Goin’ Deep Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Rudy Riding Into Town

March 9, 2020 | Razzball Podcast | 5 Comments

Rudy Gamble stops by the Goin’ Deep podcast to talk about the multitude of drafts going on. Of course, B_Don and Donkey Teeth have to ask Rudy about his RazzSlam draft and his general strategy.

The guys then get Rudy to explain his projections down from the initial ratios to how the player rater works. They also ask about Rudy’s tools from the draft war room to the in season management tools that are just as key to Rudy’s success as the draft tools and projections.

Then, it’s time to discuss Rudy’s mixed LABR draft. He explains how he approaches his draft for different leagues and the adjustments he makes year to year. Donkey Teeth questions a couple of draft picks in Chris Sale and Cavan Biggio before we jump into Rudy’s team and where his strengths and weaknesses may be.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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	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

1st Basemen To Target, 2020 Fantasy Baseball

March 9, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 305 Comments

by: Grey

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My prior, uber, hard-line stance has been that you with that one hair wrapped around your head acting as a hairstyle don’t want to draft a sleeper 1st baseman. By the by, I tried to replace Uber with Lyft in the previous sentence, but it didn’t make sense. My wokeness has failed. Previously, I’d tell you to go to my top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball (not clickbait at all) and draft some top guys and stop fooling around with sleepers at this position. Of course, I’m malleable like Gumby and this year there are no top 1st basemen *ducks head*. Whoa, someone threw a wrench into this! Fine, Pete Alonso and Matt Olson get nethers ablaze, but 1st basemen dry up quick. As with other positions like the catchers to target (again, not clickbait), these are 1st basemen that are being drafted late. For the 1st basemen, I’m going with an ADP of 150 or later, so you should have a 1st baseman already, and these are more corner infidels or utility guys. Anyway, here’s some 1st basemen to target for 2020 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Navigating The Grey Area: The Ballad Of Josh James

by: Coolwhip

Josh James was a lad,

That K’d many a man,

He was robbed of a starter’s gig last year,

The Astros stole signs since ’17,

So Hinch was soon fired,

Dusty then hired, and the Toothpick says he’s near…

That’s just the intro, but it’s a special song near and dear to my heart. So with A.J. Hinch gone from Houston, Dusty Baker rides into town. There’s 2 things we know about Dusty Baker’s managerial style. 1) Young position players often become waterboys for extended periods of time, and 2) he is not afraid to give young pitches a long leash and give them enough rope to hang themselves or succeed. Hold that thought. Losses to the Astros rotation: Gerrit Cole signed a $324 million contract to makeover his closet so he can pitch in pinstripes this year, and Aaron Sanchez went down with a shoulder injury and then subsequently not tendered a contract in offseason (those jerks!). The rotation left behind is now Verlander, Greinke, McCullers, Urquidy… with a 3-man spring battle for the 5th spot. The competition: Josh James, Framber Valdez, and Austin Pruitt. We have ourselves a Mexican (racist?) standoff. Central American standoff? Astro standoff? Astroff?

The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2020 Fantasy Baseball Team Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers

March 8, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 11 Comments

by: Jay

Welcome to the 2020 Razzball Team Previews! (Our “2020” comes with more Jay and less Barbara Walters!) (That joke is probably older than you!) Sorry for all the parentheses and exclamation points, I just get so excited when I think about Barbara Walters, and don’t even get me started on Hugh Downs… Regardless, here, you’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season, Razz-style. So while you’re stretching your lats and relearning calculus to get that upper hand on your fantasy peers, why not also check out what the Los Angeles Traders have in store for you and your fantasy team?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Spring Training Sleeper Watch: American League Central Edition

March 8, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 25 Comments

by: The Itch

One of my favorite traditions as a young fan was Peter Gammons profiling each team’s spring training focus points.

I loved the spittle and shake of his voice, the depth of his details, and especially how he always shot the segments in front of people playing catch, gloves popping symphonically as we dreamed of a Royals club captained by Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye.

It’s in that spirit that I begin our next prospect series—one that works in concert with Razzball’s Gammonsian team previews and one that involves a few nods to some non-prospects. Graduating from eligibility requirements doesn’t mean you’re a known quantity, nor that you’ve graduated to an everyday opportunity. Yesterday’s failed prospects are often tomorrow’s sleepers, so let’s take a lap around the division looking for some fantasy profit.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Spring Training Battle: Brew Crew Shortstop

March 7, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball | 4 Comments

by: Thomas Howland

Bernie Brewer is dancing in the streets. Christian Yelich recently signed a nine year $215 Million contract to stay with the Brewers. Yelich went above and beyond, even agreeing to some significant deferrals to make the deal happen. Yelich loves Milwaukee, Milwaukee loves Yelich, all is right in Brewerville. A big part of the outfield is set. But that doesn’t mean there’s not some good old competition on the Brewer’s infield to sift through as spring training games have begun in earnest. In particular, the shortstop position is in flux. Who can fantasy players depend on, much less Craig Counsell?

The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2020 Fantasy Baseball Team Preview: Atlanta Braves

March 7, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 6 Comments

by: The Real Joey Bart

Oh, the Dirty South! After breaking down some lackluster NL West teams in my first three previews, we finally get a legitimate contender in the Braves. After posting an impressive 97-win season last year, this club looks fully ready to rock-and-roll again behind Ronald Acuna Jr. This dude has established himself as one of the best players in the Majors and it’s scary just how good this order looks with him up top. The one thing they need to clean up is their mascot game though.

The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Post-Post-Hype Sleepers: Daniel Norris

March 7, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 5 Comments

by: Will Scharnagl

You’ve heard of guys who are post-hype sleepers. Guys who were top prospects at one point but for one even or another faded out of relevancy. Whether it’s a move to a bullpen, an injury, poor performance upon their debut, or a combination of any of the three, these guys have lost the momentum that they had as prospects, but those who believe in them will call them sleepers. Post-hype sleepers are a dime a dozen. Most people can spot them, because all it takes is patience in a young player with potential, which most of us have. Waiting out a guy like Willie Calhoun, Michael Kopech, or Julio Urias may be frustrating, but it isn’t all that difficult. What I’m looking for here is post-post-hype sleepers; guys who are so far removed from the hype that you may not even remember that they’re still playing in the majors. In 2019, two of my favorite post-post-hype breakout picks were Hunter Dozier and Frankie Montas, both of which I was on very early in the season. Identifying breakouts like this can be the difference between winning your league and coming in 4th, so I want to help all of you identify these guys too before it’s too late. Late pitching especially can make a massive difference. For the first installment of this series, I’m going to be talking about a guy who was one of my favorite pitching prospects a few years ago: Daniel Norris.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Heads Up! 2020 H2H Categories Strategy: Consistency Kings

March 6, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Head-to-Head Leagues | 9 Comments

by: Richardo

Last week in H2H Categories Strategy we discussed the merits of punting. This week, I want to talk about what I look for in hitters once we get past the early rounds – consistency. Since we play a game that resets every week, we want to roster players that will fluctuate less. Hot and cold streaks will happen even with the best players, but there are certain qualities we can look for in hitters that should minimize our risk.

Growing up, my dad was the coach of my little league team. He would tell us, get on base and good things will happen. While it seems really simplistic, I still follow my dad’s advice when I’m looking for consistent hitters – high contact rates and a low K-BB%. Basically, we’re looking for players with good plate skills. These might not be the sexiest names in the draft, but grabbing a handful of these players in the mid to late rounds will provide your team with an ample floor. Without further ado, let’s get to the list:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

One Man’s Trash: Cruz vs Gallo

March 6, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, One Man's Trash | 24 Comments

by: Son

Who doesn’t like the home run? Chicks dig it. Players do PEDs for it. Rawlings loves it. Hmmm, let’s see. Pitchers despise it. Curmudgeons are opposed to it because some players flip the bat as a result. Maybe they think it’s flipping the bird? Fantasy nerds are infatuated with it, as they both celebrate and despise it. Whatever the case may be, the home run is freaking cool for real-life baseball and instrumental for the fantasy game, as one home run instantaneously affects four categories. So, for today’s piece, I thought I’d give the tale of the tape to two players who are both projected to be in the top 10 for home runs and are both being drafted outside of the first four rounds. Without further ado, do your thing Michael Buffer. Yes, we have a deep coffer here at Razzball to bring on talent when we need it.

In the red corner, standing a gargantuan six feet and five inches while weighing a hefty 235 pounds, we have sweet as Halo Halo Joey Gaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllloooooooooooooooooooo. USA! USA!! USA!!!

And in the blue corner, we have the 39-year-old, ageless wonder from the Dominican Republic, standing a respectable six feet and two inches and weighing in at 230 pounds, the man who always hits the ball on the screws, Nelson Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuz.

Are you ready? Are you ready? Let’s get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmbbllllleeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

The 2020 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

H2H Points Mixed League Auction: Pitching In For Points

March 6, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Points Leagues | 7 Comments

by: B_Don

Another week, another CBS auction, not that I’m complaining. Love draft season and auctions are the best way to pick a team. If you have been putting off joining an auction, don’t. Fast auction, slow auction, live auction, they are all phenomenal and gives you more choice over team construction than waiting around to see who falls to you in a snake draft.

That being said, this one was all over the place. You can find the full draft results with the CBS write up here.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Catchers To Target, 2020 Fantasy Baseball

March 6, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 414 Comments

by: Grey

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Here, friend, are some catchers that I will be targeting at my 2020 fantasy drafts after the top options are gone. I’m not going to get into the strategy of punting catchers. Been there, half-drunkenly wrote that years ago. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2020 projections and blurbs I wrote for them. This is a (legal-in-most-countries) supplement to the top 20 catchers of 2020 fantasy baseball. Now, guys and five girl readers, I am not saying avoid catchers like Yasmani Grandal if they fall, but, to get on this list, a catcher needs to be drafted later than 200 overall, and, to preemptively answer at least seven comments, yes, I will go around the entire infield, outfield and pitchers to target very late. Anyway, here’s some catchers to target for 2020 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?