SAGNOF Report: 20/20 Blindness

August 1, 2017 | SAGNOF | 11 Comments

In the real world, the realm of 20 homers and 20 stolen bases has now become a cheap rack of cheaters at your local pharmacy. The state of the power and thievery in the game, as a combined entity, is a pooh-fest currently filled with zero residents. The possibilities of getting maybe three could happen by the end of the month and those names are first round darlings: Paul Goldschmidt (22/15), Jose Alutve (15/21), and Mookie Betts (17/17) are the closest to reaching the ranks of the common folk from 10 years ago. I have gone over the numbers in previous years posts and the number of 20/20 players is on a perpetual downward slope. So while nothing is guaranteed for the standard “he is a 20/20 player” from year-to-year, the reward when he does it is, well… rewarding. If the standard for the dual threat is just being one of a few who does both, then they deservedly so belong in the first round. Like the three names that I just mentioned. All had ADP preseason in the top-10 and very comfortably. I know it’s August and I am here waxing poetic about ADP… Well, it is the first of the month and the other ADP is all about paying people, so I thought it was apropos. So when looking next year at what you can get out of a player, dumb down the 20/20 expectations and limit it to a select and proud few. sad state of affairs, next thing you know we will be giving fantasy participation trophies to everyone so nobodies feelings get hurt. Cheers!

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FantasyDraft: I Can’t, It’s a Gio!

August 1, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

by: Tugga

I’ll give you the skinny: Gio Gonzalez threw eight innings of ecstasy last night. Mad props if you actually saw that coming. Baseball is a whole lotta’ things, but it’s certainly easy to fall ass backward into a pot of luck every now and then. Most years, you can throw away your summer and alienate say, your whole two friends whilst endlessly researching Andrew McCutchen like a madman. Eventually, you’ll convince yourself that he’ll suck, only for him to turn around, flip you the bird, and hit something close to 30 home runs. Orrrrr, you can be like this guy. Spend five whole minutes researching Gio, glance at his last few starts, and sit him because you’re a half-wit. Baseball: ever so humbling. Oh well, enough of that, here are my picks for Tuesday’s late-ish slate of games.

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Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Recapping the 2017 Trade Deadline for Fantasy Baseball

August 1, 2017 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 38 Comments

by: Halp

In between offending billions of people, making fun of An Inconvenient Truth, and bemoaning net neutrality, Grey Albright and I manage to rundown all of the trades at the deadline in ways only Razzball can. We talk Sonny Gray headed to the New York Yankees, Yu Darvish headed to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jonathan Lucroy to the Colorado Rockies, and a bunch of smaller pitcher trades too. We then celebrate the New York Mets finally calling up Amed Rosario, and debate what his numbers will look like the rest of the way. Finally, we try to predict what the last two months will bring for the slumping Aaron Judge, along with a few of his inexperienced peers, including Alex Bregman, Andrew Benintendi, Cody Bellinger, and Nomar Mazara. As always, 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:

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Yu See LA Brewin’ Something Big?

August 1, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 453 Comments

by: Grey

Baseball’s parity is better than any other sport. You can go into the season like, say, the Rockies. No chance at all of the playoffs with no closer, no pitching, an injured offseason acquisition and be a favorite for the playoffs in July, without that offseason acquisition doing anything, not getting anything from your returning superstar shortstop and defying gravity with a pitching staff keeping a team above water even at one mile high. Then, on July 31st, parity goes out the window and all teams doing well get much better and teams struggling sell off everything. Speaking of “I’m rich bitch,” the Dodgers traded for Yu Darvish. The deadline was mostly, “Well, there goes a middle reliever,” and, “Another middle reliever? Snooze,” then, at the last moment, the Dodgers swooped in and grabbed Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani, two more middle relievers. Just like LA to want two Tonys, like Oscars aren’t enough. Oh well, nothing big this year. When, thirty-five minutes after the trading deadline, the Dodgers announced, “Psyche, fake-out, we got Darvish too.” Los Angeles is about the best landing spot a fantasy owner could hope for Darvish. He has a 9.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 3.81 xFIP, but was pitching in the 5th best offensive park. Hello, NL West, Dodger Stadium and facing the Giants and Padres. Now you see LA brewin? Yu sexy, get me some Trojans. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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What’s Wrong With Carlos Rodon? …And The Top 100 Starters, Week 18

July 31, 2017 | Uncategorized | 69 Comments

by: Geoff

Maybe Carlos Rodon is a bit more high, ahhh, ummm, profile than the usual pitching, ahhh, ummm, profile candidate I cover. After all, at points over the last few years this is a guy who’s been universally owned. Things have definitely been a different story in 2017, as he missed all of April and May, and most of June recovering from a biceps injury. Following two strong starts upon his return, we’ve seen “Bad Carlos” over the last three turns. The former third overall pick has been steady, but inconsistent throughout his first two seasons in the big leagues. Apt to spells of poor control and command, that typically led to some ugly pitching lines. Is that what’s happening here? Simply a case of “Bad Carlos”? Good or bad, something has obviously been amiss the past few starts, let’s take a look under the hood and see what’s going on. Are these problems fixable or is there a lingering injury? On Sunday Rodon faced the red hot Indians and my guess is you already know what happened. Here’s what I saw.

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Whit or Whitout Merrifield? …And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 18

July 31, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 36 Comments

by: mikeMaher

Now that we are a few weeks into the second half, we are able to take a look at players and their rest of season rankings a little differently. For starters, we can see how players are starting the second half. Even though it is only a few days off (or not off, for those who participate in the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game) and is not even technically the real halfway point of the season, the All-Star break seems to hit the reset button for some players.

Some players get off to a hot start in the second half and ride the wave for a hot August and September, while others seem to lose their momentum and start off ice cold. You could write a book on the different explanations and theories about why it happens or whether or not the Home Run Derby messes up your swing or the All-Star Game schedule itself is exhausting, but we all know as fantasy owners that we have to really pay attention to our squads coming out of the break.

Players who had unreal, otherworldly breakout first halves like Aaron Judge have come back to earth a little bit, while players we had come to rely on in previous years who had disappointing first halves like Christian Yelich have gotten hot. If those disappointing players don’t get off to a good start to the second half, though, we have to make the tough decision about whether or not it is time to move on.

And that is the other way we have to look at these rankings, with time in mind. Depending on your league and format, you probably have roughly two months left in your season and about a month and a half or less until the playoffs in leagues that have them. Carlos Gonzalez is the 600th ranked player in Razzball’s year-to-date player rater, but he is still owned in 93% of RCLs and 67% of ESPN leagues as apparently, Razznation is still waiting for CarGo to turn back into the hitter he has shown he is over the year.

And while Gonzalez has been somewhat better in the second half and has sown signs of life, at some point time is going to run out. I gave up on him weeks ago and have not looked back. In the leagues where I had him I am in first or second place and am clawing to either stay there or overtake the top team, and I just don’t have any more time to wait on him. Granted, I gave up on him when it looked like he wasn’t going to have regular playing time anymore, and that is no longer the case since the Rockies can’t stay healthy, but I don’t regret the decision. Even after showing he can still hit a little in the second half, he still only has a 0.02 PR15. That isn’t enough to make me regret the decision or convince me he is going to get hot.

For Gonzalez this season, his Hard%, FB%, and HR/FB% are all down, while his AVG, OBP, and SLG are all well below his career averages. Most troubling to me is the SLG, which is currently sitting at .341. It would not be surprising to find out that he has been playing through injuries all season because 1. He is pretty much always injured and 2. These numbers are awful. You know I love creating these graphs, so check out this one:

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FantasyDraft: Catch Me If You McCann

July 31, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

by: Teddy Heater

My dislike for catchers in DFS is well documented. Thankfully, FantasyDraft has an awesome format that doesn’t require me to waste money or a roster spot. IMO, catchers in fantasy are an absolute waste of time and I’ll never understand the two catcher formats. That said, I’m throwing out the playbook for the day because today is the Ultimate Zig Day. Yep, I’m rostering not one, not two, but three catchers for tonight and I’m hoping their stats are sweeter than a Tres Leches cake. Brian McCann, $7,200 is my numero uno because he mashes against Alex Cobb posting a solid 8/15 with 2 HRs. At $7,200 he’s solid value as he’s back at home in Minute Maid Park and he’s got 2 HRs over his last four games. Salvador Perez, $7,600 is my number two because he has an excellent matchup against Ubaldo Jimenez in hitter friendly Camden Yards. We all know about Baltimore’s pitching woes, but Ubaldo is rocking an extremely hitter friendly 8.42 ERA at home. WOW! I’ll be adding a few more Royals to the roster tonight, K.C. Stack anyone? Rounding out catcher heavy lineup is J.T. Realmuto, $7,200. He’s facking Gio Gonzalez who has been pitching well this season, but he’s giving over 1.50 ER more when pitching on the road. Now that we’ve got our infield set, let’s see who’s going to rack up our Ks for the night.

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!

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Beltre First Texas Ranger To Reach 3,000 Hits Since Chuck Norris

July 31, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 448 Comments

by: Grey

Adrian Beltre was promoted to the Dodgers the same year I moved to Los Angeles. I distinctly remember listening to AM sports radio a lot that summer, and, man, did people in LA hate Beltre. With justification too, he struggled for six seasons. When he finally broke out in 2004 (48 HRs, .334), no one believed it. If you would’ve told people in LA, Beltre would be a surefire Hall of Famer, they would’ve thought you were related to him. This would be the same as now saying Nick Castellanos will be a Hall of Famer in 14 years. Yesterday, Beltre went 1-for-5, 2 runs and secured his place in history with his 3,000th hit. Good on, Beltre, may all your cheap beers and head remain untapped. As for fantasy, well, doesn’t mean anything, but it’s a hat tip, while a hat pat is forbidden. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

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Hans Zimmer to Write Score for Bradley Zimmer’s 2018

July 30, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 15 Comments

by: Lance

When I saw Dunkirk last weekend, I realized how important a great score and sound editing can be to a movie. Similar to how anxious moments in horror films are set up with ominous chords lingering in the background, Hans Zimmer’s infamous ticking and ability to build suspense fit Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster to a T. As I walked out of the theater, ears ringing and heart filled with lust for Tom Hardy, I gave a quick call to my man Zimmer, and asked if he’d be willing to drum up some music for each of Bradley Zimmer’s at bats in 2018. You won’t be surprised to discover that Hans never answered, which is due in part to me never actually calling, but hey, a boy can dream right?

Right around the All-Star break, analysts have a tendency to reflect on what happened in the first half. For those with an ear to the ground for rotisserie leagues, a lot of focus lingers on players who contribute in both home runs and stolen bases. Arbitrary thresholds are placed at double digits in each, as we feverishly search for hitters that we never expected to see there. At the time, to find players with this double-digit contribution in each category, you’d venture to studs like Paul Goldschmidt, Mookie Betts, and Jose Altuve, later incorporating surprises like Elvis Andrus, Brett Gardner, and Chris Owings. As stolen bases are often a buck-shot statistic – attempting more usually means producing more – it’s important to realize each of those players mentioned played 80 or more games in hitting that mark…

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FantasyDraft: Monty Python

July 30, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

by: FredWord

As a millennial, I’m too young to know what Monty Python is, all I know is that I’ve heard the name before. My Google search led me to a couple of YouTube videos of skits from the show. It turns out it was a British comedy show from the 60’s and 70’s dubbed as the “Beatles of comedy”. I got a little sidetracked this morning with my writeup as I was glued to the skits. Now that I’ve shown my age, or lack thereof, let’s get to the article. Jordan Montgomery is a high risk, high reward pitcher today going up against the Rays. The Yankees bullpen is absolutely disgusting so Monty only needs to go 6 innings strong and the bullpen will take over from there. The Ray’s offense has been awfully inconsistent and there is no telling when they’ll strike like a python. History shows that they are among one of the worst teams when facing left-handed pitching as far as average and k% go. Monty’s price is discounted at $15,600 and has a high upside today. The key to this start will be getting through the first inning quickly. Monty has an opportunity to rack up the K’s against this offense. Since the Ray’s offense is so unpredictable I would only start Monty in GPP formats today.

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!

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Two-Start Starters, Week 18: Charlie For Morton One Start?

July 30, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers | 28 Comments

by: mikeMaher

There is a decent chance that the MLB Trade Deadline throws some wrenches into our list this week. Yu Darvish is currently on the list and could very well get traded. He got absolutely rocked his last time out, though, so some owners might be a little shy about throwing him out there for two starts this week. Depending on your team and league format, though, the chances are you should probably send Darvish out there for his two turns this week. He is going to start at least once even if he gets traded, and August is not the time to start second-guessing your squad.

Our focus for this week is Charlie Morton. He is only owned in 49% of RCLs, and Streamonator likes him for a $13.60 value that is partly due to favorable matchups against the Rays and Blue Jays, both of whom are in the bottom eight in team wOBA over the last couple weeks. In his last start out against the Phillies (who are surprisingly in the top eight for team wOBA over the last two weeks), he tossed seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts on just three hits and a walk.

The main difference in Morton this year that has increased his fantasy value is he is striking out batters at a much higher rate than he ever has in his career. His career K/9 is 6.66, but his K/9 in 2017 is up over 10/9:

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Minor League Update: Ask Siri Who’s Streaking?

July 30, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 57 Comments

by: Geoff

Jose Siri is locked in, not just because he’s found a way to avoid iPhone jokes for a majority of the season, but because lately Siri has the answer. What? You didn’t think I’d go there? It’s like you hardly know me. (BASEBALL FOCUS.) Not since Francisco Mejia’s 50 game hit streak have we had a streak so epic. So not since last year, and even that, meh not really true. Regardless Reds outfield prospect Jose Siri is in the midst of a 34 game hitting streak, one that’s raised his average to .299, and left him with the very healthy slashline of .299/.343/.541. Siri has never been much of a contact guy, and has fallen into the power/speed upside camp. So far in 2017 the strikeouts are way down, the walks are up, the average is up, and the homers and steals have nearly doubled! So things are going good for Siri. Here’s a look at Siri cranking a homer against South Bend earlier this season.

He is however, still only a depth prospect in most dynasty formats. Despite recent success, he’s had a history of swinging and missing, inconsistency with his approach, and some off the field concerns. Despite all that a high upside low minor player remains, and one that might be worth a speculative grab in 16+ team leagues. At 22 he’s old for A ball and he could use a promotion to high A to really put this breakout to the test. No matter the details the streak pushes on… Here’s the rest of the happenings in MiLB.

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