Deep Impact: From Me To Yu

Yu Darvish has been a veritable enigma (double word of the day). He was horrible in most of the first half, then in mid-June started showing signs of life here and there. Now enter July, Darvish has strung together 3 positive starts and seems to be turning the corner. I watched his game this last Wednesday and felt like I was watching vintage Darvish 2016 and before. His mound presence was full of confidence and he was challenging batters with elite velocity up in the zone (several 97s), and then getting good hard bite on his 2Seamer, Slider, and Cutter. And most importantly, his command looked pretty solid which has been his biggest problem in the last few years. So that leads us into today's deep dive...

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Fri 5/30
	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

The Buyman Cometh

July 19, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 376 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay="true" video="438940" player="10951" title="FantasyBaseball2019BuySellHold16"] Let me ask you something, is anyone hotter than Tyler O'Neill right now? Not to answer but to ruminate while ignoring both Gurriels, Ramon Laureano and Oscar Mercado. The answer is obviously no. That O'Neill can play right! Sorry, sorry. One more! O'Neill won the Nobel because he was out standing in a field! Okay, okay, one more! O'Neill picked up for La Stellllllllllllla, and it's all that I Desire. Okay, sorry, wrong guy that can play right, I mean, left. Won't let it happen again. Get O'Neill on your team, and drop your Loman. Wow, surprised you with my lies! So, O'Neill is playing every day with OZUNA nursing his truck driver's 'How's your father' finger and O'Neill might just be a hot schmotato for power, but he could also be breaking out. He's merely 24 years old, and has 30-homer power (okay, everyone does, so maybe he has 40-homer power). His current average will fall, but who else do you want on that Long Day's Journey Into Night. I got another one in! Theater nerd alert! Anyway, here's some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball: PSYCHE! Before we get into the post, Donkey Teeth and fellow football Razzballers have set up the RazzBowl. It's played at NFFC, and it's FREE. FREE isn't an acronym too, it's the monetary cost, as in none. The gist: It's Regular Joes vs. Pros in a Best Ball tourney. Go there and sign up now! Anyway II, the Buy/Sell:

Rolling In The Deep: This Week’s Robel Of The Dice

July 19, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Deep Leagues |

by: Laura Holt

Hello again friends, and welcome back to the place within Razzball where we discuss baseball players that are completely off the radar of "normal" fantasy baseball owners, interesting only to those of us in the deepest of leagues. Let's get right to it and take a look at a handful of players that may be on the radar for those in NL-only, AL-only, and other deep leagues.

FanDuel: Then I Saw Her Ace, Now I’m A Belieber

July 19, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: Richardo

What's up DFSers. It's Friday and I'm on vacation. You know what that means? I've been day drinking and you get to deal with my silly ramblings about baseball. We have a 14-game slate on FanDuel and this slate is chock full of pitching. We get Justin Verlander, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Jacob deGrom all in the same price range, along with my personal favorite Shane Bieber ($10,800). Bieber has been phenomenal this year. He's kept his walk rate down at 5.1%, while increasing his strikeout rate seven ticks to 31.6%. For the season, he has the fourth best SIERA among qualified starting pitchers, behind Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, and Chris Sale. Shane Bieber faces the Royals, who have the 26th best wOBA against right-handed pitchers over the last two months. Great matchup and a great pitcher? Count me in. For the record, if you're paying up and want to go to one of the other aces, by all means. Let's take a look at the rest of FanDuel's slate. 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!

Alex Showin’ Pop; Go Ahead, Girl, Don’t You Stop

July 19, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 144 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay="true" video="437842" player="10951" title="Fantasy Baseball 2019 Mailbag Week 16"] Yesterday, Alex Verdugo went 1-for-4 and his 12th homer. Were there guys who had better games yesterday? It's not a rhetorical question. I want a typewritten response, notarized at my doorstep by 5 o'clock today. Reminds me of a joke. Father interrogating a suitor, "So, my daughter says you're Irish. That's important to us." A little panicked, not really Irish, but lying through teeth, the young man says, "Yes, that's right." The father quickly snaps, "What's your last name?" "Uh... O...clock." Any hoo! Check out Little Daddy Smooth, Alex Verdugo's last 30 days stats from the 30-day Player Rater:

That's good for approximately top 25 overall for the last month. He's owned in almost 100% of RCL leagues, as you see photo op, but he's owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues, which is why he'll be in this afternoon's Buy column, but, if he's out there in your league, no one said you can't grab him now. *listens for a moment* Okay, nope, no one said it. Was double checking. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Bear or Bull: Canha Get a Witness?

July 18, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 10 Comments

by: Son

Recently, my wife’s grandmother passed away, so we flew out to NYC. Shoutout to grandma. 98 years old and her mind was still as sharp as a tack. Anyways, while it was a somber time, I was fascinated by all the traditions and rituals (wife’s family is Chinese). Please, blog, may I have some more?

Closer Report: We’re Not Going Full Football Yet

July 18, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Closers | 15 Comments

by: B_Don

Filling in for Roto-Wan and as Vicky Valencourt said...

Reminder that there is only 1 trade deadline this year. No waiver trades this season, so, teams will have to make that decision to buy or sell sooner rather than later.
The Giants are considering whether to be....buyers? What? Yeah, we both read that right. Well, for now, their bullpen is confusing AF anyway, so, take your closer in waiting opportunities somewhere else. I will say that Melancon is back and has been getting late game opps recently potentially for a showcase as they'd probably like to move that $14 million contract for next year.
Stroman and Giles have been linked to a number of teams.
Mychal Givens has been looked at for a move to Mee-lee-wah-kay

Ok, the Brewers are basically linked to every reliever, and starter, available.
If you're looking around for some steals, Mallex Smith, Victor Robles, Byron Buxton (coming back from IL), Ramon Laureano, and Oscar Mercado are all getting the job done. Maybe one or more got dropped due to recent struggles for basically all of them.
Hard to predict when catchers will start, but some easy targets to look at for streaming stolen bases this weekend would be against Tyler Flowers, Stephen Vogt, Austin Barnes, and Brian McCann.

FanDuel: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

July 18, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: Butters

This is an especially exciting day of DFS action because I will enjoying a game at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants as they host the New York Metropolitans. We should be in for a clash of epic proportions as Madison Bumgarner ($9,000) toes the rubber against Noah Syndergaard ($9,200). Thor hasn’t been great this year, though he has been improving. Truthfully, it’s probably that we’ve become so accustomed to his dominating performances that he seems like a letdown. Anywhoo...I’m just excited to watch him do his thing live. On the flip side we’ve got MadBum, who’s actually been looking back to form. I like him better of the two since he’s at home and the Giants offense has suddenly remembered that scoring runs is good. So let’s sit back and enjoy the show. Enjoy being at work dudes and dudettes, I'll have some garlic fries for ya. 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!

Marlins Can’t Find A Light In The Paddack

July 18, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 270 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay="true" video="437842" player="10951" title="Fantasy Baseball 2019 Mailbag Week 16"] The Magic Genie of Fantasy Baseball says that if I put a baseball card of a player I own in a Dreamcatcher and put the Dreamcatcher under my pillow while I'm sleeping then *gulps* then the Magic Genie of Fantasy Baseball will come in the middle of the night and give my player a Quality Start. So...*bashfully looks down*..I put Chris Paddack's baseball card under my pillow and I'VE BEEN A GOOD BOY! Holy Hayzeus Lazarus and Pontius, Inventor of Pilates, I had a good start! Yesterday, Chris Paddack went 7 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 ER and 8 Ks, lowering his ERA to 2.70. Please throw 170 more innings this year! "Don't be greedy," interrupts Magic Genie of Fantasy Baseball. "Hey, Magic Genie of Fantasy Baseball, you sound like a spot remover." "Just for that, I'm pushing Marquez back so he starts at Coors next! Muahahaha!" So, Paddack had a great start, which tacks onto his season of more-than-we-could've-hoped-for. He currently ranks 25th for xFIP; 23rd for K/9 and 13th for walk rate. And he's in Petco for his home starts! Happy to be the Mohel at his Star Mitzvah. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

2019 Midseason Top 50 Fantasy Prospects

July 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 83 Comments

by: Mike

Welcome to the post where I copy and paste...er...uh...I mean rerank the Top 50 prospects for fantasy baseball. I know I shouldn't have to say this, but this is a fantasy prospect list - not a real one. Therefore ergo such and such, you get the drift. I'll say this about my rankings approach - I tend to chunk it and don't get too caught up in ranks that are close to one another. So if you want to debate #35 versus #36 I'm going to have to put you in a timeout where you can debate yourself. I'm sure you are all master debaters. Anyhoo, I try not to let the first half of this season completely change the scouting reports we came in with at the beginning of the year. Then again, you do have to take this season into consideration, along with recent signings. Also, these are composite ranks averaged between myself and my five alternate personalities. My doctor says it's healthy to include them in this process. It's all an extremely complex algorithm that involves me, a bowl of cold spaghetti marinara, and a clean white wall. Oh, and one more thing...I don't include players that I expect to exceed the rookie limits this year. That's 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched for those keeping score. Not trying to waste your time on players that likely won't be prospects in the fall. On to the list...

Getting Ahead in H2H, Week 16: 3 Starting Pitchers to Buy Low

July 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Head-to-Head Leagues | 6 Comments

by: Yost

Blake Snell (Rays, 1st Half stats: 5-7 with 4.55 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 126 K:33 BB, and 3.31 xFIP through 95 IP, 19 GS) is a reigning Cy Young award winner and likely a 2nd/3rd round pick in your fantasy drafts. And it is true that he has been coming along in in past few starts, allowing 4 ER while posting 21K:4 BB in his last 16 IP. However, his numbers on the season are still pretty gross if we're being honest and there are lots of frustrated owners that may want to cut ties with Snell. You may not be able to get him as cheap as you could a couple of starts ago, but he can be had at a pretty substantial discount.

FanDuel: Cron, C.J. Cron.

July 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel | 1 Comment

by: Thomas Howland

Sometimes the FanDuel slate is a packed casino of similar players seemingly priced too high to make a difference in your lineup. Then one of them saunters up to the craps table in a white Tuxedo, stands out, and says "I'm Cron, C.J. Cron." He is at the absurdly low price of $3,300 today, probably because he has just been reinstated from the IL by the Minnesota Twins. It's absurdly low because he's the 19th ranked first baseman today in price on FanDuel, and the 5th place hitter for the Twins, one of the best offenses in the league. Today he faces the lowly lefty Jason Vargas. Cron happens to destroy lefties to a .358 average this year, along with a 1.084 OPS and 182 OPS+. Now on to the rest of 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!