I didn’t want to open this post with just any old sentence. I needed to come up with an unbelievable opening. Something that screamed brilliance. Something that truly captured my feelings for Andrew Benintendi. I held off on really gushing about him in an opening, because the time needed to be right. You know popping his opening cherry, so to speak was special stuff….(WOW! those were some words you could quote me out of context on, and it would look real bad on my part.) The time is here! So off we go, let the trumpets blow, and hold on because the driver of this mission is a horse proctologist by the name of Jan Wilbury. Is that my real name? It shall remain a mystery!! Oh yeah, Andrew Benintendi was promoted to AA Portland on Monday. The long and the short of it, or the “those Grey readers who just read the openings to other posts and scoff” version of why you should care. He’s a future 5 category, 6 if you’re in OBP leagues, contributor, and he’s going to be in the Boston outfield in short order. I suppose he could be in someone else’s outfield too, if there’s a …..gulp….trade. I’d just like to suppress those thoughts for today.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Author: Geoff
Prospects, Pitchers, Win Ships, Make Babies. @ProspectJesus
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Today we pickup where we left off last Wednesday, with the second part of our 2016 MLB draft preview. I tried to write the entire thing in emojis, but it didn’t work, and I was told explicitly by Grey that wing dings is never appropriate for print on Razzball. Then again who prints anymore? Seriously where have all the paperboys gone? What are our children to do to learn entrepreneurship? Lemonade stand? Pffft!!! Whatever!!! I can see this is going into a “get off my lawn” type rant…So let’s move along. After reviewing the top 10 prospects in the first installment of the draft preview, this morning we look at the next 15+ prospects that should be on the first round radar. This should take us through the first 30 or so selections. So you know, there’s 30 teams, so that means there’s a player for each team figuratively. I didn’t know math would be involved either….Life hack; use calculators….they work.
Please, blog, may I have some more? 2016 Fantasy Prospect: The Mighty Mighty Kevin Maitan
May 11, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 48 Commentsby: Geoff
If you were to refer to Kevin Maitan as the LeBron James of international baseball prospects you wouldn’t be wrong. How many 13 year old’s pop up on the prospect radar, and not only that, but inspire gushing articles almost immediately. To say he’s the buzziest July 2nd signing since Miguel Sano would be an understatement. This is the world we live in, a place where a 13 year old from Venezuela can demand the kind of attention reserved for AAU basketball standouts. All this to say the time has arrived , and the age of the Mighty Maitan is almost upon us. That’s right the July 2nd date is right around the corner, and a juicy crop of internationals look to test the water. Chief among them is Maitan, the 16 year old shortstop with the big power and even bigger reputation. Let’s jump into why he matters, and what sort of resources you should allocate to land him.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I know I promised all of you the second installment of my MLB draft preview…..I lied. Sometimes I get an idea between Wednesday and Saturday, and I just go with it. Forgive me, if you can find space in your heart to do that. Besides, we have plenty of time before the draft to get into another 25-40 players, and we will. Not mention some sweet, sweet international action before the J-2 signings. But not today! No, today we update you on the ongoing happenings of the minor leagues, and players making news. So, in that light it’s only appropriate we open with what has to be the buzziest name in all of minor league baseball at the moment. Tyler Glasnow. He who went 7 strong and punched out 11 hapless Louisville Bats hitters last night, the second time he reached that number in his past three starts. His ERA now sits at 1.64, with a ridiculous K/9 of 13! If it wasn’t for The Man and his oppressive super two rules, he’d be facing major league hitting right now. But we’re just not living in a perfect world run by Supreme Leader-Emperor Trump…. just yet. Don’t laugh I’ve been to the future…Regardless, Glasnow needs to be stashed NOW in any league where starting pitching matters. So pretty much everywhere. Unfortunately, you’re probably going to be sitting on him for a month or more. Just bite the bullet and do it, he’s got huge K potential, for a winning team in the National League. That’s a tasty package…..
Please, blog, may I have some more?With the MLB draft right around the corner it’s time to start looking at the players entering our prospect sphere and what they could bring to the table for our virtual dynasty teams. We’ll start today with the first in a series of posts I’ll be doing on 2016 draft prospects. We’ll start with the 30,000 foot view and dial down the closer we get. So if you’re a MLB draftnik this might be relatively rudimentary, but the vast majority of the fantasy baseball playing world barley knows beyond the top 100 or so prospects. So, in other words, you’re special. You probably also rarely leave your house and are entirely unproductive at work between the months of February and September. Seriously I’m a model employee for 4 months a year, and the rest I do work between baseball stimulation of one kind or another. So today we dive into ten prospects that should have your attention.
Please, blog, may I have some more?There’s embarrassment and then there’s having to cover in detail a fantasy baseball league you’re nearly dead last in. So begins our first monthly update on the in house dynasty league “The RazzNasty”. For those of you that are new here, “The RazzNasty” is a Razzball founded dynasty league made up of Razzball writers, readers, commenters, and Methodists! It’s a 16 team roto with semi-weekly adds/drops via blind auction. We have 30 man MLB rosters and 10 man minor league rosters. Since we last updated you in early March there’s been a flurry of activity including trades, wire adds, a second commissioner switch, and a banana or two in the tailpipe. So yes it’s more or less high stakes Mario Kart.
Please, blog, may I have some more?One of the most common questions I encounter on a semi-weekly basis is “Ralph, who’s this year’s Victor Robles/Francis Martes/Cody Bellinger”. It’s a question that’s difficult to answer, but especially difficult to answer during Spring Training or the week following. Why? Well, it’s easy, we don’t have anything to base it off. No real games, no real at bats, no real stats. Unfortunately I have a day job, and Grey is yet to hand me a six figure salary to jet-set around the country to scout amateur and minor league baseball. Instead I’m paid in Helluva Good Cheese coupons and asked to scout little league games on a black and white TV with broken bunny ears. No matter because between games at the Taunton West Little League complex I have time to watch a few AAA and AA games a week while scouring through loads of leaderboards of all minor league levels. So through this deep data collection, I’ve developed the below list of players that are flashing promise, while simultaneously boosting their prospect status. Below are 20 or so names that have caught my interest in the early going.
Now that the intro is out of the way I’d like to acknowledge a personal milestone here on the baseball side of things, my 100th baseball post……Yeah! Thanks for reading all this drivel.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Down On The Farm: Prospect Update, 2016 Fantasy Baseball
April 24, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 131 Commentsby: Geoff
So far this season we’ve focused our prospect content on dynasty specific purposes with the intent of getting you prepped up to master your leaguemates and colleagues for years to come. We’ve looked at incoming players for 2017, re-ranked the top 25, profiled numerous players, while also updating you on Razzball’s in house dynasty the Razznasty. Today we’re going to take a bit of a different approach, today we look at the more immediate impact of up and coming prospects. The players we’ll review have short ETA’s, and could be up within the next two-three months. I’ll add in a guesstimate ETA on my behalf. I mean I’ve had a sterling record with such prognostications so far, and by sterling I mean awful. I am the man that told you Turner would up by today, which now looks like June, as well as the man in the preseason predicting Nomar Mazara wouldn’t be up until August. So yeah, I’m great!
Please, blog, may I have some more? Mike Clevinger, Fantasy Baseball Prospect
April 20, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 44 Commentsby: Geoff
Pull up a stool if you will as I harken back to the summer of 1976. Our story starts on the last day of school at Lee High School, located in the suburbs of beautiful Austin, Texas. The usual activities and festivities are taking place; books are flying, kids are busy making plans as the first parties of the summer begin to take shape, and the annual hazing of incoming freshman has commenced. As over-aged and underdressed 8th grade girls fry like piggies on the hot Texas blacktop, our hero appears. He’s tall, lanky, and to put it plainly, goofy. He has a habit of tucking his long flowing locks behind his ears in the most awkward way possible, while simultaneously trying to pass himself off as cool. Our hero knows two things chilling and dominating Legion ball, and as the saying goes he’s almost out of chill. Let’s call our hero Mitch, but really his name is Mike….Mike Clevinger. What ensues is a night Mitch/Mike Clevinger will never forget, as he goes on a journey of hi-jinx, self discovery, and older woman that ends in a most satisfying montage set to the musical stylings of Foghat. What does all this have to do with this week’s Prospect Profile Mike Clevinger? Nothing!!! I just think he resembles a grown up Mitch from Dazed and Confused and it makes me laugh. Plus it’s 4/20, a D&C seemed appropriate. Now onto the post!
Please, blog, may I have some more? Top 25 Fantasy Prospects Update, 2016 Fantasy Baseball
April 17, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 146 Commentsby: Geoff
On any given Wednesday or Sunday I’m peppered with comments inquiring as to when so and so will be up? Who’s the best stash of players X, Y, and Z? Should I grab so and so? Are you really as handsome and charismatic as the legend says? Did we really walk on the moon? Today I will bring answers to all these questions. Even the moon one! Why pray tell do I have all the answers? Well, because I am a fantasy baseball writer, it’s in our very nature to know everything even if it’s 100% opinion, and more than likely completely false. My job is to make a compelling argument as to why I am most righteous and you are most wrongous. Will I do any of that today? No, absolutely not. Today I will begin my first in a monthly series of updating you on the latest and greatest in minor league news and prospects developments, as well as the update of my Top 25 prospects. This time with 100% less major leaguers.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bobby Bradley, Fantasy Baseball Prospect
April 13, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 43 Commentsby: Geoff
I teased this post a bit in my profile of Sean Manaea last week, and truthfully I’ve been excited about having an opportunity to write about Bradley since I took the reins in February. If there’s one thing I like more than a good looking woman in a pant suit, it’s prospects with power. Just ask some of my Razznasty league mates, they’ll tell you I’m blinded by power like Whitney was with Bobby Brown’s antics. Do I own Bradley anywhere? No, unfortunately I don’t. It’s not for lacking of trying either, but when you own a 19 year old who hit 27 homers in his first full year in pro ball you’re probably not letting him go for nothing. Not that I was offering nothing, but you get the gist. So as we always do at this time lets take a deeper look at Bobby Bradley, and see if he’s worth your tradeable assets.
Please, blog, may I have some more? The Next Wave: Prospect Shortstops, 2016 Fantasy Baseball
April 10, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 97 Commentsby: Geoff
Let’s be honest there’s no need to pussyfoot around the truth, we all give shortstop prospects a value boost in fantasy. We’re all looking for the next Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, or Francisco Lindor. Being able to fill our shortstop slot with a productive player doesn’t only sound homo-erotic, but is also a desirable position to be in as a fantasy owner. Wow, yeah, that didn’t sound much better. Moving along now, this lazy Sunday morning we discuss the next wave of those to man the six. We’re going to ignore the quintet of Seager, Turner, Arcia, Mondesi, and Anderson, if you don’t know all five of those guys and don’t have them marked on your watch lists in your RCL’s and re-draft leagues we have more work than I thought to do. For now let’s assume you have a general knowledge of top fantasy baseball prospects, and are looking to get beyond the surface of the big names with looming ETA’s. So we’re going to dive into some of the better up and comers at the SS position. Some of these guys are closer than others, but none are any higher in the minors than AA, and more than likely have ETA’s no closer than 2017. That’s enough of the small talk, let’s get to it.
Please, blog, may I have some more?