Bullpen Report: Squeeze Your Long Man With A Hurting Hand

September 19, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Closers | 5 Comments

The end of the 2019 fantasy baseball will be no easier than the rest of it. Pitching is imploding all around us. Do what you can to stem the tide of disaster and consider an effective middle reliever over a volatile starter.

The Brad Hand saga continues. More positivity from the team (shocker!) as they say Hand “looked like himself” in a bullpen session. I guess that’s better than looking like Willie McGee? We’re still locked in the downward spiral of news, shaky outing, rest, repeat. The bullpen usage in Cleveland hasn’t sent any clear message about saves in Hand’s stead. Oliver Perez earned a save of the one out variety while Nick Wittgren is getting used in leverage spots but not getting the final out. Call ups James Karinchak and James Hoyt are also in the mix with Nick Goody and Adam Cimber as other possibilities. Fun times.
Turns out Felipe Vasquez is an asshole and a pedophile. Can’t say it was nice knowing you. Enjoy federal pound me in the ass prison. As for the shipwreck that is the Pirates Keona Kela is the lead candidate to close given his stuff and closing experience. Richard Rodriguez could see the ninth if Kela is shaky or gets hurt, as he tends to do.
Kenley Jansen blew his eighth save, just after a stretch of solid outings. The Dodgers seem to be committed to him as their closer and want him to get right for the postseason. When you thrive with only an elite cutter the end comes fast when the pitch loses some bite. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jansen retire this offseason when you consider his 2018 heart issue.
Matt McGill returned to the head of the closer committee in Seattle notching his fifth save Wednesday. He’s the favorite to finish as their primary closer if he remains healthy.
We all roasted the Brewers for acquiring Drew Pomeranz. Who’s laughing now? He’s been an excellent reliever and just picked up his second save. Only having to face batters once clearly suits him with 36 Ks in 21.1 IP.
Hunter Harvey is being shut down for the rest of the season with bicep soreness. File his name away as a late dart in the 2020 saves chase.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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	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

Getting Ahead in H2H, Week 24: Streaming Is Believing II – Grand Finale

by: Yost

By now, most of the H2H leagues have come to a conclusion. Congrats if you were able to walk away a champion, enjoy the bragging rights. If you weren’t so fortunate, better luck next year. There are still some leagues finishing up with their championship this week, so this post is geared for them. Hopefully I can help you pick up some streamers to edge out the pitching categories. And if not, at least you have someone else to blame. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my posts this season, I appreciate all the support and feedback!

So here we are, one last week to make a push to bring home the hardware. Similar to last week, I have included my favorite streamer for each day of the remainder of the matchup. All of these pitchers are owned in 30% or less of ESPN leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Yaz Baby!

September 19, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: Butters

We’re getting down to the final stretch for the 2019. It’s been a fun ride, but we still have more so buckle up and let’s win some DFS.

What a welcome Mike Yastrzemski (OF: $3,200) got from the hometown Boston crowd in his grandfather’s ballpark. (No matter how many times I write his name, I still can’t spell it correctly on the first try.) He celebrated his first start in Fenway by catching the first pitch and then blasting one into the seats. I’m excited about his power potential and think he can add to his total. Let’s keep the party going.

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?

Stanton Stans Stand And Gianclap

September 19, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 201 Comments

by: Grey

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What do we say to the devil? Not today, devil. But they say, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.” And devil’s in the details. So, for the last five months, Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-3) was the devil I didn’t know any details about, but yesterday we said, “Today, devil,” so where does that leave us? In hell still, as the Yankees said they will baby Stanton, sending him out for only a few at-bats. Yo, are you Arthriticarlo Stanton? Should’ve never held him all year, but his thighs are so beautiful and well-lotioned in bed! Sorry, was reading a well-tailored-to-me fortune cookie. I suppose if Stanton’s out there, you can add him, and play him, but a few at-bats here and there doesn’t exactly instill confidence. Hopefully, by the time 2020 rolls around, Giancarlo will be less Arthriticarlo and more the Giancarlo I’ve pasted to my pillow. And that’s not Elmer’s Glue. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Prospect News: Opening Day Jose!

September 18, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 2 Comments

by: The Itch

It’s opening day!

The Arizona Fall League begins early this year, and I’m interested to see how the prospect fallout differs now that the kids aren’t the only ballgame in town. The previous iteration created a month-plus layoff for the arms, which was deemed a bad thing for reasons known to someone, presumably.

Fantasy leagues might be frozen already, transaction-wise, but if you’re in one that’s not, it’s sound strategy to fit some fall-league prospects into your build. I think the echo-chamber value-bounce has increased year-over-year as more and more prospectors make their way to Arizona for live looks. Last year, Jazz Chisholm went from borderline top 100 to top 30 range in just those few weeks. Nico Hoerner made his first professional noise and climbed the lists under this same bright spotlight. So who’s likely to get that shine this time around?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Call Him “Cornpop Albright FML”

September 18, 2019 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast |

by: Geoff

This week on the pod we focus all of our discussion on the 2020 season and our thoughts of potential value of a very strong shortstop group. How strong? So strong that we may end up with 8-10 shortstops in the top 25 next year. It’s that deep. We of course touch on some Cornpop jokes, talk about Grey’s personal crisis of the week, and ask Kyle Tucker or Gavin Lux for 2020? We roll through a few more “either or’s” for 2020 before rounding out the show with the appropriate roundhouse kick. Thank God we wore our Zubaz! It’s the latest episode of the Razzball Baseball Podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: The Good Offense

September 18, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: cinthree

The top offenses today come with elite plays and values, so the majority of the picks are going to come from the Indians, the Twins, the Astros and the Red Sox. Outside of Cleveland those are three of the top six offenses in the game this year, so when in doubt, go with the good offenses.

On to the picks…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Felipe Prefers His Pirate Booty Without Aged Cheddar

September 18, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 169 Comments

by: Grey

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Pirates organization should be on an episode of Botched. Are they the worst organization or what? Hint: The answer is not ‘or what.’ Let’s do a brief recap of what a giant POS team this is. Pirates’ closer, Felipe Vazquez, decided to try to bite off Kyle Crick’s finger last week. A giant piece of garbage move? Well, gee, Wally, I don’t know, it seems like that’s not a nice thing to do. The Pirates are dead-last in the NL Central, as they’re wont to be, so suspend the giant festering wound that is Vazquez, right? Gosh, Ms. Molly, that seems obvious. Well, no, of course not. The Pirates are trying to avoid losing 95 games and only lose 94 games instead, so the Pirates made the chickenshizz move to stick with Vazquez. This is, after all, the club that didn’t want to trade Felipe Vazquez for prospects at the trade deadline. Finishing in last with 94 wins instead of 95 must mean a lot to them. Now, the jagoff that is Vazquez is arrested for being the worst type of human and looks like he’ll never pitch again. No wonder Felipe Vazquez changed his name last year, he’s a giant pedophile creep! You did good, Pirates! Maybe to go with your pitch-to-contact pitching coach, your clueless manager and your maybe-we-can-lose-only-94-games team, you can find another awesome trade like sending Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow for Chris Archer. Any hoo! I’d guess Keone Kela or Richard Rodriguez is the closer for the final week-plus, in that order. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

One Man’s Trash: Another Lewis Sprinting to the Finish Line

September 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 4 Comments

by: Son

From 1980 to 1995, Carl Lewis had one of the most dominating runs that any athlete has ever had: Top 10 ranking in every year, nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championship medals. He monopolized the 100 m, 200 m, long jump events, and helped corner the markets in the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays. He ran the 100 m race in under 10 seconds 15 times and the 200 m race in under 20 seconds 10 times. He sprinted to the finish line extremely fast and, more often than not, claimed victory. His brother from another mother, Kyle Lewis of the Seattle Mariners, is off to a blistering start as well, as he hit a home run in three consecutive games to begin his major league career. Did he shoot his wad too early, leaving nothing for the final two weeks? Or can he maintain this pace and help lead you to fantasy glory?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 24

September 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Our Leagues, Razzball Commenter Leagues | 14 Comments

by: MattTruss

This week, I want to bring up a topic before it blows up my comment section like it seems to every season. This is something veteran RCLers will recall (and likely will be utilizing) and you’ll also be familiar with this concept if you play in Yahoo Pro Leagues or something similar. The idea is that you can maximize your pitching counting stats by manipulating the day you go over your 1400 IP. In the ESPN days this was manipulating the day you went over the 180 GS limit by getting to 179 GA and then loading up 9 starters and hitting 188 GS. The same thing applies here with the IP limit (and also in Yahoo leagues) in that on the day you go over the 1400 IP limit all of your pitching stats count for that day. So, let’s say you work it so you get to 1398 IP, then you load up 9 starters the next day. If all 9 starters last 5 IP, you’d hit 1443 IP and thus gain an extra 43 IP of strikeouts and possibly earn an extra win or two along the way. The risk is obvious. I have a hard enough time pulling one streamer out of the free agent pool that won’t obliterate my ratios, nevermind nine! Unless you are holding a slim lead in the ratios that you don’t want ruined, there’s not much to lose in maxing out your stats though. So far we’ve had one manger take the shot. We’ll take a look at how they made out and more from the week that was, week 24 below:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Follow Stripling To Big Money Batters

September 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: Thomas Howland

Searching for value in starting pitchers can be a fool’s errand sometimes, but going contra the Verlanders and Darvishes are the only ways to win in DFS, especially when many teams are prepping for the playoffs and resting starters. One big time team that needs to stretch starters out is the LA Dodgers. Rich Hill isn’t exactly the paragon of health, and that means the Dodgers are looking to stretch out Ross Stripling. He’s been coming back from the IL this month, and doing so to the tune of a tidy 1.13 ERA. It doesn’t take too much imagination to see him getting through six when he’s pitching in the cavernous confines of Dodger Stadium. Tampa Bay is one hot hitter (more on him later) or two and timely hitting it’s way to an AL Wild Card spot, by no means a Juggernaut offensively. Stripling’s low $5,500 price tag means you can load up on offense without the risk of Verlander being pulled quickly or Darvish blowing up and making Cubs fans worry even more. Now let’s spend all that extra salary.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

My Boy Eloy

September 17, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 235 Comments

by: Grey

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Yesterday, Eloy Jimenez went 1-for-4 and his 28th homer, hitting .259, as he marches to the finish line on a mediocre year…Or was it?! Damn, reversal question, you always scare me. It’s worth noting, Jimenez struggled with injuries a bit this year and he only has 430 ABs. He’ll get roughly forty more at-bats this year, so figure 32 HRs in 470 at-bats (this math totally tracks; don’t come for me, nerds!). Give him the standard 570 ABs and he would’ve hit roughly 38 HRs in his rookie season. Geez, it doesn’t sound so bad when I put it like that. Wait, I can do more, he was playing injured a bit so 50 more healthy at-bats and Eloy Jimenez hit 40 homers in his rookie year. Want me to keep going, because I can get him to 73 homers? No? Suit yourself. Think people are looking at Eloy as having a poor rookie year, and the shine’s off him for 2020. However, I see a guy who almost hit 73 homers in his rookie year. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?