Jose Martinez is a great hitter. He has batted over .300 the past two seasons, has some power, exhibits wonderful plate discipline, utilizes the whole field, and hits the ball hard. Yet, he’s being selected as the 225th overall player according to NFBC ADP since February 1, 2019. Screaming value or fool’s gold?
Please, blog, may I have some more?
One Man’s Trash: Jurickson Is Profar Up The ADP List
March 9, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 22 Commentsby: Son
We’ve been mental masturbating over Jurickson Profar since way back when many considered him the number one prospect in all of baseball. Great makeup, potential face of a franchise, elite hitter, and hard worker were all phrases thrown about. And a switch hitter to boot. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career early on and knocked most of the shine off.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I love my wife. I love her so much that I’ll even go shopping with her from time to time. It’s an arduous and debilitating task, but love hurts, right? She will go down an aisle, survey every item on the rack as if she were mapping out undiscovered lands, then turtle over to the next section. After four sections have been mapped out, she will decide to go back to quadrant one in order to compare or make sure she didn’t miss anything. This process rinses and repeats for an inordinate amount of time. It’s unbearable, says the guy that sits his fat ass in a chair for hours on end and mental masturbates over baseball players for a fantasy team. Anyways, as much as it drives me nuts, I respect it because of the attention to detail and motivation to find the best deal possible. And that’s what it’s all about. Finding the best deal. Since February 1st, Jorge Polanco is being drafted, on average in NFBC drafts, as the 217th overall player and 21st shortstop. Should we jump on expecting the bull to thrust its horns upward?
Please, blog, may I have some more? One Man’s Trash: Don’t Get Chagrined By Drafting Edwin
February 23, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 7 Commentsby: Son
Edwin Diaz is an amazing pitcher. His fastball averages 98 mph, while his changeup is faster (94 mph) than the fastball of most MLB pitchers. The swinging strike rate was an absurd 18.9% last season while the K/9 was 15.22! He saved 57 games for the Seattle Mariners last season. Yet, he’s getting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overdrafted this year. The current NFBC ADP is the 48th overall player!! That’s insanity. Since you read Razzball, you all know about SAGNOF, but just in case ED was giving you some tingly Viagra sensations, let me stop the flow of blood and get some more oxygen into the brain. First of all, the 2018 season for ED was one of epic historic proportions. Only one other pitcher in the history of MLB, Francisco Rodriguez in 2008, posted a season with more saves when he notched 62. There have only been 17 instances in which a reliever notched at least 50 saves in one season. Only Mariano Rivera and Eric Gagne were able to be on the list twice. So, the chances of ED replicating last season are very slim. If that didn’t convince you, how about the fact that he got traded from Seattle to the New York Mets. Last season, Seattle produced the most save opportunites in the league with 81. The Mets were 21st with only 59 save opportunities. In 2017, Seattle produced 65 SVO, while the Mets produced 54. Unless you think the Mets will be over .500 this season, fewer than 60 save chances seem to be in the works. That’s a far cry from the 81 ED had last year. Rudy has ED down for 65 innings and 35 saves. Rudy also has Blake Treinen, Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, and Aroldis Chapman all down for 35 saves. ADP for those guys are 61, 74, 68, and 77 respectively. Raisel Iglesias, who is projected for 30 saves, has an ADP of 102. TRASH
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: Ride or Die With Scooter?
February 21, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 4 Commentsby: Son
I grew up playing 720 Degrees by Atari. If any of you are unfamiliar with the game, you skate around, collect money for doing tricks, and try to earn enough tickets to enter a skate park. The best part of the game was when the timer would run out when you weren’t in an event, and a swarm of bees would chase you down while a narrator would narrate, “SKATE OR DIE!!” in a menacing narrator voice. Fast forward to 2019, and skate or die has been replaced with ride or die with scooters. I have to admit. Riding the electric scooter is fun, and in a city like Los Angeles, it’s very useful. Side sociological observation: While they are prevalent in most places, drive to the hood and you won’t find too many. Hmmmm. Anyways, besides the “shit they leave behind,” as Grey so eloquently described them in his Top 20 2nd Basemen, the electric scooters have become very dangerous. There have been hundreds of injuries and even three fatalaties. Yikes. But this is a fantasy website, so I’m going to talk about a different scooter, as in Scooter Gennett. Do we ride or die with him in 2019?
Please, blog, may I have some more? One Man’s Trash: Is VR the Next Great Thing?
January 19, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell |by: Son
Virtual reality has been hailed by many as the next great technology. I enjoy playing games and watching porn, so I fully endorse that last sentence. Even if you’re not a gamer or porn “watcher”, though, the technology could have profound impacts, from how we train to how we study to how we interact with […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: I Suarez I Wouldn’t Get Excited….
January 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 6 Commentsby: Son
….but I just can’t help myself. Baseball is almost upon us, Grey is creating literary gold, and I get to write about guys that play with tiny white balls. It’s good to be back. Anyways, in this weekly piece, I’ll highlight one player and see if I’m bearish or bullish on their prospects going forward. For those who are new, bear or bull is an expression used in the stock market to convey optimism or pessimism. A bull attacks with its horns in an upward motion, while a bear swipes its claws downward. Hence, being bullish is good because value goes up, while being bearish is bad because value goes down. As I was scrolling through the rankings (Razzball and FantasyPros), one player immediately jumped out to me: Eugenio Suarez.
Please, blog, may I have some more?AM/PM is a convenience store chain that….Can you guess? Never closes! The stores are usually attached to an ARCO or BP gas station, so be careful what you eat. Stick with the candies and sweets. Never, and I mean never, get cute and indulge in the hot dogs, sandwiches, or burritos. My favorite experience at an AM/PM was to mix and match all the flavors of the fountain drinks and slushes. I’m getting brain freeze just thinking about it. Anyways, there’s a ton of bad inside of an AM/PM, but there’s also a ton of good, which keeps people returning. The same can be said for the most added player over the week, Adalberto Mondesi (61% owned – increase of 42%). He seemingly does something everyday on the field. Since getting called up in mid-June, AM has a .284/.311/.467 slash with 9 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Back in July, a commenter asked me to choose between AM and someone else. I chose someone else. I did not choose wisely. In my defense, the same concerns I had back then are the same concerns I have now. 18.5% swinging strike rate, 37.1% chase rate, 66.2% overall contact rate, and 3.3% walk rate. I thought his plate discipline and inability to take a walk would catch up to him, but obviously he is too fast for even that. The two things that I do like are the 41.4% hard contact rate and his position in the batting order (2nd). At this point, all I can do is <insert shrug emoji>. There’s a ton of bad with AM, but there’s a ton of good. I’m a stubborn ahole, so I’m going to list him as TRASH, but I can’t deny the production and understand why people would like to indulge.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This little piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef. This little piggy had none. This little piggy went….Wee, wee, wee, all the way home! (Head Shoulders Knees and Toes and Other Action Rhymes). Well, my Puigy went to the ballpark. My Puigy stole second. My Puigy stole third. My Puigy sometimes sits which makes him sad. But when he plays and gets a pitch to hit…..Wee, wee, wee, he flips the bat and makes his way home! Yasiel Puig has been en fuego since the start of the month: .367/.457/1.000 with 6 home runs and 2 stolen bases. The ISO is at .633, walk rate is 14.3% while the strikeout rate is 11.4%!!! I’m squealing like a little piggy right now. Anyways, can this Puig make championship banners fly high?
Please, blog, may I have some more?The Bible is one book, yet duality reigns throughout. There is Old vs New Testament. Vengeful vs loving God. Wrath against sin vs grace towards sinners. Duality is also present in major league baseball, as players can have two different seasons within one. Jakob Junis (44.5% owned – increase of 21.8%) is yet another example. For the first four months of the season, Junis had a decent 8.22 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9, but was serving up gopher balls like how God sent manna down from the heavens. 2.02 HR/9 and 18.3% HR/FB helped contribute to a 4.52 xFIP. Since August 6th, though, the BB/9 is down to 0.98, HR/9 is 0.59, and HR/FB is 8.1%. The xFIP is a not-so-surprising 3.23. The walks, fly balls, and home runs are all down. EZ PZ. From a pitch selection perspective, he’s been throwing the fastball more (55.5% vs 51.9%) and off-speed less (curveball down 1.1% and change up down 2.1%). Here’s my issue. In 260.1 big league innings, Junis has a 2.25 BB/9, 1.52 HR/9, and 14.6% HR/FB. He’s young at 25 years old, so there’s the possbility that things have clicked. I’m fading that notion, though. He wasn’t as bad as the first four months indicated, and he’s not as good as the last two months have shown. I think the pendulum swings back the other way to settle somewhere in the middle. TRASH
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: The Annual Kevin Delivering the Bacon Festival
September 12, 2018 | Uncategorized | 8 Commentsby: Son
Kevin Bacon was a freaking machine from 1990 to 1994. Flatliners in 1990. JFK in 1991. A Few Good Men in 1992. Earth would not Pass Go until the next Bacon hit was delivered. So, any wonder why 1993 was filled with terror and strife? A devastating tsunami hit Japan, the World Trade got bombed, and we got Beanie Babies! Order was restored in 1994, though, when the Bacon was delivered with one of his finest, The Air Up There. We love you Kevin, but what we most appreciated was the consistency and stability he brought to the world. As fantasy baseballers, we love that. There’s no greater feeling than being able to Sharpie in Mike Trout for .300, 35 home runs, 100 RBI, and 30 stolen bases every season. But there’s only one Mike Trout and a few that could be in that realm of awesomeness. For the others, it’s about streaks and Kevin Kiermaier is on one right now. The funny thing is that I wrote a Bear or Bull on him at this time last season as well. Is this a case of the Christmas Island crabs migrating from the forest to the shore to breed? Or the San Juan Capistrano swallows migrating north?
Please, blog, may I have some more? One Man’s Trash: I Know a Little German
September 6, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 6 Commentsby: Son
One of my favorite moves is Top Secret. Is it because I’ve watched it while smoking trees and eating magic mushrooms? Perhaps. Regardless, it’s a great movie. Click HERE if you don’t believe me. C’mon! That was awesome. Anyways, I’ve been fluent in German Marquez (68.9% – increase of 18.6%), so it’s nice to see him get close to 70% owned in ESPN leagues. 184 strikeouts in 164.1 innings! 10.08 K/9 and 2.85 BB/9. Ground ball rate of 47.2% and xFIP of 3.31. Swinging strike rate of 11.4%. Now, we know the big elephant in the room: Coors Field. Here’s the thing, though. One could argue that he’s been better at home! The K/9 is 10.51 at home while it’s 9.71 on the road. While the batting average is higher at home, the BABIP is .373 vs .240. The xFIP is 3.41 at home vs 3.23 on the road. In his last five home starts, he’s allowed 2, 0, 3, 2, and 2 earned runs. TREASURE
Please, blog, may I have some more?