In our twenty-fourth episode, Mike Couillard and Jeremy Brewer discuss the lessons we learned in the worlds of fantasy baseball and card collecting in 2023 before sharing our resolutions for both realms in 2024. We now have Cards & Categories swag for purchase, visit our shop here! You can find us on twitter (X) at @cardscategories, @mcouill7, and @jbrewer17. Email the pod […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!
Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.
Decided to do a little search of 2nd half splits. I don’t necessarily believe that all guys who were good in the 2nd half last year will just continue their great hitting into the 1st half of 2024. Some guys may just be 2nd half hitters. Some guys might’ve just had a hot, say, August, and it’s making their 2nd half look better than it was. Other guys might just had a good 2nd half, and that’s all it was.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I love trying to find sleepers. It’s the hunt. It’s like the ultimate big-game hunting, only I’m not on safari asking a guide, “Did I just get malaria from that mosquito? No? Great.” Then three minutes later, “Do you think I just got malaria from that mosquito? No? Terrific.” Then three minutes later in perpetuity for the next two weeks. It’s that without mosquito-borne diseases. That’s me, bros and five sisters! Jordan Westburg, he came to me in a flash-bang while I was out big-game sleeper hunting. I was perusing Statcast for exit velocity, as a nerd might do.
Please, blog, may I have some more?1. OF Jasson Dominguez | 21 | MLB | 2023
The Martian landed in New York on September 1, smashing four home runs in eight games before his season ended due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery with a side of an internal bracing procedure. If his elbow heals well, the 5’9” 220 lb switch hitter should be an option for the major league lineup by midseason. He wasn’t great across 109 games in AA (.254/.367/.414), but that was enough for a 118 wRC+. Can’t complain about that from a 20-year-old. Then he torched Triple for nine games, walking twice as much as he struck out. The plate skills seemed to be mid-leap when he got hurt, and he’s starting to feel a little underrated for the dynasty game.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Ya know what I’m finding myself keen on more than in years past? Using the phrase ‘keen on?’ Close, but no. Guys who don’t strike out much and hit for a nice average. Getting all mature in my fantasy baseball wonts. Like a big ol’ smart nerd! Not a dumb nerd like someone who plays fantasy baseball and keeps going after guys who will hit .210 because they’re sexy. Hey, one love to Jack Suwinski, but I’m eyeing his teammate, Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Please, blog, may I have some more?‘Twas the night before Razz-mas, and all through the land Not a bullpen was stirring, not even Brad Hand. For the snow, it was falling, in all of the places Out of windows peered FAs, dollar signs on their faces. All the kids, seeking joy, the fat man in his sleigh (But, alas, that guy […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Look at position eligibility like this, you have a toolbox filled with different positions, and you need a certain position for a certain hole in your lineup, or a screw for a certain hole to secure a latch. If you use the wrong screw, then the latch will be loose and you’ll need to translate […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?The Dodgers have spent more than $1.1 billion this winter with the signings of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. Eight teams haven’t spent a million. Is this [watches a butterfly flap out of one’s hand] competitive balance? So, the Mets’ owner Steve Cohen flew to Japan, took him out to dinner and Yamamoto went home with the Dodgers. [searching PornHub for cuckold, seeing a video of Steve Cohen paying the check for Yamamoto’s dinner] Damn, that’s brutal. Yamamoto was also rumored to possibly be on the Giants’ radar, but Yoshinobu saw a news report of a smash and grab at a vape shop in The Castro, and decided against San Francisco. Ouch. As I believe I said before, how about rather than the Dodgers buying free agents, they just get all the free agents and tell us which ones they don’t want. Might be easier that way.
Please, blog, may I have some more?In our twenty-second episode, Mike Couillard and Jeremy Brewer open by analyzing the fantasy impacts of the Tyler Glasnow trade along with the other MLB moves over the past week. Then we review the latest scandal regarding superfractors to hit Fanatics/Topps in regards to 2023 Bowman Draft before discussing our personal collections of 1-of-1’s and superfractors (54:51). […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?This is it – the final installment of the Top 2024 Keepers. We started with relief pitchers back in the beginning of October and today we wrap things up with the right fielders.
If you have missed an article or want to refresh yourself on the previous rankings, you can click on the links below:
Keeper Relief Pitchers
Keeper Starting Pitchers
Keeper Catchers
Keeper First Basemen
Keeper Second Basemen
Keeper Shortstops
Keeper Third Basemen
Keeper Left Fielders
Keeper Center Fielders
The top players in this position group are some of the top players in all of baseball. I would be more than happy to build my team around the players I ranked in Tier 1. And the depth of this position is pretty strong. I have no qualms having any of the players in Tiers 2 and 3 on my team while players in the lower tiers still can offer value to a fantasy team.
So let’s get to the rankings.
Please, blog, may I have some more?1. OF Roman Anthony | 19 | AA | 2025
Anthony charged to the top of this group with a superb season in 2023. A left-handed hitter at 6’2” 200 lbs, Anthony slashed .272/.406/.466 with 14 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 106 games across three levels, finishing with ten dominant games in Double-A (.343/.477/.543) after slugging .569 in 54 games at High-A. I include the full-season line here along with the particulars because the full season tells the story of a player improving in a hurry. He slashed just .228/.376/.317 with 38 walks and 38 strikeouts in 42 games at Low-A but started driving the ball in Boston’s friendly High-A setting, where he drew 40 walks with 70 strikeouts (30.6 percent) in 54 games. He then struck out just six times in the ten Triple-A games. Man that’s a lotta stat salad. I’m just trying to say he’s a player in flux and reminds me a little of Ronald Acuna at this stage in the sense that he’s got more than one path ahead of him as a hitter and could become a total-package type who slashes .300/.400/.500 on the regular. He’s also quick enough to swipe some bags in the go-go era. Snagged 16 in 23 attempts this season but got caught just once in six tries between High-A and Double-A. I’ve got his ETA as 2025 here, but that can change in a hurry if Boston is competitive and Anthony is on his game.
Please, blog, may I have some more?There’s going to be guys who are sleepers for friends and family leagues and there will be sleepers for deep leagues, and there might be sleepers for both. Imagine Nelson Velazquez won’t fall into the Both category. He feels to me like a guy who will get a lot of helium in those “We’re Smart” leagues. They’re not actually “Smart” leagues, but if you play in a deep league, you think you’re smart. I’ve said many times that I think shallow leagues are just as hard. Or just a shard if glass is reading. In shallow leagues, it’s a nonstop debate if a guy is producing enough, even if they’re supposed to be great down the road. In “smart” leagues, you usually can’t do anything after your draft that makes much of a difference. That doesn’t make things smarter. With that said, I think Nelson Velazquez will be appreciated readily in “smart” leagues but shouldn’t only be in “smart” leagues. This guy is a dumb league guy too! Wait until you hear what he did last year (at the age of 24!), you’re gonna blow your freakin’ lid, smarties and dummies alike! In Triple-A and the majors combined, he hit 33 homers, stole seven bags and, holy schnike balls, I see why those smarties are in on this guy. Let’s see if we can convince the dummies! So, what can we expect from Nelson Velazquez for 2024 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?