Grey was in such a great mood to begin the podcast, talking about frolicking around town on his off day eating rolled ice cream and LA ham sandwiches with little Asian girls. That is until I mentioned a bad podcast review we got on iTunes, which irreversibly changed the tone of the entire podcast and had him flying off the handle. He talked crap on the comments he gets under his daily articles which bother him, he goes hard at Fangraphs for incorrectly predicting Rougned Odor’s lack of power would make him cry at the all-star break, and he threatens to ban the IP address of the rogue bad reviewer if he ever finds out who did it. Through the angst, we manage to breakdown his Top 100 2nd Half Rankings, starting at the top with Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, and Mookie Betts. We dig into his optimistic Aaron Judge ranking and cautious Cody Bellinger ranking, and also discuss his ranking of young aces Lance McCullers, Luis Severino, Alex Wood, and James Paxton. Finally, we bring on our boy Kenneth Cashman from RotoWear.com to talk t-shirts and rapping, and he leaves us with an insane Razzball rap to end the interview. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!
The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.
I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!
Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.
Top 100 for 2nd Half of 2017 Fantasy Baseball
July 11, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 673 Commentsby: Grey
Welcome, prematurely balding men and five women who are married to prematurely balding men and decided if you can’t beat them, join them! Make yourself comfortable, this is gonna be a long post. Here, enjoy some coffee. Oops, you just drank rat poison. Don’t worry, it can’t be worse than owning Matt Harvey in the 1st half. Oh, you owned him and that’s why you drank the poison! Now, I’m following! Hey, I’m supposed to be leading! Before we get into the top 100 for the 2nd half of 2017 fantasy baseball, let’s just be glad our 18-year-old selves can’t see us now, we’d get beat up! But our twelve-year-old selves would think we’re the coolest! So, as with all of the other 2017 fantasy baseball rankings, take this list with a grain of salt. If you need a 2nd baseman, but an outfielder is above him that doesn’t mean you can’t trade that outfielder for that 2nd baseman. Also, things change in fantasy baseball. Daily. I could put Bryce Harper number two on the top 100 list for the second half of 2017 and he could pull a–Well, we won’t even mention an injury with Bryce. Why soil a good thing, ya know? This list is a road map for where I think guys are valued. It’s not the Holy Grail in the Church of Grey, that would be my mustache. This list is NOT (caps for emphasis, not aesthetics) where I see guys ending up if you were to take their first half and combine it with the 2nd half. This is simply a list of the top hundred fantasy baseball players if you were to pick them up today. So while Mike Trout did not have the greatest first half, he will appear on this list because, well, Mike Trout. The projections are not their combined 1st half and 2nd half numbers; these are their projections for the 2nd half of 2017. I also liberally used our rest of the season Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. That’s right, we have a Player Rater that tells you what players will do. It’s like that camera from The Twilight Zone. Welcome to the future! Anyway, here’s the top 100 for fantasy baseball for the 2nd half of 2017:
Please, blog, may I have some more?This is an excerpt of a phone call Razzball intercepted during Sunday’s afternoon games. Since every state involved is a two-party consent for recording, we cannot reveal who recorded the call, but it rhymes with Trudy Gramble. Here, let’s listen in: “Hello, this is the CEO of Super Ball, the world’s hardest, bounciest, craziest, shouldn’t-be-used-as-a-baseballiest ball. Who is this calling?” Our Commissioner Rob Manfred disguises his voice so he sounds raspy, “I’m Kathleen Turner. I was wondering if you would sell me 70,000 Super Balls to not be used for baseball purposes.” “Body Heat Kathleen Turner? Not to get all James Lipton, but I am a huge fan of your–” “Okay, toots…” Manfred lowers the phone receiver, to his secretary, “Toots?” Back into the phone, “Um, so don’t make me kill you and blame a different femme fatale. I need those Super Balls.” So, yesterday was bonkers for homers, yet again. I will now list the home runs by guys in just the Astros game: Yulieski Gurriel (2-for-5, 2 runs) hit his 11th; Jose Altuve (3-for-4, 4 runs, 3 RBIs, hitting .347) hit his 13th; Evan Gattis (2-for-5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs) hit his 8th and Carlos Correa (4-for-5, 5 RBIs) and two homers, his 19th and 20th. Holy Salami Tom, there’s a crapton of home runs this year. I have two mixed leagues where I feel like if I’m not getting at least five homers per day, I’m falling behind. Also, on a pitching front, if I can just maintain a 3.50 ERA, I could come in first for ERA. By the way, I hope we’re not sued by Our Commissioner Rob Manfred, but something must be done. Get the Super Balls out of baseball! Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Turn On The Futures Game… Right Now!
July 9, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 36 Commentsby: Lance
July 9th at 4pm marks the exact time I’m certain Prospector Ralph’s mind will explode with excitement. That feeling of pure elation can only be achieved in one scenario. Watching the game’s budding talents in the 2017 Futures Game – streaming on MLB.com – after spending countless hours researching and following prospects of this caliber (From the Razzball family and its incredible base of readers, we sincerely thank you for your work Ralph!). Well, maybe there are a few other scenarios. According to BuzzFeed there are 42 others where this pure form of joy and satisfaction arises. They include unraveling knitting, crunching leaves, and breaking the yolk. Aside from the fact that I’m certain breaking the yolk is a sexual innuendo for something completely different, we live in a truly sad world if these things make people as happy as Ralph on Futures Game Sunday.
Please, blog, may I have some more?It’s prospect list madness this week with mid-season top 100 prospect lists dropping faster than Ralph’s productivity at work. Ralph posted his top 100 last Sunday (and continued on to 200 earlier today) and I’ve been slowly ranking the top 100 over on my website ImaginaryBrickWall.com (currently up to 70). We discuss the discrepancies between our rankings, including Triston McKenzie vs. Walker Buehler and where we slot the 2017 MLB Draft guys, along with comparing our rankings to the behemoths of the industry, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. We talk similarities too, as we both gush over some of the top breakout prospects, such as Estevan Florial and Ryan McMahon. Finally, we rep our podcast sponsor RotoWear.com, who is hooking up all Razzball readers/listeners with 15% off their purchase by entering promo code “SAGNOF.” It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
FantasyDraft: Take The Cahill Pill And Chill
July 9, 2017 | DFS, Fantasy Baseball DFS, FantasyDraft |by: FredWord
When I was a kid, it was routine to go thrift shopping with my mother every Sunday morning (queue the Thrift Shop song by Macklemore). My mother has a niche for finding deals and bargains. I reflect back and look to use some of those skills to find the pitcher I’ll be pairing with Clayton Kershaw in my cash games. I look no further to Trevor Cahill. This will be Cahill’s second start since coming off the DL with shoulder issues. Prior to Cahill’s injury he was having a career year. I was a bit worried watching his rehab starts coming back from the shoulder injury but he handled the Indians in the 4 innings he pitched. With guys coming off injury there is always the risk of getting pulled early because their pitch count is limited. The Padres allowed him to go 85 pitches in his first start back. I’m not worried about the pitch count given he faces a deflated Phillies lineup who is amongst the worst versus right handed pitching this season. Cahill is the bargain of the day at $15,300. The Padres are the favorite on the road today and I will be pairing Cahill with Kershaw in all cash games.
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?
That’s right, we’re pushing well beyond the 100 threshold this year, and pushing it all the way to 200. I for one am excited, but that might just be the speedball of cocaine, redbull, meth, and the behind the counter cough syrup. I’m seeing the words and their auras, man. No jokes, this is all from a vision, an immaculate epiphany I was led to by a culturally appropriated wise character of some sort. Really, I just wanted to get into a whole bunch more prospects I didn’t get a chance to talk about. If you didn’t catch it, last week I dropped my Top 100, this is a continuation of that going from 101 – 200 with full writeups and statlines for each. Hopefully you get caught up on few off the radar names, brush up on some old ones, and get your prospecty fill for the All-Star Break. It’s the Top 200 Fantasy Baseball Prospects!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, say hello to the greatest player on Earth in week 13. Allow me to introduce a player who can juggle three positions at once, boasting eligibility at outfield, second base and third base. Hailing from Baní, the capital town of Peravia Province, Dominican Republic, he was recently voted the starting 3B for the American League All-Star game. The star of today’s show, and wrangler of 42 points, is none other than Jose Ramirez. While he might not be able to tame lions, ride a motorcycle in that small circular cage or swallow a flaming sword, Ramirez can certainly play the game of baseball. Truth be told, he might be able to do all of those things I just mentioned, but I couldn’t reach him to confirm. It seems my Razzball press credentials only got me a free hot dog. At least it was kosher. Love me some Hebrew Nationals!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Before we proceed: a disclaimer — granola is not good for you. It’s full of calories and sugar, but it served my title purposes and it will make you, you know, go. I’m all about helping the collective Razzball digestive system, so let me give you this to chew on: In his last 3 starts, Aaron Nola ($8,900) has earned a grand total of 3 runs, all while striking out 25, and going at least 7 innings per game. Maybe he’s finally becoming the pitcher we yearned for, pre-season? I’m going to put my breakfast cereal where my mouth is and predict that he’ll manage to repeat the good stuff for you today (and not repeat on you, hopefully) if you start him on FanDuel. To do a little caveat-diving: the Phillies are predicted to beat the Padres -135, but which team is actually going to get the most run support in this game is debatable, as the Phillies are second-last in MLB in terms of runs scored (321 this season) — but hey, they’re still above the Padres (305)! And you should get K’s out of him. But if all this is feeling like overpriced sawdust and sadness in your mouth, I’ve got a couple of other suggestions for you after the jump.
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?
OPS Leaguers Unite! OPS My Stars and Garters (Part 1)
July 8, 2017 | OPS Leagues | 6 Commentsby: Phil B.
If you got the title props for being a Dr. Henry McCoy fan and I salute you (even though he’s my least favorite X-Man, but that’s a topic for another day and another site). On that note, here’s hoping everybody had a good Fourth of July. I know I enjoyed the extra long weekend and I’m all for making the Fourth a minimum three-day weekend, and if possible, four. The only day we should never allow the Fourth to be celebrated on is a Wednesday. I think we can all come together as a country and get that done, I mean, who doesn’t think America deserves four days to celebrate it’s greatness, right? Anyhoo, last week’s lede, Josh Reddick, is number one in OPS for the past two weeks as of this writing (just wanted to remind myself that results sometimes do happen quickly and a hat tip to my friend and leaguemate for suggesting him – I thought he did so because he was on his team but nooooo…so I added him and have been reaping the benefits…thanks!).
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Be Pham Buy Dextrous and Use Both Hands To Pick Him Up
July 7, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 414 Commentsby: Grey
I need to come clean about something. It’s embarrassing, and I hope once I tell you you don’t judge me. This is a bit of a trust fall for me. Okay, the truth is, whenever a player breaks out, I start singing Breakout by Swing Out Sister. I put down the convertible top on my canary yellow Sebring, flipping down my sunglasses, adjusting my spandex shorts, because they ride up all the time, and Tommy Pham, fist pump, BREAKOUT!
In Triple-A, Pham had 10 homers and 20 steals in 2014, but, like some many young hitters with the Cardinals (really, only hitters; pitchers they have no problem promoting and playing), they’ll play someone like The Federalist and never give a prospect hitter an opportunity. Now that Pham’s about to turn 30 (in nine months), the Cards have finally given him playing time. There’s nothing here long-term, but he does have power, speed and, finally, the playing time, so, Swing Out Sister and BREAKOUT! And, y’all who think I don’t keep it real, Tupac would date Swing Out Sister, then send her a letter from prison, breaking it off, only to realize halfway through the letter, he shouldn’t break it off, he should BREAKOUT!
Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Razzball.com and the Razzball logo units are copyright Razzball LLC.