[player]Nick Swisher[/player] is one of those guys we love in OPS leagues. Yes, I will be referring to myself in the plural form. It’s easier to win arguments that way, no? Swisher’s been a flop so far this year, but the great thing is, like most politicians, he’s a flip-flopper. To put it less confusingly, I fully expect him to rebound. To put it more confusingly, read this while trying to spell [player]Jeff Samardzija[/player]’s name aloud. Swisher has been one of the most consistent guys in OPS leagues and is a sure bet to produce an .800 OPS in a given year. He’s been slowed a bit by injury, but I expect around a .260/.360/.470 going forward. He’s been dropped in some leagues and, if he’s owned, his owner is likely willing to sell him at a discount. Let’s just say that I (we?) don’t think this is the year he collapses. Did I mention that the Chicago Blackhawks are awesome? Now I did. Anyway, here are some guys who have my attention in OPS leagues:
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I’m Gregor, I’m Gregor, He’s Pa-Gone
June 25, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 503 Commentsby: Grey
[player]Angel Pagan[/player] might be out the season, but will definitely be out until September. Too bad, so sad, don't forget to write, don't write too often, waste of paper. Hey, [player]Gregor Blanco[/player], come on down! You are the next contestant on The SAGNOF Is Right. How many steals can you steal this year? [player]Peter Bourjos[/player] says 20. Not bad, but seems a little low. [player]Jacoby Ellsbury[/player] says 60. Whoa, that's way too high; you're not gonna win a trip for two to Mount Rushmore like that. [player]Michael Bourn[/player] says 35. That's not bad; he's practiced this at home with his grammy. Oh no, [player]Darin Ruf[/player] says 1. Damn you, Darin Ruf! Now I have to guess exactly or go with 2, but then [player]Marlon Byrd[/player] can say 3 and I'm screwed. I'll say...28. Byrd goes with 2, and Ruf gives him the stink-eye. Drew Carey says... Oops, when he pulled out the card an eight ball of coke fell out of his pocket. The correct answer is 32! I win! Next up, Plinko! Fitting since Gregor sounds like a Pinko. Sure, Blanco's not an exciting name and is only the lede because there were four games yesterday, but he still has lots of value. This news is the equivalent to a new closer taking over. Blanco won't kill you in average, and has been hitting near .500 in the last week. Blanco is a guy I'd grab in every single league if I needed speed. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Josh Johnson Finally Stops Putting The JJ In Vajayjay
June 18, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 590 Commentsby: Grey
[player]Josh Johnson[/player] looked solid yesterday (7 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 10 Ks vs. the Rockies). But Colorado away from home can be an easy match-up. Hey, Rockies, try doin' it in the land of Labatt! You've been Molson Iced! JB called this one in the comments yesterday. I did not believe. Though, I do look much more animated now. Like I just stepped off a yacht in a Miami Vice cartoon. I'm snorting cartoon drugs and listening to cartoon Phil Collins play cartoon bongos. What do you think of the new avatar? I just stepped off a boat yet my hair still looks adorable, right? The new avatar rates well in the 18-25 demographic; it's the Poochie of avatars. As for Johnson, I wouldn't mess with him. So far, he's been solid vs. NL teams, but, the thing is, he kinda, sorta plays in the AL. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Six days ago, the Rays said they have no plans to call up Wil Myers. Six days ago, the Rays lied. They might've just lied to make Jim Bowden look stupid. While I appreciate that, Bowden rides around on a Segway, so the Rays were piling on. About two weeks ago, I gave you my Wil Myers fantasy. Lets' not recapitulate any of that, okay? Let's not talk about how Myers could hit 20 homers in two-thirds of a season. Or how Myers could hit .280 with solid counting stats. If you want to read about the risk of rookies, go to that post and read that. I'm not here to talk about how Myers is the number one prospect call-up or how he's worthwhile in all mixed leagues, but won't be [player]Mike Trout[/player]. I'm not going to talk about any of that. Dah! I just did, didn't I? Damn, you fooled me! Myers is the kind of player that probably has the most value right now. He's going to be a top round fantasy guy. Eventually. Yes, I just did the douchey one word sentence thing. Right now, he's around a 4th outfielder. Of course, he's draped in glorious upside. You could yell at him the same way you do to a Home Depot employee, "Hey, Toolsy!" For the future, he reminds me of an in-his-prime [player]Matt Holliday[/player]. He's a 30-ish homer, 15-ish steal guy with a solid average. Eventually. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Jam it or Cram it: Rookies a Roll of the Dice
June 2, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell, Fantasy Baseball Rookies | 159 Commentsby: The Guru
It was either Kenny Rogers or Pete Rose that said, “Luck comes and goes. Knowledge stays forever.” Or maybe it was from the movie House of Games. I could see Joe Mantegna growling that. Either way, luck is fleeting but good when paired with a smart bet. Rolling the dice on rookies in fantasy baseball is a gamble some are not willing to take. If you’re one of the squeamish then you have already missed out on the likes of [player]Shelby Miller[/player], [player]Jedd Gyorko[/player], [player]Evan Gattis[/player], [player]Jurickson Profar[/player] and [player]Michael Wacha[/player]. While it’s true not all rookies turn into a [player]Harper[/player] or a [player]Trout[/player], the smart Razzballer likes to gamble. That’s why a lot of us live under a bridge. We may not be so good at craps but at least we win our fantasy league. And that’s something to brag about when you’re passing around the bottle of Thunderbird. “To all my friends. Did I tell you guys about the time I drafted [player]Ryan Braun [/player]in 2007?” *crickets*
Grabbing a rookie is all about the upside. Sure I could hold onto [player]Mike Moustakas[/player]. But with him I know what I’m getting. I’m getting Mike Moustakas. Why not get all Monty Hall and swap him for the rookie behind door #2? He could turn out to be the next [player]Evan Longoria[/player] or he could be the next Evan Dando. Coo, coo, kachoo. Time to roll out some rookies. With some Razzball knowledge and a little luck you just might win your league. Time to jam it or cram it.
DraftKings – Become A Daily King With The Right Pitcher
May 29, 2013 | DraftKings | 22 Commentsby: JB Gilpin
So you're still fairly new to DraftKings. You have that deer in the headlights look Grey had when moving to Palm Springs 10 years ago when he first entered the Cougar Bar expecting a safari-type experience. I'm here to whisper sweet nothings of winning ways just like those recent divorcees woo-ing that mustached young fantasy writer Mr. Albright.
If you're still new to DraftKings, our friends over at the leading fantasy sports daily league site hold their weekly RAZZBALL EXCLUSIVE contests every Friday where you get to play against our own resident expert Rudy Gamble. Just click on the link and for only $5.00 you enter in a limited pool where the winner gets entered into their huge $100,000 Punch Out where the top prize is $20,000! Even if you don't finish first, spots 2-10 get payouts and you get to rub it in Rudy's face when you take him down (he still hasn't won yet!).
On this Memorial Day, I'm left thinking about things as American as apple pie and fake-breasted women, but mostly I'm left contemplating how similar Memorial Day sounds to Michael Bay. What better way to think of our country's great holiday, than our real-life Uncle Sam of excessive special effects-laden movies. You can make cars better than us Asia, but can you blow crap up on celluloid and make apocalyptic tripe like World War Z? So, today, go outside and wish someone a Happy Michael Bay, he's ours. Also, ours is baseball, and a branch off of that is fantasy baseball, and a sub-section of that sub-section is hoarding prospect pitchers that are called up like Michael Wacha. First (immediately after all that other first shizz), let's see what our prospect writer, Scott, has said about him, "Wacha’s 2012 numbers were just plain silly: 0.86 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 17.1 K/9 in 11 appearances across three levels (Rookie, High-A, Double-A). Those 11 outings, however, only tallied up to 21 IP. The Cardinals were keeping his workload light, and Wacha never worked through a batting order more than one time through. That was the only criticism, the only reason to expect regression as he stepped up to Triple-A ball this season. Well, Wacha’s done a fine job of quelling those concerns so far. If only we could quell Grey as easily." Hey, what's the big idea!? I'm not sure where Wacha's Ks have been thus far in Triple-A (under a 6 K/9), but his walks have been in check (~2.5 BB/9) and he has an ERA of 2.05 in 52 2/3 IP. If he keeps his K-rate around there in the majors, he's going to be strictly an NL-Only or 15-team mixed leagues and deeper play. But he looks closer to a 7+ K-rate guy and someone I'd grab in all mixed leagues. The upside is here for greatness; of course the downside of any rookie pitcher is here, as well. All of this is assuming the Cards officially call him up, but the word around town is they're about to. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
[player]Josh Rutledge[/player] did not play for the third time since last Friday because Walt Weiss is crummy with crackers, then thinking he was a real Weiss guy, Rutledge was sent down to Triple-A. This is the same Rutledge that went into yesterday's game hitting .259 with a homer, 3 runs and 3 RBIs in the last week. He'd be leading the entire Marlins team with those numbers! On our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater, he was above Starlin Castro, Alcides, Alexei, Rollins, Asdrubal for the year... Seriously. He was doing better than all but 8 shortstops. Yes, I'm on the River Denial and my boat is called, "Dubya Tee Eff?!" and I'm stopping at the Sphinx to riddle him with, "What are the Rockies doing?" Are you seriously going with [player]DJ LeMahieu[/player] because he had hits the last two days?! Why not just go with David Guetta? At least he's had hits I've heard of! The problem seems to be that the Rockies are holding Rutledge's fielding against him. Luckily, Weiss wasn't managing the Yankees in 1996 or Jeter would've been sent down for Luis Sojo. I know, The Art of Fielding, I know Dan Fielding, I do not know of sending Rutledge down for fielding. Stop the madness and bring back Rutledge! I'll admit when I'm wrong with drafting guys, but Rutledge was not a mistake. It's stupid teams, playing for stupid things that don't matter in 5x5 roto. STUPID! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
So for any of you esteemed loyalists to Razzball Nation who have not yet tried out DraftKings, the real question is why are you such a Schmohawk!? Well don't worry, we can trim that Schmohawk right off with an awesome offer from our friends at DraftKings to get you winning right away. For any first time depositor to the industry leading daily fantasy site, if you deposit at least $25 you'll receive an extra $10. Hurry though - the offer is only good until Friday at 5:00 PM EST - aka when Grey gets up in the "morning." That mustache won't comb itself! You've got to enter through our link here into another CAN YOU TAKE DOWN RUDY GAMBLE (and Nick) CONTEST, which returns to Friday (the 24th) this week. The contest is limited to 30 entries (up to 2 per person), with the winner receiving a ticket into another one of their huge six figures contests - the $100,000 Punch Out on June 14th. But as always, there isn't just 1 winner. This week spots 2-5 will double up to $10 and 6-10 nab $5. And if you're a first time depositor, you can get your two entries this week essentially for free!
The last huge DraftKings $100K Spring Fling challenge last Friday had six Razzballers enter and commenter Pacochu got 54th and notched $200 buck-a-roos! Not bad for a $5 entry, huh? Hey Pacochu, next time we get cervesas at the cantina the Dos Equis are on you! I don't always drink beer with Razzballers, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Now I'm starting to get hungry for some tacos.
Yesterday, I was thinking how [player]Miguel Gonzalez[/player], who went 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, is a'ight. Has nominal value in mixed leagues against weaker teams and a solid back-end guy for AL-Only leagues, which could describe the entire O's staff. With the O's, you gotta mind your P's and Q's. Excuse me, I had Alphabet Soup for lunch and just burped. Those O's starters are okay, but I crave excitement. I'm an adrenaline junkie. Sometimes I'll blog with no pants on just for the RUSH I get. While in Starbucks. While holding my dog over my junk so I don't catch charges. I'm a responsible adrenaline junkie. So, when I heard Kevin Gausman will make his major league debut on Thursday, you can imagine how awkward it was carrying my dog over my junk without any hands, while working my cellular mobile device trying to pick up Gausman. I've gone over Gausman as recently as two weeks ago. He was my Wheeler before Wheeler. I lurve Gausman. The O's staff is iffy at best, so Gausman could definitely stick around. His numbers in the minors this year are insane. In 46 1/3 IP, he has 49 Ks and 5 walks. He could be the best called up pitcher this year. More likely, he'll have some extreme ups and downs in the AL East. I'd still grab him in all leagues just in case his ups far outnumber his downs. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Shelby Miller Taps the Rockies at Busch
May 11, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 96 Commentsby: Dan Pants
Shelby Miller is living the high life. Major league success, fame, fortune... and twins! Everything's coming up Shelby. He was masterful last night, tapping the Rockies in a complete game, 1-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts. The 13 Ks was a career high and Miller time is now. It's been an amazing start for the rookie, but this was easily his best performance so far. He gave up a hit to Eric Young Jr. to start the game and then proceeded to retire the next, oh I don't know...27 batters! Sweet sassy molassy! That's called dominance, folks. That's not just a "Shelbyville" idea either, that's what aces do, and Miller may well have proven himself last night as a legit fantasy ace. He was painting the corners with his fastball yesterday, showing pin point control and throwing serious cheese between 94-96 mph, dude was untouchable. Shelbs grabbed his fifth win and now has a 1.58 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP. The player rater has him as a top five overall pitcher. Yeah, he's been that good, and it's the 51/11 K/BB ratio that keeps me up at night thinking about him. He's the champagne of pitchers and looks like the early favorite for rookie of the year honors. I had my own Shelby Miller fantasy last week and here's what I said about him, "I believe the best is yet to come for Shelby Miller and have made some substantial offers for him in redraft leagues. I’m buying Miller if I can, even though I prefer Budweiser." There may be some regression coming, but I expect Miller to continue his success going forward. No matter what beer you prefer to drink, or whether its Miller's great taste, or the fact that he's less filling that makes him so good, either way fantasy owners can agree that Shelby Miller has arrived and he's here to stay.
Here's what else happened in fantasy baseball Friday night:
Indians Rejoice Over Kazmir Rule
May 10, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 481 Commentsby: Grey
Kazmir's career sunk like a lead zeppelin, but get ten Ks against anyone and I sit up and take notice and I'm not just talking above my waist. Hey now! Yesterday, Scott Kazmir's line was 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners with 10 Ks. Okay, I have to be a cyclops with a monocle for this guy. To refresh everyone, a cyclops only has one eye so it’s particularly sharp. Like how a blind person’s hearing is enhanced. So you put a monocle on a cyclops and you have creature that sees everything. That’ll be me. Let's see, his fastball speed has returned to his 2008 levels. The last time he was good. His walk rate went to atrocious after that year, but that too has returned and he has a 25:6 K:BB ratio. The only start where he was hit was his first. Maybe that was nerves -- or noive if you're in Brooklyn. Everything else from Kazmir has been like butter, so he's no longer toast? That's what I'm seeing. Okay, now for whether or not you should pick him. He gets the Yankees, Mariners and Red Sox next. Two out of three isn't good. Sorry, Meatloaf. I wanted to pick him up so badly, I counted each start of his for the next two months. It doesn't get better. He gets the Reds, Yanks again, Tigers then Nats. I like him more than I have in five years, but I'm still not picking him up. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball: