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The title refers to Lisztomania by Phoenix, which led me down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia that I have to share with you. Lisztomania was a frenzy over composer Franz Liszt, the original Justin Bieber. This is especially hilarious from Wikipedia, “Lisztomania was considered by some a genuine contagious medical condition and critics recommended measures to immunize the public,” and not considered the same as Beatlemania, which was used to mean a craze; Lisztomania caused actual craziness. Will Luzardo-Manaea cause women to rip their brooches from their bosoms and throw them at passing horse-drawn carriages in Oakland? Well, let’s let Tupac tell you about Oaktown, “Out on bail, fresh out of jail, California dreamin’, soon as I step on the scene, I’m hearin’ brooches screamin’.”  Screamin’ instead of whizzin’ by for the rhyme, obviously. Sean Manaea and Jesus Luzardo should be back with the team within ten days and now’s the time to stash them. For thousands of years, Samoans were a persecuted people, due to their big bones. One Samoan, Fa’a’la’a’la’la’la told one reporter, “If you ordered a flank steak, and got a thick ribeye, you’d be elated,” then Fa’a’la’a’la’la’la got choked up, “But if you order a five-foot, six-inch man and get a 485-pound man wearing a grass skirt, they make fun of you.” Manaea, the one skinny Samoan in the world, doesn’t have this problem. He has control, not just appetite control.  He could have an under-2 BB/9, which should limit damage, just like his home park. I’m stashing him everywhere. Luzardo is a bit more of an upside gamble. He also has pinpoint control, and can strike out a ton of guys. There’s little to not like about Luzardo, except how he might be deployed in September and does he get enough starts to matter. Plus, roofies, those darn things. I’m stashing Luzardo too, but I’m not throwing brooches at him. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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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 | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | MIA | OAK

Greetings, deep-leaguers!  We’ve now officially hit mid-August, and if you’re fighting for a money spot in one of your fantasy baseball leagues, every decision you make and every day’s worth of stats probably seem magnified.  One or two bad starts (thanks, Trevor Bauer and Cole Hamels!) can cost you crucial ERA and WHIP points that you’ve been slowing but surely building up in a roto league, or sink your head-to-head week completely.  You may not be able to control how major league baseball players pitch, but it’s as important as ever to try to keep your team as strong as possible and to take advantage of trying to grab a few counting stats where you can.  On that note, let’s look at a few players that might be of interest in NL-only, AL-only, and other deep leagues.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome to the Friday FanDuel writeup! We’re starting the weekend off with a full 15-game slate and there’s one pitcher that stands about the rest for me – Charlie Morton ($11,300). Somewhere out there Kate Upton’s reading this calling Morton a fake-stud – ala when she called Rick Porcello a fake-Cy Young – but hear me out, Kate. It really seems unfair (especially to a Phillies fan who only got four starts of studly Morton in 2016) that Charlie’s having a career-best season in terms of strikeout rate (30.5%) and walk rate (7.1%). The icing on the cake for Morton is the matchup against the Tigers. For the year, the Tigers have the second-worst wOBA against right-handed pitchers and the third-highest strikeout rate at 26.1%. Let’s take a look at the rest of today’s slate.

New to FanDuelScared 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?

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Yesterday, the Indians were to the Yankees as the Yankees were to the Orioles and the Orioles were to the Orioles during split-squad games in Spring Training and Spring Training is to Kevin Bacon. Five degrees! Take that, dentist of the mailman whose wife goes to Kyra Sedgwick manicurist!  This Indians’ scalping of the Yankees was a long, long time coming. What a narrative for Jose Ramirez this year. From April until June 30th, he had 5 HRs and was hitting .214.  In the next six weeks, he has 14 homers and is hitting around .300 (around because I didn’t feel like doing the math, deal with it), including yesterday’s part in the drubbing (2-for-3, 6 RBIs and his 18th and 19th homer).  Jos-Rami is the 1st time I can remember feeling like I nailed his preseason overrated post, while taking the W for saying to buy him in June.  A double W, a double-dub, a dubya with a dubya, a–Okay, you get the point. For 2020, I bet everyone will be ranking Jose Ramirez in the same place where I had him this year, tail-end of the 1st round vs. that top five crap they were all coming with this year. Otherwise? More W’s for Grey! A triple dubya, a worldwide W, a–All right, enough. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Psyche! Before we move into the roundup, there’s a new fantasy football video at the top of this post. Watch, review and rate. Kidding, you goofs! You just need to watch. 2nd of all, join one of our fantasy football leagues before they’re all filled. Anyway II, the roundup:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Commenter Chucky asked for a piece on Adrian Houser of the Milwaukee Brewers. As the Lord told his people to “ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” so shall it be at Razzball baseball. We are of the people, by the people, and for the people. Why is Chucky inquiring about Houser? Well, over the past three starts, he’s struck out 21 batters in 16 innings and has a 2.47 xFIP. Okay, then. Let’s get down to it.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Power, power, power. After never topping 15 bombs in a season in the minors, Mike Yastrzemski (OF: $3,100) has joined the revolution and already has 13 in the show in under 70 games. He’s single handedly powering the Giants to the playoffs. (ok, they’re likely on the outside looking in, but I can dream) Will it continue? You bet it will. Yaz just blasted his way past his great grandfather’s rookie home run record and he’s in the Hall of Fame. Boom, get him.

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?

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Yacht Rock has polluted my brain. I’m singing Bertie Higgins, dressed like Thurston Howell, III, and wearing deodorant that smells like Pina Colada. And the most frightening aspect of the previous sentence is only one of those statements is make-believe!  Cougs figured since I like blended, virgin pineapple drinks it would be a good idea to buy me Pina Colada-scented Suave deodorant. I walk around all day wanting to lick my armpits! I’m damaged! Even more upsetting, I don’t own Xander Bogaerts (3-for-4, 4 RBIs and his 26th and 27th homer, hitting .308) or Rafael Devers (2-for-4, 2 runs, 25th homer, hitting .327) in any meaningful way. (I own Bogaerts in one league, but it’s my worst league, so it doesn’t matter.)  I briefly mentioned this yesterday, but last year Betts and Martinez put fantasy owners on their backs (no easy feat for some of you), and this year it’s been all Bogaerts and Devers. On our Player Rater, both guys are top ten for the season (Acuña reached the mountaintop, by the by). Incredibly, neither guy has been lucky. Bogaerts upped his walks; has a BABIP in line with career norms; held all batted ball profile marks from previous years, except raised his launch angle and fly ball rate just a tad. Bingo-bango-Bogaerts! Devers’s numbers are new from him at the major league level, but nothing jumps out as a career year and he’s only 22 years old.  Both guys will and should be highly ranked next year. Now, excuse me, while I go lick my armpits. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Mariners prospect Julio Rodriguez (3-for-5, HR, 6 RBI) won’t turn 19 until this winter. The right fielder is hitting .296 with ten homers and a steal through 66 games at Single-A West Virginia. Hanging with the big boys! To put that in perspective, there are only five players in all of Single-A who are 18 years old. One of them is Wander Franco, arguably the best prospect in all of baseball. Franco is hitting .318 with six homers and 14 steals through 62 games. Outside of the steals, Julio is right there with him. This is why Rodriguez made a big jump on my midseason list to 23rd overall and why he’ll probably jump again come fall/winter rankings season. To put that perspective in perspective, Luis Garcia of the Phillies (a “normal” 18-year-old) is hitting .195 at the same level. If it was big brain time and you’ve owned Julio Rodriguez for a while, pat yourself on the back and enjoy. Here’s what else is happening around the minor leagues…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s only appropriate to start with the man this article Happ-ens to be named after. In his 16 games since being called up by the Cubs, Ian Happ (OF/3B, 9.8% owned in ESPN) has slashed .300/.391/.650. He has recorded 4 homers and 2 doubles while scoring 9 runs and knocking in 11. Perhaps most importantly, Happ has struck out just 10 times through his 46 PA. That comes out to a 21.7% K rate, so the “just” may seem a little generous. Which it is. But when you consider he struck out in 36.1% of his 462 PA last season, the 21.7% seems much more bearable.

Time will tell if his strikeouts will creep back up as he records more at-bats, but Happ is someone worth taking a shot on. Though he has always been known for striking out at a high rate, he also has continued to walk at a very healthy rate. His 13% walk rate is right in line with his 12.5% mark, and he gets a slight boost in OBP leagues. Though a limited sample size and impossible to remain so high, Happ’s .350 ISO, .425 wOBA, and 164 wRC+ are certainly encouraging. He hits in one of baseball’s best lineups, so there should be plenty of opportunities to generate runs for Happ. He could be a great addition to fantasy squads looking to add a bat down the stretch.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

On a day when there’s Clayton Kershaw and a lot of two’s priced as Aces, hunting for value is our favorite past-time. Enter Marco Gonzales ($7,700).  You may remember him from such hits as a 3-0 April with a 2.14 ERA.  Since then he’s hit a rough patch, but he did go 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA in July, including 6.0 innings with no walks, one earned run, and eight K’s against a Detroit team that still had Nick Castellanos on July 27th.  He went 6+ innings against the Rays his last time out, with nine K’s and two earnies, but he left after being hit on the leg with a comebacker.  He should be good to go today, but just in case you could more than throw a dart at Kyle Gibson against the sneakily struggling Brewers offense for a similar value play.  Now on to the picks.

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?

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For a long time in his career, Jose Quintana seemed to be underrated in some fantasy circles and, if those people didn’t recognize Quintana’s genius, I’d call them jerks, so they were circle jerks. Early in his career, even his radar blips would end up being a tugboat filled with pandas rather a real scare. Then, later in his career, we boarded the tugboat and they were feral pandas. “Ling-Ling thinks my arm is bamboo!” Jose Quintana was no longer safe like the circle jerk Quintana, but became more of the feral panda Quintana. Recently, however, Quintana’s been a good blip again and the feral pandas are satiated with boba, greeting us with Panda Express menus. Yesterday, he went 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 14 Ks, ERA at 4.11, and in three August starts:  1.89 ERA, 26 Ks and only one walk. He looks fixed, and I’m willing to give him more rope, but if I see one more gee-dee feral panda, all bets are off. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?