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If The Voice chairs be swinging around for any free agent pitcher this offseason, I do believe it’ll be Blake Snell (6 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.25). See, I said pitcher, and Ohtani can’t not do that there. I’m doing The Voice in the voice of Blake Shelton, is it working? No? Okay, pardon me, pardner. I done upset you, I hear that now. I’m still doing it, is it working? No? Okay, I will stop now. You can’t say Blake Snell is slapdick by going out and having a Cy Young year when he’s about to become a free agent for maybe his last huge contract of his career. (Maybe not, will depend on where he signs and for how long, but he seems like that type to take the money, then go into a five-year siesta. I’m Cust kayin’.) If Snell wins the Cy Young award (which I imagine he will), then signs a five-year or something-year deal with the Yanks (or Red Sox or even goes back to the Padres), you’re betting on him being great again next year? If so, please tell me, I have a bridge in Kansas I’ve been trying to offload. He has a 5 BB/9! I mean, that’s not everything, clearly. I’d take that and his near-12 K/9 and would love it, but that command and expecting anything close to a sub-3 ERA in 2024? That is a hoot now, I tell ya what. I’m doing the Blake Shelton voice again. I’m sorry, I’ll stop now. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Good day, Razzball DFS’ers! Josh Jung (3B: $4,800) travels to Anaheim tonight and looks to crush the dreams of the Angels and their starter, Patrick Sandoval. Since he came into our lives, Jung has been a dream against left-handed pitching, with a gorgeous .311 ISO and .441 wOBA.   Let’s see what else there is to […]

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What is up party people? We’re almost to the point of reflection on the season but we’re not quite there yet because there are still championships to win. I won’t lie to ya, at this point the pickings are slim so this one is gonna be short and sweet. You don’t want the guy that might be good in the future, you need the guy that’s good right now. And with that allow me to introduce you to  Matt Vierling. The man was a Razzball sleeper going into the season and while he didn’t blow us all away he has still been a very solid option. Actually, I think he has been more than a solid option. A .262 average and only 9 home runs is certainly nothing to write home about At this point in the season he may just be the most under valued player out there. I am actually very surprised that he is still this widely available at this point in the season.

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In this business, we call this an In Appreciation of Ronald Acuña Jr. post. Yesterday, he went 3-for-5, 3 runs, 2 RBIs with a double slam (38, 39) and legs (67). He’s on the doorsteps of a 40/70 season. A 40/70 season is absurd. Can remember Jose Canseco going 40/40, and people were rightfully floored. It was the most unheard of statline. Even when people tried to match it, they mostly fell short. A few achieved it, but all of them were just barely able to make it (none of them made the HOF either, oddly enough). Acuña is not just flying through 40/40, but 40/70! For fantasy, this is the best season ever. After we just had a best season ever! See the Historical Player Rater for more.  This Acuña year is basically if Aaron Judge stole 70 bags. Acuña has 138 runs, 100 RBIs and is hitting .338. Honestly, I thought after Judge’s previous season, we would never see anything comparable. Now, I’m thinking Acuña goes 50/80 in 2024, and Julio Rodriguez goes 60/60 and Betts goes 70/70 and Corbin Carroll goes 100/100 and Robbie Grossman goes 120/120! What a time to be alive! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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I looked at Jake Alu. To repeat for emphasis, I looked at Jake Alu. Again, but with an exclamation mark, I looked at Jake Alu! That’s how random I was willing to go for a hot bat for this week’s Buy column. Loyalty and long-term outlooks mean nothing. I’d cut my grandmother if it meant a fantasy league win! Sorry, Nana. So, ended up on Willi Castro, because he’s been hot, that was first and foremost, but also: I haven’t talked about him nearly enough this year. The drawback to my style of roundupping (totally a word!) is if a guy doesn’t hit a lot of homers, he could fall by the wayside. I mentioned Willi Castro a total of seven times this year.

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What is up party people? September really is in full swing now. For those of you fantasy football gurus out there, the Razzball crew has you covered. However, since you’re here I think it would be fair to assume that your interests lie beyond the gridiron. The diamond calls to you. If you build it, they will come. We have entered crunch time, where championships are decided.  As we get down to the nitty gritty, the options get way more limited. As much as I would love to recommend a guy who is available in 90% of leagues, the truth is that you need results not speculative adds. However, sometimes the stars align a gem such as Logan O’Hoppe is there for the taking. His season can be summed up fairly briefly. He was a highly touted rookie who was billed as an impact bat at catcher (aka fantasy gold) who actually looked like he might deliver on his potential. Then disaster, a shoulder injury knocked him out of action for what appeared to be the rest of the season. I am as surprised as anyone that he wasn’t shut down until next year. I guess that wasn’t really all that brief of a summary but the upshot is that he his back. Not only is he back, he looks better than ever. In the last week alone he has smoked 4 bombs. If you need help at catcher (and like most of us, you probably do) let Logan take your team over the top. May the odds be ever in your favor.

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Cubs are calling up Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is little known Pixar character from the movie, The Wowzers. It was a blatant ripoff of The Incredibles, where the main character, Pete Crow-Armstrong idolized Jim Thorpe, went to sleep one night and woke being able to “crow hop” a throw to home from the deepest part of the outfield. A critics’ darling that audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes called, “Pixar continues to make all female characters’ main attribute their giant rear ends.” So, here’s what Itch said previously, “The surprise prize of the Javy Baez trade, Pete Crow-Armstrong features a quick but simple stroke in a 6’0” 184 lb frame. PCA is a double-plus defender who just posted 16 home runs and 32 stolen bases in 101 games across two levels (in 2022) where he was younger than the league average. He chipped in 20 doubles and 10 triples, slashing .312/.376/.520 on the season. The power has been a nice bonus, considering the profile isn’t dependent upon it. Here’s hoping: His power and my fist into Grey’s head.” Oh cmon! PCA’s gone 20/37 across two levels in 107 games this year. He seems to have a little bit of a contact problem (29.7% in Triple-A), but has speed for an inflated BABIP. I have little interest outside of NL-Only leagues, because I think Pete Crow-Armstrong will be in a platoon, but it’s fun to see what he can do in limited time, and this is promising for 2024 fantasy, and him breaking camp next year. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Yesterday, Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave until further notice as MLB continues its ongoing investigation. So, what does this mean? It means he should step into a rocket, aim it at the sun, and we should press “launch.” He could come back in September or not at all. My guess is he’s at least done for this season. Hoping his name is cleared and he returns, because, in that scenario, no children were harmed. Reading the tea leaves, it does not feel like that scenario is the most likely one. It feels like Wander’s not coming back any time soon, if ever again, as the Rays took down all signs of him from around their park. That’s right, the Rays ‘Poochie died on the way back to his home planet’d him. Because the Rays have a never-ending supply of top prospects, the turnstile, uh, turned and entered Osleivis Basabe going 2-for-5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs and his 1st homer. I can spell just about every name without blinking. Put me in an MLB spelling bee and watch me walk away victorious. With that said, I might have to make an auto-fill for the name Osleivis Basabe. If you can get through Osleivis, then you have to fight the urge to write Baseball. He now should have everyday playing time and I’m interested in seeing what he can do. When he came up, there was talk Osleivis could be a Luis Arraez with speed. Call him Luis ThesceneinBoogieNightswithfirecrackers. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Good to see Michael Lorenzen (9 IP, 0 ER, 0 hits, 4 walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.23) succeed, finally a pitcher who can also hit. The Phillies fans matched the gravity of the moment, when the final out was recorded, they threw on the field name-brand batteries. None of those flimsy Costco-ass batteries! These suckers were overpriced from Wawa. Okay, okay, enough ragging on the Phillies. It’s a great city. Nowhere else can you get beat up for saying you don’t like Tastykakes. So, Michael Lorenzen’s had himself a bit of a career come-out. A Star Mitzvah, as they say. Or has he?! C’mon, Mr. Reversal Question, not now! Let us bask in his sub-7 K/9, 2-ish BB/9 and 4.00-ish neutral ERA. So, he’s likely not going to win any Cy Youngs, but he has been perfectly serviceable for most mixed leagues, especially the leagues, “Appreciated By Lovers of Tastykakes.” Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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