This week we’re taking a look at the second base landscape, which is definitely shallower than the shortstop position. Overall, second base is looking even bleaker as Jose Altuve becomes the latest injury casualty of the World Baseball Classic. However, there’s always room for finding value and hidden gems at every position. AL East: Blue […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Brandon Lowe
Please see our player page for Brandon Lowe 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.
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?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?The rules, they are a changing. This 2023 season brings with it a whole new set of changes for players to navigate and fantasy managers to predict. Maybe it is pickoff limits and larger bases leading to more stolen bases. Maybe the pitch clock will reward pitchers that like to play mind games. However, this week we will spend some time looking at players that have the most to gain front the elimination of the shift. Teams will adapt and find ways to flex the rules (looking at you Tampa Bay) and gain a slight advantage. Will you?
Please, blog, may I have some more?As I was compiling the 2023 Dynasty Rankings: 150-126 this week, the song “The Final Countdown” popped into my head. Then I told myself that, thankfully, this is only third installment of the 2023 Dynasty Rankings!
This week the focus is on the Tier 6 players, a group of players that features a few more established players.
There are nine players listed between the ages of 26-29 and six who are 30 or over. While I love to hoard the younger players as much as possible, a dynasty team still needs some solid veteran players.
Pitchers and Corner Infielders
This tier is also heavy on pitchers and corner infielders. Listed are seven starting pitchers and one closer in addition to seven players who can play first or third base. When it comes to the corner infielders, it just shows how interchangeable the players are once you get past the top five at those positions.
Let’s get to the Rankings!
Enough of the small talk. It’s time to take a look at the 2023 Dynasty Rankings: 150-126.
Please, blog, may I have some more?One super quick word about the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball and all the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings, each ranking appears insanely long and it is, but I imagine in a lot of leagues guys won’t have eligibility, because I’m using the extremely lax Yahoo position eligibility (five games started). Without further ado because this post is longer than the combined length of the Gutenberg Bible and Steve Guttenberg’s IMDB page, I mention where tiers start and stop and all projections are mine and cannot be reproduced without the express written consent of Major League–Damn, I’m being told I did not have the express written consent to use MLB’s warning. It was expressly written for them. You guys! Here’s Steamer’s 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball:
NOTE: All my rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.
NOTE II: Free agents are listed as just that and not yet projected. Once a guy signs, I will write out their blurb and add in projections, or remove them, if they sign in an unfavorable place. They are ranked currently where I think they might be if they sign on for a full-time job.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome back, everyone. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
This week we are going to dive into the 2023 Top Keepers – Second Basemen. When it comes to second baseman, it is a position that now seems to be home of platoon players.
Today’s managers and general managers believe that if you can play a position in the field, then you can play second base. In 2022, only 12 players started more than 100 games at second base, and only 15 appeared in more than 100 games at the position. In all, 160 different players started at least one game at second base in the majors this season.
WHAT HAPPENED TO SECOND BASEMEN?
There are 30 teams, and there were only 16 pure second baseman who reached enough plate appearances (3.1/team games played) to qualify for the batting title. Ouch. Injuries did factor into that as Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ozzie Albies missed a chunk of time. But it is still amazing at how few true second baseman reached enough plate appearances to qualify for a possible batting title.
And the quality of those 16 second basemen isn’t great. Of those players, only two of them (Jeff McNeil and Jose Altuve) hit .300 or better with one (Andres Gimenez) just missing at .297. Then it drops down to .266.
Overall, the position is just not deep. There are tons of players getting in time at second base who are now eligible to play there in fantasy leagues. So, in order to narrow down the candidates to consider for these rankings, I made the cutoff to rank a player at 25 starts at second.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Good day, We are at the goal line of the 2022 regular season (to borrow a football reference). This season’s been nothing short of historic: between Aaron Judge’s pursuit of the AL home run record, Albert Pujols’ 700th homer, and the seemingly endless amount of rookie callups that have hit the ground running. Before I […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?The season is winding down and that gives us an opportunity to look at one of the most important times of the year for a keeper league owner. As the playoffs and final standings push come to a close, those in contention will inevitably feel the roster crunch. Casting off talent to make the all too critical move may win the league, but also be our ticket to a useful building block going into next year’s draft. This week, we will focus on some of those casualties to see if there is any value to be found. While these names might not be sexy, they just might be the right price for a keeper or dynasty piece. Join us as we jump into the trash heap with our hitter profiles as we search for some 2023 keeper values.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Greetings Razzfolk! DO YOU SMELL THAT? It smells like a lot of season ending injuries. Some of them are pretty serious injuries (Alec Mill’s discectomy and Anthony Goses’ Tommy John Surgery), but some of them are because there are only about three weeks left in the regular season. Routine injuries like strained hamstrings might keep […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Rocco Baldelli asked to see James Karinchak’s hair this past weekend to see if he had any foreign substance in there, to see if he was cheating, and I said, in my head, “Karinchak is getting a call from the manager, so that makes Baldelli a Karencheck,” and now Karencheck pulled Joe Ryan (7 IP, 0 ER, 2 walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.83) from a no-hitter in the 7th with 106 pitches thrown. Karencheck! You wanna make new rules, MLB? (By the way, in the video at top of this post, it’s this week’s podcast, where BDon and I discuss the new rules — it’s about 10 minutes in.) How about this new rule, no matter what, if the player is healthy, they have to pitch if there’s a no hitter? Make that a rule, you sissies! *puts chew in bottom lip, accidentally swallows chew, vomits up chew and vomit spells out “THAT’S WHAT REAL MEN DO”* My vomit is calling you out, Karencheck! Joe Ryan’s peripherals are 9.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 4.40 xFIP and a hilariously terrible ground ball rate (26.6%), so he’s very susceptible to homers, and that burned him at times this year. How’sever, Joe Ryan for 2023 fantasy, I’m still a believer, as long as he doesn’t show up at camp with a dead arm (lots of IP this year). He’s a rookie, who had excellent command in the minors, and hasn’t scratched that surface yet. Joe Ryan for 2023 fantasy will be an ace or need to be shutdown in the spring with arm issues. Roll that dice, you momma’s boys, and don’t make me spell out things in my vomit anymore! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Change is upon us, my friends. This past Friday, MLB announced various rule changes that would be implemented across the big leagues in 2023. We’ll see a pitch clock in MLB, the shift will be banned, and the bases will be enlarged (to name a few). These changes are mostly under the guise of speeding […]
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