Top 100 Starting Pitchers: Week 1
July 27, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 25 Commentsby: everywhereblair
Search Results for: milone
| Player Page Matches | |
|---|---|
| Brennan Milone (ATH) | Tommy Milone (FA) |
We're watching baseball again! I'm watching baseball again! The Japanese and Korean and Taiwanese people, well, they've been watching baseball for like a month because they stayed home instead of going to Uncle Johnny's Cinco de Mayo party. Be a hero, wear a mask! This top 100 starting pitchers series is, as David Bowie would stutter, Ch-ch-ch-changing. For the duration of summer training, I treated readers to a daily update in the Top 100 Starting Pitchers while they went through their draft boards. Feedback on the constantly updated list was super-positive for the most part, because most sites weren't providing news links and sleeper articles and rankings--all updated daily--in one spot. Now that drafts are finished, I'm shifting back to the usual weekly updates. It'll be like Friends used to be, before you could watch it 24/7 on every streaming platform and TV network.
July 27-August 2, 2020
FanDuel: Opening Day 2.0… Again!
July 24, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |by: TroyKlauder
Dubbed "Opening Day 2.0," yesterday was quite weird. We had two star players scratched just hours before their games and baseball played in front of cardboard cutout fans with pretend crowd noise. Not to mention a five-and-a-third inning rain shortened affair where both starters logged complete games. Fortunately, we've got 28 teams in action on FanDuel Friday, so it's time for Opening Day 2.0... again! Maybe this time around will be a bit less wonky.
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
SAGNOF: Harness Energy Block Bad
September 23, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, SAGNOF | 2 Commentsby: Roto-Wan
Is it still baseball season? I thought that ended two weeks ago. Oh, that's just the volume of the NFL drowning out all other sports. We have seven days left, counting today (which has almost no games). To get you where you need to be in the stolen base department here are my favorite streaming options to gamble on for a steal. It's like fictional golfer Gary Potter says, "You gotta harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad. Feel the flow. Feel it. It's circular. It's like a carousel. Up and down, and AROUND. It's circular. Circle, with the music, the flow. All good things."
Two Start Pitchers, Week 26: Last Week Of The Season, Can’t Hold Anything Back Now
September 21, 2019 | Two Start Fantasy Starters, Two Start Starters | 5 Commentsby: B_Don
- Last week of the regular season. Playoff teams may decide to adjust or sit their starters as they lock up their position and start getting ready for the playoffs. Did my best to recognize the 2 starters as best I could here.
- There's still some questions about who will start, but the situations I couldn't nail down were:
- Baltimore: Dylan Bundy is in line to start, but there's a chance that Chandler Sheperd gets a chance in that spot instead.
- Mariners have Marco Gonzales down to pitch both Sunday and Tuesday. It could be Tommy Milone or Justin Dunn if Marco goes Sunday.
- The Reds could throw Kevin Gausman as an opener or could let Sonny Gray take the spot on Tuesday.
- Oakland and San Diego are likely running a 6 man rotation.
- Cincinnati may run a 6 man rotation, but have to monitor that situation.
Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 22: Only a Gibson is Good Enough
August 26, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 24 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
Not your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…
As you may or may not know, Fantasy Master Lothario traveled to the Big Apple this past week. What you definitely don't know, is why the Champion of Razzball made the cross country trek to the city that never sleeps: Grandpa-Donk's 92nd birthday festivities. That's right, Grey Albright and Gramps-Donk are the closest of friends. Have you ever seen Grey and Sweaty Jimmy in the same room? Didn't think so...
As Grey stepped forward to kiss the hoof and present the ageless-donk with a priceless phallic statue specially commissioned by this season's Blown Away glass blowing contestant Annette Sheppard, Gramps leaned in and whispered the name "Kyle Gibson" into Sweaty Jimmy, I mean Grey's ear. "The same Kyle Gibson who just gave up 4 runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings against Detroit last week?", Grey thought to himself. But he knew better than to question the most respected donkey in all the land.
It's the time of season where everyone outside of the top 20-25 starting pitchers become expendable in shallower leagues. Gibson will be an ideal streaming target in those leagues as he again faces the Tigers in Detroit on Friday; Streamonator loves this match up just as much as the grand old donk. I wouldn't be excited to start Gibson for his following three starts in Boston, at home against the Nationals, and in Cleveland, but they aren't the worst match ups. Then his last two juicy match ups will come against the Royals and Tigers once again. Don't doubt the death defying donkey's advice, stream or stash Gibson for this final month.
The Cincinnati Reds’ Sonny Gray ($11,300) is clearly the best starting pitcher on tonight’s FanDuel slate. And it's not even close. He has a slate low 2.92 ERA, as well as the best strikeout rate (29.2%) of any scheduled starting pitchers for Monday. And now he draws a Miami offense that is putrid, particularly against right-handed pitching. The fish have a .125 ISO and a .285 wOBA against right-handers in 2019. The only knock against Gray may be the marked up price tag that FanDuel has applied.
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 20: Heaney and the Robots are Taking Over
August 12, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 30 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
Not your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…
When the robots finally take over the world and the rest of us have fallen, one last sentient being will remain on the planet taming and ruling over the machines: Grandpa-Donk. Until that time we must do our best to live in harmony with the androids. Don't give the bots reason to overthrow humanity during your lifetime, let it be your children's problem.
For fantasy baseball purposes, it's that time of year to start leaning heavily on artificial intelligence. The sample of data available for Rudy's mechanical offspring to crunch grows larger by the day. The rest of season player rater and streamonator are functioning like the well lubed machines they are. The top 100 starting pitchers for the remainder of this year will strongly weigh these robotic opinions as most pitchers only have 7-8 regular season starts left; match ups are of the utmost importance from here on out. Speaking of the bots, is there something in rest of season player rater's pocket or is he just happy to see Andrew Heaney?!
The player rater has Heaney ranked as the #27 starting pitcher for the rest of the season. I did a double take when I saw the large rusty shaft protruding from player rater's nether regions at the mention of Andrew Heaney. Looking closer, it makes some sense: Heaney threw two above average outings against the stacked Astros lineup in July before hitting the IL with shoulder soreness. He then came back strong Saturday with an abbreviated outing in Boston against a struggling, but still loaded Red Sox lineup. His swinging strike rate is up over 13% in his 49 2/3 innings this season with 58 strike outs, plus he'll face the White Sox twice and maybe the Rangers twice over the next three weeks. Heaney's arm should be fresh at this point, since he's been hurt ALL season, so pick him up and trust fall into rest of season player rater's cold, rigid, arm-like metallic stumps.
Here's some more players rest of season player rater and Donkey both like for the stretch run...
Fantasy Baseball Streamers, Week 19: Ride the Wave
August 11, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Streamers, Two Start Starters | 2 Commentsby: The Real Joey Bart
Last week was one of our best articles of the season, as we got a fantastic week from streamers like Dinelson Lamet, Vince Velasquez, Jeff Samardzija and Mike Fiers. We’re going to look to keep that momentum here but it’s going to be tough.
I always try to be transparent with you guys and I need to be honest about this week. Aside from our headliner, this is one of the ugliest streaming weeks I’ve seen all season. I mean, look at my second two-start streamer! Yuck! That means it may be better to avoid streaming this week and focus on hitting with so many studs having quality matchups. With that said, I do have some great one-start streaming options and one of my favorite two-start steamers of the year!
Justin Verlander, SP: $12,000, is locked in. He is so locked in he is our super-duper, locked and loaded, slam dunk, touchdown goal of the week. He transcends sports. He will win you a NASCAR tournament. He will make your burrito taste better and your skies less cloudy. That's how good he is right now.
Not that Justin Verlander needs factors in his favor to dominate – so don’t mistake the intention here, no disrespect, ever – but there are reasons to believe he could treat this Mariner lineup like a little league B-lineup. Worse than the no-hit performance they’re coming off yesterday. They might quit baseball after this, and here’s why:
• Park factor: Minute Maid Park is usually neutral, but today is the most pitcher-friendly park on the slate for a right-handed pitcher.
• Weather: There is no rain risk, as they have a roof, but air density still affects the travel of the baseball, and today the conditions in Houston are the best of the slate for pitching. Higher air density provides more resistance to a baseball traveling through the air, which increases spin rate and movement (at the expense of a little velocity, yes, but it’s worth the tradeoff), and decreases the distance a batted ball travels. It’s science.
• Visual Memory Index: This is a Razzball Premium feature that measures the change in conditions from one game to the next. The exact same pitch will move differently depending on the density of the air in which it is thrown. How much differently is what VMI aims to quantify for us. Negative numbers are worse for hitting and better for pitching, and just the opposite for positive numbers. Today, the Mariners have the most negative VMI number of the slate, so we should expect their hitters to require the greatest adjustment compared to recent conditions. Uphill battle against Verlander.
• Strikeouts: The Mariners strike out a lot, more than any other team in baseball.
• Caveats: The way this could go wrong is pretty clear. The Mariners are top 5 in the league in team ISO and team walk rate, and Justin Verlander gives up the majority of his runs allowed through home runs, and also walks about 2 hitters per 9 innings pitched. If things fall apart, this is the likeliest reason why.
Enough said. Play him in a crazy percent of your lineups today and enjoy.
And guess what? There’s more! Read on for our top picks of the day. Have a great one!
New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 18: Pancakes, Lemonade and Clevinger
July 29, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 52 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
Not your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…
The outpouring of concern over Grandpa-Donk's well being during Heatwave 2019, has been heart warming. Rest assured, Gramps is still alive and donkey kicking. In fact, last weekend the old jackass worked out in the yard 48 hours straight in the 100-degree heat without stopping for so much as a Señor Crappers change. Once he finished the field labor, G-Donk came inside to make the rest of us pancakes and lemonade--an old Donk family tradition. As Great Gran-Donk always said, "When life gives you apocalyptic weather, make pancakes and lemonade."
Mmmmm ice cold lemonade: my favorite of the fresh squeezed juices. You know what other juice is worth the squeeze? The Clevinger concentrate. I was skeptical when Mike Clevinger returned from his back injury in mid-June. His first two brutal starts had me strutting around like top donkey, so smart. But since the calendar turned to July, Sunshine has been lights out going 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 31 innings. Clevinger is extracting juice like a fantasy ace right now and there's no reason to think the liquid will dry up anytime soon.
Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 16: Lancelot Returns to the Round Table
July 15, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Top 100 Starting Pitchers | 42 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
Not your Grandfather’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers…
Grandpa-Donk: World traveler, meteorologist, woodworker, Señor Crappers spokesperson, and wise elder. One fact you may not know about Gramps is that his favorite movie is King Arthur. The old Donk and his friend Sweaty Jimmy have a thing not only for handling wood together, but also for the Knights of the Round Table. After a long day of working with each other's sweat moistened wood, it's not uncommon to see G-Donk and Jimmy together watching Sir Lancelot's feats of courage while spooning ice cream into one another's mouths like very normal heterosexual men.
Speaking of Sir Lancelot, have you noticed what Lance Lynn has been up to? If Lynn had pitched in that crazy London Series there's a decent chance he would've been knighted. Fun fact: Granddaddy-Donk was knighted back in the 60's; all it took to be knighted back then was some good smoke and semi-straight teeth.
As for Lynn, the 32 year old has compiled 14 consecutive starts of 6+ innings and he's thrown 7+ innings in 9 of those outings. Since May 10th, Lynn has gone 8-2 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 98 strikeouts in only 81 1/3 innings pitched. He hasn't required Señor Crappers since that fart (which wasn't just a fart) back on April 23rd.
Back in Week 12 I said, "The Lance Lynn brand has never been a best seller, but prior to last season Lynn had posted 3 straight seasons of 175+ IP with a sub-3.50 ERA. He’s added a half MPH to his average fastball velocity and he’s throwing a lot more sliders this year, leading to a career high K-rate through 86 innings. In 51 1/3 IP since May 1st, Lynn boasts a 3.63 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with 60 strike outs, and the FIP fairies are whispering that he’s actually been even better than that. Anyone care for a bowl of Lance Strasburg? Mmmmm salty beard!" I sound pretty smart, for a Donkey.
So, can we call it square for the whole Kikuchi debacle yet? Speaking of The Kooch, he's been looking a little better of late. Watching him pitch no longer makes me want to slam my junk in a car door. I may have to see if the the ole Kooch Razzwagon will fire back up. Fair warning: The Koochwagon only has three tires and no steering wheel, but the acid spiked punch never runs out!
[brid autoplay="true" video="434590" player="10951" title="Fantasy Baseball 2019 Mailbag Week 15"]
At least one of you is reading this with a bandaged thumb from a fireworks mishap. I had a Cousin Pete (Italian side of the family) who lost the tip of his thumb on the 4th, but rather than stop the festivities, he taped the tip of a hot dog on his thumb to act as a tourniquet for the rest of the 4th, so we could all go about our fun-having business. I suggested my Cugino make a PSA about hot dog tourniquets, but I was turned away by NBC Cares. Let us bow our heads and pray that if anyone loses a finger, may there be a proper-sized hot dog nearby. Okay...*claps hands* Play ball! Yesterday, Matthew Boyd went 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 baserunners (zero walks), 13 Ks, ERA at 3.87. Flavor Flav secures his giant clock to his chest with one hand and pumps his fist with his other hand, "Yeah Boyd!" Boyd was the 1st pitcher with less than 6 IP, zero walks and 13 or more Ks. You kinda have to get hit around a bit to have that record, but, damn, that's impressive. Let's hear it for the Boyd, let's hear it for the...MATT! See what I did there? No one saw that coming! Not a soul! Boyd is one of the few guys in the entire major leagues who is pitching better than his ERA would indicate. I'm kidding, everyone's ERA is crap! But Boyd's been very special -- 11.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 3.33 xFIP -- and is looking like a solid number two with upside. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball: