Thomas Howland

Draft: Salad Days For Severino

August 26, 2018 | DFS, Draft |

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In another life, Luis Severino had a 3.33 ERA against the Orioles, and a 3.62 ERA in their home park of Camden Yards, where he is pitching today. That was before the length and strength of that Baltimore lineup, Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop in particular, left to help other teams reach the postseason in the National League.  The Yankees are not exactly desperate, but they are in need of a good Severino, and facing this Baltimore lineup is just the trick.  It’s because of info like this that Severino is #1 with a bullet on our Streamonator.  Now let’s look at a few more early-, middle- and late-round picks for your Draft…drafts!

New to Draft? 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 you do. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Sun 8/3
ARI | ATH | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | ATL | CIN | OAK
Geoff

Minor League Update: Kyle Tucker Is Hotter Than Fefe

August 26, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 43 Comments

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It’s Tucking K-way!!! The announcers at Fresno Grizzles games should just yell that out every time Kyle Tucker hits the batters box. Seriously, there is no one hotter on the planet right now than Kyle Tucker. Now gentlemen and three ladies, I know what you’re all thinking, “Real nice Ralphie, but where was this in the bigs kid?” BTW all of you have a Southie accent, and at least one Celtic cross tattoo. I just wanted to be clear about that. Oh, what’s that? The sound of a walkoff three run dong off the bat of Tucker? He finished up Saturday night 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, a run, a stolen base, and a walk. Tucker is hitting .478/.510/.1.087 with 9 homers, 18 runs, 20 RBI, and 6 steals over his last ten games. That’s some hero-ball type of stuff. Despite the struggles in his limited MLB looks I still foresee a future all-star, with 25-30 homer power, 15 steal speed, and a .270-.280 batting average. His setup, and swing are somewhat unique/unorthodox, whatever. With his uppercut bat-path, and upper body heavy swing, sometimes it almost looks like Tucker is throwing the bat, but he manages to get a lot of the barrel in the strike-zone, leading to a ton of good contact. All this to say, don’t sell on Tucker. 2018 might not be his year to contribute, but I’d be in on 2019 in all formats. The lingering question is playing time, but Tucker is good enough that he’ll force his way. It’s easy to forget he’s just 21, and will be 22 for the entirety of 2019. So there’s plenty of time to get things to click at the big league level. I do think there will be some swing and miss struggles early, but those should stabilize with experience. Tucker is an obvious candidate for a September promotion, and could provide some spark with the right amount of playing time.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Dokken

Two Startapalooza, Week 22: I Can Be Your Masa-hero, Baby

August 25, 2018 | Two Start Fantasy Starters | 9 Comments

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Well, let’s try this again, shall we? At this time last week we expected Stephen Strasburg to debut Tuesday and get two starts, but instead he got pushed back to Wednesday and blew up for five runs in four innings. What a treat! Like a bombsicle on the Fourth of July, I tell ya. So THIS week, supposedly, he lines up twice against the Phillies and Brewers. I’ve got him in Tier 3 as a non-must-start. If you have him you’re probably starting him, but he’s liable to give you a queasy feeling like when you hit the Taco Bell drive through at 3AM. Overall, the options are pretty sparse this week, which is rough news for those of you needing help in your H2H leagues. Some off days and back ends of the rotations turning twice make for a pretty thin group. Guys like Cole Hamels and Jon Gray make up the bulk of Tier 2, and Tier 3 is short and iffy. Tier 4 is where it’s at this week, with a thick, meaty array of guys that’ll make you shrug and go “Meh, it can’t be any worse than yesterday when Janet from accounting rejected my offer to take her to Red Lobster”. Guys like Lance Lynn and Sam Gaviglio inhabit that Tier with great matchups, but, you know, they’re Lance Lynn and Sam Gaviglio. You can’t expect too much. Tier 5 is about as short as it has been all season, and with some rotations in flux, it’s hard to nail down any more options right now. However, if you play in a reverse league or are for some reason actively trying to lose your matchup, James Shields against the Yankees and BoSox is just about as big a gas can as you can muster to throw on your team.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Prospect Podcast: Michael Kopech’s Debut And September Call-Ups

August 25, 2018 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 5 Comments

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For prospectors with years in the game, there are few things more satisfying than watching prospects develop into MLB players. Well, maybe a bowl of ice cream, or a steak sandwich is more satisfying, but prospect promotions are a close second. In this vein, we ate steak sandwiches and ice cream, while discussing the MLB debuts of one Michael Kopech, and the Braves Bryse Wilson. After giving you our two cents on what we saw in those highly anticipated premiers, we move along to announcing our new venture @Prospectslive, before hitting on some top Minor League news, like the shutdown of Dylan Cease, Nolan Gorman’s recent streak, or the AAA debut of Michael Chavis. It’s a big week, as always, on the show, as we get your minor league knowledge up to date. Don’t forget to visit Rotowear.com, and support our sponsor by using our promo-code SAGNOF to get 20% off the top fashions in the fantasy game. It’s the latest episode of the Razzball Prospect Podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
VictoriaB

FantasyDraft: Nights Are Getting Cooler, Grab A Kershawl

August 25, 2018 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

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(Obviously YMMV re. the cooler nights if you’re not in eastern Canada, comme moi.) It is the last Saturday of baseball in August. I repeat, the last Saturday in August. I don’t know how the hell that happened, but my gathering melancholy at the thought that regular-season baseball is drawing to a close is definitely assuaged by the sweet pitching match-ups on the slate today, beginning with Clayton Kershaw facing the San Diego Padres. And oh yeah, the Cards and Rockies have @Col next to their names on the schedule. Tonight’s gonna be a good night for pitching AND hitting for your FantasyDraft team: I can feel it in my tired old bones <pours a sherry, clutches shawl>.

New to FantasyDraft? 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?
Dan Pants

Jays Morales High Off Kendrys Homers

August 25, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 9 Comments

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Kendrys hit it? Yes he can. Blue Jays first baseman/DH Kendrys Morales homered in his fifth straight game Friday night and now has a total of six jacks in five nights! KEN-DRYS do it again!? I don’t know! The B-Jays have won four in a row and Morales extended his hitting streak to eight games and is hitting .571 in the past week with five multi hit games, seven runs scored and nine RBI. Kendrys is available in over half of fantasy leagues and he’s hotter than Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson’s sex life. Which I hear is very steamy. That was a fairly on trend reference though, right?  Speaking of trendy, it’s Players Weekend, HE’LL YALL! That means dope cleats, mostly ugly/funny uniforms (I can’t tell if I like the Rays hats or hate them so much), and of course: terrible nicknames. This is a good opportunity to tell if your favorite player has a good personality or not. Some of the nicknames are clever or fun (SABANERO SOY? yes please, and Brad Boxberger gets millennials), but if a guy just adds a -y or an -ie he’s probably a pretty lame dude so I guess it’s a good thing he’s so good at baseball. Kendrys chose to wear “MONINA,” which I tried Googling but couldn’t get a proper translation so I’ll just assume it means “Only Hits In August.” Well, it’s still August for another week and despite how long he chose to wait to get en fuego, Kendrys Morales was a BUY and is one of the hottest hitters in the league right and I’d ride him while he’s hitting all the baseballs.

Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night featuring more dumb nicknames than you’ve ever wanted:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Yost

Getting Ahead in H22, Week 21: Semien the Playoffs!

August 25, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Head-to-Head Leagues | 2 Comments

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We are in the last couple weeks of the fantasy baseball regular season! And while your league mates may be asleep at the wheel and already looking deep into football, you are staying active. This is where you amp up your roster to get it geared up for the playoffs. Trade deadlines have passed, so the only means of improving your team is through the waiver wire. I’ve got a few guys that should help you make this last push for the playoffs. It wouldn’t be a Razzball article from me if it didn’t come with a corny title, so you all can Semien the Playoffs baby with these hitters.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Vlad Buyerro Jr.

August 24, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 243 Comments

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”284415″ player=”10951″ title=”Fantasy Baseball Buy Sell Hold Week 22″]

A premature grey-haired man and a prematurely balding man sit on a Brooklyn stoop, chatting about the old days.  “I can remember when Ossie Davis sat on this very stoop in Do The Right Thing.”  “It was a simpler time before gentrification.  Now the millennials are killing the bees, mayonnaise and plastic straws.”  Sipping his drink, “My kombucha tastes like paper…stupid biodegradable straw!”  “We were millennials as late as June, what happened to us?”  “We grew old waiting for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.!”  “Stupid millennials and their Super Twos!”  So, as mentioned last week in my Eloy Jimenez fantasy, I’m back here for the other guy who could be called up this week.  Will he?  Unless you’re talking to my groin, and mispronouncing Willie, I haven’t a clue.  I’m not saying Vlad Jr. necessarily will be called up, I’m just saying you stash him for right now.  See what happens when rosters expand in a few days, and, if he’s not called up, you drop him again.  No harm, no foul in holding a guy for a week who could do what Vladimir Guerrero Jr. does.  For more, search the damn site!  We’ve been talking about him for so long we’ve grown old!  Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Roto-Wan

Closer Rankings: Leclerc Est LeGood

August 24, 2018 | Closers | 15 Comments

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Hey, you’re not Smokey. What gives? Smokey has passed on. From our fantasy collective that is. I’m Roto-Wan. You may remember me from such Razzball posts as Draft: DFS Tuesdays. I’m filling the bear-shaped hole left in your fantasy hearts the rest of the way. Strap in save-chasers. The end of 2018 could get bumpy.

  • I’m kicking things off in bold fashion and adding Jose Leclerc to the top tier. He has as many earned runs as walks since July 1. Two of each, lowering his ratios to a 1.93 ERA and a .90 WHIP, with a 14.3 K/9. Dude is bad.
  • It’s been a weird stretch for the Dodgers. Jansen was diagnosed with a heart issue and DL’d. No one excelled in his absence. Then he returned and blew some saves in ugly fashion. I have to drop them some.
  • Terry Francona has made it clear both Allen and Hand will get save opportunities.
  • Would you look at that? Sergio Romo has become useful in 2018. Nothing spectacular, but fairly dependable in the one number we care about.
  • As gross as the name is, Wily Peralta seems to be the preferred option for the Royals. In a bold-bullpen-calls article prior to the season, he was the boldest one I made. It says something about the nature of saves that the name I thought was the most ridiculous I included is getting regular ninth inning work.
    • Please, blog, may I have some more?
Richardo

FanDuel: Folty Takes His Talents To South Beach

August 24, 2018 | DFS, Fanduel |

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Welcome to another Friday, where FanDuel has us set up with a 14 game slate.  Since all the studs pitched on Thursday (Scherzer, Nola, DeGrom, Bumgarner, ), we have the fun job of picking through the leftovers to find Friday’s stud.  Today I’m taking my talents to South Beach…….to write about the visiting pitcher, Mike Foltynewicz ($). <set up autocorrect to fix every time I eff up the spelling of Folynevix>  Foltyburger’s K-rate has been sick this year, up 7.5% from 20.7% in 2017 to 28.2% this year, and he even gets a small park bump in Miami.  He also gets the pleasure of facing Miami’s lineup which for the season is dead last in ISO and 28th in wOBA vs RHP.  Foltyverter is where I’m starting my lineup on this Friday, so let’s see what we can add to him to make some money.

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?
Grey

Mad Max Cannot Get Beyond Noladome

August 24, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 162 Comments

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The rich keep getting richer and the poor get poorer.  The middle is being squeezed.  When I Google, “What happened to the middle class?”  I found some socioeconomic theories on Yahoo Answers, and ads to get rich quick and stop having to “steal food from Whole Foods.”  Okay, I have no idea how they know about that, but, if you switch a price tag, it is not exactly stealing.  It’s redistributing “gummies made with real fruit juice.”  All of this is fascinating and all, but I was trying to find out what is happening to the middle class of starters!  Aaron Nola (8 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 9 Ks) and Max Scherzer (7 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks) faced each other, and both pitchers have ERAs of 2.13.  Not surprisingly, the police code for fantastic use of arms is 2.13.  Again, there’s top starters with a sub-3 ERA, and there is a ton of starters above 4.00 ERA that I don’t want, but where are the 3.50 ERA pitchers?  Doesn’t it feel like this middle class of pitchers has shrunk?  *coming across something on the internet*  Hmm, maybe this article by a Harvard professor in The Economist will explain it to me.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Minor League Update: Florial Arrangements For Your Dynasty Centerpiece

August 23, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 14 Comments

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Prospects are funny, when things are going well all is expected of them. The sky’s the limit, the loftiest of comparisons are strewn about, and the helium pumps. Then the player struggles. Whether it be a command bout for a live arm, or a hitter stalling a little in his development. We all quickly jump off the boat. When often times, that player bounces back the following year, or late in the season, only to leave egg on our faces. Development takes time, and it’s just that, developing skills that lead to success at the major league level. Once such case of struggle, and recent revival is Yankees outfield prospect Estevan Florial. After an unproductive and injury plagued first half, the Haitian talent has returned with a vengeance. He’s looking more comfortable at the plate, and his swing and miss issues are trending the right way. If Florial can get his hit tool to a 45-50 level, his combination of speed and power could turn him into an impact player at the major league level. For now there’s still hit tool concerns, but you scout the athlete, and there’s few more impressive than Florial. I won’t back down from Florial as a top 25-50 prospect, and he’ll be around there in my update.

Please, blog, may I have some more?