Stateside baseball starts tomorrow, get psyched! Right now, though, it’s time to focus on what’s important: preseason predictions! Before we dive deep into countless hours rearranging lineups, FAAB bids, and making trade offers in order to win a couple hundred dollars in our friends and family league, which equates to roughly twenty-eight cents per hour, we here at Razzball want to take a moment and document some predictions for the upcoming season. These preseason predictions are a mix of real baseball (MVP, ROY, Cy Young, etc.) and fake baseball (who’s our infatuation; who will return the most value; who will flop). We do this every season, and we haven’t learned any lessons ever, so here it is again! Here is LAST YEAR‘s post if you’re interested. For every correct prediction, there are plenty who thought Colt Keith and Vaughn Grissom were going to matter…or maybe that was just me.
Without further ado, here are the Razzball staff picks for the upcoming season along with a few blurbs from the staff on why they made the choices they did. Be sure to let us know your picks down in the comments, put your name on it so we can praise you in October, or look back next year and point and laugh.
Psyche! One further ado, this season’s first Buy/Sell is now available on our Patreon. It will be posted early on the Patreon all year, so sign up for that. Anyway II, the picks:
| Writer | ROY (NL) | ROY (AL) | Cy Young (NL) | Cy Young (AL) | MVP (NL) | MVP (AL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey | Roki Sasaki | Cam Smith | Paul Skenes | Garett Crochet | Elly De La Cruz | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| Rudy | Dylan Crews | Kristian Campbell | Zach Wheeler | Joe Ryan | Jackson Chourio | Aaron Judge |
| ADHamley | Matt Shaw | Jasson Dominguez | Michael King | Logan Gilbert | Francisco Lindor | Gunnar Henderson |
| B_Don | Roki Sasaki | Roman Anthony | Paul Skenes | Cole Ragans | Kyle Tucker | Aaron Judge |
| CableBoxScore | Dylan Crews | Kristian Campbell | Paul Skenes | Logan Gilbert | Juan Soto | Bobby Witt Jr |
| Coolwhip | Roki Sasaki | Jasson Dominguez | Paul Skenes | Cole Ragans | Shohei Ohtani | Bobby Witt Jr |
| Disco Stu | Matt Shaw | Kristian Campbell | Tyler Glasnow | Framber Valdez | Jackson Chourio | Gunnar Henderson |
| EWB | Roki Sasaki | Cam Smith | Spencer Strider | Pablo Lopez | Shohei Ohtani | Yordan Alvarez |
| Jakker | Dylan Crews | Cam Smith | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Tarik Skubal | Fernando Tatis Jr. | Yordan Alvarez |
| Jeremy Brewer | Bubba Chandler | Alan Roden | Paul Skenes | Garrett Crochet | Shohei Ohtani | Bobby Witt Jr |
| JKJ | Roki Sasaki | Coby Mayo | Paul Skenes | Cole Ragans | Shohei Ohtani | Mike Trout |
| Kelder | Matt Shaw | Kumar Rocker | Zach Wheeler | Garrett Crochet | Bryce Harper | Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. |
| Latch-key Kid | Dylan Crews | Cam Smith | Paul Skenes | Logan Gilbert | Juan Soto | Bobby Witt Jr |
| Laura Holt | Matt Shaw | Jackson Jobe | Jacob deGrom | Garrett Crochet | Bryce Harper | Yordan Alvarez |
| Lineup Builder | Matt Shaw | Kristian Campbell | Corbin Burnes | Logan Gilbert | Pete Alonso | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| Maks | Dylan Crews | Jacob Wilson | Spencer Schwellenbach | Tarik Skubal | Elly De La Cruz | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| MarmosDad | Dylan Crews | Cam Smith | Paul Skenes | Tarik Skubal | Shohei Ohtani | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
| MattTruss | Roki Sasaki | Cam Smith | Paul Skenes | Framber Valdez | Ozzie Albies | Yordan Alvarez |
| Mike Couillard | Matt Shaw | Jasson Dominguez | Paul Skenes | Bryce Miller | Shohei Ohtani | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| RotoSurgeon | Dylan Crews | Jasson Dominguez | Dylan Cease | Garrett Crochet | Francisco Lindor | Bobby Witt Jr |
| SandwichPick | Roki Sasaki | Jacob Wilson | Zack Wheeler | Tarik Skubal | Shohei Ohtani | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| Son | Roki Sasaki | Jasson Dominguez | Kodai Senga | Garrett Crochet | Shohei Ohtani | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| The Great Knoche | Tirso Ornelas | Kristian Campbell | Chris Sale | Jacob DeGrom | Juan Soto | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| The Itch | Matt Shaw | Cam Smith | Paul Skenes | Tarik Skubal | Shohei Ohtani | Bobby Witt Jr. |
| The Real Joey Bart | Roki Sasaki | Jasson Dominguez | Paul Skenes | Garrett Crochet | Shohei Ohtani | Aaron Judge |
NL Cy Young
Chris Sale: “Sure, Paul Skenes is cool and all, and has a girlfriend more famous than he is, but ya know what he doesn’t have? Almost 2,000 MLB innings on his oft-injured pitching arm. I mean experience, he doesn’t have experience! More importantly, Chris Sale has a decent team behind him and goes deep enough in games where he could touch 20+ wins this season if he makes 35 starts. Gimme Sale with 20 wins and a sub 3.00 ERA with 200Ks to win the Cy Young on the senior circuit.”
AL Cy Young
Framber Valdez: “It would appear I have some strong Astros taeks this year. Yordan, MVP, Altuve, bust-o, Framber, Cy Young. I feel like this is the season that Predator Blood goes ham and pitches himself to a huge off-season deal. The MLB is a war of attrition and staying healthy is half the game. Framber racks up a huge IP total and those IPs are sparkling…despite having Jose Altuve misplaying every wall ball in center all year.”
AL MVP
Gunnar Henderson: “I like Gunnar Henderson as AL MVP as he’s a rising star on an excellent team that really just needs to extend his fantastic 1st half or 2024 for a whole season to get in the conversation with Judge and Witt Jr.”
| Writer | Sleeper | Bust | Infatuation | Come Back | MVFP | MVFH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey | Brandon Pfaadt | Rafael Devers | Elly De La Cruz | Spencer Strider | Robbie Ray | Cam Smith |
| Rudy | Brandon Lowe | Emmanuel Clase | Jackson Chourio | Merrill Kelly | Taj Bradley | Yandy Diaz |
| ADHamley | Matt McLain | Luis Garcia Jr. | CJ Abrams | Austin Riley | Cristopher Sanchez | Lars Nootbaar |
| B_Don | Victor Scott | Bo Bichette | Matt McLain | Austin Riley | Bryce Miller | Victor Robles |
| CableBoxScore | Lane Thomas | Jacob DeGrom | Ezequiel Tovar | Ronald Acuna Jr. | Hunter Brown | Pete Crow-Armstrong |
| Coolwhip | Ryan Weathers | Max Fried | Roki Sasaki | Spencer Strider | Ryan Weathers | Wyatt Langford |
| Disco Stu | Bailey Ober | Fernando Tatis Jr. | Jake Burger | Jesus Luzardo | Sean Manaea | Ezequiel Tovar |
| EWB | Heliot Ramos | Corbin Carroll | Shohei Ohtani | Robbie Ray | Robbie Ray | |
| Jakker | Hunter Brown | Alex Bregman | Kerry Carpenter | Lance McCullers | Hunter Brown | Kerry Carpenter |
| Jeremy Brewer | Trevor Larnach | Mark Vientos | Brent Rooker | Spencer Strider | Hunter Brown | Kerry Carpenter |
| JKJ | Tyler Kinley | Jordan Romano | Edwin Uceta | Sandy Alcantara | Ryan Weathers | Christian Encarnacion-Strand |
| Kelder | Gavin Williams | Jose Ramirez | Cam Smith | Austin Riley | Hunter Brown | Brent Rooker |
| Latch-key Kid | Dustin May | Jacob deGrom | Jeremiah Estrada | Robbie Ray | Robbie Ray | Bo Bichette |
| Laura Holt | Tyler Fitzgerald | Ozzie Albies | Bryan Woo | Shane McClanahan | Tanner Bibee | Jazz Chisholm |
| Lineup Builder | Cody Bellinger | Jarren Duran | Brent Rooker | Jacob deGrom | Kodai Senga | Jazz Chisholm |
| Maks | Ben Rice | Pete Crow-Armstrong | Sal Frelick | Sandy Alcantara | Christopher Sanchez | Jackson Chourio |
| MarmosDad | Bryan Woo | Garrett Crochet | Jo Adell | Bo Bichette | Gavin Williams | Kyle Manzardo |
| MattTruss | Pete Crow-Armstrong | Jose Altuve | Ezequiel Tovar | Ronald Acuna Jr. | Yusei Kikuchi | Ryan Mountcastle |
| Mike Couillard | Christopher Morel | Shane McClanahan | Junior Caminero | Mike Trout | Nathan Eovaldi | Luis Rengifo |
| RotoSurgeon | Hayden Birdsong | Justin Steele | The Rays Offense | Zack Gelof | Brandon Pfaadt | Oneil Cruz |
| SandwichPick | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | Jarren Duran | Willson Contreras | Bo Bichette | MacKenzie Gore | Jackson Chourio |
| Son | Michael Conforto | James Wood | The Athletics | Kodai Senga | MacKenzie Gore | Jurickson Profar |
| The Great Knoche | Rhys Hoskins | Ozzie Albies | Byron Buxton | Liam Hendriks | Nick Lodolo | Michael Toglia |
| The Itch | Ceddanne Rafaela | Mookie Betts | Lawrence Butler | Jacob deGrom | Spencer Schwellenbach | Lawrence Butler |
| The Real Joey Bart | Thairo Estrada | Max Fried | Jack Flaherty | Paul Goldschmidt | Spencer Schwellenbach | Cody Bellinger |
Sleeper
Pete Crow-Armstrong: “I have seen the slander about his advanced metrics and holes in his swing, but those metrics don’t take into account a player making adjustments and figuring things out. Maybe I’m too into the vibes but PCA feels dynamic to me, a player who could go 25/50 if everything breaks right. He’s currently got a round 11 (pick 132) ADP in the RCLs and that feels like a ridiculously great bargain for a potentially huge impact player. I am all the way in on PCA for 2025.”
Infatuation
Jack Flaherty: “Flaherty was quietly one of the best pitchers in baseball last year, posting a 3.17 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 10.8 K/9 rate. Toeing the rubber in a pitcher’s park like Comerica only adds to his value and some tricks from Tarik Skubal could be the thing to put him over the top.”
Most Valuable Fantasy Pitcher
Hunter Brown: “I took Hunter Brown as my MVFP because I can use the B-Ref splits. Then I took out his 9.78 ERA from the first month and looked at the second half ERA of 2.26 and 74 strikeouts in 71 innings. Zach Wheeler but at a steep discount. He’s the ace you want.”
Hunter Brown: “After the first weekend of May last year, only two qualified pitchers had a better ERA the rest of the season than Hunter Brown at 2.46. Those guys won the NL Cy Young (Chris Sale) and NL Rookie of the Year (Paul Skenes). He has looked just as good this spring and only has a ninth round ADP, that is easy value.”
Comeback Player
Liam Hendriks: “Hendriks has been awful so far this spring, and his velocity is way down from where it used to be. That being said he should find his groove, and whether he is closing or not should garner plenty of votes for Comeback Player of the Year. Since I drafted him quite a few places early let’s hope he does it with plenty of saves on the resume.”
And finally, we are just going to let MarmosDad take the mic:
“Bo-h my goodness! BDon is gonna have a Bfield day with this Bone…wait, that doesn’t work.
Are You Ready? Then let’s Break It Down.
You know what they say…You can’t spell Bounceback without Bo.
Well, with the country’s Commander-in-Chief demonizing anything and everything to do with Canada these days, I figured it was time to fully embrace the 1990s WWE heel role and play the villain with a Bo Bichette comeback prediction. They say Canadians are nice and polite. Well, not this time! (sorry in advance if offend anyone).
It’s just me and Bo out on a tiny island in the northern waters, miles away from the warm waves crashing onto the sunny shores of Razzball DX…I mean Razzball HQ.
Oh, the plight of the Blue Jays fan. The swings and misses from the front office have been well-documented. The superstar’s negotiations with the club? That’s been well documented too. The good news is that Blue Jays fans from a certain age group still think the 1993 World Series was, “only, like, 10 or 15 years ago, right?”
Vlad Jr. isn’t the only homegrown talent looking for a big payday after the 2025 season is over.
Bo had some rinky dink injuries last year and he seems all healed up and ready to go. As fun as it is to rip on Bo for being the Participation Trophy recipient to Golden Boy Vlad Guerrero Jr., I said to the other Writers that I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bo ‘turn it on’ in a walk year and push the statistical envelope so he hits the negotiation table loaded with ammunition to cash in on a big payday.
This kid is smack dab in the middle of his prime, (27 years old), and wants to land a hefty contract somewhere in the off-season. It’s easy to forget that in 2021, at age 23 (!), he put up a 121/29/102/25 line with a .292 AVG. Topping that set of numbers four years later will get him more than a few zeroes on that next long-term deal. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bo hit .280+ in his walk year and I won’t be surprised to see 20 homers and 10-15 steals with healthy runs and RBI totals aboot…I mean, to boot.”
So, Marmos is no longer at Razzball, right?
Bold prediction: Bo Bichette has a better average than Jo Adell? Haha!
You trying to take down the site again with your jay-pegs
Hahaha!
Been a long while since I posted in here but still hold thee in the highest esteem.
Been mulling this trade a couple days…
Been offered Caminero, Will Smith and either Flaherty or Bibee for my Langford, G Moreno and Ginkel(not sure why-shrug). Three keeper league. Scoring is h2h Standard + OPS/Holds Langford/Caminero would likely be a keeper for me ongoing.
For tomorrow, which 2 should I start from these five options:
Cam Smith
Taylor Ward
Jeremy Pena
Lawrence Butler
Jasson Dominguez
Butler and Jasson
Grey
Would you dtop Xavierr Edwards for Victor Scott
I think Scott has a higher ceiling Both a source of stolen bases
or Drop Toglia for Scott but I do need HR’s
no
Would you trade jazz chisolm and heliot Ramos for yainier Diaz and cj Abrams.
No
The hamster’s back on the wheel!
Haha
Damn these articles make me want to re do my draft ?
Grey who has most roto upside here?
Luzardo, Baz, Berrios, Rocker, Leiter or Houck?
Luzardo
Grey just had my 12 team roto. Please tell me how it looks?
C-Wong
1B-Vlad
2B-Albies
SS-Henderson
3B-Riley
MI-Winn
CI-Bellinger
OF-Langford
OF-Suzuki
OF-Dominguez
OF-Ramos
OF-Nootbar
Util-Toglia
BN-Cam.Smith
SP-King
SP-Imanaga
SP-Schwellenbach
SP-Woo
SP-Ray
RP-Megill
RP-Estevez
RP-Puk
RP-Kinley
RP-Joyce
RP-L.Jackson
Hitting looks solid, I think you have a nice balance of speed, floor and upside…I like it a lot! I think maybe a tad low on speed….Pitching looks excellent, I don’t have anything to complain about, except maybe RPs…Kinley and Joyce are meh
@Grey: weekly roto, who do you like this week? wacha vs cle or max meyer vs pit?
thanks!
I’d look at SON, I guess Wacha
Baldwin,Bo Naylor or Good Man? Thanks.
Naylor
A.Luke Jackson over Chris Martin?
B. Scott II over McCarthy or Rengifo or hold?
C. No C
D. Darvish over Manaea?
Thanks Grey one of my favorite posts of the year!
Just dropped $50 at 16/1 on EDLC for MVP. He will want to go out with a bang before becoming a Dodger ?
Hey in a 12 TM 5×5 with 1370 IP limit, do you think SP1-3 or King, Webb and Hunter Brown can be ok as long as hitting is great?
Is SAGNOF going too far when Alvarado/Brieske/Hendriks are your closers ?
Asking for a friend….
Yes, ha
Would you drop Nolan Jones for Raley?
AND, would you drop Masyn Winn (assuming he hits 9th) for Ortiz or T Fitzgerald?
Nah…No
Who to drop need to add a catcher it’s empty
Saves/ hold saves league
Bench burleson, soderstrom
Baz, blanco, pepiot, pffadt, eovaldi, flahtery, woo, gray
Luke Jackson, rogers, Holton, faucher, pressley
Jackson
Maybe we should start an over/under poll of June 1st for Christian Moore to unseat Tim Anderson as LAA starting 2nd baseman.
Should be April 1st
Haha. Agreed. Wash really has his favorites.
Gotta tell ya, the angels seem really bad
Yeah, probably 70-90. I do like Kochanowicz a lot in real life BB. Not a good fantasy pitcher because he’s a groundball guy, but he’s a nice throwback guy. Staff anchor. All the fans whining about Detmers not getting SP5 over him are clueless about real life baseball. Id much rather be playing 3B or 1B with him on the mound.
Yeah, can’t argue with any of that
First FAAB tomorrow in points league where Saves are worth 9 and holds 6. Who’d you take a flier on out of this group…
Ashcroft, Luke Jackson, Faucher, Brieske, Taylor Rogers, Scott Barlow, Alavardo, or Mike Clevenger.
I know I’m basically asking for the lotto numbers, but who you feeling lucky on?
Thanks!
Faucher
Have an open roster spot, don’t have a particular need. Which guy do you think offers the greatest upside?
Available bats – Brandon Lowe, Brett Baty, Manzardo, Mead
Available arms – Dustin May, Verlander, Smith-Shawver, Jack Leiter, Springs, Roupp, Bubic, Canning
Again, not worried if they ‘bust’ (I’ll just drop and move on). SImply looking for the guy who has a ‘chance’ to be a ‘home run’!
Leiter
Will Vest, Jesus Tinoco, or Joe Barlow for save speculation?
Scott Barlow?
Yes. Whoops. Hey, at least I didn’t try to pick up Kurt Barlow.
Haha!
Kurtis Barlow loves basketball
Just curious what you thought about this trade offer that I received this morning:
Feels lopsided to me but I tend to over-value my players. What do you think?
For this year, Ohtani side
Hey to the HEY, GREY!!!
First off, I’m going to put this out here several times over the first few weeks of the season, but I want other commenters to know that I just resubscribed to “MLB Roto Deluxe Daily/Weekly w/ Ad Free.” Because, first off, the tools are awesome and give me a big advantage in my league, and ALSO because you dish out so much free advice here out of the goodness of your heart. I am not saying you agree, but I think it’s my responsibility to buy what you’re selling when you give me so much help and entertainment. (And to be honest, I really feel like we are acquaintances.) So, there’s that, and THANK YOU.
Second, kind of a wonky question, but I’m holding a few guys who are listed as DTD and are going to start the season on the DL. Do we know the deadline for teams to make that move? I’m looking to start making moves to speculate on closers.
LURRRRVEYAS!
If anyone’s wondering where to purchase such a thing https://razzball.com/membership-account/subscriptions/?pa=mainmenu
They have to make the moves before 1st pitch, but usually today and tomorrow morning
LURVES
How would you rank Smith, Campbell, Anthony this year? Assuming Smith is first, how big is the gap?
You ranked them, I also ranked them in my rankings
So… Should Bowden Francis be on my 12-team 6×6 roster? I keep seeing you telling folks to drop him.
=/
He looked pretty solid in his last ST start. I could use a bench bat – should I hold to see how Francis comes out of the gate or is he an easy drop?
He is my SP10 of 10.
I think he’s rosterable
Is Curtis Mead a hold to begin the season or do you think he is still just a “guy”? Are any of these worth adding over Mead: Paddock (nice two start stream next week @CHW, HOU), Briske (saves), Barlow (saves)
JAG
I’m relieved your infatuation pick won’t curse any of my players this year.
Please, let’s hope I don’t curse anyone — except Mike Clevinger
Interesting read. It’s always fascinating seeing who likes what players to boom or bust. The AL ROY should be one of the more exciting races. Clearly Smith, Campbell, Wilson have a leg up being on opening day roster, but I am also excited to see the debuts of Nick Kurtz, Chandler Simpson, Roman Anthony, Emmanuel Rodriguez and, of course, Christian Moore. It seems like it could be a really fun year ahead.
Indeed! I’m very excited for Anthony, Kurtz and B. Chandler, but Simpson too
Haha, year of the Chandler???!!!
chandler is the new jackson? could i BE any more excited?
Haha!
Yes!
How do you rank these players for saves: Briske, S. Barlow, Luke Jackson (TEX).
Would you drop Soroka for any of those guys?
Reverse order — sure
i’m gonna say the luke jackson thing is pure red herring. bochy said the garcia martin jackson order was “pretty close” and then it the wire like jackson is the guy. i’m gonna guess that the pretty close means it’s garcia martin and the jackson came it to get work. also, i like martin like guys to close sometimes. reminds me of prime andrew bailey. .61 bb/9, 1.17 for his career. attacks in the zone. 48.4 gb% for his career. 9.27 k/9 career. no bb’s, heavy gb and can get a k when need is a great closer recipe.
Yeah, I tend to agree with Jackson
But I also don’t think much of the others either and at least Jackson has a chance to stay in the 9th
It’s hard for me to decide which is the most confounding bullpen: TEX or DET? I bet as soon as one of them settles then Yates and Treinen start getting SV’s for LAD and then Bednar goes on IL for bring ineffective. I tried to get one stable on each team, but getting two this year in a 15 teamer seems a challenge if you arent willing to overspend on CL.
I think Tex will just be Martin with a lot of smoke and mirrors by Bochy…where Hinch will just use everyone in DET
I grabbed Holton in a bunch of early 15 teamers, especially Gladiators, where you cant rotate or bench SP 6 or 7. He might be good for 7-10 SV’s and W’s. There are worse guys for draft and hold. Probably less injury risk for RP’s who aren’t flame-throwers too.
Yeah, could be him
arizona also weird.
Foley was just sent to AAA so Detroit bullpen is a little clearer now.
Yeah, its crazy how far Foley has fallen.
Gonna be a BBBC, and not in the way Grey likes, knowhatimsayin?
hey luck! sorry i missed you the other day. woulda been nice to catch up. hope biz is good. happy to have you back on the shelf!
Things are good my friend! And yeah – I’ll swing by sometime just to say hi – I’d say we should catch an A’s game, but that means driving to sacramento and well, F that like F Lindor. lol
HAHA
Jackson does have an 18 save season, did not give up a run this spring, and had a 9:1 K/BB. Its all a guessing game at this point but I wouldn’t just dismiss what Bochy said, I am mean how would Texas benefit from being coy.
i was just kind of holding on to the “pretty close.” every chance i’m wrong. but saying pretty close is already coy, isn’t it.
just when you think you’ve heard it all…
david bote exercises his upward mobility clause?
he pulled the old george jefferson?
HAHA, what
I also read that and was also like WTF is an upward mobility clause?!
“To a deeeuxe apartment, in the skyyyaaayiyai”
Grey! What’s with Albies projected to hit 6th against righties and 5th against lefties. Not the 2nd overall second baseman stuff of dreams I was looking for! Tell me he will be better or should I get out of this mess.
Lineups change daily, let’s just get him to 27/12 and rest will figure itself out
Hey Grey et Al,
Im looking for my last Util/bench bat. I have Neto who should fill in there once he’s healthy. But until he’s back, which of these do you like best? Im leaning on a jack of all trade type bat to fill in since it’s a H2H league. But am tempted by a couple others
J.Ortiz
T.Fitzgerald
Nootbar
V.Robles
Nootbaar
In the same vein- Nootbaar or Lourdes for the final bench spot in a 5 OF OBP league?
I’d try Noot
Laura picking DeGrom to win the NL Cy Young is pretty bold.
Indeed!
Pitching for what team, the Rockies?
Haha
BTW, I joined a DC “Express” yesterday after my wife and in-laws left with the kids for Disneyworld. It was 4 hours and one minute. Crayzee 50 rounds. I did a very un-Albright thing and drafted an early C and early SP’s. I feel the need to confess my sins. Please forgive, Lothario.
Haha, I forgive you! I did a weird OC yesterday so wheeee!
Nice. How’d it go?
Weird! Haha, I like it…reached on Gavin Williams, Campbell, didn’t get Cam, grabbed Bibbee, Merrill, Wood and had 2nd pick, so Ohtani…Weird team!
Sounds like a good core. I heavily own Bibee and Campbell too (though I missed on his recent price surge). Drafted Wood yesterday, so fingers crossed.
Wood seems like on precipice of great things
I hope so. I’m definitely in. He’s my OF-1 in a couple leagues. I’d love to see him lead my DC team (pun intended) that I drafted yesterday to an overall championship.
Yup!
What overall pick were Campbell and Cam?
Campbell was 191, Smith was 212…I got caught playing chicken with Cam
Thats easy to understand. Those opening day ADP surges are super tricky. It felt really weird to take Clevinger before 300 yesterday after getting him 440 the week prior, but all the other likely CL’s were gone and I needed one.
Yeah, those Clevinger ones seem pointless…Might get one save a month — if he’s even good
The White Sox had 58 SV opporunities last year which was better than 7 other teams. They converted only 21. Next lowest team on conversion was Marlins with 33. So, if Clevinger is the guy and he pitches as well in the regular season as he has the last couple weeks, he could easily be a 35-40 SV guy. I liked the price. I bet there is value there.
Yeah, you might be right
???
10 team weekly H2H (daily moves) – 6×5 – standard + OPS. Keep 3 for 1 year
A: James Wood, Hunter Green, Matt Shaw
B: Mookie, Pfaadt, Steven Kwan
*Wood can be kept thru 2026. Mookie cannot.
Wood
Willson Contreras is going to be a bust. Getting a ton of helium cause he is gonna be 1b eligible. Echoing Grey, he is not that good and STL has a number of guys who play 1b and/or DH.
Junior Caminero will be another bust, hard to trust any Tampa player (position player or pitcher).
Sleeper(s): Craig Yoho and Shane Smith each save 20 + games,
We’ll see!
ST and all but Willson’s line in 45 PA’s this spring: .405/.511/.649/1.160 with 3 doubles, 2 HRs and 6 RBI. I am predicting a big year for Willson Contreras in 2025.
Yeah, ST
I mean, he’s C eligible and won’t be playing C, so he should be a lock for ~550-600 AB. That alone makes him slightly more valuable than most C.
TB hitters get a break moving out of the Trop. Junior is gonna give you 30+ HR from a CI spot (at the hot corner, which is even more thin) and you can get him in the 8th-9th round.
Not sure how either will be busts, but we all have our takes.
Seen Contreras play quite a bit over the years and I personally think he is a bit overrated. He always has one good stretch and then its meh rest of the way, Not saying he is awful but don’t think there is as big of gap between him and fulltime catchers as it is being made out to be.
I don’t like the way Tampa handles its players for fantasy purposes. Too much platooning and match-up play. I don’t think he will be a bum but expectations are high.
sleeper, infatuation, comeback and mvfp:
justin verlander
they say behind every great man, there’s a great woman…
I drafted Verlander in one league. I think if we avoid starting him vs. LAD and at Coors he’s probably a good bet the rest of the time. He’s looked like a very solid value pick at 300ish. Good call on Roupp too. I just drafted him last night as my SP8 in a DC.
Haha, new username Oaktown Time Traveler From 2010
it’s funny that i went back to ’10 when i only had to go back to ’22
Haha
If nothing else, Verlander has substantially improved the WAG quality of the Giants, similar to Juice re-signing with the 49ers. Sometimes it’s the subtle improvements that bring us all pleasure.
HA!
I’d reach out to Dom Brown. Heard he’s been locked in his garage for the last 5 years working on a time machine. May 20213 still calling his name….
Poor Tehol
My Giants sure could use it.
It’d be preferable if she was in front.
Let’s talk Steven Kwan. Had no intentions of drafting, but he came up in a weird spot where I could still wait on a lot of my targets, and he was the highest guy left on the board. But I find myself totally uninterested in him. 10 team weekly H2H OPS league with daily moves. Guys like Buxton and Joc are on the wire, and they just seem to be able to provide more punch if I can insert them in the right spots (at least until Buxton breaks). Is it crazy for me to want to rid myself of SK? Aside from maybe a slight dip in batting average, he seems replaceable by undrafted guys if the Buxton experiment fails and someone else grabs him – Friedl, Jung Ho Lee, Garrett Mitchell, Nootbaar, Marsh, etc.). Thoughts?
Omar’s coming!
Haha
Meh, not crazy
Hey Grey… I’m in a 10 team H2H league. Should I consider picking up Gavin Williams, Max Muncy, or Lourdes Gurriel Jr for any of the following on my roster?
C – Yanier Diaz (C/1B)
1B – Vladimir Guerrero (1B/3B)
2B – Katel Marte (2B)
3B – Alex Bregman (3B)
SS – Elly De La Cruz (SS)
OF – Cody Bellinger (OF/1B)
OF – Jason Dominguez (OF)
OF – Michael Harris (OF)
UTIL – Lawrence Butler (OF)
BENCH – Jeremy Pena (SS)
BENCH – Taylor Ward (OF)
BENCH – Cam Smith (3B)
STARTNG PITCHING:
Garrett Crochet
Bryce Miller
Justin Steele
Brandon Pfaadt
Clay Holmes
Pete Fairbanks
Bowden Francis
Ryan Pepiot
Drew Rasmussen
Taj Bradley
Jackson Jobe
IL: Shohei Ohtani (SP)
IL: Luis Gil (SP)
Nah, not right now
Not sure of the criteria for Comebacks Players, but if possible, I’d like to nominate Brett Baty and Dustin May. Baty would be coming back from back-to-back disappointing MLB stints while Dustin May is returning from a second major elbow surgery as well as a gruesome esophageal tear. Fingers crossed for both guys to have a healthy and productive 2025 season.
They work!
Attaboy MarmosDad — I nominate you for the Order of Canada!
And I hope you’re right about Bo…
Razzball is instituting tariffs on homer picks
I think I have Homer Picks in one of my leagues…
Haha, DOH
There’s a Blue Jays tax in our AL -only home league up here, too.
BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!!!!!
(Although I think that was Chris Jericho’s theme song. Hahahaha.)
I hope he bounces back. If he can’t get motivated in a walk year, then I will be eating a four-course meal of crow in September.
HAHA
Ok Cam Smith, in a dynasty league where ~60 guys are already kept, what is a reasonable round to draft this dude?
Around 100 overall
First
Hey Grey just drafted the other day in a 10 team roto. 5X5 but sv’hold and QS. plan on streaming heavily but i feel a little low in the sv/hld. Would you drop a low man (edman, mcarthy or oniel) to pick up another RP or ride it out a little and see if one of the youngsters gets hot and makes someone else expendable?
C – Austin wells
1B- Josh Naylor
2B- ozzie albies
ss- Oniel Cruz
MI- tommy edman
3B- jordan westburg
CI- cody bellinger
OF- Corbin Carroll
OF- Aaron Judge
OF- James Wood
OF- Lawrence Butler
OF- Tyler O’Neil
UTIL- Jake McCarthy
IL- Ronald Acuna Jr
IL- Connor Norby
Brnch- Kristian Campbell
Bench- Cam Smith
P-Bryce Miller
P-Joe Ryan
P- Bryan Woo
P- Nick Lodolo
P- Gavin Williams
P-Jackson Jobe
P- Tanner Scott
P-kirby Yates
P- Trevor Megill
Ride it for a little
Great stuff! Who do you think gets the 9th on Cincinnati short term? Barlow-Pagan or Rogers…Santillan…Ashcroft… thank you!
maybe rogers in vs left heavy and barlow otherwise. maybe diaz return sooner than later. ashcraft they’d like long term to win it i’d guess
Rogers is my bet, likely won’t be clean so could be as Oaktown says
Grey,
Love seeing MVFP Robbie Ray and MVFH Cam Smith as I have both! What made you come around on Ray? If I recall in the initial ranks you had him outside of your Tuxedo tier where you target heavily. You liking the Skubal kick change addition?
Maybe it was the pants? Skubal is awesome — think Ray is being drafted way later than he should be, making him valuable…
Maybe it was the pants made me LOL. I definitely agree with you that he’s being drafted in a dart throw range and he has top 20 SP upside easily.
Haha, yup
cbs blurb: austin hays likely everyday clean up hitter for reds.
yay for me! joy! i will win every league. everything coming up milhouse
cbs new blurb just seven above previous: austin hays dealing with calf issue.
now officially ready for rotisserie baseball season.
HAHAHA, I saw that on his calf and I was like, “Man, Millhouse can’t win”
8 team roto weekly with NO BENCH. Staff is Crochet,Valdez, Ragans, Schwellbach and Roki. Do I stream the Roki spot considering his innings limits for a double start. Or go with these 5. With the top 45 pitchers drafted there’s plenty on W.W. I worried about getting out volume by others owners. Thanks as always.
Go with those 5 for now
Getting close everybody!
Thoughts on my this one- 10 team 5×5 w/obp, keep 6
C Wong
1b Harper- K
2b Albies
3b rengifo
Ss adames
Ci Burleson
Mi Castro
Of acuna – K
Of Tucker – K
Of Teoscar -K
Of Cowser
U Heliot
Bn castellanos
Bn nootbaar
Bn meadows
Bn arraez
Bn L acuna
Sp Skubal – K
Sp Kirby -K
Sp miller
Sp pfaadt
Rp Robert Suarez
RP Alexis
RP estevez
P aroldis
Bn P pivetta
Bn P ranger
Bn P ohtani(p)
So besides having lots of hurt pitchers to start, thoughts?
Pitching looks solid and hitting looks excellent, you have nice keepers, if I had to quibble I think your light on IP and have too many RPs…Your hitting looks light on speed
Thanks! For RP I find those annoying west coasters grab pickups overnight before the east coasters wake up, so I added a 4th for now and who knows how long Aroldis keeps the job
Cool
Thoughts on Cam Smith RFer Astros and should I be interested in adding …using Soler & Crews now
Sure
Grey,
does trading Yamamoto/Tatis for Wheeler/Wood in a points league a better trade than it seems at first glance?
Wheeler side sounds better, by a little bit
Cam Smith…to the moon!
LFG!
Wow what a great list of 2025 hits…Here’s my greatest disco hits for 2025
Love Train…Bobby Witt
Staying Alive…Jacob deGrom
We are Family …Paul Skeens
Funkytown…Dustin May
I will survive…Cam Smith
I’m coming out…Roki Sasaki
Don’t Stop till you get enough…Guerrero Jr
That’s the way I like it…Elly
Got to be real…Shotani
Last Dance…Mike Trout
Haha
Here is my bold prediction-Degrom stays healthy this year and gives us 150 innings but with an ERA above 4.50 because hes an old man already.
Now that’s bold!
Start Sonny Gray v. Min on daily coming off rough spring and flu?
I don’t think it’s worth it
thank you
No problem
In an obp dynasty league, which side do you prefer.
Machado/snell or caminero/jake Irvin
If Irvin is replaced with Luzardo or Gore does that change things?
I’d say both Luz & Gore are slight upgrades, yea. Personally, I’d bet Gore in “taking off”. Luz, still young, is also a decent gamble for Phi to fix. Phi has lots $ tied up in their Sp’s though, not WSH. Both looking to get paid soon, Boras for both. Edge, Gore, IMO.
Machado — not enough
Come on Bo! Don’t let us down!
Looks like the Cards’ hopes are all on Lars Nootbaar!
I was counting on Tyler O’Neill to be the comeback player, but apparently he hit 31 home runs last year in his comeback year (Coolwhip called it!). I’ll take that again this year.
I’m 8/8 nabbing Nootbar late in drafts. So fingers crossed for a healthy, productive season from the Noot.
Pretty sure that 8/8 Noots was the b-side to Pennsylvania 6-5000.
Noot! Noot!
NOOT!
I like Nootbaar!
I think you may have accidentally put the blurb for Jack Flaherty in the wrong category
Hmm, will check
I don’t see what you mean