This is Rich Hill’s second DL stint of the year already. What were you expecting? Now he’s asking the MLB to allow him to pitch with tape on his finger. He’s also asking around the Dodgers locker room if anyone will pee on his hands. I’d be surprised if either side said yes. Stash or Trash: Sure go ahead stash him — just don’t set up a Google alert for his name or your phone will literally explode with weekly injury updates. He’s going to miss a month this time. Trash in shallow leagues. Fill In: Vince Velasquez (22.8%.) VV is someone who we’ve all been tempted by due to his 10+ K/9 potential. However, that came with a BB/9 over 4 and a HR/9 close to 2 most of his career. He’s been limiting his walks so far this year though — he’s only allowed more than two walks once. He’ll always be prone to getting blown up like his 4 IP/6 ER start against the Braves or his 4.2 IP/4 ER start against the Diamondbacks at the end of April, but if he can limit the walks and keep the ball in the yard slightly less against lesser opponents — he could be a solid matchups play.
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It’s late may and another minor league phenom has made it to the majors. Juan Soto made a grand entrance in his second major league at bat and went opposite field for a 422 foot 3-run home run in the second inning in front of the National’s home crowd. What a moment. One day before that, big name prospect in the Pirate’s organization, Austin Meadows, hit his first career home run in front of his home crowd. Although Austin Meadows isn’t a power hitter, he can provide big league value in other ways. Just short of a month ago, Ronald Acuna Jr., made his debut for the Braves with a furious first week. Despite all of the young excitement around the league, there are savvy vets all over the majors that will help you win fantasy baseball championships. Also there is an under-performing potential superstar that I have been wanting to write about for weeks. It’s that time of week again to take a look at the player rater and find some value.
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Points Leagues: Consistently On Point
May 23, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 7 Commentsby: malamoney
Batters that are consistent week after week are much more enjoyable to have on your roster than those with frequent hot and cold spells. Sure a player putting up 50 points in a week can almost single handedly earn you a win, but the three weeks prior where he didn’t break single digits can be extremely frustrating. Especially when such a cold spell leads you to bench said player on the week he finally breaks out for 50 points. As Grey would say “sonofabench”. Byron Buxton punched me in the nuts with one of those last year. In years past Jay Bruce is a hitter that often fell into this category.
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There’s been plenty of talk this year around guys like Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander (and rightfully so) but it feels like Jacob deGrom hasn’t gotten the same kind of hype despite his absurd numbers. deGrom has a 34.3% K-rate with just a 7.0% walk-rate and isn’t giving up any homers, giving him a 1.82 FIP and a 1.89 Deserved Run Average. He’s coming off of a dominant start against the DBacks where he struck out 13 batters, and now gets another easy matchup in the Marlins. Miami has the second-worst lineup in the league against righties with just a .279 wOBA. deGrom is worth spending your first pick on today.
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To find my preseason article, I Googled “Kevin Gausman sleeper” and Google asked, “Did you mean 2015, 2016, 2017 or 2018?” Google can be such a little snitch sometimes. Yo, Google, mind your own business! “Did you mean ‘How do I start my own business?’ or ‘How do I start my own business that actually makes money?'” I hate you, Google! In the preseason, I said, “In the 2nd half, Gausman was a top 20 starter-ish. Top 20-ish? Top-ish? You get the drift. In the 2nd half, he had the 16th best K/9 with a 2.8 BB/9. He had the 21st best ERA with the 23rd best xFIP. He had the 24th best fastball with the 3rd best splitter. Or spliiter, if Desiigner is reading. He averaged the 12th fastest, uh, fastball while throwing it the 12th most in the majors. Some of these factoids are neither here nor there, but I’m filling in your charcoal sketch.” And that’s me quoting me! Yesterday, he went 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 10 baserunners (1 BB), 10 Ks, ERA at 3.48, and xFIP down to 3.65, which is the 29th best in the majors, between Hendricks and Newcomb. And I ranked him 31st for starters in the preseason! What does this mean? Nothing really, but cool. He has carried over that newfound command from the 2nd half and still striking out guys around mid-8 K/9. Do I love owning an Orioles starter? Do I look daffy? But Gausman has been solid. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Bear or Bull: Travis, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
May 22, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 12 Commentsby: Son
Travis Jankowski was called Fred, by his older brother and sister, because he loved watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid. Mister Rogers was in fact Fred Rogers. Mind blown. Hey, I thought he was one of the neighbors. I wasn’t a big MRN guy, but I do remember the “Won’t you be my neighbor?” Anyways, Mister Rogers’ neighborhood was a place for children to learn and grow. “To foster the social and emotional ‘tools’ for learning self-esteem, curiosity, self-control, the ability to pay attention, to handle mistakes, and deal with anger.” Maybe I should have been more of a MRN guy. I’m not sure Mister Rogers would approve of Jankowski’s main professional skill, though: stealing bases. But check out what Mister Rogers would say before the end of each episode: “You always make each day a special day. You know how. By just being yourself. There’s only one person in the whole world that’s like you, and that’s you. And people can like you just the way you are. I’ll be back next time. Bye bye!” And then I realized…Mister Rogers would have bunted to break up a perfect game and given no shits about it.
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RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 7, 2018
May 22, 2018 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 23 Commentsby: MattTruss
The rookies are coming, the rookies are coming! That’s Ralph Lifshitz aka Prospect Jesus on his way to the waiver wire to hog all the Juan Soto goodness for himself. Also making an appearance this past week was Austin Meadows. Nick the Dick seemed to grab him in just about every league I’m in with him. I think I might play with the same managers in too many leagues. Hopefully, you don’t have the same problem and you were able to grab some sweet rookie nookie in an Razzball Commenter League or two. It’s pretty exciting when a fresh rookie makes the jump. Meadows has gotten out to a hot start, it will be fun to see what Soto can do at 19. Now, if only Vladito would get the call. Vlad Jr. is being stashed in most leagues, but if he hasn’t been scooped up yet, now would be the time. Grey already told you to hit the add button and he’s a man of his word, currently stashing him in the ‘Perts League. Could Vladito be the key to Grey overtaking Ralph for the top spot in the league? Wouldn’t that be ironic? Prospector Ralph done in by his own true love. Let’s see how far Grey has to go to catch Ralph and all the other goodness from week 7 in the RCLs:
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Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Jordan Lyles Is Good Now
May 22, 2018 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 15 Commentsby: Geoff
very year we as fantasy baseball players are faced with a reality that flies directly in the face of all we’ve come to know about a player. Last year it was Tommy Pham, Robbie Ray, and others. This year we’re faced with the question is Jordan Lyles good now? In the opening of this week’s Razzball Podcast Grey and I dig in on Lyles, and what has changed. We then look at the other side of the coin, and breakdown some of Paul Goldschmidt’s struggles, and what’s driving them. We then talk Juan Soto’s callup, wish for Vlad to get the call, and discuss the Alex Reyes update. The rest of the show is dedicated to hot schmotatos, and players to watch. Don’t worry we start the show off with the “solution” to Grey’s ongoing eye issues. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 20% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:
BTW: Get your Prospect Jesus and Grey Albright Tout Wars Champ shirts here!
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It was the best of times on Draft, it was the worst of times, it was the age of spin rate, it was the age of launch angle… Charles Dickens wrote of the disruptive world of eighteenth-century Europe in “A Tale Of Two Cities.” Present-day baseball is full of disruption, such as Gerrit Cole and the Astros maximizing spin to dramatic effect.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?[brid video=”228554″ player=”10951″ title=”FantasyBaseballMailbag8″]
Let’s see, if Tyler O’Neill is Kelly Leak, then Coach Walter Matheny is curmudgeonly happy. “Lean into the pitch, Whomever is the Cards catcher while Molina and Kelly are out!” If in this reboot T. O’Neill is playing Kelly, who’s playing the girl’s role on the Cards? Hmm, only one it could be is Tommy Herr. Come out of retirement! By the by, this movie? Doesn’t hold up at all. Don’t ever watch it again. Remember what you can and move on. Any hoo! Tyler O’Neill (2-for-4, 4 RBIs, hitting .368) hit yet another homer — his third in three games — and he’s capable of hitting 30 homers. Not over the whole year, like if we’re backtracking, I mean from today forward. Not sure if the Cards play him, sometimes Walter Matheny appears drunk, but I would grab O’Neill for power. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Weird Pitchers I Want You To Briefly Consider
May 21, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 4 Commentsby: Lance
Interested in the MLB Draft? Ralph and I are doing our due diligence to provide some perspective on the names who will be selected come June 4.
If that feels like an advertisement that’s because it was. But this column is not for amateurs or advertisements! I wanted to continue my pitcher tendencies early this year on Razzball by highlighting three arms you might classify as “weird” from various standpoints. Weird can be good. Weird can also be bad. But weird almost always deserves attention.
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This week is going to get ridiculous for Juan Soto (FAAB: 30-40%) bids. However, he often gets overlooked for his lack of experience in the minors. Do not follow this path of thinking because Soto is monstrous. Early scouting reports would always contain glowing reviews of the bat and approach. People were shocked by his ability to barrel the ball, and this was back in 2015 when Statcast was in its infancy. That was also back when Soto was 16-years-old, some scouts even saying the bat was the most polished in a class that included Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Soto consistently dealt with injury over the past couple years, but every single time he hit the field was special. The power has been there, average, walks, everything except speed which was never part of his game to start. All it takes is a few viewings of his swing, and a live barrel or two, for anyone to become an immediate fan of this youngsters bat.
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