Chase Headley is a guy that I haven’t been able to get on board with, really ever. Even when he had his Brady Anderson year back in 2012, I couldn’t allow myself to believe that he was a top-tier ballplayer. When the Red Sox and the Yankees were both in the market for a third baseman, and Pablo Sandoval and Headley were the best bats available, the AL East superpowers each signed one. And, while the Sandoval contract has been an unmitigated disaster, Headley has actually had some middling success. He isn’t exciting, which is perhaps why I never took a liking to him. But, OBP isn’t particularly exciting either. And, it is in OBP where Headley will shine.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
As my first job out of college, I worked at a call center with a guy named Phil Sousa. Customers would regularly ask him if he was related to John Phillip Sousa, the famous composer nicknamed The March King. My co-worker would laugh at the absurdity of the question, but would play it off smooth with the customer, saying something like, “No, it’s just a coincidence.” Very Office Space. I’ve got to think that today’s lead man Steven Souza Jr. has gotten that thrown his way once or twice. I bet he gets more Sousaphone jokes than John Phillip, but that is almost too obvious. This is a roundabout way of me referring to Souza as The Marsh King (Florida being a swamp, get it?). Anyhow, in today’s post, I’m going to look at a selection of outfielders that have caught my attention, including my thoughts on their impact in OBP leagues.
Please, blog, may I have some more?The season is winding down, and honestly, there isn’t much that can be said to help improve your playoff chances at this point. Largely, the last few days of the season come down to grabbing the appropriate streamer options. This post will go up on Saturday, so this may not look wise, but guys like Wei-Yen Chen are typically smart plays. Anyone going up against a lineup that is being “rested,” such as the Yankees following their clenching of the Wild Card, is a smart gamble.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
OPS Leagues: Phamtastic Debut
September 26, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, OPS Leagues | 4 Commentsby: Elliot
Thomas Pham is a 27-year old rookie who has made the most of his first month in the big leagues. Big Magoo wrote about him on Tuesday, saying “Enjoy the fling while it lasts, but be wary of a long-term commitment.” And I completely agree! I don’t think that Pham will be a viable option in shallow mixed leagues next year.
Can he do it? Yes, he pham! Remember those great Jorge Cantu chants? Jorge can’t hit a home run! Yes, he Cantu!
My initial reaction was: could this be a Charlie Blackmon scenario? Blackmon’s first full season came at the age of 27, when he batted .288/.335/.440 with 19 bombs. But, Blackmon had already had plenty of major league action to that point, and his skillset was generally superior to Pham’s. So, I slapped myself and recognized that Pham is a perfect playoff schmotato and nothing more. Given that information, Pham has absolutely crushed over the past two weeks, posting a 1.350 OPS with 4 homers and 12 RBI. At this point in the year, you need to grab onto these hot streaks. And, Pham’s hot streak is molten right now.
Please, blog, may I have some more?In the spirit of the playoffs, I’m going to run through one widely available player at each position who might be able to help you in your OPS stretch run. Let’s get started.
Catcher: Grey gave you J.P. Arencibia and Francisco Cervelli as buys yesterday. But, if those guys are taken and you are hurting at catcher, take a look at Florida’s J.T. Realmuto. Over the past two weeks, Realmuto has gone 13-for-34 with 3 home runs and a 1.084 OPS. He’s been one of the hottest hitting catchers going of late and he is owned in about 15% of ESPN leagues. I also considered Detroit’s James McCann for this one. Over the past week, McCann trails only Buster Posey, Kyle Schwarber, and Salvadaor Perez in OPS, posting a .853. But, playing time is a bit more of a concern with McCann, so Realmuto is the pick.
Please, blog, may I have some more? OPS Leagues: Return of the King
September 12, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, OPS Leagues | 4 Commentsby: Elliot
The King has returned to Middle Earth, to rule over the hobbits and elves and the other woodland friends. His name is Bryce Harper, and he will dole out fiery OPS vengeance upon any foolish enough to oppose him. Yes, friends, Harper, our long-time OPS champion, has enacted his fury this past week, going 10-for-23 with 5 homers and 6 RBI. His OPS for this period was a gorgeous 1.753. If Harper doesn’t win the NL MVP award, something is very wrong with the BBWAA. Harper has the 2nd highest OPS all-time for a 22-year old, behind only Teddy Ballgame. Almost more impressively, if the season ended today, Harper’s OPS would be the highest since Barry Bonds’ in 2004 (Bonds had an absolutely inhuman 1.422 OPS).
Please, blog, may I have some more? OPS Leagues: Eager To Meet Seager
September 5, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, OPS Leagues | 6 Commentsby: Elliot
Kyle Seager has been on a bit of a tear. Seager’s OPS over the past week is a very handy 1.372. He is going to close out 2015 with stats almost identical to his previous couple of seasons, 20+ homers, 70+ RBI, and a .260/.330/.430. Not bad, but not all that special, either. Seager is one of those guys that you draft for safety but recognize immediately that it wasn’t a “sexy” pick. In my 10-team AL-only league, I had my eye on Kyle but he was plucked right before me in round 5, so I grabbed Manny Machado. If we’re talking “sex” and “baseball”, we’re talking Machado … or Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. Now that we’ve established that Kyle Seager isn’t as beautiful as Manny Machado, how does Kyle’s younger brother Corey Seager compare?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Here’s a quick comparison for you. Take a look at these two AL third basemen.
| Player A | .283 | .350 | .449 | 15 HR | 56 RBI | 58 R |
| Player B | .269 | .330 | .416 | 14 HR | 57 RBI | 52 R |
Who would you rather own for fantasy? Player A is owned in 72% of ESPN leagues, while Player B is owned in 95% of ESPN leagues.
Please, blog, may I have some more? OPS Leagues: The Great White Sano
August 21, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Overrated, OPS Leagues | 6 Commentsby: Elliot
Tehol was enjoying Shark Week while Miguel Sano was bashing mammoth home runs a while back. Appropriately, he gave the Dominican-born Sano the fantastic nickname, “Great White.” I’ve got to say, I have been inspired by this since, and I’m determined to make it stick. I will dedicate my life to getting this nickname uttered by a nationally televised broadcast team. Okay, nicknames aside now, let’s talk about Mr. Sano. Aaron Gleeman, a Rotoworld Senior Editor and Minnesotan, has been posting an onslaught of wonderful OPS statporn related to Sano. Here’s a sampling…
Please, blog, may I have some more?Looking over the past few weeks’ worth of OPS numbers, I saw a lot of names that I expected to see up on top. Nelson Cruz, sure. Anthony Rizzo, duh. Chris Davis, yawn, but sure. Andrew McCutchen, okay. These guys are either superstars or mega-power meatheads (I’m looking at you Cruz and Davis). The next name on the list? David Peralta. What? Peralta, who is quickly rising in ownership in most formats (up to nearly 50% in ESPN now) has been crushing the ball to the tune of a 1.190 OPS over the past two weeks. During that time, he has gone 20-for-42 with 2 homers and 13 RBI. Even better, over this last week, Peralta is number two in all the land in OPS, at 1.819. Yeesh. Who is this guy? Here’s some quick Peralta backstory, if you’re interested. Skip a paragraph down if you aren’t.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Good gravy, let’s talk about two recent power surges. Duda Where’s My Car and He’s on the Mark, Teixeira. Lucas Duda and the Teixecutioner have been absolutely bananas over the past week.
Duda has hammered 6 long balls in the past week (9 in the past two weeks) with a 1.708 OPS. That’s good for the second best OPS over the past week in baseball, behind only the aforementioned switch-hitting Mark Teixeira. Earlier in the year, Duda was annihilating baseballs. He had a phenomenal April and May but slumped terribly through June and first half of July. Towards the end of July and now into August, Duda has flipped back to the early season guy that Mets fans were drooling over. With the surge, Duda has nearly doubled his HR count (21) and could be a threat for 30. For OPS leagues, obviously he’s been stud-worthy recently, but be careful if you’re trying to deal for him at your league’s trade deadline. This is a guy who can get cold just as quick as he got hot. With how high the price tag must be on him right now, I’d stay clear. If you’re an owner, I would see what I could get back for him.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Gerrardo Parra is one of the least sexy guys to own in baseball. He’s isn’t particularly flashy, with no outstanding one category skill and he doesn’t have a cool name (Saltalamacchia or Gregorius, for instance). These are serious marks against him. But, it looks like Parra is on the move to Baltimore, where he should slot into an improved lineup, with the likes of Adam Jones, the smoldering-hot Chris Davis, and Manny Machado. Parra has been very under the radar this season but has a fantastic .326/.367/.517 triple slash with 9 bombs and 7 legs on the year. Parra is probably owned in your league, as he is available in just over 25% of ESPN leagues. His OBP since the ASG is third-best in baseball at .512, behind only The Earth Shaker (Joey Votto) and Au Shizz (Paul Goldschmidt). So, if he is out there, I’d gobble up Parra right away, as his .365 OBP could be legit. This is a guy that could be breaking out as a player at age 28. He should get into the mid-teens in both power and speed (15/15 is doable).
Please, blog, may I have some more?