If players are going to break out in a season, they don’t always break out the first week of a season. I’m reminded of another Phillies player, Dominic Brown. The year he broke out, it didn’t happen until June of that year. Of course, in subsequent years, his swing got long like Don Johnson’s in The Harrad Experiment and rather than working his way back in the cages, Brown was preoccupied with avoiding his stalker, Tehol. This brings us to another potential breakout, Aaron Altherr. Or as Mystikal calls him, Altherr. You don’t have to be scurred, he’s doing his thang. Altherr hit two more homers yesterday (2-for-4, 4 RBIs, hitting .351), and is one of the hottest players in the majors this week. Of course, this won’t continue, but to what degree will this tail off? By the way, I want to be a judge at a twerking competition called a Tail Off. In the minors, he’s shown speed (20-ish) and power (teen-ish). With his Ks and BABIP, his average will come down a long way (maybe .250), but I see no reason why he can’t be a 17/20/.250 hitter on the year, and definitely a must own. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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Much like in real baseball, in fantasy, timing can be everything. On Monday, Grey mentioned that he’d like to find a term for a guy who does what Tommy Pham did this past Sunday – that is, a guy who goes off on Sunday afternoon, driving up his Sunday night FAAB price. I need a slightly different way to describe this phenomenon in my deepest NL and AL-only leagues, as both have weekly waivers that get processed on Saturday night. I’ve been in one of the leagues for years now, and I’m still not used to it. I don’t know why the founding fathers of this league thought it was a good idea to run waivers on Saturday when everyone and their dog knows that Sunday evening is the proper time to be thinking about one’s FAAB budget (hell, I half expected my computer to auto-correct when I typed the phrase “waivers on Saturday.”) I can only assume it’s to put those of us who might be extra busy/drunk/etc. on Saturday at a disadvantage, and I’m afraid that this particular strategy works on occasion. The week in 2014 that Jacob DeGrom and Anthony DeSclafani were called up, it was hardly my fault that I wasn’t sober enough to rank DeGrom ahead of Disco in my waiver claim list! It haunts me to this day, as it’s a keeper league where I would still have DeGrom at a bargain-basement price… as opposed to the three weeks of bargain-basement pitching I received before I unceremoniously dropped DeSclafani.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This is getting out of hand! If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve seen my share my process of how I keep track of which players are getting mentioned in injury reports. By the end of Thursday night there were 25 players listed in my Google Doc. Luckily for them (and me) some have returned to play since they were first mentioned as possibly being injured.
Normally I am not someone who would recommend changing your league’s rules mid-season, but due to this new 10-day disabled list we are seeing a lot more players being placed on the DL. You might want to talk to your league commissioner and other owners about having an emergency vote about adding 1 more DL-spot to your rosters if at all possible.
As always, if you’ve got any questions regarding injuries that are specific to your league — please drop a comment below and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours!
Please, blog, may I have some more?How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Speaking of Alex Wood, he’s got my sundial pointing a high noon. Maybe that’s because I picked him up this week in every one of my points leagues and started him for Monday’s 11 strikeout win. Do you know what I call it when you start a pitcher from the Dodgers in a late game and wake up to find out that he struck out 11 batters? Morning Wood! Click here to see my woody.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Greetings and salutations! The Collector here once again welcoming you to a amazing Wednesday slate over on FanDuel. We have quite a few pitchers to use today, but I’m going to focus on my boy Yu Darvish at $11,200. He’s one of my favorite pitchers in the game right now, as I love his stuff and wish/hope he’d stay healthy. Darvish’s K/9 is down a bit this year, but I expect it to start rise back to his career norm and this is the start it begins to do so. Today he gets the really good San Diego Padres… San Diego let AJ Griffin get a complete game shut out yesterday, that’s how good they are. This seems very easy to me and even though it’ll be popular, I think you need to go with Darvish today.
Now on to the picks…
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Francisco Rodriguez was removed from the closer job, because he was being sued by a dumpster fire for trademark infringement. A portion of the deposition transcript follows:
“Is it true that you were passing an alleyway behind a Subway sandwich shop in late-March when you remarked to your friend, Nicholas Castellanos, that you thought it would be cool to also be a dumpster fire?”
“Leading the witness.”
“I’ll rephrase. What did you say to Nicholas Castellanos when you saw a dumpster fire?”
“I could be that.”
“That dumpster fire?”
“Yes! It was aglow like E.T.’s finger! I am the Icarus of refuse!” So, Francisco Rodriguez is out, and Justin Wilson is in as the Tigers’ closer. I’d guess the Tigers will try to go back to K-Rod at some point, but I’d also think it won’t turn out any better, and Wilson will end up being a solid closer, maybe even a Donkeycorn. I’d grab Wilson in all leagues. Then, there’s the case of Mark Melancon, who was DL’d due to an injury near his forearm. “But I just learned it’s not a Hard C!” That’s a Giants fan. This might be me overreacting, but an injury near a forearm for a closer sounds like trouble. There’s been some disagreement about who will take over, and I grabbed Hunter Strickland and Derek Law where I could, but I’m also like Pookie for SAGNOF, fiending for saves. *smacks veins* Give me more setup men! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hicks ate the red pill and was subsequently drafted in the first round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins. Baseball America named him a Rookie All-Star and placed him as high as 19th in the top 100 prospect list. His first four years of professional baseball were spent in Rookie and Single-A. During those years, the walk rate was around 14% while the strikeout rate was around 20%. He was a .260-ish hitter and showed the ability to hit around six home runs and steal 15 bases. When he moved up to Double-A, Hicks hit .286, clubbed 13 home runs, and stole 32 bases. Was Hicks ready for the Jump Program?
Please, blog, may I have some more?When I say uptick, I mean that with the slightest bit of tick that any tick can offer. But any positive in a stat that was headed for the extinct list like that Rhino on Tinder is a fantastic thing. Through the first month of the season, there were 28,022 plate appearances across all games in MLB, accounting for 399 stolen bases. This number is better than it was last year, but way off the pace it was in 2015, 2014, and 2012. So for all the hub bub that I created with the stat being a dying entity, and one that really has fallen by the wayside of chasing, there may be a pulse. Albeit a slight one. Steals still don’t have a face, but for stat purposes and chasing, there may be a nose. Maybe half an ear and maybe some dimples. Welcome to the Terrorome of speed and saves. As I drop some stupid goodness and general domineering debauchery that only Smokey and Razzball can deliver… Get comfy, it’s late Tuesday let’s get crazy, but home before the street lights come on.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Stick a fork in week 5, it’s done! Now, if a fork only has three prongs, is it a threek? Is a two-pronger a twoork? Maybe a twerk? These are the questions that must be answered. Another question that must be answered is can anyone can stop the RCL Auto-Bots engineered by Sullivan Inc.? Last week Mr. Sullivan had three teams in the top with the fourth knocking on the door. This week, the bots have kicked down that door and taken the top 10 by storm. The bots now control the first, second, sixth and eighth spots in the overall top 10 and show no signs of slowing. If there is one mortal who gives the human race some hope of defeating the RCL Bots, it’s Cram It. After an overall championship followed by a 2nd place overall finish last season, our human hero has a team sitting just outside the top 10 overall this week at 11th. It’s man vs. machine heading into the sixth week of the season. This will be a fun battle to watch. So, grab a twerk and let’s dig into all the stats in the week that was, week 5.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Greetings my fellow dweebs. I know, I know, my Staind fanatics…it’s been a while. You think that reference is old? I’m writing up Ariel Miranda with a nod to a 1989 Disney cartoon whilst simultaneously dropping a 2001 Zoolander on you. The kicker to all of this? You got all three references, which means we’re both a little closer to pushing daisies than either of us thought, though not that any of it matters as we’re all hurtling towards the end of days with an ever dying sun at the middle of our solar system. Eat at Arby’s…Now that I’ve done my job of setting a jolly mood, let’s talk about Ariel! Or better yet, let’s talk about the Phillies. I’m not gonna lie and say this is a bottom five team like we’ve seen in recent history but really, they’re not spectacular either and their bats can be exploited. The Phils tread water against lefties on the year, sitting middle of the pack in some key DFS categories such as 99 wRC+ and a 22.1% K percentage. Miranda has been pitching a bit over his FIP for the year, but I don’t think these Phillies bats are gonna be the ones to set him straight and with a near 8 K per 9 and miniscule 2.18 BB/9, he’s doing plenty to help his cause as it is. Is this a cash nod? Nah, man, but as an SP2 in tourneys, I’m definitely willing to go with this banded, bulbous snarfblat. Speaking of tourneys…we got ourselves some featured fun via FantasyDraft with a exclusive Razzball Listener’s league contest. Why listener’s league? Because you’ll have heard about it earlier today first on the Razzball Podcast. So if you want in on the Razz family fun, hop on in. But with that out of the way, let’s move on. Here’s my hottah unduh dee watah taeks for this Tuesday DFS slate…
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?We don’t want to lead off every podcast by bashing the New York Mets, but they leave us no choice. Grey Albright and I get right into it with the Matt Harvey fiasco, before moving on to discuss the merits of Luis Severino, Freddie Freeman, Gerrit Cole, Andrew Benintendi, Corey Kluber, and many more. I then talk about MattTruss razzing me over winning last week’s Razzball Only FantasyDraft Contest due to a lack of competition. He’s stepping up to the plate and playing this week too, so make sure to JOIN THIS WEEK’S CONTEST and take both of us down. Finally, we close the show by dreading the ramifications of Arizona’s prospective humidor, and ponder what kind of anti-gravity chamber Elon Musk would come up with if he turned his focus to baseball. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Jameson Taillon was sidelined indefinitely as he’s being treated for testicular cancer. *everyone but five girl readers cross their legs* As a man, this is up there with the scariest things that could happen. 1. Ball cancer. 2. Someone scratches my ride. 3. Hearing “Are you in yet?” when you’re in. That’s ranked in order, but they’re close. This reminds me of the time I neutered my dog. I asked the doctor if I could take home in a formaldehyde jar my boys’ ‘berries.’ I told the doctor no dog would ever misbehave with a constant reminder nearby that I could hold up to show what I was capable of. They didn’t give the jar to me. Hopefully Taillon’s okay, and back soon. I will say I would’ve liked to be there when his replacement, Trevor Williams, was asked to take the ball. Williams gulps, “Can we clarify which ball you mean?” Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?