasn't throwing his last pitch for the Indians the other day, he was throwing his 1st pitch towards Cincy. The Indians should be embarrassed of themselves for selling off their big frontline pitcher as they hold their Wild Card chances in their hands. Notice I didn't say the Indians should be red-faced. Hey, they're the ones still with the name. Bauer has been down a tad this year compared to last. Not just obviously in ERA, but his Ks are down, walks are up, homers are way up, which won't play well in Cincy, but I will say he was way over his head last year with a 2.21 ERA, so he's likely still a 3.50-ish ERA pitcher with great Ks in Cincy and the NL. He should be able to chuck balls over Great American's fence with greater ease too. So win-win. Going the other way and the rest of the news, well...Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Sample size is an important thing in all walks of life. You could have the most wonderful day with someone, but that one day is not indicative of what it's like to be with that person every day. That alternate route you discovered with no traffic on the morning commute? Was it due to your keen intellect, or maybe it was a result of the armored car hemorrhaging dollar bills from the open door in the back? Really, the only times a false positive doesn't exist is when you don't want to be a baby momma or daddy and when a player searches for a second opinion. With that said, Josh VanMeter of the Cincinnati Reds has been added in 41.4% of ESPN leagues. What? I thought those leagues were all ghost. Anyways, VanMeter's ownership is 0% in Razzball leagues. The Razzballers are a sharp group. I could give you a million reasons why, but I was going to write up Jorge Soler this week, as he was added in 8.1% of ESPN leagues to bring his ownership up to 58.4%, but his ownership in Razzball leagues is 100%. Let's see if VanMeter is registering a false positive.
Grey is alone in the desert, well that's not true. He's there with Ted his faithful, yet hateful pooch, and a few thousand virtual friends. To give the Fantasy Master Lothario some reprieve from his isolation, we hopped onto a podcast and talked about some of the last week in fantasy baseball. Granted that happens every week, but it means a little more now. This man needs us, he needs to talk about Marcus Stroman, the desert heat, Bo Bichette, and going to the movies just for the A/C. Show the man some love and lend your listening ears. Or you can just listen and laugh at him, that works too.
Happy trade deadline week RCLers. This is the final week you have to trade for some steals, saves, power or help out those pitching ratios with a big time name. It’s at this point in the season that you can really see some overpaying going on. Javier Baez for Kirby Yates? Possibly. Nelson Cruz for Jarrod Dyson? It all depends on team needs and where the most points can be gained. Remember, there are no extra points for winning a category by 50. Take a look at the overall standings in your league and see where teams are bunched together. If there’s an opportunity to leap over multiple teams by taking a category by storm, make your move now. If you’re in second place right now, make that move for first, play to win, go out and make it happen. The Razzball Commenter League trading deadline is Thursday, August 1, at midnight (well, 11:59 technically). I expect there will be a flurry of activity to break down for next week’s update. This week however, we have five trades to look at as well as a new leader in the ‘Perts League. Our favorite number cruncher, Rudy Gamble has taken the week off, so our update will be a little shorter this week with no Standings and/or stats to comb through. Come read about what we do have to go over in the week that was, week 17 in the Razzball Commenter Leagues:
Juan Soto is just 20 years old and has a .286/.397/.509 line with 18 homers and eight steals, making for a phenomenal sophomore season. He's got a 135 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this year and is a great buy low candidate at his price of just $3,500, which is due to a mini-slump since the midseason break. He still has two homers and two steals in the last 15 days, and gets an enticing matchup against Braves starter Julio Teheran. Teheran has outperformed his peripherals thus far, and his 4.45 FIP and 5.06 SIERA are more suggestive of his true performance than his 3.42 ERA.
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!
[brid autoplay="true" video="441924" player="10951" title="Fantasy Baseball 2019 Mailbag Week 18"]
Yesterday, Jason Vargas was traded to the Phillies. Good luck, Phillies reporters! Vargas will be the 1st player to throw batteries back at fans. "What's with that stupid grin?" Rhys Hoskins pulls Vargas by the arm, "Hey, Vargy, that's, uh, the Phanatic. His expression doesn't change." "I'll knock that smirk off his face!" So, Vargas now becomes the ace of the Phillies' staff, which means he's a league-average starter. I keed. A little. Aaron Nola is good, just not this year. Since Vargas doesn't even change divisions, his value stays pretty level, except Citizens Flank is a worse park than Metco, so there's a slight tick down, if anything. How about this trading deadline so far? Huh? It's almost as good as the Winter Hot Stove. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Not your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…
The outpouring of concern over Grandpa-Donk's well being during Heatwave 2019, has been heart warming. Rest assured, Gramps is still alive and donkey kicking. In fact, last weekend the old jackass worked out in the yard 48 hours straight in the 100-degree heat without stopping for so much as a Señor Crappers change. Once he finished the field labor, G-Donk came inside to make the rest of us pancakes and lemonade--an old Donk family tradition. As Great Gran-Donk always said, "When life gives you apocalyptic weather, make pancakes and lemonade."
Mmmmm ice cold lemonade: my favorite of the fresh squeezed juices. You know what other juice is worth the squeeze? The Clevinger concentrate. I was skeptical when Mike Clevinger returned from his back injury in mid-June. His first two brutal starts had me strutting around like top donkey, so smart. But since the calendar turned to July, Sunshine has been lights out going 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 31 innings. Clevinger is extracting juice like a fantasy ace right now and there's no reason to think the liquid will dry up anytime soon.
Trade deadline is fast approaching Wednesday, July 31, at 4 PM ET. There is no waiver deadline this year, so, the next few days could contain a number of closer changes. It's time to take your shots on potential closer changes and see what happens.
On a slow day in the Majors it's hard to find good value on FanDuel. One such place is the seventh ranked pitcher
Jaime Barria ($7,200). He's one spot above that on the
Streamonator, but he's also pitching against the 30th ranked Detroit Tigers offense at home at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. Barria loves home cooking. He's 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA there this year. He has a high probability of more innings and strikeouts than many others today, which equals FanDuel points. Now on to the picks.
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!
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