Please see our player page for Drew Rasmussen 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: Coolwhip
Hey Razzfaithful, back in the saddle after returning from a family vacation. With renewed clarity and a sunburn, I’m ready to take on a midseason review of my sleepers and deep dives from the early going. Call it a furthering need for authenticity. I do my best to practice this with my work and family, […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Holding hands to eyes, sun blinds me, I turn back and call into the house, “Ma, how long is this break without baseball? Ma?” I realize now that I’m not emerging from my mom’s house. I’m emerging from a bunker. I had been in there longer than I imagined. I pick up a newspaper to […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Razzballerz, it is another low-injury week, and I do not have enough hot gnarly gossip for you. So, we are going to talk about the passage of time: the pitch clock! There is no argument the pitch clock has had an impact on the game. For instance, when I go get a beer at a […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Grey
You sign enough 30+ injury-prone right-handers from former Northeast clubs and one’s gotta work out, right? To make sure that joke made sense I went to look at Nathan Eovaldi‘s player page to see if he would be considered injury-prone. He has 1300-ish IP in his career in 11-ish years. That’s 118-ish innings per year. Is that ish good or ish bad? I haven’t the ishiest. We’ve reached the point where I don’t even know if 118 IP per year is a lot or a little innings. What’s a healthy amount per year? 150? So, only 30 less innings than a healthy amount? Okay, this is likely pedantic, and last thing I wanna be known as is a peda. *intern whispers in ear* No, I didn’t say that. I said peda. With an “a.” It’s totally fine. So, Nathan Eovaldi (8 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.70) is a top 15 starter this year. Real or not real? We shall explore! 9.5 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, and 2.89 xFIP. His homers are crazy suppressed but what is clearly helping is being out of Fenway and its BABIP-rich environs. By the way, don’t ever say “environs” out loud or someone will have the right to punch you. Eovaldi looks like he’s capable of a 3.50 ERA in 120-ish innings. That ish ain’t bad. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?“My wrist, well, guys and gals, chicks and *icks, you’re not gonna believe this, but, it’s 100%. My wrist is healed. It’s the best it’s ever felt. My wrist feels like Elton John during his imperial phase. My wrist is playing Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting, and people aren’t hearing crap, but they’re hearing a masterpiece. My wrist is Nic Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, doing all kinds of crazy judo chops in the supermarket aisle, and people are believing it, and are riveted. My wrist is Ty Cobb without the racism. My wrist is perfect!” This was a quote from Alex Kirilloff this year, and last year, and the year before. He was called up by the Twins, and played 1st yesterday (1-for-2). Kirilloff has been struggling with wrist issues since 2021. Almost exactly two years ago, he tore ligaments in his wrist. Those are the worst kind of after-dinner mints. Why do we care? If he’s healthy, he’s a 40-homer hitter with a .280 average. Sadly, we don’t know if we’re ever getting the purported strong-wristed Elton John or a limp-wristed Kirilloff. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
I say something on this week’s podcast like, “Tanner Bibee is coming up any day now,” it’s quotes like that why the Pulitzer for Podcasts said, “Can we make a special award just for you?” Sure, their special award was called, “The Pulitzer for Saying Something While Saying Nothing.” So, the Guards are supposedly calling up Tanner Bibee to start today, and they don’t play around with their pitchers, which is something I should remember for next year when I’m between drafting a guy like Gavin Stone and a Guardians’ pitching prospect. So, Bibee has a 95 MPH fastball with four pitches. The fastball and 84 MPH slider are the swing-and-miss’ers. His slider was 56% swing-and-miss, which is nuts. His change is kinda bleh and the curve doesn’t do much, but setup. He has excellent command, and could be the rookie pitcher prospect call-up of the year. Another Pulitzer award, presumably. Here’s what Itch’s said, “Bibee’s currently my favorite of Cleveland’s pitching prospects for dynasty purposes in terms of cost vs. value. He’s coming off 73.2 innings in Double-A with a 0.88 WHIP. He allowed just four home runs there and wound up with a 1.83 ERA. He’s good enough to the naked eye that I think he’ll make waves this spring. His 122.2 innings pitched last year sets him up perfectly to step in whenever the Guardians need help. People still seem to be underrating his physical gifts. At 6’2” 205 lb, Bibee can sit comfortably in the mid-90’s deep into games and has that Cleveland specialty skill of commanding his off-speed pitches. In case you can’t tell from the blurb, I want him everywhere I can get him. And I want to punch Grey everywhere I can.” That’s not cool! Bibee is worth grabbing in every league. Yes, even in your league. Will he stay up? Hard to say, but worth the flyer. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
Max Scherzer was cruising, as is often the case with Max Scherzer — had a line of 3 IP, 0 ER — when he was ejected for having (what the umpires believed to be) a foreign substance on his glove. Scherzer was screaming, “It’s rosin!” It seemed like the Pitchcom tape inside his glove because he calls his own game. It better — again, with some stank — IT BETTER check out as a foreign substance or all of those umpires should be suspended without pay for thirty games. Umps are power-mad idiots. You throw out a first ballot Hall of Famer for what you believe is something sticky? That’s absurd. You taint his legacy with some utter nonsense? Are you completely daft? Now, MLB instituted an automatic 10-game suspension for the offender, so Scherzer might miss another two starts due to this? Oh, this is some serious BS.
Max Scherzer was ejected between innings after a heated conversation with the umpiring crew. IN his place, the Mets brought in bizarro Max Scherzer, Schax Merzer. pic.twitter.com/Lwy0oRJEzl
— Razzball (@Razzball) April 19, 2023
Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Dan Pants
It’s week three and time to talk about a Pittsburgh starter who didn’t even win Friday night. I must really be stretching. Slow baseball day, you ask? Or is Oneil Cruz and his 3 months 25 more days until returning still on my mind? Neither, Johan Oviedo‘s seven-inning gem just blew my black and yellow […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?You know, there’s so much on my mind at any given point; especially during the baseball season. I keep a running record of interesting things I see players do with notes to circle back to them if they duplicate them. And here we are, the first in-season deep dive as I look at often underappreciated, […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
The crazy analytics that the Rays have that no one else has: Pinpointing what players are good at and reenforcing that some players only do what they’re good at. For unstints, they’ll tell someone like Drew Rasmussen (7 IP, 0 ER, 1hit, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 0.00) “pitch well,” and only “pitch well.” Crazy, right? Sometimes they’ll say to a hitter, “Hit well.” That has never been done before by a Major League Baseball team. One time they said to Vidal Brujan, “Be terrible,” and what do you know? What did he do? I’m gonna give you one guess here. He was terrible! It’s analytics like this that allow the Rays to save money too. The Rays received a bill from their travel department and were like, “This is way too much money to travel to games,” so they said to Manuel Margot, “Fly the plane,” and that’s what he did. Analytics, that’s what this is. So, I went to look to see if Drew Rasmusen had a sleeper post written by me, but he didn’t. Guess I merely loved him vs. wrote him up. Wanna know how much pitching there is in the majors? Rasmussen has a 2.96 ERA in 243 1/3 IP in his career. Yeah, but you have to draft a top starter. Mmkay. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
There’s no direct evidence that the more handsome a pitcher the more he’s going to screw you over — that we know of. We just haven’t studied it yet! Someone take a ruler and measure the distance between the eyes on Michael Kopech (4 2/3 IP, 7 ER). Now measure the inches on his curve break. Do they match? The golden ratio that is his cheekbones, is that equal to his current 13.50 ERA? This is not eugenics, because we’re doing it for fantasy baseball purposes and not fantasy exterminations. Wonder if Kopech was tipping his pitches, because, while I don’t have a ton of faith in him, that was even bad for the pretty boy. First up, Joc Pederson (1-for-3) hit his 2nd homer. Buckle up! Joc is the type to hit 24 homers in five games, then nothing for three months. Then Mike Yastrzemski (2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 RBIs) hit his 1st homer. Carl’s Jr. Jr. said make the 1st one animal style! Next up, Michael Conforto (2-for-6) hit his 1st homer. More incredibly, Conforto still hasn’t injured himself. Then Thairo Estrada (2-for-4, 2 runs and a slam (1) and legs (2). That’s Thairo Estrada sleeper to you. Hopefully, he’s fine, because he left the game after taking a foul off his leg. Finally, David Villar (2-for-4, 5 RBIs) hit his 1st and 2nd homer, and this sucks. I really need Casey Schmitt to replace this schmohawk. C’mon, Villar ill will, do your job! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: rosineater
Hey Razzballers, I’m rosineater, and I’ll be handling the Monday DFS duties this season. I’m a longtime DFS player and a student of the game, so along with your DFS picks I’ll be sharing some theory and strategy along the way. Today’s focus will be on the 11-game DraftKings slate that starts at 7:05 ET. […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?
