Prospect Podcast: 2018 Chicago White Sox Top Prospects

It’s the all blizzard podcast, as Lance and I dig out from a foot plus of snow. We took a quick break from shoveling to geek out over the very exciting Chicago White Sox Top Prospects. We jump right in with Eloy Jimenez, and a deeper discussion of just how good he can be. Next up is Michael Kopech, and a discussion of the improvements to his mechanics, and secondaries since the middle part of 2017. We then dive into Luis Robert, Dylan Cease, Zack Collins, Dane Dunning, and Jake Burger, before getting into a bigger discussion of some of these DH-Type hitters in the system. We hit the high points, the low points, and stop for a couple of Chi-Town dogs and an Italian beef before it’s all said and done. 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?

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Masahiro Tanaka, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 5, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 150 Comments

by: Grey

Honestly, I don’t know how much of a sleeper Masahiro Tanaka is going to be in 2018. I’m writing these posts without a ton of draft data. You down with ADP? No, actually, I’m not, and you know me. My guess is Tanaka will be drafted between 100-130 overall. There’s value to be had with that draft spot. If people start hyping him and his splits (which I’ll get to), then Tanaka’s going to zoom past the point of sleeper. I imagine in a lot of friendly leagues where people show up the day of the draft because it’s the only time they get away from their families, who they not-so-secretly despise, Tanaka will be a relative bargain. And by ‘relative bargain’ I don’t mean the cousin who is living with you who you tried to sell on the Darknet. Tanaka will have the Yankee inflation even in those leagues, so he’s not going to be as cheap as his last year 4.74 ERA should have him. Then, in quote-unquote smarter leagues, Tanaka might be drafted in the top 90 overall because in those leagues people want to prove how much more they know than their leaguemates so they push up a guy like Tanaka on draft boards. In most leagues, however, people will know Tanaka has a tendon issue, they’ll know he had a wretched first half last year (I promise I’ll get to the 2nd half), and they’ll know there’s safer guys while not wanting to prove anything to anyone by drafting Tanaka early. In those leagues, Tanaka should come at a relative bargain. Again, not the cousin you put on Darknet’s eBay. So, what can we expect from Masahiro Tanaka for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Blake Snell, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 4, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 71 Comments

by: Grey

The Rays pitching could be excellent this year. Chris Archer is due for a positive correction; Jacob Faria might take the next step; I’ve always liked Jake Odorizzi; Matt Andriese is underrated; Jose De Leon is ready, willing and maybe healthy; I’ve already told you why my Brent Honeywell fantasy includes heart emojis and unicorns, in that order; I can’t wait for Jose Mujica to be promoted just so I can say, “Mujica Eff Yeah!” and Nathan Eovaldi…Well, he’ll likely still be crap. Yet, the best one of those bunch could be Blake Snell. Last year in 129 1/3 IP, his record was 5-7/4.04/1.33/119. *turns computer upside down, turns head sideways, puts Instagram filter on stats, looks at stats in mirror* Okay, any way you look at those stats their not gorge. The 4.04 ERA is particularly vexing when you look at it in different ways because it’s a palindrome. However, the 911 strikeouts is no joke. Booooooooi!!! By the way, leave it to the Rays to keep Snell trapped in the minors for six years when he’s looked ready for the last four. If Snell were on the Tigers, he would likely be in his fifth major league season, on his 2nd major league team and would’ve won a Cy Young by now. So, what can we expect from Blake Snell for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Luis Castillo, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 3, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 126 Comments

by: Grey

In a post last year titled, Good Luck Storming The Castillo In 2018 Drafts, I wrote, “Watching Luis Castillo is officially an ASMR trigger. *insert onomatopoeia of satisfied exhale, picks up invisible fork and knife, mimes cutting up satisfied exhale, eats exhale* Do you see how Castillo’s got me? I’m eating satisfied exhales. Can I write the 2018 fantasy baseball sleeper post right now for Luis Castillo? TFW you see Castillo: Insert Oprah’s o face around Gayle King. CASTILLO MAKING ME CRAZY! And not eating sugar for six days isn’t helping. This Whole30 Diet got me like: insert crazy-googly eyes. I got Biggie Smalls eyes right now. *smacks face* Be coherent, Grey! Sorry, about that. Luis Castillo’s surface perfs: 9.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 3.40 xFIP, averages 98 MPH, and now I’m lightheaded again. Okay, need to save something for his 2018 sleeper post.” And that’s me quoting me! So, guess what this is? The Luis Castillo sleeper post. Frank Voila! Am I little concerned he’s not really a sleeper anymore? Yeah, he’s being drafted a little high. He might only be a sleeper, if everyone in your league is actually asleep. So, what can we expect from Luis Castillo for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Jhailyn Ortiz and Francisco Morales, 2018 Dynasty Baseball Sleepers

January 2, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 75 Comments

by: Geoff

Recently, I rather foolishly rekindled my interest in baseball cards. It was a cheap ploy under the Christmas Tree to spark my sons’ interest in not only a boyhood hobby of mine, but also to maybe teach them something about the game I love. To my oldest, age 7, I gifted a 1976 O-Pee-Chee Mike Schmidt, one of my all-time favorite players, and the fake autograph in my very first baseball mitt, courtesy of the good folks at Franklin. To my youngest son, age 2, it was an obvious choice. His first name is Nolan, and despite the hall of fame trajectory of one Mr. Arenado, for now at least, there is only one true King of House Nolan. That is Nolan Ryan, father of flames, bringer of whiffs, first of both his first names. All this to say, I bought him a 1979 Nolan Ryan. Which features my favorite Nolan Ryan, Angels Nolan Ryan. When you write your own fantasy articles you can have your favorite Nolan Ryan. You could go baby Nolan Ryan, Mets Nolan Ryan, Astros Nolan Ryan, Rangers Ryan, Cowboy Ryan, Executive Ryan, the possibilities are endless! Hell, you can picture Nolan Ryan singing lead for Skynyrd in front of an Angels band! Can you tell I dabbled in more of Aunt Sierra’s medicated brownies? They were leftover from Christmas, and technically I hadn’t eaten any this year. Anyway, where I’m all going with this is, my fascination with Nolan Ryan stems from two places. First, RBI baseball circa O.G. Nintendo 1988. Second, my best friend’s dad had a 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie card, and it was one of the coolest rookie cards I had ever seen. It was particularly unusual to a child of the late 80’s – early 90’s card era, because it was a dual player card. He shared the card with Jerry Koosman, a lefty that won over 200 games with a 3.36 ERA over a 19 year MLB career. Drawing inspiration from this co-inhabited card, I decided to to do a dual 2018 Dynasty Sleeper post with a couple of Phillies pups I’m currently crushing on. A pair of teenage phenoms, outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, and righthanded pitching prospect Francisco Morales. Check the artwork below, major props to Kenneth Cashman! Rotowear.com!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Michael Wacha, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

January 1, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 85 Comments

by: Grey

I’ve been focusing a lot on hitters so far with my 2018 fantasy baseball sleepers (clickbait). This is not by design. Hanging in my kitchen, an Elvis clock that keeps time by swiveling its hips and a poster of a cat making sushi, so I can call that room my “kitsch-en,” that’s by design. We need to find cheap pitchers who will return a better ROI just as much as cheap hitters. By the way, ROI is the douchiest thing I’ve ever written on Razzball, and I tried to make “Potatoes to chips” a thing for five years. Though, potatoes to chips, I kinda want to own Michael Wacha in every league. You can look at his 12-9 record with a 4.13 ERA and balk, but Steve Carlton had a shizzton of balks, so is this a bad thing? Not to answer, but to ruminate while sipping a pamplemousse La Croix. This isn’t even about the Cardinals making explosive players out of duds, i.e., making dynamite out of nitric acid and a manifesto. There’s one word females aren’t trying to gender neutralize, huh? You don’t hear anyone complaining it’s not personifesto or even womanifesto. Sure, leave us white men with the crap words! Now, that I’ve mansplained manifesto… What can we expect from Michael Wacha for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2019 Detroit Tigers Minor League Preview

December 31, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 8 Comments

by: Geoff

Thomas Jefferson once said “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom”. This is a lesson the 2017 Detroit Tigers took to heart. They knew their window was honestly closing, and sold off aging stars, and spare parts for something Detroit has lacked for a long time, organizational depth. Over the past two drafts and the 2017 trade deadline (both of them), the Tigers added seven of the top ten players on the list below. They’ve focused heavily on adding arms with front of the rotation upsides, and have succeeded for the most part, plucking a handful of exciting pitching talents. The positional side of things is a little thinner, but there’s a small collection of bats with some serious fantasy allure. With the top pick in the upcoming 2018 MLB draft there’s a good chance the Tigers add a couple of impact players before this time next year. The future is bright in the Motor City, with a majority of their top talents years away, this could be a system on the rise over the next 24 months. One side note, I was well trained for this post, by Tigers Prospect writer and friend Emily Waldon. If you’re not following Emily now on twitter you really should. I’ll give you a minute… Now that you’ve obeyed my every command, let’s get into the Detroit Tigers Top Prospects for 2018.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Prospect Podcast: 2018 Chicago Cubs Top Prospects

December 30, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 16 Comments

by: Geoff

Not too long ago the words “Chicago Cubs Prospects” meant something. It was a system deep with talented positional players with premium fantasy upsides. In recent years those talented positional payers have debuted on the big stage, succeeded (for the most part), and broke an 108 year old curse. So to say things are good in Wrigleyville is an understatement. While the farm is not what it was two years ago, it’s been essential in reinforcing both of the Cubs recent playoff runs. This leaves Lance and myself to pick up the pieces of what remains. It’s a system lacking standout talent, but one that’s deep with mid-rotation starters, fringe positional players, and middle relief types. We go through the high points in Jose Albertos, Adbert Alzolay, and Aramis Ademan. Then cover some of the recent draftees, and scour the system for upside. Not the most exciting collection of talent we’ll cover, but there’s a few names to watch for. 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?

Ben Gamel, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 29, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 58 Comments

by: Grey

Over in the Paul DeJong sleeper, I went over different types of sleepers. There was the the sleeper who– Actually, just go there and read the categories I laid out like your mother lays out your clothes. Are you back? Good. Okay, Ben Gamel doesn’t fit into any of those categories. He’s in the category of “Who the eff is Ben Gamel?” Just on the Mariners alone, I could say Ryon Healy is a sleeper, and some people might agree. Mitch Haniger has been a sleeper for about three years. Maybe some would even consider Mike Zunino a sleeper. Ben Gamel though? He’s not going to be drafted even in deep mixed leagues. He’s a sleeper who fantasy baseball ‘perts won’t even talk about, but if you mention him they’ll be like, “Oh, yeah, he’s a good sleeper.” So, why not talk about him? “Because no one is going to talk about him.” That’s right, most fantasy baseball ‘perts judge their sleepers on how much they are not sleepers. Why is this? Not sure, ask them. Ben Gamel is around that of a $2 play in AL-Only leagues. He’s the Rip Van Winkle of sleepers. He’s such a sleeper I guarantee you there will be people asking me in the comments as late as June if they should pick him up. He’s the kind of guy that can win super deep leagues with a very late round pick. If you only play in shallower mixed leagues, go check out my Paul DeJong sleeper. If you want a deep league flyer… So, what can we expect from Ben Gamel for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Manuel Margot, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 28, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 47 Comments

by: Grey

Last year, Manuel Margot hit 16 homers and stole 21 bags, while hitting .263. *you checking Manuel Margot player page, you furrowing your brow* A 23-year-old with 16 homers and 21 steals while not killing you in average and being drafted after 200 overall? Huh? *you tentatively raising your hand* You, “Um, Grey.” Not right now, I’m making a point. Is he being artificially deflated by the association with the Padres? Knowing the Padres, he’ll be traded to the Cubs for Andrew Cashner. *you holding your elbow as your arm gets tired from being raised* “Grey, can I just say one thing?” What, you? Smugly, “He only hit 13 homers and stole 17 bases.” That’s right, in only 126 games, I was prorating his numbers over the course of the season, so eat a D, Smug You. This was also his rookie year. What, no player has ever gotten better after their rookie year? Maybe not Cody Bellinger or Aaron Judge or Ben Grieve, but most do get better after their rookie year. So, what can we expect from Manuel Margot for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Jesus Luzardo, 2018 Dynasty Baseball Sleeper

December 27, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 37 Comments

by: Geoff

Honestly, I wanted to take this whole week off. That was kind of my plan, but five minutes into getting my ass whipped by my 7 year old in video games, I decided to throw in the towel and retire to my study, determined to find Jesus. What I discovered instead was a 98 MPH fastball, a coaster from Dr. James Andrews waiting room, a video of Mike Rizzo writing his name and a smug photo of Billy Beane on a treadmill. What kind of Christmas caper did I find myself involved with? Is this the plot line to Ocean’s 16? A film I’m pitching to Grey about me and a bunch of unsigned international prospects storming Dan Duquette’s office, and demanding he sign them all… Why was the couch in my study talking to me? And what exactly was in my Aunt’s “medicated” candied bacon? I had to get to the bottom of this. But first, let’s talk about why Oakland Athletics lefthanded pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo has me ready to scorn my life of sin and debauchery for a higher purpose.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Nick Castellanos, 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper

December 26, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 75 Comments

by: Grey

Hahahahahahahaha–Breathe, Grey, breathe! Nick Castellanos?! As a sleeper?! Again?! Well, it must be fantasy baseball sleeper season with a post about Nick Castellanos. I debated on whether or not to write this post (for 17 seconds), but I kinda have to write a sleeper post about Nick Castellanos now because if he really does breakout in a huge way this year, I can’t have this offseason be the one year he doesn’t have a sleeper post. That wouldn’t make any sense. Kinda like every episode of Mr. Robot. Elliot is doing what now? I have no idea, and I watch the episodes and read the recaps. I nearly talked myself out of this sleeper post, too. Not because I’ve written the same one four years counting, though that would’ve been a good reason. I almost didn’t write it because his power was so lucky last year. He nearly led the league with ‘Lucky’ homers (4) and was fifth in the league for ‘Just Enough’ homers (12). 16 homers out of his 26 homers that could’ve easily been doubles (one, actually, could’ve been an out because it was a misplayed inside-the-park-homer). Who’s Greek and might only hit 10 homers next year? Nick Markakis, the Greek God of the Bloop Single, but if there’s room for one more, Nick Castellanos, the Greek God of Hard Contact, seems like a worthy bedfellow. Though, there’s the thing: Hard Contact. So, what can we expect from Nick Castellanos for 2018 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?