Grey

Oh Baby! The Jays Have Something In Schneider

August 7, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Featured | 280 Comments

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Hol’ hol’ hol’ up! Jays manager’s name is John Schneider, and they just happened to find a replacement for the three-hole in their lineup named, Davis Schneider? This seems suspect! What’s also got me sniffing the waiver wire saying, “That’s fishy,” what did they put in Schneider? He’s the first player in MLB history with two homers and nine hits in his first three games. Reranking in my head for 2024 fantasy, “Acuña, Davis Schneider, Ohtani.” Davis Schneider not number one overall? No, okay? Not yet! Maybe after this week! So, Davis Schneider did all that bombing out of Fenway, and, in Triple-A, he went 21/9/.275 with a 21.9% strikeout rate. I get it, he was a bit old for the level, but, at 24, it wasn’t like he was Joey Meneses. Not to mentionese, did we forget last year with Meneses? Sometimes guys come up, and hit for two months until pitchers figure them out next year. Schneider has no prospect pedigree, but I’d grab him in any league until he stopped hitting, or until we find out he’s John Schneider’s kid, and, as we learned in Little League, he’s only hitting third because of daddy. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 8/4
ARI | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CIN | CLE | COL | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | ATH | CHW | DET | OAK | SEA | WSH
Jeremy Brewer

Top 100 Hitters: Youth Movement

August 6, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Hitters | 8 Comments

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Every season, there are new faces that make a splash in the major leagues. These guys seemingly coming out of nowhere to lead fantasy teams to glory.  We are not talking about guys like Corbin Carroll or Anthony Volpe that were expected to make a splash starting on opening day.  Nor are we looking at players that have strong pedigrees but early struggles like Nolan Gorman or Josh Lowe.  These are guys that are can be grabbed throughout the season without much FAAB fanfare.  For this season, we are talking about Matt McLain, Josh Outman and Edouard Julien.  These types of players can be one-hit BABIP wonders or might carve out successful careers but always have a place in our fantasy hearts.  With that in mind, I saw a recent completely unofficial Twitter poll indicating fantasy owners would take Matt McLain over Trea Turner in drafts next year.  That is a bold strategy Cotton.  Let’s see if our rankings are so bold and how the youth movement continues to change the landscape of fantasy leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Real Joey Bart

Fantasy Baseball H2H: Streamers Ain’t Dead – Week 18

August 6, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Head-to-Head Leagues, Fantasy Baseball Streamers | 3 Comments

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The trade deadline week is always one of the best times of the year! It means we’re coming down to the final months of the year, and it really separates the contenders from the sellers. We were happy that the deadline didn’t affect too much in last week’s article because we had another solid week! […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Mead Up For A Cup or Caissie Cooking With Gas

August 6, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 30 Comments

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I finally saw the Mario movie last night, which my family could do because I subscribed to Peacock to watch seven innings of the Futures Game, so . . . good work on that one, MLB. 

In other good-move news: Rays 1B Curtis Mead is in the majors today. We’d be short-sighted to assume he’s going to play regularly going forward, but the team needs a spark, and Mead’s all-fields approach and excellent plate skills (12.8-to-14.7 percent walk-to-strikeout rate) give the club another tough out in a solid lineup. 

Mead went for $6 in the CBS AL-Only Analysts League. I have zero dollars and could’ve really used him but feel pretty good about landing a $0 Davis Schneider. I’m in first place and trying to win a second-straight championship there but have been dealt a series of body blows these past few weeks. Josh Bell and Jake Burger got traded out from under me. I also have Tyler Wells and Taj Bradley on that team. Not a recipe for success in an Only: losing four key pieces in the same week. With the two free roster spots, I added Red Sox 3B Luis Urias and Royals LHP Cole Ragans for zero dollars. I was a bit surprised they were free, but it’s late, and there were a ton of guys to bid on in that run. I really like Ragans, though. Great get for the Royals in the Aroldis Chapman trade. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

Top Dynasty Keepers – Go Guardians!

August 5, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Keeper Leagues | 1 Comment

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Everyone knows about the Road to the Show baseball players travel. But what you have to remember is there is not just one road to take to get to The Show.

This week the Top Dynasty Keeper spotlight falls on Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams – two players who took those different roads to both wind up in Cleveland.

The Overlooked Draft Choice Road

Bibee is having an outstanding rookie season for the Guardians, and it is somewhat surprising when you realize where he was drafted. Unlike many top pitching prospects, Bibee was not a first- or second-round selection. Instead, he was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 draft out of Cal State Fullerton. And Bibee headed to Fullerton because he wasn’t even drafted out of high school.

While at Fullerton, Bibee had a decent, but not spectacular, career as he actually had a losing record and a career 3.82 ERA. That is good in the majors, but not very eye popping if you are a college pitcher hoping to have a major league career. Even more pedestrian was his career 7.8 K/9 rate. Pitchers with those numbers are the ones who are drafted in the fifth round or lower. But pitchers with those numbers also don’t enter the season ranked as a top 100 prospect by Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus only two years after being drafted.

The Look at Me Draft Choice Road

This is the road we are used to seeing top pitching prospects take. Williams was actually drafted out of high school in the 30th round by Tampa Bay in 2017, but he decided not to sign and instead attend East Carolina.

Once in Greeneville, N.C., Williams was used more as a reliever his first three seasons until making 12 starts out of 15 appearances in 2021. That season he dominated opponents to the tune of a 10-1 record with a 1.88 ERA and 0.959 WHIP. In 81.1 innings, he struck out 130 batters for a 14.4 K/9 rate.

The Guardians loved what they saw from Williams and selected him in the first round with the 23rd overall pick – four rounds ahead of Bibee. The selection was a wise one as Williams entered the season ranked as the No. 20 prospect in Baseball America, 42nd by MLB Pipeline and 26th by Baseball Prospectus.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Buy More Jeimer

August 4, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell, Featured | 314 Comments

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Jeimer Candelario stares out at the desert landscape in New Mexico. Behind him, an El Pollo Loco, in front of him nothing as far as the eye can see. “Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Balls.” That’s a wide open Jeimer. Um, ‘open-for-business.’ That’s an important distinction. Also, it’s an important distinction to say “balls” as in baseballs. The open Jeimer pushes a button and–it’s a bomb. The explosion reverberates. A mushroom cloud ascends to the heavens. The bomb is a home run into the Wrigley bleachers. Prolly a good distinction to make, as well. Finally the open Jeimer says, “I wanted to hit that bomb off German. Uh, Domingo.” So, Jeimer Candelario was a sleeper of mine two years ago, and he did not pan out at all, but it shows you there was pedigree. It just took a little while longer. His Launch Angle is perfect for Wrigley and his HR/FB is actually not that inflated, meaning he could actually become a home run hitter (27-homer-power) with a solid-enough average (.255) for 2024 fantasy, but this is for this year, and he’s been hot. Like nuclear. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

The Pfaadt Boy Is Back, And You Know He Can Never Be Whack

August 4, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Featured | 149 Comments

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Brandon Pfaadt (7 IP, 1 ER, 3 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 7.11) returned three starts ago to the Diamondbacks’ rotation so has there been any changes? First off, his ERA of 7.11 doesn’t play here, cuz. We are *claps hands* Wawa! We are *claps hands* Wawa! We are *claps hands* Wawa! Coursing through my veins is Type O, no, you dint. That 7.11 Slurpee-ass ERA is deceiving. His last three starts: 3.37 ERA. Also, and more importantly, 16:2. That’s the most important ratio. No, not Jon Snow’s Golden Ratio of his butt. That’s his K:BB in 18 2/3 IP, and that plays. This is for this year, but I’m already getting worked up for Brandon Pfaadt’s 2024 fantasy hoo-ha. Remember, he was supposed to be an ace. That didn’t disappear because he struggled in his first call-up. Don’t make me go back to how even Kershaw looked pedestrian in his first call-up. Let me just go there while saying I won’t go there. In fact (Grey’s got more!), starters tend to take three years to get their footing in the majors. Either way, the command has been there since his recall, so hold off on rasberrying your lips at Brandon Pfft. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?