Hey, how’s everyone doing? Enjoying your preseason? That’s nice. Have you see Parasite? It was great–*intern whispers in my ear* Yeah, I will talk about DJ LeMahieu and why he’s overrated. It’s so obvious, though, I thought I’d take this opportunity to check in on people. You know, give the impression I care about other people. What’s that? They can read this? Ohhhh…So, DJ LeMahieu just had a better season than any dream an acne-faced, 12-year-old DJ LeMahieu ever imagined while he was launching imaginary home runs in the back of the Party City his family ran. His father, Noisemaker LeMahieu, speaks to a customer, “Do you need a DJ for your party?” DJ overhearing, “Dad, I don’t want to go to anymore parties.” Noisemaker turns to his wife, “Piñata, straighten your son out, or I will.” Piñata, “¡Dios mio!” Then DJ would run into the parking lot, crying. After he composed himself, he would mimic the crowd noise of Yankee Stadium, and imitated Bob Sheppard announcing him to the plate. Or so the 30-for-30 that I’ve imagined has told me, i.e., DJ LeMahieu’s wildest dreams <are less than or equal to> His 2019 season. For s’s and g’s, I’m going to tell you his last three seasons stats, two of which were in Coors: 95/8/64/.310/6; 90/15/62/.276/6; 109/26/102/.327/5. Yo, am I the only one cackling? Giancarlo didn’t miss all of last year; he peed in the same fountain as DJ LeMahieu and, magically, they inhabited each other’s bodies. So, what can we expect from DJ LeMahieu for 2020 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?
Everything? Who’s drafting this schmohawk? Okay, let’s take yours truly out of the equation and look at Steamer’s projections for him: 90/19/71/.285/7 in 594 ABs. Honestly, I think that’s optimistic, but leave that alone for now and say that is his projections. That makes him the 117th best player on Steamer rankings for 12-teamers in ESPN. (We have rankings for every imaginable league on that page — Yahoo 15-teamers; ESPN OPS; well, you get the picture.) 117th overall is obviously nowhere near where he’s going, so obviously overrated. 117th overall makes him less valuable than Trey Mancini, Carlos Santana, Mike Moustakas, to name a few. That’s according to Steamer, so you can @ me but I’m just relaying info to you before even inserting myself — that’s what he said right before charges were levied! Now, for me. His Launch Angle was 6.7. That’s pretty flat. Great for line drives (23.7%), not great for fly balls (26.2%). Major league averages were 21.4% and 35.7%, respectively. Or disrespectively, LeMahieu sucks for fly balls. He had the 7th lowest rate in the majors, surrounded by Tommy Pham and Jean Segura. As you can imagine, the bottom ten for fly ball rate is not packed full of 20-homer guys. In fact, Eric Hosmer had the most homers of that bottom ten with 22 HRs in 619 ABs. That’s hilariously bad. If you’re hitting worm killers, you’re not hitting homers. LeMahieu’s HR/FB last year was 19.3%, which is goofy high for him. His career mark is 9.6% (that’s including his goofy 2019, too — if Siri just read you that, you’re like, “Whoa, the year is 20192? How long was I asleep for?”). If he has the same fly ball rate, and there’s little reason to think it would be higher, and his career HR/FB%, LeMahieu is gonna hit 14 homers. He’s not a 19-homer guy going on 25 homers; he’s a 19-homer guy going on 15 homers. Of course, that’s gonna ding his RBIs. I won’t talk crap about his average; he can hit .300. He had a .322 xBA last year, which was 2nd best in the league (behind Cody Bellinger). All of his line drives will keep LeMahieu’s batting average afloat. It definitely won’t be his speed. He was 342nd in the majors for sprint speed, the same as Jay Bruce. I will now cackle until it turns to a wheezing cough and someone calls the paramedics. I’m glad that he’s made Noisemaker and Piñata proud, but LeMahieu is wildly overrated for 2020 fantasy baseball.
Keeper league, $16 bieber for $9 Victor Robles and $3 woodruff? Is it close?
probably bieber just since the cheap ace price (and the confidence in him vs woodruff). if he was a lot more (like 30 or something) it would be a lot closer.
AL only slow draft. this is for pick 1.6, some people were kept in some slots ahead of me here, we use last year’s ADP prices from fantasy pros averaged ADP data at end of 2019 season. OBP over AVG, net steals over steals, QS over wins, holds added and total bases added 10 team h2h.
i have already:
C
1B
2B
SS
1 CI
1 MI
3B vlad (3)
OF (4): gallo (5), mercado (25)
util (1)
SP (want 8 or so)
RP (4)
these guys are left (i’m just showing this year ADP list guys). i pick again after 5 other picks too. clearly i don’t need another OF at all yet, wondering if i should go like bogaerts or bieber/snell here
these are all not drafted/kept yet:
bogaerts
judge
bieber
altuve
sale
snell
n.cruz
morton
olson
moncada
merrifield
eloy
clevinger
abreu
rosario
greinke
lemahieu
donaldson
brantley
robert
t.anderson
a.chapman
correa
osuna
benintendi
OPS rater numbers: bogaerts (22.4), altuve (24.6), judge (12.9), olson (17.8), moncada (17.8), mondesi (18.5)
QS + holds rater numbers: bieber (20.7), snell (19.2), sale (14.1), clevinger (10.1)
the first 4 picks were verlander, bregman, jose ram, rendon (stanton was somebody else’s keeper too in the 1.1 slot). i know you have bogaerts like 5 spots ahead of bieber in your rankings, but those are set for 12’ers, in QS and AL only and already having 3 hitters it might be bright to lock up the ace here or do it in 6 more picks. and yours aren’t for OPS/OBP either.
just did some homework on the keepers and the teams drafting in between my 1.6 and next pick after 5 other people picked (one of them twice). it’s very likely at least 2, maybe 3 pitchers would go in those 5 picks if i went hitter here.
I respectfully disagree. The yankees injury train is already starting early, which is why DJ performed so well last year — he became the ballast for the bronx bomber squad. Plus he’s hitting in the AL East which means vs. the pathetic-to-mediocre pitching staffs of Boston, Baltimore, and Toronto for 3 times 18 games out of 162.
1) His K% has been less than 15% for the last 4 years.
2) 3 out of the last 4 years, his ISO has been greater than .147 (0.099 in 2017).
3) LD% has been greater than 20% for the last 7 years
4) IFFB% has been less than 6% for every year except 2016 (10.2%)
5) His Opposite Field % has always been greater than 70%
6) HardHit% has been greater than 35% for 3 out of the last 4 years (30.6% in 2017)
7) Swinging Strike % has been less than 6.6% for the last 5 years
8) Z-Contact% has always been greater than 90%
9) O-Contact% has been greater than 75% for 3 out of the last 4 years, and has always been greater than 70%
10) Batting Average greater than .300 for 4 out of the last 5 years
Granted I admit I could be cherry picking the data but look at his Brooksbaseball heat map since 2014
He is a 300 plus hitter in 8 out of 9 boxes within the strike zone AND a 500 plus Slugger for 6 out of 9 boxes. That’s a smart hitter who can wait for a pitcher’s mistake.
The guy can hit. Maybe his homers are less than 20, but so what. Because 200 Runs+RBI’s are feasible with DJL this season, which comes with a highly likely .300 Batting Average hitting a top that Bronx Bomber lineup. Add the position flexiblility and why do people think he is a bust if you get him in round 8 or 9. Mind you I wouldn’t reach for him before round 8, and it really depends on my team build. If I am strong at 2B and solid at 1B I might skip DJ, but I don’t think he’ll be a BUST.
Am I the only one making a comment relevant to the blog topic?
I don’t get why all these people want you to acknowledge or give advice to whom they drafted. Regardless of whom you draft, the strength of your team depends more upon the strength of the other teams in your league. Most of the time you really can’t judge an MLB lineup out of the context of the other team rosters. Its largely relative to the competition. In some leagues your weak spots will be minor. In others your 2 or 3 weakness matter.
Haha
his current ADP is like 61st, so early 6th round.
and in espn/yahoo the most popular sites, it’s middle 50’s. 5th round in those.
Grey- I was doing a bit of “mock” ish drafting (more just seeing potential targets round by round and drafting against myself on a spreadsheet)… I had kind of put ohtani into an “avoid bucket” but his xRank (order they are listed in on the draft board) on yahoo has him at 131/145. This is obviously quite a bit lower than even you ranked him! Its a 2 keeper league and I have acuna in the 6th this year (4th next year) and soto in the 21st (19th 2021). However if I win, I get an extra keeper. Should I be in on ohtani with the following team construction if he is available this late? Or trying to figure out a shortstop and some speed instead? 8×8 H2H cats
Matt Olson
Max Muncy
Nolan Arenado
Ronald Acuna
Bryce Harper
Franmil Reyes
Juan Soto
Yu Darvish
Sonny Gray
Lance Lynn
Around 130th overall sounds fine for him
Cool. Any advice for the team so far? Any favorite late round SS? Just not seeming to line up on any given my draft position.
avg, ops, r, rbi, xbh, hr, net sb, and k’s
Thanks!
Team is stacked, I think, I don’t know how many teams… https://razzball.com/top-20-shortstops-for-2020-fantasy-baseball/
12 teamer. Been combing thru yahoo XRanks hard. (25 total keepers in league)
Player – XR minus keepers; where I hope to draft them
Matt Olson – XR 46/ 42 overall
Max Muncy – XR 63/ 55 overall
Nolan Arenado – XR 10/ 7 overall
Ronald Acuna – Keeper
Bryce Harper – XR 19/ 18 overall
Franmil Reyes – XR 86/ 90 overall (this one might be hopeful)
Juan Soto – Keeper
Yu Darvish – XR 36/ 31 overall
Sonny Gray – XR 82/ 79 overall
Lance Lynn – XR 107/ 103 overall
Here is to hoping! Thanks again!
While I have ya (people going nuts at the deadline after being inactive before then hah!)…
1. My $34 Scherzer for $3 Woodruff
2. Scherzer for $9 Victor Robles
Also, no concerns that Mondesi is still ramping up in ST, right?
Thanks!
1. Nah 2. Nah
Mondesi could roll out of bed on May 1st and steal 45+ bags
Keeper deadline tonight! Toying with offering my $34 Scherzer for the other team’s $16 Snell while there’s still concerns over his elbow (though, still expected to debut during week 1 of the season).
Worth the risk, or don’t bother going after Snell?
WUT…No
haha thanks!
Ha, No problem
I’ve seen several places recommending LeMahieau as the #7 second baseman on the board, ahead of Hiura and Muncy. There’s no way I’d take him over either. I agree with you, there should be some major regression with this Schmohawk this year! I don’t want any part of this guy either!
Nice!
AL only – who do you like better for an MLB future (preferably in the AL) Clint Frazier or Myles straw. Does Frazier get traded? IS straw worth acquiring cheaply for the Clint Frazier I need to sign?
Ha, neither…Frazier I guess
Hey G!! We’re geared up for a 3rd title run in 4 years….. LETS ROCK!!! This year we’ve expanded to a 12 team league with H2H Categories 6×6 (OPS and Holds). We get 4 keepers this year, for as long as we want to hold on to them. It’s an auction draft and their values factor into our $260 budget. Which 4 you thinkin?
$55 Trout
$36 Acuna Jr.
$31 Treat Urner
$26 Rizzo
$24 Gerritt Cole
$23 Bellinger
$21 Baez
$16 Strasburg
$9 Mondesi
$1 Sano
Really appreciate it!!
Bellinger, Acuna, Treat, Cole — insane keepers
Thanks to you!!
No problem
Was it a close one for you between Treat and Baez/mondesi?? And would recommend still going after them in the draft for $28/$20 respectively?
Yes, it’s close, but you can just redraft em…I’d for sure redraft Trout
Trout might end up being closer to $60 in this league because alot of teams are keeping 1 dollar players with good value. But I can definitely try because I plan on going low for SP, obviously the way to win!
GREY
me again ;;; easier
Team 2 KEEP-ers 10 players
1. Acuña
2. Trea T
3. Alonso
4. Altuve
5. Springer
6. Corbin
7. Giolito
8. Bauer
you can call the last twos
9. SP Lamet / Lynn / Woodruff
10 RP KJansen / Will Smith/ Archie Bradley
others to considerate as keepers
Goldsmith : i have Pete
Castellanos : i have Acuña + George
Tim Anderson : i have TreaT
i’ll miss a 3B at the draft
i could get Sano /Kingery / McMahon / Dozier
Woodruff, Kenley
I like Sano, Kingery and Dozier
Is anyone part of a keeper league where some rule or system has been implemented to make the league a little more fun?
Grey
Welcome back
Team 1 Dynasty : who would you drop ?
C : no C yet
1B : Abreu
2B ; Villar
3B Rendon
SS : Lindor
OF1 Acuña
OF2 JD Martinez
OF3 Castellanos
Util : tim Anderson
Bench :
Encarnacion too old to Dynasty?
Krush “no more” Davis
Artist Ides Aquino
Lourdis Gurriel JR
Andujar “son of a bench” 3B? DH?
SP1 : Snell (traded for Alonso last season)
SP2 Giolito
SP3 Glasnow
SP4 5 6 7 Lamet /Heaney / Yarbrought / Montas
RP Iglesias
RP Pagan
Bench Domingo PED Germano
i would keep Aquino and Gurriel appealing OFs and see
i would drop :
German and pick a C : Alfaro ? Mejia? Sean Murphy…Salvador ? wait and C ?
Pagan … for another RP Magill Oberg Karinchak ,, who knows who cares
Andujar dor an IF or multiplayer
then in a dis-cushion for the future : Krush and E5
i can get ASAP :
Batters : Ahmed Rosario + / Urshela / Berti / Brian anderson + / Danny Santana / Hays / Madrigal / La Stella / Solak / Dubon / Adames / Christian Walker
Pitchers : Urquidy / Civale / Reynaldo Lopez / Desclafani / BASSITT +/ Alex Reyes / Pablo lopez / Caleb Smith …
My bet would be :
DROP: German Pagan Andujar
Pick : Rosario Alfaro + RP
MAY BE DROP then : Encarnacion Krush
MAY PICK : Santana or Anderson ? another SP or RP ?
waiting for your callS$
Nick
No idea how deep this league is…I guess German, Pagan — Alfaro, Rosario
12 teams – 23 active players
Muncy!
Haha
What do you think of Austin Riley long term? I have him in a dynasty league and can lock him up for cheap for 4 years, but if I do it I’m locked in for all 4 years. Can’t get rid of the tag if he doesn’t live up to potential.
I want to buy in because of his first 40ish games last year, but is it worth the risk?
Depends what “cheap” means, but sure, worth it
We have a set amount of tag years to spend every year. If I put 5 years on Mike trout, I’d have 25 left on the rest of my roster. With rookies, the tag is 4 years long but it only counts as 1 year towards that total racing year. We can put two tags on players then they go back to the draft.
So I can put one year on him this year and then tag him one more time next year, or I can lock him in for four years plus two more tags after that.
These rules are too confounding for me to understand, or care enough to understand! But maybe just one year then if you don’t have to lock him in.
It’s honestly a pain in the ass, but it’s a friend league so I stay in it.
And that’s what I was thinking too. Thanks!
Oh it’s a pain, but it’s a league with a bunch of friends so I put up with it.
And thanks! That’s what I was thinking too.
Meh, I don’t even know if he’s making the team out of camp…how deep is this league?
Not worth locking him up like that
Pick a side
2 years of rendon and freeman
1 year of machado, rizzo, and scherzer
Machado
Yo G!
This Razzball DC just gets more and more Razzball / Grey as it goes on, lol. People take your guys exactly where you have them.
We’re at pick 86 (just got on the clock!) and still have Greinke (just went at 85!), DJLM (*how dare you!*), Glasnow, Goldy on the board. Pretty hilarious.
I’m at pick 5. Team 4 still doesn’t have a single pitcher, and team 3 only has Hader. *lolwtf.gif*
Team 12 got a steal with Nola at 79 as his first SP. (That’s Cram It! How did we let this happen?!)
Team 1 has a really interesting start — never seen this before — Cole, Stras, S Marte, Robles, Robert. (Obviously needs power and AVG is a bit shaky.) But that speed pairing is interesting at the least.
I was thinking of grabbing my first Robert share. I was so off him initially just because high priced rookie. But I watched some tape, and it reminded me of when I watched Eloy tape last year and fell in love. This guy has a damn good swing. I know you’re on him, so I wanted to take a closer look. Seems like a good target for my home league!
Donkey: Turner, Freeman, Hiura, Sale, Stanton, Thor. No me gusta.
Knoche: Tatis, Buehler, Vlad, Villar, Castellanos, Woodruff. Fine so far.
Cram It: Arenado, Harper, Xander, Laureano, Abreu, Nola. Pretty nice but needs some speed.
Seal: Bellinger, Bieber, Albies, Darvish, Moncada, Anderson/Semien
I like Anderson there for the bags. What do you think?
Pretty much went as planned. I wanted to try a draft pushing up SP a bit from what I normally do. Maybe would’ve gone Robert in the 5th over Moncada if he was still there. And I like Morton over Darvish, but he went a couple picks before. Eh, wtv.
I’m thinking picks 100-170 will be a mad dash for pitching and I can zig when others zag. Let’s see!
Either that, or these guys have no idea how a DC works and that there isn’t a waiver wire. I may remind them if this gets out of hand!
Yeah, I went Anderson. Pretty easy choice
TBH, I like your team the best and I’m not just saying that…Okay, a little bit, I also like Cram’s team a fair bit
Let’s go!!! And I know u tell it how it is, G.
I’m on deck rn. Can’t wait to get this next guy–don’t have a share yet!
Have to be careful ’round these parts. Clearly we have lurkers!!
I got my boy Montas. Recently got very high on him.
The interesting guy w/ Cole, Robles, Robert, etc. went Donaldson and Cruz, so he got that power, finally.
Montas is great, wrote a sleeper post on him in December
got high on Montas, hehe
I know you did. Lourdes just went at pick like 104 lol. Be careful with those things! ;)
That’s the min by about 25 picks. Wild.
Haha, shhh
Don’t worry about my speed, Seal! You only have 20 more than me at this point, per Steamer. Go get some RBIs then talk to me ;)
Hahaha. You gotta get runs early! I’ll get my RBIs (hopefully, *gulp*)
Still very early, obviously :)
If drafting this weekend, would you even mess with judge, stanton, sale even if they are priced at a “discount”? Or would the discount have to be essentially free, which isn’t going to be happen. Thanks
No way…though, if the price is cheap enough on the bats, fine…But no way no way no way on Sale
Grey!!
Mock draft 10 teams, CBS, 5X5, 2C, 5OFs 2U, 2 bench bats, no MI, no CI,.
Rate the draft, I drafted out of the 3 hole.
My picks
Acuna (3)
Story (18)
SMarte (23)
Flaherty (38)
Alonso (43)
Yates (58)
Hader (63)
ERosario (78)
Devers (83)
Robles (98)
Darvish (103)
Gray (118)
Laureano (123)
Bieber (138)
EdRod (143)
Hiura (158)
Woodruff (163)
Olson (178)
McNeil (183)
Ryu (198)
Garver (203)
CVazquez (218)
McMahon (223)
Soler (238)
The lineup would be
Garver
Vazquez
Alonso
Hiura
Story
Devers
Acuna, ERosario, Laureano, SMarte, Robles
Olson, McNeil
Bench: Soler, McMahon
SP: Flaherty, Bieber, Darvish, SGray, EdRod. Woodruff, Ryu,
RP: Hader, Yates
My comments? CBS cares!
Cheers,
Ante
Looks solid, Ante! You look solid on power and speed, and your pitching is insane…Nice team!
Chris Sale heading for elbow MRI…
I only wish more people would’ve drafted him before it happened
Damn, that’s cold…
What are people’s thoughts as to when following prospects make it to big league (if at all):
nate pearson, mackenzie gore, jo Adell
Also thoughts on AJ Puk as perhaps SP6. Guess his innings will likely be limited along lines of McCullers. Would you take Puk or McCullers?
Do you see Maurico Dubon’s start in spring as good sign of things to come or just simply spring training for what it is worth (not much).
Thanks
McCullers
I went over Dubon in my rankings
No problem!
Hey Grey. Just drafted. Looking for your insights on this team. Keeper league. H2H 10 team league, 8×8. OPS/AVG and QS + K/BB. Appreciate it.
C- Will Smith
1B – Jose Abreu
2B – Cavan Biggion
3B – Anthony Rendon
SS – Javier Baez
OF – Mookie Betts
OF – Aaron Judge
OF – Victor Robles
UTIL – Yuli Gurriel
UTIL – Dansby Swanson
BN – Kingery, Verdugo
SP’s – Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish, Zack Wheeler, Brandon Woodruff, Marcus Stroman, Luke Weaver, Zac Gallen
RP’s – Kirby Yates, Raisiel Iglesias, Brandon Workman
Prospects – Kieboom, Carlson, Alex Reyes
You look low on pitching, a tad at least, low on QS — I don’t mind the guys you have tho — Your hitting looks solid, but low on SBs, which I guess is fine in OPS
Morning Grey,
Been doing some mock drafts for my 5×5 league with HR, RBI, SB, OBP, and SLG
One are where you and rudy really differ for this format is at 1B, he’s got rizzo at third (above Albombso!) and Olson all the way down at 7th.
I’ve got pick 11 of 12 and plan on picking a 1B with one of my top 4 picks. Rizzo and Olson usually both available on the 3/4 turn and both gone by 5/6 so pretty much deciding which I want to pick.
Your thoughts on Rizzo v Olson for my league?
Fwiw, I’m pretty locked in on Bryce or Soto (if he falls) for one of my first two picks so my OBP floor should be solid.
He hates Albombso…
I like Olson
Well that makes one of him, must be lonely.
Thanks! Have Super Tuesday haha
Haha
Hey Grey,
Last keeper slot in 14tm H2H OPS/QS league:
Cueto $1
or
A. Riley $3
?
Riley
Can keep 5 in a 6×6 (standard + OPS and QS), would love some advice!
Rd 18 Bellinger
Rd 19 Tatis
Rd 10 T Turner
Rd 22 Alvarez
Rd 16 Alonso
Rd 22 Meadows
Rd 22 Giolito
Rd 6 Bieber
Rd 5 Harper
Rd 1 Degrom
Can keep them at similar values for years to come.
Thanks!
Rd 18 Bellinger
Rd 19 Tatis
Rd 10 T Turner
Alonso
DeGrom
Very solid keepers
Hey Grey! Two quick ones for ya as I prep for a draft later this week…(also, it’s amazing how high people are on DJL, and I’m a yankee fan!). Anyway, this is a 12 team weekly roto league where I’m strapped for auction dollars but keeping 5 elite bats plus Scherzer + Bieber to top my rotation:
1. Would you feel OK having Madrigal as your starting 2B in a 12 team keeper league? Madrigal would of course have a placeholder 2B like a Schoop/Wong/Starlin/LaStella type until he’s up. That said, Madrigal’s gotta be up in April/May if he doesn’t break camp, right?
2. Similar question. With an SP1/SP2 of Bieber Scherzer, how long can I wait to draft an SP3?
Houser/Lucchesi/Smith/Archer/Desclafani (~SP60)? I’ll be aiming for Odorrizi/Maeda, but may be outbid since I’ll be one of the poor guys in the room. Pretty sure the pitcher pairing tool actually reaches out of the screen and slaps you if you try to take Scherzer after Bieber!
Thanks.
Yeah, I know, it’s crazy
1. Nope, he’s a bench flyer
2. You have two high #1s — So Lamet-ish
Thanks!
No problem
i think i no who Grey is getting ready to draft in the 5th round of the razzslam
Haha, I can’t stop myself
Hey Grey! Have you given any thought to doing posts about auction drafts? I understand most posts are about player evaluations but it seems it’s also mostly geared toward snake drafts. I would think us auction drafters would appreciate some auction strategy posts since there’s really more strategy (IMHO) in auctions than snakes. Like when to put up to bid to drain the dollars and when put up your $2 sleeper, being patient with $ but when it’s OK to overspend, going in with a plan to not overspend but being flexible for bargains, how to appropriate your $260 (% to closers, to SP, to hitters, etc.). Just a thought!
I we have 1,000+ players ranked for every conceivable league for auctions drafts https://razzball.com/2020-fantasy-baseball-rankings/
On strategy, I’ve written auction draft strategy before, it would be repeating myself at this point… I bet if you google Razzball auction draft strategy you’ll find something
Grey!!
https://razzball.com/fantasy-baseball-auction-draft-strategy-making-rain-fake-money/
Cheers,
Ante
Thanks, Ante!
Grey!
No problems, boss.
Btw, how was your trip back from the LABR draft? Any corona stories? See any pock-marked Honduran/Salvadoran types on your flight over? Did you get soaked and did you really have to use the airport hooters rain jacket?
Cheers,
Ante
Yeah, I flew Hooters airline… No drug mules, thankfully! And I washed my hands while singing Happy Birthday, so I’m coronavirus-free!
I never read that article until now. That was on the money.
My $260 budget of cents:
I like to throw near elite guys early I don’t want to see if they go for elite dollars. Last years was Realmuto first throw. He went for $30 in my big keeper only league. This year will be Kris Bryant.
Also, hot pitching rookie prospects with good spring trainings work well in the ~3rd to 7th round throws. Flush with dollars, people will overspend, especially in keeper leagues. Hype sells , and rookie pitchers are terribly inconsistent, rarely retuning their purchased value.
Throwing has-beens with more name value than actual value is a favorite of mine. Those not as prepared will pay for stats of a past age.
As a catcher punter, I typically throw only catchers for a stretch. Fill out other’s rosters so I can get those $1-$2 Catchers I’m targeting. The big thing is you do have 1/12th (in a 12-teamer) control of roster filling supply. Use it to your advantage.
You’re on the clock…
DT and Grey must’ve gone on a bender together last night and are spooning it off in bed.
Oh Lord!
I’m seen it a hundred times.
Haha. Seems ours is the slowest of the razz drafts.
At our pace, we’re not going to be done by Opening Day. Like seriously.
We are in first half of round five. Grey just took Vlad!
We’re at the back end of 5. He went in RD 3 for us. Good value by his own projections!
1st share ever of Vlad
I was the third round teacher.
Reacher
Haha, nice!
We get nice runs here and there but those couple of guys are literally adding 10+ hrs of wait time per day
Yeah Thayer is THAT guy. Which team are you?
Ohhhh! We got some draft shaming, nice. I don’t want to use my name on the site, I just picked Moustakas a few rounds ago.
Few picks ago.. Not rounds
Was me this morning. Waiting and waiting for DT and then had a catholic funeral. You two picked exactly 2 minutes after mass started.
Haha, and condolences. DT was holding it up this a.m. for 2 hours.
Dudes, I’m on the west coast…I ain’t trying to wake at 5 AM to draft, cut yo boi some slack!
We need a west coast only next year…
Such a great idea! Seriously, we should make this happen
I’ll move to west coast, just to be in that draft
Haha, perfect!
Matt Olson Oak – plus a solid starting pitcher for Pete Alonso NYM – 1B
been offered something like this above
Rafael Devers Bos – 3B for Pete Alonso
I think this might be an offer to come
would you do anyone of these trades
Matt Olsen and _________________________ fill in the blank for Pete Olonso
everyone can play
The answers are in the form of a question like Jeopardy!
Who does the Olsen owner have?
Freddy Peralta Mil – SP,RP
Max Fried Atl – SP
A.J. Puk
Zack Wheeler Phi – SP
Mike Minor Tex – SP
Dinelson Lamet SD –
SP Dylan Cease CWS
SP Aroldis Chapman NY
RP Hyun-Jin Ryu Tor – SP
Left something out of all these deals – KEEPER LEAGUE
NEW OFFER JUST CAME IN
Wheeler + Goldy + Mallex + Desclafani for Alonso?
Alonso side
Fried and/or Lamet
Grey,
Yahoo 10 team, 6×5 including OPS, keep 7 players which are tied to the round they were drafted last year. I have 10 players and get to keep 7. Which 3 would you throw back? Thanks!
Trevor Story (round 9)
Mookie Betts (round 7)
Jose Ramirez (round 5)
Alex Bregman (round 2)
Aaron Judge (round 24)
Ozzie Albies (round 14)
Eddie Rosario (round 4)
Nelson Cruz (round 6)
Blake Snell (round 16)
Trevor Bauer (round 10)
Didn’t you ask this earlier? Eddie, Nelson, Trevor
Agree with Dingo
With LeMahieu is all coming down to Launch Angle, can he have another slight increase??, that 47% hard contact, 91.7 average exit velocity are in line with a 20% HR/FB rate, plus the 36% opposite rate, in that park, plus the obliterating lineup and the horrible pitching staffs the Yankees face in that division, even the Rays ( too many lefties logging a lot of innings), makes his career year repeatable, we’ll see, slight launch angle increase= 30 homers!!!!!
Haha, I don’t know, man…Ain’t feeling it
I know I asked yesterday, I just forgot to mention I have Baez as well, and wanted to see if tha changed anything.
The offer to me is Sherzer and Lindor for my Soto and Corbin.
Keeper league, and I already have baez at SS. Still take the Sherzer/Lindor side and play one of them at util?
Yes, I’d take it and play one at util or try to make another deal…
Yo, stop posting and make your pick. You’ve been on the clock for an hour!
HAHAHA
Agree with DT
Magoo – I’m hoping we zig/zag from each other at some point in the NFBC DC draft…
https://twitter.com/rudygamble/status/1234851186005676036?s=20
Haha, nice! I’d respond on your twitter if I had an account. Didn’t realize we mirrored each other so closely positionally.
jeez with that pitcher run. was hoping Montas or Fried would make it back for my 8th and not even close.
I was thinking of trying to wait another round on Montas, but it sounds like I would’ve missed him. Was hoping for Lynn or Fried in the 8th, but it wasn’t to be.
Btw, I texted OTS my first six picks last night, and comparing one ageless DH to another, he bestowed upon Cruz the nickname “Big Boppy.” Think I’m just going to call him that for the rest of the year.
Texted OTS? Is he not in the league with you?
I’m flying solo this year. I think he’s running three stores now. No time for fantasy unfortunately.
Wow, who died and left him boss…Wait a minute, did he take over after the death of Trader Joe?
TJ’s and TJS are eerily similar. Don’t let you SPs shop there. They should stick to Whole Foods and their higher prices.
Whole Paycheck
When opportunity knocks…
Hopefully I get lots of knocks
I miss the OTS vs Grey debates
The Million Dollar Man is trying to get you in the million dollar dream
“In fact, Eric Hosmer had the most homers of that bottom ten with 22 HRs in 619 ABs. That’s hilariously bad.“
Did Hosmer already retire in San Diego two years ago, but just has not told the Padres yet?
Little known fact. Hosmer is an anagram for Mosher so he’s used to being pushed aside
Haha
Well played.
Rate my team if you would! Got sniped multiple times, but I still think I did okish
C. Realmuto
1B. C. Walker
2B. Hiura
3B. Arenado
SS. Bogaerts
CI. Edman
MI. C. Seager
OF.Harper
OF.Springer
OF.Buxton
OF.Castellanos
OF.Aquino
UT. Segura
Bench. Votto
Bench. A. Riley
P. Bauer
P.Canning
P.Gray
P.Greinke
P.Manaea
P.E. Rodriguez
P.Pagan
P.Rogers
P.W. Smith
Bench. Keuchel
Hey Dong-
Figured there would be some overlap here in the comments.
My post above has the full results if anyone wants more context.
And sorry for the times I was the one who sniped you (Edman and Pagan were the ones that I missed by a few picks because you grabbed them)
How many teams?
Unless he drafted the same team elsewhere as well, that’s his RCL team.
Ah, I didn’t know
Figured I’d chime in for him in case he is a responsible worker who doesn’t spend the whole day refreshing Razzball.
Haha, thanks!
Hi Grey,
Had my mixed lague H2H Keeper draft this past weekend. Below is my team. I see on waivers Dansby Swanson and JD davis were both undrafted. Would you drop Mcmahon or Edman for either. kind of felt like i need Edmans speed until Carlson Comes up. Also based on this spring are you buying more into Freddy Peralta?
C – Will Smith $5
1b- Matt Olsen $41
2b- Marte $5
SS – Story $28
3b- Dozier $5
CI – Ryan Mcmahon $3
MI – Tatis Jr $3
OF – Eloy $3
OF – Meadows $3
OF – Harper $51
OF – Soto $10
Util – Robles $3
Util – Christian Walker $3
Util – Tommy Edman $5
Bench – Dylan CArlson $1
Could go Davis over McMahon if you want, they’re pretty close.
I’m in on Freddy P…again.
Thanks for this Would you drop Mchmaon or Edman for Freddy P. Has he gone up your ranks at all to Musgrove Tier or still way behind that for you?
Meh, not over bats
Agree with DT
I’d probably go Swanson/Davis over Carlson/Walker
How high would you draft Mondesi in an OBP 12 man, 6 keeper league? 5th or 6th round? I have Bellinger, Story and Areando as my 3 surefire keepers. Rizzo could be my 4th and Eloy my 5th and was wondering if I should make Mondesi my 6th pick or if I should cut and run since this is an OBP league.
So, after 6 rounds (due to keepers)? I’d take Mondesi immediately so 7th round
My bad. He would be my 6th keeper.
Keep him
Thanks for this! Would you be counting on the other guys to carry my OBP category?
Yeah, I would
That average would look good if he were going at an appropriate price.
Last night I had my RCL draft (RCL #3)- DJ went in the 6th.
It’s always interesting to draft with eleven people who are using the same exact list. I suppose that’s what a Yahoo league with no one who does any more prep than logging in before the draft would be like.
For those who want to see how things are going in preparation for their own RCLs, here’s the full draft grid:
A few thoughts on my draft if anyone is doing prep/ cares- I leaned a little more heavily into saves, steals, and average- in a perfect world I can deal some closers near the deadline. Also, I think I overestimated some 2B position eligibility (JoRam, Baez, Happ), but will make do. It was funny to see Trout still on the board for the third pick- first time that’s happened for me in a long time. A little bit of risk in my outfield, but I’ll pay that for my infield. It may have also been a function of being in the 11th spot, but it did feel like everyone got the same idea around round 11 or 12, and all of the serviceable closers were gone by the 16th.
And apologies for March Madness who was after me at the turn and whose picks I sniped nearly every time (funny how that goes when everyone is going off of similar research).
C- Jansen (25-299)
1B- Olson (3-35)
2B- Chavis (19-227)
3B- JoRam (2-14)
SS- FTJ (1-11)
MI- Javy Baez (4-38)
CI- Jose Abreu (7-83)
OF- Laureano (6-62)
OF- Franmil Reyes (11-131)
OF- JD Davis (14-158)
OF- Alex Verdugo (17-203)
OF- Ian Happ (18-206)
UT- Trent Grisham (20-230)
BN- Nick Madrigal (22-254)
P- Yu Darvish (5-59)
P- Sonny Gray (8-86)
P- Lamet (9-107)
P- Lynn (10-110)
P- Giles (12-134)
P- Nick Anderson (13-155)
P- Joe Jimenez (15-179)
P- Ian Kennedy (16-182)
P- Ryne Stanek (21-251)
P- Adrian Houser (23-275)
P- James Karinchak (24-278)
Whoops. The rest of the thought on DJ (to tie it all back to the original post)- DJ went in the 6th; I would have grabbed him in the 7th or 8th if he were still there for the average.
checked out your draft,thanks
Love your pick in round 11.
Looking at the draft board, Ketel Marte at pick 32 just seems so wrong.
Good stuff, Matty! Exactly type of team I would draft…Excellent speed/power and solid enough pitching…You are a bit low on safe saves tho
Hah. I guess it’s all relative. That’s a lot of saves compared to my usual approach.
I wanted more, but Raisel, Neris, Workman, Gallegos, Leclerc, Robles, Bradley, Doolittle, and Will Smith were grabbed between my Nick Anderson/ JD Davis picks and when I was able to get.
11 of the 24 picks in 14/ 15 were closers; let that be a lesson to upcoming RCL drafters.
* able to get Jimenez/ Kennedy
Your OF is fine, IMO. I think saves are actually OK, but a bit shaky. Team looks pretty solid to me. A lot to work with there.
Your biggest issue might be Ks / SP depth. WHIP could get wonky too. Seems like a lot of relievers, but IDK.
What do you expect if you’re waiting on a closer until pick 170!? lol
Yeah, I don’t love drafting top closers, but yours aren’t very safe…They’re fine tho
Honestly, it’s a small quibble
I’ll call it some kind of middle ground.
Usually I wait for a close-pocalypse and grab the guys who slide into the 9th.
This year I’ll get a couple saves, have my ratios ruined by said closemageddon, then (hopefully) end up with this year’s version of Liam Hendricks 2019.
Haha, I hear ya
Good morning Grey –
Who are you keeping here ?
Keep 3 – I was leaning Rendon rd 3 Soto rd 9 Bichette rd 26
José Abreu (CWS – 1B) Round 4
Adalberto Mondesi (KC – SS) Round 4
Anthony Rendon (LAA – 3B) Round 3
Marcus Semien (Oak – SS) Round 21
Juan Soto (Was – LF) Round 9
J.D. Martinez (Bos – LF,RF) Round 1
Miguel Sanó (Min – 1B,3B) Round 17
Nelson Cruz (Min – Util) Round 6
Anthony Rizzo (ChC – 1B) Round 1
Andrew Benintendi (Bos – LF,CF) Round 1
Bo Bichette (Tor – SS) Round 26
Javier Báez (ChC – SS) Round 14
Trevor Bauer (Cin – SP) Round 13
Luis Castillo (Cin – SP) Rd 12
Soto, Baez, Rendon for me
Soto, Rendon, Bichette for me
Morning!
Agree with DT
Baez, Rendon/Sano and Soto … although i would go Sano seeing he is 17th round
The only thing here is the big box sites just don’t have DJ ranked that highly. I’ve been doing mocks on ESPN and in their draft room they have DJ leMahieu ranked 81st overall on the big board. If the leadoff hitter for the Yankees just hits for a 300 avg and does nothing else they probably return that 81 overall value.
On last year’s razzball player rater DJ was 20th overall (right AHEAD of jorge Soler, Bryce Harper, starling marte and Francisco lindor).
So yeah I get everything about what you’re saying about him regressing, but you don’t have to draft him 20th overall. You can literally get him in like round 7 or 8. Unless he gets hurt he’s ruturning value at that draft price I think as the Yankees leadoff hitter.
So I agree regression, but don’t agree schmohawk becasue, well he’s just not that expensive in drafts. There’s times it totally makes sense for him to be taken him as your second basemen in round 7, especially if you started with like Jose Ramirez mondesi and Matt Olson in the earlier rounds for power and speed then grab dj to stabilize avg little later. Again he’s just not expensive in drafts. He may be a bargain where he’s going in fact.
He’s a schmohawk if you expect him to be the 20th best fantasy player, sure I agree with that. But in ESPN draft rooms at least he seems like he’s very reasonably priced.
Did your screen name used to be Wally Pipp?
He’s “rated” at 117, but his ADP is 60.
All I’m saying is when you draft that ESPN he’s 81st on the list. I’ve been able to get him a few times pretty late. Seems like a decent buy to me.
Seems like a decent buy in that range. Everything is relative
Ok. Is that the ESPN ranking or ADP? Fantasy pros shows his ADP in the 50’s for yahoo and ESPN. I guess it depends on what the room is going by, but if his ADP is in the 50’s and his stats produce a ranking around 100, that’s where this post is coming from.
Not sure all I know is if you do a draft at espn he’s #81 on the list. I mean that seems about right, Grey has him at 91 and Grey doesn’t even want him.
He’s being drafted 63rd on average, he’s a barely top 100 player
Prediction: Ian Happ will outperform DJ. Take that ADP slaves!
Meanwhile, MIA starters are all looking good. You nay have been a year too early on the enthusiasm. I’ve got Yamamoto everywhere but good values up and down that rotation. Shoemaker and Thornton looked great for TOR yesterday too. Discount shopping looks pretty good right now for rotation back enders.
Agreed!
I like Pablo Lopez a lot, Yamamoto is solid IP gamble and, well, Shoemaker might throw 50 IP
Yeah Pablo looked good yesterday. That’ll be a superb 50IP from Shoe though. Maybe whatever Ryu did last year to finally keep himself healthy he needs to show Matt.
Haha, yup!
Grey!!!
Nice schmohawk report, DJ is a bust!
a. Only ‘nice schmohawk report’? How dare you? That’s you to me not me to you, get it? Ah, Grey. I just wanted to avoid using the word ‘awesome’ for 10 days in a row. You broke my 10-day ‘awesome report’ streak. Shame on you and shame on me for thinking it.
b. As of now I’ll be in 2 leagues. One is an RCL (#47), I dropped out of #22 ’cause there is no one there. The other is a CBS 10-team roto. What are the differences when drafting in a 10-team roto and a 12-team roto? Are there any differences? I imagine there will be a larger free agent player pool to choose from in a 10-teamer, right?
c. MLB quote of the day for April 30, 1981
‘Man, if I made one million dollars I would come in at six in the morning, sweep the stands, wash the uniforms, clean out the office, manage the team and play the games.’
Edwin Donald ‘Duke’ Snider (aka The Silver Fox and The Duke of Flatbush), the ‘then’ last living player on the field for the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers WS final out dying in 2011.
Cheers,
Ante
The Duke of Flatbush is sooooooo under-appreciated for how good he was a CF because of him playing in the same city with both Mantle and Mays. A leader of men.
I’ve met all three of them:
The Duke was as nice as could be.
Mays, not so much. Terribly bitter man.
Mantle was drunk… and annoying, like most drunks are.
Ozone Ranger!!!
Thanks so much for your precious insight and testimony. It is worth way more than any quote!
Cheers,
Ante
Thank you, Mr. Ante. I am definitely a head full of useless (and sometimes not-so-useless) knowledge.
Thanks for sharing. As a young kid I visited an uncle in Florida that was close to Port St Lucie. My excitement was off the charts when I learned the Mets were in town. The very first person I met was David Cone- I was so exited. Until I waited, and waited and finally met….Mackey friggin Sasser. That was the day I learned about the term pitchers and catchers. Coney was really cool though
Mackey Sasser tossed you a baseball and it hit a car’s window about 125 feet away
Probably better that I wasn’t there a week later. Greg Jeffries would have signed my glove with a Jackie Treehorn doodle illustration.
A. Damn it! Sorry, shame on me!
B. Yeah, way shallower
C. Haha, oh Duke
Grey!!!
Shame on me!
So if the player pool is more shallow I should take a tier 1 pitcher in round 3? Is there a bible according to 10 teams somewhere? Or should I scrap this idea of a 10-team roto and stick to RCLs? I could drop out of my CBS league pretty quickly.
Cheers,
Ante
Nah, my draft ranks are for 10-15 teams…15 is more wonky than 10…Only difference in 10 is you’re gonna be able to wait even longer for SPs, maybe another round
Grey,
Yahoo 10 team, 6×5 including OPS, keep 7 players which are tied to the round they were drafted last year. I have 10 players and get to keep 7. Which 3 would you throw back? Thanks!
Trevor Story (round 9)
Mookie Betts (round 7)
Jose Ramirez (round 5)
Alex Bregman (round 2)
Aaron Judge (round 24)
Ozzie Albies (round 14)
Eddie Rosario (round 4)
Nelson Cruz (round 6)
Blake Snell (round 16)
Trevor Bauer (round 10)
Rosario, Cruz, and Bauer for me.
Agree with Icon