Even though I’m not a big fan of bold statements, I’m going to make a few of my own. I mean let’s be honest, a bold statement post is really just an opportunity for a writer to openly share their gut instincts in a protected environment. Bold predictions are what we want to say, but […]
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.
Good day, Fellow Razzballers, I’m Scar – the newest Razzball writer. I’m glad baseball is back and Spring Training is upon us! I figured I’d start things off by ranking shortstops. Next week I’ll do a preseason ranking of second basemen, and we’ll take things from there. Fantasy baseball is kind of like chess strategy. […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Attention Razzballers! The Not Not News Podcast is now available 100% free of charge! Subscribe to the Not Not New Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. It’s your favorite hour of the week! The Not Not News is back with all the Billy Hurley jokes and Grey Albright cackles you […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?*takes long inhale* You smell that? It’s the glorious smell of actual baseball trades mixed with the mold in your mother’s basement! So, the Twins have more irons in the fire than Tigers Woods’s chimney. Since the Sonny Gray deal was self-contained, let’s start there. Sonny Gray was traded to the Twins. Reds have been rebuilding since their last playoff series win in 1995. “This mean Greene?” asks me and Dr. Seuss. First off (after that negging of the Reds), good on the Twins. Gray (him not me) was at the bottom of his perceived value last year after an unlucky year, and, well, you can read about all that at the top 60 starters for 2022 fantasy baseball. All that was standing between him and an uptick in value was less homers allowed, so what better place than the Hubert H. Homerfree Dome? Kinda bummed I haven’t drafted Gray in multiple leagues already. Where’s the self-love?! As for Hunter Greene, moved him up in top 100 starters for 2022 fantasy baseball, and updated the pitchers pairings tool. Didn’t change his projections because still don’t know how many innings he can throw, but he’s in good shape to see the rotation in the landmark case of sooner vs. later.
Then the busy Twins, sent Mitch Garver to the Rangers for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, more on him in a few. The Rangers just need to make deals, whether they’re good for them or not. During the lockout, the Rangers were pulling on their collar, sweating, screaming, “I need to make a deal, man!” They’re like Pookie from New Jack City and their crack pipe is MLB roster moves. Someone needs an intervention, and that someone’s name is Texas Rangers. Not to mention, I understand Israeli Diner-Falafel is less than desirable for fantasy, but he actually made sense on the Rangers. Have the Rangers heard they lost Josh Jung? The Rangers are like a team that doesn’t draft a 3rd baseman for 15 rounds, saying, “3rd base is deep.” At least if the Rangers were going to send away Israeli Diner-Falafel, they could’ve got back Elijah Colavito-Tabouli. With the trade for Mitch Garver, the Rangers realized Jonah Heim was Superbad. Jonah Heim was removed from the 2022 fantasy baseball rankings — Hey, Jonah Heim, Don’t Look Up your name in the rankings! The top 20 catchers for 2022 fantasy baseball was updated for Mitch Garver (due to a better lineup and worse catcher behind him). That rankings post was also briefly updated for Ryan Jeffers, but the Twins weren’t done.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Baseball is back!
After months of shaking our heads and gnashing our teeth, the stars and the planets finally aligned, allowing the owners to begrudgingly open their wallets and end the lockout. We have to wait a little longer for the season to start, but Opening Day is less than a month away and we will still get to have a full 162-game season.
All is right with the world now (except for everything else that is going wrong with the world right now. But let’s not worry about that. We’re here to talk baseball!)
So now what?
Perhaps the league(s) you play in were on hold during the strikeout just as the players were. Just as MLB free agents are scrambling to find jobs with a team, you may now be scrambling to get ready for your upcoming draft. But don’t fret, you’ve been (hopefully) getting your draft strategy secured and trying to figure out who should go where in every round.
The thing about rankings…
When it comes to ranking anything, there is always a bias. Grey may not like Jack Flaherty (Fantasy Outlook For 2022) as much as I do, but since these are my rankings, I am right and he is wrong. My friend last year said I reached for Robbie Ray. Guess who had the last laugh. My rankings also reflect my bias in that I like hitters more and young players more than old players as I want to build a team that will win for years. But you may want to load up on the top veteran players on the board and then try to snag up-and-coming youngsters on the backend of the draft.
That is a valid approach to building a dynasty team. But for now, I am assuming you are building your dynasty team from the ground up and want as many of the top, young players as possible.
So, let’s get to the rankings.
Please, blog, may I have some more?When mapping out this year’s Top 100, I found myself getting caught up in the layout. I’ve tried a few different ways to skin this cat, and I think my favorite so far was my first: Top 25 Prospects for 2020 Fantasy Baseball.
It was simple, sleek, easy to see, easy to scroll, and it was built in tiers, which feels like a realistic lens through which to view these players. You can argue that Bobby Witt Jr. is definitively a better prospect than Julio Rodriguez if you want to, or vice versa, but if you get offered one for the other in a trade, you might freeze up like me pondering the layout of this article. The differences are real, certainly, but they’re more aesthetic and subjective than anything like objective truth. It’s a difference in type or style more than a difference of quality.
I’ll try to stay concise in between the tiers here, but you can access a more in-depth consideration of each individual player by clicking on their names or skimming around in the 2022 Minor League Preview Index.
Drumroll please and away we go!
Please, blog, may I have some more?As we near an opening day that felt like it may never come, the prospect watch has started in earnest. We now watch Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Riley Greene and many more in their bid to become the next Fernando Tatis Jr. While the excitement of the young upstart slugger is always enticing, more often […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Twelve fantasy writers in one league and you thought we weren’t going to take this opportunity to hear ourselves talk (type)? Well, then you thought wrong! We’re all loaded with hot taeks! This isn’t the ‘Perts League that Grey hosts, this is just anyone that writes for Razzball and wanted to join the Razzball Commenter […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Greetings Children of The Razz, Nothing important happened this week. So let’s jump in to the first base fantasy baseball injury outlook. PSYCH! BASEBALL IS BACK, BABY. Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed chatting with all of you and learning about your sentiments and opinions on the MLB Lockout. Please don’t be a […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?What it do, Razzballers! Praise be!! The lockout has been lifted! After weeks of nothing, not even freakin’ pictures of players, we’ll have Spring Training games in a week. It’s kinda bonkers to think about. What I wanted to highlight this week on the bullpen front were potential situations where Spring Training could impact who […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Happy Day-After-New-CBA Day! I wrote everything below on Wednesday, and am writing this paragraph an hour or so after the CBA announcement, and I absolutely can’t wait for all of the free agent news and signings that are coming our way. In the meantime, it’s time to kick March Madness into full gear, and by […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?*takes flight to Nepal, goes sherpa shopping, finds one that I like, but hears it’s sold out, lowers head, then finds out there happens to one more of the sherpas I want in the back, smiles wide, follows the best sherpa in the world up the side of Mt. Everest, reaches the apex, looks around, and screams*
LET’SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS F*********************** GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Sherpa sticks out hand for payment. Me patting pockets, “Do you take Venmo?”
MLB lockout is over. Can I get an amen? Can I get some amen in stirrups?
MLB lockout comes to the end can I get a WOO? pic.twitter.com/WL4RUB9Uc9
— Razzball (@Razzball) March 10, 2022
So, Opening Day is April 7th, and Spring Training will begin on March 13th. Hey, that’s in two days. I better hurry up! By the time you read this, there might be a flurry of free agent moves. Free agents better flurry up! How long do we have to wait to hear Carlos Correa to the Pirates. Dot dot dot. To help move Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Rays for Brett Phillips and cash considerations.
Please, blog, may I have some more?