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Please see our player page for Justin Anderson 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.

What’s poppin’, Razzpimples? I figure it’s about that time of year when y’all wanna see my rankings. Thing is, I don’t rightly enjoy them. They’re format-dependent, and they’re apt to change between now and Opening Day for some reason or another (injury, free agent signing, etc.). Plus, we’ve got preseason Player Raters for that sorta […]

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What’s poppin, Razzpimples? New season, but same ol’ JKJ, with my vivid-image-evoking greeting to all you Razzballers. I thank you kindly for choosing to spend time with my stream-of-consciousness ramblings on all things bullpens in the world of fantasy baseball. Like clockwork, we enter a new year of baseball where the bullpen world hath been […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Many of you might not realize this, but I try to stay consistent in advice.  When you write 3,000 words/day, sometimes things get blurred.  I like so-and-so and don’t like that so-and-so, then the first so-and-so gets cold and I no longer like that so-and-so or the 2nd so-and-so gets hot and I like him, so I no longer like so-and-so, but do like that so-and-so.  Or sometimes I’m just so-so on a particular so-and-so, but that so-so is fluid and a so-and-so can become a little more than just so-so or a little less than just so-so.  BTW, those who just Googled for “so-so fantasy advice,” welcome!  You’re at the right place.  So, my so-so feelings on Nathan Eovaldi have moved up, and he is rattling off irrefutable evidence that he should be owned.  Yesterday, Eovaldi took a perfect game into the 7th, ending up with 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, zero walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.35, and, outside of one start in Yankee Stadium, he hasn’t allowed more than four earned runs in any start.  He’s thrown three starts with one hit or less!  Johnny Lasagna may have been exposed as a noodle arm, but the Italians still have Rachel Ray’s E-O-V-A.  Eovaldi is now at 8.2 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, 3.36 xFIP; those numbers suggest he should be owned in every league, and I’m in agreement.  The origin story film, Velo, may have received mixed reviews, but is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and I loved Jordan Hicks’ cameo.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The news that Hunter Strickland has fallen down and needs a time out for punching a door has sent a reliever ripple effect down the closer ranks.  Since this is the Holds week and this is the most pertinent info going, I figured we would roll with anyways.  So roll with the suspenseful animation of holds love and glory for a little bit, and while you are at it, temper your expectations of reliever-dom as we dive into the Giants reliever sitch.  So Strickland got all mad, punched a door, broke his hand.  The Giants are not short of ex-closers that have had time in the limelight.  Sam Dyson gets the first look as expected, because Mark Melancon is not ready for prime time… yet. Dyson got the first save chance, nice!  Smooth sailing.  Then on Thursday?  Yaks up 2 runs and gets yanked for a guy I just brought to light in Reyes Moronta.  The story isn’t that intriguing as I wish there was some Usual Suspects twist where Mark Melancon was Bruce Bochy all along and he just uses the nickname ‘Verbal’  from his me-ma.  Dyson seems to be the guy, until the trust level is at a reasonable level of fortitude for the previous 52 million dollar man in Melancon.  The Giants aren’t going anywhere fast, so involving assets of tradeability like MM and Dyson are a boon to not only your fantasy team, but real life baseball.  So the Giants may start to implore an Oprah approach to saves.  You get a save, and you get a save, and you get a save!  The save chase is great and fun until you are on the losing end of it.  So enjoy the stat heist that you may have with Dyson, soon to be Melancon, and eventually everyone.  More saves and holds goodies after the bump.  Cheers!

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No joy comes from benching your ace and having him do a shot of Visine right as he’s going to bed.  “I’m just going to tuck myself in with a glass of warm milk and a Visine back.”  Nope, that brings me zero enjoyment.  It’s like calling your mechanic and telling him that your brakes don’t work, which you found out after the valet drove your Peugeot into a Chipotle.  (Even Chipotles have valets in LA.)  Car’s ruined, at least I wasn’t in the damn car, but no joy.  That’s what I’m getting right now from Carlos Martinez.  Yesterday, he went 4 IP, 5 ER, ERA up to 3.24, and it’s his 4th straight lackluster start in a row since returning from injury.  He was on my bench, because I don’t trust him at all, but my car’s still being used as a salsa bar, and I don’t want pico de gallo on my hood!  I want the ace pitcher I drafted!  I have to assume C-Mart is still hurt, because it hasn’t only been the series of bleh starts, but the control in his last four games has been atrocious 20 BBs in 16 2/3 IP.  Yesterday’s command was technically better, unless you consider being wild in the zone as big a problem.  Sadly, he needs to stay on your bench until he either rights the ship or hits the Disgraceful List.  Effin’ pico de gallo hood ornament!  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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From Fozzie Bear’s Big Book Of Side-Splitting Jokes (Please Laugh), “Why couldn’t you hear the guy who didn’t draft Michael Wacha?  He was Mike-less.  Wacha Wacha Wacha.”  “Did you see him pitch yesterday?  He was reWachable, knocking down Pirates like he was playing Wacha-Mole.  Wacha Wacha Wacha.”  “What do you get when you don’t listen to Grey’s preseason advice to draft Michael Wacha?  An unbearable fantasy baseball ‘pert giving I told you so’s.  Wacha Wacha Wacha.”  Yesterday, Michael Wacha took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, ending up with the line 8 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 Ks, lowering his ERA to 2.41.  At one point in the 8th inning, he hit 97 MPH on the radar gun, which was the point when I licked my finger and touched the screen to listen for a sizzle.  Since I didn’t hear the sizzle, I tried the same with an electrical socket to make sure I was alive and not a ghost.  Turns out I’m alive, but with smoke coming out my ears.  Speaking of smoke coming out of one’s ears (taking that segue right off a cliff!), Blake Snell threw about as gemmy of a gem as you’re gonna find for someone gemming up the works — 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 baserunners (0 walks), 12 Ks, ERA at 2.36.  Of course, Snell was yet another one of my preseason sleepers, but if only we had one more of my preseason sleepers that did well on Sunday to satisfy my Rule of Three craving.  Someone who was on no one’s radar for a reason I couldn’t quite understand.  Someone who hit three homers yesterday and has 13 homers on the year.  Wait, that did happen!  Eddie Rosario (3-for-5, 4 RBIs) went Bazooka Jack times three yesterday to seal one of the greatest days in the history of my life.  Sorry, wedding day, you’re moving down the list!  If you wanna bask in my glory:  here’s the Michael Wacha sleeper you ignored, the Blake Snell sleeper you missed and the Eddie Rosario sleeper you didn’t believe.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

How good is Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?  The Blue Jays are now saying they’d like to see how he deals with failure.  He’s so good, he’s never failed!  He will be up by mid-June.  The Jays can longer hold him down anymore without concocting fake reasons.  Very soon you’re going to read this from me:  “Vlad, the Mini Impaler, just jacked another homer to go with his .320 average.  Aren’t you glad you listened to me and grabbed him back in mid-May?  You didn’t grab him?  Aw, shucks, you did a hashtag fail on that one, didn’t you?  It’s all right, there should be another generational talent up in five years.  I hear Bartolo Colon’s got 17 sons — one could be up soon and light the world on fire, or at least put the world in a microwave, open the door 30 seconds before the world is fully heated and eat it.”  And that’s me quoting future me!  So, do you wanna be the guy (or girl who can totally hang with the guys), saying, “Damn, Grey, you’re handsome AF but your witticisms cut deep sometimes.”  Or do you want to read my wound-salting barbs and think, “I’m so glad I own Vlad.  Now who is this Bartolo Colon Jr. he’s talking about?  I should comment calling him Bartolo Semi-Colon and totally make Grey cackle!”  Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

It’s funny how quickly things can change, in life, and certainly in fantasy baseball. Just last week, Nick Kingham wasn’t on the radar of anyone but the deepest-league fantasy owner, and now suddenly he’s owned in over half of CBS leagues, after flirting with a perfect game in his major league debut over the weekend. Will Kingham continue to be a solid fantasy contributor? Will he even stay in the Pirates’ rotation? Only time will tell, but his overnight success reminds us that a fantasy baseball hero can come out of nowhere, even when moments before it looked like there was no one worth grabbing on the thinnest of waiver wires.

All this is just a reminder to keep focused and pay attention to your fantasy baseball surroundings. As frustrating as it is to have a team that’s gotten off to a horrible start due to injuries or anything else — especially in a deep league where you can’t always do much to improve it – don’t forget it’s still only the first week of May. A lot can and will happen over the next few months, so stay vigilant and be ready to grab whomever the next guy is that comes out of nowhere to provide you with some unexpected help.

I’m not saying any of the following guys are going to be heroes, but that bar can be quite a bit lower in the deepest of leagues, so who knows! As is the usual M.O. here, if nothing else, perhaps one of them can help you patch a hole in your deep-league roster.

Please, blog, may I have some more?