Grey

Nicking ‘Em? More Like Smack Kingham

April 30, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 564 Comments

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According to Elias Sports Bureau, Nick Kingham retired the most batters to start a game since 1961 in a debut.  Elias Sports Bureau also said, “There were sixteen cracks in the 5th floor’s tile closest to the bathroom, which is a new record for cracks in a tile.”  Yo, Elias Sports Bureau might have OCD.  On our top 100 starts of 2018 chart, Kingham registered in the top 10.  According to Baseball-Reference, he’s the first pitcher to debut with 7+ IP and not have a baserunner reach scoring position.  According to Kent Tekulve, Kingham was the first pitcher in a 1979 Pirates uniform not high on cocaine since Tekulve.  In all, a terrific debut for Kingham — 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, zero walks, 9 Ks.  Originally, the Pirates planned on a one-and-done, hit-and-run, wham-bam-thank-you, young-man start for Kingham and see him get sent right back down, but they rightfully are having him travel with the team, and appear to be keeping him up.  His Triple-A numbers (10.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.59 ERA) say this is the right move.  I’d hold off for now in mixed leagues, but you should cyclops him with a monocle.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

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
Dokken

Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 5: Santa Maria, Faria

April 29, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 37 Comments

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Do you enjoy lists that go all the way to 100?! Well aren’t you in for a treat! I was pretty excited when I was tasked with compiling this list, and my enthusiasm continued until I reached about the SP50 mark. It was about that time my enthusiasm shifted to malaise, which then morphed into a legitimately queasy feeling as I tumbled down into the 80’s. You’re getting into a lot of interchangeable parts down at the bottom, and one particularly good or bad start could vault one of those bottom-dwellers a good 10 spots up or down. As the season rolls on I’ll include the previous week’s ranking to give you an idea of how the pitcher is trending. Since this serves as my first rankings list, however, I’ll begin with some guys I wound up ranking either higher or lower than I had anticipated going into it.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Phil B.

OPS Leaguers Unite! April OPS All-Stars!

April 29, 2018 | OPS Leagues | 3 Comments

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At the Angels-Giants game last weekend I saw something I haven’t seen before. Not in the game, but in the crowd. First off, let me say I am not a fan of the beach balls that I’ve seen way too often at Angels and Dodgers games. This isn’t an outdoor concert. With that being said, baseball can be boring (who knew?) and it keeps the kids entertained and not jumping around ruining my experience, so be it.

Anyway, there’s a Giants fan (and there were a lot of Giants fans at Angels Stadium) sitting a section over by himself, a middle-aged guy in a Posey jersey and backwards hat (when does it become too old to wear a backwards ball cap? 25? 30? Never?); the only thing he was missing was his glove. So the beach ball gets to him, and he just rips it in half and throws it in the aisle. He did it with meaning too. After that, he points two middle fingers up in the air. It drew glares from everyone around him and was truly surreal.

A few minutes later an usher comes and talks to him; I didn’t hear what was said, but they didn’t kick him out (and if they did I would hope it would be for the double middle fingers, because who cares about the beach ball). Then, the next inning, he removes the Posey jersey and hat and meekly leaves. Everything about the experience was hilarious and I won’t judge him much; the beach balls suck and him going full heel was great. So if that guy is reading, first off, way to provide some entertainment; and secondly, be cool, man, it’s only a game.

Now let’s get to our April OPS All-Stars, stinkers and surprises! (All stats & ownership through Wednesday, April 25th)

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Paul "The" Martian

FAAB Five: One Month Down

April 29, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 2 Comments

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Here we stand after one month of baseball. Ronald Acuña is finally up in the bigs! Still waiting on guys like Nick Senzel and Kyle Tucker to take their rightful places alongside them. As we head into May there continue to be players falling onto the DL and in the constant struggle to find replacements, here are my nominees for this week’s FAAB Five. All of these percentages can translate to any FAAB Budget, and my target league format is 12-15 Team (Mixed Leagues).

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Thomas Howland

Draft.com: Don’t Worry, Be Happ(y)

April 29, 2018 | DFS, Draft |

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They call Draft fantasy for the people, and why not? It’s easy as Sunday morning. Sign up at Draft.com, do a quick snake draft of 3, 4, 6 or 10 players, and get a piece of the payouts. Here at Razzball we recommend using Value-Based Drafting (VBD) to make the most of your roster. Using Rudy’s tools, you can easily sort values and take the projected points for the final player drafted at each position (P, IF, OF) and subtracting from all the players at that position, then re-ranking based on VBD. In other words: Razzball will give you the inside knowledge you need to dominate your DFS opponents.

It’s days like today, when there appears to be only one ace and then all the rest, that Razzball can give you a clear edge over the competition. Hiding behind the giant shadow of Gerrit Cole lurks a man striking out the world and leading one of the surprising teams of the year.  J.A. Happ is a monster right now, leading the league in K/9 with a mark of 12.7. He and his 14-11 Toronto Blue Jays get to face the last-place Texas Rangers today. It doesn’t hurt that current Rangers hit Happ to the woeful tune of a .473 OPS. After these two pitchers, it’s a significant drop-off, but the edge of grabbing J.A. Happ a pick or two after Cole is enough to bring home the bacon. Now on to some more Draft.com recommendations for today.

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?
Geoff

Minor League Update: Hello Soto, Goodbye Sorrow

April 29, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 66 Comments

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Every year a player shows up in April and makes you regret your ranking. The honor of “that guy” in 2018, at leats so far, goes to Juan Soto. Ranked 25th on my Top 100 Prospects coming into the season, if I re-ranked today, I’d move Soto up as many as 10 spots. Upon receiving an assignment to low-A Hagerstown, it was obvious from the jump his competition in the Sally was overmatched. Soto slashed .373/.486/.814 with 5 homers and 24 RBI in 15 games, and was quickly promoted to high-A Potomac of the Carolina League. So far through 5 contests he’s hitting .318/.400/.591 with a double, triple, and homer. Here’s a look at the homer he hit on Wednesday versus Wilmington. The swing is a thing of beauty, with a super quick and simple motion, strong wrists, and fast hands. It’s all evident in the video below.


Soto is already looking like he belongs in high-A, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he spent a good chunk of the summer in AA Harrisburg. He’s moving toward a near certain Top 10 rank come mid-season, and a potential Top 5 come pre-season 2019. However, we won’t see Soto at the major league level until later on in 2019. To encapsulate, Soto is a year away, but an elite talent, one that needs to be owned in every dynasty league. He pairs the ability to hit for both power, and average, and shows advanced understanding of hitting. Working counts, making adjustments with two strikes, and avoiding strikeouts. He has a real shot to be the best rightfielder in the game in his prime years.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
B_Don

The NFL Sandlot

April 28, 2018 | Y to Z | 9 Comments

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Last year some fellow co-workers and I decided it would be fun to join a flag football league. Seemed like a solid idea. Do some ‘team building’, get some running in, and enjoy a little competition. Well, by the end of the season we had gone through 4 QBs, one broken thumb, multiple pulled hammies and quads, and a grand total of 2 wins to show for all of our pain, so, safe to say, we made the right choice to be auditors and not professional athletes.

With the NFL draft ongoing, I thought it would be interesting to see what the best backyard football squad we could put together of current MLB players would look like. As this is a backyard/adult sport league type of team build, we’ll forego the offensive and defensive line. By NFL standards, there aren’t many guys that could play the line anyway.  David Ortiz, Big Papi, is by all accounts a mountain of a man for a baseball player at 6’4” and listed at 250 lbs. (I’m not sure I buy the weight, but that’s neither here nor there) would still be an inch short and 60 pounds light of the average offensive tackle in the NFL…

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Dokken

Two Startapalooza, Week 5: A Newcomb For My Hair

April 28, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers | 16 Comments

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Welcome to Week 5 as we scurry along and try to figure out which low-to-mid tier pitchers are actually good and which ones are all smoke and mirrors. You’d think we would have come up with an updated phrase for “smoke and mirrors”. Nobody has really used smoke and mirrors since, like, 1920. I have no idea if that’s accurate. In any case, there is plenty of two-start action to go around this week. Here they are, tiered for your pleasure. Let’s have a gander at some of the more interesting options as we go through those tiers as well, shall we?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Dan Pants

Buy Peraza Cause I Know You Want To

April 28, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 51 Comments

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The Reds put on a hit parade Friday night scoring 15 runs on 20 hits lead by Jose Peraza who went 4-for-6 with two home runs, and two runs batted in. It was only a matter of time before this offense woke up. And by this offense, of course I mean Joey Votto who was 3-for-3, with his fourth homer. Eduardo Suarez was also 4-for-6 with two runs and an RBI, Scooter Gennett had three hits, and Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall added two hits a piece. Votto has now homered in in his fourth straight game, and I bet you’re thinking to yourself, “Self, I thought this lede was about Peraza, not the Reds bats and Votto.” Silence, knave! It all starts with Votto, whom Peraza hits in front of, and I can’t very well tell you to buy Votto now, unless his owner’s been in a coma for the past four days and is ready to trade immediately after waking up. That seems unlikely. But with Jose’s ownership at just 20%, it seems more likely he’s still available in your league. He’s hit safely in five straight games hitting .387 with the two dingers, nine runs and a steal in the past week and has quietly raised his average to .286. After hitting .259 last year with 23 steals he was a popular sleeper pick because of his speed. However, the .719 OPS is a whole lot of meh and I’d like to see him stealing a lot more bases before I fully endorse him as a buy, but I’m watching him closer than the darkest moments of Avengers Infinity War. You don’t need Tony Stark’s super intelligence or the Vision’s, uh, err, vision to see that Jose Peraza could be worth a look.

Here’s what else I saw Friday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
MattTruss

FantasyDraft: Walker, Dodgers Ranger

April 28, 2018 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

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If you happened to listen to Ignacio during Walker Buehler’s first start you may have rostered him in some DFS contests and done alright for yourself.  I paired him with Tanaka that night and along with a Coors stack (and Stanton’s 4-4 night) it paid off handsomely.  That was with FantasyDraft pricing Buehler down at $11,100 with nothing but minor league numbers to go on. He’s priced up a bit more ($14,900) today based on one game, but it still should be enough to get you some nice bats for the early slate.  Walker lucked out facing the Marlins in his first start, who rank dead last in team OPS, but the Giants aren’t much better, ranked 25th of 30 teams. The Giants also strikeout just about the same amount as the Marlins, so San Fran isn’t exactly a pitcher’s worst nightmare.  Buehler’s strikeout upside is likely a little limited as is his pitch count, but nonetheless, it should be a good enough start, combined with high priced bats to get you cashing those GPP lineups.

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 you do.  It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Geoff

Prospect Podcast: Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers Top Prospects

April 28, 2018 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 26 Comments

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He’s up… and we are sad prospectors. I’m of course talking about the promotion of the Pirates Nick Kingham! Joking, joking, you know I’m talking the chosen one Ronald Acuña Jr.. Lance and I chat a little about the news makers in MiLB over the last week, as well as my weekend looks at the aforementioned Acuña and the rehabbing Luiz Gohara. After getting all that out of the way, we do a brief overview of the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers systems. We talk everyone from Leody Taveras to Willy Adames to Jake Bauers and Hans Crouse. It’s an action packed show spanning two systems and over 15 other minor league players. Lots of jelly in these donuts, Frank! 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 Prospect Podcast:

Please, blog, may I have some more?