RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 7

Fear not fellow humans! From the ashes of battle where man matches wits against machine, flesh and bone heros have arisen! These brave few march onward and upward, pencils sharpened, calculators at the ready and social lives put on hold. They fight this battle not just for themselves, but for all human fantasy baseballers everywhere.

The human race has moved into a dead heat atop the Razzball Commenter Leagues Master Standings with the robot army’s very own, Rudy is Snooty. Despite the fact that Rudy is Snooty has made a whopping 1040 moves to date (no doubt at least 10 more by the time you read this), frequent commenter and fellow RazzNasty & Rio Ruiz Super League leaguemate, Mad Beach Bums (Rakers Nation) has pulled into a Master Standings tie with a mere 74 total moves. There is hope that a human brain’s ability to add and hold players such as Corey Dickerson is on par with any robot playing the match-ups everyday. I have had the distinct displeasure of trying to chase down Mad Beach Bums in the Rio Ruiz Super League. This league was set-up by a man, no stranger to battle himself, the El Presidente of the Crab Army, Prospector Ralph. Mad Beach Bums drafted exactly ONE starting pitcher in this league, Dylan Bundy. With that he has now accumulated 58 Games Started, leads the league in ERA and is second in WHIP. Maybe the Bums are actually part machine themselves. Do we have a double agent in our midst? If the Bums do flip we have a trio of human soldiers waiting to do battle with the machines, lurking in the overall top 20. More on them and the other goings ons in the RCLs in the week that was, week 7:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 8/5
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| MIA \| OAK

FantasyDraft: Hahn By The Bay, I Just May

May 23, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

by: Ignacio

Whaddaya Say! Jesse Hahn ($12,000) has a very nice matchup on Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins, especially for the price he is listed at. His price should allow you to squeeze in some solid bats and Clayton Kershaw. For the season, Hahn is 1-3 with 3.08 ERA, but a home start should bode well for him. His ERA is a full run lower at home than it is when he pitches on the road for his career. As for the game, Oakland Athletics are listed as a -130 favorite so he does have a good chance to record the win. The Marlins have struggled all year versus RHP, carrying an OPS below .700. He is a bargain at that price, so lets take a look at what bats we can put together…right after the editor Sky jumps in like a jerk and steals my thunder. [Editor’s Note]: Hey! I represent that remark! Howdy y’all, it’s Tuesday and you know what that means…it’s the day before Wednesday! Ok, ok, let’s not drag this out. Today is the weekly Razzball Listener’s League. If you don’t know what that is, click on the link ya schmo! In all cerealness, $5 to hop in and play some FantasyDraft with your friends, family, family friends, and friendly familial here at the Razz. Now on with the show…

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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Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Trade Strategies and Targets Depending on Your Place in the Standings

May 23, 2017 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 88 Comments

by: Halp

Grey Albright drops a bomb to start the podcast. A Twitter bomb to be exact. Head over to Razzball’s Twitter page to see if you notice a difference. I then use that as an opportunity to pepper Grey with questions about what he is really up to out in Hollywood. We eventually shift focus back to fantasy baseball, and talk about the ramifications of Freddie Freeman’s injury, along with the impending return of Steven Matz and David Price. The meat of the podcast is all about general trade strategies and specific trade targets. We discuss strategies based on where you are in the standings, such as “buying high” on recent breakouts rather than trading your best player for four mediocre ones. We also dig into the merits of specific targets, including Danny Salazar, Justin Verlander, Rich Hill, Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Sano, Jose Berrios, and many more. Finally, I congratulate the winner of last week’s Razzball Only FantasyDraft Contest, MuneForNothing (who I believe is VictoriaB), and look forward to JOINING THIS WEEK’S CONTEST. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

With A Schebler Yell, He Cries More, More Dongs

May 23, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 471 Comments

by: Grey

Let me know if you can tell what song I’m listening to while I write this. Scott Schebler hit his 13th home run; it was the third straight game with a homer. Whoa, make me sweaty (Bam-ba-Lam)! I’ve mentioned before (numerous times) that Schebler was always loved by Razzball/Steamer projections, but why? He’s so rock steady (Bam-ba-Lam)! Whoa, Dave Righetti (Bam-ba-Lam)! Schebler took a while to catch on, but he’s still only 26, and, as a 23-year-old in the minors, he hit 28 HRs and stole 10 bases while hitting .280 in Double-A, and continued that in Triple-A, always hitting for power and getting some steals. He’s not from Birmingham (Bam-ba-Lam)! Way down in Alabam’ (Bam-ba-Lam)! Well, he’s shakin’ that thing (Bam-ba-Lam)! Boy, he makes me sing (Bam-ba-Lam)! Whoa, drop confetti (Bam-ba-Lam)! Across the board now, ROS projections are singing Schebler’s praises and I’m done fighting him. If you combine his ROS projections and what he’s done so far, they have him down for a 30 HR, 10 SBs, .255 guy. Whoa, pot of neti, (Bam-ba-Lam)! At this point, there’s no reason to not own Schebler until further notice. Whoa, sometimes I dress my dog up like a yeti, (Bam-ba-Lam)! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Freddie Got Wristed …And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 8

May 22, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 53 Comments

by: M@

As a Braves fan, my heart sank this week. Did the Braves fan collective actually believe that we’d catch the Nats in the NL East, or really even compete for one of the wild card spots? Probably not. Well, realistic fans didn’t. Oh, you gonna win with R.A. Dickey, Jaime Garcia and Bartolo Colon as the front of your rotation? Haha, #gtfo. The Braves are just in a waiting game for their pitches (sounds a lot like my #Razz30 team) and trying to develop their hitters fast enough to match them up together in the new SunTrust Park.

And yet…an MVP was emerging. Freddie Freeman was creeping up my rankings fast, and it had nothing to do with my hometown allegiance. He was a bonafide star, as The Ringer recently penned, and entering the highlight of his career just at the perfect time to bring the Braves into their next chapter of dominance (hey…a persistently melancholy Atlanta fan can hope…). And then Aaron Loup happened.
The Braves lost their MVP for 8-10 weeks (but bring out the red carpet for Matt Adams!!!!), but let’s pump the breaks on his drastic downfall in value from a fantasy perspective. His next two months may have been fingered (Tom Green, anyone?), but moving past my homerism tears I see a great opportunity to buy. Right now.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Charlie Morton The Salt Bae…….And The Top 100 Pitchers

May 22, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 103 Comments

by: Geoff

Has there been any “sleeper” more hyped this season than Charlie Morton? It seems like we’re constantly being reminded of the spike in velocity, the swing and miss stuff, the combination of swinging strikes, and groundball rate. Knowing all this I was dying to profile Morton and see what all the noise is about. Speaking of Noise, my Pittsburgh scout, and favorite right testicle Dr. Kenneth Noisewater, has a basket full of hot takes on Morton, that mostly consist of different ways to say Charlie Morton sucks. Perhaps Noisey is right, perhaps all the lemmings in the fantasy industry are right. Much like the ATLiens that raised me to be an emotionally well adjusted gangster, I just stay in the middle and drop bombs, mostly in the toilet. I stay regular ladies and gents. Let’s take a closer look at this “new and improved” Charlie Morton, and see if it’s in fact a new recipe, or the same re-packed garbage.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

We’re Going Streaming! Week 8: Midnight Maueraders

May 22, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 5 Comments

by: Mike Honcho

I know, I know…The title is an awfully long stretch. I just wanted to pay tribute to one of my favorite Tribe albums. I’m referring of course to the legendary hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest for all of you young hipsters who might not be familiar. “Midnight Marauders” was a pivotal release for the group as their lyrics shifted to more of a community concern and focused on stories about their everyday lives. Great stuff and you should definitely check it out. In fact, I challenge you to listen to the entire album and not have “Award Tour” and “Oh My God” stuck in your head for the next week. So, where am I going with this and what does Joe Mauer have to do with it? Could it be that Marauders was released in 1993 and that happens to be the last time Mauer was fantasy relevant? Just kidding. I’m here to sell you on the idea of streaming Joe Mauer for your hitting pleasure this week. Sounds crazy, right? Well, the Twins are scheduled to play seven games this week and all of them line up against right-handed starters. That’s important because Mauer has been a career .318 hitter against righties while slugging 101 of his 132 career home runs against RHP as well. That’s cool. Better yet is the fact that he owns a .378 wOBA, 136 wRC+ .882 OPS against right-handers. Sign me up! He’s also just 3% owned, so yeah…you could say he’s available everywhere.

Like always, I’ll be suggesting a few of my favorite plays with the assistance of the Stream-o-Nator and Hitter-Tron. All of the players mentioned below will be available in at least 50% of standard ESPN leagues, so stream away if you’re so inclined. Without further delay, I bring you the Week 8 streaming suggestions. Enjoy!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: JC Won’t Be Experiencing The Hard Knock Life

May 22, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft | 18 Comments

by: Sky

Or will he? Dun, dun, DUNNNNNN…ok, I don’t think he will. What, you thought I’d drop a hot beat and a fresh rhyme on you a la Grey? Psssh, I ain’t about that life, son. I’ll belt out some Cornell for you live and in person, but you won’t catch me getting lyrical up in this wordpress. Ok, ok, supply and demand so here’s a hot track. I’m not sure what the equivalent of being rick rolled is in this day and age, but consider yourself as such. You got served! But now that I’ve served you in a way you didn’t like, let me serve you in a way you should: JC Ramirez at $14,400 is middling in terms of price on this slate and ripe for K opportunity facing the surging Rays. Surging, I say? Yes, I do. Sadly, the Rays are a weird bunch so far this year. Though their K% against righties leads the league, they’re 2nd in the league in wRC+ against them as well. If you want some further schism, Rays are also 1st in K% on the year but 4th in wRC+. All this to say that Ramirez isn’t a slam dunk, but I think the Ks will give him a nice baseline. I’ll tentatively give him the green light as an SP2 in cash, but will definitely be in on him as either a 1 or 2 for tourneys on today.

Speaking on Chris Cornell a bit more, if you’ll permit me…we’ve had some great sounds come out of Seattle and it’s a sad trend that lots of those lungs lend themselves towards ending early. Cornell was a voice you heard above the fray, whether you wanted to or not. He had a long and amazing career. People who thought he sold out with Euphoria Morning and beyond have no clue what it means to be an artist who wants to challenge themselves. The man could sing anything he wanted…and he wanted to be a lot of different artists. You metalheads who needed the hard edge couldn’t appreciate that his love of Beatles and Otis Redding brought you Superunknown. In kind, you all who couldn’t appreciate his time with Soundgarden who thought it was just screeching noise, don’t actually understand that soul comes in many forms. I’m gonna drop one of those in between tunes that seemingly few heard here called Sweet Euphoria and going on with my picks for this slate…right after I drop the Razzball Listener’s League that goes down with tomorrow’s slate. Reserve your spot now, win money tomorrow. It’s almost like investing!

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?

Mattlantadams

May 22, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 650 Comments

by: Grey

Matt Adams was acquired by the Braves for Juan Yepez, who was always a little too excitable for the Braves — Yepez! See? Not a good look. It was a tearful exit from the Cardinals’ clubhouse for Adams. His emotions hit a crescendo when he realized he couldn’t carry out all the food he had accumulated in the clubhouse refrigerator. Through tears, “Why didn’t I learn to balance soda on my head like I was Jamaican?” Hey, mon, they have grape soda in Atlanta. Adams will be the 1st baseman in Atlanta until Freeman returns, while conceding to Loney on occasion, assuming Adams doesn’t try to eat him, “I thought his jersey read Baloney! I’m a terrible person!” Adams gets a boost in value, but mostly just for NL-Only and very deep leagues. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Raspberrios, Strawberrios, Blueberrios, Blackberrios

May 21, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 56 Comments

by: Lance

With the state of the pitching landscape, moments like last Thursday night, when Twins’ prospect Jose Berrios finally flourished in the major leagues force all fantasy owners turn a very watchful eye north to Minnesota, with a club that has situated itself atop the AL Central heading into Sunday’s action.

After two starts, Berrios has 15.1 innings of work under his belt with 15 strikeouts and two walks. Good for a sub 1.00 ERA and a FIP, that isn’t as good as Kenley Jansen’s -0.95, but will be buoyed by the advanced control always touted as a strength. How much of his current line is indicative of what we should actually expect is more of a puzzle after how dominant he was at home against the Rockies. Tampering expectations might come because his matchup was the second of a double header, and despite the Rockies hold on the NL West, their WRC+ in both home and road games is sub 90, suggesting they might be playing a bit over their heads.

Now that I’ve gotten the two most obvious points to calm us down from Ian Desmond’s comment that Berrios’ stuff looked like Jose Fernandez, I still can’t get over the fact that Berrios had 20 swinging strikes, seven on his curveball, 12 on his fourseamer, and a lone whiff to his sinker. This was basically double the amount of whiffs he had on his fastball and curveball independently, at any point in his major league career. Needless to say, this was a glimpse at the peak of the Berrios mountain. Watching this start, it was painfully obvious that the Rockies had no chance on his curveball, which he threw near 35% of the time and generated about 20% swinging strikes on.

Thursday was a game of firsts for Berrios, but as with any player that storms onto the scene, taking a step back to look at what is actually possible moving forward is extremely important.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bullpen Report: Hand To Hold

May 21, 2017 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 16 Comments

by: Smokey

What I particularly like about relievers is versatility. The situation in San Diego is the one in particular I want to discuss. We were all lured into the Carter Capps preseason love, and I was on the wagon driving the horses as well, but his injury and the results that we expected aren’t coming as fast as we hoped. He isn’t bowling over anyone in the minors, sporting a 6-plus ERA, and the obnoxious K-rate hasn’t materialized. Now onto the major league roster which isn’t lighting any fires. They are second from the bottom in bullpen ERA, have only 12 holds on the year, and now their closer has hit the skids. He being Brandon Maurer. Enter who I think should, could be the next man up while we wait (forever) for Capps. Brad Hand offers that former starter turned good. I may just call him the Vigilante of holds and possibly saves very soon. He has the K-rate, the BAA and the moxy to do the job… it is just a matter of if SD is ready to pull the trigger on something because Maurer looks cooked. Regardless of his situation moving forward or your league perimeters, Hand is worthy for a spot because of speculation and the K’s that he will produce. This is the bullpen report for this week, so let’s see what’s happening in the setup game and the hold chase…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: I Don’t Think You’re Ready For This, Eddie

May 21, 2017 | DFS, Fantasy Baseball DFS, FantasyDraft |

by: FredWord

Aloha from Clearwater Beach, Florida. I will be relaxing at the beach in this 90-degree weather today. I promise, I’m not trying to rub it in. The weather is starting to warm up as we approach summer, which means the balls will start flying out at a higher rate than they already are this season. Today’s lede has done a great job limiting home runs this season and I’m excited to see him deal today. I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised how good Eduardo Rodriguez has pitched this season. Rodriguez looks to make it 6 quality starts in a row today and he has a stellar matchup against a team with the 3^rd highest K rate vs. left handed pitching. If you haven’t noticed I like using lefties in DFS, especially when the teams they are facing struggle at the plate against lefties. John Farrell has no problem letting Rodriguez eclipse 100 pitches as he’s done it on several occasions this season already. There appears to be no pitch limit for E-Rod, so if he gets off to a hot start today we could see a high K total in the box score. Today’s game is being played at O.co, which is smack dab middle of the road in home runs per game this season. Eduardo’s price tag is $17,600, which I consider a steal for his upside. Plug him into your lineups and lets win some money 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 be sure to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?