I had this lede in my back pocket. In the fantasy baseball writing world, it’s called ‘the early lede.’ It’s a form of sandbagging. You know everyone wanted Mike Montgomery in the preseason, but his rotation spot wasn’t confirmed. So, in March, you write a Mike Montgomery Buy lede like you’re filling in a Mad Libs. You say how he’s been great/solid/surprisingly awful but will come around. You can’t believe the Cubs took this long/moved this fast with him. His rotation spot was all but guaranteed once (pitcher’s name) got injured. That (same pitcher’s name) wasn’t good anyway and now Montgomery is here to stay for the season/the month/this next start. So far this year, he has a 61% ground ball rate, which would be the 3rd best in the majors if he qualified, and has a 8.6% swinging strike rate, which would be around the top 40. Those two numbers give the promise that his strikeout and walk rate aren’t giving yet. His 2.26 ERA is a bit of a fairy tale in unicorn clothes, but there’s still enough to be encouraged by. You better get him/have to get him/maybe should get him! This could be the pickup of the year/maybe a streamer and you better act fast/moderately quick/sometime while you’re still drawing breath. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
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In a full-on Willy Loman-type starring role, Andrew Miller now takes over the most responsible role in the Tribe’s bullpen. I beg to differ that he is taking over the most important role, and can argue that he has seen more high-leverage situations and save situations than his sort of disposed closer, Cody Allen… The only thing leading him to not be the most important factor in that pen was the stat of the save. Listen, Tito beats to the sound of his own drum and Arnold, nor Willis are going to tell him how to handle his bullpen. It is a luxury to have two top-10 overall relievers at his disposal and to use them how he sees fit. Miller, is by definition, the closer to save his arm for the future. But what we don’t realize is that if a save happens sooner than the 9th inning, Miller is going to be called on just like his original role. Confused? Yeah, it is kinda like saying: “Go look for the save in the corner of a circular room.” For ownership, this changes zero. Miller is and was owned as he should be in every league imaginable. Cody Allen is also owned and shouldn’t be dropped as he becomes the closer cuff in waiting, and is far superior to any RP on the waiver wire. So hold on tight! A month from now, when Miller has 5 saves and Allen has 3, not much stat wise will be lost, but by the end of the year when Allen has 32 and Miller 12, that is when we can look back on this and laugh and say “I shaved my eyebrows for this?” Stay tuned kids, more closer and bullpen-y type goodness are on the way…
Please, blog, may I have some more?I asked my wife to help me think of a title using the name Xander Bogaerts and she said his name sounds like a character that Joey would play on Friends and I agree, that’s pretty apt. Xander is one of my favorite Bogaerts, even if he spells it a bit differently than the others. First there’s badass Humphrey; Casablanca owns, still holds up today, still is eminently quotable, and if you disagree you haven’t watched it (so go do so, right after you finish reading this post).
Please, blog, may I have some more?The answer: this pitcher has a swinging strike rate of 12.1% on the year, which is just .1% less than the likely chalk play of the night, Stephen Strasburg. Oh, oh I know, it’s Alex Wood! That is incorrect…the answer is ‘Who is Alex Wood?’ I’m sorry, but we cannot accept as your answer needs to be in the form of a question. Suck it, Trebek! That’s you and I playing Jeopardy together which is a WHOLE lot better than playing Lambs with me, I can assure you. Lets get this over by saying that Alex Wood being good is by no means a secret but on a slate like tonight when there are some massive lines in favor of some stud home pitchers, Alex has got me thinking he’s gonna bring the sexy for a little bit cheaper than the other massive arms on the slate. He’s by no means a bargain at 9.5 K, but him finishing the night with a better line than the three above him in price wouldn’t be much of a shock to my system. Alex is my cash game swerve off of the likely Stras vs Chris Archer debate and I’m obviously willing to roll with him in a few GPPs. But now that we’re done with that, let’s get down to this; here’s my returning champion worth negative $5,300 dollars taeks for this Friday FD slate…
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Yesterday, Kyle Schwarber was demoted to Triple-A to clear his head. But Joe Buck would’ve cleared it for him! Guess Schwarber is just one less thing for Joe Buck to plug. Joe Buck is now the new Crying Jordan meme. Also, yesterday, Jason Heyward was DL’d. Right now, Joe Maddon is like, “All I need is Ian Happ. And this chair. All I need is Ian Happ, this chair and this remote control. And Tommy La Stella. All I need is Ian Happ, this chair, this remote control and Tommy La Stella. And these Buddy Holly glasses. Happ, chair, remote, La Stella and these glasses! That’s all I need!” I’m sure Schwarber will be back at some point, but, in most mixed leagues, you can move on. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?When you’re a skinny, nerdy, teenager with a 24 inch waist, and an unhealthy obsession with Gal Gadot, breakouts are no bueno. In fact, it can put a real damper on those “extended” bathroom breaks, where you’re just trying to get a “handle” on your burgeoning adulthood. You sit there in the mirror getting familiar with yourself like the protagonist in a Diablo Cody movie with her pants off. So it might come as shock to you, high school reader, that some times, breakouts, can in fact be great. I’m of course talking about minor league breakouts! I’m a minor league writer, not a dermatologist brah! Over the years, some of the most important moves I’ve made in my dynasty leagues have been adding mid-season breakouts from the wavier wire. Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of the names added last year in my 30 team dynasty league’s mid-season signing period. Luis Urias, Chance Adams, Koda Glover, Seth Lugo, Ben Gamel, Max Schrock, Greg Allen, Shed Long, Jose Albertos, and Fernando Tatis Jr, just to name a few. Keep in mind this is a 30 team dynasty league where over 900+ prospects are owned, and almost half the teams are managed by prospect writers. Still some good names right? The point I’m trying to make here is, there’s always new talent, breakouts, and undervalued assets in every format. With half of the full season leagues in their all-star breaks, let’s take a look at some of the names making hay here in the early going. Today we’ll take a look at the hitters, we’ll go into the other side of the ball with pitching breakouts on Sunday.
Please, blog, may I have some more?It’s getting to that point in the season where it’s time to put up or shut up. This is quite similar to how I prefer when my dates. I like it when they put out and shut up. Despite the recent mistrial outcome I’m quite sure Bill Cosby agrees. I can’t believe how much of a creep Doctor Huxtable turned out to be. The dude ran an OB/GYN practice out of his basement. Come on! You can’t make this shit up. And before you go defending old Heathcliff, the dude is as innocent as O.J. Case closed.
Please, blog, may I have some more?There’s numerous ways you can choose to earn funds on Thursday’s FanDuel slate, but one starter stands above the rest. The 23-year-old Astros prodigy David Paulino looks to wreak havoc on the Athletics, a weak lineup that has just a .319 wOBA versus righties. The A’s and their 25% K-rate will look like shook ones against Paulino, who has a 9.15 K/9 and a 2.29 BB/9 in his four starts this year. Paulino is coming off of a six inning outing against the Red Sox where he gave up just one earned run, so it looks like he’s settling in to the big leagues. Avoiding Paulino at just $7,400 will be the start of your ending, so just step to him in your lineups.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Since it was an afternoon game, Ted and I settled in to watch Max Scherzer vs. the Marlins. First inning and the slider was working. 2nd, 3rd, 4th innings and the Marlins had no chance. 5th inning and Ted demanded I take him out and play catch with him.
Ted fields like Trout but with a mouth instead of a glove pic.twitter.com/41Q7uJ2blV
— Razzball (@Razzball) June 20, 2017
115 degrees in the shade and we’re back in for the 6th inning, and Scherzer hasn’t missed a beat while missing the bats. Everyone knows everything there is to know about Scherzer. He is at least the 3rd best starter in baseball, and likely second best, though who’s first? Sale? Then Kershaw and Scherzer? I don’t know, Kershaw’s looked pretty human at times this year. Sale, Scherzer then Kershaw? Sounds about right, but need to search for other things to talk about with him. Hmm…Well, there’s always his android eyes.
Max Scherzer has heterochromia, which means he has two different color eyes. This allows him to see in 3D without the glasses.
— Razzball (@Razzball) June 21, 2017
Now back for the 7th inning and it’s more no-hitter, and, Jesus Christopher Ramirez, the Nats announcers are a bore. Let’s go mute for the 8th inning, and Dietrich gets, uh, diet rich of sliders. Now, Ellis and goodbye no-hitter. Of course, that was the point Dusty should’ve lifted Scherzer since even the announcers said Scherzer says he doesn’t want to ever throw past 120 pitches. You guessed it, he went past 120 pitches, and lost the lead, but, once again, a dazzler — 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners (2 hits), 11 Ks, ERA at 2.09. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?I must say, I’m not too excited about the waiver wire in either my NL-only or AL-only leagues this week. Not that I ever feel like there is a ton to choose from, but at least up until this point in the season I’ve felt like there are almost always one or two guys in each league that either got called up under the radar/got surprisingly shoved into a starting rotation/fell into a job due to injury/etc, that had at least a distant shot at mixed-league relevancy. This week, though, I’m not so sure.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This might be the only Razzball article where you will find a RuPaul’s Drag Race quote, some lyrics from the Broadway musical Wicked, a reference to Matt Harvey’s sex appeal AND a Tyra banks gif. It’s no wonder some people on this site think I’m female! Here I was thinking it was just my name…
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying their work day. I welcome you all to another wonderful DFS slate on FanDuel. I know all the way back in week 1 I said I’d try to never recommend a game in Coors Field…well that ends today. Sorry, but you can’t ignore the game in Coors Field. There’s plenty of ways to make sure your lineup isn’t all chalk. Making multiple lineups and stacking each team or stack a whole team 1-8 across a few lineups and I’m talking right down to the catchers. Tony Wolters? Sure, if he’s playing and not Tom Murphy. What about Chris Herrmann? Yeah, him too. The usual suspects are in play as well including Mark Reynolds, Nolan Arenado, Jake Lamb, Charlie Blackmon, and Paul Goldschmidt. Those OF bats ain’t too shabby either, so check and see if Gregor Blanco, Carlos Gonzalez, and/or David Peralta are playing. Just remember: don’t use either of these pitchers, though…DUH. Colorado is playing too well for Walker to make a difference and Hoffman is really really bad.
Now on to the picks…
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Please, blog, may I have some more?