The Itch

Top 75 Prospects For 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Spring Training Snapshot

February 26, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 36 Comments

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List season is tricky for me. I always forget somebody for reasons that remain mysterious to me. This year, it was Josh Jung. Sorry about that, Josh and the Jungs. I’ll clean it up in post, by which I mean I plan to collate the hundred in a long scroll here near the end of spring training, tweaking the sequence as the new information suggests. Jung would be 19th or 20th or 21st at the moment among Neto and Tiedemann. All three could move the needle in a significant way this spring. I’m sure it’s just the nature of my work and focus, but the minor leagues look absolutely loaded to me. There’s maybe four guys in my top 25 who won’t see the majors this season (Wood, Holliday, Jones, PCA). We had a great rookie class last year, and it’s natural to expect an ebb from that flow, but after my lap around the league, 2023 feels to me like a pandemic-slash-service-time backlog is still seething at the edges, bubbling over early before rushing into our lineups come summer. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 8/5
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | OAK | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH
Jakkers

2023 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: Players 50-26

February 25, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 2 Comments

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Welcome back to another week of the 2023 Dynasty Rankings. We have turned the corner and we are now racing down the home stretch as the focus this week is on players 50-26 – my Tier 2 group.

This tier is pretty diverse when it comes to the ages of the players and the percentage of pitchers appearing in this tier may surprise you. As you probably know by now, I like hitters more than pitchers.

However, in this tier, I have 10 pitchers. Why are 40 percent of the players in this tier pitchers?

Well, the answer is pretty simple. I don’t trust young pitchers nearly as much as I trust veteran pitchers or even young hitters. When starting a team in a new dynasty league or trying to fill holes in my current dynasty leagues, while I won’t chase pitching, I will look to take a top veteran pitcher over the stud rookie hurler.

Pitching Experience over Youth

As a whole, the pitcher in his mid- to late-20s, or even early 30s, has established his track record compared to a 23-year-old. That young pitcher could be great, but he can also take three to four years to get to that level of greatness, especially with so many major league teams now limiting the number of innings a young pitcher will throw in a season.

I don’t want to reach the playoffs only to have a host of pitchers shut down because they reached an arbitrary innings limit. Thus, of the 10 pitchers you will find in this tier, seven of them are between the ages of 25 and 30. Two are over 30 and one is 24.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Lineup Builder

Analytics Anonymous: In Search Of…ISO

February 25, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Hitters | 4 Comments

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Welcome back to our second meeting of AA…Analytics Anonymous.  I hope you all stuck with the program this past week.  Did you approach your 2023 fantasy baseball draft prep with an analytical mind?  If you answered “YES” to this question, you are on track to graduate the program.  If you answered “NO”, don’t sweat it, […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
keelinbillue

Ambulance Chasers: The Return Of Ozzie Ow-bies

February 25, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 3 Comments

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Razzball Ambulance Chasers, your fantasy baseball doom and gloom report. Sponsored by Monistat (surprise, Razzball staff!). Earlier in the week, I had the pleasure of joining Roto-Wan for Knight Of The RazzTable: Albies There For You, which you should read. Wan tasked two of us with sharing our thoughts […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Laura Holt

Rolling In The Deep: Get Out(field)

February 24, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Rolling In The Deep | 8 Comments

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I don’t always go for a pun in my ledes, but if today’s headline invokes some of the uncomfortable, surreal, and ultimately terrifying vibes of Jordan Peele’s film (which coincidentally was released six years ago today, my how time flies!) it wasn’t an accident. I’ve found while drafting over the last few months that for […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Luis Robert, 2023 Fantasy Schmohawk

February 24, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Overrated, Featured | 145 Comments

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1236251″ player=”13959″ title=”2023%20Razzball%20Draft%20Kit%20%20Busts” duration=”237″ description=”Top 5 Busts for 2023 Fantasy Baseball00:16 Michael Harris II00:58 Sandy Alcantara1:31 Josh Hader1:59 Zack Wheeler2:26 Adley Rutschman” uploaddate=”2023-02-06″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1236251_th_1675673583.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1236251.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]

Someone’s going to launch me into the sun for my fantasy baseball overrated posts this year. From Bobby Witt Jr. to Michael Harris II to Daulton Varsho and Sandy Alcantara, okay, those last two were a little more understandable, but Witt to Harris II to (stutterer!) Luis Robert? Have I joined the old fuddy duddies who hate baseball? Am I a hater of fun? Will I dislike a bat flip? “Answer me!” I scream at the mirror, but my reflection doesn’t answer. It merely stares back, crying. But, when I touch my own face, my cheeks are dry. What is the meaning of this? Have I disconnected from reality? Is this not me typing these letters? “Whose hands are these!” I scream at the ceiling as I drop to my knees. Throwing disrespect at some of the most electric players in baseball isn’t great fun, I’ll tell ya that much after telling you exactly that. Luis Robert is fantastic, I think. I haven’t gotten to see him that much, tee be aitch, because he’s never on the field. So, what can we expect from Luis Robert for 2023 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Son

One Man’s Trash: Am I A Believer In Christian?

February 23, 2023 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, One Man's Trash | 14 Comments

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Life is all about utility. But one person’s concept of utility is different from another’s. Someone with tons of disposable income may view having a Ferrari as useful because it makes them feel better. Another who is living paycheck to paycheck may view that as silly. It very well may be, but it doesn’t matter because it serves a purpose for the owner. Religion is a hot bed topic that can spoil the most tastiest of dinners. What ever side of the debate you are on, though, it doesn’t matter because religion is a personal experience that provides utility for that particular person. The same goes for fantasy baseball. We all have different perspectives and values on players and go about roster construction in unique ways. One man’s trash could very well be another’s treasure. Which brings me to Christian Arroyo. Who? Yeah, this is not going to be a sexy piece, although most of these aren’t, but whatever. I leave those for the real writers on the baseball side. Arroyo is being drafted as the 490th overall player in NFBC drafts from February so he won’t be an option for standard leagues, but could he have utility in deeper formats?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Sandy Alcantara, 2023 Fantasy Schmohawk

February 23, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Overrated, Featured | 78 Comments

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1236251″ player=”13959″ title=”2023%20Razzball%20Draft%20Kit%20%20Busts” duration=”237″ description=”Top 5 Busts for 2023 Fantasy Baseball00:16 Michael Harris II00:58 Sandy Alcantara1:31 Josh Hader1:59 Zack Wheeler2:26 Adley Rutschman” uploaddate=”2023-02-06″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1236251_th_1675673583.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1236251.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]

Usually only bestow on you one pitching schmohawk. Like a genie giving one wish, and you’re like, “Yo, genie, it’s pretty standard to give three,” and the genie’s like, “Sorry, inflation.” As they say at opposite world’s Wetzel’s, don’t get it twisted, I could drop on you numerous schmohawk posts about pitchers, but can I just point you to my 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and, specifically, my top 20 starters for 2023 fantasy baseball and say look there for the pitchers I don’t like. Also, I won’t give you a closer schmohawk post either, because they’re mostly just SAGNOF, and I won’t draft a closer in the top 100ish. Not really schmohawk’ing to say Emmanuel Clase is overrated. I mean, he is, but not because he won’t be good. He can be good and still be overrated. On the most basic level: A five-category guy vs. a closer? Is that even close? No, it’s not. In one league, I drafted Oneil Cruz the pick after Ryan Pressly. Oneil Cruz who’s going to go 40/40 vs. Pressly who will give you 32 saves. Mmkay. That brings me to Sandy Alcantara, who can also be good just not good enough to be the fourth best starter off the board or to be drafted before pick 30 overall. Sandy Alcantara is one of those where I told you to draft him last year, and prolly would again this year, if he were going around where he was last year. Going back to my Pulitzer Prize-winning theory that every player has a career ADP, and thinking about how Sandy Alcantara went from pick 85 last year to 29 this year. What is his career ADP? Splitting the difference between 80 and 40 is likely the answer, but it’s definitely not 29 for reasons I will get to on the other side of the “anyway.” Anyway, what can we expect from Sandy Alcantara for 2023 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?

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

Top 50 Prospects For 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Spring Training Snapshot

February 22, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 26 Comments

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Here’s a link to the Top 25. 

That top 25 blends in pretty well with what you’ll see elsewhere, and so this group, mostly, but from here forward, my lists tend to be tilted toward near-term fantasy functionality, for what it’s Wuertz. 

I value the grind of the climb. Each level brings new separators, so guys like Maikel Garcia and Joey Ortiz have shown more, in my opinion, than a guy like Jackson Merrill. Nothing against Merrill or anyone in the lower minors. They’ll have their day. I just don’t see much value in jumping headlong on to Tom Smykowksi’s Conclusions Mat when we’ve got so many great prospects on the cusp who’ve earned their keep. If I get three seasons of useful stats out of a player before a higher-ranked teeny-bopper even gets started, that matters to me. I suppose you could cut it up differently for a rebuilding project, but I wouldn’t change much.

26. Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee | 24 | AA | 2023

Bibee’s currently my favorite of Cleveland’s pitching prospects for dynasty purposes in terms of cost v. value. That’s probably changing as I type, but for now it’s still cheap enough to at least ask about Bibee in your leagues. He’s coming off 73.2 innings in Double-A with a 0.88 WHIP. He allowed just four home runs there and wound up with a 1.83 ERA. He’s good enough to the naked eye that I think he’ll make waves this spring. His 122.2 innings pitched last year sets him up perfectly to step in whenever the Guardians need help. At 6’2” 205 lb, Bibee can sit comfortably in the mid-90’s deep into games and has that Cleveland specialty skill of commanding his off-speed pitches. In case you can’t tell from the blurb, I want him everywhere I can get him. You could more or less say that for every Cleveland pitcher, which I try to remind myself any time I’m making moves or building lists.

Please, blog, may I have some more?