One Man’s Trash: In Carlos We Trust

June 16, 2015 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 61 Comments

When I was 20 years old, the most important decision that I had to make was whether to grab a case of Yuengling or Miller Lite to contribute to the weekend festivities. For Carlos Correa (+58.8%), the decision to commit to the 96 mph four-seamer or the 82 mph hook while in the batter’s box could mean the difference between a deep postseason run or more disappointment for his team’s long-suffering fans. Fortunately for the first place Houston Astros, Correa, the most added player in fantasy baseball over the past week, is capable of much more than the typical 20-year-old. In just 133 plate appearances in Double-A this season, he produced a .385/.459/.726 triple slash line with 7 home runs, 25 runs scored, 32 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. After his promotion to Triple-A, he put up a .276/.345/.449 line with 3 home runs, 19 runs scored, 12 RBI, and 3 stolen bases across 113 PA. Correa doesn’t turn 21 until September. I bet he’s never even had an Irish Carbomb, but he’s able to turn on an inside fastball and smack it 400 feet down the left field line and knock a low-and-away slider into the right-center field gap. I guess that would be impressive to some people. Expect some growing pains from the young shortstop who’s been compared to A-Rod and Manny Machado, but Correa’s talent is off the charts. Even elite prospects can take 2-3 years (or more) to figure things out at the big league level, but Correa’s capable of making an immediate fantasy impact. Think 8 homers, 10-12 steals, and a .265 average from here on out, or a top 6-7 SS in fantasy terms.

Here are a couple of other significant adds and drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:

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 Fri 8/15
	ARI \| ATH \| ATL \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| CIN \| LAD \| OAK

RCL Update, Week 11: It’s One Louder

June 16, 2015 | Our Leagues | 59 Comments

by: J-FOH

I’ve been waiting a month to get to week eleven. Yes, it’s sad, but there isn’t much to work with when it comes to the RCL update titles. I feel I made the most of it, but this week, I get to talk about something I love, not that I don’t love you guys… and hopefully girl readers. Sup! It would be very remiss of me to pass on an opportunity to imagine Razzball in Spinal Tap roles. Grey would have to be Derek with that sweet mustache, Sky would be David, Mike would be Nigel, Jay would be Ian and Rudy is Marty Di Bergi. Hehe, sorry guys. On the real though, I love this movie. Wait, I said that already. From the dwarves to the metal detector and the basement scene, its all brilliant. If you don’t feel like talking about your leagues and teams or anything else fantasy baseball related, then I invite you stick around and share about Spinal Tap. Really though you can always talk about whatever you want to here because Razzball is more than just a fantasy site, it’s a lifestyle!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Double Vs Mean Ws

June 16, 2015 | DraftKings | 6 Comments

by: MattTruss

It’s a story that’s been told many times before and will be told many times to come. It’s the story of the Colorado Rockies and their travels throughout the land at sea level. I won’t bore you with the retelling but I will tell you about a young man named Vincent Velasquez. Double V (VV for short) is all of 23 and full of piss and vinegar. He was impressive enough in double A for the Astros to call him right up. There he was posting a handy 12.6 K/9 with a 1.37 ERA and sub 1 WHIP. Sure, it was double A and this is the bigs, but I was impressed by the kid’s composure in his debut and the Ks didn’t stop there (5 in 5 IP). The 4 walks aren’t great, obviously, but he was able to pitch himself out of trouble when he needed to. The price is right here as well. VV is priced barely above the slew of relief pitchers on DK at $5,500. Circling back to the oft told story of the Rockies on the road where they struggle oh so mightly and everything is coming up V. On the 5 game early slate, he pairs nicely with Scott Kazmir for a K-happy 1-2 punch that sounds like a winner to me. Fear not, on this rare split Tuesday I’ll provide a little something something for the early games as well as the night caps. It’s a nice day to throw together an early tournament lineup or two and maybe some H2H games and then parlay those early winnings into some night time buy-ins. It’s a full day of DFS fun for us junkies and I can’t wait to dive in.

New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 25 teamer of Razzball writers and friends 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?

Mets Smarten Up And Take Gee-Matz

June 16, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 622 Comments

by: Grey

There was some speculation that the Mets were considering moving Noah Syndergaard (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks) to the bullpen and bringing up Steven Matz. The NY Post seemed to believe the Mets were talking about it, at least. It could be that a NY Post reporter, hiding in their usual spot inside a Mets equipment broom closet with a Solo cup pressed to the door, overheard, “Hey, should we move Noah to the bullpen and bring up Matz?” “Maybe, but I’m the front office intern and you’re the ticket taker from Gate 3C so I’m not sure our opinion matters.” “Or is that Matzers?” Then they laughed, and the NY Post reporter shot off an article detailing the discussion, but left off the sources. More respected Mets journalists thought Syndergaard wouldn’t go to the bullpen, and Dillon Gee would be designated for assignment. Gee, guess who was right. Right now, Matz has a 2.30 ERA and 9.3 K/9 in Triple-A in 78 1/3 IP. Those numbers are great, fabulous, adjective, but they get better. He’s pitching in the PCL, which is like hitting in an anti-gravity chamber with an aluminum bat. What makes Matz so damn desirable is he can strikeout out hitters and has good control. That’s the one-two punch of “Let me put hearts on my Trapper Keeper.” The Mets are saying Matz will come up around July 1st, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s called up for this weekend, so I’d stash him right now. Or if you have a DeLorean, stash him yesterday. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Wrath Of Karns, and the Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 11

June 15, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 179 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

How do you quantify the pure power of you, yes you, the loyal Razzball Nation commenter?

How about with an 82 ranking as if from nowhere!

I’ve actually seen Nate Karns pitch in AAA, and I remember not being too impressed… Then again I was balls deep in craft beer and a footlong hot dog with BBQ and slaw on it, so there’s that…

I really haven’t seen too much of Karns this year, but what I have seen heading into yesterday’s start is a pretty good fastball with a solid knucke-curve. Nothing “blow you away”, but enough to keep hitters honest. And with a garbage-ish pool of pitchers to stream in a couple of leagues where I’m behind in my innings quota, Karns was my stream of choice against a struggling White Sox offense yesterday. Boy was I happy with the result! So I decided to go back and watch this start complete with all of the Pitcher Profile bells and whistles to see if there’s something a little deeper here than just a 10 or 12-team matchup streamer:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

SAGNOF Special, Week 11: Tepid on Buxton, Chilly on Lindor?

June 15, 2015 | Closers, Steals | 32 Comments

by: RotoLance

With Byron Buxton and Francisco Lindor now called up that basically leaves Jose Peraza as the most intriguing speedster prospect as of now. His path to playing time is muddled even though they have recently moved him to center field because Cameron Maybin has played extremely well there. It is my (unfortunate) opinion that due to his situation Peraza doesn’t matter for 10 or 12 team leagues yet. Onto the recently called up speedster prospects let’s consider their current fantasy value. Mike has done numerous writeups of these players in various places and he most recently wrote that he considers Buxton to be “Leonys Martin with upside”. Steamer/Razzball projects Buxton for 31-6-30-15 .241 in 78 games. Realistically his AVG will likely fall anywhere from .235 to .270 depending mostly on K rate and BABIP. In the minors he was hitting a very mediocre .283 with a 19.0 K% and .332 BABIP. Sure I think he has plenty of upside but don’t expect too much out of Buxton. I would rather hold on to a red hot and perhaps genuinely improved Cameron Maybin than pick up Buxton. Anyway, depending on your league format Buxton has likely been picked up already. I’d say he’s worth a 15% FAAB bid depending on what else you have for SBs and outfielders.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Podcast: “How Do You Get a C in Puppetry?!”

June 15, 2015 | All Podcasts | 11 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

We’re back with the Razzball Baseball Podcast with guest hosts Mike and Jay to talk prospect fever! Byron Buxton and Francisco Lindor had Sunday promotions and we chat their contributions ROS, talk pitchers from Houston including how far Collin McHugh has fallen and what to expect from Vincent Velasquez, and we learn a lot from Mike’s past when we get into A.J. Pollock. Who knew our prospect guru was so artistic?! We also catch up on Maikel Franco and other hitters and pitchers we’re keeping an eye on through the next week. Now available – the Franco-Arroyo scale! Here’s the newest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Ramirez Stars In Erasmo-head

June 15, 2015 | DraftKings |

by: Sky

That face says it all. It’s the face of a man who’s seen some $hit. Like a DK LU that rostered Carlos Frias for his -18 point implosion. I mean, the scarring just don’t heal. It’s also the face of our humble…oh who am I kidding, braggart lothario Overload Grey Albright. A long time back (in fantasy baseball, 2 years ago really is a long time back), his Royal Stacheness had Erasmo Ramirez pegged as a sleeper and who could blame him? Solid minor league numbers to go along with a great home ballpark with a team that had a good track record of bringing good, young arms along. The stars were aligned and it looked like Erasmo was destined for greatness. And then he started pitching…woof. Everything he throws just dances which is great if he knew where he was throwing it. Erasmo got lit up but not like the way Buckcherry meant it. That’s illegal. Either way, he was chucked aside by the Mariners to the Rays and considered a forgotten man…but if you’ve been paying attention, you’d notice things haven’t been as dire in Tampa for him as they were in Seattle. The Rays seem to be taking this reclamation project over quite well as he currently owns a 50% groundball rate (highest of his albeit short career) and he even has a 31 point DK showing to his credit. At $5,600, you need about 18 points to get your ROI and if the Nats are still without Bryce Harper, I believe you can get that. Now after saying all that, if Harper is in, I’m probably out on this call but even Vegas is giving Erasmo the slight nod in a low scoring pick’em today with -110 and a 7 o/u so there’s some merit to this David Lynch’ian madness. But enough about surrealism, let’s get this going. Here are my other hot takes for today’s DK slate…

New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 25 teamer of Razzball writers and friends 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?

Finally Something Worth Buying At Target

June 15, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 695 Comments

by: Grey

Razzball Exclusive! The Twins were seen on Saturday at the Factory Outlet Mall in St. Paul, shopping for an outfielder. Unhappy with the selection — everything was odd-sized or someone they had called up and sent down numerous times — they headed back to the car, deciding to go on to the Duluth Shop ‘n Zoo, a place, contrary to the name, that doesn’t sell animals. When they got back to the car, they realized they forgot their change purse in the mall. They raced back, but it was too late; it was gone. Frustrated and angry, they asked to use Spencer Gifts’ phone because they didn’t want to incur long distance charges on their own. Fed up and at their breaking point, they called up Byron Buxton, while also spotting a gag gift, fake vomit, that they shoplifted, figuring they can use it to play shortstop. Here’s what Prospect Mike said this offseason, “Buxton is ranked numero uno on my Top 50 fantasy prospects list, and it’s thanks to his ability to fill all five roto categories. He might be the closest thing we have in the minors right now to a first round fantasy talent with the power to hit 20 homers, the speed to swipe 30+ bags, and the ability to hit for a high average. Injuries limited him to 137 plate appearances in 2014, but that shouldn’t stop the 21-year-old from seeing the majors later this season. The ceiling is a perennial All-Star outfielder and a top ten fantasy player overall. In short, he’s wonderful and Grey’s terrible.” Oh, man, c’mon! In Double-A this year, Buxton had six homers, 20 steals (in only 59 games!) and was hitting .283. At points during this season, Mike has compared him to Carlos Gomez. That sounds like an apt comparison, which isn’t the same as roomier with two bathrooms. That’s an Apt. comparison. You should grab him in every league. Yes, even that 10 team league, where it’s you playing against nine of your email aliases. By the way, I can’t believe you’re losing to [email protected]. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Don’t Bour Me With the Details and the Top 100 Hitters, Week 11

June 14, 2015 | Creeper of the Week, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 124 Comments

by: J-FOH

When looking up something with bore in it to link this title to a video, I came across the classic (to me) Clint Eastwood flick Heartbreak Ridge. Oh how I love this movie… so many classic lines that I used as a child and still use to this day. Hell, some are even good for fantasy. Let me see a show of hands, who has seen clusterf**k used on one of these pages? Oh that’s right, we are over the net and I can’t see you. I’ll take my word for it. What gunny Highway taught us besides the CF concept is how to talk to the police, how to greet an old friend, how to be a smart ass, and how to deal with fat guys in prison. Hopefully you never have to deal with the latter. You might be asking yourself, what this has to do with the creeper and the top 100 hitters, and it has everything to do with it. In the movie, he presses his credo on his men to improvise, adapt, overcome. That is what we have to do, because offensively it has been a real clusterf**k this year with so many hitters getting hurt and so many going through streaks like a hairdresser in cosmetology school. Ummm, I might have to explain that last one. When I was in junior college, I was an automotive major and right next to us were all the cosmetology classes. We mingled a lot with the ladies over there, but it was really hard to keep track with who was who, because they would always change their hair color and streaks. Anythehoo, I used to build engines and now I build rosters!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Buxton, Lindor, And Oodles Of Aces

June 14, 2015 | DraftKings | 7 Comments

by: Geoff

Well happy Sunday everyone and merry Byron Buxton day to you. That’s right the chosen one is upon us, the most hyped Major League debut since Bryce Harper. But believe it or not that’s not all!! We have Francisco Lindor joining the party as well as today’s undercard. If these two stud prospects are already owned in all of your season long leagues there’s a great way to get in on the festivities. Play some DraftKings and draft ’em both! Buxton is an affordable $4,200, while Lindor is just $3,900, so both players can easily be fit into a lineup. Hell, I’m doing a prospect lineup for some GPP’s with McCullers, Foltynewicz, Lindor, Buxton, Gallo, Swihart, and Addison Russell. I’m also using fellow top prospect Carlos Correa in a lineup or two. It’s been a big week for the future sex machines of our game. I have no idea how long Buxton sticks but he’s going to be fun to own. But wait prospects aren’t the only excitement on tap for today, did you have a gander at the pitching ledger? Aces on aces my over the interweb friends. Scherzer, Sale, Kluber, Hamels, Gray, Lester, and Taylor Jungmann! I can hardly contain myself can you tell?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Minor Accomplishments: A Bux-ton of Rookies!

June 14, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 268 Comments

by: Mike

Holy smokes! If you’re a prospect hound, this has been a great year. The Twins got in on the action by promoting top prospect Byron Buxton while the Indians are expected to call up Francisco Lindor today as well. Buxton ranked #1 overall on my offseason Top 50 Prospects list and of course topped the Twins Top 10 list. Lindor ranked #17 overall and first on the Indians Top 10. Both have been floating around the top five in the prospect power rankings, so hopefully they are names that you’ve had tucked away in your reserves. Let’s celebrate with a post on what they both bring to the table for 2015 fantasy baseball…

Please, blog, may I have some more?