I poured a couple liters worth of words into Hoy Jun Park and Trey Amburgey last Sunday only to discover that neither is going to play. Perhaps Trey was going to play, but he hurt himself on his second day, so the Yankees said hey we could just pluck Estevan Florial from Triple A. Two games in, that’s worked out okay, but it blows me away to see a player with a .315 OBP at AAA take the job from a guy with a .475 OBP. Not that Park ever had the job, per se, but I thought he’d get some kind of look. Sorry for our errant walk in the Park the other day.
So should we add Florial where we need some speed? I guess it can’t hurt if you’ve got the room. He’s plenty tooled up, having swiped 82 bags in 444 minor league games to go along with 54 home runs and a .266/.348/.438 slash line. That’s inflated a bit by his low minors lines. Elite spin had thoroughly flummoxed Florial until, well, I guess it never stopped. His July line prior to promotion was .184/.263/.429 across 48 AAA at bats. Simply put, the guy can thump and run. He just can’t hit. Or never has, anyway. Could he bloom before our eyes on the big league stage? I suppose so. I hope he's a pollinator.
Monthly Archives: July 2021
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The hot corner has been a nightmare this year and not just because of injuries. Third base is a corral of struggling horses led by Matt Chapman and Yoan Moncada. However, the Dodger duo of Max Muncy and Justin Turner have been killing it. Muncy missed two weeks in June with an oblique injury and to me, that's an injury that could've tanked his approach at the plate. But since his return on June 22nd, Muncy's been nothing short of greatness - .300/8 HRs/25 RBIs and a walk rate (15.8%) way higher than his strikeout rate (9.5%). Turner has been, well, exactly what he's been the last couple of years - consistent. Batting over .300 with power to boot in the middle of a Dodgers lineup is a recipe for success for the 36-year old Turner. Coming into the year, I had some doubts about Turner, mostly because of his age. He's certainly exceeded the expectations and I expect he and Muncy to continue to carry the Dodgers down the stretch. Let's take a look at the list and then we'll get into some of these scrubs....I mean players:
FanDuel: Phanatic Night In The Bronx
July 21, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel | 3 Commentsby: Barrelman
Hard to believe we’re already ~60% of the way through the MLB season. I hope you all enjoyed hitting the reset button and the All-Star festivities. It’s back to the grind though and we should have a full 8-game slate. There is a ton of bad pitching to go around tonight. The Phillies are in good stacking spot and almost everyone in their lineup is viable. The Marlins are a sneaky stack in my opinion. They’re on the road in a hitters park against a mediocre pitcher. Their lack of offensive notoriety will keep ownership down. They’d make a good secondary stack to pair with the Phillies if you can manage it.
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!
Tou-Tou Bravely Pirouettes Past The Padres
July 21, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 333 Commentsby: Grey
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Who's going to win their fantasy league? ...did you just point at yourself? Okay, you might win your fantasy league, but I was setting myself up with a thought. The people who are going to win their fantasy leagues this year are the ones navigating the rough terrain of having zero pitchers healthy. Zippo, zilch, N to the ada. It's going to be imperative to find well-rested starters who are able to throw another 60+ IP innings. Guys, who much like Jeff Bezos, aren't taxed. Enter stage right...*curtain moves but no one enters*...pull the cord to open the curtains! Suddenly, Touki Toussaint stumbles through. Yesterday, Touki Toussaint threw a gem vs. the Padres -- 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks in his first MLB start of the year. In addition to the Ks, he induced nine ground balls with solid command. Most importantly this year, he's capable of throwing another 60+ IP. Now, Touki, take a curtain call! Actually, don't. We don't have time. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Five Post-Draft Sleepers: Searching for FYPD Gold
July 20, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 3 Commentsby: Hobbs
You can't judge a prospect by his draft position, the same way you can't judge a middle-aged man for walking around shirtless in your neighborhood. A player could get drafted 40th overall solely due to signability and financial asking price, but still be a top-15 overall player (more on that later). Along those same lines, that middle-aged man could have recently burnt his nipples on a saucepan while reaching across the stovetop to adjust a knob, and now walking around shirtless is the only comfortable way he can go for an evening stroll. You simply never know the underlying circumstances at play, which is why it's always best to ask questions and gather reliable intel before rushing to judgment. That exact premise is the motivation for this piece: don't treat the 2021 draftees as shirtless middle-aged men. Assess the tools and how each player aligns with your fantasy team's winning timeline, and draft the top players available regardless of where they were selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. Draft position should not directly correlate with first-year player draft (FYPD) order and rankings.
So here's a few shirtless, middle-aged men to target in your upcoming FYPDs -- of the baseball variety, of course!
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: What? You Don’t Want To Hear About Our Teams?
July 20, 2021 | All Podcasts |by: Geoff
The All-Star break has passed, I, Geoff have returned from vacation, and Grey is ready to talk trade deadline buzz. With that in mind we talk about some of the top names that could be moved, Joey Gallo, Trevor Story, Craig Kimbrel to name a few. We speculate on the potential for a fire sale in Chicago, and walk you through our thoughts on some recent callups and how their playing time will shake out. This may in fact be a useful podcast for once! Oh don't worry I waste Grey and everyone else's time talking about my home league for a good 15 minutes without taking a breath. Never mind the bollocks, it's the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast.
Rolling In The Deep: We’re Exhausted — Time For Bed(nar)
July 20, 2021 | Rolling In The Deep |by: Laura Holt
Greetings! The second half of July is often one of the most exciting times of the year In my NL and AL only leagues, as we all wait for the trade deadline hoping for someone new and exciting to come into the league to spend our FAAB dollars on. Not much exciting is happening yet, though, and once again I find myself staring at a barren waiver wire as I look to reinforce my teams. For now, here’s another small handful of names who might pique the interest of those of us in NL only, AL only, and other deep leagues.
RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 15, 2021
July 20, 2021 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenter Leagues | 4 Commentsby: MattTruss
We’ve just got a quick hitter this week for our Razzball Commenter League update. With only three days in the previous week’s schedule, thanks to the All Star Break, everything is abbreviated. There weren’t a lot of changes, but there are still some goodies to go over. Plenty of trades were made and some decent mini weeks were had as we’ll see in the weekly leaders. It’s pretty impressive what teams can pull off in just three days. Let’s jump into all the juicy data from our mini week that was, week 15:
FanDuel: German Marquez Gets No Love
July 20, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |by: RyanStar
Welcome back to the Tuesday edition of Fanduel DFS here on Razzball. I hope you all enjoyed a nice break from the grind last week, I know I did. Nice little trip to Vegas prior to the break, followed by a golf tournament in southern Michigan this past weekend has me relaxed and ready to take on the second half with confidence.
Tonight we have a near full slate of games on Fanduel’s main slate with minor weather concerns in Toronto, and expected rain throughout the game in Atlanta. Because of this, our top priced pitcher, Yu Darvish ($11,200), may again be in danger of delays or postponement. The pitching options overall tonight are quite shaky. Trevor Rogers ($10,00) gets a hot Nationals team in D.C. Aaron Nola ($9,100) is returning to the mound after 14 days off and a stay on the COVID-19 injured list (though he never tested positive). Wade Miley ($9,300) keeps doing his thing but has only eclipsed 40 fanduel points 2 times in 10 starts since his no-no back on May 7. I have my eyes on two guys under $9,000 who’s price and matchup look good enough to highly consider tonight.
Good luck tonight, and remember to stay positive and visualize that bank roll spiking. Visualize your success! You HAVE to believe it to be true before it can happen. Go with your gut and do it with confidence. Let’s go!
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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Dodgers announced their top pitching prospect Josiah Gray will make his major league debut today. There's gonna be so many Grays/Greys in the majors, it's gonna be like 50 Shades of Grey, and you're gonna be pouring candle wax on your nips while drafting your fantasy teams. "Ow, Grey, please let me just type up this memo to HR without you tweaking my areolae!" That's gonna be you wishing you could get all these Gray/Greys out of your head. But. You. Can't. *Cue evil laugh that turns into a coughing fit* So, here's Prospect Itch with the sitch, "(Josiah Gray) played 72 games at shortstop across his two college seasons but shifted to the mound full-time as a pro and has been incredibly effective in his brief career. At 6’1” with excellent ride on his his four-seamer and two benders he can bury, Gray’s traits are ideal for succeeding in the pitching paradigm that dominates our game now. His athleticism enables plus command that might be elite when all is said and done and has been good enough already to limit batters to just four home runs across four levels of minor league baseball–three of those coming in the hitter friendly California League. The Dodgers didn’t need his assistance in 2020, but I suspect he was ready to succeed if called upon and will be eager to answer the bell early in 2021. He’s a redraft target for me in deep leagues and someone I’ll be adding in shallow leagues when it seems his time is nigh. Gray is the man Grey is not." Okay, not cool. His numbers are awesome this year -- 12.6 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, 2.87 ERA, but he doesn't seem able to rack up innings (15 2/3 IP). Never the hoo! I added JoJo Gray in two NL-Only leagues, and would grab him in the shallowest of mixed leagues too, if I needed to chase the upside dragon JoJo Pitcher, Your Career Is Calling. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2021: Week 16
July 19, 2021 | Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 25 Commentsby: everywhereblair
Holy frijoles it's another Monday -- Prince's favorite day of the week -- and with that brings another manic update about the okayest hurlers in the business. Gerrit Cole's about the only healthy one left, right? And is he really healthy without spider tack? Are any of us really healthy without sticky hands? Let's check in with some of the best pitchers of the past week and get you ready for the home stretch of the fantasy baseball season.
Avoiding the Blurbstomp – Only If Practical
July 19, 2021 | Avoiding the Blurbstomp | 1 Commentby: C.A. James
Maybe the funniest part of doing this gig is realizing how insanely destructive season-long roto fantasy baseball can be to one’s mental health. Whether you are in the basement, hunting for third place whilst languishing in the 6th spot, or even in a healthy 1st place, the grind gets to you. Reading the updates, maintaining your roster, trying to convince your cravenly obdurate league-mates to trade anyone who without them throwing in someone they just picked up off waivers; it’s brutal. In the fantastic work of the late and still great J Dilla, we find an artist who takes a beautiful, pristine 5-second loop of music, and chops it into an extremely moving aural collage that is both compositionally complex, and almost paradoxically dance-able. Meanstwhile, an engineer in a state-of-the-art recording studio would press play on a soul record and P Puff Diddy Daddy (he was the original rotosportsedgeworld) would slap “produced by me” on it and prepare to grunt and say, “Yeah,” maybe 30 times while Biggie turned his laziness into pure gold.
