Please see our player page for Martin Maldonado 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: Grey
You will struggle to find decent hitting offenses to avoid. I’m saying if you stop streaming against ‘good hitting teams,’ you will struggle to find them. Where are they, you might ask. They’re not in or around the lineup that is managed by Bud Black. His best hitter — easily! — Brenton Doyle is hitting […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
Royce Lewis hit the IL with a strained abductor saying, “Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-but! I want to play! My abductor is fine! I’m not a mollusk! I don’t have an abductor! Do I look like a mollusk?” Then Rocco Baldelli squeezed lemon on his head, sprinkled some Maldon salt and slurped him down. Bye, Royce Lewis, he returned […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
I started both Freddy Peralta (7 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.81) and Jesus Luzardo (8 IP, 0 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.14), then I prayed. Not to any ordinary God, of course. I prayed to the Fantasy Baseball Overlord, and he said, “I’m currently away […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
After we went over the top 10 for 2024 fantasy baseball and the top 20 for 2024 fantasy baseball in our (my) 2024 fantasy baseball rankings, it’s time for the meat and potatoes rankings. Something to stew about! Hop in the pressure cooker, crank it up to “Intense” and let’s rock with the top 20 catchers for 2024 fantasy baseball. […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
I’ll get to Jose Altuve, but, damn, the Astros were like, “Oh, yeah, Rangers, you’re going to challenge us for the division? That’s what you’re going to do?” Mean’s while, Mariners are like, “Hey, what about us?” Okay, now the lede: Jose Altuve did what? Three homers in three innings? Finishing with: 3-for-5, and his 13th, 14th, and 15th homer, which he hit in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd inning. Mark Whiten must’ve been sweating! I know this is about fantasy, but he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. I’m not a denier of the Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang Scandal. I am not an ostrich. But cmon. Has he been cheating every year of his career? Fine, wanna dock him one year for cheating? Do whatever you want, but he’s a Hall of Famer. I’m not just saying this because we’re the same height. Fine! It is that reason! Us Short Kings get one guy every 20 years, let us have Altuve! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Well, the World Series is over, the citizens of Houston got to have their parade and now here we are – the offseason.
But don’t fret. If you are a regular Razzball reader, then you know we have been looking at the top keepers for 2023. Over the last two weeks we’ve released the 2023 Top Keepers 2023 – Relievers and 2023 Top Keepers – Starting Pitchers. This week – catchers!
Catchers are almost becoming like the place kickers of fantasy football – everyone needs one, but except for a few top players who can actually sway an outcome, they are all the same.
So here are a few simple rules when it comes to catchers:
Catchers, in general, will only play in about 110 to 120 games except for a few outliers. So don’t expect catchers, as a group, to perform like other position players.
If you think two catchers are equal except for age, go with the younger catcher. Few catchers age well.
Be happy if you have a catcher who is a standout in one scoring category. Rare is the catcher who hits for average and homers, even more rare if they add steals.
There are some catchers who make Rule #1, #2 and #3 completely false. If you have one of them, hold onto them for as long as you can.
In backing up rule No. 3, the career leader in home runs by a catcher (as in hitting a homer while playing catcher in that game) is Mike Piazza with 396. There are only three more players who hit more than 300 – Carlton Fisk (351), Johnny Bench (326) and Yogi Berra (305). That is it. This season, the highest batting average by a catcher with more than 200 at-bats was .285 by Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays – .285!
So for the below rankings, if you see a player like Martin Maldonado, you are going to wonder why he is even ranked. Dude slashed only .186/.248/.352. But he did hit 15 homers and drove in 45 runs.
You know how many other catchers hit more than 15 homers? Twelve. Do you know how many other catchers drove in more than 45 runs? Fourteen. When looking at a catcher like Maldanado for just his power and run production, he is actually close to being a starter in deep fantasy leagues.
Moral of the story – catchers are their own breed and should be viewed differently.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Hoove
The good folks at Razzball seem to believe Shohei Ohtani > Aaron Judge when it comes to MVP (or at least most do, anyway, without taking a formal poll). It’s possible to recognize Judge’s ridiculous/fantastic/phenomenal/etc season while also believing that the things Ohtani has done this season and last are historical outliers that still trump […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1073252″ player=”13959″ title=”2022%20Razzball%20Fantasy%20Football%20Draft%20Kit%20WR's” duration=”146″ description=”2022 Razzball Fantasy Football Draft Kit highlighting Wide ReceiversFave: Mike Williams (:23)Flier: Chase Claypool (1:03)Fade: Tyreek Hill (1:45)” uploaddate=”2022-08-11″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1073252_th_1660177785.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1073252.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]
“Hologram Harry Caray leading the nation, nay, the world in Take Me Out To The Ballgame at the Field of Dreams game, wait, what’s this? Hologram Tupac, Hologram Babe Ruth and Hologram Barbara Bush have joined him, embracing. It’s East Coast, West Coast, Midcoast and Southcoast coming together, as only holograms can! If holograms can come together, then why can’t we, as people, come together? Rob Manfred has done it again!” *wavy lines* Oh my God, we’ve been inside a Rob Manfred’s dream sequence! It was a Field of Dreams dream! AHHH!!! I need to shower! So, the Field of Dreams game went off again without a hitch. Oops, I mean without a Hitch, meaning Will Smith and Kevin James both were not in attendance. For some reason, MLB thought the Reds and Cubs should be rewarded that showcase. If you’re going to have two teams who are trying to lose games, and dismantle its stars, then why not do a Major League theme in Cleveland? One thing baseball has is decent movies. Why not do a different one each year? Bull Durham theme one year in a MiLB park; The Natural theme one year in a lightning storm; The Rookie theme one year with all old players. The possibilities are endless! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Howdy everyone. The Great Knoche here, newish DFS writer at Razzball, but certainly not new to Razzball. I’ve been hanging around these parts for around decade. That’s long enough to have accumulated the knowledge to have finished 9th overall in the RCL standings in 2019, That’s long enough to remember when J-FOH also known as […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”850491″ player=”10951″ title=”RZBL%20FB%202021%20FFF%20RBs” duration=”146″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2021-08-24″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/thumb/850491_t_1629785867.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/850491.mp4″]
Okay, let me get this straight so I can fully understand. Robbie Ray puts on some gotchies that are three sizes too small so you can see homeboy’s birth marks on his asscheeks and then he becomes elite? Fine, then I’m gonna try and write wearing jeans shorts, jorts if you will, that are too small. Ready? Here we go! Robbie…The button is digging into my FUPA! The pockets are chafing my upper thighs! Ugh, I can’t get them off! Oh my God, I’m calling 911! I can’t feel my knees! Help me! “Hello, can you spare Chris Sale? I need him to cut something off me. Hello?! Help!” So, Robbie Ray went 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 14 Ks, ERA at 2.72. On the Player Rater, he’s around a top ten starter. Can Robbie Ray do that in 2022 fantasy? In short, yes. In long, yeeeeeeeeeeees. He has a 11.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. That’s an ace. Can he repeat the command? That’s the real trick, but as soon as someone shows a skill, I’m not going to take it from them. It’s not like this is a 20 IP sample. He’s done this for 150+ IP. Yes, Robbie Ray appears to be legit. As long as he never lets out his inseam. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Schoop, there it is! Jonathan Schoop continued his mashfest in Chicago Friday night as he reached base in each of his plate appearances going 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, two home runs (8, 9) and 5 runs batted in. Oh Jonathan, each time I think I’m out, you pull me back in. Tell me Jonny, what’s it like on the sun, because you’ve been more or less the hottest hitter in baseball hitting .565 over the past week with the monster five bombs and 10 RBI. He’s also got multi-hit games in six of his past 10. Grey told you to BUY and thinks he saw Schoop at CVS last week. Lol! CVS! He buys things at pharmacies just like us–how relatable! Probably picking up some Icy Hot to cool off that flaming hot bat. I asked Salt and Pepa of popular 90s rap group Salt-N-Pepa what they thought about adding Jonathan and they said, “I wanna Schoop, baby. Schoop, ba-doop!” and you wouldn’t know it but they’re actually huge fantasy heads. What more can I say, you all know by now what Jonathan Schoop’s ceiling is. He’s not Tatis all of a sudden but he is a hot little potato right now and is batting close to .400 over the past two weeks. The 9/15 K/BB is also nothing to sneeze at–unless you’re allergic to OBP. These kinds of numbers, ie barrages of home runs, will help your fantasy team. He’s still available in over 50% of leagues, but 50% of those are likely abandoned and managed by the super intelligent zombies in Army of the Dead. Yes the tiger, too. And even the undead know to add this guy while he’s hotter than a Billie Eilish slumber party. Yep, I’m definitely a Lost Cause. Regardless, time to scoop a Schoop!
Here’s what else I saw Friday night in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Freshly promoted Mariners rookie outfielder slash phenom slash heart throb slash Seattle savior slash pride of Pike’s Place, Jarred Kelenic put on a clinic in just his second game in the majors with three hits in four at-bats, scoring two runs and his first big league home run, a 2-run shot to right in the third inning that put the Ms up 3-0. After a disappointing debut on Thursday where he went 0-for-4 without reaching base, the dinger was Kelly’s (can I call him Kelly?) first major league hit, but he wasn’t done showing off his skillz with a “z” yet. We got to witness that highly touted speed of his, as he hustled out two doubles and added an additional RBI out of that C-Attle lead off spot. Mmhm. The super prospect is likely owned everywhere at this point and for good reason, I imagine what follows is some hilarious worst-to-first Major League type scenario where Jarred carries the Mariners back to relevance. Please let it be so. This isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility, Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger also homered Friday night and raised eyebrow emoji face…do all of a sudden the Ms have an offense? If Kelenic is going to hit like this, and going to hit lead off, it kickstarts this offense in a huge way and just his presence could make a lot some of these players more valuable. I’m looking at you, Dylan Moore (2-for-4, run, 7th steal). Wishful thinking, perhaps? Still Kelenic’s big night Friday was exciting to see, and a glimpse of hope for a fanbase that hasn’t seen their team in the post season in almost 20 years. Is he going to hit three extra base hits every night? Maybe add some steals tomorrow? Close out games? Strike out sides? No-hit the Tigers? Call balls and strikes? Probably! Either way, you’ve got to be hype to see what’s next for Jarred Kelenic. This kid’s gonna be a star! Ha-cha-cha!
Here’s what else I saw Friday night in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?A little birdie told me our 2024 Fantasy Baseball subscriptions are live. The little birdie also said it includes our Draft War Room. You really wanna lose in a fantasy baseball league to a little birdie? Would be kinda embarrassing, tbhhttps://t.co/1ag7IFSYS0
— Razzball (@Razzball) January 8, 2024
