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Yesterday, Cristopher Sanchez went 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.98, which is fine and dandy, but spelling it Cristopher is so Euro trash. Like you just stepped out of a Mazerati and you tossed me your keys, and I’m not valet, but simply a person selling balloon animals. With that said, Cristopher is carrying on the long, 3-month tradition of terrible pitchers being great and great pitchers being terrible. This is truly hilarious: His walk rate in the minors? 5.3 BB/9. El oh you gotta be kidding me el. In the majors, 1.3 BB/9. What, and I will pause now for emphasis, is going on? How can that be? It’s ludicrous. It’s Ludacris with What’s Your Fantasy, and Why Is He Not Getting Hit? Do MLB hitters just not know to hold for a walk? Could it be that simple? He’s barely a 8 K/9 pitcher, so if the walks are bad, everything about him is bad, but. Dot dot dot. Here we are. Streamonator hates his next start, and I have no confidence, but I would try him for his next start, because up is clearly down and vice versa. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Sal Frelick (1-for-3, 1 run) was promoted by the Brewers, and hit cleanup because you can’t stop the fun. The fun will overtake you, trample you, stampede you into oblivion if you try to stop the fun. The fun will stand on your head as you scream for your life if you try to stop it. Wow, fun doesn’t sound so fun. Yikes, glad I don’t have fun. I’m serious business and this callup is the same. I gave you a Sal Frelick fantasy just a few weeks ago where I told you to stash him, now I’m saying grab him. He was just in Itch’s top 25 fantasy baseball prospects. Itch said previously, “(Frelick is a) hit machine. Walked (8.8%) more than he struck out (7.4%) in 46 games at Triple-A, slashing .365/.435/.508 with four home runs and nine stolen bases. I have no idea why he didn’t get called up last year, and I’d like to call up a hit man to take out you-know-who.” C’mon man! Frelick is a grab in every league. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Players are going to start being traded like hot potatoes. Hot potato gratins. Sorry, I shouldn’t be doing this on an empty stomach. And when those players are traded, you know what this means? All new answers for the Immaculate Grid! Oh, and opportunities for younger players. One team that would never want to admit to being a seller. One team that is way too proud to be like, “We messed this up almost as bad as the Mets.” Their crosstown rivals, the Yankees. Don’t want to blow too many peoples’ minds here, but they were sellers last year too. The JoMo/Bader trade was not to make them better. With the Yankees turning the page, Oswald Peraza should get a “rest of the season” looksie. (We will put aside the fact that he should’ve been playing from March until now with Josh Donaldson told by Jimmy to go down that alley in Goodfellas to look at some new furs.) In the minors, Oswald Peraza went 12/11/.261 with great contact, and has been hitting leadoff for the Yanks, which he should. He’s their best leadoff hitter in some time with his speed and ability to take a walk. Also, one has to imagine that he knows what this opportunity means, and he’s going to want to show the Yanks he should be in their future plans. That means steals. As a team, the Yankees are on the cusp of doing a seance and having a medium channel George Steinbrenner, so Ghost Steinbrenner can fire the entire team, but, until then, Oswald Peraza will be in a great situation for fantasy. At worst, O-Pera beats out the Guardians’ Arias. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

This post will be an extended mea culpa. I didn’t believe Andrew Abbott (8 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, two walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.10) when he was called up. Didn’t believe him after his first eight starts! Didn’t believe him when he had solid prospect pedigree. Didn’t believe him when he came to my house and said, “Why don’t you believe me? You’re hurting my feelings!” I didn’t believe him when he showed up at my favorite boba place to tell me he had a 9.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9. Didn’t believe him when he showed up at my health club in a towel and sat in the sauna with me and walked me through how he had a .212 xBAA, an xERA of 3.62 and a .103 BAA on his sweeper, which he throws 16.1% of the time. I didn’t believe him when he walked next to my car, while I was in traffic, and told me his fly balls were crazy high, but literally, so they won’t leave the park. I didn’t believe him when he shook me awake in the middle of the night and told me to not trust his 4.59 xFIP. I didn’t believe him through all that, and I regret it. Sadly, I still don’t believe him. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

“The guys we have in here, in this clubhouse. These guys are home. This locker room for the last three months is where I’ve placed my bowl of cocktail wieners and beans on top of this wooden bench and dined, while people around me have said, ‘Really? You have to eat in here?’ This locker is where I hang my Mets’ jersey, where, before me, once Hubie Brooks hung his Mets’ jersey, and before him, another guy whose name I’m forgetting. That’s a legacy, and we’re damn proud. Mets is written across our chest, like a stigmata.” That was Justin Verlander as he tried to pretend to not want to be traded, making his best effort on the field — 8 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.47. Verlander is carrying his worst peripherals in fifteen years — 7.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 4.49 xFIP, just hideous stuff for a guy of his caliber, but maybe the inspiration to get off the Mets will be all he needs. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

“Anything you can do I can do better,
I can do anything better than you.

No, you can’t. Yes, I can.” Sang Christian Walker (3-for-5, 3 runs, 5 RBIs) as he had a double slam (19, 20) and legs (7). On Christian solder! *blowtorches a piece of metal*

“Anything you can do I can do better,
I can do anything better than you.

No, you can’t. Yes, I can.” Sang Austin Riley (3-for-5, 3 runs, 7 RBIs) as he hit hit his 17th and 18th homer.

“You’re supposed to wait for me to reply ‘Yes, I can’ after you say ‘No, you can’t.”

“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.” Sang Orlando Arcia (2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) who hit his 8th homer. Next year, Christian Walker will once again be underrated, as he’s currently above Vlad Jr., Riley and others on the Player Rater, and others who went way before him, and I imagine will again in 2024. “No, they won’t.” Yes, they will! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

On a street corner, Arte Moreno rings a bell, “Come and get your Angels here, come and get your Angels! No one is off limits! You want Ohtani? You’re gonna have to pay the price! Say, how about you send us Brandon Marsh for Ohtani? Deal done? Terrific! What about Griffin Canning? He just threw 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, and had a career-high in strikeouts with 12 with an ERA at 4.52. You’ll give us ‘a disapproving look once worn by former Angels great, Ian Kinsler?’ Fantastic! He’s yours!” That’s Arte Moreno doing some trade deadline wheeling and/or dealing. Canning was a favorite of mine in previous years. Don’t look at which years it was I liked him, it’s too depressing how far back it goes. Right now, he’s having the best year of his career (9.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 3.88 xFIP), and looks headed to top his career-high of 90 1/3 IP, assuming they don’t keep throwing him for 120 pitches per start, like last night. He gained an extra mile on his fastball, and getting hitters mostly with his change, that’s been outstanding. Streamonator loved him yesterday, and I can’t say I’d start him without pause, but he might finally be making good on his promise. The last piece will be him becoming a Tampa Bay Ray! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome back from the break! Now let’s get that money! And by “money” I mean an ulcer from starting Lance Lynn for every one of his terrible starts and benching him for all his good starts. We’re gonna be so rich with that “money.” One guy who is absolutely going to be “money” in scare quotes is Grayson Rodriguez, who was recalled to start on Monday vs. the Dodgers. Orioles weighing calling up Grayson vs. the Marlins this past weekend or the Dodgers, “Hmm, death by one cut seems much nicer than by a thousand.” Of course, I’d pick Grayson back up! Do you not know me at all? Still seems prone to command issues, but his 1.96 ERA in Triple-A is a big ol’ whiff (by hitters) of what could be. He might be an ace for the final two months. Might also be “money,” and that’s not money money. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

How’s everyone doing without baseball every day? I’m doing great! I walked into a Chipotle and told them my latest score on that day’s Immaculate Grid, and when they didn’t know what I was talking about, I explained how I was typing in Billy Sample but it wasn’t showing up for the Rangers’ 30-steal guy, so I started writing a strongly worded letter, starting with “To Whom It May Concern,” but then I realized he might be in there as William Sample, so I tried that, but that didn’t work either! Finally, I tried Bill Sample and there he was! I then cackled for 45 minutes until the guy with the guacamole scooper sat me down and hand-fed me a burrito to get my blood sugar back up. One guy who’s got my blood boiling is Bryce Harper. He’s currently the third Bryce on the Player Rater! After Bryce Elder and Bryce Miller! If you were to misspell Bryce, Bryson Stott’s above him too. Bryce Harper is currently about as valuable as David Peralta, Mike Baumann and Max Fried. One guy you thought retired; one guy you know has been out all year and one guy who you think I made up. This sell isn’t meant to be shocking if you saw my top 100 for the 2nd half 2023 fantasy baseball. Could Harper’s 2nd half be better than his first? Naturally! And that’s exactly what you tell the person who you’re selling Bryce Harper. I wouldn’t trade Bryce Harper for a handful of hand lotion from a stranger, but I would go to our Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer and explore options. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

She bingo’d on my bango until I chucked my Woolery–Oh hey! Sorry, didn’t hear you come in! I was talking to myself in the mirror. I do that when there’s no baseball games. That, and rank players! So, let’s get some exposition out of the way up front before we drop the top 100 for 2nd half of 2023 fantasy baseball. Not too much exposition because this is going to be a long post as it is–I’m making it longer, aren’t I? Ugh, my bad! Before we get into the top 100 for the 2nd half of 2023 fantasy baseball, let’s just be glad our 18-year-old selves can’t see us now, we’d get beat up! But our twelve-year-old selves would think we’re the coolest! So, as with all of the other 2023 fantasy baseball rankings, slop this up with a grain of salt. If you need a 2nd baseman, but an outfielder is above him that doesn’t mean you can’t trade that outfielder for that 2nd baseman. Also, things change in fantasy baseball. Daily. I could put Ronald Acuña Jr. number one, and he could pull a–Well, we won’t even mention an injury with the top players after we lost Oneil Cruz. As I say about the Giancarlo underwear I bought off eBay, why soil a good thing? This list is a road map for where I think guys are valued. It’s not the Holy Grail in the Church of Grey, that would be my mustache. This list is NOT (caps for emphasis, not aesthetics) where I see guys ending up if you were to take their first half and combine it with the 2nd half. This is simply a list of the top hundred fantasy baseball players if you were to pick them up today. So while Dansby Swanson did not have the greatest first half, he will appear on this list because, well, we have to believe in miracles — my 12-year-old self would want that, and to sleep with Cher. 12-year-old Grey loved Cher. The projections are not their combined 1st half and 2nd half numbers; these are their projections for the 2nd half of 2023. I also liberally used our rest of the season Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. That’s right, we have a Player Rater that tells you what players will do. It’s like that camera from The Twilight Zone. Welcome to the future! Anyway, here’s the top 100 for fantasy baseball for the 2nd half of 2023:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1346990″ player=”13959″ title=”2023 Razzball BUY SELL HOLD for Fantasy Baseball Week 15″ duration=”193″ description=”It’s the BUY, SELL HOLD for Fantasy Baseball Week 15! 0:37 Blake Snell 1:27 Adley Rutschman 2:22 Jake Burger” uploaddate=”2023-07-05″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1346990_th_64a5ee8349661_1688596099.jpg” image=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1346990_sd_64a5ee8349661_1688596099.jpg” contenturl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1346990.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″] Holding hands to eyes, sun blinds me, I turn back and call into the house, […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Jeopardy! Contestant, “Okay, let’s see…All right, Lady who has replaced Alex Trebek, I’ll take ‘Mikhail Gorbachev Not Maikel Garcia‘ for $200.”
Lady who has replaced Alex Trebek, “Glasnost and Perestroika were famous economic policies introduced by this Russian President.”
“Who is Maikel Garcia?”
“Sorry, no.”

Maikel Garcia is not Mikhail Gorbachev even if that’s what you hear every time. The first thing people ask Maikel, when they see forehead is not, “Can I call you, Birthmarkhail?” Maikel Garcia has been leading off, and Maik’ing great contact. He won’t be in my top 100 for the 2nd half (dropping next Tuesday), but I strongly considered him. His numbers don’t look that different than guys like Andres Gimenez, who was an easy consensus top 100 guy in the preseason. If Maikel can hold down the leadoff spot, he could go 5/20/.280 in the 2nd half, which would sneak him into the top 100 for value. Now, stop asking him to tear down this wall. Anyway. here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?