Greetings, deep-league friends and other hangers-on! Well, since we chatted last week, it’s happened again… a player most of us had never even heard of, Franmil Reyes, got a surprise promotion, and went from 0% owned to 38% owned in CBS leagues in the span of a few days. If you are in an NL-only or other extra-deep league, Reyes has probably already been scooped up, either by you or someone else, and time will tell if he becomes a fantasy asset (I’m a little skeptical after watching his first handful of at bats, but we shall see). If nothing else, he gives his owners a chance at having a productive outfielder suddenly added to their teams — once again reminding us all that even in the deepest of leagues, help could be right around the corner when we least expect it. None of the names on this week’s list packs quite the excitement that our new friend Franmil generated with his call-up, but who knows if one of them might help you out in your NL-only, AL-only, or other deep league.
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Ambulance Chasers, Week 8: Robinson Ca-D’oh!
May 17, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 11 Commentsby: Kerry Klug
Lot to unpack here with Robinson Cano (2B, Fractured Hand; Dumb)… First Cano took a fastball off the back of his hand and suffered a broken bone in his hand, then an even bigger disappointment hammer fell. Cano was suspended 80 games for taking performance enhancing drug. That brings him to an early August return. Yikes. Stash or Trash: Stash. He’s too good for you to drop. He’ll still have two months of baseball once he returns. Fill In: Yolmer Sanchez (22.2%.) Can’t believe I’m still recommending this guy! He’s got a nice 2B/3B eligibility, a .296 average and is hitting 2nd for the White Sox. Great fill in option now, and bench bat for later.
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First base is traditionally a deep position, and a solid place to look when in search of some power. However, some of fantasy’s top scoring first basemen, namely Matt Adams and Brandon Belt, have come across on the waiver wire and made a big impact. Since it is such a deep position, there are often guys putting forth strong numbers that are being overlooked and underowned. I’m here to offer a few guys that are available in over 50% of ESPN and Yahoo leagues. I tried to include two standard league options, and one deeper league option since I know deep leagues are heavily discriminated against in the fantasy sphere. I’m always looking help you all get ahead in your H2H leagues, so here’s three from me:
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A few weeks back we had a slate with nothing but ugly pitching options. That day there was a pitcher who was likely the chalk and it made the cash pitching option rather straightforward as you just played the chalk and tried to win it with the bats. Today, the pitching options are not quite as ugly as they were that week, but the pitchers are still fairly unimpressive. The problem, for cash, is that, at least as far as I can tell, there is no really chalky choice, so the “blocking” strategy is out as the ownership will be split out amongst the different uninspiring options. So it comes down to getting the pitcher right, and I’ll be honest – I believe there is a high degree of randomness and variance in terms of whether or not you pick the right pitcher today. If you “nail” the pitcher right and the others don’t do well, you’re going to be in fantastic shape, but if your choice duds and the other pitchers do well, you’re going to be pretty much done for the night. It’s definitely not an ideal cash game slate and in addition, the hitting is not my favorite (to put it lightly) as well. I’m not saying don’t play cash – if you’re a cash game player, play cash, and if you’re a GPP player, play GPPs. But if you’re the type of guy who plays a good chunk of both, today might be a good day to focus more on GPPs than cash. That said, you come here for my picks, and even though this may be not the ideal cash-game slate, I’m a professional who always makes sure to put in a high quality effort, so I’m here giving you my cash game picks. That’s what pros do – they perform under any and all circumstances.
On to the picks…
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Call Him Nock Povotto Cuz He Owned The O’s
May 17, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 462 Commentsby: Grey
Now, on most occasions, if one were to toot his own horn, he’d never leave the house. And, coincidentally, I don’t go out that much. However, seriously, rain down your props on me for Nick Pivetta. Rain them down! Who else told you to grab him the 1st week of the season? Yesterday, he went 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.72. I’ve been telling you people — yeah, you people! — to own Pivetta forever (six weeks). He’s a new, different — better even! — pitcher this year. He has a 10 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. If you don’t know why that’s good, I can help you, but it could take some time. You do know what numbers are, right? Okay, good first step. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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About a year ago, I started seeing more people riding electric scooters around Los Angeles. Then, I’d see groups of scooters parked on sidewalks. My first thought was, “Scooter gangs!!! Ride-bys!!!” Alas, I did a little due diligence and learned that the company, Bird, was responsible for this new concept. It makes sense. Los Angeles is so spread out and mass transit kind of sucks, so the scooters have been a hot trend to be that “last-mile” of transportation. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees. Up in San Francisco, residents have been complaining about “disorganized parking and hazardous sidewalk usage.” Which side of the scooter rage are you on? The same question can be posed for Scooter Gennett (69.1% owned – increase of 35.7%). This Scooter has been the most added player in ESPN leagues over the past week. Rightfully so, as he’s gone 12-for-23 with 4 runs scored, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI over that span. For the season, Scooter is batting .323 with 19 runs scored, 6 home runs, 24 RBI, and 1 stolen base. We’ve been here before, as Scooter was often written up last season, when he finished with 27 home runs and a .323 batting average. I’m a Scooter Gennett guy. Low strikeout rate (18.8%), utilizes the whole field (38.4% oppo rate), 82.4% contact rate, and 8.7% swinging strike rate. He also has a 42.4% hard hit rate!!! Now, that will probably come down, as will the batting average that is supported by a .373 BABIP. With that said, a .270-ish batting average with a .170 ISO seems feasible with upside. Great American Ballpark is a great place to hit and Scooter is batting cleanup in the Reds lineup. The most encouraging thing for me has been the success against left-handed pitching: .343 average with 1 home run in 37 plate appearances. Keep in mind that the sample size has been small and that he’s a career .221 hitter against lefties in his career. With that said, even if he regresses against lefties, there’s still plenty to like with Scooter. As for the other scooters? I’d be scared shitless riding those things around. Too many people with road rage in Los Angeles. I’d imagine sidewalk rage could become a thing with riders getting clotheslined soon. TREASURE
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Perception Vs. Reality: The Rise of The Stars
May 16, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 5 Commentsby: MB
Welcome back to Perception Vs. Reality where we take a weekly look at the player rater and find out who is hot on the diamond. We’ve talked a lot over the past month and a half about hot starts but we haven’t really dug into who started slow, but is creeping up the board. I think that’s what we will do this week. As the hot starters like Didi and Haniger begin to slow down, some high draft picks are really picking up steam so let’s get into some of those names.
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Those that have been reading my points league posts since I started with Razzball a few years back know that I dislike batters that strikeout a lot. I’ve been a vocal supporter of penalizing batters for strikeouts. I have even gone as far to say that if you are in a points league that does not subtract points for strikeouts that you should find another league. In points leagues strikeouts cost you points. Anything that costs you points is a poison. Take a player like Khris Davis. Last year he had about 399 fantasy points, finishing just inside the top 50 batters. Davis struck out 195 times. In leagues that penalize one point for a strikeout, that’s 195 points he lost. That’s as many points as Alex Gordon had in all of last year. Chris Davis with a “C”, had 190 points. Like Khris Davis with a “K”, he also had 195 points deducted for strikeouts.
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Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ is a pitcher that I’m targeting in all of my drafts on Wednesday. While he’s gotten blown up in his last two starts, Happ still has an awesome 29.2% K-rate on the season with just a 6.8% walk-rate. His home run issues won’t be as much of a problem today as he’s away from his home ballpark. Citi Field is a pitcher-friendly venue, and the Mets lineup is a pitcher-friendly lineup against lefties. In fact, the Mets have been worse than any team in baseball this year against left-handed pitching, as they’ve got a pathetic .265 wOBA versus southpaws. This is a matchup that you don’t want to miss out on.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Ya know, if you’re gonna get busted for PEDs and be suspended for 80 games, the way to do it is right after fracturing your hand. It’s like coming down with mono the week of your prom when you have no date. “Damn, am I gonna miss that? That is too bad, but I am so drowsy I feel like I have two Forest Whitaker eyes.” That’s you getting prom-o-mono. I am more surprised to hear Robinson Cano was busted for PEDs, than I am to learn he had no idea he was taking the illegal substance. Baseball is currently batting a thousand for denials of PEDs suspensions. MLB players’ denials of taking the illicit substance should get into the Hall of Fame on its first ballot. Speaking of Hall of Fame, I kinda thought Robinson Cano was headed there. This will obviously shade a cloud over his entire career, which I do think is a shame. What’s also a shame, you need to drop him in all leagues. He’s more or less done for the year. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Christian Villanueva made his debut last season and clubbed four home runs in 32 plate appearances. Can I get an amen? They came with a 31.3% strikeout rate and 0.0% walk rate, though. Only God is perfect. So, with that knowledge, many took solace in knowing they had a strong Christian and….Their faith was rewarded, as he smashed three home runs in his second game to start the 2018 campaign. Coincidence that Passover was March 30th to April 7th this season? Fine, don’t answer that, you party pooper. Let me enjoy my Ancient Aliens show in peace. For the non-believers and infidels, the plate discipline numbers and limited track record had them dancing to Milli Vanilli tunes. Sorry, tune. But then, he had an 11-game hitting streak in which he homered in three straight games and amassed a total of five home runs. Now, he’s mired in a 10-game bagel streak, in which he’s walked twice and struck out 13 times. Will this Christian be saved?
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RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 6, 2018
May 15, 2018 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 12 Commentsby: MattTruss
We’re six weeks into the Razzball Commenter Leagues now and I think we can finally stop saying “It’s still early”. What do you think? I’ve about had it with Yu Darvish, Chris Archer, and Josh Bell. Jeff Samardzija and David Price have already worn out their welcomes as well. I’m cutting some slack for Carlos Santana and he’s showing signs of life. Aaron Hicks is getting a little extra leash as well. Ian Desmond’s batting average is pretty miserable, but 6 HRs and 3 SBs are hard to quibble with. I’m also holding my shares of Scott Kingery. For now, I’m still looking forward to a second half worth rostering. Who are some struggling players you’re cutting bait with? Anyone that you are holding onto for dear life hoping and forming a prayer octagon that they return some value? I was curious about who has struggled the most so far and what players have been carrying teams with their draft day value. Click below and you can curse your under-performers with everyone and praise your draft day steals!
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