Guess Who, The Fantasy Baseball Guessing Game: Round 3

April 3, 2016 | Y to Z | 18 Comments

Guess who’s back. Back again. The guessing game’s back. Tell a friend. That’s right, it’s time for round three of everyone’s favorite fantasy baseball guessing game. For those of you that missed out on the first two rounds you can find out how this game works by clicking here. For those that need a refresher you should click the link too. Let me start by saying that I have proof read today’s edition tree times. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any mistakes, but at least I made an effort. In all seriousness, this should be spot on. So let’s get guessing.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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#	MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 8/5
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CIN \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| MIA \| OAK

DraftKings: I Left My Heart (And My Money) In Francisco

April 3, 2016 | DraftKings | 26 Comments

by: Sky

Opening day is here! But it’s really tomorrow! But baseball happens today! Where are my pants! I’m so confused and happy all at the same time! Yes, it’s me. You might remember me from such posts as that one about that guy or that other one about that other guy. I am kinda well known in that respect. Now before you get all teary-eyed over this reunion, realize this won’t be my regularly spotted day. Think of me as the manager of a Grand Opening and I’m here making sure all the merchandise is where it needs to be. Also think of me as overweight with a heart condition and nearly suffering from a massive coronary, all while sweating profusely. No clue why on that, I just wanted you to have a fun start to the year. But speaking of start to the year, start Francisco Liriano. I know, that call took me at least 15 seconds to make. He’s the second most costly pitcher but he’s at home and the weather is chilly enough to help keep the ball in the park just in case Tommy Pham gets into one. HA, see I crack myself up, too! Look, it’s a three game slate, what were you expecting? I won’t have a huge amount of knowledge to dump on you in this post other than you should sign up for the DFSBot and make your life easier for the rest of the DFS season if you’re gonna play along with us. But with that, let’s make some bold calls. Here’s my opening day that’s not really opening day takes for this beautiful but brief Sunday slate…

New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well keep tuned, we’ll offer contests to you every day of the week excluding today to whet 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?

Dynasty League Targets for 2016 Fantasy Baseball

April 3, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 102 Comments

by: Geoff

And so it begins, the 2016 season. With three games on the slate today and another 12 on Monday, baseball is upon us. With the beginning of the season also comes clarity as to who’s making the cut for the 25 man roster. Coming out of every spring it’s important to take a moment and assess what players have seen an uptick in value heading into your dynasty league season. These are all players that are on my short list of targets in trades, those that could bring immediate returns in leagues this year. For the most part we’re discussing players that won’t cost you premium dollars to acquire. Some I’ve beaten to death over the last few weeks and others are popping up here for the first time. All in all the goal is to get you thinking about some potential breakout candidates to swoop on. Feel free to share some of your own.

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Points Leagues: Malamoneyball, The Auction

April 2, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 60 Comments

by: malamoney

Baseball is coming. So is winter. By the time you actually read this the start of the Major League season will be less than a day away. And for those of you lazy readers that catch up on Razzball on Monday mornings when you get to your desk, the season will already be three games deep. By the way, if you are one of those Monday morning people, I’d like to point out your first mistake. Fantasy baseball slows down for no one. If you’re not keeping up with baseball’s current events, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage because I can assure you that at least one person (likely most) in your league is (are). And if you just prefer to get your information from another site, I guess it’s better than nothing, but all biases aside, where else are you going to read a post that was written while sitting on the toilet. Just me, my laptop and my squatty potty. Wait a minute, let me rephrase that a bit. Where else are you going to be able to read a post where the author actually admits to penning it from the throne?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Late Round Deep Thoughts: Outfielders

April 2, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Sleepers | 137 Comments

by: J-FOH

I’ve already gone over corners and middle infidels [Jay’s Note: I was going to correct this, but it was too funny. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.], and now it’s time to get to my last position player post of the preseason, especially for all you late drafters out there. Trying saying that five times fast:”last position player post of the pre-season, last position player post of the pre-season, last position player post of the pre-season!” Okay, three is enough, no wait, eight is enough… Dick Van Patten… three is company. Why hello there Suzanne Summers circa 1979. That got sideways fast. Speaking of fast, did you catch my late late round loving of Cesar Hernandez? Mark my words, low risk flyer for cheap bags. I wish he was outfield eligible so I can write about him again. Hey wait, I just wrote about him again. Okay, moving on… to my last plug for the RCL commenter leagues. C’mon guys and girls, sign up for one or start a new one, there’s still a little time left. They’re free!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

OBP Leagues: Risers, Fallers, Targets, And Sleepers In The Outfield

April 2, 2016 | Uncategorized | 9 Comments

by: Hodysseus

Since the season starts in just a couple days (!!!), I suppose it is time to wrap this OBP series up. I hope you all have enjoyed and I appreciate all the comments that I have received. Forgive me, but I am going to refrain from writing about the catcher position and instead focus on outfielders. (If you are mad about this, I hate you.) In 2015, qualified outfielders had a spread of .064 which puts them just below first basemen for the second best average in baseball. So let’s take a look at which of these outfielders rises and falls in an OBP league and also I will give you players to target in your draft.

Alas, the outfield position!

(Keep in mind, the format is 12-team 5×5 OBP)

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Two-Start Pitcher Strategy: First You Need The Primer…

April 2, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers | 48 Comments

by: M@

This past fall my wife wanted the cabinets painted. Ugh. This left me with one of two choices: pay some stupid amount of money for someone to trash my kitchen, cover everything in little drops of paint splatter and brighten up the house by turning my brown cabinets white, or do it myself. Tim ‘The Toolman’ Taylor I am not. In fact, I may have married more of a Tim ‘The Toolman’ than I am myself. Wait, haha, don’t take that wrong. My wife’s gorgeous. Maybe I should change the analogy. Ok, what’s the girl’s name who wears the short shorts and works on the show with Tim and Al Borland on ‘Home Improvement’? Heidi? Yeah, that’s what I hitched myself to. I win! And now that I’ve spent 100 words talking about my wife in a fantasy baseball post, let’s get back to the story. Which option did I choose?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

12 Team, Mixed League, Slow Draft Recap — This Thing Has More Rounds Than The Unsanctioned Midget UFC Fight That I Keep Daydreaming About

April 1, 2016 | Our Leagues | 485 Comments

by: Grey

Scout and Razzball teamed up to bring you 12-team mixed league slow drafts, and, when I say slow, I mean that I’ve seen paint dry faster and with more upside. It’s exactly like our 12-team, mixed Razzball Commenter League drafts (there still might be a few spots), but in this league there’s two catchers, no waivers and 44 rounds. So, I guess, it’s really not that similar to the RCLs. No waivers changes everything. I would never draft two top starters in a regular mixed league, let alone one in a 12 team league, but when you can’t pick up a starter off waivers or stream, it changes the dynamic. You can’t worry about upside as much as you need to make sure you have innings when a rash of injuries hits. Same with hitters. Upside is nice, but at-bats are even nicer when you lose five outfielders to injuries in July. This kind of leagues makes John Jaso Jingleheimer Schmidt and Tyler Flowers appealing. Dot dot dot. Okay, nothing makes Tyler Flowers appealing. Anyway, here’s my 12-team, mixed league draft recap:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Rudy’s 2016 Yahoo Friends & Family Draft (12 Team Snake)

April 1, 2016 | Our Leagues | 36 Comments

by: Rudy Gamble

This is the third year I’ve drafted solo in the Yahoo Friends & Family MLB league. Here are links to the draft results and a Q&A with all the owners.

This league allows daily pickups where all adds/drops take effect the next day. The biggest challenge is that this is the news sharkiest expert league ever created so there is NO WAY I’m ever landing a player based on breaking news (there are three from Rotoworld, two from Rotowire, and Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski. If they get by those 6, then there’s Grey. I had some success in 2014 grinding to a 6th place finish with a mediocre draft leveraging the Streamonator and Hittertron (and even out-sharking people on two closers) but that advantage was nixed when a move cap of 125 was added in 2015.

In addition, several members have no problem drafting in an unorthodox way (the hit/pitch splits this year ranged from 48/52 to 80/20!). This has put me in some uncomfortable spots in past drafts.

All that said, I felt good going into the draft for three reasons:

There are only 12 teams for 2016 where historically it has been 14 teams. Grey and I are used to streaming in RCL and – while the 125 transaction + 1,400 IP cap makes it slightly different than RCL – I felt more comfortable waiting on SPs after acquiring two top pitchers.
I had a good feel how the draft would go based on my ADP research and previous drafts. Even if Jeff Erickson, Chris Liss, and Dalton Del Don followed through on their SP-heavy 2015 strategy and Scott Pianowski did some gambit, I felt comfortable enough that I wouldn’t be caught off-guard.
I got the 3rd pick.

Here is my team:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2016 Position Battles To Watch: AL West

April 1, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 9 Comments

by: Max

I cannot wait for the season to start. I am too giddy to see all my predictions come true, prove everyone my word should be law. The dream. I had my RCL draft last night and man was it fun; I was hoping for a little more banter in the draft room but only one of my league mates was in on the fun. Now I’ve got a controversial story for you this week. Doctor Bob is working in his clinic and his long time patient Patty walks in. She’s pregnant! Congrats? Well she is still shy of her 20th birthday and has already had an abortion the year before, so congratulations might not be in order. Doctor Bob continues his appointment with Patty and lo-and-behold, her younger sister is pregnant as well and due within the month. That is quite the adventure for this family at this point. Also, I may be wrong here, but it seems as if these girls do not want to be pregnant teenagers as one of them already had an abortion. This kind of thing makes me wonder how people make certain decisions in life. I’m often baffled. If I were either of these girls friends I would gift them condoms and birth control for their next five birthdays. If they wanted the babies though, congratulations!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Grey’s RCL Team — J-FoH Mind Melded Me And I Feel Dirrrrrrrty With Seven R’s

April 1, 2016 | Our Leagues | 339 Comments

by: Grey

I’ve drafted my Razzball Commenter League team (last call for fantasy baseball — I’m saying that so it rhymes with alcohol), and now I’m ready for the season. All those other drafts — like Tout, Friends & Family, Scout, yadda-whodoodie — are in the past. They were prep for this draft. This draft is the one that matters, because I’m going against, like, a thousand of youse. And youse are the ones that matter. Well, a few of youse matter more than a few of the other youse. Just assume you are part of the favorable youse. In this league was Tim McLeod from RotoRob, Mike Gianella from Baseball Prospectus, Dalton Del Don from Yahoo, and from Razzball: Rudy, JayWrong, Big Magoo, Smokey, J-FoH, Tehol, Prospector Ralph, JB and yours truly. All of these people make me very thankful (that it wasn’t an in-person draft). I was drafting out of the twelve-hole (which is porn-speak for the right nostril), and I knew after all those preliminary drafts that I was finally going to take guys that I really, really wanted from my 2016 fantasy baseball rankings (clickbait, snitches!). Well, until around the 5th round, then shizz went to hell. Okay, enough hubbub on the tomfoolery, let’s get to it! Anyway, here’s my RCL draft (5×5, roto, mixed league, 12 team, 5 OFs, etc.):

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Official 2016 Razzball Picks

March 31, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 125 Comments

by: Jay

Ah yes, so we meet again… wait, did we actually formally meet? I mean, technically, we’re meeting again, this is the third year we’ve done this… but did we really meet? Of course I’m an existential crisis waiting to happen, but that’s only because clinical depression requires so much work. I mean, I’d rather jog than emo, ya know? But back to where we started, this is your (and our I suppose) official 2016 Razzball picks. Or selections. Or whatever nomenclature you prefer. I guess whatever it takes for me not to force you to read word “nomenclature” over and over again. We do this because, frankly, we just can’t write about everyone and everything that we love or hate. I mean, we’re talking about 853 players here (source). And so this is the quick and easy “viewer-friendly” version that allows you to quickly see our likes/dislikes/predictions for all of you to promptly point and giggle at. And for added humor, here are last season’s picks, with the bonus value of us again being able to pick on Rudy for choosing Kris Bryant as his sleeper. I’m assuming he thought Bryant was just sleepy and needed a nap, but you might want to ask him about it. Regardless, here are your (and our!) Official 2016 Razzball Picks!

Ever wanted to have a Razzball Podcast devoted to Game of Thrones? No? Oh. Never mind then. But for those of you with an open mind, we have just that for you. Check out our very first episode here!

Please, blog, may I have some more?