malamoney

Points Leagues: Hitter Rankings Beta Version

February 14, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 7 Comments

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Picture this. I’m sitting in my daughter’s pink Yogibo Pod X watching the Super Bowl when I hear a beeping noise coming from the kitchen. For those wondering what the hell a Yogibo Pod X is, it’s just a fancy term for a bean bag chair that costs more than two hundred dollars. I jumped up as quick as a 45 year old guy that’s been pregaming for the big game all day could, as I figured the beeping was my state of the art home alarm system. Never know who might be snooping in my windows trying to catch a glimpse of my 2022 points league early rankings. However, when I got to the alarm panel, I found all zones solid green. Figuring it must have been one of my daughter’s toys, I went back and parked my ass back in the expensive bean bag chair and continued watching the game as I worked on my rankings.

A few minutes later, shortly after Odell Beckham Jr. injured his knee, I heard the beeping noise again. What in the world is that I thought. I needed another drink so I decided to head into the kitchen to investigate. As I grabbed another Twisted Tea from the fridge I heard the beeping for a third time. To my surprise it was coming from the junk drawer. I hadn’t been in that drawer in forever. Intrigued, I opened the drawer and couldn’t believe what I found. My clear blue Motorola pager was actually going off. I haven’t been beeped since before Eminem signed with Dr. Dre! Who in the world could be beeping me? I couldn’t wait to find out. I grabbed my cell and dialed the number.

“I got beeped from this number,” I said when they answered the phone. “malamoney, it’s Grey. We need some points league rankings as soon as possible,” said Grey. “You got it,” I replied as I hung up the phone. Now listen, I knew Grey was awesome, but I had no idea he was “I’ll beep you in 2022” awesome. I have no idea how long I’ve been writing for Razzball, but I’m happy to be back. MLB lockout aside, it’s about that time that I start preparing for my points leagues, and as I do, I’m always happy to share my findings with all of you Razzball-lites. Or is it Razzballians? I did participate in a head-to-head mock draft with the experts over at CBS last week and I will be sharing the results of that soon.

In the meantime, consider the following my initial attempt to put together points league rankings for 2022. These are going to change a bit over the next few weeks as I continue to dive deeper, but for now, here’s where I’m at.

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 | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | MIA | OAK
B_Don

The Not Not News Podcast Ep. 85: “I’m Sorry. Who is Donkey Teeth?”

February 14, 2022 | Razzball Podcast |

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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 Billy Hurley, Grey Albright, and B_Don standing in as host for Donkey Teeth. We start […]

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

Top 25 Outfield Prospects For Dynasty Fantasy Baseball in 2022

February 13, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 38 Comments

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A few years ago, I joined a CBS dynasty league in motion one year after it had begun. The team owner quit mid-April after some sort of rules dispute. My entry fee was paid. I started trading. I cannot remember all the moves because I am an incrementalist on the market, for the most part. I do remember trading Yu Darvish and more for a High-A hitter named Juan Soto, which made someone else quit the league, so foolish was I to have done so. Soto got promoted to AA shortly after that, played eight games there, then jumped to the major leagues. 

This is not what I came here to discuss, but it’s hard for me to think about that league without rolling through its gruesome history. I joined in 2018, won the league in 2019, and it dissolved before 2020. I loved the team I’d built there by buying early on Soto and Tatis (two of my first three trades). 2021 would have been a blast. But I gained a ton from that league. I know to pump the brakes sometimes if my play style is tilting a league, for one thing. But most importantly, I learned the value of collecting impact outfielders. When I looked around to add speed or outfield help, I always came back to the same team because they had all the upside. Their minor league system was just outfielders with some shortstops sprinkled in. Every single guy had speed. And I learned something: Power/speed combo outfielders are a finite resource. 

No shit, right? Well, if we have a look around the prospect lists, we’ll find corner bats everywhere. Speed-free profiles are everywhere. Pitchers and catchers are everywhere. I’m not saying they have no place; I’m just saying it’s easy to wind up with a team peppered with all sorts of players. Might even be preferable. Not so easy to hold ten of the best power-speed outfield prospects at a given time. If you can pull that off, you’ll be on the rich-folks side of the supply/demand curve. Thus far, I’ve found the strategy a bit less profitable in practice than in theory because the people who aren’t focused on speed tend to want it cheap, and the people who collect speed already have enough to get by. That’s fine though. I’ve been running away with the stolen bases category in my four dynasty leagues for years now, and I’ve cashed in all four, so even if I’m not regularly charging rent on Boardwalk anytime someone wants stolen bases, I’m ringing the register in other ways. 

That intro got long in a hurry. Always dangerous when a writer veers anywhere near their own leagues, I think, but here’s hoping we came through it okay and that it made connective sense to the focus point today: Outfielders: What do they steal? Do they steal things? Let’s find out.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jeremy Brewer

Hitter Profiles: Rapid Fire ADP Wars – Outfielder Edition

February 12, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball | 5 Comments

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Each week our Hitter Profiles dig into two to three players and what we can expect for the 2022 Fantasy Baseball Season.  This week, we will divert from the previously scheduled program and look to hit some rapid-fire decisions.  Think of this as that league where the commissioner has better things to do and sets the draft clock to twenty seconds per pick.  Come to think of that, I would not be surprised if that was in the next collective bargaining agreement offer from MLB that is due today.  So, in the spirit of all things Rob Manfred, let us jump into the outfield and look at four groups of players starting on the west coast with two outfielders going in opposite directions with Cody Bellinger and Mitch Haniger.

Cody Bellinger (ADP 99) vs. Mitch Haniger (ADP 109)

Which line would you rather take:

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

Rolling In The Deep: Get ‘Em While They’re Cold

February 11, 2022 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Rolling In The Deep | 2 Comments

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Last week we chatted about players whose ADP has been rising over the last few weeks and months as more drafts take place while we (hopefully?) inch closer to the start of the season. This week it’s time to look at guys who I think could have big jumps up the ADP ranks once we finally are released from our collective news-free bubble where we don’t get to hear about free agent signings, trades, or even so much as a “reported to spring in the best shape of his life” declaration to help guide our draft preparation. We’ll keep it on the deep side as I’ll only be talking about players whose current NFBC ADP over the last two weeks is outside of the top 300. Everyone wants a late bargain or three in their drafts and auctions – and it’s possible that the next few weeks could be the last chance we have to feel like we’ve gotten a bargain on some of the following players.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Fantasy Baseball War Room, 2022 Edition

February 11, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 56 Comments

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The Fantasy Baseball War Room is dead. *pouring out some Olde English* Crinkum-crankum, fandangle, fishwife, handmaid…Um, carriage? Okay, I’m all out of Olde English. Figure out some old words on your own! Yes, the Fantasy Baseball War Room is no more. Wait…*finger to earbud* I’m hearing some good news…

Long live the Fantasy Baseball War Room! Long live the Fantasy Baseball War Room! Long live *coughs, falls over into a hedge* Yelling from the middle of the hedge, “I’m okay, just got too excited. Hey, could someone help me up?”

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Hobbs

Top 20 College Prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft

February 10, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 3 Comments

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Ahh!!! Hobbs doesn’t have any arms!!! They must have been chopped off by one of the local youths’ high-powered drones! Wait, wait, wait. Slow down there, partner. Even though only one arm made the top 10 and only two snuck into the top 14, that doesn’t mean I’m completely armless. After all, I did book a finger-modeling gig just yesterday, and I’m writing today’s top-20 college prospects piece with not one, but TWO upper body appendages, so take that! While it is true that only three pitchers cracked the top 15, three of the five spots in the 16-20 range are filled by college hurlers. With that, there are also two right-handed bats after just three cracked the top 15. Long story short: As we trudge deeper into the 2022 college draft class, the prospect talent is beginning to become more multidimensional, which is what front offices and fantasy owners alike love to see. By the end of this post, you’ll be far more educated for your first-year player drafts, and I’ll be found on a nearby sidewalk corner with five juggling arms making $17 an hour as a street performer. Here are the top 20, with the No. 16 spot being one of the players with the highest upside in the entire class.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Top 500 for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

February 10, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 62 Comments

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Four score and seventeen-hundred rankings posts ago, my Fordfathers said, “Stop calling us Fordfathers, you idiot, it’s forefathers.” In order to form a more perfect fantasy baseball ranking system, we stopped ranking for fantasy baseball and simply said, “Eff it, let’s just let Grey rank 500 or so Mr. So-and-So’s.” Or, more succinctly, the top 500 for 2022 fantasy baseball. A few years ago, the top 500 was only a top 300 for fantasy baseball. Before that, it was 16 AD and I was drafting in one-person leagues because no one knew fantasy baseball or baseball. In a few years from now, this is going to be a top 10,000 and I’m going to be ranking Ronald Acuña Jr. Jr. Jr. Today, in this year, Twenty-Two after Twenty, comes the top 500 for 2022 fantasy baseball. Or as I like to call it, “Did he really rank Mr. So-and-So before Mr. So-and-So Jr.?” If Mr. So-and-So Jr. would stop chasing pitches in the dirt, I might’ve ranked him in front of Mr. So-and-So. This post isn’t meant to send shockwaves through your system. The pipe cleaner that the doctor uses to get the clogged wax from your ears is meant for that. This is simply to give you an idea of where guys are ranked in relation to other positions, i.e., you know I like Ketel Marte better than Brandon Lowe, according to the top 20 2nd basemen, but do I like Ketel Marte better than Starling Marte or anyone else in the Marte family? Okay, it’s not that simple. You should read the blurbs for all players, but this top 500 should give you an idea. You’ll notice after the top 200, positions start to get clumped together. I might be the only fantasy baseball ‘pert to tell you this, but it doesn’t matter where, say, Vidal Brujan is ranked vs. Camilo Doval. If you need saves, Brujan isn’t going to help you. He can be ranked 50 spots in front of Doval and it doesn’t matter. That’s why I have the 2022 fantasy baseball rankings broken down by positions. If you need a 1st baseman, where Bobby Dalbec vs. Ty France matters, but where Dalbec is ranked vs. Nate Pearson really doesn’t matter. Also, there’s no comments about players in this top 500, which you really should know prior to drafting. In other words, Shane Bieber might be in the 60s overall, but am I drafting him? Well, you’d know if you read my top 20 for 2022 fantasy baseball.  There’s also a top 100 for 2022 fantasy baseball to help you. Also, there’s our online War Room, which is downloadable, and it comes free with Razzball Subscriptions.

Also, where I had omitted the free agent projections previously, here I filled them in because, well, it was getting confusing for me with open spaces. All free agents’ projections are based on neutral parks or best guesstimates where they will end up, i.e., guys I think will end up in the closer role get saves projections. Oh, yeah, there’s closer projections here, too. Anyway, here’s the top 500 for 2022 fantasy baseball:

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

Top 50 Shortstop Prospects For Dynasty Fantasy Baseball in 2022

February 9, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 30 Comments

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Some of these guys will have to move off the position, either because they’re blocked by a star-level regular or because they lack the hyper-elite twitch, reflexes, hands and arm required to make it as a big league shortstop, but for the most part, these guys will man their middle infields for the next decade or so. Some dynasty league veterans build minor league rosters populated almost exclusively by shortstops and outfielders. Solid plan, really. Shortstop might be the game’s deepest position at the moment, and it’s only getting deeper. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Top 100 for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

February 9, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 86 Comments

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Hello, all you brave, courageous, adventure-seekers, you’ve found the wrong website. This is fantasy baseball, not fantasy role playing, unless it’s fantasy roll-playing and this is Stratomatic, but that’s still not right. Still, fantasy baseball. Good, now that we got rid of all those people wearing fedoras and shopping from the Indiana Jones collection at Eddie Bauer, we can get down to the bidness. The Auction value bidness? Not quite, but you can find all auction values in Rudy’s rankings — one example, 12-team mixed league auction values. This is a top 100 for 2022 fantasy baseball. Let’s do this!

One word about this top 100 for 2022 fantasy baseball, before I give you another 5,000 words. I’m going to avoid repeating myself from the position rankings in the 2022 fantasy baseball rankings. If you want to know my in-depth feelings about a player, then you need to go to his positional page, i.e., the top 20 1st basemen for 2022 fantasy baseball, the top 20 outfielders for 2022 fantasy baseball, the top 20 Patterns In Queso That Look Like Messages From Another Planet for 2022– Okay, but I almost got you. This post is meant to give you an idea where guys from different positions are in relation to each other. Since this post is only the top 100, there’s more players where this came from. 448 more, to be very exact. Next up, there will be a top 500 that will go to 551. Then, after that, there will be a top 7,500 that will go to 8,602, then a top 25,000 that will go to 28,765, then a top 600,000 that will go to 892,121, until we end up with a top kajillion in April that will go to a kajillion and one. Or maybe I’ll stop at the top 500. Yeah, that makes sense. Not to get all biblical on you, but this is the gospel. Print it out and take it to Mt. Sinai and it will say, “Win your 2022 fantasy baseball league, young prematurely balding man.” Projections were done by me and a crack team of 100 monkeys fighting amongst themselves because there were only 99 typewriters. Somebody please buy Ling-Ling his own typewriter! Razzball Subscriptions are also now open, which include the Fantasy Baseball War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 100 for 2022 fantasy baseball:

NOTE: All 2022 fantasy baseball projections are based on a 162-game season, and will be until we hear definitively there will be less games, due to the CBA. Also, I’m going on the assumption the NL is getting the DH.

NOTE II: We’re giving away 10 spots to RazzSlam for subscribers to Patreon. Compete against ‘perts from Yahoo, Rotoworld, FanGraphs, and all Razzball writers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?