Welcome back for another edition of the 2024 Top Keepers. The journey continues this week with a look at the top third baseman.
So far in this series we have gone over:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Please see our player page for Evan Longoria 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.
Welcome back for another edition of the 2024 Top Keepers. The journey continues this week with a look at the top third baseman.
So far in this series we have gone over:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hola, chicos and cinco chicas! Are you ready for some Tex-Max Schenchiladas? Ay, papis and cinco mamas, you want some Tex-Max Enscherziladas?! Ay?! So, the Max Scherzer trade to the Rangers was briefly held up because they needed Max’s approval, and I have been laughing for two days thinking about someone asking if they would waive their no-trade clause from the Mets. Can you imagine?
“Hey, I have to ask you–”
“Yes.”
“Wait, let me–”
“Absolutely.”
“You have to let me ask you, it’s a part of the clause, I must say the whole thing before you can answer. Okay, are you willing to leave the New York–”
“PLEASE!”
C’mon, bro. Max Scherzer is going to say, “No, I want to stay on this submersible.” So, Scherzer goes to the Rangers and this will fix everything. I kid. Scherzer could go to any team, except maybe the Rockies, and be Scherzer. His 4.01 ERA hasn’t been pristine, and he’s starting to show some wear at 39. His Ks are down, and his walks and homers are up. He has the worst xFIP of his career. I’d never bet against Scherzer — one does not bet against someone with two different colored eyes — but he does look more like a number two vs. the one he’s been for 13 years. By the way, the return package — which I’m sure Itch will go over — includes Luisangel Acuña. Hmm, pitch clock, fine. Limited pickoffs? Okay. But what’s Manfred doing with this “Every NL East team gets an Acuña” rule? From what I’ve heard, it’s a good return for Max Scherzer; the Mets did well. Until they trade Luisangel Acuña this offseason for Whit Merrifield or something equally bad. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Yesterday, Kevin Gausman went 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 3.01. Gausman was being drafted like, “Oh, I guess I’ll punt top starters and take Gausman.” Gausman was being drafted like: Person looking at your draft results, “You didn’t draft an ace.” Person who drafted Gausman, “I think Gausman is my ace.” “No, you need someone like Corbin Burnes or Sandy Alcantara.” I won’t break the record that I continue to break that people continue to ignore. I just want everyone to think about one thing: Pitchers are impossible to rank, thus draft. ERA, Wins and WHIP, to a lesser extent, are heavily influenced by luck. When there’s no luck playing a factor, they’re prone to injuries. You could’ve had Gausman as your ace everywhere. Or, you could’ve had Alek Manoah, who was scorched for 11 runs in 2 2/3 IP in the Florida Complex League. Oh, he’s absolutely going to have a complex, thinking, “Wow, I really suck.” Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Royals called up insanely fast speedster, Dairon Blanco (1-for-4). He’s so fast he just ran in your room, mussed your hair and ran back out without you even seeing him. His name translates to “Strike while the iron is white hot.” Roughly. I’m not a linguist. Dairon has 47 steals in 49 games in Triple-A, which is absolutely hilarious. Oh, and he’s 30 years old. Okay, so the Royals have one of those teleporters like in The Fly, and Rajai Davis was in it when a cheetah entered. They got zapped together and out walked Dairon. Idea Alert! Every MLB team should be required to have an 80-steal burner. Like they all have LOOGYs, they should all have Billy Hamilton clones. This isn’t an idea, this is a must-have. If your fantasy team’s steals are anemic, Dairon is your answer. Otherwise, I’d prolly wait to see the next guy to come out of the cheetah teleporter. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1306528″ player=”13959″ title=”2023%20Razzball%20BUY%20SELL%20HOLD%20For%20Fantasy%20Baseball%20Week%208″ duration=”217″ description=”It’s the Razzball BUY, SELL, HOLD For Fantasy Baseball Week 8!” uploaddate=”2023-05-17″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1306528_th_6464fef4e757f_1684340468.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1306528.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]
At one point in the 6th inning, Michael Kopech (7 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.24) couldn’t see. He was blinded by a bug. The pitch clock was winding down, so he let it rip, and he said later, “I still don’t know where that pitch was that I threw. It was a strike, so it’s good. Seby [Zavala] came out and actually blew in my eye and got the bug out.” That bug, Flik, was voiced by Canadian heartthrob, Dave Foley. I don’t know how long Dave Foley’s been sitting in Kopech’s eye, but, with the success he’s been having recently, made we shouldn’t be so fast to blow our hot breath into his face, unless it was meant as an ode to Prom season by Seby. That is always worth commemorating. So, I try avoid doing a lede about the same guy but, way back in the first week of the season, I wrote about Michael Kopech because he looked so bad. Well, not exactly. I wrote, “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. 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.” And that’s me quoting me! Well, we’re back here again, because we have to keep an open mind — someone grab me the head opener! — and Michael Kopech now has two great starts in a row. Since that first game of the season, Kopech only really has one other disaster. His velocity is up; his strikeouts are up; his command is better (in his last two starts) and, while not exactly performing at the level of his last two starts without luck — he needs to disallow homers on the reg — he’s looking more inline with the starter who we thought was going to be back when he was a top prospect. Was thought to be a slider-first pitcher, he’s relied on it less, while throwing it harder. It could be the recipe for success he needs. Either that, or someone put a bug back in his eye. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Perhaps it’s the constantly ticking pitch clock causing me anxiety and doubt but the Pittsburgh Pirates, yes those Pirates aka the 1979 World Champs have now won four in a row and that’s almost entirely due to free-agent-to-be Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds was 3-for-5 with his MLB leading fifth home run Friday night along with 6 […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome back to another season of Ambulance Chasers, Razzfolks! It seems like just yesterday it was the end of the season. Some of you struck gold. Some of you (okay, it was me) struck a more of petrified cow patty. I am not actually sure what we struck, but I sent a sample to the […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1109777″ player=”13959″ title=”2022%20Razzball%20BUY%20SELL%20HOLD%20for%20Fantasy%20Football%20Week%205″ duration=”183″ description=”It’s the RazzballBUY SELL HOLD for Fantasy Football Week 5!Joe Mixon :38Dalvin Cook 1:15Marquise Brown 2:05″ uploaddate=”2022-10-03″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1109777_th_1664773851.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1109777.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]
Shh…That was what I was saying yesterday. I was like a librarian with my index finger pressed to my collagen-filled lips. I was lowering the shades of my house hoping no one passing by would see how well Luis Severino was pitching. My phone rang; it was a telemarketer, and I talked to them for 45 minutes because I knew if they were talking to me, then they couldn’t be watching Luis Severino and getting excited for him for 2023 fantasy. One less person who’s going to be get all Jazzy Jeff’d for Luis Severino. I don’t need people seeing that! Yesterday, Luis Severino went 7 IP, 0 ER, zero hits, 1 walk, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.18, as he was throwing speedballs by everyone, just peppering 98 to 100 MPH fastballs into the 7th inning, like it was nothing. For 2023 fantasy, Luis Severino will be going around the number three fantasy starters, and be on my short list for guys who can be an ace. I’m already thinking about the Luis Severino sleeper. I wrote a Jordan Montgomery sleeper last year, so being on the Yankees won’t preclude that possibility. Severino’s going to get all that 2023 shine! Now, that you’ve read this, set fire to your computer so no one else can read this and know how good Severino was yesterday. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hey gamers glad you could join us! It’s been a fun season everyone. Glad you could join us here at Razzball. I’m stepping in for Mr Pants one last time for the final Friday of the season. We all added a few more gray hairs and Grey lost a few hairs, but hey! Baseball is […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?What’s up fam, I’m filling in for Mr. Pants this week, and what a weekend to do it… Albert Pujols became just the fourth person ever to hit 700 HR at the big league level. Truly a remarkable feat. What’s even more remarkable is that he nearly died on the vine outside of the walls […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?To say Paul Goldschmidt is locked in right now is an understatement. Dude has delivered 9 HRs, 27 RBIs and 23 Rs in August. That’s only 23 games folks. For the season, that’s a slash of .338/.419/.633 with 33 HRs and an RBI total already north of triple digits. Unless the gold-digging descendants of Lewis […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1078392″ player=”13959″ title=”2022%20Razzball%20Fantasy%20Football%20Draft%20Kit%20Highlighting%20Tight%20Ends” duration=”190″ description=”Fave: Darren Waller (0:34)Flyer: Noah Fant (1:25)Fade: Mark Andrews (2:10)” uploaddate=”2022-08-18″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1078392_th_1660839155.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1078392.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]
Justin Verlander (6 IP, 0 ER, no baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 1.87) is built different. At 39 years of age, he is dominating like he’s in his 20s. He’s doing things that have never been done before, while just coming back from Tommy John surgery. He truly is remarkable. I have an idea about how he’s performing so well, but to test my theory, I need to sleep with Kate Upton. I will talk to my wife, Cougs, and I will need to get Justin and Kate’s permission, as well. For science is how I will pitch it, and I’ll need to pitch better than Justin to get this to fly. I believe this is a sacrifice all four of us can make. I will be making perhaps the biggest sacrifice. For 2023 fantasy, what will Justin Verlander do as an encore after this season? His peripherals (8.9 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 3.36 xFIP) look basically the same as his first Cy Young award that he won back in 2011, and, he should win his third this year. There’s no way I’m betting against Justin Verlander next year, not until everyone involved lets me sleep with Kate Upton to see if that has magical powers. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?