2016 Minor League Preview: Cincinnati Reds

October 28, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 25 Comments

The Reds battled with the Phillies for the worst record in baseball and came away with the second overall pick in the 2016 draft. Another thing they had in common with the Phils was dealing their ace. Johnny Cueto netted the Reds three left-handed pitching prospects from the Royals, with Brandon Finnegan the centerpiece of the return. Raisel Iglesias had a solid rookie year, and the Cuban import will look to build on that in 2016. We should also see the Reds’ two best prospects (Winker/Stephenson) in Cincinnati at some point this year. Adam Duvall, the return when the Reds traded Mike Leake, will presumably get a long look and has enough power to be on fantasy radars. It probably won’t be a competitive year for the Reds, but they’ll have some interesting young pieces surfacing.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Rudy’s 2015 Tout Wars Team – End of Season Recap

October 27, 2015 | Our Leagues | 75 Comments

by: Rudy Gamble

So much of life comes down to perspective. There are super successful people that are filled with bitterness and anger while others scrape by and are happy. I constantly have to remind myself how lucky I am – great wife & kids, healthy, have money in bank, love where I live – to avoid getting sucked into the craphole of the daily grind.

It is easy for people that do not play fantasy sports to dismiss our joy or anger at our fantasy baseball teams by saying ‘it is just a game.’ You can reduce just about everything people get passionate about with ‘it is just _____’. But that isn’t productive. Reveling in your successes and dismissing your failures only means you ensure less success because you do not fully learn from your failures. And it takes a healthy perspective to isolate the ‘fault’ from the ‘bad luck’ in one’s failures.

I write all this because my first year in Tout Wars was an excrutiating test to keep perspective. Let’s see how good a job I can do….

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 Starters for 2015 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

October 26, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 245 Comments

by: Grey

All the final 2015 fantasy baseball rankings for hitters are done. For those that skipped today’s title, this starts the top 20 starters for 2015 fantasy baseball. This is NOT for 2016 (caps for those who can’t read titles; supposedly it’s easier to read caps, I have my doubts). This is a recap. Will these affect next year’s rankings? Sure. But not entirely. To recapitulate, these rankings are from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. We’re (me) using it to fairly gauge our (my) preseason rankings. Anyway, here’s the top 20 starters for 2015 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2016 Minor League Preview: Philadelphia Phillies

October 25, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 39 Comments

by: Mike

The rebuild is in full swing and the Phils are sporting a new general manager. They sold off their best trade chip in 2015, Cole Hamels, and regardless of your opinion on the return, the Phils landed three of the prospects in this year’s preview in addition to some pitching depth. 2015 also featured solid performances from rookies Maikel Franco, Aaron Nola, and Odubel Herrera, which gave fans of this team reason for optimism – something they’ll need in 2016 as it will almost certainly be a continuation of the rebuild. Philly will also have the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, which will add a premium prospect to what is now a deep and impressive collection of minor league talent.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 40 Outfielders for 2015 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

October 23, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 173 Comments

by: Grey

With the top 40 outfielders for 2015 fantasy baseball, we’ve finished all the hitter recaps. We meaning me, but I’ll include you. No, that’s not a cue to try to hold my hand. Why are you now patting my butt? Don’t muss my hair! The pitching recap will begin on Monday. You can hardly wait. No, you! To recap, the end of the season rankings are based on our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. I felt the easiest way to keep it objective would to go this route. This way when I say someone finished 30th and I ranked them 23rd in the preseason, it carries more weight like Jesse Plemons on Fargo. Anyway, here’s the top 40 outfielders for 2015 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Baseball Podcast: The 2015 Finale!

October 22, 2015 | All Podcasts | 30 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Through Grey and I’s manipulation of modern physics, the 2015 podcast season has finally ended for us and we’re here to wrap up the year! We each give each other the high-pitched chuckles looking back at the Razzball Staff Picks and where we both went horribly wrong, talk a few of Grey’s Razzballies where he awarded the best and worst of 2015, then a few stat oddities amongst the league leaders. Then the podcast goes into hibernation while Grey will be here doing what he do, and I’m over on the fantasy basketball side of things! (Grey’s note: Draft James Harden. A) He looks like a black Justin Turner. B) Without a Kardashian, he’s in store for big things or he will become a woman. C) There’s no C.) Here’s the latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2016 Minor League Preview Index

October 21, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 35 Comments

by: Mike

This index is meant to help you navigate through all of the minor league previews from both this season and last season. All of the reports from last year are already linked, including the preseason and midseason Top 50 fantasy prospect lists. Links to this year’s previews will go live as each report is published, beginning with the Phillies and ending with the Cardinals (we’re using the 2016 MLB draft order as our guide this year). By the spring, this index should make it easy for you find a specific team’s preview and compare the changes from year to year in both the organizational and overall prospect rankings.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

NFBC 2015 Recap: I’m A Driver, I’m A Winner

October 20, 2015 | Our Leagues | 37 Comments

by: Sky

Things can start simply and end up a classic. Or at the very least, well remembered…ok, just remembered. I don’t know, it’s Beck, you view him as you see him. I liked him but never thought he was going to be a superstar. How does a guy win a Grammy when the first lyrics people heard from him contain, ‘With the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables, dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose?’ Even people tripping on acid would say he’s too far gone with that kind of writing. Either way, here we are over 20 years after his break into the industry and he has some hardware on his mantle for his 12th studio album. I’m sure some would say the industry was just saying ‘We didn’t get it 20 years ago’ by giving him the prize now and by ‘some’ I mean ‘Kanye.’ Regardless, we’re not here to talk about Beck but in keeping with the Grammy theme, I just won myself Best New Artist of the NFBC $150 Draft Champions league I was in. Yup, you can put me up there with the big names now like Hootie & The Blowfish, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding…ok, maybe/hopefully this isn’t a trend as I’d love to win more than one in my currently illustrious NFBC career. It was an interesting league to be a part of and I will break down how I done won it below. Join me, will you? (BTW, you might know me as the DFS guy on the site. You might also know DFS is getting hit hard by people (legislators) trying to get FanDuel and DraftKings to cut states into their kitty. I’m all about putting hands in the kitty, but not this way. To offer support, fill out this petition.) Anyway, here’s a recap of how I came out a champion in my 15 team NFBC league for 2015 Fantasy Baseball…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 Outfielders for 2015 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

October 19, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 306 Comments

by: Grey

Went over the catchers, 1st basemen, 2nd basemen and shortstops and top 20 3rd basemen for 2015 fantasy baseball. Guess what’s next! No, not pitchers. Read the title, man. In 2010, there were only 5 outfielders that hit 30 homers, in 2011 there were 9, 14 in 2012, in 2013 there were 3, a small bounce back with 6 in 2014 and this year there were eight. Going the right way, for sure. Though, steals were basically gone. There were 14 outfielders who stole 30 bases in 2012, 10 in 2013 and there were 11 in 2014. This year there were only five outfielders who stole 30 bases (only seven players total). Five outfielders with 30 steals! Dubya tee eff, we need Ron LeFlore and his cocaine, stat! As before, these rankings are from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. Anyway, here’s the top 20 outfielders for 2015 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Get Down Low And Hit The Quinn

October 18, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 26 Comments

by: Mike

Winter leagues are starting up with notable prospects playing in most of them. One player who’s just happy to be back on the field is Roman Quinn. The Phillies’ switch-hitting outfielder was off to a great start in 2015, and was even named an Eastern League All-Star, but a hip flexor tear essentially ended his season. Quinn’s not a blue chip prospect, and he likely won’t be relevant until 2017 at this point, but he’s a prospect I’ve always personally liked and have wanted to see succeed. His best tool is his elite speed, but in the first half of 2015 he seemed to have figured something out with his bat as well – hitting .306 with four homers. He could eventually be a top-of-the-lineup runs and steals producer for fantasy teams, with a little bit of pop sprinkled in (~8 homers) but that will hinge squarely on how his hit tool progresses. He’ll play for Licey this offseason, and I’m hoping that the improvements he made in 2015 have carried over. Things went well for him in his debut – going 3-for-5 with a triple and a steal. Here are some notes on other prospects playing in the offseason leagues…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 3rd Basemen for 2015 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

October 16, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 193 Comments

by: Grey

For those looking for pictures of ballplayers taking off their ballcap and recapping themselves, you’re in the wrong place! Though, sometimes I get the sense people in the comments aren’t wearing pants, so if that does it for you, there ya go. Oh, who are we kidding, I’m not wearing pants. Pants are for conformist sissies! So, after going over the top 20 catchers, top 20 1st basemen, top 20 2nd basemen and top 20 shortstops, which brings us to…Hold on, I have to scroll up to the title. It’s the 3rd basemen? Oh, awesome! Pound for pound, the 3rd basemen were as good, if not better than any other position, and that’s not a Sandoval crack. Trust me, I wouldn’t force my worst enemy to look at a Sandoval crack, or anything stuck in his crack either. This final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked players in the preseason. I look forward to the random comment about how I’ve left off so-and-so. This is not for next year. Lisa Simpson groan. Oh, they’re not reading this intro either. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2015 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 for Shortstops, 2015 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

October 15, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 191 Comments

by: Grey

We’ve (Me’ve) have already gone over the top 20 catchers, top 20 1st basemen, top 20 2nd basemen and now it’s time for the top 20 shortstops for 2015 fantasy baseball. It’s fun to see how many people read this in a way that makes them think this is for next year. Let’s read it like them real quickly, “Top 20 shortstops…Tulo too low, Andrus too high, Lindor too low, how do I make a comment that illustrates my snideness about what an idiot I think Grey is without incurring the wrath of others so I can still ask a trade question in two months without any hard feelings? Maybe I’ll just say a name with a question mark and that’ll be enough to inform Grey that I think he’s a moron, but vague enough to not set off others.” Those people, who I’m sure aren’t reading this opening, are the true highlight of the offseason. Here’s a comment for them to post, “Yunel???” To recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked them in the preseason. Anyway, here’s the top 20 shortstops for 2015 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?