RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 13

Here we are, it’s the halfway point of the season, lucky week 13. There are 26 weeks in this fantasy season, so while the All Star Break marks the unofficial halfway point, this week is the true halfway mark. The halfway point this year looks a lot like the end of the season last year with familiar friend Cram It leading the RCL Master Standings, albeit, in a different league. A virtual tip of the cap goes out to Cram It, it’s no easy feat topping all these nut jobs and here he is doing it twice. At the official halfway point we also had our first team eclipse the 180 Games Started mark. With 182 Games Started, Calgary Cannons, take a bow. The Cannons can now go about stacking relief pitchers in search of saves (53), ratio help (4.11 ERA, 1.31 WHIP), and improving that K/9 (7.9). Their 89 wins might move up to around 100 or so, but with teams like the Yapping Chihuahuas out there with 62 wins and 86 GS left, it’s not very likely to hold up. As everyone is slowly recovering from their Independence Day long weekends, let’s take a look at what else happened in the week that was, week 13:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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DraftKings: The MadBum, By McCovey Cove

July 5, 2016 | DraftKings |

by: AskRotoBaseball

I love a good deal. If I’m going to a Pirates game and pay $20 under face value for tickets, I’m happy. How about a $2,000 TV from Best Buy for $1,200 on sale? That would make me ecstatic. Hell, I just bought Lay’s Potato Chips (best chips ever, by the way) for $1.77 a bag. That’s the family size bag! Talk about a great holiday bargain. On Tuesday night, there is one clear bargain that stands out and it must be exploited. Over his last four starts, Madison Bumgarner’s DraftKings pricing has ranged from $12,800-$14,000. He faces the Rockies–at home–and is priced at $11,700. We all know how this game is played. If the game is at Coors Field, there is extreme risk involved. But, this game is being played in the friendly confines of AT&T Park. MadBum is both a cash and GPP option. Exploit this bargain–hopefully you can use the savings to buy some potato chips.

New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run next Monday, July 11th, to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. Wanna know what the best part is about signing up with us? The free subscription for the rest of the season to our DFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.

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Podcast, ID4 Edition: JB Might Be A Mormon

July 5, 2016 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 23 Comments

by: Jay

That’s right folks, I bring to you a very special “ID4 edition” podcast, and we call it “ID4” because it’s not that common of a phrase, isn’t really used by many people and, you know, movies, so for something this special, we want to give it a sort of… unique nomenclature. Therefore, I have. BOOM. So yeah, JB is somewhere vacationing (and probably getting married again) without a computer mic, so here I am, bringing you the much heralded Grey (and myself) in discussion about all the important and current fantasy baseball issues. So of course we open the show talking about my relationship woes, almost like a callback to the old Nick the Podcast Host days. But after that, we actually do get to “stuff”. Important stuff. As Donald Trump would say, the best stuff. Jose Berrios and Jeimer Candelario, a potential call-up and a recent call-up, respectively, are touched upon. We went over Joey Votto’s up-and-down season, Edwin Diaz and his closer potential, Aaron Nola’s recent struggles, and how the return of Dee Gordon could shake up the Marlins infield a bit. And seeing as how we’re right around the mid-year point, Grey throws out his first-half most valuable pitcher and hitter thus far, and we go over the MLB playoff picture and who we expect to see in the World Series. We would have talked about Game of Thrones and it’s season finale, but I’m pretty sure we burned up all of our time talking about putting me on Tinder. First world problems, fo sure…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Polanco Declares Indongpendence Twice

July 5, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 469 Comments

by: Grey

Hey, Razzball Nation, you know it’s your favorite white boy, right? I owe you this one. I’ve been patiently waiting for Gregory Polanco to explode on. You can pfft if you want but his ankles were rolled on. It feels like Polanco has been hot for so long. If you thinking he’s gonna fall off, you’re so wrong. Take some Marte and Polanc and you mix them up in a pot, sprinkle a ‘little Hurdle not knowing who to bat where,’ and what you got? You got the realest and illest batters, juggernauts of this fantasy shizz like it or not! Seriously, I’ve been waiting all season to feature Polanco in a lede. Yesterday, he rained some of his own fireworks on the 4th of who-lie (that’s how I pronounce it), knocking out two home runs (2-for-5, 3 RBIs and his 11th and 12th homers), and you might remember from my preseason rankings, this little beaut, “Two quick things: Yes, I’m aware that Polanco is ranked insanely high in my rankings vs. other people’s rankings. And, yes, I’m going to own Polanco on every team. Confession Alert! I had Polanco in the top 20 overall prior to seeing where others ranked him and moved him down a round. I could’ve moved him down six rounds and still had him higher than everyone. Polanco feels like an Arenado situation from last year. By that I mean, I will say something to another fantasy baseball ‘pert like, “Do you like Polanco?” They’ll reply, “Yeah, I love him.” I’ll follow up with, “Then why do you have him ranked 110 overall?” They’ll answer, “I don’t know.” Then my head will explode.” And that’s me mic dropping. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I Mustache Why You Don’t Own Danny Espinosa?… And The Top 100 Hitters, Week 14

July 4, 2016 | Creeper of the Week, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 57 Comments

by: M@

Now, to be fair, the player profile pictures for Danny Espinosa are dated and not fully current. But I’ll be damned if he doesn’t own the belt for the best profile picture in recent history. Outside of sleepy Adam Jones, you just can’t beat what awaits you when you click on the Creeper of the Week’s profile picture on any single site you choose to play fantasy baseball on. Go ‘head. Pause reading this. I give permission (but come back!!!). Check out Espinosa’s profile. But WAIT! Before you do…when you’re there, go ahead and pick him up, too. Why you ask? Well, I mustache you the question of why he isn’t already on your roster? Have you freaking seen what he’s done lately?!? Let’s highlight this creeper (who in any other context with that facial hair would overwhelmingly be a massive creeper. Cust sayin’)…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

SAGNOF Report: Steals And Swipes Forever

July 4, 2016 | Steals | 5 Comments

by: Smokey

On this high holy season of fireworks and excessive drinking, it all unfortunately comes to an end on a Monday. Today. July 5th shouldn’t be a day of the hangover and partial powder burns… So in honor of our noble sacrifice, let’s touch on some chaps that have some steal value. We will attack it slow so you can read this, and in between flip the burgers and dogs on the grill. The steals game is slowing down. Look at the numbers we expected from guys this year based off last years stats. Guys like Rizzo, and Goldy, and even Ryan Braun all down. The expectations across the board have to be lowered. It should be lowered enough that we open the window and chuck it out that same window. Unfortunately, we can’t, because counting stats are counting stats and it is still a whole category which we must choose to score points in. The days of steals being a reliable category are long gone. The “punt a position” for SB’s is a mythical lore of the whole Pegasus persuasion. It exists only because we remember the days that it actually happened. The weekly guys for the leaders in the category read like an extra list for a CSI episode, it is not fun, but we get drawn into the allure of the chase. The chase is fun, the end result is just a let down like an aerial photo of your upcoming date from Tinder. So here is the week ahead, behind and below SAGNOF targets and guys that are contributing for their teams that will make you give a second look if chasing that SB fix. Cheers!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: There Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked

July 4, 2016 | DraftKings |

by: Teddy Heater

Happy Fourth of July! Hopefully most of you are enjoying the day off, but like taxes and money, DK never sleeps. Today I’m rolling with two starting pitchers that have actually received a little extra rest over the last week Matt Harvey, $7,000 vs Miami and Lance McCullers, $8,800 vs Seattle. We’re almost halfway through the season and my regular fantasy teams are falling apart with injuries, so every bit helps at this point. I think that the little breather that both of these guys got will give them that extra edge we need to cash in today. McCullers was dealing with a blister and last pitched on the 22nd, so he should be ready to go today. Over his last 7 starts he’s averaging over 7 K’s per game while keeping his ERA at a respectable 3.00. I was pretty shocked to see Harvey at 7K today, but I’m never one to shy away from a discount. His last start got cut short by a rain delay, so I’m banking that he got some extra work in this week to tweak his mechanics. Harvey has been not been anything close to the Ace that we’re used to, but he’s playing at home and Citi Field is going to be rocking today. A perfect storm for the Dark Knight to rise up for the Fourth.

New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well reserve your spot in the 25 Team Razzball Exclusive League set to run Monday July 4th to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. Wanna know what the best part is about signing up with us? The free subscription for the rest of the season to our DFSBot, that’s what! For details on the how to, please visit our Razzball Subscriptions page.

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Danny Espinosa, Where The Dead Baseballs Are Buried

July 4, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 310 Comments

by: Grey

The day before our Independence Day, the Nationals exploded for six home runs, a fireworks display that would make the Grucci family jealous. The Grucci fireworks family has a fascinating history. Giuseppe Grucci in 1923 said to his momma, “I don’t want to be a two-bit gangster, cutting peoples’ fingers off for debt payment, I want to blow up thousands of fingers all across this great nation.” Then his mother smacked him and told him to finish his lasagna. Yesterday, Bryce Harper (2-for-4) hit his 17th homer, Wilson Ramos (3-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs) hit his 13th, Anthony Rendon (2-for-3, 2 runs) hit his 8th, but at the heart of the fireworks celebration was Danny Espinosa (4-for-5, 6 RBIs) with his 17th and 18th home run, and his 4th and 5th homers in the last four games. For those of you who think he’s a weekend hot bat, he hit .309 with nine homers in June. He’s only 29 years old and he is a guy that has seasons of 20+ homers and 20 steals. So, yes, you should own him. Fun fact! Did you know what they call a fireworks display on July 3rd? A premature ejacu-elation. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

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OPS Leaguers Unite! BFG Steven Moya

July 3, 2016 | Uncategorized |

by: Phil B.

The BFG movie is coming out, based on Roald Dahl’s book; I remember back in junior high every girl and a few guys reading all his books, and if you were really cool, you knew how to pronounce his name. I was not cool and didn’t read his books, but did enjoy Willy Wonka. Back in those days though, BFG to me was a gun in DOOM, which they said stood for Big Fragging Gun, but we all knew better. Wow, I feel like I have pimples and am wearing flannel all over again.

Anyway, BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant in the book; but shouldn’t it stand for Big F***king Guy? I can’t think of a better description right now for Steven Moya. Moya measures at 6’7, 260 pounds (making him just taller than Roald Dahl at 6’6; I get the sneaking suspicion that at least some of the BFG is about Dahl himself; furthermore Dahl was a pilot all over the world in his youth. My question: how did he fit into the cockpit? Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen a tall pilot which makes sense since that cockpit is small – that’s what she said!)

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Proper Preparation

July 3, 2016 | DraftKings | 4 Comments

by: Gern Blanston

July 3rd often goes unforgotten. Proper preparation is key to a successful event. You simply can’t just watch baseball to be successful in DFS. Since you all have busy days, let me do the research for you. Before heading out to buy beer and fireworks, why not throw in a couple line ups and wake up with extra money on July 4th? You have to pay for all that stuff somehow. Today we have four aces pitching today all priced over 11K. Two are facing off against each other, one is facing the Jays in Rogers Centre, and one gets the pitch against the Twins. That pitcher who gets the twins is a good American boy Cole Hamels. Like the weather, Hamels’ arm has continuously heated up throughout the season. His fastball averaged 94 mph on the radar gun in June. The increased velocity may be a reason for the success he has had in his last 4 starts, where he allowed only 2 runs over 27.2 innings of work. More importantly, he averaged 27.6 fantasy points in that span. If he can maintain his increase in velocity he should find more success against the Twinkies. When facing fastballs from LHP over 94 mph, the Twins are only batting .175. Hamels has nearly a strike out per inning, which he should be able to maintain as the Twins have a 24.3 K% vs LHP. They have not handled LHP very well, as they have a 91 wRC+ and an 8.1% BB%. Sano is back off the DL, so if he gets the start that should be at least 3 strikeouts for Hamels on the day. Let me do the research for you so you have more time to prep for July 4th. Here are the rest of DFS picks for July 3…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Mid-Season Top 100 Prospects for 2016 Fantasy Baseball

July 3, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 213 Comments

by: Geoff

Tell me this isn’t the most American thing you’ve ever heard. I sit mere miles from Cooperstown, NY, sipping an American made brew, working away on the final stretches of my Mid-Season Top 100 Prospects for Fantasy Baseball, while fireworks crackle overhead. The smell of beer and lawn clippings fill the air, and I just cooked some bacon on the barrel of my rifle. The last sentence was complete bullshizz, but the part before it is fairly accurate. I mean I’m not enough of a tool that I would sit in the yard with my laptop writing. But I am enough of a tool that I was formulating what I would type, once the pack of wild animals I affectionately call my children decide to finally retire to their beds for the evening. Well, the time has come and here I am writing to you, and you alone. Without anymore rambling incoherent non-sense, allow me to introduce the Top 100 Prospects Fantasy Baseball. This list is built with an eye to the future, in other words my goal is for this list to be more reflective of a pre-season 2017 list than the pre-season 2016 lists. I went bold, and I avoided the boring. Meaning I have no use for your Julio Urias’, your Lucas Giolito’s, A.J. Reed’s, Cody Reed’s and the like. You know those guys, they’re playing in the bigs, at this point they’re A. owned in your dynasty or B. owned in your redraft league so C. they’re owned. You thought I was going to say there’s no C right? What do I look like Grey? Nope I’m much taller and my facial hair is more Don Johnson than John Oates.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Two-Start Pitchers, Week 14: Double Down On Titletown

July 2, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Two Start Fantasy Starters | 21 Comments

by: M@

Dear Jesus,

First, I’d like to apologize for anything I’ve done wrong in my sports fandom and life. It’s been a difficult two decades. And I’m sorry if I have anything to do with this. Second, I’d like to apologize for the title of this article and for dubbing a specific city ‘Titletown’. Third, I’d like to apologize for the disdain I have towards said ‘Titletown’. I know it’s unhealthy, and primarily driven from envy. I’m going to make comparisons, I’m going to give some praise, and I’m going to encourage people to fully get behind a team that no one in the everest of evers has ever gotten behind. But like your belief in me that goes beyond reason sometimes, so does this belief in a certain team this week. You’re the greatest. Please allow my city to experience a similar run.

Haha, is this all in jest? Absolutely. Am I serious about asking for forgiveness? Absolutely. Because I’m officially dubbing Cleveland ‘Titletown’ of the sports world of the century of the week (to steal from SVP’s bit – Thanks ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’). For realsies…Cleveland now owns the NBA Championship belt (Kevin Love literally holds the belt), and the way the Indians are steamrolling the majors they’re a favorite to compete for the World Series crown, as well. And as an Atlanta fan I have nothing but envy, jealousy and anger. If only my Hawks could do what the Cavs did (where’s our Atlanta-born hoops messiah?!? And if you say Dwight because he’s coming home I’ll come through your screen and sprain your ankle). If only my Braves could become what the Indians are currently (they’re actually on the perfect track for either them or the Cubs). If only my Falcons could become like the Bro….NOPE! Stay the Falcons. Please. Good heavens. Don’t become the ~~Johnny Manziels~~ Robert Griffins.

And after getting obliterated by my Aaron Nola hype two weeks ago (another thing I’m sorry about), I’m going with the studs; and Cleveland has two of them this week. Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar have been Aces Up the whole year, so I’m going to double down on ‘Titletown’ due to these guys. They’re as strong a shot at a W as anyone with the Indians winning over a dozen straight. While the Tigers have hit better recently, the Yankees at home is a glorious opportunity to see double digit Ks. Wish I had Salazar on even a single team this year; thankful I have two with Carrasco. They’re gonna be dope this week, and here’s how the rest of the Two-Weeks Pitchers rank for Week 14.

Please, blog, may I have some more?