Rusney Castillo is expected to join the Sawx on Tuesday. Whoa, did you see that? There was a rainbow going over the world and when I said that it turned red. I wonder if that's because he's Cuban. Oh, it's probably because the Red Sox paid to sponsor the rainbow. That makes more sense. I didn't think Mother Nature would sell rainbow naming rights, but there ya go. Someone's gotta pay for the sun; the world we live in. So, Rusney's getting a little taste of how's your father with the Red Sox, but I don't think he'll A) Play every day. B) Be much a factor this year. C) There's no C. Now, for 2015 fantasy baseball, well, there we're gonna have to talk for a sec. Sorry, I know you're late to be moral support at your wife's surgery, but she can wait. Here's what Prospect Mike said about him previously, "The one tool that is not in question is (Rusney's) speed. A 30+ steal season from Castillo is a possibility as soon as 2015. The power is still up in the air. Some have tagged him more as an 8-12 homer type guy while others have said 15 or maybe even 20 homers could be in the cards. With any player, we get lots of comps thrown around. Two of the comps I’ve heard the most are Shane Victorino and Rajai Davis. Honestly, the Davis comp makes the most sense to me. The one that makes the least sense is Grey, he's just a buffoon." Hey, what's that all about? To me, the Rajai comparison feels heavy on the speed; Victorino seems a better equivalent, but, honestly, there's a ton of unknown here. He could be anywhere from a 7 HR/20 SB fourth outfielder to a 20 HR/40 SB superstar. Victorino feels about right -- 12 homers, 30 steals. The more I read that he only had 66 steals in 1097 plate appearances in Cuba, I wonder if the hype machine hasn't taken Rusney and thrown him into the spin cycle, making him more than he is. Shizzton of risk either way you slice the cake, and, brucely, I love cake, so I hope you're sharing. For this year, I'd take a flyer if I could platoon him. For 2015, I'd take the risk for something special, but don't expect more than Victorino. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
After Rafael Soriano once again looked like his apologetic alter ego, Sorry-yo, Matt Williams said the Nats won't have a set closer. Let's backtrack to August 18th, it was a day after the fourth time Soriano had given up runs in the matter of two weeks. At that point, I wrote there was a problem, and I grabbed Drew Storen. That was three weeks ago, and things haven't gotten better. So, why was I able to spot there was a problem with Soriano three weeks prior to the Nationals manager, Matt Williams? Terrific question. There's a few possible reasons A) Matt Williams's Oakleys are worn to shield TV cameras from showing he's actually asleep. B) Matt Williams can't find steroids that make him smarter. C) There's no C. D) In a secret meeting in Bud Selig's wood-paneled basement in Milwaukee in 1999, Major League Baseball declared that every team must have at least one Mark McGwire. Matt Williams was elected to be Arizona's Mark McGwire. (Sosa was elected to be the Cubs' McGwire, which is why he bleached his skin.) The experiment to have a McGwire on every team was a success at first, but soon the players that were elected to be McGwire began to say, "I'm not here to talk about the past," every time any question was asked. The biggest offender of this was Matt Williams, so, rather than risk being found out, MLB made him the Nats manager. Any of these reasons could be right, but it's probably D. So, with Soriano in trouble, the Nats could go to Storen, Tyler Clippard or Matt Thornton. My guess is it'll go in that order, and yesterday Storen got the clean save, helping his case. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
The other day I talked about the dark underbelly of roster expansion and how, due to teams not DL'ing their players, it can actually hurt us in this thing we call life. Well, some of us call it fantasy baseball instead of life. Some of the less obsessed of us. To those people, I ptooey in your direction. If you're not completely obsessed over your hobby, let me say this... Get a new hobby! The national pastime's pastime? Maybe if you're a stutterer! This shizz is more like the national pastime's full-time, 24/7 job like taking care of your uncle who has been lying on your sofa for a month because your aunt started dating a guy she met on Tinder! "Uncle Frank, maybe you put on sweatpants so I can have company." No, Uncle Frank won't put on sweatpants, just like you won't have company until you find another first baseman to replace Anthony Rizzo. Uncle Frank is comfortable in his gotchies! Are you kapeeshing me? So, Rizzo has a muscle strain, and the Cubs said they would DL him if the rosters hadn't expanded, but instead they're going to let Anthony Rizzo slice garlic really thin -- so thin it melts when it hits the pan -- while he whittles away the year on the bench. Sadly, you have to move on to another first baseman in redraft leagues. You can't count on him the rest of the season. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
So I did a little Google of "pine tar brands" and everything is this Grandpa's brand! Talk about cornering the market. And their new spokesman should be [player]Michael Pineda[/player]! "Those other brands, they dirt, it's dirt..."
I used to be the biggest Big Mike fan. I was all in on him in the Mariners rookie season, and went gaga watching his starts over anyone else. Of course he faltered down the stretch, got traded, blew up his shoulder, and now is a little bit of a parody based on the ridiculous double-down of pine tarring and feathering himself.
While he might be a punchline, and finding a little bit of humor for the open was easy, he's still been good while healthy this year. And not just good, but Grandpa's good! ERA barely over 2, WHIP under 1, 30:4 K-ta-walk. And still owned in only 51% of Yahoo leagues! I haven't seen Pineda pitch since the April oil slick days, so I decided to break down his Saturday start north of the border to see how he's looking:
Alright Head-to-Headers and Weekly League players. This is more than likely the most important week of your season. You're either kicking off the first round of playoff match-ups or you're grinding out the last week trying to get that ever elusive playoff birth. Not to worry my peeps, the Legendary Lifshitz is back and ready to drop some two start pitcher science on y'all. In fact I'll be taking over as your captain from here on out and into 2015. That's right! I'm your 2015 Two Start Huckleberry! Think of me as the top prospect getting called up for roster expansions with an eye on the starting job next year. You know like Xander Bogaerts but less of a disappointment. Unless you're my third grade teacher Ms. Schultz. Then I'm more of a disappointment. What can I say the women had high hopes.
As for the roster of Double dippers, it's not bad. Lots of good streamers and ton of middle of the road options. I'll try and focus a little more on the arms with lower ownership levels, knowing those are the guys you'll be looking to for the extra counting stats to put you over the top. This is one of the most fun times to be a fantasy baseball manager. This is for those digging through the wavier wire looking for that streamer to get you into the dance, or that spot starter to help you lock down that swing category to get you into the next round of the playoffs, or even the roto owner looking to capitalize on the less savvy owners who hit their innings limits this week. May you use this as your guide good sirs! Unless you're in a league with me, then I hope all your pitchers get shelled. Sorry but I'm in it to win it no matter the cost!
Adam Wainwright went 6 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 5 Ks as he was out-dueled by Jeff Locke (7 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 3 Ks). Wainwright being out-dueled seems to be the norm lately. In August, his ERA is 5.17 and he says he's going through a 'dead arm' phase. Ways that a dead arm could help (in no particular order): tricking a zombie while playing dead, making your other arm feel more alive, doorstop, can't pick up a bill because your wallet is in the dead arm pocket, screaming out "Sorry, dead arm!" when cutting off people while driving and making your Bernie Lean more believable. Ways that a dead arm won't help: pitching. Verlander's arm must be so dead that necrophiliac stray dogs try to constantly hump it. You have to hold onto Wainwright and hope he comes out of it, but obviously this was not what you wanted to hear. By the by, Rudy tells me after he learned his wife was preggers with twins he went through a 'dead penis' phase. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Grab Luke Gregerson! Ah, that's how you start a post. Some sweet, sweet SAGNOF. It's like when I walk into a room and it just lights up. Guys and four girls be going, "Ooh, what's his name, and can I get his number?" My mustache is yours. *eye wink* There's plenty of me to go around. On the other hand (wasn't that the first hand?), there hasn't been that many closer jobs changing hands (there's those hands again). This weekend us save chasers caught a lucky break when Sean Doolittle came down with a strained intercostal. Yes, he strained the highway that runs down the side of Florida. What the H do I know? Handsome, that's the H I know. Now, go grab Gregerson and come back for some straight fantasy flavor from the Fantasy Master Lothario (don't abbreviate it, thank you). UPDATE: A's said they might go to or Eric O'Flaherty, the dad from Freaks and Geeks. I'd grab both Gregerson and O'Flaherty until the situation worked itself out. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Shameless cross-pollination! Yes, just as shameless as
Tony Parker cross-pollinating Brent Barry's wife, I'm hijacking the open of my post to let you know Fantasy Basketball rankings have begun! I hope Grey doesn't suspend me for conduct detrimental to the team... I've got my
top 50 up earlier than anywhere else (well, no one has recent rankings up!) and if you suffer fantasy depression through winter, and/or hate that Fantasy Football is nothing but pure luck, Fantasy Basketball is the rebound (womp womp) for you! The mix of percentages and counting stats appeal the Fantasy Baseball-ist in everyone, so if you've thought about trying hoops, hop over to basketball and into an RCL when they open next month (I sense another hijack coming...)!
"Get back to the diamond JB, this is a friggin' baseball blog!" Fine! Has any pitcher in the initial top-50 (non-injured) had as tumultuous a season as
[player]Danny Salazar[/player]?! Maybe
[player]Justin Verlander[/player]... But now he's injured too! Salazar pitched like a gangbuster (...? can you be only one gang buster? Ask Ness...) closing out last year, but lower velocity, control issues, and just overall ineffectiveness were so bad he went back down to AAA. After two months in the Minors, Salazar has been pretty good in 4 of his 5 starts since the call up in late July, including a decent outing yesterday. Just can't get deep into games! To be honest, I haven't watched a single Salazar start this year (using all my Indians time on
[player]Corey Kluber[/player], k?!), so I decided to break down his afternoon against the Orioles and if he needs to be scooped up in more leagues even if his rotation spot is non-guaranteed:
Uh-oh, I feel a rhyme coming on. Chris Carter's schmotato was born on August 4th wearing the Astros hat, 40 ounces he doesn't pour forth cause that forty-oh is his bat. If you can't respect that your whole perspective is wack, maybe you'll love him when he goes by Charlie Really Black. Man, he was conceived as Hurry K'd Carter, but that was just for fun, big hands, I know you're the one. What's this a Violent Femmes mash-up, must be the Grey album. Eggs over easy, Carter's going swat! What's that albumen? No, it's snot! So, Carter now has 7 homers in the last ten games. If he could only hit .260, he'd an exact clone of a young Ryan Howard. We want mo' Howard! Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck! Instead, we'll take what Carter's giving now, which is crazy power and Ks. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Hey ya’ll welcome back to the DK shuffle. We do this daily and since, at this point in the season, you’re probably here everyday, lemme get straight to the point. The Giants suck right now. Nothing pleases a Dodger fan more than to be able to say that and know that I’m not being a homer. Bonus points when you live in enemy territory. Those of you who share my pain can relate, right? I spend my daily grind getting lit up by the Tortured. I’ve watched the Dodgers be relatively unimpressive and gain almost 20 games on the Giants in the last couple months. I checked the last 30 days on Los Gigantes hitting and here’s what I found: 90 wRC+, .292 wOBA, .242 AVG and .651 OPS. Hard to be scurred uh dat… Plus they’re facing
[player]Chris Sale[/player], Intimidator (CSI) in the spacious confines of the beautiful AT&T Park. The only guy on the Giants who’s been hitting is Panda and he is basically a golden sombrero away from giving up switch hitting, he’s so bad as a RHB—sandwiched between [player]Juan Perez[/player] and [player]Ryan Vogelsong[/player] against LHP on the team… Sale averages over 10 K/9 and carries a 1.85 ERA on the road this year. I’m not feeling very confident in the majority of SPs out there today so I’m rolling with Sale everywhere today, even at $12,500.
There is so much value out there today on the bat side of things. So much so, that it just might be worth stacking your pitching with [player]Adam Wainwright[/player] and Sale... Before you build your lineup today, ensure that you’ve taken a good look at the
DFSBot. Rudy’s phenomenal tool, as Mrs. Gamble calls it, cranks out the day’s best value plays and even breaks it down to expected $ per point. As the
Ombotsman has proven, the DFSBot has been a much more accurate method of ranking value than Draftkings salaries have been.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 20 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!
Man it was a crazy weekend! I think the biggest event was I saw a dude with a Fangraphs shirt on. Way to wear your heart on your sleeve! With a 79.8% confidence. Then my boy [player]James Paxton[/player] was straight up nasty, striking out the White Sox in order in the first inning and turning in a good start. Pour the syrup, hoser! Oh, and I got engaged...
But despite all that hooplah, I'm back, I'm fierce, and I'm ready to hit the Pitcher Profile harder than [player]Wade Miley[/player] at the free lobster Golden Corall! "That's just mean, JB..." Well, what was really mean was if you started Miley in his last start, tagged for 10 runs against the Royals. "Damn that [player]Alex Gordon[/player] for bringing me those KC ribs! I had the meat sweats before I hit the field!" Even so, Miley bounced back well yesterday, and still has a surprising 144 Ks in 156.1 IP. He needs three more to surpass his 147 career-high last year that took him 200+ innings, so he's taken a giant step forward. Which may or may not sound like Jurassic Park. Ok, I'm done! Here's how Miley looked yesterday, with some analysis-ation on if he can help your fantasy squads down the stretch:
I’m just curious: Do Colorado pitchers stink because half of their games are played in the equivalent of the Space Stadium in “Triple Play 2001”, or do they stink because no one wants to pitch there, so the Rockies just end up with the garbage juice at the bottom of the pitching scrap heap? Maybe it’s a little bit of both. Either way, the poor, battered Rockies pitchers will get out of Coors next week and into some fun in the sun in San Diego for a series that is the definitive fantasy baseball crossing of the streams: [Jay's Note: Don't cross the streams.] Offensive-minded team with horrendous pitchers that play in a batter’s park visit a pitching-minded team with absolutely zero offense in their pitcher’s park.
So what does this mean for fantasy purposes, and specifically Two-Startapalooza purposes?
