It’s Vidal Brujan SZN! BruSZN?! Tell me oh great Fantasy Baseball Overlord, it is not a dream I have awoken from–“Shut up and grab Vidal Brujan.” That’s the Fantasy Baseball Overlord speaking only to me. Sorry, you ain’t got the cred! The Rays’ beat writers said with Manuel Margot hitting the IL with a hamstring injury, which is truly too bad–DID SOMEONE SAY VIDAL BRUJAN?!–The beat writers also said Brujan wouldn’t just be up for a doubleheader on Wednesday. He would remain with the Rays. So, I grabbed him in one league, and tried in all my leagues, including a 12-team mixed league. Here’s my Vidal Brujan fantasy. Bit old, still applies, which is different than my least favorite fruit, that’s “still apples.” The big takeaway from my fantasy take on Brujan is what Prospect Itch said about him, “It’s rare enough for a 40-steal player to enter our game. Even rarer to find one who hits enough to earn himself regular playing time. Rarer still to find one who speaks five languages. I mention this last piece because language learning requires the same determination needed for the grind of baseball. You’re going to make mistakes. Might look like an idiot. Might often feel dumb. But you have to keep putting yourself out there. And as long as you stay positive and focus on the long term, you can improve a little bit every day. In 2014, Tampa signed Brujan out of the Dominican Republic for $15,000. He was illiterate at the time. Now: five languages. Grey can’t speak one.” Tough but fair, tee bee aitch. Go and grab him! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?brad brach
Please see our player page for brad brach 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.
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Back in the preseason, we were all clamoring for Josh Jung, which resulted in us taking a Briggs-Myers personality test, originally proposed by Jung.
The test began: 1) Can you remember how you felt about Josh Jung in March? A) Excited B) Stressed C) There’s no C. D) Extrovert.
If you answered A, you know Josh Jung is set to debut this year, and even the Rangers can’t ruin this prospect. He has big-time power, and a hit tool to match. The Rangers have no one to play third, and are currently rocking Swiss Army knife Brock Holt, and some combination of Andy Ibanez and Charlie Culberson, all names that only sound made-up. If you answered B, you were thinking of Josh Jung’s foot, which was diagnosed with a stress fracture on March 20th, curtailing his chances to break camp. Luckily, Jung is back, healed, and hitting home runs in the minors again. If you answered C, you were dropped on your head as a baby. If you answered D, then you’re telling all your friends about how you grabbed Josh Jung in your fantasy leagues, and those friends are secretly talking about you behind your back. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH OR $13/MONTH WITH AN EXTRA WEEKLY PODCAST.)
I got a love jones for Bobby Bradley. Crush is solidifying. He has a swag about him. A swing that makes my heart pitter and/or patter for this batter. A swag/swing — a Swang. A home run every 9.3 at-bats in Triple-A, and then a home run every 9.0 at-bats in the majors will do that. Deserves to play every day. Hopefully, when Franmil returns, Bradley doesn’t take the lineup squeeze L. Fun fact! After Bobby Brady lost a pie-eating contest, his father Mike told him to take the L like a man and disowned him, so he briefly went by Bobby Bradley. Lots of people forget this. Speaking of Franmil, Bobby Bradley reminds me of that $54 Vending Machine Steak. Think many people don’t watch Cleveland, but if you have, and have seen Bradley, you’re already sold on his power. He has light-tower power, I’ll devour, I’m gonna tie you up and make you understand, Bobby Bradley is not an average man. HUUH! Bobby will knock you out! HUUH! Mama said knock you out! Seriously, I watched him hit a home run the opposite way the other day, and I was instantly sold. Bradley doesn’t strikeout a ton either. At least not so far in the majors. If you need power, I’d grab Bradley in any league. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Join the 2018-19 Razzball Fantasy Premier League for a chance at prizes! Don’t know about Fantasy Soccer? That’s okay, Smokey is here to walk with you throughout this journey of exploration and an absurd amount of accent marks on player names. So probably hide all your snacks. It’ll be a long journey…
Comparing one Elvis iconic season to another is like comparing movies by the icon himself. SO last season was an unexpected masterpiece, filled with upside from a low risk pick that turned into a 20/20 season. We will call that on King Creole. You got value from it, enjoyed it and were hoping for a repeat performance coming into this year. Welp, you aren’t getting it. The injuries have limited Andrus to just 45 games and about as underwhelming performance that that a 4 homer 4 steal campaign can bring ya. This is the Harum Scarum season, that when you draft someone like an Elvis Andrus you can get. There is no surprise to his game, we have been burned by players of his caliber before, and to be quite honest, burned by him after. So sitting and holding a basket full of Andrus doesn’t do much for me moving forward. I wish it did, because middle infielders with 20/20 seasons are special. Heck, Trea Turner is on pace for one and given his first round draft grade by a lot of experts and the drafting of him by all the believers… His 13/24 season is not what we expected, and it all goes back to the unpredictableness of injuries. Can call, if you did you would be doing something more productive than searching for SAGNOF glory. You would be in a room with no windows thinking of new ideas for Elon Musk. So today’s SAGNOF piece of advice is another “bury the old steal stat” wit of wisdom. Strive to be middle of the pack in steals, get accumulators, not dominators. Too much high draft pick risk and a fall flat on your face risk. More SAGNOF love in a bit. Cheers!
Please, blog, may I have some more?I try to avoid repeating ledes during the season and Sean Newcomb already had one. There I said, “It’s 2074, Grey Albright’s frozen head is on a shelf next to Ted Williams’ frozen head…I took a picture of Ted’s penis…I’m so romantic!” Damn, I pull quotes almost as well as I dispense fantasy baseball advice! By the way, I watched the Ted Williams special on PBS this weekend. Biggest surprise (to me), he was Mexican. He was the original Fernandomania — Teodoromania? When I searched Ted Williams and his Mom, that dominated the search results and who are we to question Google? So, Sean Newcomb ended the game one out from a no hitter against the Dodgers, one of the best offense teams — 8 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 hit, 1 walk, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.23. I pulled the reins on Newcomb in the last few weeks because his peripherals are garbage and I’m only happy when I’m pulling reins. His velocity is down, his 8.3 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and 4.32 xFIP are not telling the whole story, but they’re telling enough of the story while sitting around a campfire farting. Then on Sunday, he threw 134 pitches. I’m all for hypnotizing pitchers into thinking they’re Walter Johnson, but he had never pitched more than 111 pitches in the majors. Solid game on Sunday, but if you grab Newcomb he could leave a mushroom cloud in his wake, and not as in an umami bomb. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Michael Conforto is a Buy. A Mets hitter. Long pause. Hearing Dominick the Donkey on the radio. Realizing that pause was until Christmas. “Hey, chingedy ching, hee haw, hee haw. It’s Conforto, the fantasy baseball Buy donkey. The Italian Christmas Fantasy Baseball Buy Donkey. He plays for the Mets and you know what this means? The label on the inside of his uni says they’re made in Queens.” In the beginning of the season, Conforto looked like he was working with three-quarters of his ability. So, who’s he, Confor? Julius Caesar never came, saw and Confor’d, right? The lawyers didn’t Confor with the judge before sentencing Conforto to three months of terrible hitting. Confor the lousy hitting, stay for the fear of success? Yes, but no. What I think we’re going to hear this offseason is Conforto is going to say the first few months of the season, his shoulder was still bothering him, but, by the 2nd half, that started to ease. On our last 7 day Player Rater, Conforto is top 15, and could be in store for a solid 2nd half if his injury is finally healed. Now get the Italian Christmas Fantasy Baseball Buy Donkey! Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Closer Rankings: Role With The Changes
July 27, 2018 | Closers, Middle Relievers | 13 Commentsby: Smokey
The trading deadline is days away and the roles they are a changing. In comes one out goes the other. Closers losing value left and right while the waiver wire warriors of the world are circling like buzzards for the SAGNOF scrap heaps. The latest in the foray of closers to go is Joakim Soria, now a Brewer. The White Sox closer role is likely to go to Jace Fry or Juan Minaya. Not an awesome situation or a good predicament to be in, but a closer is a closer. The SAGNOF model should be: “Leave no good save behind”. Similarly, the Orioles traded Zach Britton to the Evil Empire, Brad Brach assumes the role there for the time being or until he gets traded for assets that the Orioles can ruin. The trade winds and finalized deals don’t help the set-up man either, as key components to the back-end game have been replaced by acquired talent. This is life for the ever building bullpen foundation of playoff contending teams. Build from the back, because the girth of talent that exists in the starters just isn’t there. So if you are currently zonked from losing a closer that no longer has a professional job of closing, it is time to speculate where speculating looks speculative. Look at guys on the secondary for teams that are rumored to be wheelin’ and dealin’. The Rangers, Nationals, Twins, Rays, Tigers, and to a lesser degree maybe the Cardinals… Be ahead of the curve instead of being caught looking at Uncle Charlie. Closer news is fluid this time of year, and by the time this gets posted there could be 2-3 more trades that make me look even dumber than I already do. More after the jump, with success stories and diminishing returns. Cheers!
Please, blog, may I have some more? Closer Rankings, Week 10: Walking The Plank
June 2, 2018 | Closers, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Middle Relievers | 19 Commentsby: Smokey
Forget about raising the Jolly Roger, let’s just salvage the poor thing. The closer there, Felipe Vazquez, or the artist formerly known as “One Inning Willy” is struggling. Which sucks for me personally because I tabbed him and the suspended one preseason to be the valued goods in the ranks of relievers. Welp, you can’t predict injury, criminal activity, or attrition. Judging that one closer is bad compared to if one is good, the eye test always wins out. But Vazquez has been bad, and with an injury asterisk. Blowing 4 saves in the last 10 games is just bad karma regardless of if your name is Mariano or not. Bad luck, sure. Injured…? More likely, which is bad. The propensity for him to be a every day or two out of three closer may be changing within the near future, not only to ease his pain with the stress of pitching the ninth, but to get a second look at one of the viable arms that has the look on paper of a closer. That triumvirate of Michael Feliz, Edgar Santana and Richard Rodriguez have pitched spotty the last few times out, but should be owned in deeper leagues where saves are like the Sahara. Cuffing yourself, even though the news on Felipe has come back clean, is the best advice I can give as a bullpen junky. Just in case is better than a dollar short. Other bullpen and closer bits of tid on the way. Cheers!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Nothing is worse than owning a closer you drafted… you get comfortable and things are going well. You’re sitting pretty, a dalmation on the beer cart. Then poof! The dreaded word that for fantasy players and save connaisseurs is worse than the “I’m pregnant” line; That word is a “group”, from singular to plural. It isn’t fair. These guys don’t know the hours of time we devote to drafting a team and then getting pimped to the waiver wire for the next dude up. Well, that is where we are currently sitting with Atlanta and Philadelphia. Adding more names to the donkeycorn factory at the end of the chart. Joining the fray are now Tommy Hunter, A.J. Minter, Seranthony Dominguez, Dan Winkler, and a slew of other candidates that are all in bathrobes in a line by height down the hallway. Save orgies are good for one thing and one thing only, diversifying the stat and keeping you closer to the leader by expanding the save universe. But we all live in “a one man, one save” lifestyle like the Puritans. So what do we make of all this mess, besides getting a waiver wire mop and roster as many as possible? Stay calm if you own the old closer. There was a reason they had the job initially, and they are still in the running. Dropping a potential save candidate to the wire is never a good idea, unless you are upgrading and getting a better save option that has the job outright. This savey save advice is keen when you are middle of the pack, but if you are chasing saves and falling behind by the day, trading for one of a higher caliber is the tact to go. Let us see what else is happening in the end game of fantasy…
Please, blog, may I have some more?We all know what to hoist by one’s own petard means, right? It’s like when Wile E. Coyote tries to drop a cannonball on the Road Runner, but the cannonball’s heft breaks off the cliff and plunges Wile E. to his untimely demise. (Clearly, the best Shakespearean example.) That’s how I feel about rookie pitchers. You grab them because of the upside, then hoist them up and they roofie you and, next thing you know, your kidney is replacing El Chapo’s. On the Prospect-o-Nator, Alex Reyes is the 2nd best rookie pitcher this year, behind Walker Buehler. Clearly, Alex Reyes needs to be owned, but he’s A) Rookie. B) Returning from Tommy John surgery. C) There’s no C. If things break right, he could be an ace for the last four months of the season. If things break wrong, your fantasy team could plunge to its untimely demise. Remember, never go full petard. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?I mean, who doesn’t like a good old Kenny Rogers reference? I appreciate it, but was more keen on Islands in the Stream, which in reality still works for this post. This week, I wanna focus y’alls attention on when to keep relievers of hold value or when to fold them and grab someone new. I wanted to bring this up because the near-leader in holds currently is Juan Nicasio. (Who for all intents and purposes is a fantastic Holds pitcher when you just take into account the hold total of 12. Which trails only Archie.) The hold total is great for holds leagues says captain obvious. The peripheral stuff is absolutely poop though. Commander Poop, for the full nautical theme. He checks none of the boxes from the non-hold league boxes, his K-rate is just a tick above 9, HR/9 at 2.0, a BAA over .300 and an ERA over 6… Those are not the four checks that I was referring too. So for mixed leagues, the guys you want to own are all over these standards: The K-rate has to be at or above 11 K/9, which includes over 60 relievers in baseball. HR/9 has to be tiny, think under 0.50, BAA against has to be anything at or below league average of .243. And lastly, the ERA has to be respectful, but not the end-all-be-all of determinations, because unluckiness does happen with relievers. So when doing your homework for reliever adds, make a checklist of those three stats and let the ERA be the tie-breaker in determining your add. In holds leagues, quantity does matter, but if you are only going to eat one banana why buy the whole bunch and let them ruin all the other categories?
Please, blog, may I have some more?
A’s Found A Center Fielder In Fowler Territory
May 10, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 651 Commentsby: Grey
Trevor Cahill hit the DL. Fun Fact! If you have Hill in your last name, there’s a 100% chance you’re injury prone and will be on the DL for the majority of the season. It’s a curse that began when Curt Schilling put ketchup on his ankle. With Cahill being DL’d, the A’s brought up Dustin Fowler to, uh, hit. Yo, A’s, you lose a pitcher and bring up a hitter? Michael Lewis is right, you do do things differently! Speaking of do-do, how about those A’s?! I’m being unnecessarily harsh. A thousand apologies to the 1,200 A’s fans that are three-quarters of a mile away from the field, just past foul territory. Any hoo! Here’s what Prospect Ralph said about Fowler, “Fowler hints at an enticing set of fantasy tools. His combination of power, steals, and the ability to hit for contact make him a potential five category contributor in 5×5 roto formats. Could return a .270/20/20 season if his surgically-repaired knee holds up. If only we could surgically repair Grey’s brain.” What the hell, my dude! Fowler should start at center over Canha, who should now platoon with Joyce, who should be out of the league. I didn’t grab Fowler anywhere, but I could see it for a power/speed combo. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
