Way Too Early 2018 ADP Guesses

September 12, 2017 | Uncategorized | 22 Comments

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?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Sat 8/9
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| MIL \| OAK

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

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?

Cleveland’s On Fire; The Rest Of The League Has Indian Burns

September 12, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 191 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Carlos Carrasco went 6 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.41, as the Indians won their 162nd game, and four-thousandth in a row. Hayzeus Cristo, who wants some of the Indians right now? Who? Or, more appropriately with the Indians, how? They’re fired up like their relatives just got a bad case of the pox and they’re all out of peace to put in their pipe. Am I right? Or am I just borderline racist?! You tell me, Redskins fans! By the way, you know your team name is racist when you can substitute in Redskins and it makes sense, i.e., “The Cleveland Redskins won last night, oh, I’m sorry, I mean Indians.”

Can’t wait for the movie about the Indians’ winning streak that omits Carrasco and Kluber.

— Razzball (@Razzball) September 12, 2017

Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Don’t Go To King Richards’ Faire… And The Top 100 Starters Week 24

September 11, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 41 Comments

by: Geoff

To anyone from Southeastern Massachusetts my title means something to you. If you’re anything like me it signifies the first time in your life you were severely disappointed. I can still remember packing into my parent’s station wagon with another family my parents were friendly with. We were headed to the “World Famous King Richard’s Faire“. Six year old Ralph couldn’t believe I was headed to THE fair of THE King Richard. I mean he was the best king ever, and here I am headed to his fair! Me, lowly 6 year old Ralph with a golden bowl cut! Welp, much like everything else in life since, it was a massive disappointment. What was supposed to be a day of jousts, knights, kings and princesses, quickly turned into reality. That reality was drunk bikers with swords, mutton, and the inescapable smell of feces and urine. The strangest part is it smelt just as much like urine as it did poop. It was as if the two smells were competing for dominance, each pushing itself to it’s limits but neither overtaking the other. Needless to say I never went back. I could have, but I did better things with my time like drinking or masturbating. What does this have to do with Garrett Richards and his most recent start? Well let’s just say I was excited, only to be disappointed. That’s my big market tease, trust me you’re bound to be disappointed…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Matt Olson, Eduardo Escobar …And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 24

September 11, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 14 Comments

by: mikeMaher

Greetings and welcome back to everyone except salty commenter Fogimon. Just kidding. Love you, Fogimon. If you didn’t read Saturday’s post, I moved up north from South Florida just in time to avoid Hurricane Irma, avoiding the chaos of evacuating or staying and hunkering down for the storm. Can’t have much better luck than that, I guess.

Hopefully, you survived without me for a week as we head into the home stretch and fantasy playoffs. If you didn’t, then you are probably not reading this, I guess. So, welcome, survivors. Let’s all bring these leagues home.

We only have so much time left, so we have to continue to focus on the players who are contributing now. If that means dropping Miguel Cabrera (in non-keeper and non-dynasty formats) in order to pick up Matt Olson or a Nick Williams, so be it. Now is not the time for name value consideration. I usually preach patience in this space, but we only have a few weeks left here to close this out. Go, go, gadget Jose Reyes!

Expanded rosters make these last few weeks even more difficult, especially if you have players on teams like the Dodgers or Nationals who can afford to rest players like Daniel Murphy and Corey Seager. You want to make sure you have some additional positional flexibility where possible, which makes waiver wire additions such as Eduardo Escobar and Matt Olson that much more valuable. Not only are they producing right now, but they play a couple positions and give you some added flexibility.

I touch on Olson a bit in a blurb below, but Escobar is a guy who taking a look at because of his eligibility at both shortstop and third base. He won’t have too much value once Miguel Sano returns, but it sounds like Sano is progressing pretty slowly. With only a few weeks left in the season, we probably still have at least another week of Escobar playing time, if not more. There is no guarantee that he continues to play every day once Sano comes back, but it is equally possible that, if he keeps hitting, the Twins find a place for him in a lineup that could certainly use the help. For a guy with a 9.92 PR15 who is owned in less than 20% of ESPN leagues, I would definitely be willing to take a chance.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: The C & C K’ing Factory

September 11, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft | 9 Comments

by: Teddy Heater

Carlos Carrasco, $25,500 and the red hot Cleveland Indians are hosting the team formally known as the Detroit Tigers. If you haven’t been keeping track the current Tigers aren’t posting a fearsome lineup by any means. Nick Castellanos is swinging a hot bat, but other than him they are ice cold and Carrasco es en fuego! Over his last three starts he’s 2-0 with 23 innings pitched, 24 Ks and 2 ER. Yes, please and thank you. Carrasco is the highest priced pitcher tonight, but with some creative pairing I’m confident we can piece together a winning roster. Brandon Woodruff, $14,100, versus Pittsburgh is just what the doctor ordered to balance out the high price tag of Carrasco. Woodruff has been very serviceable since being called up in early August. He’s 1-1 with 1.52 ERA, with 20 Ks in 23.2 innings. He’s facing a scuffling Pirates squad that’s only won 4 of it’s last twelve games and they’ve only scored a total of 6 runs over the last 5 games. There’s not a ton of data to go off of for Woody, but I’ll take with the discounted price tag tonight. Now that our pitching is set, let’s take a look at our offensive options.

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?

Abreu Taking Irma Frustrations Out On San Fran

September 11, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 269 Comments

by: Grey

There’s a common term sociologists use called, The Tide of Uze. Everything that encompasses everyday life is on The Tide of Uze. Brushing your teeth, walking your dog, Jose Abreu, they’re all on The Tide of Uze. There’s small pleasures to be found with them, but they’re so consistent they are often lost amongst other more exciting things. However, this past weekend The Tide of Uze was raised by Irma GAWD!, the fantasy football kickoff and me going to a Dodgers game with Dr. Kenneth Noisewater, a frequent commenter who was in town. I didn’t rank those per their importance, I’ll leave that to you. Big weekend for the world, right? (Yes.) With the Tide of Uze raising, it lifts everything that was floating on its surface, which meant Jose Abreu had a career weekend. On Saturday, he hit for the cycle, and, not to be outdone, he homered twice on Sunday (2-for-3, 3 RBIs, home run, 30 and 31). His season numbers are now 85/31/90/.302/1. All preseason I talked about how I wasn’t getting a 1st baseman in the first two rounds, so I was drafting Abreu everywhere, and I was nervous about it. Let’s just say I’ve learned to appreciate The Tide of Uze. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: Every Day Is Like Sunday

September 10, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft | 4 Comments

by: VictoriaB

Do not adjust your sets. Yes, it is Sunday, and yes, I am writing you a DFS post for the second day in a row; we have not magically gone back in time to Saturday, my usual day. I’ve swapped spots temporarily with FredWord, who at time of writing was preparing for Hurricane Irma. We’re all thinking of you, mate, and everyone else who lately has been and may yet be affected by Mother Nature, everywhere. It’s kind of weird how life goes on, but it does, and I know I’m lucky to be warm and dry and able to play DFS today. I’m feeling a bit of an urge to spread the love, though, including any winnings I make this weekend. This could be a good and baseball-relevant place. So let’s make it a good one. (Fingers crossed. This is actually the first time I’ve attempted to write about FantasyDraft; as much as I like it [it’s roomy in here, like elastic-waistbanded pants! Flexible like a Thighmaster!], it could all go horribly wrong.)

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?

Prospect Rankings: Top 10 Third Base Prospects

September 10, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 23 Comments

by: Geoff

It’s funny how much third baseman are like eggplants. Why am I drawing this off the wall parallel? No reason, other than I didn’t know how to open, and the first thing I saw was an eggplant. Yes, a real eggplant not a eggplant emoji, or item represented by said emoji. Here we are on a Sunday, not talking about the minor league happenings of the last week, but heading full steam ahead into the our off-season prospect coverage. Crazy to think we’re two seasons into my tenure here at Razzball as the resident Prospector In Chief. Memories, tears, and promise rings. Today we dive into the chilly waters of the hot corner. Not the most exciting group I’ll profile over the next few weeks, but not every position is as stacked as outfield. Ya dig? That’s not to say there aren’t a collection of future fantasy stars, as well as fantasy relevant talents outside the top 5. The top three names of Guerrero, Senzel, and McMahon should be familiar to all, as they’re some of the top talents presently in the minors. Unlike outfield and shortstop, there’s a particular profile associated with 3rd. It’s a power position, and one expected to produce some of the top middle of the order bats. The top 5 is filled with those, but the next 5 is where things get interesting. As always, remember my personal preference weighs heavy on this ranks (these ranks are my personal preference after all…), and the ability to stick at the position long term is taken with a grain of salt. I’m looking for the best bats with 3Bs on the back of their minor league baseball cards.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Two-Start Starters, Week 24: Is It Time To Gamble On Richards?

September 9, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers | 22 Comments

by: mikeMaher

Greetings and welcome back to the Mike Maher Hurricane Irma Shelter. My apologies for taking last week off, but it seems like I got out of South Florida just in time. I am now safely in the Pocono Mountains, where hurricanes dare not stray. Blizzards, on the other hand…

Hopefully, you all survived a week without me, especially as rosters expanded and probable pitcher lists were thrown further into confusion. This is the time of the year where it really gets dicey. We are all either in the home stretch or are in the playoffs in H2H leagues, while daily lineups and probable pitchers are more unpredictable than ever. Aces and top hitters for teams with guaranteed roster spots are getting extra rest now that each team has roughly 115 players available for each game. It’s not just Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts making our lives difficult anymore. Now, it’s all managers.

These two-start starters lists, regardless of where you look each week, are never going to be 100% accurate. Too much can change throughout the week and even over the weekend. These are just projections based on recent history and how the schedules line up. This week, multiply that by about a gajillion. If expanding rosters (and bullpens) weren’t enough to throw things off, Hurricane Irma and her friends are making sure to take care of the rest.

This week more than ever, you will need to double and triple check these starters on Sunday night and Monday morning. Some are all but guaranteed to change between now and then. Now, for the value picks from Streamonator this week:

Please, blog, may I have some more?