FantasyDraft: Show the Offense the Humidor

June 26, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft |

Let’s be honest…the vast majority of times someone claims in a DFS-article some super secret strategy or piece of information that will give you a massive edge, they’re entirely full of it. For once, I can actually offer you something quite useful: Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks) is about to take a massive decrease in its offensive-friendliness. As of today, Chase Field is the 2nd best stadium in 2017 for offense, and it’s always been a top-3 hitter friendly park. The Diamondbacks announced before the season started that they would begin using a humidor similar to what is used in Coors Field, but they could not give an exact timeline as to when it would begin being used other than it wouldn’t be immediately. It appears it’s going to be very, very soon. My best guess would be it begins being used right after the All-Star Break, and I doubt it will garner a lot of attention, but there’s a very good chance the humidor will turn Chase Field into a ballpark that is offense-neutral (specifically, power-neutral).

On to the picks once Chase Field uses a humidor…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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#	MLB Starting Lineups For Sun 9/21
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| OAK

Cheese Says Burrata, A’s Says Barreto

June 26, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 494 Comments

by: Grey

Oakland promoted Franklin Barreto this weekend, and a friend of mine who I only see when he’s mowing my lawn said, “You got to go to The Mission if you really want a Barreto.” Recalling my 1600 Yelp reviews of every Chipotle in Los Angeles county, I exclaimed, “No way, Jose!” But he replied, “Mr. Grey, my name is Julio.” Then we laughed, and, even though he laughed with jajajajaja and I laughed with hahahaha, we found a common ground. As for fantasy, Prospector Ralph said, “Barreto offers hard contact, some speed. Gets caught a lot, and who knows how much the A’s send him. He’s exciting though. Upside guy with a low floor this season. Now can I go back to bitching about Tanaka?” There ya go! Right from the prospect whore’s mouth! I tried to get Barreto in all of my leagues, but, alas, he was gone. Yesterday, he went 2-for-5, 1 run, after homering in his first game on Saturday. He’s worth a flyer in all leagues in case he sticks with Semien. Ew. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Is The New McCutchen A Top 10 OF?

June 25, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 5 Comments

by: Lance

“Due for a bounce-back season,” is a phrase which fantasy owners can use to dig themselves cavernous holes prior to their fantasy teams even producing an inning of stats. It primes the mind for reliance on success without any statistical, or even tangible, evidence. If you were an owner who carried that mindset into the start of the 2017 season, I’m fairly confident shipping away Pirate, Andrew McCutchen, in a deal – pun intended – after a wretched month, was the move made by the majority of disgruntled owners.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: Ain’t No Party Like A McCarthy Party

June 25, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft | 2 Comments

by: FredWord

It’s Sunday morning and somebody must make some tough decisions at the pitcher position today. I’m not overly thrilled with the pitching matchups today and struggled to piece together my favorites. DFSBot is showing some love to sir Brandon McCarthy who has been pitching extremely well over the past few weeks. He gets a difficult matchup against the Rockies though this game is being played in LA. The Rockies home/road split confirms that the Rockies bats are not intimidating when they are away from Coors. McCarthy is nothing but a safe play to score 20+ points. He won’t get you many K’s but he’ll limit the hits and walks and should walk away with the win. McCarthy makes for the best starter in double ups today due to his consistency at home. His price is also a modest $15,000.

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?

Minor League Update: First Half Breakout Pitchers For Dynasty Leagues

June 25, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 76 Comments

by: Geoff

Notoriously unpredictable, pitching prospects are amongst the most difficult of commodities to remain patient with. Our opinions and values, at least on a general consensus level, fluctuate frequently on pitchers, major leagues or minors, based on recent performance. So, what better way to celebrate our recency blinders than to discuss the top breakout hurlers of the first half in the minor leagues. Some of these guys have some pedigree, others came into the year a little more obscure, but all are worthy of our attention, and perhaps an add in the right format. The road to major league stardom is often not a straight line, and while I have no data behind this, it feels like a breakout by a pitcher is a little more telling of long term success. The reason I say this is, more often than not, these breakouts are derived from a tweak or change to mechanics, grips, or other small developments. No two players develop the same, and while Top 100 lists are great, they don’t do a very good job of projecting future value between Lucas Giolito and Jacob Faria. That’s not to say we don’t nail one every so often, but the majors these days are a different ~~ball~~ world. So sit back and enjoy it while I breakout heads, ribs, $100 bills…(3).

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Two-Start Starters, Week 13: Ryu Streaming So Many Dodgers Starters?

June 24, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers | 24 Comments

by: mikeMaher

I wish I knew more about Street Fighter so I could come up with better Ryu puns or references. My knowledge of SF (do people abbreviate it like that?) ends at knowing it was fighting video game I had growing up that wasn’t as good as Mortal Kombat (hot take alert). And for the record, yes, I know Hyun-Jin Ryu pronounces his name differently. Give me a break, and go with it.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Hey Batter³ Contest, Week 13: Re-Encarnacion

June 24, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 36 Comments

by: malamoney

I’m not a religious person. I just don’t have time for all of that nonsense. If you think it makes you a better person, good for you, but keep it out of my personal space. Although I would like to point out that if you need religion to make you a good person, then you most likely are not a good person. But enough about fairy tales. Let’s talk about something even less exciting. Death. Actually let’s not because I don’t want to bum any of you out. This is supposed to be a fantasy baseball blog and so far I’ve all I’ve done is shit on religion and mention dying. Let’s see if I can tie it all together somehow. In April, fantasy baseball owners could have easily left Edwin Encarnacion for dead. He barely had a pulse. He had four home runs, nine RBIs and a .200 batting average. Scooter Gennett topped that in a single game! In May, Encarnacion began to show some signs of life. He finished the month with six homers, thirteen RBIs and a .263 average. While that’s much better than April, it sounds like a weekend for Aaron Judge. At least with respect to the home runs and RBIs. However, so far in June Edwin has seven knocks, 18 ribbies and is batting .344. One might say he has been re-Encarnacion-ated! In week 11 the artist formerly known as E5, but now more commonly referred to as E3, lead all batters with 45 points. He did so by hitting four homers and driving in ten. He topped his entire April in a single week.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Goodwin Wins Good

June 24, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 61 Comments

by: Dan Pants

Washington rookie outfielder Brian Goodwin played the unsung hero Friday night on a team with many heroes going 3-for-4 and mashing two home runs, including a game-tying solo shot in the seventh inning. If there’s one thing Brian Goodwin’s good for it’s winning. Obvious and bad pun is obvious and bad. Regardless, Brian also set the stage for the…good win, with a single in the 10th that moved a runner to third and let Bryce Harper do what he does. I’m trying to tell you this doode is clutch, and if he continues to be clutch batting second between Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, he should definitely be on your radar and in Dusty Baker’s daily lineup. Can you imagine being sandwiched between Trea and Bryce? Mmm. Oh, I’m all flustered now. I need a few minutes. Goodwin is slashing .265/.326/.578 with six homers and 15 RBI in 32 games this year, and has been stuck in a platoon for the majority of the season. With Jayson Werth hobbled, Goodwin has been given more opportunity lately to shine and he’s done that with a monster month, slashing .288/.358/.678 with three doubles, six homers and 12 RBI in June. Yes, please! That .678 SLG% is especially powerful. See what I did there? Do you want a nerdy stat–how about his .313 ISO. Does that blow your mind? Because considering the sample size it probably shouldn’t, but sure is fun to look at. The risk with Goodwin is he could be a batting average killer (he hit just .208 in May), but he certainly seems to be seeing the ball well lately hitting .289 with 5 homers in the past week. Goodwin is available everywhere, is batting second in one of the best line ups in baseball, and is one of the hottest little potatoes around. If you need an outfielder with some pop and some upside Brian could be a good add and a good win for your team.

Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Sweet Streams Are Made of This

June 24, 2017 | DFS, Fanduel | 2 Comments

by: VictoriaB

I think you’ll agree (because Would I Lie To You?) that it’s been an up-and-down couple of weeks for us Saturday FanDuel devotees when it comes to pitchers. But I’m pleased to report that this week, we’re swimming in them (so to speak). Yes, you could, of course, play Clayton Kershaw, but TBH I’m leery of starting anyone against the Rockies right now, and ClayKer does have his worst ERA at home (that’s 3.11, mind you, but still), and given he costs $12,300, I’m going to steer clear and look to some other, more affordable pitching options. And there are a few, as you shall see. My very favorite is Robbie Ray: yes, his start today takes place in the somewhat terrifying Chase (The Ball Across The) Field in Arizona, but it’s versus the Phillies, who hit .233 against lefties and now have the least wins in the entirety of MLB. (Sorry to remind you of that, Phillies Fans.) Let’s check out some more options 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?

Prospect Podcast: Injuries, Call-Ups, and First Half Prospect Breakouts

June 24, 2017 | Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 29 Comments

by: Halp

There’s no time for small talk this week, because Ralph Lifshitz and I set out to break the record for most prospects talked about in a single podcast episode. Here are just a few of the names we discuss: Julio Urias (recorded before news broke of his season ending shoulder surgery), Patrick Weigel, Lewis Brinson, Brendan Rodgers, Rafael Devers, Gleyber Torres, Nick Senzel, Shed Long, Michael Chavis, Yordan Alvarez, Bo Bichette, Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, Colton Welker, Logan Allen, Nick Neidert, Tyler Mahle, Joey Lucchesi, Jordan Humphreys, Estevan Florial, Taylor Trammell, Brett Cumberland, Tyler Wells, Randy Arrozarena, Jordan Luplow, Luis Escobar, Zack Littell, Zac Gallen, Beau Burrows, Nabil Crismatt, Jesus Sanchez, Khalil Lee, Monte Harrison, Mario Feliciano, Josh Ockimey, and many more. Also, on this week’s episode of Real Husbands of the Crab Army, El Presidente Lifshitz begins to fear a military coup is afoot. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Prospect Podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Get On Your Mobile And Buymingham Some Montgomery

June 23, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 474 Comments

by: Grey

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:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Closer Report: Andrew Miller, Death Of A Savesman

June 23, 2017 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 18 Comments

by: Smokey

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?