Austin Hedges Is Pulling A ‘Bregman’

April 26, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 36 Comments

Humor me here…

Austin Hedges’ first 31 plate appearances of 2017 – .037/.133/.037 with a 9/2 strikeout to walk ratio.

Alex Bregman’s first 32 plate appearances of 2016 – .031/.088/.031 with a 10/2 strikeout to walk ratio.

Since then, Hedges has a slash line of .278/.289/.833 as he entered Monday night’s bout with the Diamondbacks. The most important driver in his .833 slugging percentage is the five home runs he has smacked since a rough start to the season. Well, make that six, as Hedges took everybody’s favorite former Colorado Rockies ace Jorge De La Rosa deep in Chase last night (bring on the humidor!). In case you forgot about Bregman’s stretch after his rough start last year, the immensely touted prospect slashed .297/.372/.432 in his 42 plate appearances after the drought and finished with a 1.0 WAR after only 49 games. After this run by Hedges, I’m seriously considering a reworking of this column’s title.

Cheap home runs from the catcher wasteland? Sign me up.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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#	MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 8/11
	ARI \| ATH \| BOS \| CHW \| CIN \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIL \| MIN \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| WSH \| ATL \| BAL \| CHC \| CLE \| MIA \| NYM \| OAK \| SEA \| TOR

Rolling In The Deep, Week 4: No Aaron On The Side Of Caution

April 26, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 22 Comments

by: Laura Holt

Fantasy baseball can be a lot like dating. Well, perhaps you’ve never made this particular comparison, but it comes into play time and time again for me. Sometimes it’s easy to spot a jerk – for instance, even if a fellow treated you pretty darn well for most of 2016, once he gets accused of assault, you realize he has outstanding DUIs in like 4 different countries, and then isn’t even allowed to come back to the U.S., it’s obviously time to cut the cord. (Obligatory shout out to the Pittsburgh Pirates: sending a pitching machine to a guy who fits the above description so he can keep practicing baseball, which I heard you did, might not be the best way to cut the cord). Then there’s the one that got away, the guy you avoided because he just seemed too good to be true. This can lead to heartbreak, like when you didn’t believe a beautiful, muscular, 6-foot tall 30-year old whose nickname in Korea translated to “God” was the real deal, and you miss out on what would have been one of the most beautiful relationships of your young life. (Note to self: when someone’s nickname is “God,” in real-life or fantasy baseball, that could be important). Then there’s the guy who you dated for months – you waited so patiently while he would go days without texting you, and then when he finally did take you out, you went to a chain restaurant for a meal you ended up paying for. You just KNEW he had it in him to be a great guy… but finally had to give up and dump him, only to see him treat his next girlfriend to handpicked flowers every morning and gourmet meals every night (so far in 2017, I call this guy Jason Heyward).

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Points Leagues, La Quinta(na): Wake Up On The Bright Side

April 26, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 16 Comments

by: malamoney

Over the last four seasons Jose Quintana has averaged 461 points per season, finishing as a top 30 (or better) starting pitcher in each of those seasons. Over that same span of seasons he has pitched at least 200 innings, and while he isn’t a strikeout pitcher, averaging just 7.73 punch outs per nine, he has also averaged a very respectable 3.34 earned run average. Quintana might not be a stud, but he has certainly proven to be consistently good. And consistently good is great in points leagues.

Considered by many to be a top trade candidate this season, Quintana stands to get a nice boost in value if he ends up playing for a contender (aka not for the White Sox). Put all of this together and I own him nearly all of my leagues. Take a look at what he’s done this season and you can imagine I’m not very pleased with the results thus far. In his first four starts this year he has averaged just under five points start. Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale have averaged nearly that many points per inning! Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not far from the truth. You’ve got to be kidding me. Quintana better wake up soon or I’m going to have give Comfort Inn my business.

Here’s what else I’ve seen thus far in points leagues…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Coors Field, What is it Good For?

April 26, 2017 | DFS, Fanduel |

by: Troy: The Collector

Today’s slate is chalked full of horrible pitchers and the launching pad we know as Coors Field. This is the worst kind of situation…you have Colorado/Washington in Coors who everybody wants to stack. Adding two trashy starting pitchers going – Tanner Roark and Tyler Chatwood – makes this a nightmare situation for DFS players. In cash games this seems simple, you just play them and move on. In GPP this isn’t so easy, everyone is going to have a piece of this game. You can differentiate yourself by doing the opposite, I personally will be doing that. Do this 10 times and you may only be right a few times, but your probability of winning big money goes WAY up. So fair warning, I won’t be covering Colorado or Washington guys in my picks. Obviously you can play them, and should play them (especially in cash games) but I’m here to try and win you all a GPP!

Now onto the picks…

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?

Rookie Nookie Lovers Seek A Cody Pendant

April 26, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 590 Comments

by: Grey

Sign says, ‘Don’t stay away, fools,’ cause Cody Bellinger rules! No? Okay, go to sleep. “Go to sleep” is my new favorite thing I say that my Cougar can’t stand. She’s like, “Why are you excited?” Rather than saying, “I’m excited because Cody Bellinger was called up,” I say, “Go to sleep.” Is that bad? I feel like her reaction is like the step before divorce. “Baby, we’re good, go to sleep.” “It’s 4 o’clock on a Tuesday.” “Yeah, go to sleep.” And then we’re divorced. You know who isn’t divorced? Cody Bellinger! Okay, I’m talking crazy, but I’m excited, you get it. In 18 games of Triple-A, he was hitting .343 with five homers and seven steals. I will now cackle maniacally. Who is this guy, Justice Eric Ruth Thames but with speed? I can’t even. *puts handkerchief to forehead, and faints* Oh, thank you for catching me in my dream state, Giancarlo. This is funny (not funny), Bellinger had three homers last year in Triple-A. Guess how many games? Oh, three. Three games! I wanna project him over five months for 17 HRs, 20 SBs, and .280, but feel like that is too conservative, that’s how crazy I am for him. Yes, you should absolutely grab him. Where will he play when Pederson returns from the DL? Not sure, but worth grabbing him now to see how the Dodgers handle it. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bear or Bull, Week 4: Ryu Forgetting About Me?

April 25, 2017 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 29 Comments

by: Son

Image result for hyun jin ryu

When the Dodgers signed Hyun-Jin Ryu before the 2013 season, my first thought was, This dude looks like a Macy’s Day Parade balloon; not a professional athlete. The Dodgers did shell out $36 million for him, so they obviously had more grandiose plans for him than to have him float high above Chavez Ravine to provide shade for the whole stadium. So I looked at his numbers in Korea. Not bad, but not great. Then I read the scouting reports and was meh. At the conclusion of his first season with the Dodgers in 2013, Ryu went 14-8, posted a 3.00 ERA, 1.203 WHIP, and struck out 154 batters in 192 innings. Those numbers don’t sound exciting, yet he ended that year as the 25th starting pitcher and 79th overall player in fantasy.

DISCLAIMER: This was written before tonight’s start in San Francisco. He is in my DFS lineups so I put my money where my mouth is. Oh God, help me.

Now, Ryu has missed the past two seasons due to arm injuries. He’s currently sporting a 5.87 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 15 1/3 innings. There’s a ton of wear and tear on his arm, as he threw 1269 innings in Korea and 391 in the US. So, why is he the focus of this week’s Bear or Bull? Well, there’s this…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

SAGNOF Report, Week 4: Picking On The Tools Of Ignorance

April 25, 2017 | SAGNOF | 19 Comments

by: Smokey

As I have gone over in the preseason, streaming against a starting pitcher is sometimes a good approach. The problem is that sometimes the blame isn’t completely on the pitcher. This isn’t Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny isn’t playing all nine positions versus the Gas House Gorillas. So obviously I am referring to the catcher in this scenario. Streaming against a pitcher is all well and good, the bad is that they only pitch once every five days and while it’s fun to rosterbate the high hell out of it, why not take advantage of a starting catcher who usually gets five starts a week? Seems like genius and a better way to try and capitalize on a three game set versus a weak catcher oriented team at gunning down baserunners. So the handy chart below gives us an early glimpse of who we should be taking advantage of with our waiver additions in the steals category. Stay after the chart, because I drop some tidbits of grandeur.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

RCL Update, Week 3: The Week That Was

April 25, 2017 | Our Leagues, Razzball Commenters League | 7 Comments

by: MattTruss

Three weeks in and I’m sure there’s some of you out there pressing as much as Jose Abreu right now. Is it too soon to be worried that you’re falling behind in stolen bases? Probably not, unless of course you lost Starling Marte for 80 games. What a bummer. You can’t hold a guy on the bench for half the season, can you? I’ve seen him dropped in several leagues and picked right back up. I don’t think I’d have the stomach to waste a roster spot for 3 months, but to each their own. After next week we’ll be at a good point to stop and assess our teams as well as start scouring for trades to address whatever weaknesses we find. It’s still early folks and there’s no reason to be dropping a guy like Jose Abreu or doing anything else crazy just yet.

A big thank you to Rudy and Malamoney this week as we now have Master Standings! Who’s numero uno? You’ll have to read on to see. We also now have data that helps me put together the weekly leaders and the Team Of The Week! I’m giddy, are you? If so, let’s go check out the goods:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FantasyDraft: Wacha Time To Be Alive

April 25, 2017 | DFS, FantasyDraft | 1 Comment

by: Ignacio

Man is baseball great and unexpected. We’ve got Bronson Arroyo throwing Quality Starts and getting wins versus the defending champs.. IN 2017!! Eric Thames loaded on Kimchi and Korean BBQ hits every pitch out of the ball park. One of the best pitchers in the game, Madison Bumgarner, is out for a while cuz he fell off his dirt bike. You never really know what to expect in this game. Only thing we know is that we have games every night and a chance to play the greatest game of all…Fantasy Baseball. We have a solid slate for Tuesday night, but one pitcher that really stands out to me is Micahael Wacha ($13,600) of the St. Louis Cardinals. He has been pitching well this year, 2-1 record with a 2.41 ERA. He has been striking people out at a pretty good rate as he has 17 Ks in his 18 innings of work this season, and he has a great matchup vs. the depleted Toronto Blue Jays. They currently rank 25th or worse in Runs Scored, HRs and Avg. Already down Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki due to DL stints, they are now traveling to a National League park and wont have the luxury of the DH. To add insult to injury, the Blue Jays ranked 5th in the MLB in Strikeouts, so a big strikeout potential is in the cards for Wacha.

Clayton Kershaw is also taking the mound tonight, I don’t need to tell you to pick him. He is an automatic start in DFS as long as you are willing to pay the price. He is priced at $27,600, squaring of against the San Fransisco Giants. A slugfest is expected in Coors in a matchup between Joe Ross and German Marquez. As always there will be a high own percentage in this game but it might be smart to fade Kershaw and get some bats from this game. Some solid pitching options are available on the slate tonight. Lets take a look at the picks.

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?

Podcast: “I Don’t Give You The Milk, Just Because You Got The Cow Tweeting Out Stuff About The Milk!”

April 25, 2017 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 36 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

We’re back with a new edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast, that was recorded at some point in time recently, but we won’t reveal when! On today’s show, we catch up on Madison Bumgarner losing his motorcycle’s license, Starling Marte losing his GNC Rewards Card, and the Red Sox losing their shizz over Manny Machado. Spikes up, Dan! We also have big news from our friends at FantasyDraft with our own Podcast RAZZBALL ONLY FANTASYDRAFT CONTEST!!!!! It’s only $5 to join and you play against yours truly in our own contest tonight. Makes me feel special! We also play some FMK, and preview what we’re looking for in the week ahead including Christian Arroyo‘s callup. Here’s the latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:

Download from iTunes

PS – Sorry we ran outta time this week, but you now can join the Pod by leaving us a dime at this link, and we’ll include as many as we can on the show. Leave us a message and we’ll answer next week! Best promptness ever!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

ET: The Extra Thamesbeastrial

April 25, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 619 Comments

by: Grey

Eric Thames went 2-for-3, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and hit two more homers (9, 10). *does exaggerated yawn* Justice Eric Ruth Thames is like, “Yeah, I had a harder time in Korea, ya’ll suck.” Jer-Ru the Damaja is like, “The Sun Also Rises in the East, and sets in Milwaukee when I’m done hitting homers, goodnight.” At this point, I’m surprised Justice didn’t hit, like, 80 homers a season in Korea. Who got this guy out? An NL team should sign that guy. Or watch the Korean broadcasts of the games to see how they got him out, if for no other reason than the weird game show-like moments in-between innings when they’d have contestants try to find which part of the stadium is made of chocolate. (I know this is Japanese, but it’s funny, so stop with your judging. Leave that to the Justice!)

Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Itchy Triggs Finger …And The Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 4

April 24, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 141 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

So here’s something ridiculous – I think the Oakland A’s are my least favorite team. Scratch that, F THE CARDS! Even if they do have the best fans in baseball… A’s are my least favorite AL team. And it’s nothing to do with particular players, trying to be “hipster” and not liking Monyeball (It’s a cool movie! Love the music.), or residual ire due to the Warriors. Ugh, NBA with only 2 or 3 competing teams every year – BORING! It just seems like every year, their offense is lacking, yet they pound on pitchers when you least expect it. Cough, James Paxton, cough. It’s so annoying! It all started when I owned CC Sabathia on some dynos back when he started with the Yankees, and it felt like every April or May the A’s would tag him for 7 or 8 runs every game. Plus, ya know, I didn’t buy into Josh Donaldson and Khris Davis decided to be a consistent power hitter in a shittier park, but we’ll end this absolutely ludicrous rant here.

Due to the above, I don’t watch a ton of A’s, so I have yet to see Andrew Triggs pitch. His scouting report is unimpressive: his fastball actually lost velocity to be a sub-90 MPH pitch, he gets groundballs which usually means Ks should be low, is 28 and a converted closer, and it just all feels like smoke and Black Mirrors. He’s a robot! But maybe that perception is a reaction to my A’s bias, especially since he went into yesterday with three straight scoreless start wins. Well, he did allow 2 unearned runs in one of em and 1 in another – yet another reason I think it’s Black Mirrors. So I decided to watch his start Sunday afternoon to finally get the book out on the guy, and here’s how he looked against the Mariners:

Please, blog, may I have some more?