Last Week in Razz: Week 8

May 30, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, This Week in Razzball | 4 Comments

We’re about 50 games into the season now meaning things are starting to take shape. I’m a firm believer that we should #killthewin but I can’t help but be impressed that Chris Sale, Jake Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg all have 9 wins already. Arguably more impressive, Arrieta, Strasburg and Josh Tomlin all haven’t lost yet. Tomlin is 7-0 with a WHIP under 1. The K’s aren’t great but there’s a ton of value with how he’s pitching right now. His ERA is sitting at 3.35 but it’s not a fluke. Here’s what was posted throughout Week 8:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Learn more about our 2025 Fantasy Baseball Subscriptions!

The best daily/weekly player rankings/projections (hitters, starters, and relievers) for each of the next 7-10 days + next calendar week starting Friday. Kick-ass DFS lineup optimizer and projections for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo!.

I don’t have enough spam, give me the Razzball email newsletter!

Weekly Razzball news delivered straight to your inbox.

See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Wed 8/6
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| OAK

DraftKings: Nate Dogg and Tanner Roark Bout’ To Regulate

May 30, 2016 | DraftKings |

by: Teddy Heater

Regulators Mount Up! Or if you’re recovering from last two nights like I am, grab a Gatorade, a couple Tylenol, finish watching the second season of Bloodline and post all the spoilers so Grey flips out. If you’re not hurting like me, then hopefully most of you are enjoying a day off and if you’re not, I’ll be sure to poor a little out for my DK homies that are out there grinding. First and foremost, I’d like to thank all of our current and former Military for their service. Without your selfless sacrifices we wouldn’t be able to enjoy trivial things like copious amounts of alcohol, BBQ’s and fantasy baseball, so again a HUGE THANK YOU! Now onto the trivial stuff. There’s some nice early action this morning with Jeff Samardzija, aka Puke Soup and Jose Quintana, but since you partied like a rock star and woke up late, let’s concentrate on the games that are still open. Nate Dogg aka Nathan Karns is priced at a very reasonable $9,500 today, with a home start against San Diego. Currently Karns is averaging 17 points a start, granted he had a semi-clunker, 5 Ing, 3 K’s and 3 ER last time out against Oak, but he’s averaging a strikeout and inning. Not too shabby for an under the radar guy. Hopefully he gets a call from Velasquez and Cueto after the game so they can compare notes and laugh about the double digit K’s they all racked up against an underwhelming Padres lineup. Tanner Roark, $9,600 can be rostered with Karns and still leave you with plenty of dough for offense. I don’t know what Dusty’s been feeding Roark, but whatever he’s doing the shizz is working cause dude is is striking people out. His K rates were mediocre/not too good previous to this year, but in 2016 he’s averaging over 8 K’s a game and he’s lowered his K/BB over a full point from 2014. I thought his 15 K’s vs Min was a fluke, but surprisingly he’s still knocking them down.

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 today to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

About Time Yu Came Back

May 30, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 525 Comments

by: Grey

On Saturday, our prayers were answered. No, not the prayer about winning Powerball. Or the prayer about sweatpants becoming the new formalwear. Or the prayer about muttonchops being some magical aphrodisiac. Or the prayer about your mom forgetting that time you accidentally sexted her. Or that prayer about being as successful in real life as you are in fantasy. No, not those. The prayer about Yu Darvish returning and looking as dominant as ever. On Saturday, he threw the fastest pitch of his major league career, throwing three pitches for more than 98 MPH. The line of 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks was solid, but I imagine this will be the start of him reaffirming his place in the top 10 starter conversation. Kevin from ESPN’s “Get Him In Your Lineup” Department sang, “Yu, Yu got what I need…Yu say he just spends Yen…Yu say he just spends Yen…But baby Yuuuuuu,Yu got what I need!” Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Points Leagues: Great Britton

May 29, 2016 | Closers, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 20 Comments

by: malamoney

Okay, if I’m being honest, what I’ve attempted to do in this post is completely experimental. While based on statistics it’s really just a wild attempt to calculate which closers are bringing home the bacon. And by bacon, I mean points. And by points, I mean points. How many points is each closer going to get me (on average) in a given week. In other words, don’t try this at home. I’m not even doing this at home.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Charged with a Serious Offense

May 29, 2016 | DraftKings | 2 Comments

by: Zach

Hello everyone, and welcome to Sunday!

Well, for the first time this year that I’ve covered Sundays, today we have a (somewhat) small 9-game Main Slate on our hands, but with the lack on 12+ games comes with so many options to select and draft our teams from. Maybe even too much offense today. There are so many bad pitchers, and so many great plays, it really sucked that I had to choose which made the cut into this article, especially because there are multiple good plays, yet they’re at similar price points, so I had to choose the better play, unless there was a difference in format to play them, like a distinct GPP play to a distinct cash-game play. Specifically, I found a lot of great offense from the Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, and Brewers, all who are in circumstances where Vegas has them in great high-scoring games, most notably coming from the Orioles-Indians game, where Vegas has them currently sitting at a 9 O/U. I’m excited to get into it today, and with some great offense coming all throughout yesterday, let’s see if he can get some of that success today. Let’s go!

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 May 30th to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Ten Prospects To Trade For, Add, and Acquire in Deep Leagues

May 29, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 124 Comments

by: Geoff

Has summer officially begun? When’s the official cut off date of spring? Did you come to Razzball this morning with the intent of discussing the seasons? What about the weather? Could I write a more boring intro? Yes, but only if I discussed common core math, and the best method for folding a t-shirt. Actually that sounds a lot like a TED talk. Is it a TED talk? Probably, anyway this is the point in the foreword where I transition to baseball. Okay, go! This Sunday instead of doing another minor league update, I’m going to try something different. Let’s take a look at ten minor leaguers that are making some noise. These are players that should be on your radar, particularly in leagues of 16 teams or above with 10+ minor spots. We’ll give you a quick introduction to who they are and why you should care. Then let you do some digging on your own, and figure out if these players are owned or not, and if they fit into your team’s long term plans. Not to worry we have the comment section if you’re feeling anxiety. None of this is exactly earth shattering shizz, but a tidy package nonetheless, like my man parts after a Brazilian.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Two-Start Pitchers, Week 9: Cole The Door!

May 28, 2016 | Two Start Fantasy Starters | 21 Comments

by: M@

First off, hopefully you understand the connotation of this article’s title from last Sunday. Potential spoilers ahead? Maybe? Second, I mean, damn it! Really, Bran? Ya had to do Hodor like that? Third, he really did hold that door. Standing O and hats off to you, gentle mini-giant. You own the episode. For the first time ever Game of Thrones fans experienced an emotional heart-wrenching of sadness more than just pure shock (see: Red Wedding). Oh, spoilers? It’s been almost a week…and I’ve been dying to talk about it!

You know what hitters, ahem, have been dying to do off Gerrit Cole since May 2? Score runs. Cole’s first five starts were sub-par, especially for a pitcher of his stature, but since that May 2 visit from the Cubs, he’s rallied off 26 IP with just 3 ER. That’s Arrieta-esque. He’s holding the door shut to opposing lineups, even the most formidable ones. After his shellacking by the Cubs to start the month, he then travelled to Wrigley two starts later and threw a 8IP/3H/0ER/0BB/7K gem. He’s heating up like Daenerys Targaryen at the end of Episode 4! Well, you know, without being naked of course. Cole’s putting April behind him and ascending back to Ace status (and we’re not worrying about that strange zero strike out start two weeks ago…). Don’t be concerned about solid lineups he’ll face; the Marlins and Angels have a .158 and .132 ISO the past 30 games. Nothing to write home about.

Home. Maybe Bran’s going there now. Or may Jon’s heading back there at the bidding of Sansa. As long as it’s not Hardhome, I doubt he cares, though. Sheesh. Oh, and yes, I just geeked out on Game of Thrones. You’re freakin’ welcome.

Pitchers are listed in order by rank. Colors represent worst 8 or best 8 opponents according to team wOBA for last 30 days. And in honor of GoT, we’ll name the tiers based on my favorite characters.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Urias’ Chinese Finger Traps Fantasy Owners

May 28, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 34 Comments

by: LT Murray IV

Greetings! Ahhh, nothing quite like receiving the honor of writing the Friday night roundup. I imagine its quite similar to receiving the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, or maybe a Nobel Peace Prize. It certainly feels a heckuva lot better than the pride of Julio Urias‘ owners on this fine Saturday. Yeah, Urias was a real spark plug for Dodger nation last night..Sorry, did I say spark plug? I meant butt plug. They were hoping for Justin Timberlake, but instead received JC Chavez. We all expected Christian Bale, but the performance was more Christian Slater. 2.3 innings pitched with three earned and four walks sounds more like Jorge De La Rosa than Jose Fernandez. With that being said, I’m not concerned with the outing whatsoever. That’s also possibly because I don’t own him anywhere, and don’t really care either way. Best of luck to you all though, my goodmen!

Anyway, here’s what else I noticed yesterday in fantasy baseball. Take heed!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Leave It to Weaver

May 28, 2016 | DraftKings | 1 Comment

by: Gern Blanston

Leave It to Beaver was on from the late 50’s to early 60’s, a time where an 83 MPH fastball may have been useful. I have never seen the show, but from what I know/Wikipedia told me is that mischief-maker “The Beaver” found several ways to get himself into trouble. Like Beaver, Weaver occasionally does good things. For example, Weaver hasn’t allowed more than 2 walks in game this season and has been finding success in his change-up, which is holding hitters to a .170 batting average and a .277 slugging. However, that seems to be his only good pitch, as the rest of his pitch repertoire is getting hit over .333 and slugged over .580. The bad news for him is that the Houston Astros have the 7th highest slugging against changeups at .435. The Astros will punish the Angels for allowing Weaver to take mound, and may we all reap the benefits. Now, lets move on to my favorite Astros and other picks for today.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bullpen Report, Week 8 – Thumb In The Diekman

May 28, 2016 | Closers | 15 Comments

by: Smokey

The change in Texas has reverbed into the Holds ranks as well. Tolley was the guy, now Frank Perdue’s arch-nemesis Sam Dyson is all comfy in the save bird seat. The best part of this whole deal is that Jake Diekman is reaping all the benefits from a fantasy hold perspective. This is a coup for the people who listened to me early and figured him to be the lefty-version of the lock-down pen arm in Arlington. All Jake has done on the year is garner 13 holds with 11 plus K/9 and a HR/9 just a smidge over one. We in the fantasy community rely on such precise words as smidge, scoonch, pinch… and I’m throwing prolly in there because some people like it and it doesn’t get more accurate than that. So the main question is, can Diekman be the man and continue to be the man? Absolutely. He is thriving in a role that he started when he was with Philly. The Rangers, also if anyone is paying attention, aren’t a half bad team and are fairly solid with or without Tolleson closing at the end. So let’s take a look at what else has happened in the fortnight of games since the last bullpen lowdown, or ho-down. Depending on how strong your hold pimp hand is.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Buy Some Jameson’s And Tai One On

May 27, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 590 Comments

by: Grey

You missed out on Julio Urias and are like, “I will never miss out on another top prospect call up, I promise you that,” then you stick your pinkie out to pinkie swear with your reflection, only the girl you’re seeing walks in on you pinkie swearing with yourself and you need to come up with an excuse, so you tell her, you’re practicing drinking tea with your pinkie out and that works because you’re dating Princess Iman bint Al-Hussein of Jordan, who your friends were more impressed with when they thought you were dating Michael Jordan’s lesbian daughter. Well, in order to keep your promise to yourself, you Promise Keeper, you need to pick up Jameson Taillon now now now. Not now, not now now, but now now now. Three nows. An extra now when now now is not fast enough. Why now now now? The Pirates skipped him this past week because they want him to throw more in the majors. Now (one now) they are simply sitting on him until they can call him up in the first week of June. I’d guess Niese or Locke get one more start in the rotation, then Jameson will be here. Is he that good? His numbers are kinda ridiculous in Triple-A — 9+ K/9, 0.9 BB/9, 1.82 ERA. I will now climb into my giant iguana skin throw rug and laugh hysterically like a madman. Jameson can be the number one call-up pitcher this year, and should be owned now now now. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Waiting For Bregman, And Some More Urias Analysis

May 27, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 99 Comments

by: Geoff

As the weeks go by, all of you will notice that these posts will be increasingly more influenced by your questions, and the players you the readers and commenters show interest in. In the same way, all that attended a New Kids On The Block concert in 1990, were dubbed honorary “Newest Kids”, you are all my Shitz Stiks, and will be such forevermore. So it is with great excitement and anticipation that I begin today’s post dedicated to the hottest swinging bat this side of Jackie Bradley Jr., Alex Bregman. I know a player is generating a ton of buzz not only when I get questions about them, but when people start asking Grey questions about cats in AA. It’s almost as if you people dropped the A.J. Reed punch for Bregman lemonade and have no plans of letting up. (After all lemonade is a popular drink, and it still is.) When you’re putting up the sort of crooked numbers that Bregman has for Corpus Christi that will happen. So let’s get into this helium tank and see where it leads us.

Please, blog, may I have some more?