Spring Training Sleeper Watch: National League Central Edition

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 Gammons explained how excited St. Louis fans were to see Ray Lankford and Brian Jordan roaming the same outfield and Rick Ankiel on the mound.

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?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 8/4
	ARI \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| ATH \| CHW \| DET \| OAK \| SEA \| WSH

Goin’ Deep Podcast: NL Only Auction, Freestylin’ With Grey Albright

February 26, 2020 | Razzball Podcast | 4 Comments

by: B_Don

B_Don and Donkey Teeth are joined again by the Fantasy Master Lothario, Grey Albright, to discuss the NL auction that the trio did over on CBS with Scott White and crew. The guys discuss how they approach draft auction values and how you may want to adjust your values.

Spoiler alert: Rudy liked one of our teams more than Grey’s squad. Grey walks us through his auction thought process. Of course, it’s hitter heavy in traditional Grey Albright fashion. You can check out Grey’s write up here.

Donkey Teeth, is flexible in his yoga positions and flexible in his auction values. DT spent early and often then went looking for draft values, which he found in guys like Shogo Akiyama and Ender Inciarte. B_Don sits back and listens to Grey and DT argue about which awful pitching staff is better.

B_Don finally gets his turn to talk. While the pitching is far better than almost any team in the league, Grey and DT don’t like the approach that B_Don took with his hitting. In NL only leagues, one has to pick and choose where to spend the money and where the roster weaknesses will be. Keep on the look out for B_Don’s write up of his NL auction experience as well.

After all the NL auction talk, the guys discuss the early rounds of their respective TGFBI drafts and note some unique picks after just a few rounds. All sorts of draft goodness in this episode, so, check it out!

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Bear or Bull: Double Tap These Shortstops?

February 26, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Bear or Bull | 19 Comments

by: Son

It’s been well documented all draft prep season that the shortstop position is deeeeeeeeeep. So deep that Ron Jeremy has signed up for a Razzball Commenter League for the challenge. So deep that the CEO of CVS has taken offense. So deep that Rodin’s Thinker has asked to be moved into solitary. The top 10 shortstops are all being drafted in the top 45 overall. There are 14 being drafted in the top 100. There are still viable options within the top 200! With a plethora of options, there are so many viable ways to attack drafts and this position in particular. Would double tapping the shortstop and middle infield slots after making William Wallace proud be the way to go? In this scenario, I’m thinking about Paul DeJong and Jean Segura, who are both being selected with the 196th overall pick in NFBC drafts from the start of February. It must be your lucky day, as you get double the content for the price of…..free. Uhh, Grey. I think we need to alter the business model a tad.

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

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Preseason Position Battles: Gavin Lux Against Everyone

February 26, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball | 7 Comments

by: Thomas Howland

The name Gavin Lux has been spoken of in reverent terms in prospect circles for years. He’s gained almost mythical status at the top of the prospect pyramid for one of the top teams in the league. Lux was batted back and forth across the country earlier this month in a WE WANT GAVIN FOR MOOKIE mantra from Boston fans, to a NO WAY mantra back from Dodger fans. The Dodgers’ top prospect is a valuable commodity, and he’s taking on practically everyone this spring to find playing time in 2020. Why is he so valuable and what are his paths to playing time? Let’s take a look.

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C’est Luis

February 26, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 205 Comments

by: Grey

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The ax fell yesterday on Luis Severino‘s elbow. That ax was wielded by Dr. James Andrews, who was wearing a Jason mask at the time of the news conference. A reporter stands, “Doc, do you think Severino can avoid Tommy John surgery?” Dr. James Andrews, breathy like Kathleen Turner with an unmistakeable Charleston accent, “I do declare,” Dr. James Andrews pats his mask with a handkerchief, “Severino’s time under the knife will be short, but his stay on the Injured List long.” He then scratched his arm with the ax and accidentally ripped his doctor’s lab coat. “If there’s no further questions, I will be going,” Dr. James Andrews stood, sticking out his arms in a Jason pose, and slowly left the stage. So, Severino and Dr. James Andrews have been acquainted and if you drafted Severino early, you’re ess oh el as they say in Acronyms R’ Us chatrooms. I’ve removed Severino from the top 40 starters and top 500 for 2020 fantasy baseball. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this offseason in fantasy baseball:

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Top 75 Outfielders for 2020 Fantasy Baseball: First Look

February 25, 2020 | Top 75 Outfielders | 29 Comments

by: Coolwhip

What’s up party people. Throughout the season I’ll be bringing you my, you guessed it, Top 75 outfielders rankings for the 2020 season; or as I sometimes refer to them, the Top 75 glorified ball-shaggers (yes I was an infielder, why you ask?). Like my other compadres, I will be updating these throughout the season and pointing out the risers (the ins), fallers (the outs), and others that have me thinking at the moment warranting attention (the what-have-yous). We all have opinions, and I have plenty to share with all of you (aren’t you lucky?). You can share yours with me in the comments below (shameless plug). Baseball is back.

Outfield, the final frontier (for failed infielders with plus bats that managers are trying to hide in the field). Sure you have your superstars with arm-canons and so on, but one thing is often overlooked. Some of these players, while they have above-average offensive potential, are liabilities in the field and essentially are trying to swing their way into the everyday lineup. Their future, as a function of playing time, is tied to their production at the plate. Domingo Santana is a prime example. Last year in Seattle he contributed a solid -1.9 dWAR, a career-low. Obviously, he’s not a golfer. This brings me to my next point, the DH, allows some “outfielders” on AL teams to get many more ABs than NL part-timers including big bats like Soler, Alvarez, and Reyes.

This year we also have a lot of young guns getting their shot at full-time gigs across a full season and more set to make an appearance as the season goes on. Rookies like Luis Robert and Jo Adell are set to make their debut in The Show. Second-year guys like Cavan Biggio and Oscar Mercado aim for Opening Day jobs and a full season of ABs. This offseason I was hyped to see Kyle Tucker and his 30/30 skills unleashed this season but then Bang-gate happened; Hinch was fired; and the death-of-all-young-position-players, the Toothpick, Dusty Baker was hired. Hopes and dreams squashed. Sure he might eventually come around, but I’m not holding my breath (yet).

Some initials thoughts as we begin Spring Training:

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Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Top 50 Outfielders For 2020 Fantasy Baseball

February 25, 2020 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 4 Comments

by: Geoff

The people spoke last week, and the cries for less filling and more great taste have Grey and I ready to give you the tightest podcast since we did that weird latex episode. Halp was hosting then and I had nothing to do with it. Dynasty Halp? More like Fetish Halp, amirite? Okay I made that up, but honestly we run through 50, fity, FIFTY outfielders over the course of this episode. Lots of information this week, and the best part is… we’re not done! We got 50 more for you next week! It’s the latest episode of the Razzball Podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Rolling In The Deep: Late Round Two-Way Threats

February 25, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Rolling In The Deep | 5 Comments

by: Laura Holt

Last week, we talked about players that are on the old side and are generally boring fantasy picks, but who might still be able to provide some decent deep-league value. This week, we’ll focus on guys that may be able to help with two components crucial to most any successful fantasy team, namely power and speed. In deeper leagues, we’re hit with a kind of double whammy. First, the potential for things to go wrong is more prevalent since we’re drafting deeper into the player pool and therefore rostering much riskier players — whether the risk is injury, demotion, or just poor performance. Second, once this level of risk leads to the need to replace players and fix holes on a roster, that’s much harder to do with what it usually a dearth of options available via the free agent pool. If you’ve ever played in a 12-team “only” league with a deep bench, you know what I mean: I’ve actually had situations where I needed to replace a hole at, say, second base when my second baseman was sent to triple A, and ended up having to just keep the minor leaguer in my lineup because there was literally not a free agent major league player who qualified at second base available in my league’s player pool.

At any rate, as I’m filling out a deep-league team, I’d often rather have two players who can both help me in both homers and steals rather than one hitter who I hope to count on for power and one who is more of a straight speed threat — even if I have to give up a little bit of ADP value or pay a buck more for a guy than I’d like to in an auction. It’s just a way to mitigate risk slightly, in hopes of preventing the loss of one player from hitting me too hard in a single category. Thus, on to some names. All of the following players A) had at least 10 homers + at least 10 steals last year, B) are guys that I think, in my completely unscientific projections, could reach a number of both home runs and steals that’s at least in the teens this year, and C) have current NFBC ADPs outside the top 225.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Charlie Blackmon, 2020 Fantasy Schmohawk

February 25, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Overrated | 235 Comments

by: Grey

The prairie wind stirs up the sweet bouquet of spring. On the horizon, we see Mason Saunders, a rodeo extraordinaire, who looks remarkably similar to Madison Bumgarner. Mason stands on top of a wild steer throwing knives into a target right above the Astros’ mascot’s head, Orbit. Charlie Blackmon, dressed like the star of the blaxploitation film Chazz Noir Does Your Mom, approaches Saunders. “I’m Chazz Noir and my tricked-out Cadillac lowrider ran out of gas at the entrance of your ranch. Was wondering if you had any extra gas.” Saunders throws one last curve with his knife, and it sticks into Orbit’s arm and the mascot goes down like a sack of potatoes. Finally, Saunders replies, “Around here, boy, there’s no handouts. You need to work for gas. In the silo on the left of my ranch, we make Horsey Sauce that we sell to Arby’s, and, in the right silo of the ranch, is ranch dressing.”

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Why Your Fantasy Baseball Draft Spreadsheet Or Software Is Wrong

February 24, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 51 Comments

by: Rudy Gamble

Fantasy baseball players typically settle into three different camps on how they ‘run’ their snake drafts:

Traditionalists – Use a piece of paper typically with tiered rankings
Spreadsheeters – Use a spreadsheet that can range from a simple one tab cut ‘n paste job to one with tons of formulas, tabs, and conditional formatting. Player projections and/or rankings may be cut/pasted from a site, aggregated from various sources or the product of meticulous research.
Toolers – Use a piece of software (usually subscription-based) to manage the draft. Projections can range from one bundled with the software to importing one’s own.

I have always been a Spreadsheeter. A couple years back I had a couple of epiphanies related to draft strategy (detailed in my 2020 LABR Mixed Draft Recap – search for DARWINISM) and completely overhauled my ‘draft room’. After some early success, I started sharing it with the Razzball writers for their industry leagues. Last year, I added it to our season-long subscription package. The response has been better than I expected given how different it is from the standard draft room.

While I have not trialed all draft software or had the opportunity to test drive others’ spreadsheets, I have seen enough that I have a good idea on some of the more common approaches/standards. I think there are several flaws in these standards and will show how and why my Draft Room is better. If you are a Traditionalist, my guess is this post will not sway you but at least it will give you ammunition when mocking the guy with the laptop next you on draft day.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2020 Fantasy Baseball: Preseason Edition

February 24, 2020 | Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 27 Comments

by: Pat

I am not a ranker.

I never put players in an official order before writing at Razzball. Last year, MB asked me to provide flex rankings for football. This year, Donkey Teeth asked me to provide top 100 pitcher rankings for baseball. Now all I do with my life is rank players!

My typical draft prep revolved around locating a targeted set of pitchers throughout the draft, and conversely identifying pitchers I had no interest in. The strategy was to draft as many targets as possible and fill in the cracks where my pitching staff was showing weakness to construct a balanced pitching staff. Though I am providing a top 100 list, it remains of the utmost importance to embrace pitching staff construction over drafting based on raw rankings.

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Razzball Commenter Leagues 2020 Strategy

February 24, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Our Leagues, Razzball Commenter Leagues | 13 Comments

by: MattTruss

Last week we covered why you should join a Razzball Commenter League, so this week let’s start covering what to do once you’re in there. To be honest, this has all been covered somewhere on the site over the years, most often by Rudy. If you haven’t been playing in RCLs though, I could see how some of this has been glossed over, so I’ll try to consolidate some info for the newbies. Grizzled RCL vets can feel free to skip this and just go sign up for leagues at the end of the post. The switch from ESPN to Fantrax a few seasons ago shook things up a little bit since we added some rule changes when we did so, most notably a 500 move limit. We also changed from Games Started for pitchers to Innings Pitched. I’ll be frank, I didn’t notice a big change in strategy because of these changes, but feel free to change my mind RCL Vets. We’ll cover this as well as the basics for anyone still timid about jumping in the RCL waters.

QUICK NOTE: RCL drafts will start going off this coming Sunday. To avoid leagues drafting with less than 12 managers we’ve decided to just kill any league that doesn’t fill by 5pm EST. We’re going to try our best to get everything filled, but if you are in a league where someone bails late or it looks like it won’t fill, let us know. Jump in the comments or let us know on Twitter: @Razzball and/or @MattTruss and we’ll try to work some magic. We didn’t want to ruin someone’s night by waiting until an hour before a 10pm draft to kill it so we’re trying to make the call early in the evening. Hopefully, this won’t happen often, but help us help you.

Please, blog, may I have some more?