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Jakkers

Author: Jakkers

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Jakkers

Top Dynasty Keepers: Players 50-26

March 13, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball | 4 Comments

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Baseball is back!

After months of shaking our heads and gnashing our teeth, the stars and the planets finally aligned, allowing the owners to begrudgingly open their wallets and end the lockout. We have to wait a little longer for the season to start, but Opening Day is less than a month away and we will still get to have a full 162-game season.

All is right with the world now (except for everything else that is going wrong with the world right now. But let’s not worry about that. We’re here to talk baseball!)

So now what?

Perhaps the league(s) you play in were on hold during the strikeout just as the players were. Just as MLB free agents are scrambling to find jobs with a team, you may now be scrambling to get ready for your upcoming draft. But don’t fret, you’ve been (hopefully) getting your draft strategy secured and trying to figure out who should go where in every round.

The thing about rankings…

When it comes to ranking anything, there is always a bias. Grey may not like Jack Flaherty (Fantasy Outlook For 2022) as much as I do, but since these are my rankings, I am right and he is wrong. My friend last year said I reached for Robbie Ray. Guess who had the last laugh. My rankings also reflect my bias in that I like hitters more and young players more than old players as I want to build a team that will win for years. But you may want to load up on the top veteran players on the board and then try to snag up-and-coming youngsters on the backend of the draft.

That is a valid approach to building a dynasty team. But for now, I am assuming you are building your dynasty team from the ground up and want as many of the top, young players as possible.

So, let’s get to the rankings.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top Dynasty Keepers: Players 75-51

March 6, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Draft Rankings, Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Keeper Leagues | 6 Comments

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I don’t know about you, but with no spring training going on and the Owner’s lockout not appearing to be coming to an end any time soon, thank goodness for college baseball and fantasy baseball drafts!

The college season is off to a great start as my 12-0 Texas Longhorns (Class of ’93!) are the No. 1 team and have allowed only 13 runs in the team’s first 12 games. Meanwhile, in the first of my many dynasty drafts, I was able to snag Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and George Springer. I know, I know – if you have been reading my earlier posts you know I value hitters over pitchers and young player over the older stars.

But when it comes to dynasty leagues, they are like a box of chocolates…no, that is the wrong thought. What they all are is once you get past the inaugural draft, each one takes on its own personality and learning to adjust when needed is a key tool to have in the toolbox. In the case of this league, we are in year eight. Not only do we have 40-man rosters, but we have 20-man minor league rosters. So with the top prospects gone and players like Ronald Acuna, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis not close to being available, I went for the best player on the board strategy.

Even if you are starting a new dynasty league, you have to be able to zig at times. You need to enter the draft with a game plan and stick to it as much as you can. But if an older stud player is staring you in the eyes and you know he will make your team one of the best in the league, then you take him. And if it happens again and then again, then you zig and zag and then get back to your plan.

Snagging as many young players is still a top goal, but sometimes the oldies but goodies are too good to pass up.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top Dynasty Keepers: Players 100-76

February 27, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Keeper Leagues |

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Welcome back to the Top Dynasty Keepers. This week we will look at my Tier 4 group – players 100 to 76. While the 30 Major League Baseball owners are trying to be sticks in the mud as they have taken the ball and gone home, we are not locking anyone out. We are knee deep in depth charts and player lists as we prepare for our drafts.

However, before we get to the fun stuff, let’s quickly review what I believe is the best way to build a team.

When it comes to putting together your dynasty team, you have to try to stick to your formula as much as possible. Yes, there is always room to be a little flexible, but figure out what your approach is going to be heading into a draft and then stick with it. Last week I spelled out my three rules when building a dynasty team. If you don’t remember this great advice, these are my rules:

Young over old.
Draft the hitter over the pitcher.
Draft the starting pitcher ahead of the closer

Practice what you preach

So you may be wondering just how well do I follow my own rules. In my Tier 5 rankings last week, 23 of the 26 players I listed were under the age of 30. Of those 23  players, 12 of them were 25 or younger. If you are building a dynasty league team, then you have to think young. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top Dynasty Keepers: Players 125-101

February 20, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Keeper Leagues | 3 Comments

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When it comes to ranking the top dynasty keepers, there is no one magic formula. Do you look only at age? Do you care only about performance? The answer, of course, is it is a concoction of many factors. It’s a dash of gut instinct mixed in with past experience and a whole lot of what the eye sees. You know a good player when you see him.

When building a dynasty team, these are the rules I follow:

  • 1. Young over old. Age is often a deciding factor on who to draft.
  • 2. Draft the hitter over the pitcher.
  • 3. Draft the starting pitcher ahead of the closer.

You want to build a team that wins for years to come. I’m always thinking five years down the road. Max Scherzer is great to have on your team this year, but what about next year and certainly in 2024?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Shortstops for 2021 – Week 26

September 26, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Second Basemen | 3 Comments

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The Major League Baseball season is down to its final week and a host of teams are still battling for spots in the postseason. And just like MLB, there are numerous fantasy leagues that will go down to the last pitch this season.

With that in mind, fantasy owners should do everything they can to secure a title. In re-draft leagues, that means discarding anyone and everyone who is not producing and picking up the hot hand. With that in mind, this week we will concentrate on some players who have been hot the last two weeks and likely available in your league.

So let’s look at the Top 25 fantasy shortstop rankings before we focus on players you should possibly target this last week of the season.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Second Baseman for 2021 – Week 25

September 19, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Second Basemen | 3 Comments

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The fantasy baseball season is winding down, and if you are like me, you are constantly looking at your phone and the live scoring. Did Jose Altuve collect that much-needed RBI? Did Ozzie Albies swipe a bag that you have to have in order to overtake your opponent in steals. These next few days and weeks are going to be nerve wracking.

Making things even worse is if you have a player go on the IL or your second baseman is currently mired in a slump. The top players aren’t just sitting there on the waiver wire to be added, so adding the right free agent could be the difference between winning the title and being the best of the losers.

Before we talk about who some of those key free agents may be, let’s look at the rankings, taking into account that they mostly reflect what they have done for the entire season. But I’ll also touch on the players outside the rankings that should be watched or added in the next few days.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Shortstops for 2021 – Week 24

September 12, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Top 25 Shortstops |

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When it comes to the Top 25 rankings, I often penalize players who are on the disabled list because those players can’t help your fantasy team. But there is always an exception to the rule. The exception is Wander Franco.

Franco left Friday night’s game against Detroit with right hamstring tightness and was placed on the 10-day IL Saturday. According to manager Kevin Cash, Franco can be out two to three weeks, though he hopes it could be a quicker recovery. The injury couldn’t come at a worst time for fantasy owners as the playoffs have started or about to start, depending on the number of teams that make the playoffs in your league.

Despite the injury, I moved Franco into the top 10 in my rankings as he now sits at No. 9. He would be higher, but my rankings also take into account what players have done the entire season, and Franco has not been with the Rays the entire season. If he had been, he would be in the Tier 1 group.

Before suffering his injury, the 20-year-old Franco ripped a pitch up the middle at 107.5 mph to reach base and extend his on-base streak to 39 games. Franco is now four games shy of tying the record for for the longest on-base streak by a player 20-years-old or younger. In 62 games this season, Franco is slashing .285-.347-463 with 49 runs scored, seven homers, 36 RBI and 2 steals. In his last 25 games, his slash line is .347-.407-.571 with 27 runs scored, three home runs and 16 RBI.

Those stats are why Franco has climbed the rankings despite him now being injured. It’s plainly obvious he is one of the best hitting shortstops in baseball and by next year he will likely reside in Tier 1 all season. Now let’s see who else has climbed in the rankings or taken a tumble.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Second Basemen for 2021 – Week 23

September 5, 2021 | Second Basemen | 3 Comments

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Trying to figure out  Brandon Lowe is like a day trader trying to figure out when to buy or sell a stock. At the beginning of the season, everyone should have been selling Lowe stock. But based on past performance, they were still buying.

Once they were convinced he was a failed commodity, Lowe stock was being sold and he could be a cheap buy, but he likely cost you a lot while you held on to him. However, if you are the type of investor who plays the long game and doesn’t get caught up in the day-to-day highs and lows or if you were able to get Lowe when his price had bottomed out, then congratulations! Because right now, Lowe is carrying your team.

Throughout the season Lowe has produced home runs and RBI. Through June, he had 16 homers and 38 RBI. But he also had slash lines of .182-.301-.364 in April, .196-.312-.380 in May and .241-.337-.542 in June. Lowe also racked up 97 strikeouts in 263 at-bats – a strikeout percentage of 37 percent! But over the last two months, Lowe has been a beast at the plate. In July he slashed .288-.416-.616 with six homers, six doubles and 14 RBI in 22 games. Last month he hit nine double, nine homers and drove in 26 runs in 27 games while slashing .262-.328-.598.

Why the turnaround at the plate, at least when it comes to his slash line? The answer is pretty easy – his strikeout rate. In 180 at-bats in July and August, Lowe struck out only 48 times, a strikeout percentage of 27 percent. That is a 10 percent improvement compared to the first three months of the season. Yes, today’s game doesn’t penalize players for striking out. The easiest way to beat shifts and score runs is to just hit balls over the fence.

But putting the ball into play still matters, and Lowe is showing what happens when you put the ball in play.  In the games Lowe has played this season, Tampa Bay is 79-48, and in those 79 wins, Lowe’s slash line is .248-.366-.520 with a strikeout percentage of 30 percent and BABIP of .283. But in the games the Rays lost, his slash line is .190-.256-.430 with a strikeout percentage of 38 percent and a BABIP of .218. The Rays – and your fantasy team – are at their best when Lowe puts the ball in play.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Shortstops for 2021 – Week 22

August 29, 2021 | Top 25 Shortstops |

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When you think of the top shortstops in baseball, you automatically think of Fernando Tatis Jr. first, then probably Bo Bichette, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager – when he is healthy. Perhaps we need to add two names to that list.

Perhaps it is time everyone considers Jorge Polanco and Dansby Swanson as two of baseball’s top-hitting shortstops.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Second Basemen for 2021 – Week 21

August 22, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Rest of Season Rankings, Second Basemen | 4 Comments

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In many fantasy baseball leagues, the season is winding down. The difference between making the playoffs and sitting on the sideline is going to be between which players are hot and which players are not.

As I have been doing the past month with the second baseman and shortstop rankings, I am going to highlight the players you may have a chance of adding from the waiver wire. We all know Marcus Semien and Ozzie Albies are awesome. Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, and Jose Altuve are all having great seasons as well. But we all that, and all five of those players aren’t sitting around on the waiver wire.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Shortstops for 2021 – Week 20

August 15, 2021 | Top 25 Shortstops | 4 Comments

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Last week featured the second basemen who are good additions to make right now in your drive toward the fantasy postseason. This week it is the shortstops’ turn. There are a number of players available on the waiver wire who will make great additions down the stretch on your fantasy team.

You can never have too much depth at the position. Owners of Francisco Lindor know all too well about injuries. Javier Baez is now in that same situation with back spasms. Or you can have two outstanding shortstops who are now falling “short” of expectations.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top 25 Fantasy Second Basemen for 2021 – Week 19

August 8, 2021 | Second Basemen | 17 Comments

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With the playoffs looming in fantasy baseball, owners are looking for those players who may be able to give them that little edge they need to secure a playoff spot or hold off an opponent. So let’s change things up a bit this week and talk about those who are not listed at the top of the rankings. We all know who the top second baseman are and they aren’t available to you unless you make a trade for them.

However, there are a handful of second basemen who are eligible on the waiver wire. A few of these players could be the key to you making the playoffs or watching the postseason from the outside. So, who are these magical players some of you should be adding to your roster?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
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