Grey

Sean Manaea, 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 3, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 47 Comments

by:

Let’s start here:

Not sure why it’s so visually pleasing to watch a pitcher strikeout guys, but, mah gawd, I could watch that all day and twice on Muesday, the magical day that Narnia’s itself between Monday and Tuesday. So, Sean Manaea, the real-life Girl Scout cookie–*intern whispers in ear*…not Samoan as in the cookie? Okay, will be researching that further. But he’s more of a snack than Lars Nootbaar. *intern walks away* Are you quitting? But who’s going to toss boba into my mouth from ten feet away so I can yell, “Score?” Sean Manaea throws three pitches a sinker (60%), a change (24.4%) and a curve (15.6%). His basic numbers were 11-10/3.91/1.23/194 in 179 1/3 IP. Solid 9.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9, but overall kinda yawnstipating. What are we even doing here? I need flash! I need intrigue! I need spice! But not turmeric, because that shizz stains everything. I’m sorry, I love you yellowy spice, but my pots and pans look like my dog, Ted, urinated on them! So, what can we expect from Sean Manaea for 2022 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Psyche! Before we get into the Sean Manaea sleeper post, just wanted to announce that I’ve finished my 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and they’re all available on our Patreon. Anyway II, the Sean Manaea sleeper:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!

The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.

I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!

Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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 | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | OAK
The Itch

Houston Astros Top 10 Prospects for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

January 2, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 21 Comments

by:

Nobody beats the book like Houston. Their prospect lists require close-reading and separate buckets of research because you don’t want to miss Jose Urquidy or Luis Garcia if you don’t have to. Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick both popped from relative obscurity onto fantasy baseball rosters in 2021, and that looks like the way it’s going to go with Astros’ prospects. I don’t know what it is that keeps their guys underrated in general. I guess losing the picks to the cheating scandal didn’t help, nor did the cheating scandal (though it would be pretty hard to argue that it didn’t HELP help in a macro sense). Doesn’t matter for our purposes. The Astros have proven they can teach hitting with buzzers or without. Although they’re not highly ranked around the chamber, and spots are at a premium on the big league roster right now, this list has some of my favorite sleepers for near-term fantasy value, especially at the top. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Jordan Montgomery, 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 31, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 39 Comments

by:

As I said in the Gleyber Torres sleeper, calling Yankees sleepers is already a thin ice proposition. Who doesn’t know the Fawkees, dawg? They’re like covered by ESPN morning, noon and night, when ESPN is covering baseball, which is a bit more than badminton but way less than every other major sport. ESPN sees woman’s volleyball engagement on IG and is like, “Let’s spike our baseball coverage! High five me on the pun!” That’s someone in Bristol. Or maybe it’s because the Yankees had such an underperforming year in 21 after 20, but I’m finding some value this year in Yankees bats and arms, which brings us to Jordan Montgomery. I ain’t no JoMo, but I love what I’m seeing with this guy. Last year, he went 6-7/3.83/1.28/162 in 157 1/3 IP and had a 9.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. Wait a minute, I went full hot-and-heavy on that? Kinda bleh, Previous Sentence Grey, kinda bleh. I hear ya, Current Sentence Grey, but you’re gonna wanna pay attention, because this guy is so close to tipping off into top 10 starter range. Like a horny set of conjoined male twins, I feel it in my bones! So, what can we expect from Jordan Montgomery for 2022 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Psyche! Before we get into the Jordan Montgomery sleeper post, just wanted to announce that I’ve finished my 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and they’re all available on our Patreon. Oh, and Happy New Year! Anyway II, the Jordan Montgomery sleeper:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Dylan Cease, 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 30, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 54 Comments

by:

Not sure if I’ve said this recently. Oh, I’ve said this before, absolutely. But recently? Maybe, maybe not. What is…recently? The last ten minutes, ten months, ten years? What is *pauses for dramatic effect* time? What I’ve definitely said before, but maybe not recently is there’s many different types of fantasy baseball sleepers. There’s guys who are sleepers in 12-team leagues; 15-team leagues; NL or AL-Only leagues and 50-round draft and hold sleepers. Not all sleepers are built the same. Also, what we expect from them is different. An AL-Only sleeper might be projected for 4.25 ERA and 8-ish K/9. A 12-team league sleeper better have an outside chance for a top 20 starter year. Also, an AL-Only league sleeper might not be worthwhile in shallower leagues, but a 12-team league sleeper is worthwhile in all leagues. Those 12-team sleeper guys are also guys who I just want to talk about because they’re gonna be so good. Think of the 12-team sleeper guys as the Kevin Gausmans (Gausmen?) from last year. These guys are good with a chance for being elite and should be drafted a round or four earlier than they’re going. Dylan Cease is in that camp. He won’t be a sleeper in most deeper leagues, but he will be a factor in all leagues. So, what can we expect from Dylan Cease for 2022 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Psyche! Before we get into the Dylan Cease sleeper post, just wanted to announce that I’ve finished my 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and they’re all available on our Patreon. Anyway II, the Dylan Cease sleeper:

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

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Prospects for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

December 29, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 31 Comments

by:

Help, Miranda! Help Help, Miranda! 

Elite hitting prospects tend to carry the weight of their franchise’s future on their shoulders, sometimes deep into their careers. Byron Buxton held the Twins’ ultimate fate in his hands for almost a decade. Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, and Jose Miranda hope to lighten the load. Not to mention Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler are under contract through 2023 with club options beyond then. They might have done better to give that money to Jose Berrios, but time will tell. The baseball sphere was happy with the return, and I was surprised they pulled Joe Ryan from Tampa for Nelson Cruz. Ryan may never become Berrios, but he papers over at least a portion of that loss, and with another wave of help in the on-deck circle, things are looking up in Minnesota despite a down year in 2021. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Ranger Suarez, 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 28, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 34 Comments

by:

Don’t even know if Ranger Suarez is a 2022 fantasy baseball sleeper. I’m sorry, I think he’s a 2022 fantasy baseball sleeper. I’m just not sure. See, I looked at his Statcast numbers and my eyes fell out of my head. Since that moment, I’ve sorta been flailing around with my fingers on what I think is the keeeboard. How’s my spellling? I spellled spellling wrong, didn’t I? And misspelled ‘spelled’ too, huh? Hey! I got my eyes back in my head! Sweet! Now to look at Ranger Suarez’s Statcast page again–Ow! I just dropped my jaw on the ground! This sucks! Could someone please tamp down Ranger Suarez’s Statcast numbers so I don’t bug out my eyes or drop my jaw? We’re unable to do that? Okay, well, I want to warn you all before I show you these gorge digits. Brace yourself. They are some of the best stats I’ve ever seen. (If you click the image, it gets bigger. That’s what she never said!)

How many of you also lost your eyes and/or jaw bottoms? I see a show of a few hands. Oh, man, I can see that one guy lost his bottom jaw and it smashed down on someone else’s eyes. What a mess! Okay, let’s go through these numbers to help those who are not impressed become impressed. So, what can we expect from Ranger Suarez for 2022 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Psyche! Before we get into the Ranger Suarez sleeper post, just wanted to announce that I’ve finished my 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and they’re all available on our Patreon. Anyway II, the Ranger Suarez sleeper:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Donkey Teeth

Not Not New Podcast: A Christmas Miracle

December 27, 2021 | All Podcasts | 6 Comments

by:

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 can handle. This week, on the Christmas Special,  a woman turns her cubicle into a gingerbread house and couples are bring Christmas trees into the bedroom to spice things up. Then Demi Lovato sings to ghosts, a bride gives a lap dance at her wedding reception and a man is shamed by his boss for wearing pants that were too tight!

Listen to the entire show below, now 100% free of charge!

Here are this week’s stories so you can follow along:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Gleyber Torres, 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 27, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 38 Comments

by:

It’s a rare occurrence when a Yankees player is a sleeper. I can count the instances on one finger, the same finger I use to point at my mustache, my mustache-pointing finger. In 1984, Don Mattingly was coming off a 4-homer, .283 season, and everyone admired his mustache, but thought his bat was too weak to stick at 1st base. “He’s no Cecil Cooper,” they’d say. “I do love Mattingly’s mustache though,” they’d continue, “Do you think he’d sell pictures from his nose down to his top lip only? I’d really like to buy a picture of that to put on the ceiling of my bedroom.” That’s what they’d say. Then Mattingly broke out in 1984 and the world thought, “This guy is more than just a glorious mustache. How can one man be so lucky? A glorious mustache, a great hitter and a great wife.” A sleeper for the ages from the New York fawkin’ Yankees, or the Fawkees, as they say. Almost 40 years later, Don Mattingly is mustache-less and the Fawkees still didn’t have another sleeper. Dot dot dot. Tension builds. Until now. Last year, Gleyber Torres went 9/14/.259 and, mah gawd, this better get good fast, because that’s awful. I think I fell asleep under a giant poster of Mattingly’s mustache one too many times and my brain is mush. Well, I’m this far in, let’s just salvage this thing. So, what can we expect from Gleyber Torres for 2022 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Position Eligibility for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

December 24, 2021 | 2022 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 25 Comments

by:

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 2022 fantasy baseball rankings are already on our Patreon, free of charge plus ten dollars. I’ll be releasing the rankings in roughly three weeks from Monday. In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2022 fantasy baseball season. I did this list of multi-position eligible players because I figured it would help for your 2022 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!

I only listed players that have multiple position eligibility of five games or more started outside of their primary position. Not four games at a position, not three, definitely not two. Five games started. If they played eight games somewhere but only started one, they are not listed. 5, the Road Runner of numbers. If they simply played 10 games at multiple positions (and not started them), they’re also included. So this should cover Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, et al (not the Israeli airline). Players with multiple position eligibility are listed once alphabetically under their primary position. Games played are in parenthesis. This is the only time a year I do anything alphabetically, so I might’ve confused some letters. Is G or H first? Who knows, and, better yet, who cares! Wow, someone’s got the Grinchies, must be the spiked egg nog talking. Be well, be safe. Anyway, here’s all the players with multiple position eligibility for the 2022 fantasy baseball season and the positions they are eligible at:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Jeimer Candelario, 2022 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 23, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 33 Comments

by:

Wait! Before you close the window, just give me a chance! Come back! Everyone’s gone, huh? *yells, hears echo* Welp, I guess I’m doing this 2022 fantasy baseball sleeper post for myself. I get it, Jeimer Candelario is mega boring. If Jeimer Candelario were an NFT, he’d be a jpeg of beige. If I am properly understanding what an NFT is, and that’s at like 25% odds. Also, if I’m understanding odds correctly, and that’s at like 50% odds. I got 2 to 1 odds that I understand 1 to 2 odds or 1 to 2 odds that I understand 2 to 1 odds? Any hoo! Jeimer Candelario is boring! Who cares? That makes someone more of a sleeper. You’re thinking about him and yawning. That’s the good part of this, not the bad part. Boring isn’t bad. They can’t all be Jarred Kelenic with 40/20/.270 upside. Did I just say Jarred Kelenic has 40/20/.270 upside? My God, what am I doing talking about Jeimer Candelario? Last year, Candelario went 16/0/.271. No wonder he’s a bore. So, what can we expect from Jeimer Candelario for 2022 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Psyche! Before we get into the Jeimer Candelario sleeper post, just wanted to announce that I’ve finished my 2022 fantasy baseball rankings and they’re all available on our Patreon. It’s an early Xmas miracle! Like waking in the middle of the night for some egg nog, and not accidentally drinking egg beaters. Anyway II, the Jeimer Candelario sleeper:

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

Kansas City Royals Top 10 Prospects for 2022 Fantasy Baseball

December 22, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 24 Comments

by:

Bobby the Witt leads a crew of young bangers simmering in Kansas City. Ace Lacey, Nicky Pratto, Vinnie P, Frank the Maserati and MJ Melendez give us a glimpse at the ghost of Christmas future in KC.

Full disclosure here. I slipped up and wrote Bibbt Wutt Jr. at one point. Bibbt–wutt? Then my phone wrote Bobby Whipit. Like when a problem comes along, Bobby Whip it! In this case, the problem is several losing seasons in a row. Typos, amiright? I’m getting light-headed over here, but that’s probably just the Royals’ sunflare future vibing in my blood. Let’s check the system. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?