LOGIN
After breaking down my beloved Rockies last week, we're going to keep things rolling here with another NL West team in the Diamondbacks. While the Los Angeles Dodgers are obviously the cream of the crop in this division, Arizona is a fascinating team. Almost as fascinating as their mascot, Baxter the Bobcat. Why the hell is a snake not the mascot? I mean, they're the Diamondbacks, not the Arizona Bobcats. In any case, this is one of the most interesting teams this season (including their mysterious mascot), so, let's get into it.

Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!

The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.

I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!

Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 5/12
ARI | ATL | BOS | CHC | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | MIA | MIL | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TEX | WSH | ATH | BAL | CHW | CIN | LAD | MIN | OAK | TB | TOR
There are so few Renaissance men anymore. Mookie Betts is a Ted Williams lite. While Ted is canonized as the best hitter of all time, the best fighter pilot of all time, and the best fly fisherman of all time, Mookie is an excellent pro bowler in the offseason, including more than one 300 game on the PBT. He's also a nice guy, an undercover philanthropist, and he's about to ply his MVP talent in Chavez Ravine. He's a WAR hero with a high batting average, 30 home run pop, and scores runs in bunches. Other than shift from Fenway Park to Dodgers Stadium, what is there to know? Let's take a look.   The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!
So I had a dream the other night after coming home from a local craft brewery that I frequent, which had some excellent options on tap. A vanilla barrel-aged bourbon stout (several good stouts), a dry-hopped Mosaic sour ale, and a citrusy IPA. They were all fantastic, I kid you not (If you arrived here searching for craft beer, welcome). Which, may or may not have enhanced my sleep. I digress. In the dream, I was in an underground hip-hop club downtown. The crowd was in rhythm, and needless to say, the place was hoppin'. It was a Tuesday. And I saw Dave Chapelle there with his boy, Karl Lake, tearing up the dance floor. I look to the stage and I see Chuck D MCing. He then calls up to the stage the Grandmaster Melle Mel, for the duo to perform together (if you are here researching the history of hip-hop, also welcome). It was a lit freestyle to a bass and drum beat. After enjoying the music for a minute, I look over to the bar... and whom do I see, none other than Emilio Estevez, the Mighty Duck man. And he tipped his hat to me like *this*, also in approval saying, "Damn, this is off the chain." To which I replied, "Okay boomer" proceeding to tell him to get woke like any self-respecting millennial would. Following the set, I go to the restroom for relief and I hear a bomb drop. Someone was doing work in the stall. The mystery laborer then emerged as Franmil Reyes. He washes up, and as he was leaving the restroom I noticed toilet paper stuck to his cleat... I awoke in a cold sweat! Reality settled in that it was only a dream. What did it all mean? Then it hit me, this was prophetic... Franmil has unfinished business. I shook the wife awake, "He has unfinished business!" She tells me to shut up and goes back to sleep. No matter, I just had a premonition (word of the day). In a moment of complete clarity, I saw everything. I saw how the pieces fit like a giant, glorious jigsaw puzzle. I connected the dots: hops to hip-hop, hip-hop club to breakfast club, Chuck D to Ducks, dropping bombs on the mic to dropping bombs on the john, the robot to the homer bot, and lastly Gordon's unenlightened words echoed in my head, "off the chain"... he's about to be unchained at DH on the Indians, no more lost ABs. Everything pointed to him! Everything was about Franmil Reyes. The Franimal is about to be unleashed. My mission became clear, let's dive in... The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!
So there I am -- minding my own business after putting the finishing touches on a blurb about Leury Garcia and Razzball’s CEO, COO, CFO, HMO, RKO, HBO, Master Lothario, his royal Greyness himself drops this bomb on the Twittersphere:  “#1 rookie who is not being drafted high who will end up being picked up in 75% of leagues the 1st week:  Nick Madrigal. White Sox added Yasmani, Edwin, signed Lou Bob and they're going to give the 2nd base job to Leury Garcia? Cmon. Read writing on wall.” What do I do? I wasted so much time justifying Leury as the lone sleeper bat on this team. Everyone else in this lineup is being appropriately drafted or is a prospect that everyone knows about. There’s Nomar Mazara I guess -- but he’s got a Khris Davis-like consistency to not hit over 20 HRs. Do I embrace the potential roasting I’ll receive from Grey? Do I delete the 450 words I wrote about Garcia and lie to myself about some other player? Did you think I'd crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die? Oh no, not I! I will survive! If things go south for Garcia -- Madrigal is obviously sitting there in waiting -- but I’m still a believer in the potential of Garcia.  The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!
[brid autoplay="true" video="514217" player="10951" title="RZBL 2020 DraftKit Busts 012820"] Los Angeles is such an eco-friendly city that when a recent EPA report cited jet fuel as accounting for 17% of air pollution, the Dodgers went out and traded for Mookie Betts. See, this year's All-Star Game is in Dodger Stadium, and now eleven of their players don't have to fly anywhere for the All-Star Game festivities. Always giving, my great City of Angels, that's not actually the city of the Angels, that's Anaheim, but they call themselves Los Angeles and it's nowhere near Los Angeles. Not confusing at all! Let's just drool for a second at the Dodgers' lineup:  Betts, Muncy, Turner, Bellinger, Pederson/Pollock, Seager, Will Smith and Gavin Lux. If they trade Austin Barnes to the Astros for a trash can, then their 2020 title hopes will be sealed! Before you laugh, the Astros could use a catcher. So, Betts's best will be in the starry skies of Los Angeles, and Rihanna might just start liking baseball again. "You're cute with that silliness." "Nah, seriously, I want to go bowling."  That's Mookie and Rihanna on their first date. Betts is in the prime of his career, and I can't see any chance a move to Los Angeles slows him down, however--Don't do it, Grey! Don't be negative here! Well, Fenway to Dodger Stadium isn't the best move. Some of those doubles off the wall might go for deep outs to the left fielder. The Dodgers didn't steal a lot in 2019 either, but that could be from a lack of threats. Justin Turner is running? Muncy? Bellinger did run, because he can. Betts should still be a lock for 15-20 steals, but I'm knocking his power down a tad with the park change. While his projections will change a bit, his ranking is staying the same in my top 10 for 2020 fantasy baseball. For what it's Werth, Rudy's auction rankings changed dramatically for Betts, knocking him way down, but Betts's projections are even better than mine, as seen at the hitter projections. Anyway, here's what else I saw this offseason for 2020 fantasy baseball:
This is my fourth post for baseball this season. Scrolling through the NFBC ADP data, a common theme has surfaced, which is that older players who had a down year due to injury are being left for dead. As Grey so eloquently commented in my Daniel Murphy post, "Eff the olds." That is the natural state of drafts for most seasons. The allure of the unknown or success in the most recent season usually elevates the cost of acquisition. On the flip side, a down year has many players being tossed into the trash. Those are the players that most intrigue me because the overreaction to the downside is usually so severe that much value is available to be mined. Which brings me to David Peralta of the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2018, he had a triple slash of .293/.352/.516 and clubbed 30 home runs. As a result, his ADP entering the 2019 season was 115.9. Then he proceeded to hit .275/.343/.461 with 12 home runs in 2019. Now, he's being drafted as the 258th overall player. This David is no king, but could he provide salvation? Before I dig into the nitty gritty, context is important. How is your team constructed? What are your needs in the latter stages of the draft? Do you need floor or want upside? Keep all of that in mind when you read any fantasy analysis article. With that said, let's dig in.
As pitchers and catchers report we're beginning to be graced with some reassurances as to who certain teams will use at closer. Those are always nice. Just remember managers don't feel beholden to what they say in February and situations can change. Not unlike myself and fellow analysts. "I don't recall recommending Jose Leclerc as a top 10 2019 closer, Senator." We're all playing a guessing game. My best advice is to invest lightly and spread your exposure over as many arms as possible.

AL East AL Central AL West

NL East NL Central NL West

B_Don and Donkey Teeth are Goin' Deep with the fantasy baseball pitching guru, Eno Sarris of The Athletic.  The guys discuss the RazzSlam format and ask Eno how he may attack the draft in more of a DFS style. Yeah, it caught me by surprise as well, but listen to see what Eno means. The Goin' Deep duo then ask Eno about some pitchers from his rankings that don't line up with Grey's rankings including Noah Syndergaard, Yu Darvish, Lucas Giolito and Patrick Corbin.  He tells us which pitcher he's comfortable with in the 1st round and educates us as to what he looks for in his pitching targets.
Here’s a post that’s gonna make you wanna slap ya mama and tell her Don Magic Juan sends his best. The other day I told you how to draft your pitchers for 2020 fantasy baseball.  I laid it out to you nice and simple (if you have a degree in “What The Hell Is Grey Talking About?” Not a PhD, mind you.  Just a BS.)  Today, we forget all that jabberwocky on the who-ha and get down to business old school-style (which means if you don’t comprehend, I will hit you over the head with a baseball bat signed by Joe Clark.)  What I’m hoping to lay out to you is who do you draft 2nd if you’ve drafted so and so first. I think it might be helpful to go through pairings for your 5 outfielders, all your middle and corner infielders too. I’m not sure I’ll have the time or patience to do them. We’ll see! Or not. Your choice. (Actually, my choice.) For easy reference, the royal we will be using the top 10 for 2020 fantasy baseball and the top 20 for 2020 fantasy baseball and the beginning of the top 100 for 2020 fantasy baseball. I’m going to assume you’re in a 12 team, 5×5, MI, CI, 5 OF, 1 Utility, 1 Catcher league, similar to our Razzball Commenter Leagues. (Sign up for multiple leagues, and beat the heck out of your frenemies or make new frenemies!)  Anyway, here’s some pairings for the first two rounds of 2020 fantasy baseball drafts:
Back in October I sequestered myself into a sound-proof booth to create a top 100 fantasy baseball prospect list free from the mad cries of the echo chamber. Shortly thereafter I went to work breaking down the top prospects for each MLB team. A week after coming up for air following my 30-team deep dive into the minor leagues, I'm excited to share my updated hundred!   *Note: I’ve written about each of these guys if you’d like more and are curious enough to follow the threads to October's Top 150 for 2020 Fantasy Baseball or my organizational top ten lists.
When I first brought the idea of a large industry best ball competition with fan participation into Grey's office he said, "Damnit Cougs, stop letting Donkey into the house! He's getting mud all over my panda rug again!" Then I brought the idea to Rudy who spent the next week developing algorithms and running millions of simulations to determine if it was a worthwhile endeavor. On the seventh day the RazzSlam Bot saw it's shadow. And so the RazzSlam came into being. What exactly is the RazzSlam? I'm glad you ask...
Holy crap shortstop is deep! You're guaranteed to say this to yourself at least twice during this episode as we discuss the Top 20 Shortstops for 2020 Fantasy Baseball. From top to bottom few positions offer the type of excitement the six does. In fact, the top six players at this position are all covered in the Overall Top 20 for 2020 Fantasy Baseball. But that's not all as we touch on nearly 40 players during this episode, it's a jam packed shortstop-copia. It's the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast.