Before I get a “now wait a tiff there gov’ner, Chapman is bollocks!” I want to say I hear you, or in this case, I read you, but if I’m going to go with a British-themed title, I’m going to make it cheery to stay on brand. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend. We are officially about to turn the page to June. Most starters that haven’t been injured are taking their 10th trip through the rotation and we are getting a read on what they are going to produce for the year. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Hope everyone had a glorious Memorial Day, while placing some hot dogs in your gullet and swallowing them whole with some cheap beer. Like George Washington would've wanted it! George used to remove his wooden teeth and eat hot dogs whole. True story. So, I've become Mr. Pull My Pitcher With 90 Pitches. I hate pitches 90-100. They suck. In ten years, I will hate pitches 80-90. Then, ten years later, I will be Mr. I Like The Starter Who Comes In From The 4th Thru The 5th Inning. ACKSUALLY, that brings up a point, what happens when no starters go more than four innings? It's coming at some point. Will we adjust our fantasy scoring categories? Something to think about, which is why I'm looking for an emoji with a hand on a chin that is using its other hand to slowly raise its middle finger towards Craig Counsell. Aaron Ashby (6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.70) was fantastic. Dot dot dot. Through 6 innings! He never needed to go out there for the 7th, and it unraveled from pitches 90 thru 100. See? That's why I am whoever I said I am five sentences ago, to paraphrase Eminem. Ashby's 11.5 K/9, 5 BB/9, 3.08 xFIP is so itsy-bitsy close to an ace and unusable on the other side. Thankfully, his command is usually much better, i.e., AA - BB = CC, i.e., Aaron Ashby minus walks equals CC Sabathia. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." -- Tony LaRussa, probably.
The thing about being a historian is you carry the past with you. Like Tim O'Brien wrote in his most famous novel, Tomcat in Love...wait, is that the right book? Or was it that other Vietnam-themed book where it was all a dream? Oh, sorry, The Things They Carried. Yes, this one is for Lemon, who's floating in the breeze out there. ENYWHEY. We carry the burdens of the past with us, etched upon our hearts, weighing heavy on our souls. As the immortal poet collective Papa Roach once taught us, "The scars remind us that the past is real." Funny, how that works for fantasy baseball. What you did in the past is both predictive of what you do in the future, but also completely detached from what's going on in the present. "He's changed," we all whisper. "Velocity is down." What, exactly, was the normal velocity? Do we all run 4-minute miles every year of our life? Or is it good enough to run 4.5 or 5-minute miles? Does it matter if we throw 96 or 94 or 25 or 6 to 4? And on and on it goes. Let's jump over to the news and notes and find out which pitcher has me thinking so nostalgic.
Happy Memorial Day RCLers. It may be a long weekend but the Razzball Commenter Leagues never rest. We’re here for the grind. We are days away from June and right around this time is where I’m cutting bait with struggling players. Please, blog, may I have some more?
As of this writing, we find ourselves in the middle of Memorial Day weekend. If you’re like me, you’ve likely found yourself in the middle of some competitive lawn games, delicious food, and several quality IPA’s (luckily a few of my home league-mates are craft beer connoisseurs) with some great company. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Attention Razzballers! The Not Not News Podcast is now available 100% free of charge! Subscribe to the Not Not New Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
It’s your favorite hour of the week! The Not Not News is back with all the Billy Hurley jokes and Grey Albright cackles you can handle. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Welcome back to MLB DFS, Money Monday edition. It’s Memorial Day and hopefully, you’re tossing some back by the grill and remembering those who have passed before us. It’s me, Cousin Timmy, here to start your week off right! We have a split slate today but I’ll be covering the six-game main slate on FanDuel with first pitch set for 7:10 PM ET in Boston where the crowd will be rocking from last night’s Celtics game 7 victory. Please, blog, may I have some more?
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We have every conceivable
rookie's projections who might be called up. Guys I've never heard of like Bobson Dugnutt, but even we don't have
Michael Harris II because he was so young and seemingly far away. Michael Harris II is so young Michael Harris I is still in theaters!
Andruw Jones played just 50 games above Single A before he was called up by the Braves at age 19 in 1996. Michael Harris II, who is 21, played 43 games above Single A. How'd he go from A to the majors in roughly a month and a half? Hitting, baby! I give a lot of teams shizz for manipulating service time, but the Braves promote guys quickly. Maybe they feel bad after signing them for $500 and a bag of Takis when they're 12. In 43 Double-A games, Michael Harris II went 5/11 .305/.372/.506 in 174 ABs. His skills are power and speed, which means he's worth adding in all leagues. Speed doesn't disappear for a young player after promotion. Power should remain too. The contact is going to make or break his game this year. If he can't make contact, he might not hit and get demoted. If he can make contact, then he might be on the short list for biggest impact bats to get called up. Here's what Prospect Itch said, "He’s a must-add where you can fit him. I’m about 60/40 that his swing-happy approach combined with the big-league heavy balls will prove too big a challenge for his first few hundred plate appearances, but stranger things have happened." This guy sneaking in subconscious Netflix promos! Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Welcome, Patrons, sidle on up to the bar and let’s take a look together at the coming week’s double-dippers.
I’m sure I’m going to generate plenty of angry comments from fantasy managers with certain players below on their rosters, but hey, I’m just the messenger. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Thanks the the new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the players union, teams are no longer hiding their top prospects in the minors to delay their service time and ability to hit arbitration and free agency earlier in their careers.
The Mariners (Julio Rodriguez) and Astros (Jeremy Pena) have had top rookies in their starting lineup since the start of the season. Meanwhile, a host of other teams have featured rookies in their lineup from day one or already promoted them from the minors.
A TRIO OF ROOKIES
One team that has been aggressive in calling up top players from the minors is the St. Louis Cardinals. I talked about one of those rookies, Juan Yepez, last week. You can read about him here. The Cardinals also have two more rookies in their lineup, and both are readily available in Yahoo and ESPN leagues.
Rookie Brendan Donovan is rostered on 22% of Yahoo leagues and only 5.4% of ESPN leagues. Nolan Gorman, the other rookie, has the attention of a few more Yahoo and ESPN fantasy players as he is rostered on 63% of Yahoo rosters and 30% of ESPN rosters.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals realized that Salvador Perez can't play in every game, like he nearly did last season by appearing in 161 contests. The Royals thus turned to top catching prospect MJ Melendez and called him up from Triple A. Melendez is currently on only 37% of Yahoo rosters and 10.2% of ESPN rosters.
It's time to take a look at these three players and discuss if they are Top Dynasty Keepers or not.
