Players Out of Minor League Options

March 19, 2018 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 5 Comments

The beginning of any minor league options article has to start with the definition of what is a minor league option. Well, I don’t feel like re-hashing it and there are plenty of places that you can obtain that information, so, I’ve placed a few links below that can provide you with you all the information that you’re looking for about minor league options.

MLB Index of Players Out of Minor League Options
Minor League Options, Explained
MLB Transactions Wiki

Now that we have the formalities out of the way, it is time to get into the actual information. For each team, I listed every player that was out of minor league options, and then color coded them based on the key below, ranging from players that won’t likely be sent down to players that are not on the 40 man roster.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2018 Spring Training Positional Battles: AL Central

March 13, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 6 Comments

by: Son

For the upcoming season, Fangraphs has four teams projected for a run differential greater than 100. Three of those teams reside in the AL Central. Ha! For shits and giggles, the fourth team is the Miami Jeters. No wonder Chief Wahoo’s smile is so big. The division is straight forward so my only question regarding the AL Central is: why is the logo for the White Sox black? Wouldn’t white with black trim make more sense?

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SAGNOF Report: Toast On Whit Bread

July 18, 2017 | SAGNOF | 10 Comments

by: Smokey

Well, the All-Star break happened and now here I sit. Only three games of data to expunge my sort of genius onto the masses… that’s like the Gettysburg Address stopping at “four score and seven”. So with limited research, I gotta get creative with words. Like, have you checked out Fantasy Soccer, yeah… it’s that oddly shaped ball at the top of this page. Don’t play? Well you should. So onto the number seven with bacon. Also known as the KC stealer. Over the past 15 games that oddly enough dates back when we were still celebrating fireworks and stuff, Whit Merrifield leads the majors in steals with 7. Big deal, 7 whole steals! Well, the steals bandwagon has lost some steam this year with Billy not doing consistent Billy things and Trea doing game-ready stuff at Chuck E. Cheese’s, but strangely enough he still needs an adult with him. Curse you baby-faced guys! Whit isn’t just a dead stick as he has revitalized the Royals line-up, as they have an unbelievable record since his insertion into the leadoff spot. It’s not George Springer-type good, but for SAGNOF, we take what we can get. Currently owned in half of the ESPN leagues, which means that he is owned in every RCL league (basically), so kudos for all of us that are paying attention. But on the happenstance that he isn’t owned, go grab him, do it gently though, he pees when he gets nervous.

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For He’s A Jolly Porcello

September 20, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 266 Comments

by: Grey

I’m OCD about my iTunes. I listen to a new album a few times, pick out some songs that I like, five star them, and then play them endlessly until I’m sick of them. My top 20 for most played is embarrassing. I like Lil Wayne more than anyone should ever admit. Sometimes I have a song on repeat, and I’ll get a phone call (rare; only old people use the phone for calling people), the doorbell will ring (less rare; Cougs orders a ton of shizz on Amazon) or I’m just called away from my desk for some reason. Then I’ll forget I have a song on repeat and I’ll go to lunch, dinner or…No, those are the only reasons I leave my fantasy cave. When I come back and see a song’s play count has been artificially boosted with me not listening, I will edit info in iTunes and reset the play count to where it was before the accidental repeat. It’s important to have a gage to tell how much you like a song. Do you like it enough to play it 200 times like, say, Aloe Blacc’s Red Velvet Seat or do you like it enough to listen to it 120 times like, say, Tom Petty Yer So Bad (actual play counts)? Why do I bring this up now? Because Rick Porcello should roll his win count back to 15. 21 wins?! C’mon! That is misrepresenting him in every conceivable way. Yesterday, Rick Porcello went 9 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.08, to move his record to 21-4 <–LIES! He’s pretending to be Eazy E vs. Johnny Cash (great song; play count 278) when he’s really Randy Newman’s Short People (good song, but you ain’t listening to that nonsense more than once every few months; play count 59). His ERA isn’t even accurate. It’s saying, “I’m Bon Iver’s Skinny Love (play count 175),” when it’s really You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb by Spoon (play count 96). The only thing that is sort of legit is his 0.98 WHIP, but that’s more Men At Work’s Overkill (play count 186) legit. Have a season, Rick Porcello, but you are so Rihanna’s Diamonds (play count 86) and not Martians vs. Goblins (play count 365). Also, if you want more, we talk about Rick Porcello on today’s podcast. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

SAGNOF Report: Dyson Sucks Up Bags

September 5, 2016 | Closers, Steals | 8 Comments

by: Smokey

The Royals are fun, no gimmick team to watch. They aren’t really mashers, and they aren’t really a base-to-base team. They are a cross of both, and masters of none kinda thing. With the recent injury to Cain, who has been nursing a wrist injury, Jarrod Dyson has found himself a regular seat at the big boy table. He always had the ability to steal bases, and by what we are witnessing as of late, it is that if given the opportunity for regular at-bats those SB numbers could blossom into something actually useful. Over the last 30 days, he has more at-bats than any other 30-day span this year and the SB tally is a complete reflection of it. He had 13 steals in the first half in 172 plate appearances, and in the second half, with more starts, he has 12 in 95, The falloff in production, who could expect a lot from Paulo Orlando and the injury to Cain, seem to have cemented him in the top of the lineup for at least the next few games. If nothing else, he is a pinch-run threat and with 25 total steals to date, could be an asset for a spot play down the stretch as we should be maximizing every angle or roster spot possible. Available in 94% of RCL leagues and currently not just rewarding with steals, as he has 4 runs and 3 RBI’s over his last seven. Not a true one-trick pony, sorta like the Royals. Let’s see what else is on the get down with the Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face department…

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Indians Smoke The ‘Missing Piece’ Pipe And Trade Prospects For Miller

August 1, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 626 Comments

by: Grey

The Indians traded Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen for Andrew Miller. A regular Thanksgiving bounty to the Yankees as the Indians received SAGNOF and smallpox. Hopefully, the Indians don’t have reservations later about those prospects they sent for Miller and want them back like, um, a regretful trade partner. For a second this weekend, it appeared that the Indians traded for Miller and Jonathan Lucroy, but Lucroy vetoed the trade. Looks like Milwaukee is a bunch of Brewer-givers. Will say this, it was a bold trade by Cleveland vs. sitting around Indian-style as they did all offseason. So, Miller becomes the de facto closer in Cleveland, and remains a top five closer in fantasy. Cody Allen gets his value boinked on the head and it’s now seeing stars. Mean’s while, in New York, Dellin Betances becomes the 9th inning man for the Yankees and, taking over setup, is their newly acquired, Tyler Clippard. That’s right, the Yankee Clippard! Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Bruce Is Loose

June 29, 2016 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball | 14 Comments

by: malamoney

Lately it seems like every television network is airing a new O.J. Simpson show. I really couldn’t get into the People vs. O.J. Simpson. I just couldn’t get passed the fact that Ross Gellar was playing his best friend. Actually, I didn’t like Cuba Gooding or John Travolta either. The whole show felt about as fake as Bruce Jenner’s right to take a dump in the women’s bathroom. I haven’t had a chance to watch ESPN’s offering, so I can’t really comment. Here’s the deal. I think O.J. did it. Good old T.D. Parker is guilty. How ironic is it that a guy that hurts people used to be the face of Hertz. When he was acquitted, I remember hearing the phrase “The Juice is loose”. I don’t know if they had the death penalty in California, but I was pushing for “Juice the Juice!” Speaking of “the juice is loose“, anyone else have a craving for Starbursts? Screw O.J. Simpson. I’d much rather talk about a guy that’s hitting the cover off the ball.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

A’s Go Against AARP Tim Lincecum …And The Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 12

June 20, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 110 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

I know, I know. Most boring Pitcher Profile in the lauded history of the Pitcher Profiles… But Tim Lincecum has been the talk of the town in some circles, that is, if the circle you’re in is at a retirement home…

I was hotly debating writing this week’s profile on the sexy new call-up Cody Reed, but legit decided to flip a coin to see who’s 2016 debut I would go with. One side was Jennifer Lawrence and the other side Sir Laurence Olivier. As in he’s old! Wait, I don’t think he’s even alive… Don’t fact check that…

It’s been several years since Old Tiny Tim has been fantasy relevant, and it’s only fitting that the reason why is a hip issue. He shoulda pressed the Life Alert earlier! But now he’s had the surgery, showed some flashes in his Minor League rehab games (7 inning 1-hitter with 8 Ks his last AAA start), and debuted for the Angels on Saturday afternoon. Here’s how his 2016 debut went down going at the A’s:

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All The A’s Are Down And This Guy Is Gray

May 23, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 731 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Sonny Gray hit the Disgraceful List with a combination of ineffectiveness and Grey calling him a preseason schmohawk. My schmohawks: Schwarber, Pollock, Gray, Tulo and Sano. If I were Sano, I’d move into the giant bubble that Tulo is apparently living in to still be healthy. Seriously, if you were placing odds in the preseason on which one of those would hit the DL, Tulo would be 10 to 1 odds as the first one; Pollock likely 2nd since he was nursing an elbow issue in the preseason; third would be Schwarber because he was playing a position he had no business playing and bound to run into a wall; finally, Gray because I put the kavorka on my namelganger, which is a magic spell so hideous that no amount of Creoles with an unlimited supply of chickens to sacrifice could reverse that hex. By the by, everything I know of Creole black magic I learned from Angel Heart. Gray has a 6+ ERA, so you can DL him if you have room, but I could see just dropping him if you don’t. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bear or Bull: Yasiel Puig

May 5, 2016 | Uncategorized | 21 Comments

by: Big Magoo

The “five tool” player (having the abilities to hit for average and power, base-running skills/speed, throwing, and fielding) is one who possesses an incredibly rare set of skills. Branch Rickey, who first coined the term in his book The American Diamond, could only name two true “five tool” players at the time – Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. Essentially, it’s a term that refers to elite, well-rounded athletes who can do anything and everything on the baseball field. Which players would qualify as true five toolers in today’s game? Three names immediately come to mind – Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Manny Machado. Elite skills and production across the board. Andrew McCutchen is a strong candidate based on his track record, though his speed appears to be in decline. Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, and Starling Marte might have a shortcoming or two, but they’re in the mix as well.

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Manaea Mania! …And The Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 5

May 2, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Pitcher Profiles | 197 Comments

by: JB Gilpin

Man, what a week for starting pitcher callups! Thankfully we’re seeing Major League clubs unshy of bringing up their future aces instead of being little scaredy-cats and using the Super 2 as a crutch. “Stop wasting some of your better pitched innings in the Minors, ya bums!” That was me two years ago. I was also skinnier and not married yet, so not everything has gotten better…

Right on the heels of the Jose Berrios callup, the A’s promoted Sean Manaea after an absolutely meteoric rise after being traded by the Royals in the Ben Zobrist deal. Manaea always had power stuff and great K-rates, but never quite harnessed the command to get himself atop prospect lists. But when you have awesome pure stuff, sometimes one minor tweak can take you from “meh” to “mania”! After a 21:4 K:BB in Triple A over 18 innings this year, it certainly came with a lot of fanfare that Manaea was getting called up, and he’s surely scooped up in almost all leagues at this point. Is he worth all the hype? Here’s how he looked on Friday night in his MLB debut against the Astros:

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MLB Makes A Slap-Flash Decision

April 29, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 541 Comments

by: Grey

In what seemed like a meaningless spring training game, Dee Gordon bunted and it landed 12 feet from home plate. The announcer said, “Wow, didn’t think that was going to make it out of the batter’s box” And an investigation began. Dee Gordon, unaware, of the investigation continued to use exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol, two performance-enhancing substances. Later in spring, he knocked a single that fell just out of the 2nd baseman’s reach. That ball, it was said, looked like a 47-footer. It went 57 feet. Another shot, sailed just over the pitcher’s mitt, and just before the 2nd base bag. Gordon raced to 1st, and everyone looked around, “That was a half-a-pede.” That’s baseball jargon for a 50-footer. So, Dee Gordon will be out for the next 80 games, call him The Suspended Splinter. Sure glad I bought him in my Tout Wars draft. Super! What the hell was this schmohawk doing? Who thinks they can possibly get away with using in today’s game? It’s just stupid. This is a break for Derek Dietrich; he should be the 2nd baseman on most days. He has 15-homer pop, and is worth a grab in NL-Only leagues. Look forward to seeing Gordon return in August when his 28-footers go 28 feet again, and he’s back to a .215 hitter. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?