Whenever I write a post about Oakland, I open with a shout out to the King Of Hyphy, and fallen solider Mac Dre. I know he's from the Valley-Jo, but the man gets a great deal of Oakland love. It's only a half hour north after all. Or maybe all this is just a poor excuse to link to
this video. So put on your best
Thizz Face, and let's get into some Moneyball A's talk. You ready? After unloading eventual MVP, and mullet superstar Josh Donaldson, the A's have been in full on rebuild mode. Of course treadmill hero extraordinaire Billy Beane is still pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the sort of prospect crop needed for the A's to compete has alluded them for the better part of a decade. However, things changed last July, spearheaded by the signing of Cuban Hype Machine Lazarito. The A's then became heavy players in an active trade deadline, settling on a solid trade with the Dodgers. Unloading the aging Rich Hill, and impending free agent Josh Reddick for three solid prospect arms with some upside. All three Jhael Cotton, Frankie Montas, and Grant Holmes should factor into Oakland's rotation in the next few seasons. With Cotton the closest to the O.Co, followed by Montas, and Holmes bringing up the rear. They then followed both of those moves with the savvy December signing of Cuban pitcher Norge Ruiz for $2 million; a player many think was the best arm in the 2016 international class. Saying the rebuild of the once prospect and pitching rich A's began this July is a little disingenuous, as they did swing a trade for 2016 breakout rookie pitcher Sean Manaea at the 2015 deadline. Unloading Ben Zobrist to the future World Series champion Royals in the process. With a crop of young hitters, and pitchers matriculating to Oakland over the next few years, we could be looking at an up and coming organization. Time will tell if that holds true. It's the Top Oakland Athletics Prospects for 2017 Fantasy Baseball.
It seems like only yesterday the Astros were the laughing stock of the AL. Times were lean, with very little talent and a decade of futility, there seemed to be little to no light at the end of the tunnel. In just a few short years General Manager Jeff Luhnow has turned around both the farm system and major league club, to the point that each is bursting at the seams with talent. The last two years have brought about the dawn of a new era in Houston; defined by young talented players all over the field, and an aggressive approach in free agency, the trade market and draft. In the last two seasons alone the Astros have welcomed multiple impact rookies in the form of Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, and Alex Bregman. With a host of others not too far behind, the 'Stros look set to compete for years to come. Seriously, you can't imagine how much work it is to do a Podcast on Houston Astros Prospects and follow it up with a magnum opus post about Houston Astros prospects? They have so much dynasty goodness it's unbelievable. I'm not joking when I say I feel like I could just draft Astros players and manage to field a solid squad. Albeit one that needs to trade some of it's prospect depth for pitching, but that's besides the point. This is a long one, so enough with the small talk let's discuss some Houston Astros Prospects! Wooooooo!!!
Happy Black Friday! Oops, sorry, I mean Happy African-American Friday! As I type this, I'm being trampled at Bed, Bath and Beyond. "There's enough Scrub Daddys for everyone!" The Diamondbacks got a head start on Black Friday sales on Wednesday when they traded Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger and Zac Curtis to the Mariners for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte. What's that old axiom, if you don't know who the sucker is at the table, you're the sucker. Mariners, you're the sucker. If anyone forgot that the Diamondbacks fired Dave Stewart immediately following the end of the season, this was a reminder. If Stewart were still there, the Diamondbacks would've traded Greinke for Todd Walker. As Dave Stewart would say after reading that, "I'm not mad at ya." Don't love the move to Chase Field for Walker, but the NL West makes that medicine go down a little easier, chim chiminy chim chiminy chim chim cher-ee! Walker had a 8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 last year in 134 1/3 IP. That goes up to 8.5 in the NL West and he's pretending to yawn as he puts his arm around a low to mid-3 ERA. The only thing that's stopping you from nodding your head like a plus-size Pez is that Walker hasn't done it yet. He's only 24 years old, not doing it yet isn't a great excuse for never doing it. For 2017, I'll give him the projections of 12-11/3.44/1.18/153 in 160 IP. Anyway, here's what else I saw this offseason for 2017 fantasy baseball:
Can you imagine such a surprise thing in the delivery room? I can barely fathom the idea of fatherhood, let alone the extra money and work having two babies at one time can be. Thankfully, this isn't a stay at home dad blog so of course, the title don't mean shizz in terms of giving birth to two bundles of expensive joy at once. Nay, I'm talking about my favorite type of bundle of joy: cash. The kind of cash you get when starting someone against the Twins. Heck, you can look back just
to my Friday post to see how I think of said Twinkies. Synopsis: they trash and I look to take advantage of that knowledge as often as possible. How do I plan to implement this info today, you ask? By starting
Jason Vargas. Yes, I hate Minnesota that much...apologies to Prince #RIP. Vargas showed decently in his last outing but really, this is a two fold call. One, the Twins have been at or near the bottom all year in terms of offensive output and are currently streaking further down, dropping a wRC+ of 41 and a 31.3% K rate over their last 7 and a 62 and 27.9% over their last 14. Basically, Dozier stopped hitting a HR every day so their offense went south. Funny that. Anyhoo, we now get to look at that Vargas price tag of $4,600 and get to ask ourselves a very simple question: can he score around 15 points against such a bad opponent? Well if his 11.2 in Cleveland over just 4 innings in his last outing is any indication, the answer is yes. Due to pitch count concerns and because, well, he IS Jason Vargas, I wouldn't play him outside of tourneys tonight but he's a great price reliever if you wanna pay up for an SP2 or for big bats. So grab a couple of cigars and celebrate with me. Here's my spank to make you cry taeks for this Wednesday DK slate...
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In the last month
[player]Brian Dozier[/player] has been bulldozing opponents like it's his job. Technically it is his job, but he gets an "A" for effort and is the run away candidate for Employee of the Month.
[player]Gary Sanchez[/player] who? After two hot weeks, he's been more like Harry Sanchez. And in case you didn't know who Harry Sanchez was, the Urban Dictionary defines him as "
Same as Dirty Sanchez with the addition of pulling the hair from ones taint, and making a mustache from the left overs of the dirty sanchez." While I'm pretty sure anyone can add entries to the Urban Dictionary as I've done so myself, I'd have to say this description is pretty accurate considering Gary has totaled zero points in the last two weeks. Just in time for points leagues playoffs. (
This opening was written on Friday before Sanchez hit two home runs.)
I almost began this by calling each of you a cotton-headed ninny muggins. For those of you still paying attention, and still in contention, I wasn't speaking to you. Trust me, this isn't a jab to the heart of your fantasy fandom, but rather a jab to the heart of those dad blam stats I extract every. single. effing. week. Haha, yes, they're what carry this article, outside of these little intro words that a grand total of
four three of you read, and they matter greatly when determining which starters should get the nod in the two-start realm. But...this week, and maybe others in September, some of the numbers may not add up to the prettiest math on paper. And I just may get salty if you say the numbers next to the name I'm bout to highlight does over the next seven days. So, deep breath. No need to name call. We can keep it rockin' and ready to rage like when the song in the gif above hits the radio. And by the radio, I of course mean the loudspeakers in a baseball stadium in between innings with some annoying dancer and the team's baseball girls doing a country jig. Which name? Ol' Cotton Eye Jha.
Can you believe it's September already? With just under four weeks to go until the end of the MLB regular season, it's time to push your chips all-in. Outside of the elite players, everyone is expendable in redraft leagues from this point on. If you want to make that final surge up the standings before it's too late, production trumps reputation. Nursing a sore wrist? Thanks for the memories, Marcell Ozuna. Looking for more than a .220 average with mediocre counting stats out of your #5 outfielder? See you later, Josh Reddick. Need some ratio relief down the stretch? Adios, Marco Estrada. The problem is that trade deadlines have passed and the waiver wire is looking pretty thin at this point of the season. Who are you going to replace these players with? Fortunately, the recent roster expansion has allowed for a fresh influx of rookie talent at this key time in the fantasy season. The youngsters who were held down in the minors earlier this summer for some extra seasoning (or to delay their arbitration clocks) are being called up to get a taste of the big leagues. This week's most added player, Boston Red Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada (39.6% owned; +33.3% over the past week), is a prime example of the upsidey September call-up. Moncada is about as toolsy as it gets - plus-plus speed (94 steals over the last year and a half in the minors), above average power (.254 ISO in Triple-A), and a patient approach at the plate (double digit walk rates at every level) - which has made him one of the top prospects in all of baseball. His plus throwing arm has allowed the Sox to move him over to third base from his natural position of second base as well. The one caveat is that he strikes out. A lot. He's already whiffed six times in his first fourteen MLB at-bats and his 30.9% K% in 207 Double-A plate appearances this season is a concern. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if he hit three homers and stole half a dozen bases over the season's final month. Moncada is definitely worth adding for his upside alone.
Here are a couple of other interesting adds/drops in fantasy baseball over the past week:
At Stephen Strasburg's summer DL rental, the driveway is an inverted W and he timeshares with Ryan Zimmerman. The Nationals said Strasburg's elbow issue is not structural. Yeah, it's deconstructed like a Cobb salad at some overpriced restaurant. I'm sure Strasburg is totally fine and it's completely coincidental that he has a 10.19 ERA in August. Totally unrelated, guys and five girl readers, totally unrelated. Strasburg feels like the kind of pitcher that we can never rely on for more than 150 IP. In five years, he's thrown 200+ IP once and he's 28 years old. Oh, and 'member how Strasburg was supposed to bounce back this year? He currently has the worst ERA of his career. Yeah, great. In my fantasy team news, because who doesn't love someone talking about their fantasy team, Strasburg hit the DL about an hour after my weekly Scout league locked. The same league where I was in first a week ago before Strasburg went to Coors and Lackey went to the DL. The same league where I'm now in 2nd. The same league where I needed Strasburg to start twice this week and Lackey was set to face the Padres. The same league that ends at the end of August. The same league that just made me cry. I need a tissue, you karmic bullies! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Rejoice fellow prospectors for Michael Wacha has been slayed and disposed of on the DL with a shoulder injury. Good riddance Wacha, may the rookie nookieing begin. In the immediate aftermath Cards top prospect and K aficionado extraordinaire Alex Reyes was promoted. The early assumption was he'd fill Wacha's roster spot. That was until he wasn't. Shortly there after, it broke that he would be used out of the pen rather than take Wacha's spot. Then Luke Weaver was called up. This made me excited, one because I'm nutty about prospects, two because I own Weaver in a whole shizz ton of leagues, and three because he fits the profile of the rookie starters that have been successful so far this season. What's that profile Ralph? Control, command, and low walk rates. It's the love, peace, and chicken grease of pitcher prospecting. Think about it Taillon, Maeda, and most recently Musgrove; the players letting up the least amount of free passes are having the greatest initial success out of the gate. It's not a coincidence, because talented major league hitters will sit on junk pitches all day, and force you to throw strikes. That's what Luke Weaver does Gentlemen and five ladies. He throws strikes.... lots of'em. He had 12 total walks in 83 innings at AA and AAA this season. He's not some Phil Hughes boring control artist either, he brings with him a 10.0 K/9. Weaver keeps the ball in the ballpark too. In fact, he's only allowed 7 homers across 197 minor league innings. All this to say you should pick him up. Whether you start him on Saturday vs the Cubs is up to your discretion, but there will be other matchups, better matchups. You'll want him for those.
When Jonathan Lucroy vetoed the trade to the Indians this past weekend, I thought we were going to find out Lucroy was Joey Lauren Adams in Chasing Amy. Other teams were going to try and convert him into one of their players, but he was always going to continue to play for the other team. Then, at some point, he was going to describe oral sex in insane, graphic detail, using balls, bats, and a gear shift, and other teams were just going to give up trying to get him to play for their team. Then it turned out the Brewers were not going to be "Holden" him forever, you can "Banky" on it. Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress were Chinese finger-cuffed to each other and sent to the Rangers for Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz. By the way, Luis/Lewis is the Spanish version of tomato-tomahto. I wonder what the Brewers finally said to Lucroy. "We love you, but, dude, if you really love this organization, you'll get the eff out of here. Go!" Then cried in the rain all super-weepy like Ben Affleck. So, Lucroy gets a small boost in value from the lineup, but the stadium change is nearly a push. As for Jeremy Jeffress, who is Jason Lee in this scenario, will work set up for Sam Dyson, who will keep the job. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
[player]Shawn Kelley[/player] notched his second save in as many days Friday night, recording the final out, allowing just one hit for his sixth save of the season. Is your fantasy team in dire need of saves? Are you tired of owning the entire Braves bullpen? Well, it seems your prayers may have been answered. Manager Dusty Baker has yet to commit to Kelley, but Baker usually doesn't commit to anything unless it's ruining some young player's career in the long term. Unlike Atlanta, the Nationals bullpen will likely see a good share of save chances and with
[player]Jonathan Papelbon[/player] struggling, it appears Shawn Kelley is the add here. Oh Papelbon, how the mighty have fallen, right? I remember when he wasn't just the most obnoxious pitcher in all of baseball, he was also a very good closer! Shawn Kelley has the potential to be a very good closer as well. He holds a 3.05 ERA, and 1.02 WHIP, with a 60/7 K/BB rate. Did I mention he can get you saves? Did I mention he's available in over 80% of fantasy leagues? Geez, all this stuff I forgot to mention, my memory is really shot lately. There's still a chance Washington trades for a closer, but I'd pick up Shawn Kelley everywhere I needed saves as he looks to be the top option in the Nats pen at the moment, Grey told you to
BUY and he won't be available for very long.
Here's what else I saw Friday night in fantasy baseball:
Oh man! So close to a Joel Youngblood sighting! Melvin Upton was traded from the Padres to the Blue Jays, a team they are currently facing. Is it me or does it seem like this year the teams are so cheap, they're not even using their cell minutes. If they're playing against a team, then they're trading with them. That's it. Surprised the Indians haven't been more active then. Ya know, cause they could use smoke signals. By the way, nothing you could ever say about Native Americans is more racist than a team being called Redskins or the Indians' mascot. So, go ahead, try! Melvin Upton shook the B.J. name, but you can't take the Upton out of the B.J.'s, Blue Jays, that is. The trade of Upton takes him from a mediocre team to a solid offensive team, but moves him from the middle of the order to the lower third of the order and potentially even hurts his playing time if the Jays want to get Smoak into the lineup. I'm gonna say all things being equal, it's a push, which technically means all things are equal, so there! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
