Big Magoo

The Numbers Game: Special Ks (SP Edition)

March 16, 2015 | Uncategorized | 80 Comments

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Writing for Razzball is a pretty sweet gig. The fantasy master lothario himself, Mr. Grey Albright, has provided me with a tremendous amount of creative control over the subject matter that I choose to write about. All that I’m required to do in return for this freedom is ensure that the topics that I choose to discuss are fantasy-relevant as well as consistently heap praise upon my employer (nice stache Boss!). While this arrangement is usually a blessing, it can also be a bit of a curse at times. There are so many different things to write about, so many potential angles to pursue when analyzing statistics. It can be difficult to narrow it down and focus on a specific set of search criteria. Sometimes, I know exactly how this guy feels.

Want to take me on in a Razzball Commenter League? Join my league here!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Sat 8/2
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | OAK
RotoLance

Find Value in Speed by Exploiting ESPN ADP

March 16, 2015 | Steals | 42 Comments

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Speed is the easiest 5×5 category to find late in the draft.  In most drafts last year, Rajai Davis was an afterthought.  A guy to pick up in the late rounds of 12-team drafts and a guy who probably went undrafted in many 10-team drafts.  Last year I played in one Razzball Commenter League, and in that league I took Davis at pick #240.  He ended up finishing #111 on Rudy’s Player Rater thanks in part to amassing 36 stolen bases.   His performance wasn’t particularly above his normal levels, with the exception of batting average.  He did receive more ABs than projected.  Even if he hadn’t played more than projected I’m fairly sure he would still found his way into the top 150-200ish on the 2014 player rater.  Which is to say, in multiple ways, that he was a value.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
JB Gilpin

Podcast: “It’s Like The Worst Make A Wish Foundation Ever”

March 16, 2015 | All Podcasts | 6 Comments

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The Razzball Podcast is back!  On this week’s show, it starts on a downer, but we pull it through!  We then let Grey stroke his brilliance and explain why he zagged instead of zigged in his Tout Wars draft and JB learns about Grey’s open interpretation of player name pronunciations.  Don’t draft Castilio!  We then chat about some of the big notes from Spring over the past week, including Kris Bryant hitting a bajillion home runs.  None of them matter though!  Here’s the new edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:

Download from iTunes

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

3rd Basemen To Target, 2015 Fantasy Baseball

March 16, 2015 | Uncategorized | 447 Comments

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I don’t do 1st baseman sleepers because there are none. If you’re drafting a 1st baseman sleeper, you’re losing your league. Who are you putting at 1st? Yonder Alonso? That’s cool. Don’t pay your league fees until the end of the year and then duck out of the country. You feel me? Okay, now stop. 3rd basemen are more or less in the same boat, and that boat is the Titanic and if you draft a sleeper 3rd baseman that doesn’t pan out, you’re gonna sink while holding until to a lady named Rose who gets real old looking, but some of youse have corner men in your league, so we may as well look at a few 3rd basemen for s’s and g’s. Good? Good. These are all 3rd basemen that being drafted after 150 overall. Now, this is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Indonesia) supplement to the top 20 3rd basemen for 2015 fantasy baseball. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2015 projections. Anyway, here’s some 3rd basemen to target for 2015 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
J-FOH

Grey vs. Rudy

March 15, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 169 Comments

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What was I thinking when I thought this would be a fun post? I came into this wanting to be Grey’s opposite for S’s and G’s, but that ship sailed south really fast. If you are disappointed that I bailed on that idea, then go to his comments any day and you can view my contrarian ways as I try to keep him honest and keep myself being…well, me being good ole me. When Rudy told me he would make me a table doing a side-by-side with dollar values, I was a little worried about how that would be accepted by the Grey-heads. Then I thought to myself, who doesn’t like money? Well maybe Monty Brewster, who hated money for 30 days, but I would too with what he had to do in that classic 80’s baseball flick. On a hunch, I went into the archives to find that Rudy wrote this post last year and realized I got duped into doing it for 2015. Well played señor Rudolfo…well played indeed.

Want to take me on in a Razzball Commenter League? Join my league here!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mike

2015 Minor League Preview: San Diego Padres

March 15, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 72 Comments

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Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2014 (6) | 2013 (14) | 2012 (8) | 2011 (8) | 2010 (20)

2014 Affiliate Records
MLB: [77-85] NL West
AAA: [72-72] Pacific Coast League – Tucson
AA: [68-72] Texas League – San Antonio
A+: [75-65] California League – Lake Elsinore
A: [63-76] Midwest League – Fort Wayne
A(ss): [30-46] Northwest League – Eugene (2015: Tri-City)

Graduated Prospects
Jesse Hahn, RHP (traded to OAK)

The Gist
New general manager A.J. Preller wasted no time turning the league’s worst offense into the land of 1,000 outfielders this offseason. At the price of a few good prospects, Upton, Myers, and Kemp make up the new Padres starting outfield. Trea Turner, last year’s first round pick, is in a unique situation in that he’s technically been traded to the Nationals but will remain in the Padres’ minor league system until June. He ended up in top ten list limbo, but you can find some notes on him in the NL East roundup. Yangervis Solarte is projected to lead off and play third for San Diego, but both Will Middlebrooks and Cory Spangenberg could see time there this year. Keep them on the radar for NL-only leagues or deeper mixed formats. Spangenberg is technically still a prospect and as a utility infielder could also spell Gyorko at second base.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jay

2015 Team Preview: Cleveland Indians

March 14, 2015 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 29 Comments

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HTS-MLB-CLI-C2008-01

 

Welcome to the 2015 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, Slurpee’s, lube, a guide for beginner electricians, and even a cactus! Oh, wait, yeah, like half of those things are actually what I have in front of me… But hey, what’s the point of lube and cacti if you can’t share? Truer words have never been written. We also have a very special guest…  Ed Carroll from Wahoos on First, to provide his take on what the team has in store this season. So without further ado (and plenty of lube and cacti), let’s check out the 2015 Cleveland Indians!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Sky

Deep League Thoughts: Travis Snider

March 14, 2015 | Uncategorized | 61 Comments

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Let the hard sell begin. I feel like I’m that dealer with the bad comb over in the polyester suit at the used car lot trying to sell a jalopy. Minus the car analogy, I feel like I’m describing Woody Harrelson in Kingpin. You know the film and if you don’t, it’s streaming on Netflix right now. And by right now, I mean when I wrote this. If this post isn’t live before they’ve pulled it, mea culpa for getting you excited about it and also, mea culpa for getting you excited about it in general…it’s a Farrelly brothers movie and it’s not one of their best and ‘best + Farrelly bros’ google search should tell you all you need to know about that phrasing. BTW, this post isn’t sponsored by Netflix…but it should be! Seriously, Razz movie reviews. When does this happen? We can stick with the sports section. We’ll cover every 30 for 30! But I digress even further than I normally would. Given how we all feel about Travis Snider at this point in his career, you’d think he was Roy Munson on the baseball field, metal hook for a hand and all. It’s true, he never lived up to our dreams and probably won’t still. But in a deep league setting, that ain’t our concern. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at Snider and how he can help you with your nasty 7-10 split for the 2015 Fantasy Baseball season…

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Smokey

Sleeping in a Boxberger? It’s Not so Bad

March 13, 2015 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 85 Comments

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Some people consider it a made up stat, I say hogwash or peeee-shaw.  For the people who play in the leagues where the stat matters, it matters.  That’s about as devout as I can get since I had to sell my soapbox to pay for my addiction of collectible thimbles.  Now, I get it, the Hold stat isn’t for everyone. The basis of actually being a stat is wonky at best. These guys do more than just come in for one inning or one batter, they hold your periph numbers in check.  If you don’t believe, that’s fine, I don’t believe myself half the time.  Heck, I have no reading comprehension, so it’s more of a “in one ear out the other” type thing.  See, I already forgot what I was discussing here.  So this year, some of the top options that are going to be the go-to-holds guys are actually jumping up and taking the starring role for their teams due to injury. So I will delve into a few situations to monitor from a Holds perspective, as well as a nice handy chart with some predictions on the side of caution for the top-20 middle relievers, in terms of them garnering the coveted stat of the Hold.

Want to take me on in a Razzball Commenter League? Join my league here!

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Blues

OPS Leagues: Grab an Ice-Cold COORpSe

March 13, 2015 | OPS Leagues | 11 Comments

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This is a community service for all of Razzball nation (/entire post in a Sam Elliot’s voice). A yearly reminder of just how much of a hitter’s park Coors Field really is, and when in doubt, to choose a COORpSe (AKA, in times of draft or waiver wire indecision, grab a Rockies player). If you play daily leagues, you need to know whose hitting at Coors on the home and visiting team. I’ll leave out the obvious COORpSe selections with limbs falling off like Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzales, and focus on the less obvious ones. It goes without saying fantasy baseballers (Grey’s mom’s word) here know the park factor and the advantage of hitting in the thin air and massive outfield in Colorado, but it may still be surprising to see the home/away splits next to each other.

Want to take me on in a Razzball Commenter League? Join my league here!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Shortstops To Target, 2015 Fantasy Baseball

March 13, 2015 | Uncategorized | 509 Comments

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Like the 2nd basemen to target, this is necessary. You want to take flyers on late middle infielders. I like a few top shortstops this year: Hanley, Desmond and Tulo, but if you don’t get them, don’t sweat it and definitely don’t ‘panic reach’ for another shortstop just because you feel like you need one. This is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Lichtenstein) supplement to the top 20 shortstops for 2015 fantasy baseball. The players listed have a draft rank after 200 on other sites. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2015 projections. Anyway, here’s some shortstops to target for 2015 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?