Son

One Man’s Trash: What Is Wong With Kolten?

April 14, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball | 6 Comments

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Anytime I can write and talk about a fellow Asian baseball player in MLB, the two miniscule hairs on my arms perk up. So, Steven Kwan it was supposed to be, but he’s the toast of the town and there will be thousands of articles written about him. He is Grey’s new Asian boy toy. Did you know that Grey has an Asian fetish? There’s Jay, me, and BDon. So, as much as I wanted to espouse about the Kwan, that is not my role at Razzball. As Jesus took in the lepers and poor, I dumpster dive into the trash and write up the stinky, shitty, and scraps in the fantasy baseball streets. This is why I get paid the big bucks. Kolten Wong is on a number of my teams. Was he ever going to be a league winner? Niet but double-digit home runs and steals were expected with decent plate discipline numbers. So far in 2022, he’s been awful, going 3-for-21 with five strikeouts. As a result, he’s been dropped by 8.4% of teams in ESPN leagues. So, this begs the question? What has been so Wong with Kolten?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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# MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 8/5
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C.A. James

Avoiding the Blurbstomp – The Early Drop Gets the L

April 14, 2022 | Avoiding the Blurbstomp | 2 Comments

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The blurbs have a lot to offer in the early going of a given fantasy season. A ton of players get micro-levels of attention at this point, and you must zoom out like me hate-quitting a video conference to remember that we drafted a team of players we like. Stick with that team. Let it accumulate a significant girth of numbers. Give your hitters at least 100 at-bats to normalize, and know that you should probably wait for 150 at-bats. Well, let me tell you a fable.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Butters

Points Leagues: Going, Going…Kwan

April 14, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 4 Comments

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Does it make you cry when you make the wrong choice for your fantasy team? Have you considered just being better? That’s the Steven Kwan method and its been working out pretty well for him (and his fantasy managers) so far. As Grey and B_Don so astutely brought up on the podcast, Kwan is a Michael Brantley type player. He won’t blow you away with power or speed, but he makes contact at a rate that we really don’t see that often in today’s game. That also makes him a points league hero. I told you to grab him last week and he’s been the real deal. I can’t take all the credit of course, RazzballHQ has has had his bronze bust up for months. He finally struck out today, so now is your chance to buy. All kidding aside, there will be a rough patch as pitchers and catchers get more tape on him, but he will be a guy you want  on your roster. His performance has been so awesome that his AL Rookie of the Year odds have shifted to +600 (third best) all the way up from +5000. If your league still hasn’t caught on to what he’s doing, scoop him ASAP. If he’s already on a roster, take a peek at the guys below who have gotten off to a strong start.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Hobbs

Collegiate Corner: Three Midseason Risers to Target

April 14, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 1 Comment

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With eight and a half weeks of the college baseball season in the books, we are officially past the midpoint of the regular season. An everyday position player should have roughly 130 at bats or so under his belt, which is where pants are located, meaning said player is now wearing approximately 650 pitches as slacks. Depending on how many holes are in that swing, that may or may not be family-friendly attire. Transitioning to the mound, a healthy weekend starter should be coming off his eighth start of the year. That’s enough data to begin moving prospects up and down the rankings, especially those who opened the season outside of our Preseason Top 25 College Prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft and are now firmly in that conversation — if not written into it with a big, fat, smelly Sharpie that makes Billy, your asthmatic friend from second grade, have to take yet another trip to the nurse’s office. The first of the three players I’ll discuss today falls into the latter category, while the second prospect is on the brink. The third has yet to sniff that territory, but that’s a matter of draft leverage more than it is a reflection on his pure talent level. All three emerging college prospects will make their Razzball debuts in this week’s Collegiate Corner, and I urge you to follow up with the analysis in the comments section. Grab some fresh pants, tighten your belt buckles, grab a Sharpie and a clothespin for Billy’s nose, and let’s get to it.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

CK0

April 14, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Featured | 430 Comments

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”988453″ player=”13959″ title=”BSH%20Week2″ duration=”163″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2022-04-07″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/988453_th_1649400735.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/988453.mp4″]

The left side of the mouth:

“Due to a pitch count of 80, Clayton Kershaw would not get a perfect game, but he would become the perfect symbol of his generation. Babied to the point where pitchers can no longer throw, they ‘pitch’ — whatever that means! When did we, as a society, get to the point where a pitcher can’t throw the ball? A participation perfect game, that’s what Clayton Kershaw got yesterday.”

The right side of the mouth:

“Clayton Kershaw has been battling injuries for years. His last year was cut short, due to injuries. He couldn’t pitch much in the preseason, because of the lockout and this was his first start of the year. Who cares about a perfect game? This is about keeping Clayton Kershaw healthy for as many innings as possible.”

The left side of the mouth:

“You’re a sissy.”

The right side of the mouth:

“What are you talking about? We’re just different sides of the same mouth!”

So, Clayton Kershaw (7 IP, 0 ER, 0 baserunners, 13 Ks) threw seven perfect innings, and nothing about him has changed since my preseason thoughts on him. He could be fantastic, but not even for a 9-inning game, let alone a full season. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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

Prospect News: Yonny Hernandez or Atlanta’s Quest for the Elder Wand

April 13, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 36 Comments

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Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder brings the magic like he stole some old wizard’s wand. His name is fitting in that he pitches like a wily vet and I feel like he has a lot to teach me. He was the first man off my faab run in week 1 of the Highlander Dynasty Invitational. Took Yonny Hernandez with the last claim spot. The raw math of the settings suggested Yonny was the better piece as a newly molted Diamondback in Arizona. I was more afraid to miss him, I guess, is what it comes down to. If Yonny comes up and takes that third base job, he’s an instant stolen base source with big upside. I realize I’m making my excuses here anyway now. Sorry about that. Also, I was traveling. On the road all weekend. Sparse internet signal. Funny thing is, I had sort-of binge-watched some Elder starts last week, and I really liked him. He’s not a shallow league piece, probably, at least not in the short term, but he can manage a game. April can be a kind month to the game managers of the pitching world. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
JTells

Top 20 Third Baseman Rankings For 2022 Fantasy Baseball

April 13, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball | 11 Comments

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TOP DOGS

1. Jose Ramirez  Guardians  No Suprise Here as Ramirez has shown out of the gate he still has great plate discipline and has never seen a fastball he didn’t like. You would like to see a little more hard contact but it’s super early and Ramirez will get into one of his grooves and drafters will once again be happy he is on your squad.

2. Rafael Devers Red Sox  Devers has hits in all of his games so far and has popped one out of the park in his 1st game of the season.              Another elite hitter who will find his groove shortly.  Whiff% and Chase Rate are a little higher than we would like to see but no worries here as another great season awaits from Mr. Devers.

3. Austin Riley Braves Riley is squaring up the baseball so far and is showing at least out of the gate he can sustain the lofty totals that he            acquired last season. His WOBA is .427 which is about 100 points above his average so yes it will come down and you will have to deal with the occasional 3 K out day like yesterday against the Nationals for example but the ride will be worth it.

4. Nolan Arenado Cardinals Facing the likes of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff will give all power hitters a boost in their numbers it            looks like this season but Arenado torched the Pirate staff this past weekend and is off to a hot start. 2 HR out to left field and a few doubles to boot Arenado looks really good so far and drafters are reaping the rewards early on.

5. Manny Machado Padres No barreled up baseballs yet out of 14 batted balls but Manny is hitting the ball well and is just getting a little            unlucky on some of his at-bats. He will come around eventually but definitely misses Tatis Jr. in the lineup and you can expect an uptick in his production when that happens.

SOLID PROS

6. Alex Bregman Astros Whoa, nice start from Bregman here, has only struck out one time in 14 plate appearances and has hit 2 HR               already. He’s a little tough to root for unless you are a die hard “Space City” fan but if he’s on your fantasy team who cares. I like the start so far and he could break the top 5 if he keeps it up.

7. Kris Bryant Rockies

8. Justin Turner Dodgers 

9. Anthony Rendon Angels

10. Matt Chapman Blue Jays Chapman had a nice 3 run blast the other day against the Rangers. He has struck out 8 out of 16 plate                 appearances so that isn’t great but it will even out and Chapman should do his thing and hit 30 HR just with that low average we kinda cringe  at thinking about.

STUCK IN MIDDLE

11. KeBryan Hayes Pirates Nice start to the season for Hayes as he worked out a minor injury in his 1st game to come back and get 4 hits      in 3 games over the weekend and they were nice hard hit balls for the most part. Wouldn’t be surprised if he settles in the 7-9 range shortly.

12. Josh Donaldson Yankees

13. Adalberto Mondesi Royals Well at least owners of Mondesi know he can at least steal a base as he did on Sunday. Not much else to see    here as it could be a rough year awaiting him.

14. D.J. Lemahieu Yankees Bad News 1 for 10 start for D.J. and is not playing every day. Good News is he has had some hard hit balls so        far they just have found the opponents glove. I think he will be ok in the long run but if we are depending on him producing like he did two  seasons ago I think that train has left the station.

15. Ryan McMahon Rockies

 HAZY FUTURE 

16. Jeimer Candelario Tigers Not a great start from the Candy Man but has driven in two runs so that’s been nice to see. Has only struck out twice so that’s a positive. I think there is more to see and the Tigers look good so far and that’s usually contagious.

17. Eduardo Escobar Mets

18. Gio Urshela Twins Gio had a great looking HR against the Mariners in the Twins 1st game where he had to lunge at the baseball and was able to get enough to hit it out to LF. Good Sign there just depends if he’s going to be in the lineup every day to be useful and provide enough for you to keep him in your lineup. You could do worse at your CI spot in your lineup.

19. Alec Bohm Phillies Well the man who hates the place he plays in has actually hit the ball pretty decent but it’s his defense that is getting the most of the unwanted attention. I think the Phillies probably move him at some point but in the mean time they keep trotting him out most of the time to get some exposure to other teams that may be interested. Still has some good attributes so not giving up on him just yet.

20. Joey Wendle Rays

Honorable Mention

Josh Harrison White Sox Luis Urias Brewers (Injured) Yoan Moncada White Sox (Injured)

 

 

 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Brash Monkeys Those Funky Pale Hose

April 13, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Featured | 415 Comments

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”988453″ player=”13959″ title=”BSH%20Week2″ duration=”163″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2022-04-07″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/988453_th_1649400735.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/988453.mp4″]

Dropping 98 MPH 4-seamers, maxing out at 99 MPH, with a bye-bye 82-87 MPH knuckle curve with a 3100 spin rate that has 48-inches of break, followed by “Oh, okay, that was a change, okay, I see what you did there” as the batter swings and misses. Is the answer to, “Are we sure Matt Brash is real?” Oh, he looked very real. Really real. My favorite sequence was right after giving up his first run, he got Tim Anderson on five pitches and only had to throw one fastball, which was taken for a ball. His final line was 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners (1 walk), 6 Ks, and, as good as that looks, he looked better. Not convinced there won’t be some roofies here and there. I could see him going against a club with a better feel for his pitches, and just laying off, because there were a few times when I was like, “Has he thrown a strike at all this at-bat?” After seeing him, I can also answer the question, “Would I pick him up?” With a strong affirmative, i.e., the mustache must Brash. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?