You emerge from mother’s basement, holding your hands up to your eyes to block the sun, and scream, “Ma! I won my fantasy league! Ma!” You stop to look around; it’s a fiery landscape reminiscent to an apocalypse. You open further the basement door, and it falls off its hinges. You, scared, “Ma?” There’s no walls anymore on your house, which gives you a vantage point to the entire surrounding area that smolders. Coming up your once-tree-lined street is a posse of thousands of–An army from another country? Another world? Who are they? What have they done with your family? Just as the questions dissolve over you, a warrior spots you and grunts for you to get in line. You reach for the only weapon you can get your hands on, a Lou Pinella commemorative mini-bat from a 1981 stadium giveaway, and join the post-apocalyptic army. As you scuttle into position behind the marching forces, you see a group of warriors carrying your mother’s head on a pitchfork. Overcome with emotion, you run up and scream, “Ma! I gotta tell you about the fantasy league I won!” In this scenario, I am your mother, and the army is Razzball. You’re welcome! Today is the day when you realize you’ve spent 27,000 man hours this summer beating eleven other strangers to win a virtual trophy, and it feels great! That’s if you won your league, if you came in 2nd or worst, you get an A for effort. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Pete Alonso – 1-for-5, 1 run, hitting .260. On Saturday, Albombso broke the rookie record for home runs with 53 Albombsos. So many Albombsos. Muy Albombsos. Mucho Albombsos. Muah Albombso. Love Albombso. Heart Albombso. Tattoo Albombso to my Al-bum-so. Will be going over him more tomorrow when I celebrate all the guys we love and love to hate during the Razzballies ceremony. Then, a couple days after that, I will go over him again when I recap the 1st basemen. It’s the winter of Albombso! There wasn’t anyone to love much more than Albombso this year. In the two leagues where I owned him, I drafted him for next to nothing and cashed some checks on his giant honkey ass. Bless him.
Dominic Smith – 1-for-1, 3 RBIs and his 11th homer, a walk-off homer, in his first at-bat in nearly two months. Gotta think Dominic Smith’s done enough to win the starting 1st base in 2020 with Mets trading Pete Alonso for Fernando Rodney.
Noah Syndergaard – 7 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.28. Not sure my Syndergaard schmohawk post in the preseason was the best one I’ve ever done, but it wasn’t the worst either *coughs* Gleyber Torres *coughs*
Mike Soroka – 5 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.68. He’s going to wake up every night this offseason at 3 AM, sweating, screaming, and, when Albies sticks his head over the side of the bunk bed to ask what’s wrong, Soroka’s gonna say, “I think…The Regression Fairies are coming for me.”
Adeiny Hechavarria – 3-for-5, 3 RBIs and his 8th and 9th homer. This two-homer game was brought to you by 2019, cosigned by Dr. Manfredenstein after he released his monster, The Year of the Rando Two-Homer Game.
Jack Flaherty – 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.75. Hard to imagine a greater buy low than Flaherty on July 1st. Donkey Teeth nailed it, as previously recounted here. In Flaherty’s last 100-ish IP, he had an under 1.00 ERA and a 0.70-ish WHIP with a 11+ K/9. Sorry, if I’m not giving you exact numbers, but math is harder than typing as I’m writing this sentence without hands or pants.
Paul Goldschmidt – 3-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and a slam (34) and legs (3), hitting .260. Au Shizz!
Cole Hamels – 4 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 3.81. Next year there’s gonna be one guy — and let’s face it, it will be a guy — who will ask me if Hamels can regain his once-dominant pitching, saying, “Hardy-har, but, really, Yahoo loves his price.” I will eventually say, “I guess he could be good,” but what I will really mean is, no, he’s done being good.
Chi Chi Gonzalez – 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 5.29. I can’t be the only one with a damaged brain who sees C. Gonzalez pitching for the Rockies and thinks CarGo’s now a two-way player.
Christian Yelich – Won the batting title, but pretty lame he didn’t play the last two weeks in order to secure it.
Rougned Odor – 1-for-3, 1 run, hitting .205, and his 30th homer on Saturday, to go with his 11 steals and hahahahahahaha someone stop me please!
Aaron Judge – 1-for-3 and his 27th homer. On Donkey Teeth and BDon’s last podcast, I argued (loudly) that Devers should be drafted above Judge in 2020. Honestly, I was surprised by pushback. Judge is great for power (everyone is), and never stays on the field. Devers is 22 years old and just went bazinga this year (check the Player Rater, if you don’t believe me), and, ugh, I’m already writing my 2020 rankings right now, aren’t I?
Aristides Aquino – 1-for-2 and his 19th homer, hitting .259. If Aquino isn’t on HBO’s Watchmen, they’re going to need to replace all of the light bulbs in their offices because of the giant parasol of shade I’m throwing their way. Seriously, where does Aquino go in 2020? Is top 100 crazy? Top 70? Top 50?
Trevor Williams – 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at oh who cares C**nt Hurdle was fired! Halleberrylujah! Joe Maddon left the Cubs too, but who cares. Maybe Maddon will end up in Pittsburgh. I am totally joking. Like there’s a chance Maddon would ever take that job.
Mike Clevinger – 5 2/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 2.71. *raspberries lips* Oh, well. But if this helps us draft him even a half round later in 2020, I’m here for it.
Jorge Soler – 1-for-4 and his 48th homer, hitting .265. In the year of the home run, Jorge Soler won the home run title in the American League. It’s like 1975 being the greatest year in history for movies, and the Don Knotts-starrer The Apple Dumpling Gang taking home the Oscar.
Caleb Smith – 3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.52. His 2nd half 5.42 ERA managed a Simone Bilas-level flip of my excitement to fear in 2020, though I might get suckered into drafting him, due to his Ks.
Sandy Alcantara – 6 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.88. In March, we thought Alcantara was the guy who sings Dean Martin songs at our local trattoria. “Hey, Al Cantara, I think you need to stop drinking, you’ve sung That’s Amore six times tonight.” Now, it’s National League All-Star Sandy Alcantara, and he’s earned it, helping me win my RCL league. Eat it, haters!
Eduardo Rodriguez – 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.81. I’ll go over each position in the coming weeks, but Ed-Rod: 203 1/3 IP, 213 Ks, 3.81 ERA at 26 years old. Not saying he’s herb butter that elevates the “top 20 starters are” toast, but his emoji is a little arrow going up with two healthy knee propellers.
Hyun-Jin Ryu – 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.32. DeGrom likely locked up his 2nd Cy Young, but his price in the preseason vs. Ryu’s ADP of 191 is *chef’s kiss* for Ryu.
Will Smith – 2-for-3, 3 RBIs and his 15th homer. Not to get Mr. Prorater too loco in the melon, but Smith hit 15 homers in a third of a season. “That’s Mike Piazza with the bacne!” I know, Mr. Prorater.
Taijuan Walker – 1 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 0.00. If you would’ve told me he’d return from Tommy John surgery and post a 0.00 ERA, I wouldn’t have believed you.
Blake Snell – 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 4.29. Honestly, his 2020 value is going to be writing a 2.00 ERA, 3.00 ERA, 4.00 ERA and 4+ ERA on a piece of paper, putting them in a hat, and pulling out a number. Speaking of pulling out, his price is going to make it impossible to own with so much uncertainty. Snell ya later.
Matt Thaiss – 3-for-4, 4 RBIs and his 7th and 8th homer. Dr. Manfredenstein, “Muahahahahahaha.”
Yuli Gurriel – 1-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 31st homer, hitting .298. If you picked up or traded for Gurriel and Flaherty on July 1st, enjoy your fantasy baseball championship, but you’re also about to get burnt at a stake.
Gerrit Cole – 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 2.50. His 9th straight start with 10 Ks, which is a new MLB record. That’s surprising, right? I figured Nolan Ryan would’ve struck out ten-plus hitters in “a whole season of 150-pitches-per-game starts.” As for Cole’s Cy Young chances, to be continued in the next blurb.
Justin Verlander – 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.58, as he won his 21st game, recorded his 300th strikeout in 2019 and, in this game, Verlander notched his 3,000th career strikeout. Imagine how many pop-ups Ronald Guzman would need to drop to get Mike Minor 3,000 Ks. The only question left for Verlander is: Does he win the AL Cy Young beating teammate, Gerrit Cole, or does Kate Upton make every BBWAA Cy Young voter regret every fantasy they ever had about her coming to their house? Should be the closest AL Cy Young race since 1980 when it was Steve Stone vs. Mike “Stoned” Norris.
I WON my ultra-competitive (like, in-sane!) h2h, 6×6 (holds) league yesterday. when wilkerson made that catch, preventing the r. sox from taking the lead and bringing in workman ( my opponents reliever) for the series’ tie breaking save, where he would have won 5-6-1. instead, i held the category and won the series, 6-6, as i had the tiebreaker.
2nd year in a row winning it all, 3rd time in 5 years (4 times in the finals).
your write-ups, tips, SON and hittertron were invaluable!! thank you so much for your incredible hard work — it’s THE best site on fantasy baseball in the world!!
I second that for sure, and it’s not even close. This site is the shizz!!
Thanks, Snacks!
Thanks for the kind words! That’s awesome, Yaz! Congrats! Damn that was close
Given the Grey-pocalypse I think I’ll stay in the basement and play Football/Basketball proving that fantasy sports can survive anything! Thanks for a Greyt season!
Haha, No problem! And good idea!
Grey!!!
Awesome report, man! I know three days in a row but you are pretty awesome and so is the ‘stache so it’s more than warranted.
Not much to say, man. Enjoyed it and see you next year.
Next year, random funny MLB.com quote of the day! Until then, going into stalker mode.
Take care!
Cheers,
Ante
Pretty awesome? Or awesomely pretty…
MLB.com quote of the day sounds awesome! Great idea! Thanks, for the Abbot and Costello quotes all year too, it’s been fun!
Ante! thanks for quotes and personal recaps, lol. hope I entertained you too!
Coolwhip!
You da man! Great insight into the game I love since 1988….fantasy baseball of course. You thought I’d say, just baseball. Ha!
Have a good offseason, love your profile pic.
Cheers,
Ante
Haha thanks! yes, trollface trout is the best.
Thanks to you and the complete staff.
I lost my big money league by 2 pts for first and 1 pt for 2nd, coming in 3rd.
BA was .2604 and so was the guy in front of me, but he won with the 5th digit, 2 SB’s, and lost 3 points by less than .008 in era. I was in first heading into the last week. Very competitive league.
I do have a question, are the tools going to be up (ha ha) for the playoffs? Hittertron and SP’s.
No problem! That sucks you lost such a close one! You have to ask Rudy on the tools if they’ll be up… Just comment on the bottom of any of the tools pages
Sir Grey!!
I this the most empty day of the year for Fantasy Baseballers? No more updates to read, players to pick up or screaming at your computer after another 8 earned in 5 innings (thanks Trevor B.,)
This was the first year I sponsored Razzball and it was money well spend since I took over first place on Saturday and won the title in my keeper league (these are almost the best right?;-)
In my 6×6 money league with people from MLB-tv I came in 2nd.
So thank you for another season of great advice and perhaps more important put a smile on my face after each daily note.
Best,
Bas from Holland
your money league includes mlb-tv people? they just camera guys or personalities? nicely done.
I’m guessing Harold Reynolds and Harold came in last
LOL!!!! i almost spit out my coffee reading that. funny because its true and believable.
Haha, yup!
Coolwhip!!
Ha! Joe Morgan finished just behind Harold Reynolds!!! You know The Big Hurt was near the top!
Cheers,
Ante
Haha
HA!
People who manage the streams and the digital platforms for MLB.
But it was nice to beat most of them with the help of Son. They had no idea (except 1 I gues).;-)
Haha, nice!
It is a sad day, but congrats on the win! That’s awesome and thank you!
Thanks to the help of the entire Razzball team, I just won my keeper league for the second time in three years (lost in the finals last year)!
On to 2020 keeper questions… My league is a 10-team, h2h categories where each team can keep up to 8 players. Scoring is 6×6 with holds and OPS as the last categories. We are converting from a weekly lock to a daily lock next season. What 8 would you recommend keeping out of the following?
Acuna
Soto
Bregman
Mondesi
Machado
Bryant
Correa
McNeil
Ohtani
Starling Marte
Flaherty
Sale
Darvish
Thanks again for all the advice!
Acuna, Soto, Bregman, Mondesi, Flaherty, Marte, Ohtani, Bryant for me
man that’s a STACKED team going in to 2020.
Thanks! Who do you like most of that group (pick 8)?
Marte over the likes of Machado, Correa, and Sale? Between Acuna and Mondesi, I figured I had SBs (Marte’s best asset) covered, but I could be wrong. Marte just finished out the most well rounded season of his career.
In this format, I do like the idea of keeping Ohtani. A daily ESPN league is perfect for him because I can deploy him as both a bat and SP. I’m just struggling to find a spot for him right now.
Congrats! Great work!
Acuna
Soto
Bregman
Mondesi
Flaherty — no question this 1st 5 then
Machado, Bryant, Marte prolly
Grey,
Thanks to you and everyone at Razzball, I won my both of my fantasy leagues again this year! I can’t wait for next year for more great content, posts, videos, podcasts, and insight!
That’s awesome! Congrats, Joel!
We Did It, We Did It!!
Ha, we slayed my Jerk bro in law. Fantasy redemption is upon us all with this league champion karma. I have to walk my dog past the pricks big fancy house every morning. This morning I left her steaming pile of fecal gloriousness on the lawn. I didn’t pick it up even though he was inside watching on his stupid ass cameras like he always does. As I was walking off feeling like Squints leaving the pool after frenching Wendy Peffercorn, I noticed his big fancy tv in the trash, obviously damaged during the throes of his adult temper tantrum. I smiled large. I thought about My swooping down from the Fantasy Baseballer heavens upon a Benny Mardones rug wielding two fiery swords of vengeance to land the final blows of a season where the army of Razz Ballers has slain the idiot Jerk bro in law!!!!!! Thanks amigos for all the help.
best wins are against jerks, esp family jerks.
Snacks! You are a riot, bro… Thankfully, I am not your bro-in-law…
Congrats on the win, hope it makes for a great Thanksgiving!
Well done snacks!
Hilarious story!
Thanks for a great year grey and all the staff. Finished 2nd and 5th this year in my leagues with the help of you guys. Will be back next year to give you guys more money for the subscriptions. Thanks for all the effort you put in year after year.
Sucks you didn’t win, but thanks! We’ll get ’em next year!
Congrats to Beastman who captured the title in our RC 15 team NFBC Draft Champions league. $1000 to you! Also, many congrats to Magoo/Oaktown for leading most of the year but falling just short (In a B-Don league that ended in August you might have won!). Many thanks to you, Grey, for inviting me. It’s much appreciated, it was a blast, and many thanks for the kick-a$$ job you do here day in and day out. I’m glad to be part of the RC community!
BDon ends his leagues June 1st
Congrats to Beastman indeed! No problem! Hopefully we can get in another league next year and I do better… I’m thinking of getting in a few more NFBC leagues … Let me know if you’re doing early ones…
Ok, will do. We can partner on a team j/k. I actually wound up finishing as runner-up in 2nd, so at least I get $350. Are you planning on doing a recap article on the league? If not, I’d be willing to write an analysis/post-mortem or send you a draft of something I’d envision writing if you’re interested.
I don’t usually write post-mortems, but if you want to, I’d post it under your name…
Ok, Ill give it a try and email something to you in the next couple days.
Awesome! Make sure you ping me here, bc I have my email spam filters high so I miss a lot
Sounds good. Will do.
Grey! Thanks to you and RB Nation for the great work this season, as always. Tigres finished third in keepers after holding second since the ASB (first place team was way in front). But in a rebuilding year, and in spite of drafting GIANCARLO in the first round, so a solid effort.
That’s not bad at all, that’s gotta be considered a victory!
Congrats on ‘Perts, Grey. Congrats. (And on whatever other championships you collected).
Verlander/Cole have to be Co-MVPs.
Yep, well done Grey and Biebs.
Thanks, Cram! It was most stressful league there at the end… I thought I might’ve gave it away in the final well… And thanks to Donkey Teeth for giving me Bieber in a trade!
Thanks to all for the good input this season i came in 2nd in one league and 5th in my RCL.
No problem! Sorry you didn’t get the win… Always next year!
Harper > Devers in 2020?
What do you think Grey?
You’re gonna give him a stroke, Slappy!
I want Devers
Bam! I won my H2H and $600 on the last day of the season. I was behind going into Sunday but picked up Alcantara to go with Cole to catch my opponent. It was a great race for playoff spots all season long. When it’s that close, every move matters, and with a tight league limit on acquisitions, they matter even more.
So thanks to all at Razz for helping make these moves count. I tried Hittertron for the first time, and SON was dead on in picking a few solid starts from Junis. SON was key all year but really seemed to have Junis pegged.
Thanks again. See you in March.
That’s awesome! Congrats! Nicely done!
No problem, glad you won it!
It was a great season Grey. Thanks for all of your insights.
Back-to-back Razzball DC championship!!!! Drafting Yelich with the 3rd pick certainly helped, but it amazing how picks in rounds 20-35 can take you a long way in that format.
I faded in RCL to finish 4th, but the $1,000 from DC easily takes away any disappointment!!!!
Congrats! Which DC league were you in?
The league with Rudy
Where did Rudy finish?
2nd place
That’s not bad!
Nice! good job bro
Any thoughts on the Maddon rumors? I’m glad to see Ausmus go, if only Moreno could fire himself along with Eppler too. Ive always liked Maddon as a real life manager, though he’s turning 66 this offseason and seems like he’s less effective now.
What? Ausmus is out? Was that just announced?
Yes
Thank you!
Man was that a terrible hiring to begin with
Yep! i happened to be at my favorite taproom when i got the notification on my phone, i literally shouted HOLY F***!!! ASSMUNCH IS GONE! and then i bought my friend and i another glass. I’ll drink to that!
Celebration warranted! I wish I could join!
Haha, indeed!
Dave!!!! dude, so glad they had the balls to kick Ausmus to the curb now. Yeah wish Eppler could go too. So… i don’t know what to think man… in the past i’ve loved Maddon, but the last 2 years i’ve seen him make some really odd managerial decisions and wonder if his mind has lost a step. On paper, i like the thought of him being in the Angels clubhouse, but I wonder if it’d actually work. I think he might have a half-life now, probaby would be good for first couple years then progressively less after that. I still think Chavez or Vizquel could be good fits too.
Yeah I’m relieved too, but slightly wary as well. It was painful watching Ausmus wait until this last week of the season to play Ward, Thaiss, Hermosillo et al over Bour, Pujols, Goodwin. It showed complete incompetence.
Maybe anything is better? I dunno, but I’d take a deceased Jim Fregosi over Ausmus at this point.
Haha, yeah… i think in this scenario anything is better. There were a few points i was actually wishing Scioscia was still in the clubhouse. hahaha. here’s hoping for a diamond in the rough.
No problem! That’s awesome! Congrats on the big money victory!
Yo Grey –
Just wanted to say thanks for another season of excellent write ups. Took 1st for the 2nd year in a row in my 12-team roto. Cheers!
No problem! Congrats on the win…again!
I’m fairly certain we’re in the same league.
Uh-oh, outed!
Grey et al (ug, ,go eff myself for using that) –
Thanks again for all that you do. I won my money league for the 3rd time in the last 5 years, and in my ultra-competitive 9×9 league where I was plagued by injuries all year, I was able to salvage the #1 pick for next year by winning the consolation playoffs.
Awesome! Congrats on the win!
Grey, i want to thank you for helping me win my league again.I discovered your site 5 years ago and this is my 4 th title in the last 5 years. I dominated this year leading in homers , steals, era and whip.I amassed 106 pts of a possible120.Your advice and knowledge all year long was paramount for me winning once again.So again thank you so much and(Donkey Teeth too).
I CANT WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!
That’s awesome, man! Congrats! Happy to hear it!
Grey,
Now that the season is over, I nee your help in deciding on who to protect next season. I am enclosing my roster with the player, salary i paid this and then the price to keep for next year. Which players should I keep? I can keep as many as I wish unde3r the 1300 dollar salary cap
C/1B Mitch Garver (MIN) $5.00 $6.00
C Salvador Perez (KC) $10.00 $11.00
C/1B J.T. Realmuto (PHI) $24.00 $26.00
1B/OF Cody Bellinger (LAD) $26.00 $29.00
1B/3B/OF Hunter Dozier (KC) $5.00 $6.00
1B Freddie Freeman (ATL) $27.00 $30.00
1B/2B/3B Yuli Gurriel (HOU) $30.00 $33.00
2B Jose Altuve (HOU) $31.00 $34.00
2B/3B/SS/OF David Fletcher (LAA) $5.00 $6.00
2B/SS Luis Urias (SD) $5.00 $6.00
3B Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (TOR) $5.00 $6.00
3B Jose Ramirez (CLE) $48.00 $53.00
3B Justin Turner (LAD) $30.00 $33.00
SS Didi Gregorius (NYY) $20.00 $22.00
OF Yordan Alvarez (HOU) $5.00 $6.00
OF Michael Brantley (HOU) $27.00 $30.00
OF Nick Markakis (ATL) $17.00 $19.00
OF J.D. Martinez (BOS) $35.00 $39.00
OF Eddie Rosario (MIN) $16.00 $18.00
OF Nick Senzel (CIN) $5.00 $6.00
UT/SP Shohei Ohtani (LAA) $31.00 $34.00
SP Yu Darvish (CHC) $30.00 $33.00
SP Kyle Hendricks (CHC) $26.00 $29.00
SP Rich Hill (LAD) $5.00 $6.00
SP Clayton Kershaw (LAD) $26.00 $29.00
SP Corey Kluber (CLE) $38.00 $42.00
SP Frankie Montas (OAK) $5.00 $6.00
SP Chris Paddack (SD) $5.00 $6.00
SP James Paxton (NYY) $31.00 $34.00
SP Dillon Peters (LAA) $5.00 $6.00
SP Chris Sale (BOS) $38.00 $42.00
SP Max Scherzer (WAS) $43.00 $47.00
SP Luis Severino (NYY) $30.00 $33.00
SP Spencer Turnbull (DET) $5.00 $6.00
SP Alex Young (ARI) $5.00 $6.00
RP Giovanny Gallegos (STL) $5.00 $6.00
RP Shane Greene (ATL) $21.00 $23.00
RP Will Harris (HOU) $5.00 $6.00
RP Jordan Hicks (STL) $23.00 $25.00
RP Craig KImbrel (CHC) $25.00 $28.00
RP Corey Knebel (MIL) $24.00 $26.00
RP Adam Ottavino (NYY) $27.00 $30.00
RP Emilio Pagan (TB) $5.00 $6.00
RP Yusmeiro Petit (OAK) $5.00 $6.00
RP Will Smith (SF) $15.00 $17.00
All of them
all 45? ther3 has to be someone to throw back?
Why? I took the time to add up all your $ for 2020… its less than 1.3K
i have minor leaguers coming up next year i need to make room for them too
You did the thing again where you give us more info than we can handle, while somehow also leaving out info that we need.
I can sympathize with that though, as I just took over a dynasty team this year and have been bothering the Itch about it. We don’t have a salary cap though, that def complicates things. On the surface, Shane Greene is looking way too expensive. Ottavino too. Is there Holds or something?
yes holds count
You’re a better man than I for doing that.
Throw back Petit, Knebel
Do you guys think Jorge Soler isn’t going to do it again next year?
Not sure if I’m going to try to sell him to somebody else as a keeper or if I should keep him myself. Had been waiting on him to break out for years, didn’t think it would ever happen…
The numbers are real. And the juiced ball will stick around for at least 1 more year. He had a good Launch Angle (for HRs), he conquered the breaking ball (in terms of SLG)… and his Barrel%, Exit Velo, xSLG, xWOBA and HardHit% all finished in the top 5% of MLB. There was a little luck involved with Flyballs, so i’d say he’s mostly for real now, showed signs of it before injury last year. I think its safe for him to produce 80-90% of what he did in 2020… Like 40 HR 95 RBIs is reasonable.
also he got better as the season went on in several areas: plate disc improved downward on SwStr% and Chase%, and he improved upward on ZoneSw%. This lead to progressive improvement throughout season in his ISO, AVG and Runs Created. There was some up and down, but on the whole it was a net gain throughout the season.
Depends what you can get, tbh, but Soler seems real and he was always a touted prospect, just took him a while to find his footing
God bless you guys. Great season.
Thank you!
No problem! Be well!
Hey Grey,
Won my more competitive league – again – successfully defending my title.
As always, wanted to thank you for help throughout the season. I found Razzball a few years ago and have been loving it ever since.
And yes, picking up YuGu was a big part of this championship. Thanks again for the t-shirt!
See ya in March!
Awesome! Thanks! And congrats! No problem, you earned it!
Hey Grey (and DT),
Just wanted to send you both many, many thanks for a great season and I appreciate your time and commitment. I won two of my leagues yet again, and this is a great resource. You always answer the few questions I pose ASAP, and I can’t wait for next year. I’m kind of depressed that I’ll be without you guys until February when the 2020 rankings come out.
It’s more like January, it won’t be as long as you imagine
No problem, congrats on the wins! I’ll be posting all winter, and rankings come out in January…
Greeeeey
Hey man – big thanks for helping me win TWO leagues this year, including a very competitive (i thought?) 5×5 10 team league that i won by 17 points. I ask you… do i have Bregman+Rendon+Alvarez+Alonso+Eloy+Muncy+Clevinger+Lynn, etc ….. all on the same team without the advice of the Master Lothario? I think not. My kids will eat this offseason because of you sir.
Thanks again
Murph
Ha, nice! Congrats! Nice team!
Just won my roto league…sort of.
Oddly enough we have a 2 way tie for 1st AND a 2 way tie for second. In my league, 1st gets 50% of the pot, 2nd gets 33%, and 3rd gets the rest. I am the league manager so I don’t feel like I should make the decision how to settle this-never expected this would happen. Anybody have any suggestions for how I should pay out?
Thanks as always-couldn’t have gotten here without Razzball and the Streamonater!
well, seeing that would be 83% for 2 people, I think it would make a bit of sense to do 90% for 4. Both first places should get 30% each. That leaves both 2nd places getting 15% each. 3rd place gets 10%.
Congrats…sort of. That is a pickle… I’d go with C’s solution
Well in most sporting events when you have a tie for 1st, there is no 2nd place. and when you have a tie for 3rd there is no 4th place. so another way to look at it is you have have 2 1st, 2 3rd, and a 5th. So I’d say split 83% (50+33) between the 2 1st placers, and split whats left between the 2 3rd placers
Coolwhip!
That’s what I would say too.
Cheers,
Ante
Yeah, I’m leaning toward splitting between the top 4 finishers as 2 were tied at 94 points, [email protected] points, and the next guy had 65 points!?!
Just want to say thanks again for all the help season. My team shit the bed over the weekend and my opponent was able to capitalize. He made the better waiver moves in the end as mine came up short. I’ll just have to start a new streak if I ever want to get that 3-peat.
Damn, sucks you didn’t win, but you came damn close, that’s an accomplishment!
I won!
#Mancini
yeppp. #ManciniWinsTrophies
Hell yeah! Congrats!
To take a mini victory lap…I did tell you he’d hit .290ish with 35 bombs when I originally asked why he was overlooked on here.
You were right on! I told you he’d do that…in 2018!
Congrats to all the winners and top finishers (and when we choose fantasy baseball instead personal, professional and/or spiritual development, aren’t we ALL winners?)
Thanks to Razzball and occassionally ignoring Razzball *cough*Gleyber Torres*cough*, I won my H2H league. Just wanted to express my gratitude for the best combo of insights, tools, analysis & snarky hilarity on the interwebs. Much appreciated!
Haha, yes! Congrats! Thanks and glad you won!
Great content all year long, i look forward to my morning commute because of the Razz. Thanks for all of the advice this season (Grey, DT, Rudy, Malamoney, Prospect Mike, etc). Until next year; or the first post about the 2020 season———-this is the part where the screen pauses on me looking back and waving like the end of Uncle Buck, with a corny 80s song playing in the background.
Haha, that’s awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for all your help this season Grey!!
Won 2 keeper league championships this year, including one that is completely pitching heavy (in the era of the juiced ball) that I took from worst to first, and this site has been tremendously helpful.
Shoutout to Prospect Mike too for getting me on board Air Yordan.
Looking forward to the offseason material, because fantasy baseball is a mental illness LMAO
Cheers man!
No problem! Congrats on the wins! That’s awesome! Yordan was a great call!
Haha, yup!
Survivor was quite good you was right sir.
Usually (for me) it doesn’t get interesting until a few weeks in.
And finally I like the “twist” this year.
Hate the Hollywood dude. Like the chick that has big cans. Love the chubby one who thought she was gone week one. Which brings me to why do they ALWAYS have to edit the damn show the same way? Only one person brought up that Ronnie sucked then they make it look like some big blindside. Dude was a gigantic douche so let us see more of it. I DONT CARE ABOUT BLINDSIDES LOL.
Yes and yes! Agreed… I didn’t think I’d like the twist, but I liked it (at least in the 1st week) — I’m gonna go with the ex-hockey player winning it — who says you?
They could have waited a bit for the twist. After two days asking how strong your alliance is ain’t going to matter. I’m taking early odds on the lifeguard lady tho her personality might be too harsh for some.
Solid choice, I like the black girl going for Soul Survivor
Haha. I can’t believe it’s the 39th season. Bonkers.
I know, and I’ve watched all except the 1st! (I caught the last episode of that)
T. Walker pitch 1 inning, A player need 10 years service time to get a fully funded pension of 100,000 dollar a year at the age of 62. Does walker get a year service time for this year? Just wondering if that’s why he pitched.
That’s an interesting question, I thought it was a nice reward for busting his ass to get in game shape… I wouldn’t be surprised if service time is linked to being on a 40-man roster, which means he had more than one day, but I honestly don’t know, let me know if you find out
I thinks it is the 25 man roster and will depend on what injury list he was on this year.
That makes sense
McCann or Jansen?
Paxton’s anti anxiety meds
Peter Alonso Phoenixing to Pete and (all) rising above judge
And don’t forget about the “is player currently dating a supermodel” sabermetric that should be all the rage next year
Grey you slay us all each morning, you stud. Enjoy the playoffs and until next time, smell you later
Which McCann? Kidding
That’s awesome! Players should only date supermodels
After 16 fantasy baseball season’s I finally won a championship… Thanks g money!
Awesome, Clubbs! Congrats!
Wow! congrats bro! thats awesome.
Brewers end 2 games back… now all thats left is for them to get punked by Mad Max, and their failure will be complete. Justice will be served.
Remember:
Hiura (half season) 2.1 WAR
Shaw (half season) -1.0 WAR
If he was called up in May and stayed, analytics say they would have won division. how fitting that Yelich goes down and Hiura misses a couple weeks for just enough time to prove my point. Brewers, don’t count your chickens before they hatch!
Haha, yup! Any time you’re playing a goofy short series and going against Scherzer, I think you’ve already lost
Exactly… 1 winner-take-all game against Max is already a loss. The funny thing about Shaw being -1.0 WAR… that means literally any rando averge bench guy would have been more valuable this year playing in his stead. e.g. Yolmer Sanchez, Greg Garcia, and Ryan Goins were all worth more.
Yeah, that I won’t hold against them bc starting a rando bench bat over Shaw only makes sense in hindsight, but starting Keston after he already was called up makes all the sense in the world
For sure, that was meant to be a strawman argument, if he was that much worse than randos, how bad is it that you didnt start a future superstar that was literally right in front of you.
Haha, I know, it’s the worst
Now we get to listen to the MLB network refer to every above average free agent as the “(fill in last name) sweepstakes” over and over for 4 months. It’s a barrage of sweepstakes….
HAHAHA — Where will Felix Hernandez land?!
Thanks for the GREAT blog. Between that and your rankings for the draft I DOMINATED my big money league! I was up by 20 at the end of May/early June. The team hit a slump which allowed everyone to get closer. In the end, I won by 11.
I won Runs by 13. HRs by 50, RBIs by 29. 1st in ERA & WHIP (3.150 & 1.061). I was 2nd in SBs but surprisingly only 8th in AVG. I was 2nd in Ks, 3rd in Wins and Saves. The 5 category wins netted me an extra $500 on top of the $1000 for first.
I was 1st 2 years ago and 2nd last year (my power never came around last year). I found this site about 5 years ago? It is the best, and Grey, your insights are entertaining and very valuable! I use your rankings to crush my draft then do what I need to do throughout the season.
I listened and traded 4 Jose Ramirez just b4 he blew up. Sent Ryu & 2 other SPs out 4 Velander right b4 Ryu hit the wall. I said I would PayPal you a few bucks if I pulled it out (so give me that info…I feel your blog absolutely helps me do so well). I asked you a few questions over the year and you always answered them.
Thanks man,
Billy
That’s awesome! Congrats! Thanks so much for the kind words!
So I lost a league by 2 points though I put up 100 points out of a possible 120 due to Civale, Descla, and Merrill Kelly being unable to handle crap lineups. In my desperation for wins using my remaining innings, I made the highly questionable call of starting Plutko against the Nats.
I Maddoned myself.
I narrowly won a league where the 2nd place team had 100 of 120. I lost Marte, Baez, and Rizzo, but used guts and guile to take the crown. My batty calls of Adames, Choi, Lowe, and Bader last Monday fast tracked me to glory.
Other than that, I had 2 championships, 1 2nd place finish, and was the king of the also rans (4th) in the 3 horse Original Recipe RCL race. Solid year. Though I finished 4th, I loved the Original Recipe. Highly active to the end with a bunch of quality, attentive managers. It would be great to play in it again next year.
Finally, I, of course, thank you and Rudy, but also the likes of Coolwhip (who I like to refer to as C Dub), Truss, Donkey Teeth, and all the other staff. for greatly enriching another season of fantasy baseball. This is easily the best fantasy baseball site out there. You have fostered not just a site with good analysis, but a good online community. Well done to all.
Damn, that sucks on the 1st but awesome on the 2nd! Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it!
Thanks Fred! appreciate the vote of confidence. Well done 2 out 3 + runner up is a solid finish.
Talking about box scores — Brewers SP at Coors w/ division on line — Did I say at Coors???
IP H BB K ER #P
Fri 9/27 – Davies 5 2 1 2 1 68
Sat 9/28 – Gio 4.2 4 2 5 0 72
Sun 9/29 -Houser 4 1 1 5 0 48
They go on to lose all 3 games!!! 1%@#xxuvyew5f&&*423!!!!
WTF is wrong with Counsell? Pitch count??? To win division and get a first round bye?
Sorry — my chart did not stay lined up
Haha, yeah, I know, Counsell sucks and the Brewers are not my favorite team
They are mine. From Milwaukee area. He chokesin big games — look at the 7th game last year vs Dodgers.
I loved Milwaukee when I visited, awesome city… But Brewers really annoy me
Thanks for another great year. 1st in home league, 1st NFBC cash, and top 15 RCL team.
Enjoy your week off.
That’s amazing! Congrats! Well done, bro…
Thanks for the all the funny, and astute analysis y’all! Sadly placed in second, did not have enough bodies this last week, so onto next year! Just curious as to what y’all think. Pick 5. Can keep forever.
Alex Bregman
Rafael Devers
Keaton Hiura
Matt Olson
Kris Bryant
Ketel Matte
Eugenio Suarez
Victor Robles
Like I assume everyone will say Devers and Bregman are no brainers, as do I, but am I crazy for wanting to toss Bryant back? I know he’s good, but he’s so goddamn streaky. Anyways curious to see what everyone thinks!
No problem! Sucks you didn’t win it!
Alex Bregman
Rafael Devers
Olson
Ketel Marte
Eugenio Suarez
But any of them besides Robles are worthwhile keepers
agree with Grey, though personally i’d swap Marte for Hiura.
Thanks for all of your great work. It’s a long season and wanted to say that all of that great work is appreciated.
No problem! Thanks!
Great site — thanks for your advice throughout the year.
Too bad it can’t always compensate for head-to-head randomness. I won regular season by large margins in all 4 leagues and was leading in all 4 going into Sunday. Lost 3 of 4 by microscopic margins and due to last day oddities (e.g., LAD taking out everyone after 2 ABs). I learned I need to do a better job in 1st 6 days just in case.
Damn! That sucks, but congrats on getting that close!
I just saw Cain’s (HR-robbing) catch on Hampson yesterday. In two leagues (where I owned Hampson, I lost by 1HR (I went 4-5-1 with the tie-breaker)! One more ouch; I mustn’t watch any more baseball highlight films for at least a few months.
Haha, damn!
Grey –
this year was a rebuild for NL dynasty team, but with your advice, I did a great job of picking up and trading for some terrific keepers for next year. Here’s my order of my guys that I like for 2020. Who do you like ($260 budget – can keep 14 into the draft)??
Jeff McNeil ($7)
Sonny Gray ($8)
Brandon Woodruff ($7)
Archie Bradley ($7)
Eduardo Escobar ($12)
Carlos Martinez ($7)
DeScalfini ($1)
Taijuan Walker ($1)
Joc Peterson ($17)
Garrett Hampson ($7)
Marcell Ozuna ($21)
Tapia ($7)
Cano ($7)
Garrett Richards ($7)
That’s my 14 today at $116. But I’m also sitting on:
Duplantier ($5)
Mitch Keller ($5)
Dinelson Lamet ($7)
Ross Stripling ($7)
Touki ($5)
Trent Grisham ($10)
Garrett Cooper ($7)
Tyler O’Neill ($7)
Mauricio Dubon ($7)
David Bote ($1)
Janikowski ($1)
Lane Thomas ($7)
Orlando Arcia ($7)
And in the minors I have potential MLB-redy guys – Tatsudo Yamada, Bohm and Ke’Bran Hayes all at $5 each.
Long way to go for this question – make your ideal 14 to keep and I’ll trade away the rest. Thanks, Grey!
Solid keepers for NL-Only… It’s early in the offseason, but I think I’d go Grisham, Lamet and Cooper over Cano, Richards and Tapia — though Cooper or Tapia is close
do you like Luis Urias for next year? Or is he smelling like a bust?
I like Urias, but I’m not 100% convinced he’s the Padres starter
Thank you again for your expertise and advice.
I won 2 of my 3 leagues and probably would have won all 3 had I not lost Yelich, Baez, Mondesi And Giolito.
Enjoy the MLB playoffs.
Awesome! Congrats! And thanks!
Hey Grey,
Just to add my thanks for everything you and your team do. 3 wins from 5 leagues I played this year, am very happy!
The only sadness is that my tube journey to work will no longer be spent on my phone reading your daily summary which arrives so promptly and perfectly timed at 8am each morning!
Thanks!
Ha, thanks! And congrats! Well done!
Thanks Grey for a great year. 1st in home league, 3rd in RCL, and 4th in Otteaneu. Really love the daily reads and humor.
There is no off season in Fantasy right?
Congrats! Thanks! There isn’t an off-season…
Grey, who has the better bat — Will Smith or Austin Riley?
Thanks for an enjoyable year of reading. Your joke-writing is a breath of fresh air in the fantasy baseball arena. Cheers.
Smith
Thanks, appreciate it!
Hey Grey!! Coors Field was awesome, as was the rest of Denver, minus my crew choking, it was a great trip! I found out on the plane ride home that I took home the title!! Thanks again do you and Donkey Teeth!!!!
Enjoy the playoffs!!!
-G
That’s awesome, Gary! Congrats! Too bad the Brew Crew did all they could to not look good
Hey Grey,
I just wanted to follow up on my last comment here. I ended up coming in third in my super competitive dynasty league, which is… fine. I’ve been in the league for nearly 20 years, and while I’ve finished in the money most years, I have never won it.
In my other league, I defeated my wife in the finals. She is kind of a sore loser in general, but our marriage still seems to be on pretty solid ground.
Thanks for all the advice this season! It was helpful and, even more importantly, really fun to read your updates every day.
Good to hear you’re still married! You have a keeper not in the fantasy sense… No problem! Appreciate it!
haha nice win! give her some flowers, make her dinner or something… she’ll be fine!
Haha, yes, schloofy!
BTW Grey… having gotten my feet wet writing here semi-regularly (thanks again for the invitation), I have a greater appreciation for what you and the others do here. Especially you writing daily recaps all season and rankings and sleepers etc, while being correct most the time and entertaining to boot. #hattip to the OG.
Thanks man! It was awesome having you! I’ll send out an email to all contributors later today or tomorrow…
Threepeated my leagues. Thanks. Worth real money, too.
Verlander was very helpful, but mostly I listened to you.
Pitching has never gone so well as this year. Maxed out roto points in 4 of five cats, each league. Took players like Ryu and Bieber in the draft– you had them high.
Early on you said middle infield was where the talent was emerging. That was very helpful. I had Mc Neil early, maybe even ahead of you, but went to the 2B well over and over. My ending team seems to be mostly MI.
Got Alvarez in a league!
Also, got back Flaherty after dropping him. Good call on that one by the Donkey.
So, thanks. Read you every day.
No problem! Congrats! Glad it worked out!
So, what is the breakdown of Mr. Grey’s league finishes this year? I saw the ‘Perts triumph, but what about the rest?
I won CBS NL-Only, third in Tout, 4th in TGFBI and Yahoo and crap in NFBC
Oh, hey. Here I am!
About time!
Hey hope you’re well!
I am! Late for the thread so I’ll get at ya tomorrow next post and we’ll riff my dude *100 emoji*
Man, what a second half for Flaherty. He was almost unhittable. I never thought he’d turn it around like he did. But I sure was happy to have him.
So where do you see Flaherty going next year? I know you don’t draft pitchers high, as neither do I. But I’m curious how high he’s probably going to go. Third round? Fourth? Fifth?