With the All-Star Break stealing the next half a week from us, there are obviously no two-start pitchers. So, in place of Two Startapalooza this week, we’re going to take a look back at the first half that was. We’ll take a look at our own fantasy All-Star teams of Studs and Duds and prognosticate whether their production (or lack thereof) will continue in the second half. For the Duds I’m aiming for guys who have sucked without too much of an injury excuse. For the Studs, I’m considering their preseason ADP relative to the production they’ve given you. When I do reference said ADP, it’ll be the Fantrax preseason ADP I’m talking about. There are a ton of guys to get to here, so without further tomfoolery or balderdash, let’s rock.
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Nick Kingham, the Bucs newest hot-shot rookie pitcher, notched his second win in a row last night pitching six and a third innings allowing just six base runners (5 hits) and striking out nine Brewers for his fourth win of the year. Back in Pittsburgh, they treat themselves post game to some of the finest foods available using only fresh local ingredients–then they put cole slaw and fries on it to make it even better. Since flirting with a perfect game in his April debut, Nick Kingham’s stock has slowly fallen, but I’m telling you now he just had a handful of fresh french fries dropped on top of him and its time to eat. We’re talking about a post post hype pick up here, folks! That’s two posts! He looked more than comfortable Friday night, coasting through the first five innings without issue before giving up solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Taking on the Brewers is a tough assignment for any pitcher, let alone a n00b like Kingham, but he pitched admirably finding the strike zone consistently and working into seventh. Real talk, I’m not telling you to add Kingham because he throws strikes, it’s that 51/12 K/BB in just 50.2 IP that’s got me all “In My Feelings” like Drake. Ignore the 4.26 ERA, the 1.13 WHIP is looking pretty regal, no? If it’s not clicking let me spell it out for you. A 26-year pitcher with a 22.2 K% is locked into that number five rotation spot. That means IPs and Ks and possibly even Ws. Lots of letters, people! Kingham is available in over 80% of fantasy leagues. I’d pick Nick everywhere I needed starting pitching help for the strikeouts and the upside and if we’re lucky we might even get a handful of fries with that.
Here’s what else happened in fantasy baseball Friday night:
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that a betting girl (or boy) in want of a good fortune must take into her (his) possession Colorado and Cleveland bats today. For on this fine Saturday, the respectively 4th– and 5th-best teams versus LHP both happen to be facing the aforementioned lefty pitching — and the Rockies are doing it at home, to boot. Here’s the tricky thing. FantasyDraft has split its slate into two today. We want to pay up for pitching for the early slate, and late, for the main slate, we’re going to stack hitters (Rockies, Indians and Mariners) like our futures depend upon it, while we let pitching slide a tad. Luckily, there’s enough variation in decent pitching to pull all this off. Let’s take a look at some options, shall we?
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!
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Prospect Podcast: 2018 MLB Futures Game Preview
July 14, 2018 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 18 Commentsby: Geoff
If All-Star weekend should be celebrated for anything nowadays it should be for it’s premier event. That of course being the MLB Futures Game! What’s that you ask? Am I a little out of touch with reality right now? No, you are! Do you want to start this right here? Right now? EXACTLY! (beats chest a few times like an ape) This game is by far my favorite part of the entire shindig, and this year’s crop has a ton of talent on the USA team and the World squad. With this in mind and fresh on the heels of my Top 100 release, Lance and I cover the gambit. Starting with some updates from around the minors, followed by some Top 100 talk, further followed by the 2018 MLB Futures Game Preview. This show is jam packed with knowledge and ready to go! As always checkout our sponsor Rotowear over on Rotowear.com. You can use our promo-code SAGNOF to get 20% off any Rotowear brand shirt. It’s this week’s edition of the Razzball Prospect Podcast:
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NickWill Will Help You Get Your Buyzzz
July 13, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 436 Commentsby: Grey
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”271292″ player=”10951″ title=”Fantasy Baseball Buy Sell Hold Week 16″]
Nick Williams was a popular preseason breakout target. Or tar-jay, if a soccer mom is reading. Targot, if you just returned from Target. Targo, if you’re eating escargot after going to Target. Tarshouldget, if Target doesn’t carry your size. Tarheel, if you stepped into tar then into Target. Tarnishes, obviously means your Target carries knishes, so you must be in Brooklyn, and it’s ironic. Tarte tatin, you’re wearing a hat made of slow roasted apples on your head in a Target. Whatever Target applies, wanna know why Williams was a popular preseason pick? C’mon, sit on my lap and I’ll tell ya. Metaphorically! Get off my lap, you weirdo! *sprays Lysol on legs* Really wish you didn’t touch my legs. So, Nick Williams had 15 HRs, 5 SBs and a .280 average in his last year of Triple-A, in only 78 games (!). He’s still only 24 years old. I know, he failed to live up to hype last year. OR DID HE?! Ooh, you heard of reversible umbrellas? That was a reversal question. Not similar at all. He only played in 83 games last year, a sloppy prorater would say he could’ve had 24 homers last year and hit .288. Maybe he doesn’t fully break out until next year (yes, he will be a sleeper), but he’s been hot in the last week, and on pace for another 24-homer season and has lowered his Ks. Plus, you don’t need to go to Target to buy him! Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
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Closer Rankings, Week 16: ROS-pect
July 13, 2018 | Closers, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 24 Commentsby: Smokey
For those of you looking for the “Aretha Friends and Family” talk channel, I am not going to say you are in the wrong place, but before you go, what the heck does TCB mean in the damn song? Because there is no way it means “takin care of business”. But anyways, thanks for coming and you can now leave as this geek-dom is full on extra for the ROS closer rankings. The ROS rankings are important… Just like every other ROS stuff, because anything said purely as an acronym is full on important. Just ask the government. So the rest of season closer rankings are more dictated on who is losing their jobs rather than who will continue TCB. This rankings will not include corns, overpriced salads or freezes, just straight cold hard facts about who I think will be traded, demoted or basically just suck the rest of the year. Short, sweet, and to the point. So if you were looking for some long didactic look at how closers will be the plight of your fantasy season because of X, Y and Z, you aren’t getting it. Rankings 1-30ish. Period, send it to the print shop. Cheers!
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Getting Ahead in H2H, Week 16: Polanco Push
July 13, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Head-to-Head Leagues | 2 Commentsby: Yost
If you play H2H you are approaching your final~ 5-7 regular season matchups. The most important of them all. By now you should have a good idea of where you sit, and how your chances are looking. Unless it has been a REAL bad year for you, you should be still be able to squeek into the playoff mix. Should. If you have a playoff spot established, you are likely trying to thrust up into the top seeds and secure a heavenly bye week. Wherever you may be in the standings, we are all looking at how we can prepare ourselves for these last couple of months. You are likely checking where you rank in each category, and which ones you may need to address before the trade deadline. The waiver wire will also be churning out some players that will come up big time for some owners. Who will those impact players be? Who will be the “Matt Olsen” or “Rhys Hoskins” of 2018? While he may not contain as much power as those guys, there is someone in mind who I think can make a huge impact for owners down the stretch. As a H2H Categories enthusiast, you know I love me a player who can give me a speed/pop combination. Coming off a suspension, this guy is relatively under the radar at 9.1% ownership on ESPN. If he finishes this season similarly to how he did last year we are looking at a multi category SS on the waiver wire.
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What’s up everybody? Final FanDuel Friday before the AS Break :*(, and we’ve got a massive 15 game slate on FanDuel. I’ll lead with the most boring of hot-takes ever; Alex Cobb is not an ace. Please, please, put down your pitchforks and hear me out. Back in his glory days Cobb threw a power change that was so good it earned itself the nickname “The Thing”. Sadly, The Thing has disappeared and Cobb has struggled to the tune of a 6.67 ERA this year. SIERA says he hasn’t been THAT bad (4.58), but, spoiler alert, that’s not ideal either. So why then, are the Rangers‘ bats priced as though they’re facing Chris Sale?? You can go straight down the lineup, starting with Shin-Soo Choo leading off for $3,300 being the most expensive. Both sides of the plate have hit Cobb hard this year, but the Rangers lefties of Choo, Nomar Mazara ($3,100), Rougned Odor ($3,000), and Joey Gallo ($2,800) have a nice combination of floor and super upside pop. This might be a super duper chalky stack, but the combo of not too high priced pitching and Rangers’ prices makes it possible to fit in some fun high priced bats. Let’s take a look at some other plays that caught my eye.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?I wanna geek out for a second. You with me? Orf course you are, because I say “Orf course” and you’re still reading! Entering yesterday’s game Anthony Rendon (3-for-5, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and his 14th and 15th homer, hitting .285) was 19th overall for 3rd basemen on the Player Rater, in a virtual tie with Miguel Andujar and Ryon Healy and right behind Derek Dietrich. Hey, over-the-internet friend, that’s awful. Third basemen are not exactly stacked like hamburgers at IHOB either. There’s seven top tier ones ($17+). For context, there’s ten elite shortstops. There’s 16 shortstops at $11+, and only eleven 3rd basemen. I don’t think you heard me, Derek Dietrich has been more valuable than Rendon so far this year, or sofa if you’re reading in a furniture store. Rendon already spent the 1st half taking the craps out, so, yo, I think he can roll up to 7 at the position by season’s end. The route he’s taken has definitely been the hard way. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? Top 100 Prospects For Fantasy Baseball: Mid-Season 2018
July 12, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 155 Commentsby: Geoff
This is for all the people that have come up to me over the last few weeks and asked “Yo, Ralph when’s that Top 100 droppin’ son?” And I said, “When it’s finished”. This is for y’all, one love! Oh but wait, there’s more to come too. This is simply a sweet, sweet 20% of the overall ranks. The full 500 will drop on Sunday. I want to thank all of my readers over the years for supporting me in all that I do here. These rankings posts are a lot of questioning your evaluations, and even more sleepless nights. So, I hope you enjoy. As for the Top 100, I’ve gone a little heavier in discounting pitching than in previous years, instead favoring upside bats. Why? Because pitching prospects are like reflections in side view mirrors, all much closer than they appear. Think about Shane Bieber vs. Tyler Glasnow, one guy was hyped to the max, the other was a boring strike-thrower that likely would never crack a top 250 for fantasy. Who would you rather own now? Speaking of upside, you’ll see the second half of this list is a little more upside heavy with some breakouts mixed in for good measure. What can I say? I like the young upside hitters. This exercise was a process,I began by listing nearly 700 players, then went player by player ranking each on a “would I trade this guy for this guy” trip, then I stared at the list changing ranks over and over again while I smoked like a German. That’s not a joke, this actually happened. All to whittle it down to the list below, the Top 100.
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I’ve always enjoyed good knock offs. Are those Mikes or Nikes? Why does the horse logo on your Polo shirt only have three legs? Some of my favorite were Dolce & Banana, Johnnie Worker Red Labial, Adidos, and Skerpie. In the baseball world, knock offs are prevalent as well. Sometimes intentional, as younger players try to pattern their games after another, but more often than not, players just end up profiling very similarly. Yulieski Gurriel (57.9% owned – increase of 12.7%) has always reminded me of Martin Prado – high batting average, high contact, limited power, and low strikeout hitter from the right side of the plate. For his career, Prado has a .290 batting average, 11.2% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate, and .129 ISO. Gurriel has a career .296 batting average, 10.6% strikeout rate, 3.9% walk rate, and .162 ISO. Yes, Yuli has slightly more power, but that’s not saying much. So, why is Yuli one of the highest-added players in ESPN leagues over the past week? Since July 1st, he has a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .367/.444/.667 with 2 home runs. The ISO is .300 and strikeout rate is at 13.9%. Yuli has value, as he will hit for a high average. Just like Mikes can allow you to walk around, but try playing in a tournament with those bad boys and…..TRASH
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Greetings, friends! We’re finally past the real halfway point of the baseball season, and almost to the fake halfway point of the baseball season… either way you look at it, a good time to take stock of your team(s) and remember that there is lots of baseball left in 2018, of both the real and pretend variety. Whether you’re sitting comfortably at the top of your league standings trying to maintain your position, or buried towards the bottom hoping to scratch and claw your way to a money finish in the second half, you probably have something to play for (even if it’s just pride/not looking like a jerk for quitting). We’ve had some pretty amazing out-of-nowhere hitting seasons so far this year, but since the Max Muncys and Jesus Aguilars of the world are no longer super-deep-league names, we’ll need to dig a little deeper. (Also, I’m only looking at players currently on MLB rosters, so no Willie Calhoun-types on this list). Many of these guys we’ve talked about before, and all of them are 15% owned or less in CBS leagues — this group may not be a cavalcade of all-stars, but you never know who will end up being a difference-maker, especially in the deep-league world. And who knows — someone from this list might even be a legitimate option in shallower leagues by the time August and September roll around.
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