Not since  Jack Morris threw 126 pitches in a 10 inning masterpiece and Dan Gladden scored the winning run to give the Twins the 1991 World Series title has there been such excitement in the twin cities. Believe it or not, the land that gave us Hulk Hogan, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, The Road Warriors, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, and the backpack turned “dad rap” stylings of Slug and Atmosphere MAY also give us one of  this year’s A.L Wild Card teams…or maybe, just maybe, the A.L Central Champs?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!

The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.

I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!

Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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

The intro for Yahoo’s 2019 fantasy baseball rankings reminds of a Dear John letter written by your ex-wife.  Only your name is Kevin and she accidentally writes “John,” and doesn’t have a chance to proofread it because she’s bedding down your best friend.  Read for yourself:

Sure, guys and five girl readers, “You’ll find your familiar Trouts’, the Betts’, the Martinez’, but questions remain.”

Huh?

Yeah, I have questions that, uh, remain.  How many Trouts have they ranked?  The Betts’?  Did they rank his entire family?  The Martinez’?  Is that like World War Z, but instead it’s, “An Apostrophe Z?”

“When should the first pitcher go off the board, and should there be more than one?”

Said like Ron Burgundy, “That’s not English.”  Should there be more than one?  Are Yahoo leagues this year one-pitcher leagues?  I’m so confused.  Did 100 monkeys with 100 typewriters, who only read Bleacher Report, write up this intro?

“Enough talk though.  Let’s jump into the rankings!”

Ha!  Was there enough talk?  I’ve written more in this intro than they wrote.  With that level of effort, they don’t even deserve this evisceration, but… *sharpens nails that look like the 108-year-old Asian man in the Guinness Book of World Records* …here goes nothing.  For this post, I will be looking at the consensus Yahoo 2019 fantasy baseball rankings vs. my own 2019 fantasy baseball rankings.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome to the 2019 Razzball Team Previews! You’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. And I mean everything folks. We’ve got charts, Slurpee’s, lube, a guide for beginner basket-weaving, and even a cactus! Oh wait, yeah, I actually just listed what I have on my desk… But hey, what’s the point of lube and cacti if you can’t share? Truer words have never been written. EVER. Anyways, without further ado (and plenty of lube and cacti), let’s check out the 2019 San Diego Padres!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It is Wednesday my dudes! That means it’s time to put on my MAGA hat and pump out another minor league preview. If you have someone special in your life, good luck getting them that perfect gift for tomorrow. I suggest getting them a bottle of wine or two (or three). If you don’t have someone special in your life, get the wine anyway and just drink it yourself. That’s what I do. Meanwhile the Cubs minor league preview is my loving gift to you. They aren’t nearly the powerhouse system that they were in the past. Apparently St. Valentine was beaten with clubs and then beheaded. The last few blurbs of this preview might be a similar experience. Enjoy!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Our 2019 Razzball leagues are in full signup mode. Today, I’m in dress-down mode.  Casually coming for you in the middle of the night, wearing nothing but slippers and a multicolored housecoat that’s half open so you can see the family jewels while I apply my Ambi.  Here’s what Grey thinks about you (repeat 17x).  I’m about to blow my top as I let my aggravation Michael Bublé over.  If you’re clutching pearls like Barbara Bush’s hologram, you’re better off looking at cute pet pics on Instagram, because I’m sharpening my pointer fingers, i.e., the fingers that I use to type!  I am the Fantasy Master Lothario (don’t abbreviate it) and I’ve come for your children!  See, because blog writing doesn’t pay so well, I’ve taken a second job as a bus driver, so I’m literally here for your kids.  Like a baller!  A shot caller!  An “I’m outside of Hot Topic at the maller!”  Now let’s open a window and defenestrate ESPN’s 2019 fantasy baseball rankings.  To the tune of Ice Cube’s No Vaseline:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Many moons ago, there was once a time in the fantasy baseball landscape where First Base was deeper than Shortstop. But that was a long time ago. Today, the Fantasy Master Lothario dusts off his cape and digs in on one of the most exciting positions in all of fantasy. Shortstops. Growing up it was all about the glove, but that’s no longer the case, now we have names like Lindor, Baez, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, and Miguel Rojas! Okay, I’m kidding on those last two, but you catch my drift. FYI: This was recorded prior to Lindor’s injury, thank god we glossed over the guys in the top 20! Anyhoo, tune in, we talk shortstops, we laugh, we cry, we hawk Rotowear shirts with Razzball branding. It’s a glorious time to be alive!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s Zach with a “ch” not a “ck” like that comedian that pleasures himself in front of unsuspecting women. Don’t worry, I’m told Zach only does this in front of the Philly Phanatic. (And who could blame him, the Phanatic is thicc.) Anyways, this is an Eflin underrated hurler right here! Total sleeper status. Except Grey ranked him 64th in his top starters for 2019, which I didn’t view until after writing the bulk of this. So, Zach’s not really underrated by Razzball terms, nor his he overrated, so let’s say that he’s just around the Greydar. Much like your mother. Regardless… this post can serve as a reminder to watch out for him on draft day. Eflin right!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Fantasy Baseball War Room is back!  I’m not saying the Fantasy Baseball War Room is back, as in, is a butt.  So, if Sir Mix-A-Lot is reading, I’m truly sorry for the confusion.  Our Fantasy Baseball War Room is one part draft tool, one part fantasy team evaluator, one part fantasy junkie’s s’s and g’s tool, one part holy, two parts smokes, three parts… How many parts is that so far?  Cause it’s only really seven parts total.  I think there’s one part kill-your-day-with-this-war-room-thing-a-maboob-as-a-pinwheel-spins in there too.  Essentially, this helps you practice building a fantasy baseball team.

If you’re unfamiliar with our Fantasy Baseball War Room, it’s a draft tool to help you track where you are at any moment in a draft.  It shows you if you have too many steals, homers… Or if your ERA or WHIP are too low.  Or too high.  Or if your lamb is still rare or should be turned (results vary on lamb).  If you’ve already drafted a team, go into the War Room, enter your team and it shows you exactly how stacked/dreadful the team is.  If you want to practice mocking for your Razzball Commenter League, do that too.  (Fantrax waived $80 fees for us, so go join some Razzball Commenter Leagues!)  If you’re in the middle of a draft, you can filter which guys are left that have the most home runs according to my projections.  Or the most steals, or the most runs or the most whatever (only applicable if “Whatever” is a category in your league).  If you’re in a bind, go into a Warm Room and take a shvitz.  Ah…That’s better!  There might be some bugs in our Fantasy Baseball War Room, just comment here and we’ll look into fixes.  The default projections are mine from the 2019 fantasy baseball rankings.  Also, Rudy’s projections are now up!  They can be found at my ranking page that I just linked to or here:  hitter projections and pitcher projections.  There, you’ll see rankings for every conceivable league (OBP, OPS, Holds, etc).  Anyway, here’s the step by step instructions on how to use the Fantasy Baseball War Room:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Sorry for the delay between installments, but it’s been crazy here at the homestead! And speaking of which, The 18th Out, Part 1 can be read here.  I recently had a neck surgery in late January, and we had a newborn baby boy (John Robert! What’s up Bubba!) in October. Who would’ve thought the combination of the two would put some kind of restraint on free time (and ability to keep my arm extended on the keyboard)?  I’m not exactly 100% and practicing fully in pads, but I’m off the DL (renamed the IL since I started) and I’m ready to score some goals…

The time has come for the second installment of my exploration into the red headed stepchild of fantasy stat-lines; the Quality Start. In this edition, we’ll put the final touches on the efficacy of seeking out Quality Starts in the roto game and hopefully draw a cohesive conclusion before moving onto the fun part of QS talk; WEEKLY POINT LEAGUE DO-OR-DIE MAYHEM!!! However, before we can put the Brooklyn Brawler beat-down on that freckled miscreant under the stairs, I must unfortunately apologize for a specific inaccuracy in Part 1.  As someone who is very particular when it comes to precision I got caught with my rosy red assumption out, pants down around my ankles. (Sorry, I didn’t hear you coming ESPN, I would’ve freshened up…) I copied a 2018 Team Pitching Totals Chart from ESPN, sorted for Quality Starts (Provided below). I didn’t even think to double check the once great sports network, turned annoying social justice warrior.  Apparently Quality Starts are so overlooked that mega fantasy sites don’t even know how to calculate them anymore.  This being the glorious age of trolling on an internet that never forgets, I feel compelled to post their erroneous numbers below… (The cause for this detour, that better not turn this into a Deliverance situation. If you hear banjos in the background, start running and don’t look back.)

Please, blog, may I have some more?

For all the longtime Razzballers out there, you may remember a post just like this a few years ago. If so, you have a great memory and should consider a field in Jeopardy attempts or keeping track of how many times Trump mentions Hillary. If not, this particular strategy piece has staying power. Even with some dated examples, the main overarching theme is a sound one for Deep Leagues and can be an additive for your related strategies. So without further ado, A Deep Impact series post is now upon you! (Where I’m from, they call that Immediate Impact. HURRRR.)

So… I’m not sure what format you play in. But if your league has a constitution longer than a college thesis on the European textile industry and its effect on the French bourgeoisie, well then, you’re probably in the right place. We’re here to take a short ‘n sweet look at some uncommon scoring categories that dynasty/deep leagues might use commonly. The fantasy laymen might ask why we would create such devilish inventions… and that’d be fine, because we seriously have no clue.

Note: Fantasy Football may be over, but keep Razzball in mind for next season!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

If you’re like me most days, you’re sitting in your car beneath an underpass and writing ALF fan fiction, but today we have a different type of fantasy for you to engage in.  No, not your fantasy where it’s you and that girl from high school in a tub of Alphabet Soup and you write her a love letter on her back in noodles!  This is a fantasy baseball fantasy!  Because you know what would be really cool?  If you could join a fantasy baseball league that was against, like, 1000 other fantasy baseball teams.  But not a 1000-person league, where people are trying to figure out who the back-up third baseman is on the Single-A Astros affiliate, the Corpus Christi Amscrayers.  No, this is a 12-person league designed so you compete against eleven other people in your league, then 75 other leagues of twelve.  That would be cool.  Oh, wait, we’ve done that.  It’s called the Razzball Commenter Leagues, and they’re back, and you don’t even have to be a commenter to join it!  For a limited time only, get your loved one a fantasy baseball league!  That’s right, your hearts go pitter-patter or you’re dead on the inside (my condolences).  Since back in June when you abandoned your fantasy baseball team because it was totally sucking and you returned to your cubbyhole of leftover Chinese food and Teddy Grahams, you’ve longed for this day.  As Bob Marley sang, this is your redemption song, mon.  Or womon, for our five girl readers.  It’s time again to join some fantasy baseball leagues!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Finally we have a trade to sink our teeth into, as JT Realmuto was traded for the Phillies in exchange for Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro, and lefty Will Stewart. An interesting deal with some ripple effects on the fantasy catching landscape. Lance and I discuss all the players involved, stump for Sixto a little before moving on. What do we move on to? Me waxing poetic about how good the Padres Chris Paddack can be and just how remarkable his 2018 really was. If you don’t know now you know. We wrap up the show with a little Daniel Espino talk and send you on your merry way. It’s the latest episode of the Razzball Prospect Podcast.

Follow Lance on Twitter @Lancebroz and follow Ralph @ProspectJesus, and of course find all their work on www.prospectslive.com

Please, blog, may I have some more?