DraftKings: Who Is Danny Salazar?

May 10, 2015 | DraftKings | 2 Comments

Am I the only one still utterly confused by Danny Salazar? The only thing I know he brings to the table for sure is strikeouts. After his first two starts, there was a great deal of chatter that Salazar had finally figured it out and his ascension to heaven to sit on the right side of Roger Clemens and Bob Feller was nearly complete. Yes in this scenario Roger Clemens is dead, and heaven is also full of unabashed racists like Bob Feller. Come to think of it, that’s sounds exactly the way heaven is described in the bible. Either way I’m still not sure what to make of Salazar. On one hand his K rate once again through four starts is phenomenal. On the other hand his HR/FB rate is 22.2%. Which in turn has led to a pretty scary 1.38 HR/9. Then again all of this could be bad luck over a couple of starts. This theory is further supported by his .328 BABIP which tells me he’s in fact been a bit unlucky. The problem is through 188 big league innings his career BABIP is .330. So is he just perpetually unlucky? Or is he a hit or miss, feast or famine type? His FIP of 3.23 and xFIP of 2.18 tell me that yes he has in fact been unlucky. The K/BB of 7.40 is gorgeous just like a horse is, and his BAA of .232 is marvelous. So count me amongst the believers in the Cult of Salazar. So this leads me to today’s matchup with the hotter than fish grease Minnesota Twins. In the last few weeks, the Twinkies have squished the dreams of quite a few daily players looking to cash in on the mantra “beat up on the Twins”. Well have no fear my fellow DFS junkies because Danny Salazar is here and ready to feast on the Twins and their 22.4% K% against righties. As we all well know in DraftKings, K’s are king. Or maybe the drafts are….nevermind. So save a couple of bucks and go Salazar at $8,600 over Felix Hernandez, Zack Greinke, Jordan Zimmermann, and Garrett Richards.

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?

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#	MLB Starting Lineups For Sun 8/3
	ARI \| ATH \| BAL \| BOS \| CHC \| CHW \| CLE \| COL \| DET \| HOU \| KC \| LAA \| LAD \| MIA \| MIL \| MIN \| NYM \| NYY \| PHI \| PIT \| SD \| SEA \| SF \| STL \| TB \| TEX \| TOR \| WSH \| ATL \| CIN \| OAK

Prospect Power Rankings: Week 6

May 10, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 156 Comments

by: Mike

Every other week Razzball ranks the prospects closest to contributing to your fantasy roster. The list is limited to players who still have rookie eligibility (less than 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched) and who are currently in the minor leagues. It’s not a list based on talent alone, but rather it’s a mixture of talent and opportunity. It will change frequently over the course of the season as prospects graduate to the majors, injuries occur, or service time roadblocks are passed. Here are the top 15 prospects on the cusp of the major leagues for 2015 fantasy baseball…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Two Start Pitchers, Week 6: Watch Out For The Screaming Trees

May 9, 2015 | Two Start Fantasy Starters | 82 Comments

by: Geoff

Another week of two-start pitchers and another music focused theme to guide you in your conquests. Wait that sounded sexual, you’re not trying to sleep with two start pitchers right? I mean it’s fine if you do this is a judgement free zone, but I wanted to be clear about my usage of conquests. I don’t want to start showing up for searches based around jersey chasing. Then my comments might be questions like “What’s the best type of underwear to wear when trying to seduce Max Scherzer?”. Jesus, how did I get here? I just want to talk a little 90’s grunge and throw a few stats at you. Stream of conscious writing isn’t for everyone. Let’s put aside my ramblings for a moment and get into the meat of this sandwich shall we? Anyone see the Kurt Cobain documentary “Montage of Heck”? I watched it three times this week and was reminded of how much I loved Nirvana as a 10 year old Ralph. For anyone that’s a Nirvana fan it’s a worthy take. So thanks to the film and last week’s spirited music debate in the comments I’ve been inspired to base this week’s tiers on my favorite groups from the Seattle Grunge scene. Hell it’s probably the last good thing to come out of Seattle. I see you Tehol.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Logan’s (Home) Run

May 9, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 41 Comments

by: Dan Pants

Logan Morrison performed some late night heroics yesterday as he went 2-for-5 with two RBI including a walk off home run off Dan Otero in the 11th inning to beat the A’s. LoMo now has three home runs and is batting .364 in the past week, and yes, of course he’s trending on twitter. Trending hard. His twitter feed is blowing up like a Michael Bay film and after struggling in April he’s really come alive in May. Logan’s hit four of his five dingers in May, and is slashing .385/.448/1.000 (compared to .197/.238/.250 in April) with a 1.448 OPS. Yes, more please! Small sample sizes sure are fun! Based on his career norms his .238 BABIP is certainly low, but so is the 11.9 K%, however, the 37.1 hard hit percentage looks real nice. You know I can make the stats tell you whatever I want, but the fact is LoMo is a hot little potato right now. He’s hit safely in every game he’s played this month except one, and he’s homered in four of them. Grey told you to BUY this week and he’s available in most leagues. When asked about his heroic walk off homer, Logan admitted he didn’t do it for the fame, the fortune, or even for the stats, he did it for the followers. So have a @CupOfLoMo with last night’s hero, and pick him up if you need some power at the corner.

Here’s what else happened in fantasy baseball Friday night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: The Mookie Monster and Big Byrd

May 9, 2015 | DraftKings | 9 Comments

by: Bigfoot Paul

A full slate of games today has me thinking of sunny days and that everything is going to a-okay. Don’t let Oscar tell you otherwise, he’s a grouch that’ll just slam the lid in your face. Stroll on over to Justin El-Morneau’s World and take a shot against Clayton Kershaw. Normally, I would be raving non-stop about how great Kershaw is, and how I am going to start him. But, there are several reasons for me not to do that today. But, you know me, I’ll still play Kershaw if the game isn’t postponed due to rain. However, I will not shake my head in disbelief when the majority of DFS players don’t play him. He’s still pricey, he hasn’t won in his last three starts, and he’s pitching at the always dangerous Coors Field. Meanwhile, Mookie Betts and Marlon Byrd are a couple of my favorite picks for today. Mookie Monster has three home runs in his past three games, and with Big Byrd batting second in the Reds’ lineup, he’s a perfect low-priced DFS option. The Red Sox face a struggling Drew Hutchison whose allowed 12 runs on 17 hit over 8.1 IP in his last two starts for the Blue Jays. If you’re looking to stack players in the early games, consider the Boston hitters. Marlon Byrd has slid into the second spot of the Cincinnati lineup, batting between leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto. He’s hit well over the past week, and at his price, he’ll make for a nice play. Check out my other favorite picks for today.

New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 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?

This Week in Razz…, Week 5

May 9, 2015 | Daily Notes | 24 Comments

by: Jay

Welcome back to another weekly review for everything that was Razzball this past week. I’m always of the opinion that every week is better than the last, but that’s mostly because I know your mother. Which is apt, seeing as how tomorrow, you and I will be celebrating the fact that your mother gave birth to you, raised you, and made sure you always carried around a sweater, even when it was a sweltering 90 degrees with humidity. You know, because just in case. You mother even loves you despite taking up valuable storage space in her basement. You are her lovable storage space. DEEP. So while we take a moment this Sunday to celebrate everything your mothers have done for you, just remember, I’m here celebrating what your mothers have done for me. There. I’ve done it. An entire lede as one big “your mom” joke. I hereby retire.

Follow me after the jump to take a look back at what was week four AND a look forward on all things Razzball, including some player suggestions for next week, straight from Razzball’s Streamonator, Hitter-Tron, and DFSBot!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Clay’s Momma Call Him Buy

May 8, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 773 Comments

by: Grey

If you search for the pitchers with the top xFIPs, it’s a who’s who of the league’s finest. It’s not quite as glamorous as the Who’s Who of Western Appalachian High School Students that your parents paid $25 for you to get your picture in, but it’s still pretty illustrious. Kershaw on top, then Salazar, F-Her, Gerrit, Carrasco, Pineda, Archer, Shields, Scherzer, Harvey and Lynn. If your pitching staff was just those guys, you may not be currently winning your pitching categories, but you will by the end of the year, or your money back¹. Right after Lynn in the list is Clay Buchholz, then after him it continues to be purdy: Arrieta, Kluber, Lester and so on². Out of all of those pitchers, Kershaw, Shields and Salazar are the only ones with a better K-rate with Buchholz’s at 11.5. 11.5 K/9 is excellent and is the 4th best in the majors. Buchholz’s walk rate isn’t bad either at 2.87 — under 3 is solid. Under three walk rate with an 11.5 K/9 is an ace. Only thing is, his ERA is 6.03. Oopsie! Right now, his BABIP is .407. A .407 BABIP is basically the equivalent to an easy grounder is headed right to a fielder, but the ball is grabbed by a possum and the possum runs the ball around the infield for five minutes as the hitter goes around the bases for an inside-the-parker. If Buchholz is available in your league, I’d absolutely grab him, and could even see trading for him in deeper leagues⁹.

¹You just need to sell my Jose Canseco Sportsflics rookie card to get that money back.
²Yes, I said so on rather than list Bartolo Colon³.
³Yes, by footnoting Bartolo Colon I am sorta listing him⁴.
⁴My autocorrect wanted to change sorta to Sorat. Is that Borat’s sister⁵?
⁵I miss Sacha Baron Cohen. Shame what happened to him.⁶
⁶My intern says nothing happened to him, he just picked crappy films to be in⁷.
⁷The Spirit of David Foster Wallace has taken over my body⁸.
⁸Not really.
⁹Anyway, here’s some more players to buy or sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Points Leagues: King Of The Hill

May 8, 2015 | Uncategorized | 14 Comments

by: malamoney

Sometimes I day dream that after nine innings of waving my “K” sign in the air and chanting “K” in the King’s Court, that Felix and I would hit the closest watering hole to crush some cervezas and throw back tequila shots until the sun comes up. Then we’d try and figure out where the donkey came from and how we ended up in Tijuana with Ron Washington and Yovani Gallardo. Once we had that all settled, I’d check my fantasy team and count all the points Felix scored for my team.

Last week I promised more pitching, and if I’m anything, I’m a man of my word. I’m not sure which word, but I’m sure I’ll manage. You want pitchers, I give you pitchers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

DraftKings: Happy Harvey Day!

May 8, 2015 | DraftKings | 1 Comment

by: Colin Heaton

The stars sure do look pretty when they align. Our good friends the Phillies just happen to be very bad against right handed pitching (along with many, many other things). They strikeout a lot, don’t hit the ball very hard, and don’t get on base too often. In fact, they are dead last in the league in weighted on base percentage against righties, and dead last in the league in hard hit ball % against righties. Matt Harvey is a righty. Matt Harvey is a very good righty. Matt Harvey is a very very very good pitcher. The stars are aligning, I can see it right now. Happy Matt Harvey day everyone.

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?

Grandal Opries The Brewers

May 8, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 510 Comments

by: Grey

OBPwulf opened to lukewarm reviews in the Grandal Opry in 2012. One critic said the country number performed by the girl in Daisy Dukes can only be described as “poon twang” to those sitting in the front rows. Another critic argued that a show dedicated to a catcher, who never topped 15 home runs and had a career .247 average, but was good at OBP, while being delivered in country music songs written in archaic Old English prose, would struggle to find an audience. And struggle it did. Until it moved to Los Angeles and got a cast change to Carrie Underwood and Craig Wayne Boyd. Now the story of OBPwulf is singing! Yesterday, Yasmani Grandal went 4-for-4, 3 runs, 8 RBIs with his 3rd and 4th homers, hitting .301. He’s owned in 39% of ESPN leagues and the Dodgers go to Coors this weekend. I didn’t put Grandal in this afternoon’s Buy column, because he’s here now. You don’t need things repeated. You don’t need things repeated. You don’t need things repeated. Sorry, I’m typing this in a cave. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bear or Bull: Has Big Papi Become an Old Jalopy?

May 7, 2015 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 31 Comments

by: Big Magoo

David Ortiz has been a dominant offensive force since joining the Red Sox in 2003. During the time period from ’03 to present day, he’s one of only three MLB players to hit at least 400 home runs (Albert Pujols and Adam Dunn are the others); one of three players to knock in at least 1300 runs (Miguel Cabrera and Pujols); he’s 11 walks shy of 1000 which would make him just the 2nd player to reach that mark (Dunn); he’s also produced the 6th highest OPS as well as the 2nd highest ISO (behind only Barry Bonds) during this span. Basically, Big Papi has been an extremely patient hitter with massive power who’s been really good for a really long time. He certainly hasn’t been sloppy like this Poppie. But no player can elude Father Time forever. Except for Julio Franco. I think he was around 60 when he retired. However, most players begin to see their production drop off by their mid-30s at the latest. While Ortiz still appears to be going strong, how much gas does he have left in the tank in his age 39 season?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Closer Report, Week 5: Indians are Buffaloed

May 7, 2015 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 70 Comments

by: Smokey

I think we need to sit down and have a talk about Cody Allen. He does his chores by striking people out on the regular, but other than that, what exactly is he doing to make us feel all cuddly as a RP-2? I will tell you, because that’s sorta my job here at Le Razzball. That, and I think I am the designated golf cart driver at the bi-millennial golf outing. So I have basically looked at every facet of Allen’s year to date and even compared them to last year’s goodness that he dropped on us. The velocity is still there, and has risen slightly over the last week, but has just one counting stat in the last 18 days. That, my friends, is not very good at all for someone you drafted expecting a good 30 plus saves from.

Please, blog, may I have some more?