We have our first big call-up of the major league season!!! “Yoo-hoo!” You want chocolate milk, Cody Bellinger? “I was drawing attention to myself, since I was called up first.” Oh, yeah, but you feel like you were always here. “Oh, well, that’s nice of you to say–” Shut up, Cody Bellinger! Bradley Zimmer, now this is a call-up! “I’ll be up soon!” Shut up, Amed Rosario! This is about Bradley Zimmer. Zimmer is a guy who is a speed-first, power-second, average-third guy. Actually, on base percentage second in leagues that count that sorta thing. In Triple-A, he had five homers, nine steals and a 30% strikeout rate. He looks like Keon Broxton who should be platooned out of the lineup against lefties. I will call him, Right-on Broxton. I grabbed him in all leagues where he was available, you don’t want to miss out on the first big call-up. “Seriously, are you just ignoring me?” Bellinger, you’re getting on my last nerve! For 2017, I’d give Zimmer a line around 45/10/40/.235/20. That could be the best call-up of the year. “Seriously?!” Shut it down, CB! Oh, and I’m aware that Zimmer went 0-for-3 with 3 Ks out of the nine hole, but Bellinger looked lost thru a whole two starts too when he was first called up. “Keep my name out of your mouth!” Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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I always loved pinatas at parties. You got to beat the crap out of something with a stick until candy fell like manna from the heavens. Ah, the good ole days. To make it a little more challenging, pinatas would often be swung from side to side to make it a moving target. There would also be like a million kids waiting their turn because who wouldn’t want to beat the crap out of something with a stick? You would get two, maybe three swings. I noticed that if you showed some skill and whacked it with feeling, the parents would let you do your thing. As long as you didn’t look like a psychopath. Anyways, the point is that it took time to figure out how to hit the pinata correctly. With the limited number of swings afforded, it also made it a very stressful situation. Sounds a lot like baseball…
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RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 6
May 16, 2017 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 29 Commentsby: MattTruss
It was quite the week for trading in the Razzball Commenter Leagues this week as we saw 16 trades completed, several of which caused some commotion and consternation. Those 16 trades don’t include the several vetoed trades (looking at you Cougs R Us) nor the few trades that were accepted Sunday but won’t be processed until Monday. Those will be included in next week’s data.
Mike Maher and myself got the party kicked off last Tuesday morning, a couple hours before last week’s update hit. You may have seen last week’s comments filled with talk of Bryce Harper. In the deal I sent Mike Ryan Braun ($19.0), Miguel Sano ($18.7), Dallas Keuchel ($16.0) and Travis Shaw (-$10.2). In return I received Bryce Harper ($38.0) and Carlos Santana ($20.0). Those values in parentheses are the Rudy/Steamer Rest Of Season values as of Monday afternoon. That comes out to (ignoring Travis Shaw, who was a throw in) $53.7 for Mike and $58.0 for myself. At the time of the trade Ryan Braun wasn’t on the DL yet so his value was a bit higher. This also doesn’t take into account the lineup flexibility I gain from the deal. For example, I was able to add Alex Wood, who could end up being this year’s Dallas Keuchel circa 2015 if the Dodgers don’t yank his chain too much as well as a streaming spot for hitter/RP/streaming starter. Grey was chirping and the consensus was that I had ripped off poor Mr. Maher. In fact, Tehol posted two days AFTER the trade processed that the league should “do the right thing” and veto the deal. This led Mike (who you should totally follow on Twitter – @mikeMaher) to break out the following Twitter Poll. Only 4 out of 20 of Mike’s Twitter followers seemed to think I won that deal, with one Twitterer going on to say it wasn’t even close (which Mike agreed). So, what does the rest of Razzball nation have to say about this deal? I hate to make the entire lede about a deal that involved my team, so let’s bring this back to trades in general. I’m entirely anti-veto. Unless there’s money on the line and something can be proven that two parties are conspiring with one another to win a league and split the prize, I say let the deal stand. In general, these RCLs are filled with people who don’t really know each other, just like a public league on any other site. The only thing most of us have in common is reading Razzball. Bryce Harper could snap any number of tendons tomorrow and then I’m left standing in the rain, cold and sad. Managers evaluate talent differently, what you view as a good deal, I might not. It’s your team though, so you do you, I’ll do me and we’ll ridicule your trade in the court of public opinion in the comments below.
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While it isn’t an exact science, picking on a pitcher for stolen base success is not always an awful strategy. So after the jump, there is a year-to-date chart that shows the propensity for pitcher’s to give up the free base. Like I said, it is never an exact anything, because there are some elite names on this list, and because they are usually good pitchers, their respective OBP against isn’t the shining star of stats to chase. But in theory, chasing dudes for thievery in a non-thievery world is bad folly. Because getting on base is the most important thing next to waking up and reading what Ge has to say. Us bottom feeders who swim the waters in the afternoon gotta be creative and basically be the monkey on the grind box to get your attention. So for those of you with ADHD, welcome back. And here is some weekly insight into the world of steals and saves. Cause you may be a dime piece but saves and steals don’t need a face…
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Hopefully we are as happy as Ray Liota was in the movie Goodfellas when he was screaming JIMMY in the shower after Jimmy Nelson ($15,200) is done taking the mound against the Padres. The San Diego Padres are a great matchup almost every night in DFS, they rank 28th in the MLB in Runs, have the worst team batting average in the league and they are in the Top 5 in Strikeouts. Nelson is coming off a start were he allowed 0 earned runs and struck out 8 Boston Red Sox hitters. He should have a chance to match those number tonight and have a chance at the win, with the way the Brewers are swinging the bat.
There are some nice arms taking the mound tonight with Zack Grienke ($21,300) going up against the banged up New York Mets, and Dallas Keuchel ($22,800) facing the struggling Miami Marlins. I don’t need to tell you to pick those two guys who are on fire right now, so lets take a look at some other plays that could be worth the pick…right after the editor hops in and provides you all with a linky clicks for the FantasyDraft Razzball Exclusive Listener’s League. It’s $5 which is about the cost for 16 oz of freedom in my neighborhood. I hate missing out on a beer, but I hate missing out on playing this game even more. Join us, won’t you?
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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Podcast: Robots Have Invaded Razzball
May 16, 2017 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 49 Commentsby: Halp
Not even fantasy baseball is safe from the Robot Revolution, but fear not, it is situations like this that Razzball has a standing militia on call, The Crab Army. Lord Tehol Beddict is not your true enemy! We must all unite and take aim at the bots! Or, we can just give up and admit that Rudy’s Streaming Tools are far superior to human intellect. Grey and I bring on Razzball’s own MattTruss to discuss the robot takeover and try to make sense of the entire thing. We also talk about how last week’s Razzball Only FantasyDraft Contest was our most competitive yet. Congrats to “therizzo” for taking home first place, and make sure to get in on the fun by JOINING THIS WEEK’S CONTEST. Between all the robot talk, we do manage to squeeze in some fantasy baseball analysis, as we discuss just how good Alex Wood and Jose Berrios are, along with the buy low merits of Masahiro Tanaka, Rougned Odor, Jonathan Villar, and Alex Bregman. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Yesterday was a bad day to quit being young with A.J. Pollock and Carlos Gomez both hitting the DL. Together! In a non-gay way. But it would’ve been totally cool with me if it was in a gay way. Let’s start with Pollock since he is the less ethnically sensitive of the two. Pollock has a Grade 1 groin strain. When the strain happened, Pollock was reading Groin Strains for Dummies. Chapter 1: Don’t Move Your Leg In A Normal Manner. “Go to a trampoline, but don’t jump on it with your feet, fall on it sitting criss-cross apple sauce.” Pollock will likely be out for two to three weeks, and in his place the Russian Game of Thrones character, Gregor Blanco, and Reymond “You Can’t Not Think Of Daisy” Fuentes. Fuentes is the more interesting of two, since he should be on the stronger side of a platoon, and has speed. Outside of NL-Only and deep mixed leagues, I’m passing on both. As for CarGomez, he will miss four to six weeks. That’s too bad, he used to be good three years ago. Replacing him on the roster will be Jared Hoying, who looks like a Motter-fodder. Then, we have Carlos Carrasco, who is affectionately known as Cookie, and I am a Cookie Monster for him, so this one hurts me. In yesterday’s game, Carrasco had a huge lead, when he squandered that and left the game with a trainer. All you had to do with cruise to the W on the Ivictory Coast! Apparently, that’s the way the Cookie crumbles. He was diagnosed with left pectoral tightness, which doesn’t sound bad. Which, Part 2: The Return of the Which, will still likely mean a DL stint. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Major Key on Broxton… And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 7
May 15, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 67 Commentsby: M@
Major Key Alert! Now, for all you Gen-X’ers and cowboy hat-wearing’ country boys, “Major Key” is a term used by us Millennials. Well, anyone can use it really. You should try it in your next board meeting, or at home in a convo with your wife. Have a great idea? Care to pass on some knowledge or drop a little truth bomb into a situation? Gotta give ’em that major key.
And yes, there’s an emoji for that…
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Is there anything better than baseball on a rainy Saturday afternoon? You can’t do any yard work, you know, because it’s pouring, so you settle into your favorite chair, crack a beer, and you’re whisked away to a place much warmer, and much sunnier. Here I sit, beer in hand, ready to watch this week’s test subject Royals righty Nate Karns vs the first place Baltimore Orioles. The journeymen starter is on his 4th organization in five seasons, and there’s two ways to look at this. Either Karns can’t keep a job, or he’s highly “in-demand” by multiple teams throughout the league. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, never good enough to lock-down a rotation spot, but also good enough to find opportunity year after year. So far Karns has been a good fit in Kansas City, making his 7th start today vs. a surprisingly mediocre Orioles offense, one that ranks in the bottom half of MLB in nearly every offensive category. So the home matchup vs. Baltimore is a good one, even if it’s a first place club he’s facing…. Here’s what I saw on Saturday.
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We’re Going Streaming! Week 7: Earth, Wind & Meyer
May 15, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 9 Commentsby: Mike Honcho
What’s up amigos?! Let me first say that if you’re reading this, thanks. I really appreciate the support, especially when we’re all recovering from too many Mother’s Day Mimosas. What!? Surely I’m not the only one that enjoys a little champagne and citrus juice occasionally, right? I’ll let you in on another Honcho secret: I like mine fruity! No comments please. Anyway, I’m back for another week of streaming fun and I’ve vacuumed out the sidecar on my new, American made motorbike. Won’t you join me? I love adventures, especially the kind that make you feel like you’re living on the edge. Like the time I challenged a few skateboard Yolo teens to a dance off after they made fun of my favorite pair of white New Balance shoes and sweet fanny pack. I’m straight savage at times. Kind of like now, when I recommend using Alex Meyer on the road against the Mets. Look, his numbers are far from sexy, but he tossed an absolute gem Sunday vs the Tigers (3 H, ER & 7 Ks) and I’m in love with his 98 mph fastball. If we’re being honest, the Mets offense has been underrated all season, despite the injuries. This suggestion probably seems crazy, but who cares! The Stream-o-Nator loves him in this start and I’m standing by my man, I mean…… robot. Maybe it’s their .166 ISO vs RHP, which ranks 17th in the league that the SON loves? Or perhaps the .314 wOBA and .406 SLG% which rank 19th & 20th respectively are making the bot all hot and bothered. Who knows, but what we can conclude is that the Mets are slightly below average against right-handers this season and that’s good enough for me. Also, he’s available in 99% of standard ESPN leagues, so he’s waiting to be scooped off the wire. Remember friends, the arms and bats I’m suggesting below are all owned in less than 50% of standard ESPN leagues and more importantly – are supplied with the assistance from the Stream-o-Nator and the Hitter-Tron. If you like what you see, take a leap of faith and purchase a subscription to any of the Razzball tools. You’ll thank me later.
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Hopefully everyone had a great Mother’s Day and if you were under a rock, this is your reminder to at least squeeze in a belated wish to all the Mother’s in your life. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the aforementioned DFS Mourners Day. Why am I referring to it as DFS Mourners Day? Well to put it bluntly, today’s pitching slate is probably the worst set of starting pitchers that I’ve had the displeasure of writing about. It’s comically bad. I want to apologize ahead of time for the subpar schedule, but I’m really going to try and stay positive considering our limited options. Unfortunately, my original lede, Carlos Carrasco is not in the mix tonight because of his early 6:10 PM start. Note to the DFS and MLB schedulers: can you work together so we don’t run into these types of situations? I mean, Mondays already suck enough as is. At least with a decent DFS schedule and my stellar writing, we typically have something to look forward to, am I right? With tonight’s starting pitching peaking at “questionable” (if that), we’re going to have to really dig into the offensive side of the game tonight. The upside of having the highest priced pitcher – Brandon McCarthy – maxing out a pedestrian $17,700, meaning we’ll have a bunch of offensive cash to throw around. Side note, I know he’s facing the Giants in SF tonight, but this is McCarthy’s first start off the DL and yet he’s still the highest priced pitcher? That is the definition of slim pickins everyone. It’s only the Best of the Worst for our Inaugural DFS Mourners Day. Without further ado, I would like to announce the two SP’s Headlining our Mediocre Monday……. I give you, Jesse Chavez, $15,000 vs the White Sox and Chase Anderson, $13,500 at the Padres. Now please give me a minute or ten to collect my thoughts. *Steps away from computer, goes down stairs to watch Derek Jeter’s number retirement ceremony, sits back at computer, reloads the rosters for today, triple checks (just in case there were some makeup games that possibly could have been missed), shakes head in defeat and continues post.* Yay! Chavez and Chase are going to dominate tonight! These two studs…I mean, duds are going to kill it. They’re both pitching in favorable pitcher parks against less than favorable offenses. On DFS Mourners Day, we really couldn’t ask for a better pair of pitchers to roster if we tried. Now that the worst is over, let’s figure out how to spend all this extra money on the offensive side…EDITOR’S NOTE: speaking of extra money, you got $5? Yeah? Wanna spend it on a better pitching slate than what we’ve got today? Well hop into the Razzball Listener’s League tomorrow night and play against your most favorite and least favorite of your Razzball friends and frenemies. Now back with the progrizzle…
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?Yesterday, on the holiest of Hallmark-created holidays and celebrated most of all by Bill Hall, mothers from all different backgrounds came together to put up their feet, sip mimosas and talk about how “The Handmaid’s Tale” could totally happen now with Trump. I’d contend that Hallmark should get a little credit for women’s rights. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Secretary’s Day, “Buy a card just because you love her” Day… Before this, it was, “Do you wanna make this pelt I skinned into a rug or a sweater for little Kevin? What? You’re tired from churning butter? Okay, you can have the afternoon after you make beef and kidney pie.” In honor of Mother’s Day, one of the great lovers of women (who are handcuffed to his bedpost), Aroldis Chapman was diagnosed with rotator cuff inflammation, and will be sidelined for a month. If Dellin Betances is available in your league, can I get into your league? If there’s an entry fee, all the better. You pay it, and we’ll split the cash prizes. I even grabbed Tyler Clippard in one league just in case Betances gets all Cuddle Boy on us. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
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