Welcome to the 2020 Razzball Team Previews! (Our “2020” comes with more Jay and less Barbara Walters!) (That joke is probably older than you!) Sorry for all the parentheses and exclamation points, I just get so excited when I think about Barbara Walters, and don’t even get me started on Hugh Downs… Regardless, here, you’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season, Razz-style. So while you’re stretching your lats and relearning calculus to get that upper hand on your fantasy peers, why not also check out what the Los Angeles Traders have in store for you and your fantasy team?
Monthly Archives: March 2020
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One of my favorite traditions as a young fan was Peter Gammons profiling each team’s spring training focus points.
I loved the spittle and shake of his voice, the depth of his details, and especially how he always shot the segments in front of people playing catch, gloves popping symphonically as we dreamed of a Royals club captained by Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye.
It’s in that spirit that I begin our next prospect series—one that works in concert with Razzball’s Gammonsian team previews and one that involves a few nods to some non-prospects. Graduating from eligibility requirements doesn’t mean you’re a known quantity, nor that you’ve graduated to an everyday opportunity. Yesterday's failed prospects are often tomorrow's sleepers, so let's take a lap around the division looking for some fantasy profit.
Spring Training Battle: Brew Crew Shortstop
March 7, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball | 4 Commentsby: Thomas Howland
Bernie Brewer is dancing in the streets. Christian Yelich recently signed a nine year $215 Million contract to stay with the Brewers. Yelich went above and beyond, even agreeing to some significant deferrals to make the deal happen. Yelich loves Milwaukee, Milwaukee loves Yelich, all is right in Brewerville. A big part of the outfield is set. But that doesn't mean there's not some good old competition on the Brewer's infield to sift through as spring training games have begun in earnest. In particular, the shortstop position is in flux. Who can fantasy players depend on, much less Craig Counsell?
The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!
Oh, the Dirty South! After breaking down some lackluster NL West teams in my first three previews, we finally get a legitimate contender in the Braves. After posting an impressive 97-win season last year, this club looks fully ready to rock-and-roll again behind Ronald Acuna Jr. This dude has established himself as one of the best players in the Majors and it's scary just how good this order looks with him up top. The one thing they need to clean up is their mascot game though.
The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!
Post-Post-Hype Sleepers: Daniel Norris
March 7, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 5 Commentsby: Will Scharnagl
You've heard of guys who are post-hype sleepers. Guys who were top prospects at one point but for one even or another faded out of relevancy. Whether it's a move to a bullpen, an injury, poor performance upon their debut, or a combination of any of the three, these guys have lost the momentum that they had as prospects, but those who believe in them will call them sleepers. Post-hype sleepers are a dime a dozen. Most people can spot them, because all it takes is patience in a young player with potential, which most of us have. Waiting out a guy like Willie Calhoun, Michael Kopech, or Julio Urias may be frustrating, but it isn't all that difficult. What I'm looking for here is post-post-hype sleepers; guys who are so far removed from the hype that you may not even remember that they're still playing in the majors. In 2019, two of my favorite post-post-hype breakout picks were Hunter Dozier and Frankie Montas, both of which I was on very early in the season. Identifying breakouts like this can be the difference between winning your league and coming in 4th, so I want to help all of you identify these guys too before it's too late. Late pitching especially can make a massive difference. For the first installment of this series, I'm going to be talking about a guy who was one of my favorite pitching prospects a few years ago: Daniel Norris.
Last week in H2H Categories Strategy we discussed the merits of punting. This week, I want to talk about what I look for in hitters once we get past the early rounds - consistency. Since we play a game that resets every week, we want to roster players that will fluctuate less. Hot and cold streaks will happen even with the best players, but there are certain qualities we can look for in hitters that should minimize our risk.
Growing up, my dad was the coach of my little league team. He would tell us, get on base and good things will happen. While it seems really simplistic, I still follow my dad's advice when I'm looking for consistent hitters - high contact rates and a low K-BB%. Basically, we're looking for players with good plate skills. These might not be the sexiest names in the draft, but grabbing a handful of these players in the mid to late rounds will provide your team with an ample floor. Without further ado, let's get to the list:
One Man’s Trash: Cruz vs Gallo
March 6, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, One Man's Trash | 24 Commentsby: Son
Who doesn't like the home run? Chicks dig it. Players do PEDs for it. Rawlings loves it. Hmmm, let's see. Pitchers despise it. Curmudgeons are opposed to it because some players flip the bat as a result. Maybe they think it's flipping the bird? Fantasy nerds are infatuated with it, as they both celebrate and despise it. Whatever the case may be, the home run is freaking cool for real-life baseball and instrumental for the fantasy game, as one home run instantaneously affects four categories. So, for today's piece, I thought I'd give the tale of the tape to two players who are both projected to be in the top 10 for home runs and are both being drafted outside of the first four rounds. Without further ado, do your thing Michael Buffer. Yes, we have a deep coffer here at Razzball to bring on talent when we need it.
In the red corner, standing a gargantuan six feet and five inches while weighing a hefty 235 pounds, we have sweet as Halo Halo Joey Gaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllloooooooooooooooooooo. USA! USA!! USA!!!
And in the blue corner, we have the 39-year-old, ageless wonder from the Dominican Republic, standing a respectable six feet and two inches and weighing in at 230 pounds, the man who always hits the ball on the screws, Nelson Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuz.
Are you ready? Are you ready? Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmbbllllleeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!
H2H Points Mixed League Auction: Pitching In For Points
March 6, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Points Leagues | 7 Commentsby: B_Don
Another week, another CBS auction, not that I'm complaining. Love draft season and auctions are the best way to pick a team. If you have been putting off joining an auction, don't. Fast auction, slow auction, live auction, they are all phenomenal and gives you more choice over team construction than waiting around to see who falls to you in a snake draft.
That being said, this one was all over the place. You can find the full draft results with the CBS write up here.
Catchers To Target, 2020 Fantasy Baseball
March 6, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 414 Commentsby: Grey
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Here, friend, are some catchers that I will be targeting at my 2020 fantasy drafts after the top options are gone. I’m not going to get into the strategy of punting catchers. Been there, half-drunkenly wrote that years ago. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2020 projections and blurbs I wrote for them. This is a (legal-in-most-countries) supplement to the top 20 catchers of 2020 fantasy baseball. Now, guys and five girl readers, I am not saying avoid catchers like Yasmani Grandal if they fall, but, to get on this list, a catcher needs to be drafted later than 200 overall, and, to preemptively answer at least seven comments, yes, I will go around the entire infield, outfield and pitchers to target very late. Anyway, here’s some catchers to target for 2020 fantasy baseball:
Closer Report: Hels(ley) Yeah Baseball Is Back
March 5, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Closers | 11 Commentsby: Roto-Wan
We know spring training is fully underway when a bunch of arms break. We're sure to see more as soreness becomes less general and more devastating to our early drafts. The four-tier format is back for our closer report. This week, pandemic foodstuff themed tiers. I'd laugh but for fear that might cause me to cough resulting in those nearby turning mob justice on me. Let's get to some news and notes on the reliever front first.
- Emmanuel Clase – He of the hardest cutter in baseball is starting his Cleveland career off on a sour note. A back strain will likely sideline him for 8-12 weeks. This opens the door for fellow reliever wunderkind James Karinchak to solidify a leverage role. If you want a job relieving for Cleveland just have a hard to spell name, throw gas, and be in your early 20's.
- Jose Alvarado – Don't look now but Alvarado looks sharp as ever. But Roto-Wan, Nick Anderson is *the* it closer of draft season?!? I have no issue with Anderson's stuff, just his role. He factors into their ninth inning, no doubt. Let me ask you this, though. He saved some games for them last year since they're a team that's the most progressive in leverage roles, right? No? Ok, well he came over from Miami, who's bullpen was a collection of molding leftovers. He racked up a bunch of saves there, surely? How about one save. Well, at least he's a young prospect? Turns 30 in June. I don't mean to rain on your Nick Anderson parade, and by "don't" I mean I do, but he's far from a lock. I'm betting on Alvarado seeing some of their saves as the lefty side of a committee in every league I draft that uses RPs.
- Brandon Kintzler – Things are not off to a great start this spring for the presumptive Marlins closer. Like, walking four straight batters bad. I'd consider a spec play on Ryne Stanek early on.
- Ryan Helsley – I'm not the Helsley guy but some people I respect (see: Matt Thompson, Nick Pollack) have made it a point to draft the young Cardinal in the late rounds. Their ninth inning is a mess to predict, as usual. Helsley also has an outside shot at the rotation it seems, depending on the health of their assumed starters.
- Trevor Rosenthal – Rosie is the latest zombie reliever. He's always been able to light up radar guns. He just has zero command at times, as in most of the time. The command seems to be there this spring, however. KC would love to add any talent it can to baseball's most mediocre bullpen.
Welcome to the 2020 Razzball Team Previews! (Our “2020” comes with more Jay and less Barbara Walters!) (That joke is probably older than you!) Sorry for all the parentheses and exclamation points, I just get so excited when I think about Barbara Walters, and don’t even get me started on Hugh Downs… Regardless, here, you’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season, Razz-style. So while you’re stretching your lats and relearning calculus to get that upper hand on your fantasy peers, why not also check out what the Baltimore Birds with orange on them have in store for you and your fantasy team?
If you ask an "expert" for advice about your points league and they don't answer with a question then you have very likely asked the wrong person. Or perhaps just a lazy person. While many points league have similar scoring systems, how is the person you've solicited advice from supposed to know that a stolen base is worth two points and that your league doesn't penalize for strikeouts. Heck maybe you and your leaguemates had one too many Skrewballs, that's peanut butter whiskey for those of you that think I misspelled the pitch (don't knock it till you've tried it), and you decided to make doubles worth more than a home run. These simple facts are going to have a direct effect on the value of a player and his comparison to the next.
For those of you that have been loyal readers (thanks), this is a topic I have touched upon more than once before, but I feel it's extremely important to hammer home. The first thing an analyst should ask you upon receiving your inquiry is "what's your scoring system?". Only then can he/she provide you with an answer customized for you. Imagine logging into Amazon Prime and ordering underwear without specifying a size. You could get lucky, but more often than not you're going to be uncomfortable. One size does not fit all when it comes to points league advice and underwear.
