OPS Leaguers Unite! Corner Infield Rankings!

Razzball provides rankings for a whole lot of league types; seriously, it’s overwhelming (my 18 team, 7×5 league on ESPN gets owned using these rankings). Right here, right now, however, these are my OPS rankings (I almost said “Phil B.s’ rankings,” and thought how silly it was to say that, and now I’ve done it anyway…great start). There’s no time to do position by position, so let’s get right to the good stuff, corner infielders. The basis of any good team, in any kind of format, this 2018 season provides many an option to choose from.

Using tiers makes it easier to not get too attached to one player; rather I can like a couple of guys in a group of them. So in honor of the Olympics, we’ll start with the medals and add in some other metals (btw, anyone reading Batman Metal right now? It’s real good and it has a Joker as Batman!) because there’s more than three tiers. So here we go!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 8/12
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| DET \| NYY \| OAK

1st Basemen to Target, 2018 Fantasy Baseball

March 8, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 254 Comments

by: Grey

My prior, uber, hard-line stance has been that you with that one hair wrapped around your head acting as a hairstyle don’t want to draft a sleeper 1st baseman. By the by, I tried to replace Uber with Lyft in the previous sentence, but it didn’t make sense. Previously, I’d tell you to go to my top 20 1st basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball (not clickbait at all) and draft some top guys and stop fooling around with sleepers at this position. Of course, I’m malleable like Gumby and this year I could see drafting a sleeper first baseman, though at my corner infidel or utility slot. Yes, I still want a top 1st baseman. No, ‘utility slot’ doesn’t have multiple meanings. Yes, even for fantasy. As with other positions like the catchers to target (again, not clickbait), these are 1st basemen that are being drafted after the top 200 overall. I love Rhys Hoskins, but he’s not going to appear here. Dear, steer clear–*short circuiting internal rhyming dictionary* Anyway, here’s some 1st basemen to target for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2018 Spring Training Positional Battles: AL West

March 7, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 4 Comments

by: Son

The American League West. Home to the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros. Home to the best player in baseball. Is that Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani? Home to the team that has a need for speed, as the Seattle Mariners acquired Dee Gordon. Can some of that speed and “other stuff” be transferred to the arm of Felix Hernandez? Home to the only team that has had a Bush own the team, pitch for the team, and had, not one, but two POTUS’s. Or is it POTI? Home to the team with the second-lowest payroll in all of baseball. The Oakland Athletics are at $50.7 million for the 2018 season, while the Boston Red Sox have a $229.7 million payroll for the upcoming season. Ladies and gentlemen, the American League West.

The 2018 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join with prizes! All the exclamation points!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Under the Greydar: Houston We Have Liftoff

March 7, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 8 Comments

by: Jimothy

I spent a good amount of time swimming through all of the hitter rankings and just had the opportunity to dive into the vast pool that is Grey’s starting pitching rankings. Sifting through this list is much more difficult due to volume. Number 30 on this list is much more impactful than number 30 on the 3B list. As I scrolled through to find a surprise Grey wasn’t too hot on, I mostly saw players he’s a tad bullish on. Trevor Bauer in the top 20, Ohtani at 21, those definitely piqued my interest. A few more in the top 30 like Luke Weaver, Kevin Gausman, and Drew Pomeranz had me thinking too. I also like these guys, but maybe not enough to push them up there. This is where I stumbled across the topic of this article, a player I felt should outperform all those mentioned above, Gerrit Cole.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Points Leagues: Not The Spreadsheet, Just The Rankings

March 7, 2018 | 2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 23 Comments

by: malamoney

Last week (or so) I put out my early first base rankings. I completely intended to follow that up with a post for each position, but if I’m being honest, I’m running out of time. With drafts already starting to happen, it’s time I got to it and worked on my official rankings. With that said, I am knee deep in projections, rankings and spreadsheets. I know many of you are patiently waiting for my customizable spreadsheet, but that’s still a couple days away. In the meantime, I have gotten far enough to share my rankings.

Please keep in mind that these rankings are based on a specific scoring system. When my spreadsheet is released it will allow you to enter your league specific scoring system and will generate custom rankings. Because as I’ve said many times before, “all leagues are not created equal”.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Spring Training Stats For Fantasy Baseball

March 7, 2018 | 2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 266 Comments

by: Grey

Baseball, like a flower, blooms in the spring. They also share equally effusive PR people. Just the other day I read about how a petunia’s branches gained 15 pounds and was in the best shape of its life. Sure, it’s always good to look at spring training numbers to give you an idea what you can expect from guys during the season — can I draft Ronald Acuna yet?! Players in spring training are facing the top pitchers who are all displaying their best stuff. No one needs time to get warmed up. No one’s trying new pitches or getting a feel for the ball. They are at the height of their game in the beginning of March. Our former commissioner, Bud, once doffed his toupee and tried to have the World Series played in March. Since these spring training numbers mean so much, I decided to look at some players stats so far:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

RCL Update: Get Your Draft On

March 6, 2018 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 40 Comments

by: MattTruss

With the season starting early this year, it seems like everything is a bit crunched. This includes preparing for the Razzball Commenter Leagues drafts. March is already upon us and it’s time to get drafting! Hopefully, you’re not caught unprepared. This week I just wanted to drop some additional strategy notes I couldn’t cram into last weeks posts. This time next week we’ll have an assortment of draft data to wade through, which will be much more exciting and make it seem like real fantasy baseball season! As of now one league has drafted, the Writers League jumped in first with a draft this past Saturday evening. There were a few autodrafters (raises hand in shame), but an overall good looking draft (just don’t look at my lack of pitching staff, wow, that’s ugly). There will be a Q&A style recap of that in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for that if you’re interested but in the meantime, let’s cover the last few tips you need before tackling your own drafts in the weeks to come.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2018 Oakland Athletics Minor League Preview

March 6, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 36 Comments

by: Geoff

I woke up from a cold sweat this morning, and decided to hammer out some miles on the treadmill at the 24 hour gym down the road. There I was, in the shortest of shorts, gonads dangerously on the edge of exposure, watching hours of Oakland Athletics tape. When getting into the mindset to write these posts, it’s important to mimic the approach and personalities of those General Managers you’re studying. DiPoto week in the Lifshitz house is a trip! I trade the kids for three older middle aged adults with poor credit, and mounting debt. Thank god I’m given permission to cosplay A.J. Preller in order to trade back for the kids. Wow, this got off track! Oh yeah, Oakland! The Athletics modus operandi is common knowledge. Trade for controllable talents, get the most out of the arb years, move along, and do the same damn thing. After a couple of molasses slow rebuild years, things progressed nicely toward the end of 2017, as a young core led by Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and Franklin Barreto began to emerge. With a well stocked farm system, and some top level talents on the cusp, this is another great system for Dynasty managers looking to target strong rebuild pieces. Who wants to talk about the prospects? #MeToo. It’s the Oakland Athletics Top Prospects for 2018 Fantasy Baseball.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Top 100 Outfielders for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

March 6, 2018 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 8 Comments

by: Geoff

It was a tall task, but we came, we saw, we talked a shizz ton about 60 outfielders for your listening enjoyment. We pickup where we left off last episode, and take you from 41st all the way to 100. Of course we sneak in some time for NFBC team talk, and a host of other banter. This has to be one of the most comprehensive shows we’ve ever done. No lie, it’s three to four days long! We cover three of Grey’s outfield posts, and give you the low down on all the names to target, and which ones to avoid. 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:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Catchers To Target, 2018 Fantasy Baseball

March 6, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 227 Comments

by: Grey

Here, friend, are some catchers that I will be targeting at my 2018 fantasy drafts after the top options are gone. I’m not going to get into the strategy of punting catchers. Been there, half-drunkenly wrote that years ago. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2018 projections. This is a (legal-in-most-countries) supplement to the top 20 catchers of 2018 fantasy baseball. Now, guys and five girl readers, I am not saying avoid catchers like Salvador Perez if they fall, but to get on this list, you need to be drafted later than 200 overall, and, to preemptively answer at least seven comments, yes, I will go around the entire infield, outfield and pitchers to target very late. Anyway, here’s some catchers to target for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Early Showdown v2: Razzball vs. NFBC

March 5, 2018 | 2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 18 Comments

by: Lance

Let’s follow up on a post of mine from a few weeks ago. Before Spring Training kicked off, I took a quick look at two players – Christian Yelich and Byron Buxton – with differences between Rudy’s Player Rater for 15-team NFBC leagues and NFBC ADP data.

It was easy to get carried away with Yelich and Buxton, but for this version I’ll expand out to four players.

If you’re interested in taking a look at the differentials I’ll be using, feel free to navigate to this google sheet I made and will be using as reference. The NFBC data is from drafts between 2/15/2018 and 3/3/2018, about 100 drafts in total. I’ll reiterate once again that this isn’t exactly a one-for-one comparison, as the numbers I’m using for Rudy’s rankings are purely on ranked dollar-value output, while NFBC data is where the player is actually being drafted. The merit here is highlighting standouts between the two, as opposed to relying on one as the true indicator of a given player (…Rudy’s projections are essentially gospel for me). I’ll also focus on players inside the top 200 overall and those whom Razzball is higher than NFBC ADP on. These should be some of your value targets if you’re a faithful Razzballer.

The 2018 Razzball Commenter Leagues are now open! Free to join with prizes! All the exclamation points!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Rolling In The Deep: A Few Thoughts For Early March

March 5, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 6 Comments

by: Laura Holt

Finally – stuff is happening! Now that there have actually been some meaningful free agent signings, injury news (nooooo, Brent Honeywell!), and we’re getting reports out of camps, it’s time to take a fresh look at a handful of situations and players within the deep-league landscape. I’m writing this just before actual spring training games start, so this will be my last chance to evaluate situations before my head is pelted with box scores and video highlights, which will no doubt cloud my judgment a bit whether I want them to or not. And since we’re talking about AL-only, NL-only, and other deep leagues, we won’t be discussing how J.D. Martinez or Yu Darvish’s values have changed. Nope, we’re all about less mainstream, but just as super-sexy topics, like how the Eric Hosmer signing might affect deep-league relevant guys like Jose Pirela. C’mon… deep-league players can be super sexy, too!

Please, blog, may I have some more?