Points Leagues: No He Won’t “Back” Down

July 1, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 8 Comments

Not even a back injury can keep Clayton Kershaw from the top spot in my points leagues rankings. I thought about going with “He’ll Be Back” as my title considering his current DL designation, but I’m not really sure of the extent of his injury. However, Clayton Kershaw can probably get you more points while on the disabled list than several other pitchers whom are not. That’s actually a true statement considering multiple pitchers have turned in negative performances. Edinson Volquez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Dan Straily and James Shields are among those that have recently subtracted points from their teams’ totals. Plus, then I would have had to fill this post with both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Terminator references.

Last week I promised I’d focus on pitchers in the following week. Today is next week. It almost feels like time travel. Weird. Since I am a man of my word, here you go. Like last week, today’s pitcher rankings are based 70 percent on year-to-date performance, 30 percent on rest of season projections and 10 percent on experimental formulas.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

#	MLB Starting Lineups For Thu 9/25
	ARI \| ATH \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SEA \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| ATL \| COL \| MIL \| OAK \| SD \| SF \| STL \| WSH

DraftKings: Jaime A River

July 1, 2016 | DraftKings, Fantasy Baseball DFS | 5 Comments

by: MattTruss

span style=”font-weight: 400;”>This was supposed to be a day filled with Clayton Kershaw against the Rockies. That was the de facto cash game play, who you paired with him was a game of “Don’t Break The Ice”. Now, with Kershaw down and out with an apparent childbirth (epidural), it’s more like a game of russian roulette picking your starters. So, let’s close up, give it a spin and in chamber one, we’ve got Jaime Garcia vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. I always like to lean towards a pitcher who’s at home, check one in the positive column for Garcia. Another positive is the Brew Crew’s strikeout rate. They currently have the second most strikeouts in all of baseball. Generally, the Brewer’s offense is a bit scary (top 10 home OPS), but get them away from Miller Park and the bats go quiet (5th worst away OPS). Jaime has been a bit all over the map this year, but his 3.54 FIP and 3.74 xFIP (compared to 4.09 ERA) suggest he’s been getting a tad unlucky. For the low price of $7,900, Jaime will be my staff anchor on a night where the options are far from safe. Here’s what else is loaded in our DraftKings six shooter tonight:

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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Kershaw To DL As Pain From Playoff Berth Push Requires Epidural

July 1, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 348 Comments

by: Grey

The sixth inning of every home Clayton Kershaw start isn’t going to be the same. No longer will Angelenos be filing in as if it’s the first, suddenly realizing that Kershaw is pitching, but now they will be stuck talking about everything but baseball for the entirety of the game and not simply 95% of it. “Ma, can I keep score on the back of my headshot?” “We’re not here to see the game, Timmy, we’re here to run into commercial directors. This is where Stew’s mom got him that Tropicana commercial. You want to pay my bills, don’t you?” “Sorry, ma.” Like the oral sex scene in The World According to Garp, it’s a devastating blow losing Kershaw for any amount of time. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc, but won’t require surgery. The Dodgers are hoping he’s back (poor choice of words) from the DL right after the All-Star Game. I’d pray with you, but I’m using my hands to clap for not drafting a pitcher in the 1st round. The Dodgers did pick up Bud Norris in a trade to fill in. Won’t see any fall off there! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bear or Bull: Johnny Cueto Is An Ace, No?

June 30, 2016 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 37 Comments

by: Big Magoo

Johnny Cueto has been a controversial player in Major League Baseball for quite some time. There was that ugly Jason LaRue incident during a Cardinals/Reds on-field brawl in 2010 in which Cueto repeatedly kicked LaRue in the head and ultimately forced the former catcher to retire prematurely. Of course, there’s also the issue of his extremely unorthodox windup that has been compared by some to that of former Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant, the legality of which has been questioned in recent years. However, one thing that hasn’t been questionable is Cueto’s results this year. In his first season with the Giants after signing a six-year, $130 million deal last offseason, Cueto has been one of the best pitchers in baseball during the first few months of 2016. His 11 wins are more than any pitcher in MLB outside of Chris Sale and Jake Arrieta. His 2.42 ERA is the 8th lowest among qualified starting pitchers. His 1.79 BB/9 rate is the 11th lowest in baseball. He’s giving up fewer home runs (0.31 HR/9) than any other starter. The question is: can Cueto maintain this impressive production?

Let’s take a look at Cueto’s profile to determine what can be expected from him during the remainder of the 2016 season. Here are a few observations:

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2016 REL Dynasty League Update: Week 13

June 30, 2016 | Razzball Elite League | 9 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Another week is in the books in the Razzball Elite League, as we’re right at the halfway point through the first REL season. Hard to believe! Two teams are fighting for World Series appearances to become the fabled inaugural REL champ, and after ceding the top spot last week, The Orange Birds reclaimed their throne over the Blue Jays in an epic battle of the birds in the AL. The Aviary League! Bada bing. I have dad jokes! In the NL, the Nationals continue to dominate, with the San Fran Giants still clipping at the Cubs heels [paws] jostling for second place. Here’s how week 13 went down in the 2016 REL League, plus a look-in at the REL 2 League with how it’s shaping up:

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DraftKings: Bum’s Aces

June 30, 2016 | DraftKings |

by: wheyen3

Sometimes it is hard to go for the highest price pitcher of the day. Today, the highest price is $13K for Madison Bumgarner, and we don’t even get to use his hitting stats. However, on a day against the weak offense of the rivals across the bay, there is no reason to avoid the big horse tonight. He is as safe as they come, with no doubts in my mind about his ability to give you at least seven strong innings with a win. Oftentimes, picking a pitcher like this leads to “weaker” hitters; on any given day, those weaker hitters can outperform the best of them. Given that MadBum is the safest, lowest risk guy on the board, having to take a few chances on hitters is totally worth the price.

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.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Thor Should’ve Known Better To Cheat Fans About Careless Bone Spur

June 30, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 574 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Noah Syndergaard admitted to having an elbow bone spur after denying it multiple times. Terry Collins said, “No one would know our business if it wasn’t for giving the PR job to a puppy dog! Ruff ruff! Come here, Fido, I wanna spank you with a rolled up newspaper!” This is the 2nd Mets’ starter in two days with elbow spurs. I look forward to the opening round of the playoffs when all of the Mets’ starters are wearing Iron Mike Sharpe elbow pads to hold their arms together. Or they hire John Cusack to marionette their starters. So, this is obviously not good news from Syndergaard, but it’s also not the end of his season. He could opt for surgery if he’s in pain, but he says he’s not in pain (though, he also said he didn’t have elbow spurs up until yesterday). Jon Lester has pitched through elbow spurs for the last five years. It’s not uncommon for starters to power through. Would I look to sell Syndergaard low? No. If you can get a healthy, similar starter, then sure, why not? No reason to panic. Unless Syndergaard starts wearing cowboy boots on his elbow. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Don’t Brock Stewart Till You Try It, Fantasy Baseball Prospect

June 29, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 73 Comments

by: Geoff

Sometimes things in life don’t work out. Despite your best efforts, some things just aren’t meant to be. Today, my friends isn’t one of those times. No, quite the opposite in fact. Today is one of those days when everything goes right. All the lights you hit are green, everyone greets you with a smile, and you start writing a post about Dodgers farmhand Brock Stewart, and he’s called up. Things rarely turn out this way in life, at least mine, maybe yours is different. I’m going to stop there before this turns into a more self indulgent undertaking than any mid-aughts emo band. My apologies to anyone listening to a Dashboard Confessional song while reading along (P.S. Kick your own ass). Today we’ll take a deeper look at the Dodgers latest rotation member, and see what we can expect from Stewart in the near future. We’ll then close things out with a truncated minor league update, just so I can get some nuggets of info into your heads. We’ll be skipping our usual bi-weekly Minor League Update post this Sunday, for the midseason top 100 fantasy baseball prospects. That’s right! Get excited, we can all argue about my over-ranking, under-ranking, and just general ignorance on your favorite prospects.

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The Bruce Is Loose

June 29, 2016 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 14 Comments

by: malamoney

Lately it seems like every television network is airing a new O.J. Simpson show. I really couldn’t get into the People vs. O.J. Simpson. I just couldn’t get passed the fact that Ross Gellar was playing his best friend. Actually, I didn’t like Cuba Gooding or John Travolta either. The whole show felt about as fake as Bruce Jenner’s right to take a dump in the women’s bathroom. I haven’t had a chance to watch ESPN’s offering, so I can’t really comment. Here’s the deal. I think O.J. did it. Good old T.D. Parker is guilty. How ironic is it that a guy that hurts people used to be the face of Hertz. When he was acquitted, I remember hearing the phrase “The Juice is loose”. I don’t know if they had the death penalty in California, but I was pushing for “Juice the Juice!” Speaking of “the juice is loose“, anyone else have a craving for Starbursts? Screw O.J. Simpson. I’d much rather talk about a guy that’s hitting the cover off the ball.

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No Whammies! Week 13: Marky Mark

June 29, 2016 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball |

by: Son

We have a special guest host this week. Marky Mark ladies and gentlemen! I enjoyed watching Entourage and The Italian Job. I forgot about the Marky Mark days. Now, I won’t be able to watch anything Wahlberg-related anymore. To honor the douchey-ness of the above picture, all whammies this week will be Marky Mark pictures.

Why bestow Marky Mark the honor of hosting this week’s No Whammies!? Because there are so many similarities between Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark) and Mark Reynolds of the Colorado Rockies. Terrible segue, I know. Just like that POS vehicle that mall cops ride around in. I digress.

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DraftKings: You And What Arm(y)?

June 29, 2016 | DraftKings | 2 Comments

by: Sky

Sup, readers of the Razz. Normally I lead with a pitcher call that I think is undervalued and sometimes I lead with a bat if said bat has enough to talk about with them. Don’t worry, I get paid by the word so you’ll never have to worry about me not having too much to say about anything. And yet, here we are. I’m speechless. This late slate of pitching has two beautiful scenarios at a high price and a whole lot of dreck. Ricky Nolasco is $7,100. He’s the seventh best pitcher, according to DK pricing. The world hates us, fam. I’ll have some points per dollar calls in the pitching today but in reality, pay up for the big two in cash and play in lots of tourneys with some bad arms elsewhere. Did I get you excited?!? Boy howdy! Ok, ok, let’s do this. Here’s my cover your hair and eyes hot taeks for this Wednesday DK slate…

New to DraftKings? 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. It’s how we know you care! 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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Brian DosHR

June 29, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 613 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Brian Dozier went 3-for-4, 4 RBIs with two homers (11, 12). Dozier’s quietly had a great June (7 HRs, near-.350), after having a miserable May (2 HRs, .215) and an atrocious April (3 HRs, .191). Who knows what July holds? Which sounds like the title for a piece of art done by Daniel Johnston. Let’s see, Daniel Johnston describing Dozier. “June is Fun! Fun! Fun! If I ever thought I could be happy, it was from Dozier. Fun! Fun! Fun! Oh! That rock and roll! It saves my soul! Owning Dozier in June, it must’ve been a happy time, Kool Aid flowing like wine, the bubble gum, forever-ever-ever-ever-ever-ever after! Now I will get on a random bus in Austin and ride to New Mexico.” Oh, Daniel Johnston, you were taken from us way too soon. *sees he’s still alive* Okay, moving on. So, Dozier has turned his season around and is close to the same pace as his previous season stats (28 HRs, 12 SBs). Moreover, Dozier has cut his Ks by a lot, so he could hit for a better average this year (.250 vs. .235). Daniel Johnston might be onto something. About fun, fun fun not about getting on random buses. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?