Please see our player page for Alex Bregman to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.
by: TheEducator
So apparently this show called Succession ended. I have not watched a single episode, and I probably never will. If you did, I hope you enjoy it. This is a pattern for The Educator. Game of Thrones? I missed the show, still waiting for a book to come out. Sopranos? What is that, a choir […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Think Buck Showalter is old. That’s not bad, in general. Some of my favorite people are old. I’m a Cougar Hunter. I have radar for hard candies. The problem with Showalter is he’s got old thinking. He’s platooning Brett Baty. He thinks Thomas Phamily is still a thing. He’s not following the latest in baseball which is: Play your kids! The Braves have been winning with the formula: Play your kids! for a few years now. So, with that said, the Mets called up their next great hitting prospect, Mark Vientos (1-for-4, 2 RBIs) as he hit his 1st homer. Can Vientos play outfield? Absolutely not. Can Vientos steal at-bats from Baty? Ugh, maybe. Can Vientos run? His speed has been described as “an 80-year-old baby crawling with tennis balls on its knees.” Can Vientos hit bombs? To the freakin’ moon! He kinda reminds me of a young Evan Longoria. Now take everything you’ve thought about Longoria over the last seven years, scrub it from your brain, and think about Longoria as if this is 2016. Your brain in 2016, “Rays should lock this Longoria guy up for another ten years! He’s amazing! Wait! They let Longoria walk? Wow, what a mistake! They just let a perennial 30+ homer, .270 hitter go! Rays will be in last place for the next decade. What a bunch of losers!” So, your 2016 brain is kinda remembering correctly. Your 2016 was also a big dumb brain, but that’s only in hindsight. Longo was good at that point. Mark Vientos can be good too. For what it’s Wuertz, Prospect Itch has been down on Vientos for as long as Vientos has been down on the farm. For this year, do I want Mark Vientos in a redraft league? Absolutely, but back to the Buck shituation. He’s going to play where? DH? Okay, and Vogelbach is being benched indefinitely? By the guy who is still playing the Phamily? No. That leaves Vientos, the Metsmaker, in a platoon. By the way, regarding the title: It’s because it causes Coke to explode. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?“Count’s 2-1, and Jack Flaherty is leaning in…and, would you look at that, that is interesting…Willson Contreras is calling for an 88 MPH fastball down the middle.” I kid! Jack Flaherty (7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 5.24) looked great! After the first inning. Was a bit wonky at the start. At one point, he went from a 75 MPH curve to a 95 MPH elevated fastball to a 84.5 MPH slider to a 79.5 MPH knuckle curve on four straight batters, all resulting in strikeouts. All he needed for motivation was to prove his own catcher sucked. “But how,” Jack Flaherty wondered in his most sincere of voices, “Could a pitcher look good while making his catcher look bad?” Flaherty still desperately needs command from pitch 1 to 100 while going 95 on the fastball, but last night was a step in the right direction. Speaking of directions, the Cards all sucked together, and now they’re all fantastic together. The Cards’ way, I suppose. Nolan Arenado (2-for-3, 4 RBIs and his 7th homer, and 4th homer in four games) is going off, and I had a reason to Sell Low written down that was so eloquent. It’s right over by this open window–NOOOO!!! Torenado! Also, in this game, Andrew Knizner (1-for-1, 2 runs, 4 RBIs) hit his 3rd homer, and 2nd in as many games. This homer was vs. a position player, but there ain’t no asterisks in my fantasy league. Next, Tommy Edman (4-for-5, 4 runs, 2 RBIs) hit his 6th homer, as he heard the footsteps of people going to waivers to drop him. Finally, Nolan Gorman (3-for-5, 2 runs, 5 RBIs) hit his 10th homer, as the house of Cards begins to rise again. Hopefully, Oli Marmol isn’t inspired to give one of his motivational speeches again like, “Tyler O’Neill and Willson Contreras, you guys suck and can’t field your positions or run and I hate all of you.” Anyway, here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Grey
Spencer Strider is the best starter, right? I’m asking, because his mustache clouds my judgment. I know Everywhere Blair has Spencer Strider ranked number one in his top 100 starters, but Blair might get clouded by the mustache too. His mustache is very beautiful. More beautiful than mine? Who is to say? Yes! Fine, I am saying it. It is more beautiful than mine. I feel like it’s Rollie Fingers, Spencer Strider then Me. That’s it. That’s my mustache rankings. I’m not even number one for my own mustache rankings! I am pitiful! My best pitchers in baseball rankings likely start at Spencer Strider too. Yesterday, he went 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 13 Ks, ERA at 1.80. His ERA might be a little bit higher than Gerrit Cole’s. Strider is basically Jacob deGrom but without seven straight years of being unable to throw more than 75 IP. Strider is Ohtani, but without the 35-homer bat. Okay, that’s pretty good for Ohtani. I’m on the Struggle Bus going choo-choo like I’m on a train, because Strider’s mustache has me so mesmerized, trying to come up with a legit top five starters based on stuff alone. Eff it! Top 5 of the top of my head based on stuff and nothing else: Strider, deGrom, Ohtani, Greene, and Strider’s Mustache. Strider ranks twice in five starters! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
Yesterday, Jarred Kelenic (2-for-4) hit his 3rd homer in three games. Sonavabench x 3! Incredible! This is shaping up to be the worst sonavabenching in the history of sonavabenchings. Kelenic does something for the first time in three years and he’s on my bench! Why is this my life? This home run went 482 feet! That’s almost 147 meters! That’s the longest homer in Wrigley in the Statcast era. Could the breakout be happening? Is this the gorgeous we were once promised? Is this like watching the plastic bag in American Beauty? To me, it’s slightly comical that Jarred Kelenic is being labeled as “THE BREAKOUT IS HERE” while in the exact same game Cody Bellinger (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) hit his 2nd home run and it’s like, “Meh, whatever. He can eat a D.” For those who are thinking, “Yeah, okay, you’re handsome and all, but Kelenic is hitting .351 and Cody Bellinger is hitting .238.” Kelenic is hitting .351 in 37 ABs. Difference between him and Cody is about four hits. He has a 44% Whiff rate on breaking pitches, and a 40% whiff rate on offspeed pitches. I want the Kelenic breakout as much as anyone (hopefully it can start next Monday, though), just trying to put an ounce of realism here in our fantasy. Like when Penelope Cruz is still bored in your dreams when you talk about your fantasy teams. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Sad to report Zach Eflin’s back is tight and he will miss two starts–WHOA! Hold on a second here, Previous Sentence Grey! Eflin is injured but the Rays are calling up Taj Bradley. Wonder if Taj knows the Reds’ India. They would seem like natural friends. Taj is a pretty girl’s name, let’s see if I nod my head after looking at his stats. Looks at stats, nods heads–I mean head! Yes, I’m interested. So far this year, he’s only thrown two games and that sorta sample size is irrelevant — that’s what she said derisively! Here’s what Itch has said previously, “Bradley is a little underrated at the moment. Makes sense. Feels like Tampa can poof a good starter into existence at any given moment, and Bradley wasn’t dominant in 59 innings at Triple-A (1.19 WHIP, 15.4 K-BB%). On the other hand, he’d just posted a 0.91 WHIP and 24.6 percent strikeout minus walk rate in 74.1 innings at Double-A. The Rays make overperformers out of decent athletes all the time. Bradley is a plus athlete. I don’t know if he’ll splash like McClanahan or Rasmussen did, but I am expecting something pretty similar when they deem Bradley ready. Finally, I want to punch Grey in the head.” Okay, not cool! We all love our rookie starters — I called ahead for a table for one. The name is: Horntown. — but they could clobber you. Plus, Eflin will be back soon, so I could see a Taj Bradley streamer, but he’s likely not long for mixed league relevance. At least not this first call up, i.e., Taj isn’t ready for the long Mahal just yet. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: TheEducator
It seems like this is bold predictions week here at Razzball. My first bold prediction is that using the Razzball tools will help you win. Just sign up already, okay? Bold Predictions: Andrew Vaughn hits .290 with 40 HR: Has anyone had a worse setup than Vaughn in the majors? Top pick, missed 2020, then […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Here they are, my points league rankings. These aren’t based on any particular league scoring system so it’s important to know what your league rewards you for. In general, I tend to prioritize bats over arms in spite of their projected point totals. The way things look this season I want to grab a top […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?It’s getting ridiculous now, isn’t it? Once sign stealing was quelled, the haters couldn’t wait for the Houston Astros to fall flat on their faces. But this Day of Reckoning never really comes, does it? No matter what front office or rule changes occur, these modern-day Astros just keep on chuggin’. They are a seemingly […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Jeremy Brewer
Last week, we walked through my initial top 25 as we began to count down, or rather count up our top 100 hitters for the 2023 fantasy baseball season. While the top 25 was a star studded group on which fantasy dreams are born, the next 25 contain breakout potential and a number of reliable veterans. Once we get past this group, the questions start to grow and the debate will certainly spark. Without further ado, let us jump into our continuing view of the top 100 hitters for the 2023 fantasy baseball season with spots 26 through 50!
Please, blog, may I have some more?If you are starting a team in a new dynasty league, take a look at the position breakdown of the top 200 players, using the main position for utility players except for one, who plays basically any position in the field.
What quickly jumps out is the lack of depth at second base and third base. The second and third base positions alone add up to only one more Top 100 player than the shortstop position. There are some great players at those two positions, but the overall quality lacks compared to shortstop or first base.
When it comes to catchers and relief pitchers, I can tell you right now that there are few of them ranked. There are a lot of good catchers, but many of them will get only 110 or so starts or they are getting up in age, making them less than desired dynasty options.
As for the relivers, I never chase saves (or holds if your league has them). How many players dread chasing Aroldis Chapman last year or a host of other top closers? Meanwhile, five new closer will come out the woodwork this year that you can get in the middle of the season.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome back to another week of the 2023 Dynasty Rankings. We have turned the corner and we are now racing down the home stretch as the focus this week is on players 50-26 – my Tier 2 group.
This tier is pretty diverse when it comes to the ages of the players and the percentage of pitchers appearing in this tier may surprise you. As you probably know by now, I like hitters more than pitchers.
However, in this tier, I have 10 pitchers. Why are 40 percent of the players in this tier pitchers?
Well, the answer is pretty simple. I don’t trust young pitchers nearly as much as I trust veteran pitchers or even young hitters. When starting a team in a new dynasty league or trying to fill holes in my current dynasty leagues, while I won’t chase pitching, I will look to take a top veteran pitcher over the stud rookie hurler.
Pitching Experience over Youth
As a whole, the pitcher in his mid- to late-20s, or even early 30s, has established his track record compared to a 23-year-old. That young pitcher could be great, but he can also take three to four years to get to that level of greatness, especially with so many major league teams now limiting the number of innings a young pitcher will throw in a season.
I don’t want to reach the playoffs only to have a host of pitchers shut down because they reached an arbitrary innings limit. Thus, of the 10 pitchers you will find in this tier, seven of them are between the ages of 25 and 30. Two are over 30 and one is 24.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
