Grey

Hunter Greene, 2023 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 5, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Featured | 34 Comments

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Sitting dead red (pardon the pun), and you can’t hit Hunter Greene. Allow me to demonstrate:

That’s just silly. Tell the hitter the ball is going to be right down the pipe, and it’s a JCVD to the windpipe. His fastball velocity averaged 99 MPH. To be a fly on the wall of the hospital room where Babe Ruth laid for the last time when a time traveler walked in to tell him, “A pitcher will one day average 99 MPH,” and then Babe closed his eyes for the last time, not wanting any part of that. Slightly off topic for a brief moment: It’s why it’s so funny when people try to compare different eras in baseball. Can you imagine Babe Ruth facing a 99-MPH hurler every time out? Putting aside his offseason regiment was chugging sodas with Fatty Arbuckle. 99 miles per hour on average?! That was best in the majors for a starter with at least 120 innings and the top ten are all guys you want: Strider, Sandy, Gerrit, Shohei, Castillo, Cease, McClanahanananananananan, Burnes, and Woodruff, in that order, with Woodruff at 96.2 MPH on average. Only two guys above 98 MPH are Spencer Strider and Hunter Greene. Velocity isn’t everything, naturally. Or unnaturally if you’re one of these guys’ shoulders. Nathan Eovaldi and his hot butter MPH and biscuit of garbage ERA are more the exception than the rule. The top 30 for fastball velocity are roughly 95% fantastic with the occasional Mitch Keller. So, what can we expect from Hunter Greene for 2023 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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

Chicago White Sox Top 10 Prospects for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

January 4, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 25 Comments

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The south side features an underrated system for fantasy purposes with plenty of openings on the big league side for the intrepid young hitters. 

 

1. OF Oscar Colas | 24 | AAA | 2023

I suspect you’ll see Colson Montgomery in the one spot everywhere else, and that’s cool if you’re not in any rush to collect stats from your prospects. I’m open to the case that Montgomery is the buzzier prospect stock at the moment, but Colas has dominated every step of the way and finds himself on the escalator this winter, by which I mean he could start the season hot and cruise right up the lists. Montgomery could climb quickly as well, but he’ll be doing so in Double-A, which won’t help us win in 2023 unless we can flip him for a redraft asset. How long will it take the dynasty world to notice if Montgomery comes roaring out the gate? Not long, probably, but Colas could open a sell-high window early in spring training with just a few good games. And even then, with offers raining down on you after Colas hits his second spring home run, you might struggle to move the 6’1” 209 lb left-handed bat with a chance to make the opening day lineup. He hit 23 home runs in 127 games across three levels last year, batting above .300 at every stop. Chicago has been tough on hitters the past few seasons, but Colas has enough thump to threaten 20-plus bombs if he gets the gig early. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Edward Olivares, 2023 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 3, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Featured | 34 Comments

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I cackled just writing the title. Hey, going for Edward Olivares is that Dayton Moore was fired…

…the rest can fall into place, right? A sneak peek behind the Wizard’s curtain. I was looking for a late outfielder to write a sleeper post on, and there were, like, fifteen guys in the span of 20 average draft picks that interested me. Around Edward Olivares was also Jose Siri — Siri, what is a fantasy baseball sleeper? Forget it, I’ll ask Alexa; Bubba Thompson — I like him a lot, but playing time?; Dylan Carlson and Jorge Soler — bounce backs?; Tommy Pham — way undervalued, but how many fantasy football-smacking-Joc jokes can I make? Well, a lot, but I didn’t feel like it; Luis Garcia, the Rocky III version; Luke Voit — surprising strong peripherals, but kinda yawnstipating, and him and Pham need someone to sign them; Austin Meadows, Jake Fraley, Justin Turner–Seriously, there’s so many interesting names around Edward Olivares, but there’s just not enough time for a sleeper post for all of them, but I will cover them all in rankings. Last year, Edward Olivares went 4/2/.286 in 161 ABs. In his major league career, he has 358 ABs and has hit 12 homers and stolen four bags. *making the Larry David meh face* Hmm, maybe there was a reason Dayton Moore promoted and sent down Olivares once a week as a ritual. Like 9 1/2 Weeks, only instead of rubbing strawberries on Dayton Moore’s lips, he had his assistant rub news clippings of Olivares being sent down. Dated reference? Yes, but also I like the idea of Dayton Moore getting a Google alert and reading about himself in a 9 1/2 Weeks setting, so I will allow it. So, what can we expect from Edward Olivares for 2023 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Psyche! Before we get into the Edward Olivares sleeper post, just wanted to announce that I’ve begun to roll out my 2023 fantasy baseball rankings on our Patreon. Lucky you (if you pay the $10/month). Also, Rudy’s begun to roll out his 2023 fantasy baseball projections. It’s version 1.0 and there’s usually about 4500 versions but just wanted to let you know. Anyway II, the Edward Olivares sleeper:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

CJ Abrams, 2023 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 2, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Featured | 38 Comments

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If you don’t produce immediately, people consider you a bust or at best a “wait and see.” You see it constantly. People loved Andres Gimenez, then he struggled a little and people wrote him off, and now people are on board with what he can do. Right now, people are “waiting and seeing” with Wander Franco, who’s one of the best prospects in recent years. Speaking of great prospects who people are waiting and seeing on, here’s what Prospect Itch said about CJ Abrams, “CJ Abrams might be right there with Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez for top spot across the minors if he’d stayed healthy this year. A 6’2” 185 lb lefty bat, Abrams’s best features are a double-plus hit tool and 80-grade speed. He’s flashed extra base power but his swing isn’t geared for home run power at the highest levels. He’ll still pop his fair share, but you won’t really care if he lives in the 15-range. His batting average and stolen bases alone will put him in early-round conversations at his roto peak, and I’d like to throw Grey off a high peak.” Not cool, man. But look at those names whose company Itch put Abrams — Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez. Now you can either think Itch is crazy or Abrams might not have showed us everything at the age of 21. A year when he got shuffled between the minors and majors and San Diego and Washington. A year when all that was going on, and he still only had a 16.6% strikeout rate. The bat is going to play, and you might be in “wait and see” mode, but I want to draft and see. So, what can we expect from CJ Abrams for 2023 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2023 Top Keepers – Right Fielders

December 31, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 6 Comments

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Happy New Year! As the calendar gets set to flip to 2023, it means we are that much closer to the start of the baseball season once again. Thank goodness for fantasy baseball, otherwise the winter months would really drag on.

This week we are doing one final look at the 2023 Top Keepers by position as we wrap up with right fielders.

The Power Position

Of the three outfield spots, right field produced the most power in 2022 as the average was 21 homers and 75 RBI with 10 steals to go with a .241/.309/.405 slash line. And Aaron Judge didn’t inflate those numbers. Judge actually started more games in center (74) than right (54) this past season and hit 32 homers while playing in center compared to 19 as a right fielder.

Eleven of the Top 30 ranked players below hit 25 or more homers. But the position also has players who can steal bases as 11 players reached double digits in that category in 2022.

Overall, it is a pretty deep position and one of the more experienced positions in my rankings. Of the 30 ranked players, 12 are 30 years old or older. But there is still a lot of great, young talent – players who are going to be great keepers for years.

So let’s get past the small talk and take dive into the 2023 Top Keepers – Right Fielders.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

NFBC Draft Champions Recap: Never Nervous When You Have Mervis

December 30, 2022 | Our Leagues | 50 Comments

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*takes a long inhale* You smell that? No, not your sweatpants you’ve been wearing for the last week. Well, them, but I’m talking about the smell of the 2023 fantasy baseball draft season. So fresh, so clean. So ulcer, so sniped. It’s good to be back to one of the best times of the year. It’s so much better than “Playing your 9th outfielder because everyone is hurt” time of the year. I’ve even begun rolling out my 2023 fantasy baseball rankings on our Patreon. So, me and a bunch of Razzball commenters got together and took part in an NFBC Draft. Will get another draft started prolly around January/February, if you wanna take part, and, of course, Happy New Year (of drafting fantasy baseball)! Anyway, here’s my NFBC 2023 fantasy baseball draft recap; it’s a 15-team, two-catcher, draft and hold league that goes 50 rounds and has no waivers:

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

Toronto Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

December 28, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 32 Comments

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Timing really worked out on this one. This system lost some shine when it shipped out Gabriel Moreno the other day, and to a lesser extent, Jordan Groshans to Miami last season, but neither makes a dent in the long-term build of the organization, which remains impressive from top to bottom. 

1. LHP Ricky Tiedemann | 20 | AA | 2023

At 6’4” 220 lbs with an upper-nineties fastball, Ricky Tiedemann has been bullying batters throughout his baseball life but took it up a notch in 2022, traversing three levels of minor league play (78.2 innings) with 117 strikeouts and a 0.86 WHIP. He was every bit as dominant in 11 Double-A innings (0.82 WHIP) as he had been in 30 Low-A innings (0.80 WHIP). The only real worry here is that he won’t get tested until the majors, but as bugaboos go, that’s a preferable one. He’ll likely need better command, especially off-speed command, to survive big league lineups a couple times through, and he won’t need either of those traits in place to dominate again in the minors. The Jays put him on an aggressive timeline seeking someone to challenge him in 2022 and might do the same this year if they decide he’ll need to develop in the majors anyway. He’ll turn 21 in August and is on track to celebrate that milestone in Toronto. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Great Knoche

15 Team NFBC Gladiator Recap: This Format Is PHAT Like 2022 Russell Crowe

December 27, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 30 Comments

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Well it’s officially draft season here at The Great Knoche household (Sorry, honey). I’m currently drafting a Draft Champions squad with a bunch of Razzballeroos, but also stepped out and tried the new “Gladiator” Format over at NFBC and boy oh boy is this thing something different. It’s PHAT and I’m not talking Pretty Hot […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Tyler O’Neill, 2023 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 26, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Featured | 29 Comments

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This is one of those sleeper posts where I’m fighting with myself not to say one thing the entire time, so I’m going to put it out there up front, and then we don’t need to address it again until the very end when I wrap up the entire post. Tyler O’Neill was hurt last year. May as well just throw out his entire season. He went 14/14/.228 in 334 ABs or 96 games, and *crumbles it up, tosses it in the garbage, claps hands together to indicate all done with that*. Just one of those seasons that occasionally gets a guy and us fantasy baseballers (<–my mom’s term!) to think that’s the new normal. So many examples of this, but one that comes to mind is Mookie Betts. Betts said he was hurting, wasn’t right, had a down 2021, and everyone was like, “Welp, that sucks, Betts is done now forever.” He wasn’t and I don’t think we should make the same mistake with Tyler O’Neill. You know how injury news websites put the injury in parenthesis after a guy’s name? Last year, they could have had Tyler O’Neill (everything). Neck? Check! Hamstring? You betcha! Tyler O’Neill (leg)? (Yes!) Wrist? Indeed! Hamstring again? Ha, you’re catching on now. And, p to the erhaps, the worst for a hitter, shoulder. The shoulder is actually the only one I’m still worried about, because those injuries tend to linger, but that was one of his first injuries of the 40 some-odd day-to-day injuries he encountered last year, and he returned from the shoulder injury, so I think we’re fine. Take all of those injuries, and a slump that he couldn’t shake because of rust, and, seriously, crumble them up and Kobe it into the nearest garbage can. So, what can we expect from Tyler O’Neill for 2023 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2023 Top Keepers – Center Fielders

December 24, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 18 Comments

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Need a nice warm and fuzzy feeling to cheer you up if you are trying to avoid the frigid temperatures outside? How about this – Opening Day is less than 100 days away!

As many of us are waiting for Opening Day and to unwrap gifts and spend time with family, here is an early fantasy baseball present the continuation of our look at the best fantasy keepers by position. This week it is the 2023 Best Keepers – Center Fielders.

The stereotype for center fielders over the years has been a player who doesn’t hit for power but will have a good slash line and steal bases for you. While sometimes stereotypes are incorrect, this one seems to straddle the fence. Let’s look at what the average left fielder, center fielder and right fielder produced at the plate in 2022:

LF: .250/.322/.403 19 homers, 72 RBI, 10 steals
CF: .237/.303/.385 18 homers, 65 RBI, 14 steals
RF: .241/.309/.385 21 homers, 75 RBI, 10 steals

What’s Out There?

In 2022, center fielders as a whole hit less homers and drove in fewer runs than corner outfielders. And they weren’t as good at the plate when it came to their slash line. So the stereotype of being better hitters didn’t prove to be correct. But at least the speed part did. The fact center fielders stole more bases makes sense considering the speed they need to play the position should carry over onto the base paths.

The power numbers are actually somewhat inflated thanks to Aaron Judge playing a chunk of games in center for the Yankees. Judge will likely see more time back in right field in 2023, leaving a possible power void at this position in 2024 outside of Mike Trout and a few other players.

Finding a center fielder who can give you some steals is somewhat easy. Finding the center fielder who can provide consistent power is much harder to find outside of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 players.

But enough of the small talk. Let’s take a look at the 2023 Top Keepers – Center Fielders.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Position Eligibility for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

December 23, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy, Featured | 57 Comments

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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 Swedish to English to figure out how this cabinet’s door stays on the hinges, when it’s clearly not flush no matter how many times you unscrew it and re-screw it back in. What is wrong with this stupid screw, and now it’s stripped?! Oh, c’mon! Then the screw gets middle infield eligibility, but the cabinet’s directions were used as a coaster, and the coffee stain is covering the exact part I need! Or maybe that’s just me.

So, the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings are almost entirely on our Patreon, free of charge plus ten dollars. I’ll be releasing the rankings to the non-payers in roughly three weeks from Monday. In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2023 fantasy baseball season. I did this list of multi-position eligible players because I figured it would help for your 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. I’m a giver, snitches! Happy Holidays! Seriously, be safe and well out there and don’t get run over by any Christmas sleighs. or non-denominational sleighs. They’re the worst!

Please, blog, may I have some more?