by: JTells
Good Day All, Thanks for returning once again to check out the updated rankings for First Base. I can’t remember ever seeing so many hard hit balls fall short at the warning track before as I’m sure you have all noticed as well. In some cases it’s worked out as I’ve either had the pitcher […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JTells
Welcome! I’m digging the week we had in baseball..a few walkoffs, a 3 HR punishing session by a Mr. Rizzo, and some absolute pitching gems albeit of the 6 INN variety. Guess we got to get used to that being the norm from now on. All right well let’s get to the rankings at the […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JTells
Greetings and Welcome Back. We had a fine week of baseball this past week didn’t we. I just love baseball in April where we can start the day off right with a hot cup of coffee and end it with an old fashioned while watching the west coast clubs play. All right well today I’ve […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JTells
TOP DOGS
1. Jose Ramirez Guardians No Suprise Here as Ramirez has shown out of the gate he still has great plate discipline and has never seen a fastball he didn’t like. You would like to see a little more hard contact but it’s super early and Ramirez will get into one of his grooves and drafters will once again be happy he is on your squad.
2. Rafael Devers Red Sox Devers has hits in all of his games so far and has popped one out of the park in his 1st game of the season. Another elite hitter who will find his groove shortly. Whiff% and Chase Rate are a little higher than we would like to see but no worries here as another great season awaits from Mr. Devers.
3. Austin Riley Braves Riley is squaring up the baseball so far and is showing at least out of the gate he can sustain the lofty totals that he acquired last season. His WOBA is .427 which is about 100 points above his average so yes it will come down and you will have to deal with the occasional 3 K out day like yesterday against the Nationals for example but the ride will be worth it.
4. Nolan Arenado Cardinals Facing the likes of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff will give all power hitters a boost in their numbers it looks like this season but Arenado torched the Pirate staff this past weekend and is off to a hot start. 2 HR out to left field and a few doubles to boot Arenado looks really good so far and drafters are reaping the rewards early on.
5. Manny Machado Padres No barreled up baseballs yet out of 14 batted balls but Manny is hitting the ball well and is just getting a little unlucky on some of his at-bats. He will come around eventually but definitely misses Tatis Jr. in the lineup and you can expect an uptick in his production when that happens.
SOLID PROS
6. Alex Bregman Astros Whoa, nice start from Bregman here, has only struck out one time in 14 plate appearances and has hit 2 HR already. He’s a little tough to root for unless you are a die hard “Space City” fan but if he’s on your fantasy team who cares. I like the start so far and he could break the top 5 if he keeps it up.
7. Kris Bryant Rockies
8. Justin Turner Dodgers
9. Anthony Rendon Angels
10. Matt Chapman Blue Jays Chapman had a nice 3 run blast the other day against the Rangers. He has struck out 8 out of 16 plate appearances so that isn’t great but it will even out and Chapman should do his thing and hit 30 HR just with that low average we kinda cringe at thinking about.
STUCK IN MIDDLE
11. KeBryan Hayes Pirates Nice start to the season for Hayes as he worked out a minor injury in his 1st game to come back and get 4 hits in 3 games over the weekend and they were nice hard hit balls for the most part. Wouldn’t be surprised if he settles in the 7-9 range shortly.
12. Josh Donaldson Yankees
13. Adalberto Mondesi Royals Well at least owners of Mondesi know he can at least steal a base as he did on Sunday. Not much else to see here as it could be a rough year awaiting him.
14. D.J. Lemahieu Yankees Bad News 1 for 10 start for D.J. and is not playing every day. Good News is he has had some hard hit balls so far they just have found the opponents glove. I think he will be ok in the long run but if we are depending on him producing like he did two seasons ago I think that train has left the station.
15. Ryan McMahon Rockies
HAZY FUTURE
16. Jeimer Candelario Tigers Not a great start from the Candy Man but has driven in two runs so that’s been nice to see. Has only struck out twice so that’s a positive. I think there is more to see and the Tigers look good so far and that’s usually contagious.
17. Eduardo Escobar Mets
18. Gio Urshela Twins Gio had a great looking HR against the Mariners in the Twins 1st game where he had to lunge at the baseball and was able to get enough to hit it out to LF. Good Sign there just depends if he’s going to be in the lineup every day to be useful and provide enough for you to keep him in your lineup. You could do worse at your CI spot in your lineup.
19. Alec Bohm Phillies Well the man who hates the place he plays in has actually hit the ball pretty decent but it’s his defense that is getting the most of the unwanted attention. I think the Phillies probably move him at some point but in the mean time they keep trotting him out most of the time to get some exposure to other teams that may be interested. Still has some good attributes so not giving up on him just yet.
20. Joey Wendle Rays
Honorable Mention
Josh Harrison White Sox Luis Urias Brewers (Injured) Yoan Moncada White Sox (Injured)
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Welcome Back! You made it just in time before we embark on a long awaited journey it seems like right? I can’t wait for all the starting pitchers on my team to make it 4 2/3 innings before they get pulled for their pitch count and I scream for Kolten Wong to stop fouling off balls off Kyle Hendricks so he can at least be in line for the win. I mean I probably only have 1 share of Hendricks but we are a fickle bunch aren’t we.. I know you are excited as much as me for Thursday so thanks for hanging in with us and check out all of the tools at Razzball which are top notch here and worth every penny. All right let’s get down to it some of the first basemen you need to get sooner than later if you still have a draft left or in FAAB if they are available.
Luke Voit- The Luke Voit love is strong out this way and thinks he overperforms his current ADP of 210 in the NFBC main event. I think it’s been well documented he was battling injuries last season and that seems to have been put in the rear view mirror and Voit is all set to DH for his new digs in San Diego. His hard hit rate was still very good at 52.2% while his barrel percentage was at 15.8% and that was his numbers in a bad season for him. I think there is still a level we saw in 2020 where he would have easily hit 30/100 if he would have stayed remotely close to the pace at which he was hitting for power. When Tatis returns Voit will have plenty more opportunities to drive in runs and that will make a lot of the owners that drafted him feel good about picking him.
Anthony Rizzo– Since Rizzo was brought back by the Yankees he has done nothing to think this was a good move by the front office. Rizzo has hit .333 in the spring has looked locked in hitting .333 with an OBP of .438 and .919 OPS. Rizzo has had great plate discipline walking 3 times and only striking out 5 in 32 plate appearances. Although the spring stats don’t mean much it says to me Rizzo is feeling comfortable and ready for the season. Rizzo has an NFBC ADP of 180 and I think he deserves to be right around Ty France at 160. He definitely should be going before his teammate D.J Lemahieu who is going at 130 although drafters are valuing his position flexibility a little high in my opinion as there are other multi-position players after D.J that have more upside.
Spencer Torkelson– There definitely is a move towards getting the kids on the opening day rosters and Torkelson is one of the beneficiaries of this new movement. I’d like to see him move up in the lineup more to 5th at least but the Tigers have a much improved lineup and just got another new addition in Austin Meadows from the Rays to make them even more formidable. The Tigers are becoming what the San Francisco Giants were last year a team that nobody expected to do anything but somehow exceeded all expectations. I’m on the Tiger train for sure this year and will probably have a lot of them in my DFS lineups to start. Torkelson is around 230 ADP in the NFBC and should be going in the area of Luke Voit at 212 and before other 1B such as Bobby Dalbec, Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini as Torkelson has the rare 70 grade power rating and simply mashes. If you want to go look at some balls that were just tattooed watch some of his Arizona State homeruns where he broke Barry Bonds HR record as a freshman with 28 in 2018. He has since done nothing to disappoint as he raked across all minor league levels. He also has great pitch recognition and is willing to take walks although let’s keep that to a minimum shall we. He will wear down pitchers as well by fouling off balls until he finds something he likes and then he unloads. I really like the kid and think he will have a great rookie season so don’t be shy about reaching for him a round or two earlier than you think.
Christian Walker- What’s this guy got to do to get a little respect here? NFBC Main Event Drafters weren’t into him as well as early drafters going at a 374 ADP. Some 1B going before him were none other than the likes of Rowdy Tellez (playing time concerns) Keston Hiura (Strikeout Rate through the roof, Yoshi Tsutugo (Batting average .197/.297) the last two years. How on earth are we valuing these players ahead of Walker who will be batting 4th in the lineup (Yes it’s a bad lineup) but still they will score runs and it’s not as bad as you think. Walker has been having a good spring has been driving in runs hitting several extra base hits and is seeing the ball well. I know he seems a little boring and playing for a crappy team isn’t the best look for drafting him but as a bench bat you could do a lot worse and you might even start playing him as a CI a month into the season. Walker spent some time in the off-season altering his swing path which seems to be paying off so far. I think he is definitely worth a pick around 300 where you see Jesus Aguilar go.
Only one day left after you read this than it will be baseball. I hope you have a great rest of your week and enjoy the games! It should be a great season with a lot of young talent in the big leagues and a lot of up and coming teams (Yes you Tigers). I’ll see ya next week for some 3B rankings. Any questions feel free to comment and I’ll get back to you for some last draft or FAAB for next week.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JTells
All right All right, I made the executive decision today to forgo the usual Top 25 Rankings really because not much as changed so far this spring and as drafts are winding down, I’ve noticed some players that should be going higher in my humble opinion. You are going to need to grab them sooner than later as spring training winds down and I want you guys to be on the cusp of recent trends and news. I used current ADP from March 14-March 29 in a 12 team NFBC format.
First Up I present you a 3B who’s current ADP is around 153 and plays on a powerhouse NL team and is batting in the heart of the lineup and that is none other than Justin Turner of the LA Dodgers. Now please tell me you didn’t take KeBryan Hayes 1-2 rounds before him when you were presented with that decision. I can’t for the life of me figure out how Hayes is going to outproduce J.T. I realize there is a slight injury discount people are getting with Turner and he is older but Hayes who is being drafted at around pick 134 hasn’t been hitting at some insane clip either. Hayes is a nice young player who might have an extra level to reach still but Turner has put the hamstring issue behind him and he is healthy and ready to produce. Hayes is also dealing with his own bumps and bruises so why are you taking him ahead of a proven hitter on a great hitting team and lineup. Turner is fun to own and watch as well and shouldn’t have a problem hitting Mid .280 AVG 25-28 HR 80-85 RBI’s with a .870’s OPS. That’s damn good from where you are drafting him around the 13th rd and don’t be afraid if there is a run on 3B around the 11th to grab him sooner. You won’t be disappointed.
Next up is Josh Donaldson NY Yankees and Matt Chapman Toronto Blue Jays who are going around 179 and 166 respectively. Another couple of veteran players in Donaldson and Chapman who are being highly discounted because of age/injury concerns in Donaldson’s case and decreased BA in Chapman’s. The market hasn’t come around yet it seems to the fact that Donaldson is in a nice hitting environment in Yankee Stadium with a great lineup around him and he doesn’t have to be the focus. He will see plenty of great pitches hitting behind Stanton in the 5th spot and I can see him having a line at the end of the season something like .250 Avg 27-29 HR 75 RBI with an .800 OPS. I think Donaldson’s BABIP numbers were low in 2020 (.231) and last season (.268) and he is poised to beat both of those this season in his new environment. He should be going ahead of Yoan Moncada (ADP 156) and Ryan McMahon (156). Matt Chapman as well is in a great hitting environment in Toronto on a great team who will be contending for a World Series this season and doesn’t have to shoulder the load on a team that is rife with quality hitters. Chapman’s value is a bit depressed because of his declining batting average the last three seasons but it’s not like he isn’t capable of a high average anyone remember 2018 where he hit .278 and scored 100 runs. It can be done and will be done as they say! At least do yourself a favor and take him over Moncada and McMahon will ya?
Farther down the list we go and we a riser in the rankings in Jonathan Villar. Villar is currently sitting at ADP 239 and my pick 368 in a 12 teamer earlier this year is looking pretty solid. If you had faith early on he was going to get a job somewhere you were picking him around 300 and that looks pretty profitable at this point. Villar is currently listed as a super utility player for the Cubs but with strikeout prone Patrick Wisdom at 3B unproven Rafael Ortega at DH and I don’t know how Jason Heyward still has a ML job in RF, you are going to see Villar plenty and have a regular starting job somewhere in the field by June. He provides a source of SB think 20-23 SB’s has some pop 15-18 HR and pitches in on runs (65-70) rbi’s (45-50). Not too bad for where you are getting him around the 20th rd as not many 20 SB guys you can still find. Get him a round or two ahead to ensure you get him so you are not stuck with a Eduardo Escobar or Eugenio Suarez both of which are going ahead of Villar which I don’t get.
That’s going to be it for today. Next week I’ll be looking at some 1B you should be looking at higher than their ADP. Have a great week Razzballers almost to the finish line.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JTells
Closer and Closer we can see the light beaming ever so strongly as we make our way to the start of our baseball journey. April Day baseball will be upon us soon, DFS lineups to pour over, lineup decisions hmmm do I start Jace Peterson or Josh Harrison this week can’t wait right? Man I’ve never been so interested in the Chicago weather when I wake up than I do from April-Sept. Well we all love it and that’s why you are here. Here’s the deal, Today I’m ranking the 1b top 25, not a whole lot has changed from last week but a few players have some recent news so let’s get after it.
TOP DOGS
2. Freddie Freeman Dodgers
3. Matt Olson Braves
4. Pete Alonso NY Mets
5. Paul Goldschmidt St. Louis Cardinals
Not much change here as you know what these guys are all about. Some drafters like Goldy over Alonso but I’m sticking with my man Petey here in a revamped Mets lineup that I think gives him some more opportunity to drive in runs. Olson could eventually surpass Freddie but it might not happen until next season.
SOLID PROS
6. Jose Abreu Chicago White Sox
7. Jared Walsh Los Angeles Angels
Walsh contributes in all categories except for steals and came within one HR and 2 RBI of 30/100 along with a .277 BA. Sounds like Jose Abreu only you can get him a couple of rounds later and I think there still is another level Walsh can reach.
8. C. J. Cron Rockies
9. Joey Votto Reds
10. Josh Bell Nationals
All solid options here, The players here have a safe floor, nobody is threatening their playing time and all have good lineups around them.
STUCK IN MIDDLE
11. Ty France Mariners
Excellent contact skills and will provide a boost to a category that has razor thin margins which could separate you from winning your league or not. Doesn’t have as much power as some of the others above but is hitting 4th in an interesting lineup in Seattle and is a very useful fantasy player.
12. Rhys Hoskins Phillies
13. Max Muncy Dodgers
Muncy made his spring debut yesterday and walked and scored a run in two plate appearances. All concerns look to be alleviated for the moment as he will be the Dodgers primary DH this season. Still looks like a very solid 1B/2B player with a possibility at 3B sometime during the season as well. Looks like the drafters that took a chance on him at the beginning of the draft season are looking at him as a bargain.
14. Luke Voit Padres
Perfect fit for the Padres and will hit in the middle of that lineup. Wasn’t it just one year ago we were drafting him at pick 150 after leading the league in 2020. I don’t think the skills have diminshed as he was hurt for most of the season last year which obviously factored in his sub optimal 2021 season. He’s going to be one of the fastest risers in drafts at this position.
15. Johnathan Schoop Tigers
I know it’s been 4 years since Schoop went 30/100 with a .293 AVG playing in Baltimore but the Tigers are a sneaky team this season and have a decent lineup. There will be plenty of runs scored in Tigers games this season and Schoop has still got the pop and is going to contribute in 4 categories.
16. Anthony Rizzo Yankees
17. Yuli Gurriel Astros
Solid Vets here with room for more than what you paid for them on draft day. Some injury concerns here but worth the risk imo.
HAZY FUTURE
18. Ryan Mountcastle Orioles
Seems like he’s locked in at 1B for the O’s so maybe the stability will ease his mind and he can be more relaxed at the plate. To be determined how the ballpark changes anything so he’s down on the list a bit for now and the Orioles are going to be pretty bad once again so the expectations have to be muted somewhat.
19. Alex Kirilloff Twins
20. Bobby Dalbec Red Sox
We all know about the huge strikeout issue with Dalbec (career 35.8%). Dalbec lowered it to 28.8 % after August 1 last season and the barrel rate was elite so you have to pick your poison. Is it a fatal flaw you can’t get over or are you willing to take that chance at his ADP?
21. Tyler Stephenson Reds
22. Spencer Torkelson Tigers
Avila said they won’t manipulate service time but who knows what spin the Tigers will put on it if Tork and Greene don’t start the season in the majors. Torkelson is ready and he’s going to make it painfully obvious to everyone he belongs in the majors. I really like the kid and this Tiger team. I think he vaults up into the teens sooner than later.
23. Trey Mancini Orioles
24. Miguel Sano Twins
25. Brandon Belt Giants
A mix of vets and young guns here as all have a clear path for playing time and have shown in past they are worthy of a starting Major League job. Good corner IF guys here for your team with the youngsters having more of a ceiling and the vets a strong floor.
Back with the 3B rankings next week thanks for reading and have a great drafting week!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: JTells
Welcome my friends, JTells here. I switched over from writing DFS last season and will be bringing you the corner IF rankings this year. Your corner IF players are such a vital part of your fantasy team and if you miss on a pick on one of these guys it really stings. Good thing there are some studs here that perform year in and year out so make sure your are getting a couple of those guys to build your foundation. I used position eligibility rules from the NFBC based on a traditional roto 5X5 league.
Baseball is definitely back as news come fast and furious. Trades here Trades there Trades everywhere and a devasating injury to a Padres superstar has started off the first full week that players are in camps. As exciting as this is I’m sure there will be plenty of more action as we all hold our collective breaths as the news comes out that anything negative isn’t about our early picks we might have made so far this season. I’m going to be with you this season ranking all the corner IF’s and moving players up and down each week based on current performance, playing time, and changes in team construction due to injuries or players being promoted etc..pay attention to the bottom of the list as well because I’m going to be taking shots on players I think are capable and worthy of eventually cracking the top 10. I’m going to be breaking them down into tiers and if you need more in depth info feel free to click on their name to gain more valuable info about that particular player. All righty lets do this.
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: JTells
I don’t know about you but it has been an interesting season to say the least. It’s been a lot of fun writing these posts here for you on Monday morning for the day’s slates and I hope you were able to plug in a few players that helped you take down a slate or two or played a pitcher you were on the fence that got you to the money in the end. The Monday slates are a little different in that they are usually a little lighter on the games played but that sometimes was really useful in finding some of the hidden gems that were out there as you really had to dig a little deeper into some of the lineups. Well no different here as we only have 5 games to choose from 3 on an early slate and 2 on a late slate so I’ll give you some players for both slates today and a pitcher for each of them. The pitcher I will focus on for the late slate is Chris Flexen ($8,600). Chris has really had an outstanding season for the Mariners and coming out of training camp this year there were some doubts he would actually stick in the rotation the whole season but that’s exactly what he has done. This will be Flexen’s 30th start of the season and looking back at his starts he only has had a couple of starts where he didn’t go at least 5 innings. He has been very consistent limits hard contact and doesn’t walk anybody which limits the runs he gives up. The knock on Flexen in fantasy is he doesn’t strike out enough hitters but against these same Athletics he will face today. In his last start, he struck out 8 A’s in 7 INN of work and got the win and you will definitely be happy with that today. I would start him with confidence especially on this slate.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Winding down the baseball season here we have a nice gem of a slate for you. I couldn’t get past Robbie Ray’s dominance of the Tampa Bay Rays this year having already faced the Rays 5 times this year going at least 6 INN in every start with double digit strikeout performances in two of them and a 13K outing in his last start when he faced these same Rays. Robbie Ray ($11,000) is the most expensive pitcher on the slate today but is worth the price you need to pony up for him as the Rays have struggled a bit in September and haven’t been able to figure out Ray in 5 starts and don’t see anything to make me believe they do now. Play him with confidence and you will still get some nice hitters in your lineups.
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome, you die-hard baseball DFS degen. With the NFL now on the forefront of many sports fans’ minds, we here at Razzball push onward and look to keep whatever momentum we have going or starting a new heater as we wind down the season. With this being one of my last articles for this season, I hope it provided some useful insight or at least gave you some players to think about each week and hoped it helped you at least a smidge in your slates this season. The pitcher I’m focusing on today to play is Sandy Alcantara ($10,600). Sandy has had a very productive season for the Marlins this year and will be making his 30th start for the Marlins so he has been very reliable in taking the hill each time it was his turn in the rotation. Alcantara deserves better than his 8-13 record indicates as his surface numbers of 3.24 ERA and 1.10 WHIP don’t completely do justice to the great year he has had. Alcantara commands all 4 of his main pitches with outstanding accuracy and throws a 98 MPH heater as well. Alcantara has one of the best chase rates in all of baseball and will be facing the Washington Nationals today who are very prone to striking out with Bell, Robles, and Soto all nearing the 100 K mark. Alcantara faced the Nationals back on June 27th and pitched ok but did get the loss however the Nationals had a vastly different lineup then and Alcantara will not have to face the same lefties especially he did that day. I think Alcantara has a great game today and wouldn’t be surprised with a 9 inning shutout here.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Another 3 day holiday weekend and boy I like it. Plenty of sports on fantasy football drafts in full force, NFL season starts in a few days and playoff baseball on the horizon it’s a great time to be alive for sure. We have about a month left in MLB DFS so let’s not stop now and see what we have here on this beautiful Labor Day. It’s a robust 12 game schedule today and the pitcher that stood out to me is Chris Sale ($10,700).
Chris has looked great since his return to the mound and faces the Tampa Bay Rays today at Home where he has started 3 out of his 4 games this year and is 3-0 with a 1.04 WHIP. The Rays struggle against lefties and Sale pitched well against them last week in a start in Tampa and don’t see any reason why he doesn’t go 6-7 INN once again with upside to strikeout close to double digits and give up one run or less. He is the most expensive pitcher on the slate but I believe he is worth the chalk today and the Red Sox win this one handily.
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Please, blog, may I have some more?