Hello darkness, my old friend…I sing to the T. Mahle coming out my butt a day after eating Chipotle is this enough details for you I can’t even punctuate I’m so miserable. WHAT THE EFF, Tyler Mahle (2 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.20)? 4.20 is right because I want to get high to numb the pain. Eff me, that was brutal. Maybe I can sit down again in June. Right now I’m too sore from ingesting that T. Mahle. One of those Giants buggers, Steven Duggar (2-for-5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs) and his 2nd homer, and on top of that Mahle shelllacking — yes, I’m still on that! — no one on the Giants is anywhere near my teams, except Tauchman and he didn’t even play. Holy sit! Darrin Ruf (4-for-5, 4 runs 2 RBIs) hit his 6th homer. Ruf’s having one of those years where you wouldn’t dare pick him up in mixed leagues, but is having a great deep NL-Only year, considering he was picked up off waivers, which is what I tell myself when I want to feel pain, because I dropped Ruf the 2nd week of the season in a 12-team NL-Only league. Haha, I am sucking it up, folx! Also, in on the action is Brandon Crawford (3-for-6, 3 runs, 6 RBIs, hitting .261) and his 11th homer. He’ll be in this afternoon’s Buy column as he’s been for the last few weeks. I almost removed him because he really shouldn’t be on waivers, and I think it’s just ESPN fantasy baseballers being goofy. If you want to see the Buy/Sell now, subscribe to our Patreon. Next up, Evan Longoria (3-for-5, 2 runs, 3 RBIs, hitting .248) hit his 5th homer, and the Giants are the best team in the majors. Welcome to 2021. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Change is the one constant in the world. You can’t escape it. You can’t deny it. You just have to accept it. We end up in places expecting things to go a certain way with our own laid-out plans that will succeed. But that doesn’t always happen right? Life doesn’t follow a script. We are continuously thrust into a new environment with a new set of rules and presented with a choice. A call to action. Adapt or die. This young man you will hear about today answered the call.
So there I sat in my office on a wet and rainy May morning. The hum of the fan overhead was a siren’s call of missed sleep the night before beckoning me to steal rest from the jaws of the new day. *Ping* The phone buzzed thus piercing the calm and my sleep-deprived ears. It was Grey in my DM with a request. When the bossman pings you to say he mentioned you by name in his morning write-up… It’s kinda a big deal. He didn’t earn his fantasy baseball degree from the University of Phoenix, but on the mean streets of Jersey trusting his primal instincts. He’s either got a really good hunch on the player or he’s really curious about what’s going on. This would be one of the former. Adbert Alzolay is pitching like a new man this season, and the early results are promising. He’s still so young, and still largely untested, but there’s something about Alzolay that makes you want to say “yay.”
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As a child, I don’t know if there was a more overblown fear than the inherent fear of quicksand. It seemed from Scooby Doo to Gilligan’s Island, there was always a person falling into quicksand. I learned to carry a stick around with me everywhere I went because that seemed to be the only true action needed to be taken. Simply reach out your stick to passer-by’s and they will pull you to safety. Did I think I was just gonna fall into quicksand while on my way to Pizza Hut to play Mortal Kombat? Who knows? I was a dumb kid.
Saves and Stolen Bases are our quicksand. That was the whole point of that cockamamie story. At the beginning of the season, we knew that Saves and Stolen Bases would be our quicksand. Fearful and hoping that we had that stick with us, to be pulled to safety. Well damnit, I feel like I still haven’t gotten over that fear. I still have that stick, and I wish I could just forget and go back to Pizza Hut, with my BookIt coupon in hand for that free pizza, and just drop $15 into Mortal Kombat. Either way, follow this weeks formula and Finish your opponent with a Flawless Victory.
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It’s Thursday and that means its time to win some sweet sweet DFS money. So let’s get right down to it and find some great values like Javier Baez (SS: $3,300) He’s been doing his thing which is hit bombs and steal bases. And the average ain’t half bad either. He’s on a roll right now so get him in your lineup and wave bye bye bye to the the competition.
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Please, blog, may I have some more?[brid autoplay=”true” video=”781977″ player=”10951″ title=”RZBL%202021%20WAIVER%20WIRE%20Week%207″ duration=”158″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2021-05-14″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/thumb/781977_t_1620967847.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/781977.mp4″]
We have six no-hitters by May 19th. Seven no-hitters is a modern-day season record. At this point, it will be more novel when someone throws a ten-hitter. Soon we’ll be celebrating: Kyle Gibson just threw a 7-hitter! He allowed hits! Never is now, Mr. Gibson! This is like 2001 and Barry Bonds is throwing a no hitter every game. Conspiracy Theory Alert! Rob Manfred is going to use this year to explain why the mound has to move back a foot next year, and then we’re going to have our first 100-homer season. I will bet someone this happens. We’re thinking small, Rob Manfred’s evil mind is thinking big picture. Or pitcher, in this case, because only jacked guys will be able to reach the plate. So, Corey Kluber (9 IP, 0 ER, 0 hits, 1 walk, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.86) threw a no-hitter against his old club, the Rangers. Not the other team that the Rangers killed. The question for us is Corey Kluber fixed. Or at least usable, which I honestly had questions about coming into the year. His numbers look number two to three-ish. He’s not an ace — 9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 4.17 xFIP, using xFIP there because I do believe he’s been a tad ‘lucky’ on homers. It’s solid, usable, and rosterable, which is what I say before he throws a consecutive no-hitter next time because: 2021. By the way, Johnny Vander Meer’s family moving his crypt from stadium to stadium this year must be exhausting, and there’s no way Johnny Vander Meer’s record makes it out of 2021. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Welcome to the prospect spotlight, a cousin of Prospect News, wherein I will set eyes on a handful of guys I’m claiming in my dynasty leagues.
Ethan Elliott — 15 IP, 1 ER, 1 HR, 7 baserunners, 28 Ks
I’m watching Elliott’s season opening start from May 4 because Cleveland’s High A squad in Lake County doesn’t offer video feeds, so we can’t clap eyes on Elliott’s 13 strikeout performance from Saturday night. No matter. I’ve already added him in a 30-team league and will try to get him in a 20 and 15 in the upcoming faab runs.
He’s not throwing all that hard, sitting 89-90, but his arm slot creates issues for opponents, kind of a Bumgarner-esque delivery with a shorter arm swing. It’s a unique look and helps his changeup dominate–not that he’s needed it much. The fastball has good ride and stays up in the zone, where Elliott clearly likes to live. So far so good. He’s a skinny dude, so he might find a tick or two of velocity along the way. I don’t think he’ll really need it if his command holds throughout the upper levels. Like any young arm who attacks the zone, Elliott will get punished at some point by upper level bats, but I think we’ll see a lot of dominant lines, and I suspect his velocity is already up a touch from the season opener. Can’t wait to see for certain.
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Normally, I’m pretty aware of the injury plague that happens every season, but doing this list every other week has me hyper-aware of every ding that happens. I wake up with a pain in my hamstring and just know that another one bit the dust. Sleep on my side too long and wonder which first baseman strained a shoulder the night before. My son woke me up at 3 am last night and his tooth fell out. Really sweet moment right? Or the aftershock of Kevin Pillar getting hit in the face? Let’s get to the list and then we’ll talk about some of the movers and players that I’m worried about.
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I was famished. I had just written 10,000 words on why this column is named Bear or Bull. The joints in my fingers were popping due to the self-induced arthritis. I was staring at the computer monitor so long that my glasses absorbed so much light that oncoming drivers became disoriented as I screwed with their depth perception while walking on the sidewalk. As I opened the door to my local Mexican restaurant, the intoxicating smell transformed me into Pepe Le Pew as I floated to the front counter. Wolfing the tacos down, I thought to myself, “This is heaven. I’ve never tasted anything so delicious in my life before,” even though I had been there last Friday, and the Friday before, and the Friday before that, and every Friday for the past two years. Sometimes, things just hit the spot better or worse, depending on a confluence of factors. The same thing goes for fantasy baseball. Dylan Bundy was great in 65.2 innings last season during his first season with the Angels. This year? Not so good. He’s the 629th player on the Razzball Player Rater and has been dropped in 16.7% of ESPN leagues.
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Another fortnight, another group of low-owned speedsters! Yes, readers under 20 years old, fortnight is a real word, it’s not just the name of an insanely overrated video game. Right now, the runaway SB leader is an old favorite: Whit Merrifield with 12 SBs. Then there’s a handful of guys with eight (Jazz Chisholm Jr., Garrett Hampson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ramon Laureano, Dylan Moore) and then a few more handfuls of players with seven. One of those handful is tied for the lead in SBs over the last two weeks: Niko Goodrum. Here is who else has contributed in that column in the last 14 days:
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What an amazing day for baseball. We get a healthy 12-game night slate with no threat of postponements. It’s also Ohtani day for all those who observe. There is plenty of current star power on the mound and a few in the making. We also get to take a second look at the Mariners’ top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert. He struggled mightily in his first start, but to me, he just looked more nervous than overmatched.
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Please, blog, may I have some more?[brid autoplay=”true” video=”781977″ player=”10951″ title=”RZBL%202021%20WAIVER%20WIRE%20Week%207″ duration=”158″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2021-05-14″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/thumb/781977_t_1620967847.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/781977.mp4″]
They should have a contest where one lucky fan tries to no-hit the Mariners. Yesterday, Spencer Turnbull no-hit the Mariners (9 IP, 0 ER, 2 walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.88), because the Mariners are being no-hit every day of the week that ends in Y. Armando Galarraga called and said big whoop. Yo, he sounds bitter. Didn’t they give Armando Galarraga a car after his kinda perfect game? They should give Spencer Turnbull a salmon thrown to him by someone in Seattle wearing rubber boots. How about teams that have a team batting average under .205 get to use the juiced ball? Sure, it’s an arbitrary rule, but so is the dropped third strike rule if you think about it. So, I hope you used the Streamonator that told you to start Turnbull. Beyond that, Turnbull looks like he’s, uh, turned a corner. He’s throwing his offspeed stuff more, and results are good: 8.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 2.75 FIP, so close to neutral luck outside of home runs allowed, but he doesn’t allow homers ever. He’s not an ace, but that’s a usable number three to four, and since the no-hitter happened after I wrote the original opening, you’re getting a special treat today. A double lede! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Rolling In The Deep: The Season Is Still Young
May 18, 2021 | Rolling In The Deep | 7 Commentsby: Laura Holt
Hey Deep Leaguers! Somehow it’s the third week of May, and suddenly we’re already a quarter of the way through the baseball season. What that really means, I suppose, is that we still have three-fourths of a season left to go, and a ton of baseball ahead of us in 2021. Let’s get right to it, and take a quick look at some little-owned players who may be of interest to those of us in NL-only, AL-only, and other deep leagues.
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