Last week we covered why you should join an RCL, so this week let’s start covering what to do once you’re in there.  To be honest, most all of this has 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.  Last season we made the change from ESPN to Fantrax and with that we changed a few rules, most notably we added a 500 move limit and we 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 Friday.  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.  Hopefully, this won’t happen often, but help us help you.

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Sat 8/2
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | OAK

Razzball is not responsible if you contract scurvy while reading this post. Ahoy readers! We’re on the high seas! Feel the wind on your face, the salty sea air in your lungs, and the vomit in your upper esophagus. You should have told us about the sea sickness before we left port. I’ll be guiding you through ten of the most notorious buccaneers in these waters. After a long night of cracking Jenny’s teacup, you’ll want to put up your peg leg(s), take a shot of rum, and enjoy a bit o’ light reading. Blow me down! I see booty ye bilge-sucking grog blossom!

Want to take me on in the RCLs? Join now, free to play!

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”378040″ player=”10951″ title=”2019 Razzball Draft Kit Top 5 Busts”]

When I think about people saying they’re going to draft Matt Carpenter, I think of the old hypnotist’s trick.  If you’re going to draft Matt Carpenter, I want you to do this:  close your eyes and pretend to be shaking a salt shaker into your mouth.  Now, incredibly, you will taste salt.  There’s no easier schmohawk post for me than a guy who has a career year at 32 years of age or older.  On the other hand, 31 years old?  Give me some!  (Kidding, please don’t ask why 31 is okay.)  Does anyone drafting Carpenter expect to get the same again what he did last year?  I can count the guys who peak in their thirties, who are not on ‘roids, on one hand and that’s a hand of a high school wood shop teacher.  “Today, I’m going to show you how to make your mother a chair–Okay, don’t be alarmed, it only looks worse than it is.  Place my thumb in your ice-cold Fanta, and call me a Lyft.”  *blood from wound sprays teacher in his face* “Don’t give the substitute a hard time, I could be out for a few.”  So, last year Matt Carpenter went 111/36/81/.257/4, which is so goofy you can put that stat line from Carpenter on LinkedIn and get hired to don a Goofy costume at Disney World, sight unseen.  “Yo, moms, I just got hired by Disney.”  “Bravo, Salvatore!  I-a didn’t even know-a you applied.”  “I didn’t, I just wrote down Matt Carpenter’s stat line on LinkedIn.”  By the by, I wanna get a giant mastiff and name it, Salvatore Glands.  Anyway, what can we expect from Matt Carpenter for 2019 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?

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It’s that time of year again, the one time of year when people are clamoring for a new spreadsheet. Draft season is nerds’ time to shine, and I’ve got you covered as usual. Looking to go beyond the copious 2019 fantasy baseball draft tools and online fantasy baseball war room? Do you yearn to have the ultimate drafting tool, to track goals and keep track of how other teams are doing? Want rankings based on points/OPS/etc instead of just plain old roto? Aiming to fill your roster with not just stars but also the occasional diamond in the rough, still available far beyond a reasonable ADP? Look no further – the downloadable 2019 fantasy baseball Excel war room is here!

If you plan to skip most of the info below, take this one tip with you: bookmark and keep checking this page throughout the pre-season. A few bugs usually pop up, and I may add features too. The most up-to-date version will always be posted at the bottom of this post, before the comments.

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Wait till you hear this week’s opening. I’d like to say that our early show banter is a feature of this podcast, but you might disagree. After opening the show with the craziest work email I’ve ever received, we jump into some sexy, sexy outfield action. Grey as always tells you who to draft, who to avoid, and where to take them. Don’t get yourself into a bind. Take off the chains that hold you down and jump into the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast. Bee-T-Dubs, don’t forget to checkout the new Razzball shirts over on Rotowear.com!

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If you enter a Yahoo Pro League this season, there’s a good chance you’ll see me in that league. I’ll be that stupid guy who has a meaningless team name that indicates who my best players are. This is just a way that a fantasy baseball addict like myself keeps track of my numerous teams. Some of my best team names in the past include Betts Bell Mop Sale, Mookie Dee Sco Votto and Scherzer’s Mop Story. While these are undoubtedly ridiculously dumb, this is just a means of categorizing who’s on which team. It’s surprisingly effective in terms of the other players on the roster too, as it tends to help me memorize the other players on each individual team. That brings us to our first key to winning a Yahoo Pro League…

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Cougs’ brother bought a place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; I mentioned to Cougs at one point in the last five years of marriage I skied once twenty years ago, and that’s the story of how I drafted a fantasy team falling graciously down the side of a mountain.  That’s right, ya boy went skiing this past weekend, and was drafting from a ski lift!  Thankfully, Geronimo Berroa is no longer in the league, because I might’ve ended up with him on my team because I kept screaming out his name during each round.  So, I took on the monsters of the industry in an AL Only league that was hosted by Scott White of CBS and I came away with a team that is more imbalanced than your aunt after two cocktails.  This league is deep so hold onto ye old hat. (If you want a shallower league, play against me and hundreds of your closest buddies in the Razzball Commenter Leagues.  Or closet buddies, if you’re reading fast and/or experimenting.)  Anyway, here’s my 12-team AL-Only team and some thoughts:

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Categories, eligibility and speed. These are the things that dictate where I rank hitters. Categories: A guy who contributes in all 5 categories is going to be ranked higher than someone who contributes in only 4 — even if those 4 categories are elite. That’s why I’m a bit lower on J.D. Martinez and Nolan Arenado compare to other people. Eligibility: obviously guys with multiple position eligibility or a shallower position will be ranked higher than say an outfielder. “Then why aren’t you higher on catchers?” Because after the top-2 catchers they’re basically all the same and likely to miss time. Speed: the most elusive of 5×5 categories. If you can give me at least 10 steals I’m going to give you a boost in my rankings. That’s why I’m higher on someone like Tommy Pham than others. If Trea Turner gets the 75-80 stolen base attempts that the Nationals want him to get then he has the chance to end the season as a top-3 player.

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The era of sports betting took a dramatic turn in May 2018. The US Supreme Court overturned a 1992 federal law that prohibited sports gambling across every state except Nevada. With this monumental ruling, the door swung wide open for sports betting in the United States. Major League Baseball must have been reading the tea leaves before the court’s ruling…

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It’s that time of the year to talk about everyone’s favorite topic, rebuilding! The Detroit Tigers are in full rebuild mode and likely will be for the next two to three seasons. The front office claims they want to compete in 2020 but progress is a slow process in Detroit. The most exciting thing to happen for Tigers fans last season was trying to decipher what happened during the fight between local broadcasters Mario Impemba and Rod Allen. Miguel Cabrera DH and friends lost 98 games last year and finished 3rd in a weak AL Central, which boasts a few other rebuilding teams with high expectations this year (looking at you Twins and White Sox.) I’m going to keep writing DH every time I type Miguel Cabrera until it becomes true. Thoughts become things. Did you know Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez, and David Price were once on this team? Of course you did, but I have to mention it or someone in the comments will say “I can’t believe you didn’t mention they used to have JV, JD, and David?!”

Please, blog, may I have some more?

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”379070″ player=”10951″ title=”2019 Razzball Draft Kit Draft This Not That”]

Imagine I wore glasses.  Don’t, but imagine I did.  Okay, sometimes I do, but usually I wear contacts.  So, I’m wearing glasses and I’m Burgess Meredith and there’s no one else in the world besides me.  I finally have time to read about sports, specifically news about the New York Yankees.  Why Yankees news?  I don’t know, but imagine it!  I’m humming New York, New York, and reading about the Yanks, when DJ LeMahieu signs with the Yankees.  Just as I’m reading where the Yankees plan on playing him, my glasses fall and shatter.  Since no one else is in this world, I’m doomed to never know where LeMahieu will play when Didi returns.  Unable to read anything again, I scream, “Giancarl-NOOOOOOOO!!!”  That’s what it feels like.  I’m in some weird Twilight Zone episode where I’m the only one who heard DJ LeMahieu signed with the Yankees.  Y’all hear about this or no?  I’d even accept, “Giancarl-no.”  Okay, assuming you people — yeah, you people! — heard about this signing, where is Gleyber Torres playing when Gregorius returns in June/July?  2nd base?  Okay, is LeMahieu never playing again?  Because, at last glance, LeMahieu stays fairly healthy.  Are you thinking Miguel Andujar is benched?  Hmm, okay, what if he’s not?  Luke Voit’s benched?  Okay, maybe, maybe not.  A giant five-man platoon for four infield spots?  I know Tulowitzki has a tattoo that reads, “Fra-jeel-lay,” but what if he’s healthy?  A six-man platoon for four spots?  Gleyber Torres is really going to get 155+ games played?  Not to answer, but to ruminate.  So, what can we expect from Gleyber Torres for 2019 fantasy baseball and what makes him overrated?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

A busy week of baseball with the Padres signing Manny Machado, College Baseball in full swing, and spring training games kicking off this weekend. There’s lots to talk about. In hopes of getting you up to speed on all the happenings, injuries, and story lines of the first week of baseball, we run through 9 days worth of action in 60 minutes. We’re just that fast! (That’s what she unfortunately said) As Lance is fresh off his West Coast road trip, and I’ve been sitting in my basement watching Grand Canyon University play, rambling about nothing. Regardless, lots of baseball to talk, and that’s what we’re giving you. More baseball! It’s the latest episode of the Razzball Prospect Podcast!

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