Vince Velasquez, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 13, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 138 Comments

I think I did too many fantasy baseball sleepers that were outfielders. I should’ve braked earlier and did more starting pitcher sleeper posts. On Monday, I start the rankings, so individual posts from moi will be on hold until I get out all the rankings. This was a clumsy way of saying there’s more pitcher sleepers, but they’re gonna have to wait until I’ve finished the rankings. Actually, that last part was clumsy too. Any hoo! Vince Velasquez, or as I call him, Vince Velasquez! Does he have another name I don’t know about? VV looks too much like a W, which is like how an inverted W is really just an M. I think I just did a tangent from my tangent, if my trigonometry knowledge is ack-ewe-rah-teh, which is the pronunciation of accurate according to my bootleg copy of Rosetta Stone. Ah, we had some good laughs, didn’t we? Wait, we didn’t? Aw, man. Last year, Velasquez had a 10.4 K/9 with a 3.67 xFIP. His ERA was 4.12 due to an inflated BABIP, a lower LOB% and giving up four-baggers like he was late-starting Catholic schoolgirl. So, what can we expect from Vince Velasquez for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Blake Snell, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 12, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 136 Comments

by: Grey

Last year, Blake Snell had a 3.54 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Hootie hoo, that’s wonky as all get-out. For players with that terrible of a WHIP since 2000, there was only one guy under a 4 ERA (Chad Billingsley in 2006 with a 3.80 ERA) and most guys weren’t even below a 5 ERA. Snell’s walk rate 5.2 was horrific. *Insert Tyra Banks’ “We were all rooting for you” GIF* Forget it my dude, you Snell with an em, nah’mean? So, what else is up, my dudes and five girl dude readers? Yeah, forget Snell, he’s out of control. Literally. Speak on your winter break. You hit the sauna, you look sweaty? Oh, you just ran up one flight of steps? Just one step? Gotcha. So what else is new? *taps finger, scratches chin* Well, maybe we should look at Snell anyway since we’re here. I mean, we have the time and you just have anecdotes that involve fast food milkshakes and girls that you think like you that don’t. So, what can we expect from Blake Snell for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2017 Minor League Preview: New York Mets

January 11, 2017 | Uncategorized | 143 Comments

by: Geoff

I think this is the part of the article where I mention something about Mets starting pitching, and then something else about elbow injuries. Let’s check those two boxes right from the gate, and talk about how boring any, and all homegrown Mets hitters are. When was the last time the Mets produced a bat that wasn’t kind of boring? David Wright? Jose Reyes? Okay, okay Michael Conforto is exciting, but often for the wrong reasons. Like “I’m freaking excited to not own Michael Conforto any longer.” That was you after April 30th. The problem is none of the upcoming bats have first round fantasy upside. Nevertheless, the divide between pitching talent and hitting talent is never so evident as it is at the major league level. The lineup is littered with talent acquired in trades and free agent mercenaries. While the rotation runs 7 deep with major league starters from within the organization. The stats bear this out too, as good as the Mets were at preventing runs (ranking third in 2016 in team ERA), were as bad as they were at scoring them (ranking 25th in runs scored). Maybe some of that’s park aided or maybe some of it’s talent. While the light (and I use that term lightly) at the end of the tunnel, is still more than likely a year or two away, there are some bats progressing through the system that should be on fantasy owners radar’s. Players like Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith, and Brandon Nimmo all offer fantasy impact (to varying degrees) in the next two years. However, true to form the best talent lies in the pitching ranks, with the highest upside prospects coming in the form of pitchers like Justin Dunn and Thomas Szapucki. I certainly wouldn’t rank Amazin’s system in the top 10, but they’re in the top half, and that’s better than being the Marlins. Enough of the lead-in, hop into the post, and learn why I’m moderately enthused about the Top New York Mets Prospects.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Robbie Ray, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 10, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 156 Comments

by: Grey

I legit have called about half the Diamondbacks’ hitters sleepers this year, but when you venture into pitching territory you best come with your guns blazing like Jon Bon Jovi in Blaze of Glory or don’t’s come at all. I wanted to call Taijuan Walker a sleeper, and I kinda did when I wrote up his trade post (click his name and you’ll get there, I have faith in you). I don’t think Greinke will be underrated, I can’t stop looking at Patrick Corbin for the damage he did to my psyche last year — I’m damaged, y’all! — and here’s I am for Robbie Ray, Martha Raye’s illegitimate son with Mark Harris. When I say Ray, you say ‘don’t play.’ Ready? Ray! Don’t play! Ray! Don’t play! Ray Fosse! Musical starring Jamie Foxx with lyrics by Bob Fosse about a 1970s catcher who was lawnmower’d by Pete Rose! Damn, you’re good! Last year, Robbie Ray had an ERA of 4.90. And, this post is over. Goodbye! Holy schnikeballs, what the hell do we want with him? Or more seguey… So what can we expect from Robbie Ray for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Michael Pineda, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 9, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 176 Comments

by: Grey

I’ve seen some ‘smarter’ players drafting Michael Pineda way too high. Like in the top 110 overall. I don’t care that he had the third highest xFIP last year and the 8th best xFIP in 2015. I mean, I do care about it, that’s why I’m highlighting him, but I don’t care top 110 overall care. I’m operating a little without a safety net with the sleepers by not having a strong idea of where guys will be drafted. I’m merely guessing where guys will be drafted, and I’d bet Pineda will go undrafted in a lot of shallower mixed leagues or after 200 overall in most other leagues. At that price, he’s a sleeper and I’m interested in his xFIP. For noobs, xFIP is essentially ERA while removing defense, luck, sequencing and normalizes for homers. All of those should be self-explanatory except for maybe sequencing. That means a guy that gives up a single, gets two outs, allows a home run and gets the third out is the same as a pitcher that gives up a home run, a single and then gets three outs, even though the 1st pitcher gave up two runs and the 2nd pitcher gave up one run with the exact same hitter results — a single, a home run and three outs, just in a different order. All things being equal, a pitcher should be his xFIP self. It doesn’t work like that for various reasons, but it’s a baseline. Not quite the same as Humpty Hump’s bass line. That’s dooooree-doooorit-dooooree-doooorit. Ricky Nolasco made a career out of frustrating fantasy owners by never returning ERA bottles for his xFIP deposits. Honestly, if it was just xFIP for Pineda, I wouldn’t even be writing this post, but it’s not, and with that…So, what can we expect from Michael Pineda for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2017 Minor League Preview: Minnesota Twins

January 8, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 59 Comments

by: Geoff

It’s been a rough year for Minnesota, it started with the death of Prince, and just snowballed from there. The Twins were awful, finishing with the worst record in the majors by 9 games. The Vikings crapped out after beginning the season with so much promise. Jose Berrios is not quite the ace the Target Field faithful were dreaming on, and Atmosphere, though still entertaining, has seen better days. Well Minnesota, it’s 2017 and I’m going to continue to pile on. Sorry…. While the system looks bare, it should be mentioned that the Twinkies have graduated a group of elite prospects over the last few seasons in Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and the aforementioned Berrios. Unfortunately, none of them have provided elite returns, as of yet. So what’s left in the pipeline oh Prospect Jesus, please tell us? Yes, my children, there ain’t much. Yup, Prospect Jesus uses the word ain’t, he’s a man of the people. As for immediate impact there are a handful of useful bullpen arms, and some back end starters, but the really exciting prospects are at minimum a year away, sometimes more in first rounder Alex Kirilloff’s case. Minnesota is truly a team that needs to re-tool the farm with so many of their young talented players already on the big league club. So sit back, put your feet up, and get up to date on the Top Minnesota Twins Prospects. Can you dig it?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Prospect Podcast Episode 21: Top Mets Prospects and a handful of Twins

January 7, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Prospect Podcast, Razzball Podcast | 28 Comments

by: Geoff

New year, new Halph! Not that different from the old Halph, but Halph nevertheless. This week’s episode involves us delving into a duo of systems in the Mets and the Twins, with plenty of the typical mindless banter for good measure. We crush on Thomas Szupucki together, and figure out where Rosario slots in among the elite shortstop prospects. Over the course of the show we come to a pair of conclusions that Amazin’ has an underrated system, and that the Twins have 4 prospects. Seriously, 4. Maybe 5, could be a stretch. There’s a lot of pitching prospect talk on this one, but knowing top Mets prospect pitchers is to love them. Amirite? Yeah, you’re nodding your head, it’s cool. So grab a cold one, or a hot one, and tune into the latest episode of the Razzball prospect podcast.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Nomar Mazara, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 6, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 178 Comments

by: Grey

Here’s a fun list:

Carlos Gonzalez — 424.6 feet
Giancarlo Stanton — 422.8
Trevor Story — 420.3
Nomar Mazara — 415.8

A) Surprised to not see Cespedes since he started with 100 feet B) Hot damn, Nomar! C) There’s no C. If you haven’t guessed, that’s the top distances averaged on home runs for players with at least 18 homers last year. Two of the guys were Rockies, i.e., Coors, and the other one was Giancarlo. Right behind Nomar Mazara was Nelson Cruz, Joc Pederson, Trout and Goldschmidt. Oh, and tied with Mazara was Mitch Moreland. Is there a non-home run hitter among these men, I ask sounding like a character from Game of Thrones. Granted, I do believe it to be true (why do I sound like I’m talking Middle Ages English?) that if someone hits fewer homers there’s gonna be a chance their average distance will be higher. In other words, Mazara hit 20 homers last year. If he hit 30 homers, maybe he would’ve hit a few just-outta-heres and his average distance would’ve lowered, but he didn’t so I’m throwing out my theory that I just threw in there. Don’t ask me why I didn’t just omit it to begin with and don’t end a sentence with with — dah! If I wanted, I could link to or post a bunch of upper deck blasts by Mazara. Seriously, he did not get cheated on his dingers. I personally hate when my dingers are cheated on. So, what can we expect from Nomar Mazara for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Randal Grichuk, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 5, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 156 Comments

by: Grey

Did you just see a cat walk up a stairway twice? A glitch in the Matrix? Having deja vu? Did you just Google deja vu and feel like you had Googled it previously? Okay, yes, there was a Randal Grichuk sleeper post last year. When I wrote that Randal Grichuk sleeper post, I gave him the projections of 69/25/82/.253/8. And, he disappointed. Can you tell me by how much? Go ahead, guess. 18 HRs? 40 runs? 50 RBIs? Well, no. I mean, yes, he did disappoint, but not by nearly that much. His end of the season line was 66/24/68/.240/5. I’m not going to say he made good on my sleeper call, which is different and less Al Qaeda’ey than a sleeper cell, but you have to admit he wasn’t the flop you thought he was. Okay, don’t admit it. Live in your frickin’ “I’m always right” bubble! Quick question, do you have to dust when living in a bubble? Do you ever blow a bubble while in your bubble to get all meta? You know what? I don’t care! Keep your stupid answers to yourself! Though, if you wanna DM me the answers, I would appreciate it. So, what can we expect from Randal Grichuk for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2017 Minor League Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

January 4, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 126 Comments

by: Geoff

Johnny come latelys like the Yankees and White Sox may think they’re hip for acquiring prospects. But the Brewers have been doing it since before it was cool. Starting with the trade of Carlos Gomez, the Brewers have brought in a bounty of talented youngsters. In fact 8 of the 17 prospects discussed were acquired via trade. Including 4 of their top 5. So good work Doug Melvin and David Sterns, you guys are the prospect hoarding dynasty league owners of MLB. Truthfully, they’ve made a lot of good moves, and have a solid, and deep up and coming core. With good young players like Orlando Arcia, Jonathan Villar, and Keon Broxton already in Milwaukee, the revolution has started. There’s lots of fantasy gold to uncover in the Brewers system, so I went a little longer than usual. I’m sure you won’t mind. It’s the Top Milwaukee Brewers Prospects.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

David Peralta, 2017 Fantasy Sleeper

January 3, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 138 Comments

by: Grey

I would call fantasy baseball sleepers my “All-Want Team,” except it’s not always that black/white for Grey, said the color scale. David Peralta was a surefire “Want” last year; this year, he’s a “Want for the Right Price.” Peralta had three homers and two steals through the first five weeks of the season. That comes out to about 16 HRs, 11 SBs over the course of the season. It’s not a completely fair prorating job because he wasn’t hot once in that time. You’d figure for at least a portion of the season he’d heat up and raise his season stats. Though, maybe he would’ve gotten colder too. Alas, we’re left with prorating five weeks out to a season because on May 8th began the dreaded Day-to-Day Dance of Day-to-Dayness. Injury update on May 8th, “David Peralta is out with a bruised forearm.” On May 9th, “David Peralta missed his 2nd straight day with a bruised forearm.” On May 10th, “Peralta visited a wrist specialist.” Don’t you love how the injury isn’t even the right body part when it starts? On May 12th, “Peralta’s wrist exam showed no structural damage.” Wait, this is when it gets good. On May 13th, “Peralta says he won’t need the DL.” Does anyone have any question how this is about to turn out? On May 15th, “Peralta hit the 15-day DL with wrist inflammation. It’s believed to be precautionary.” Please tell me you know where this is going. On August 10th, “Peralta underwent season-ending wrist surgery.” The final bit of injury news is, “Peralta will be ready for the start of spring training.” I guess I’m the idiot here, because I know injury news is always five to seven times worse (exact science!) than what is relayed to us and I’m choosing to believe he will be ready for spring training, even though his previous eight months is littered with land mines on the dance floor of the Day-to-Day Dance of Day-to-Dayness. So, what can we expect from David Peralta for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

J.P. Crawford, 2017 Fantasy Outlook

January 2, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Rookies | 71 Comments

by: Grey

Happy New Year! Or as I like to call it, Happy Birthday, Baby January! We’re in the midst of doing our fantasy baseball sleepers, but I forget one more of the 2017 fantasy baseball rookies. Not because he’s so good. I forgot him because… Well, I forgot why I forgot him. Great start to 17 after 20! As I’ve previously mentioned on the aforementioned tip, I’m focusing on redraft leagues with these fantasy baseball rookies and if I could have my druthers and knew what druthers were, I’d go with guys that have had at least a taste of the major leagues already. Enter stage right, J.P. Crawford. Enter…stage…right…. J.P. Crawford! Will someone please move the curtains? Crawford is apparently finding it harder to find the stage as he is finding his power. Last year, he had 7 HRs across Double and Triple-A in about 472 ABs. Okay, prolly not ‘about 472 ABs’ prolly exactly 472 ABs, but I added the two levels in my head and might be a little off. Why is it that player pages add major league players stats together when they’re traded but when they move across levels in the minors they don’t add anything? I mean, I get it, it’s two different levels, but can’t they list the two levels separate then also have a third line with a combination of the stats? I am literally the only that cares about this. Yes, literally. Okay, so not much power, but what about speed in the minors this year? 12 SBs. Not sure what level of enthusiasm I’m supposed to show at this point. Perhaps a lowercase yay with a small sigh? He did hit around .250 (again, there’s no combo line and I’m not doing the math this time). Around .250 or as I like to call it, who gives a fudge? So, why am I even doing a post on Crawford or better, and more seguey… Anyway, what can we expect from J.P. Crawford for 2017 fantasy baseball?

Please, blog, may I have some more?