Shohei and Tell: The Low Down on Shohei Otani for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

September 14, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 59 Comments

Is September 13th the earliest the hot stove has ever been fired up? We have about a month and a half left of baseball, including the playoffs, and at the moment the biggest story in the game is an international free agent. Granted this is no average international free agent, it’s Shohei Otani, the 23 year old pitcher/outfielder/designated hitter, described by many as the Japanese Babe Ruth. In my opinion that’s a bit hyperbolic, he’s neither fat nor drunk, and his home run trot isn’t a full on shuffle. Do you people even know who Babe Ruth is? I scoff at you! All joking aside, with the rumor coming out of Japan yesterday that Otani will in fact enter the posting process, the offseason has unofficially started. Over the course of today’s post we’ll go over my novice take on the business side of his signing, and the MLB roster rules governing his free agency, his profile as both a hitter and starter, and we’ll close with a very early prediction of his pre-season ranking in both re-draft leagues, and dynasty first year player drafts. It’s important to view this from all angles, as there’s a wide range of possibilities for how Otani is handled next season by his future MLB team, the league, and fantasy sites. If there’s anything I missed or explained poorly (probably haha) hit me up in the comments, and set me straight. I promise I won’t bite… this time.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Set Your PVR (Perception Versus Reality): How You Like Me Now?, Pt. 2

September 14, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 4 Comments

by: VictoriaB

In last week’s Perception Versus Reality post, Dr. Easy and I took our first look back to the beginning of the 2017, to compare the top 12 players on the Razzball Pre-Season Player Rater (PS PR) versus the top 12 as of right now per the Razzball Season-to-Date Player Rater (STD PR). We thought we’d look at how things have changed (or not!) 5 months on, with a view to trying to learn some lessons for next season: Who’s appeared out of nowhere; who’s done pretty much what we expected; who’s been a disappointment? Last week, we looked at Trout, Betts, Kershaw, Turner, Machado, Altuve, Scherzer, Goldschmidt and Arenado. This is the second installment, in which we look at the rest of the preseason top 12 and those players who have sneaked into the current top 12.

Here were the top 12 players according to the Pre-Season Player Rater, at the start of the season in April:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Buying Berrios

September 14, 2017 | DFS, Fanduel |

by: TroyKlauder

It’s been a turbulent year for Jose Berrios, as most 23-year-old starters tend to be inconsistent, and he’s been no different. However, in the last month, Berrios has 35 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings with a 2.87 ERA. Berrios should see more of the same success as he takes on the Blue Jays on Thursday. You might not have noticed it, but Toronto’s lineup has actually been quite weak this year. They’ve got just a .312 wOBA against righties, ranking them 26th in all of baseball. The Jays are also much less intimidating away from home, since they won’t have one of the best hitter’s parks to their advantage. As Berrios continues his hot streak in Minnesota, he’s worth starting for $8,500.

New to FanDuel? 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 jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Olson Golden

September 14, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 234 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Matt Olson went 1-for-2, 2 RBIs with his 18th homer, hitting .273, all in only 49 games, and seven homers in his last ten games. Dizzamn, who is he the American League’s Rhysus? I’d call him Olsonus, but that sounds stupid. We’re ridin’ the Ols-mobile? That’s better (not)! Like me after Taco Bell, he is Olplosive (much worse!). I hear the train a comin’ rollin’ round the bend! I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when! Well I’m stuck with Matt Olson and time keeps dragging on! While a train keeps a rollin’ like Olson to San Antone! Well when I was just a baby my mama told me Olson, Olson, OLSON! Always be a good boy don’t ever play with guns (flexes, showing gun show). Well I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, not OLSON! When I hear that whistle blowin’ I hang my head and I cry because I don’t have OLSON! Whew, that was exhausting. So, obviously, if you need power, you should grab Olsonus, and ride the Ols-mobile. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Rolling In The Deep, Week 24: Moss Grows As Summer Draws To A Close

September 13, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball |

by: Laura Holt

Hello? Anyone out there? With just two and a half weeks left to the major league baseball/standard rotisserie season, it’s starting to feel like there are just a few of us left, stranded in a deep, dark cave. If you are still grinding out these final games and fighting for a money finish, good luck and congratulations. If you are completely out of it in your league but are still actively tinkering with and setting your lineup for the good of the fantasy game, you are a better man than many, and I hope the fantasy gods reward you with future spoils. And if you are just killing time at work or trying to distract yourself from a disastrous week one in fantasy football and reading this even though you don’t currently own a deep-league fantasy baseball team that you are actively managing, thank you and welcome!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Hard Work and Elbow Rhys

September 13, 2017 | DFS, Fanduel | 1 Comment

by: Tugga

DFS could be systematic, hydromatic, ultramatic… why it could be Rhys Lightnin’ today! I’d probably draft Rhys Hoskins above a whole bunch of guys next season. Throw Jose Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Eric Hosmer, Logan Morrison, Ryan Zimmerman and Wil Myers on that list. Greasy Rhysy gives me the warm fuzzies with all of this home run business, oh and speaking of business, comparing him to a shart is kinda doable. We thought we knew what we had when Hoskins was called up in August, but when we pushed a little further, the explosion occurred. It’s a party in everyone’s pants, and since Hoskins ($4,100) is the lede on this fine Wednesday, he’s most certainly one of my top OF picks today.

New to FanDuel? 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 jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Young Shortstops, Yu Darvish, and Robbie Ray

September 13, 2017 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 15 Comments

by: Halp

Come hell or high water, Grey Albright and I will not stop until a Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast is delivered right to your doorstep. Or more accurately, right to your phone app. When the Singularity arrives, we’ll be able to upload it directly into your cerebrum, but until then, please bear with us while we work out some technical kinks due to switching recording software. We start the podcast by discussing the interesting fantasy seasons of Francisco Lindor, Xander Bogaerts, and Corey Seager, and how we project their numbers for 2018. Then, we talk about Yu Darvish’s relatively disappointing season and Robbie Ray’s breakout, before finishing the show by talking about some possible sleepers for next season, including Tim Anderson and Ian Happ. Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 15% 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?

I Guess All Betts Go Off Now

September 13, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 183 Comments

by: Grey

So, where does Mookie Betts go in 2018? That’s what we all want to know, right? That and WHAT TIME IS IT?! Sorry, was listening to Steppin’ To The A.M. I was not listening to Time to Get Ill, however, because I don’t like the Beastie Boys, but it might be more appropriate with The Bettsie Boy, Mookie. Home run distance is a weird thing. Well, maybe not weird, but hard to trust. Yeah, that’s the ticket, said like that Jon Lovitz character. In hindsight, it’s obvious. Mookie had so many Just Enough home runs last year, of course, he’s not hitting as many this year, but I thought there would be enough mitigating factors to lessen Betts’ drop off. He’s young — power still peaking; he’s in a good park — Pesky/Wall; the lineup — oh, that lineup. Didn’t play out that way for power and average. His average is nearly fifty points off of last year, and his power will end likely down about five homers from last year. Not huge? Well, that is around a 15% drop — even after his big game yesterday of 3-for-5, 6 RBIs and his 20th and 21st homer. So, what does all this mean for next year? I think he’s going to be undervalued, and I expect a bounce back of sorts. Likely closer to a 27-homer guy than his 30+ last year, but there’s no way he hits near-.265 as he is right now. He’s hitting as many line drives as last year, hitting the ball harder, in general, and a .267 BABIP. He’s gotta be one of the unluckiest hitters this year. He’s basically hitting line drives up the middle, but a squirrel is knocking it down into a fielder’s glove. Maybe he’s not Mookie Best this year, but I’m not counting out Mookie Ballgame yet. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Way Too Early 2018 ADP Guesses

September 12, 2017 | Uncategorized | 22 Comments

by: Lance

Thursday night marked the beginning of 2017-2018 ~~concussion~~ football season. If your fantasy baseball league lacked waiver activity prior to kickoff, I can only imagine the subsequent days will be as lively as this fan falling asleep in the fourth inning of a Yankees-Red Sox game back in 2015. Those who stick around care; they flaunt their championship around friends, family, pets, significant others, potential significant others – just kidding, please don’t do that – while their league mates consult countless websites wondering whether this stupid kicker, or this other stupid kicker is the better play. Don’t be that friend asking about a kicker, put your time into something more valuable.

Remember in high school when teachers preached earlier time investment for projects leading to better results? This column is the child of benevolence you sat next to who saw the test, and filled your study-less void five minutes prior to the start of the exam. It’s tough to become that kid unless you are a baseball nut like myself, so in the spirit of all that is Razzball, I’ve taken it upon myself to spur some early interest in 2018.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

SAGNOF Report: King’s Ransom

September 12, 2017 | SAGNOF | 12 Comments

by: Smokey

Sometimes with the SAGNOF machine it’s best to take a trip on the way back machine. Players long past their usual usefulness of SAGNOF every now and again peep their heads out from the geriatric bingo and arts and crafts tent to be a whole bunch of fantasy useful. We peer our eyes on Jose Reyes. The once polished-up steal machine formerly of NY and now back again. The end of the year flurry which we are seeing could be fueled by his pending free agency, or maybe he has found the fountain of yutes. Either way he is showing out for the final stretch and is basically a must own type entity right now. Slashing .348/.446/.582 over his last 15 and has basically repeated his counting stats in the second half of games, in half the games (83 in first half and 4 since all star break). The middle infidel spot has been a tumultuous path of futility all year with ping-ponging guys that have arguably more value from day-to-day than keeping rostered the whole year. Just to put in perspective how good he has been over the last 30 days, he has better counting stats then Alex Bregman, who is owned in 91% of leagues right now. Reyes is only owned in 32%. If apples were to apples here, I would choose the dude in the big apple because of the speed. No I am not saying dump Bregman for him, I am simply saying that comparatively Jose Reyes should be rostered. Think fast it’s on to the saves and steals news of the past week. Cheers!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

RCL Update 2017: The Week That Was, Week 23

September 12, 2017 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 9 Comments

by: MattTruss

Three weeks remain in the battle for overall Razzball Commenter Leagues dominance and Grey is once again pushing for the top spot. How fun will it be if Grey actually wins this thing? Will we ever hear the end of it? Doubtful. Deity of choice knows that Rudy will never hear the end of it. If Grey does win, what will he buy himself with the Best Buy card? Who wants to speculate? It would have to be something absurd, right? Maybe that mini, waterproof television he can install in his toilet so he can watch TV while taking a pee? A Swagtron perhaps? My vote is for a pocket drone to track Ted and take aerial photos of him. Alas, we may never know, that is, if Returning Champ has anything to say about it. Returning Champ boosted his league total to 116 points this week. That, with a 101 league index, is good for 108.3 RCL Points or 4.1 more than Grey. It’s going to be a fun final 3 weeks, that’s for sure. We’ll look at the race to the top of the Master Standings, as well as the other close races around the RCLs and more in the week that was, week 23:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: I Dream of Biagini

September 12, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

by: Sky

There’s nothing more random than September baseball. It’s a time where you throw season stats out the window and ride the hot bat or hot hand. The mystery of a new guy can throw the league off for a few games and you can enjoy that all the way to a championship…or a few FantasyDraft bones. Then there’s the recency of it all. It’s always good to look at the 7 day performance of a given hitting team when trying to pick a pitcher during this time of year. All year, it’s been a known thing: don’t start a pitcher vs the Dodgers. Now? Dodgers have been in a free fall and have the worst wRC+ over the last thirty days. All this to say, this ain’t your mom’s time of year…hrm, not what I meant to say…namely cuz I don’t know what it means so instead I’ll just say over the last seven days, the Orioles have been one of the worst hitting teams in the league with a 53 wRC+ and a monstrous 28.2% K rate during that span heading into their matchup with Estrada last night (Marco was sitting at 3 K thru 2 as of this typing). Why does all this matter? Well, Joe Biagini already got to enjoy the mess that is Baltimore. At Camden Yards on September 1st, Biagini went 7, struck out 10 so there’s a good chance this slide continues for these birds. Keep in mind, this Biagini dream could quickly turn into a nightmare so stay away in cash, children. Good? Good. With that out of the way, lets get on to this. Here’s my Barbara Eden taeks for this Tuesday FantasyDraft slate (walks away humming the I Dream of Jeannie theme song)…

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 jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?