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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?

Our father, who Arte Moreno knows in heaven that’s how he owns the Angels, hallowed be thy name, from kingdom come, from sea to shining sea, we’ve lived to see the day when the Orioles are way better than the Yankees. Luis Severino (2 2/3 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 7.38), the Yanks’ 2nd best pitcher, wouldn’t even make the Orioles’ pitching staff. I am howling like Jack Nicholson in Wolf. The Yankees would basically betroth Kyle Bradish (6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.32) to Rhoda Berra, Yogi’s grand niece, to join their team. The Yankees would give Lou Gehrig’s childhood home, that is currently in a giant glass case at the Steinbrenners’ ranch, for just one of their prospects. Send them Gunnar Henderson (4-for-7, 3 runs, 5 RBIs and his 12th and 13th homer) and the Yankees will give them the baseball fan who ran onto the field to congratulate Chris Chambliss, who has been in a dungeon for the last 45 years. That is their monkey’s paw and the Yanks will give it to the Orioles for just a taste of the Orioles’ success. I am laughing. What a world. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The last two weeks I’ve said some variation of, “Pablo Lopez (9 IP, 0 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 12 Ks, ERA at 3.89) is the biggest Buy Low.” Prolly called him Pab-Lo, but the sentiment remained the same. Buy Low, I said, as I stood below your window, waiting for you to lower your hair so I could climb up and whispering why Pablo Lopez was a Buy Low. His K/9 is 11.2 and his BB/9 is 2.4. I did a Zoom call with those numbers and talked dirty until they called me a Toobin and hung up. His xFIP is 3.45. That’s SHE upside down on a calculator. You need more info here? Really? Everything looked perfect on his perfs, the only thing that was poking out and ruining things was his unlucky LOB%. Once that corrected itself, he was going to be an ace. Ya know one way to avoid a LOB problem? It’s to leave guys on freakin’ base! That was going to be the easiest thing to correct for someone with a 11+ K/9. He is no longer a Buy Low. Hopefully, you got in on Pab-Lo before he became Pab-Properly-Priced. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

“Four score and seven ‘And that’s me quoting me’s ago, my Fordfathers said, ‘Stop calling us Fordfathers, you idiot, it’s forefathers!” That was a quote from our most true patriot, Grey, the Fantasy Master Lothario, don’t abbreviate it. Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July, and you still have all ten fingers, and, if you don’t, I hope at least you had nearby an appropriately-sized, half-eaten hot dog to use as a tourniquet. Someone who doesn’t have a working ten fingers is Mike Trout. He looks like Captain America, so somehow it tracks that on the day with the most hand injuries in America, he gets his. Brutal news for sure, but every toilet flush fills up with a dog getting a clean glass of water, and that’s Jo Adell, as he was promoted. Since Trout is likely out six to eight weeks, this gives the Angels ample opportunity to find new ways to not play Adell. I kid. Kinda. I’d grab Adell in most leagues to see if he can finally click. Anyway. here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The singular of fireworks is firework, but sounds weird. A firework should be a professional wrestler who pretends to be a fireman for his character. That’s a firework. Speaking of firemen, Happy 4th of July or as firemen call it, “Why did you put a Roman Candle in your butt and aim it at your house? Dumb move, especially since you lived in a thatched hut.” You don’t need fireworks to light up the night sky when you have Michael Harris II (2-for-3, and his 8th and 9th homer). Megahertz is electricity. I’m glad I took the Big Dub on calling him overrated already so I can now go back to basking in his hawt-ness. Is that not how this works? Can I not call a guy overrated, then enjoy him a few months later? I absolutely can. No one says I need to watch him be a stinker the whole season. He was overrated coming into the year, and now he’s properly rated. When I rank him in the top 100 for the 2nd half next week, I think I’ve finally figured out where he should go. Sounds like Fiddy. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Vegas’ oddsmakers have this year’s mark set at 73.5. I’m going under. Sorry, this is meant to help your most important 4th of July DFS. That was Joey Chestnut’s previous seven years with this year’s O/U. You don’t bet on the Glizzy King? Damn, y’all un-American! Oh, I see, you saw this post was about the Reds, and thought we were talking Commies. The borscht eating contest is on May 1st, you missed it! So, Andrew Abbott (7 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 1.21) keeps rolling. His command (3.1 BB/9) is not as bad as I worried as it might be. Could MLB hitters have no idea to wait on their pitch? Maybe. His fly ball tendency (59.7%), home park and homers allowed in the minors still has me running like I’m Uncle Baby Billy from a wife. The 93 MPH fastball has produced a .152 BAA, which is goofy low, producing a 20 Launch Angle. He is doing it, so there’s something to it, but he’s one of the luckiest pitchers currently. Regression is going to come faster than heartburn for Chestnut. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Brian Anderson swings and misses. “One.” Brian Anderson swings and misses. “Two.” …dissolve to later…Brian Anderson swings and misses. “Uh, I lost count because you dissolved to later. What? It was only a five-second dissolve? So, that’s swing number three? Why dissolve then? Well, whatever the case, I’m no longer counting the licks it takes to get to Sal Frelick.” So, when a guy is behind Brian Anderson and is in his 2nd year of Triple-A and he’s 23 and would immediately become the best contact hitter in the Brewers’ lineup and how many “ands” do I need to do here? Am I counting Licks or Ands? Oh, and he has 35+ steal speed and has some pop and could be the best OBP in the MLB lineup behind maybe only Christian Yelich who’s ~.360. I could go on with the Ands. Like all of us besides our one conjoined twins reader, there’s one but here — but he’s not on the 40-man roster. So, we tweedle our thumbs. Speaking of thumbs, Frelick had thumb surgery in April and likely why he’s even in the minors. He could and should be promoted soon. Three. That’s the number of licks to get to Sal Frelick. Anyway, here’s some more players for Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?