So the title is a bit of a superlative. What was I gonna say, “The Mostly Kinda Good Fantasy Baseball Team?” You’ll get over your scoffing, I have faith in you. This is the best 2016 fantasy baseball team that I can put together when drafting from my top 100 for 2016 fantasy baseball and top 500 for 2016 fantasy baseball. Honestly, I could draft another 25 teams from those lists, and they’d all be different, but equally terrific… Well, one of the twenty-five would only be sorta terrific, but it would be really hard to tell which one that is. If I took Carlos Correa in the 1st round, everything after would change. If I took Arenado in the 1st round, everything after would change. I’ve previously gone over my 2016 fantasy baseball draft prep for the first few rounds and pitchers pairings. For this exercise, I’m taking Mike Trout first, because, well, I have him first overall. Until pick 100, I’m taking one guy somewhere in every fifteen picks. It would be nice if I was in a league where someone drafted Arrieta and Kershaw in the first two rounds and I was able to take Anthony Rizzo in the 2nd round (which is possible), but since Trout and him are in my first 10 picks, according to the rules I’ve set up for myself, I can’t take them both. Then, as we all know, once you get into the 100s, there’s wide gaps between ADP and where players are actually taken. People tend to look at team need over value. So for this exercise, once I get to pick #101, I’m going to pick two players every twenty picks. Finally, because there is so much latitude in the last 300, I gave myself free reign to fill up my team. Throughout the draft, I also gave myself the ability to reach to a lower draft pick, but not reach forward. Or reach around, if you’re feeling frisky. It should still be my ideal team… Or not. Let’s see, shall we? Bee tee dubya, this team is 5×5, one catcher, 5 OFs, MI, CI, 1 UT, 9 P, 3 bench, just like the Razzball Commenter Leagues (Go sign up or start a league). Anyway, here’s the best 2016 fantasy baseball team:
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If I told you there was a cartoon about a Spanish guy that works as a repairman, you’d probably think it was part of the Adult Swim lineup. Maybe even HBO. If you’ve ever seen The Life and Times of Tim, you’d likely agree. Tim is perhaps my all time favorite adult themed cartoon, after Beavis and Butthead of course. I’m sure that speaks volumes for my childish sense of humor. Between immature television shows and The Howard Stern Show it should come as no surprise that I am as well informed as I am. If you wanted to watch Handy Manny, however, you’d have to tune into the Disney Channel. Believe it or not Handy Manny is a cartoon for little kids. Way to reinforce that stereotype at an early age Disney. I just saw a commercial on the Disney Channel promoting some new shows they will be airing. Saul the Banker, Tyrone the Thief and The Blonde Girl Who Isn’t Smart. Get your DVR’s ready parents!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome to the 2016 Razzball Team Previews! You’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. And I mean everything, folks. We’ve got line-ups, charts, Slurpees, lube, a guide for beginner electricians, and even a cactus! Well, that’s a lie. That’s what Jay had last year sitting in front of him. This year? Um…a little less lube? Take that as you will. But hey, we’ve got teams to preview and questions to ask, so let’s hop to it. We a very special guest for this post…James Fegan, to provide his take on what the team has in store this season. Now enough rambling, let’s see what 2016 holds for the Chicago White Sox!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Here’s a post that’s gonna make you wanna slap ya mama and tell her Don Magic Juan sends his best. The other day I told you how to draft your pitchers for 2016 fantasy baseball. I laid it out to you nice and simple (if you have a degree in “What The Hell Is Grey Talking About?” Not a PhD, mind you. Just a BS.) Today, we forget all that jabberwocky on the who-ha and get down to business old school-style (which means if you don’t comprehend, I will hit you over the head with a baseball bat signed by Joe Clark.) What I’m hoping to lay out to you is who do you draft 2nd if you’ve drafted so and so first. I think it might be helpful to go through pairings for your 5 outfielders, all your middle and corner infielders too. I’m not sure I’ll have the time or patience to do them. We’ll see! Or not. Your choice. (Actually, my choice.) For easy reference, the royal we will be using the top 10 for 2016 fantasy baseball and the top 20 for 2016 fantasy baseball and the beginning of the top 100 for 2016 fantasy baseball. I’m going to assume you’re in a 12 team, 5×5, MI, CI, 5 OF, 1 Utility, 1 Catcher league, similar to our Razzball Commenter Leagues. (Go join one now. Or join two. Or three.) Anyway, here’s some pairings for the first two rounds of 2016 fantasy baseball drafts:
Please, blog, may I have some more?I was trying to come up with some catchy way to introduce the definition of a “deep league thought”, but they all ended up in potty humor. Then I reached out to my BFF at Razzball, the Big Magoo, and that ended with him hanging up on me. So I decided to tell you what it’s not, so there is no confusion. It’s not for leagues of 12 teams or less. Of course, this doesn’t include those 12-teamers with 20 bench spots or whatever ridiculous “custom” roster settings the commish decides to use. Seriously though, the 12-team NFBC leagues with 7 bench slots would qualify as borderline deep leagues. The players I will be profiling can be had after pick 250, but most likely 300 and will be either risky young upside plays or boring veterans that may be overlooked on draft day. In years past my good buddy Sky, the DFS guy, would write these up, but since he is on a Brewbatical (yes, he’s taking time away from life to get in touch with his inner hops and barley child), I will be your host. He actually sent me his plaid “host” blazer, but it turned into fat guy in a little coat and now that vintage gem is getting donated to a Chuck Woolery Newlywed Game quilt…
Please, blog, may I have some more?When your farm system graduates four top 100 prospects in one season, like the Cubs did, it’s only natural that your overall minors grade takes a hit the following year. After coming into 2015 with one of the most talented groups in recent memory the 2016 version is a bit of a letdown. Don’t misunderstand me, the Cubs system is still head and shoulders above the last two systems we previewed, but it’s a far cry from the level it’s been the previous two springs. There’s still a solid group of hitters left and some upside arms with ETA’s a year or two out. So there’s still a lot to discuss, but none of the current crop has the through the roof tools of Bryant, Russell, Soler, or Baez. In closing its not the prospect pants tent of yesteryear, but it hasn’t dipped to Angelic levels either.
Please, blog, may I have some more?For these pitcher pairings, I’m going to be using our (my) 2016 fantasy baseball rankings. Notably, the top 20 starters for 2016 fantasy baseball, top 40 starters for 2016, top 60 starters for 2016 and the top 80 starters for 2016. You can also just go to our Fantasy Baseball War Room. Okay, formalities out of the way. *rolls up sleeves, makes farting noise with hand under armpit, rolls down sleeve* Let’s get busy! Now, what is a pitcher pairing? It’s your plan for putting together a fantasy staff. A course of action. If you have A pitcher, which B, C, D, E and F pitcher goes with him? Which is different than ‘F this pitcher,’ that’s what you say in May. You should have six starters. The sixth starter is Aaron Sanchez or take whoever you want. I suggest an upside pick. Sanchez comes to mind. Or Vincent Velasquez. Daniel Norris also comes to mind. I’m going to assume you’re in a 12 team, 5×5 and some variation of 9 pitcher leagues like the Razzball Commenter Leagues. Speaking of which, the RCL league signups began on Monday, go sign up for a league. (NOTE: What you are about to read is massively confusing. If it were found scribbled in a notebook, the FBI would be watching me. If Charles Manson stood up and read this at the next prison Meet N’ Greet, no one would blink an eye.) Anyway, here’s pitcher pairings for pitching staffs for 2016 fantasy baseball drafts:
Please, blog, may I have some more?The late rounds of most fantasy baseball drafts are typically filled with mediocre veterans and low percentage lottery tickets. “Maybe Jered Weaver has another sub-4.5 ERA season left in his arm. Is Max Kepler likely to be called up before the all-star break?” That’s you weighing your options in the last round of your draft. Pretty uninspiring, aren’t they? There is another group of players that is more likely to have an immediate impact on your fake team during the upcoming season – the post-hype players. These are the guys who showed promise at one point in their careers but lost some their shine due to underperformance or durability issues. Erasmo Ramirez is the type of player who falls into this group.
When trying to identify potentially undervalued starting pitchers, there are a few key things that I always look for. Notice that I specified undervalued players, since the hard-throwing, high strikeout artists (Syndergaard, Harvey, Sale, Strasburg, etc.) and the young “sleeper” types who are generally perceived to have high ceilings (Walker, McCullers, Rodon, Iglesias, etc.) don’t necessarily fit that description. So if velocity and K-rate are de-prioritized, what’s left to focus on?
There are a few other traits/skills that are worth emphasizing as far as starting pitchers are concerned. These include the abilities to:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Special Note: Thanks to everyone who showed interest and joined! Unfortunately, this league is now full. But we are taking a list of replacement owners for any unforeseen events that cause a vacancy in the comment section, so be sure to leave your info there…
Razzball Nation!
The Baseball Razzball Elite League is here!
Oh man, I haven’t been this excited since the Brewers traded for CC Sabathia. Has anyone thought back on the irony of CC playing for a team named about alcohol creation? Cust kayin’!
So over on Hoops, we’ve had a ton of fun creating The Razzball Elite League, made for the deepest of deep and faintest of heart. Or not the faintest… Don’t you not want faint?! Worst open ever!
I gotta say, commenters are my heroes. Who would’ve thought someone named Joey Jo Jo Jr Shabadoo would be the inspiration for what will easily become my favorite fantasy league?! But last year, seeing their league listed in a comment here, got my balls rolling. No, not dropping, OK?! Jo Jo Jr was my flash of genius in creating the REL Baseball League, but it may be my flash of overly-obfuscating, we shall see!
I’m not going to list out the full rules, since that would REALLY be the worst post ever. So here’s the Cliff’s [Lee] Notes – The Razzball Elite League is a team-based dynasty, where you have to ALWAYS own 15 players from your parent team’s roster. There’s obviously 30 MLB teams, so it’s a 30-team league, however split into 15-team AL only and 15-team NL only leagues. The two leagues are Roto, and play through the first 148 games. Then the final two weeks, the pennant winners of the AL and NL Roto leagues play each other in a H2H World Series. On top of your 15 player quota from your parent team you manage a full 25-man roster (with a lot of DL and a few NA spots) and manage a farm system with your parent team’s prospects. It’s going to be a fun way to blend real-life MLB situations (monitoring trade markets, tanking, contacts, etc.) with the standard 5×5 roto fantasy system.
Please, blog, may I have some more?By the title, I’m referring to the return of the Fantasy Baseball War Room. I’m not saying the Fantasy Baseball War Room is back, as in, is a butt. So, if Sir Mix-A-Lot is reading, I’m truly sorry for the confusion. Our Fantasy Baseball War Room is one part draft tool, one part fantasy team evaluator, one part fantasy junkie’s s’s and g’s tool, one part holy, two parts smokes, three parts… How many parts is that so far? Cause it’s only really seven parts total. I think there’s one part kill-your-day-with-this-war-room-thing-a-maboob in there too. After you’re done signing up for a Razzball Commenter League (oh, just sign up already!), this is the next step. Practice with building a team.
Please, blog, may I have some more?The Razzball Pod is back! On today’s show we blitz through some minimal news from last week including the Mat Latos signing, but we spend the majority of our show wrapping up Grey’s infield ranks. We start with 2B and both really like Rougned Odor, Grey buries some vets, and then there’s nothing like digging deep into the SS pool! Maybe we should re-title the SS pool the Deadpool. We then wrap up with some 3B discussion and a new dynasty league announcement. If that’s not a reason to listen the whole way, then I dunno what is! Here’s our latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Readers of Razzball, it is very likely, no it is certain, that all of you see sir Grey’s rankings as law. I know when I was a young Razzballer I looked at Grey the same way he looks at Giancarlo. Are his rankings undeniably the best out there? YES! I’m personally growing a mustache because of him and his writing is absolute. Now I’m sure you’re thinking, “Where is this random dude we’ve never seen on Razzball Baseball going with this?”. Let me introduce myself. A few of you may know me as I wrote weekly articles for Razzball Football this past season under the tutelage of Mr. Tehol Beddict himself. I am the Razzball squire and demand respect! I hail from Montreal, Canada and I love me some maple syrup covered bacon for breakfast while listening to Celine Dion and touching up my igloo. Now, back to where this post started. Why did I bring Grey and his rankings up? Well, I will be performing the unenviable task of nit picking at Grey’s preseason rankings, from top to bottom. I will highlight players I believe are overvalued, overrated, etc., (the opposite goal of our Under the Greydar series.) Bonkers, I know! As Grey’s word is law, many Razzballer’s will be cussing me out and I CANNOT WAIT FOR IT. You are welcome to berate me in the comments below; I accept all challengers. Grey is about to wrap up his rankings, so we’ll start from the top and make our way down. We have just under two months before the season begins and encourage you to give the Anti-Grey a chance. I will make sure to provide relevant data and research, not just gut feel, for all you concerned. Usually I will open up with a fun story that caught my attention that week, but today you were blessed to learn about the Razzball squire and all of his preseasonal offerings. When the season begins, I will shift the focus of my posts, as I will have spent more than enough time blasting and fawning over Mr. Albright. Note: Grey doesn’t know who I am yet but he knows that some new mystery writer is foaming at the mouth to get in on the action. Today I will dissect a couple of his top-20 players…
Please, blog, may I have some more?