The rules, they are a changing. This 2023 season brings with it a whole new set of changes for players to navigate and fantasy managers to predict. Maybe it is pickoff limits and larger bases leading to more stolen bases. Maybe the pitch clock will reward pitchers that like to play mind games. However, this week we will spend some time looking at players that have the most to gain front the elimination of the shift. Teams will adapt and find ways to flex the rules (looking at you Tampa Bay) and gain a slight advantage. Will you?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Matt Carpenter
Please see our player page for Matt Carpenter 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.
Are the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball good? How do you define good? Is good definable? Are you Plato? What is a Plato? Any hoo! This post goes on for about 1.8 million words, so let’s dive in. Here’s Steamer’s 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. The projections noted in this post are my own, and I mention where tiers start and stop. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Rangers have called up Josh Jung. Heads over to Amazon to order a megaphone; sits by door to wait three to five days for shipping; argues with Cougs about how we should get Prime; being told we do have Prime, it’s just I don’t have Prime; we argue more, and, finally, the megaphone arrives after five days. I rip apart the packaging, and push button, but I need batteries. I beg Cougs for our Prime password, so I can get batteries quicker, she acquiesces, and the next day, when the batteries arrive, I load them into the megaphone, press the button and scream, “LET’S F***ING GO!” The asterisks were megaphone feedback. So, Josh Jung finally gets the call, and he’s a immediate add in all leagues. He’s got 60-grade power, and shouldn’t struggle to hit for a decent average. Has no speed, and you never know what a guy is going to do in only a month of time, but I’m here for the Rangers’ Ponce De Leon’ing to get Jung again, and so should you. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Razzle Dazzlers, welcome once again to your weekly fantasy baseball injury report. The “Ambulance Chasers” article series mostly focuses on matters of the living. It is not called “Hearse Chasers” after all (but that could be an interesting spin-off). However, give me a minute to opine about the Harry Caray hologram at the MLB Field […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?A young boy pulls on his grandfather’s sleeve. “Will you please read me a bedtime story, Paw-Paw?”
“Sure, Timmy, I’d be happy to. From the same book as always?” Off the child’s nod, the old man picks up the storybook, and reads the title, “The Dismantling of a Dream by Peter Angelos.” The old man opens the storybook, and begins to read, “In the summer of 2022, millions of people clamored for my Orioles to win. ‘Win!’ they shouted. And ‘Bleh,” I said. I wasn’t a vampire, per se, but I had been taking blood transfusions of millions of caterpillars right before they turned into a butterfly…” Dissolve to later, “…the bullpen was a point of contention. My underlings said we should keep our late-inning arms. At 93 years young, this might be the last chance I could see a good team. I told them, ‘A good team is one that is losing enough money for a healthy write-off.” Any hoo! The Orioles keep winning, which is somewhat hilarious since they’re seemingly trying to lose. Yesterday, the home run barrage began in the 1st with Ramon Urias (1-for-4, 3 RBIs), who hit his 12th homer. He’s had a great year because the expectations’ bar is so low, and I’m not talking the Royals or Rangers’ closers. Next up, hitting batting practice off Yusei Kikuchi (5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 5.13) was Anthony Santander (2-for-3) and Ryan Mountcastle (2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) in the 3rd. Surprised to see Santander’s home run total that far in front of Mountcastle. If only we had a BBC detective show that could look into that…Wait a minute! That’s Mountcastle on BBC at 9 PM GMT. Finally, Austin Hays (2-for-4) hit his 13th homer, and I was very happy to see this, because I put him in my weekly lineup at the last moment, and he pulled this home run over the left field fence that one can barely see from home plate, which is a great sign for his oblique injury that had sidelined him last week. Just another night in Baltimore, ending happily, like the O’s bottom line yielding subsidized financial reimbursement for a billionaire! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
The Houston Astros gave Major League Baseball another reason to be very, very afraid Friday night when newly acquired outfielder slash first baseman slash survivor slash hero Trey Mancini smashed two home runs including a grand slam in just his second start in an Astros uniform. The big night for Trey led the ‘Stros to […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?It took a minute to get back here, but here we are. So much to talk about it. Where to begin, how about the home run chase? Aaron Judge is continuing his one-man wrecking crew. Easily the most home runs over the last month at 13, Kyle Schwarber has been sorta close at 10 but […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Greetings, Razzfam! I mostly play a doctor on tv, but occasionally, I stretch a pair of latex gloves down and over my hands, letting them slap with a satisfying pop across my wrists. Open up wide because today is one of those days! When I read that Jhoulys Chacin has a condition formally known as […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?I hope you all have enjoyed the All-Star break. It’s weird to not have a full slate of games but the Home Run Derby and All-Star games are always enjoyable and I found it refreshing to have the players mic’ed up for the game. Now that the break is over, we find ourselves in crunch […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?The most famous carpenter in all of history is Jesus. Some may argue that he never built any buildings. That may or may not be true. We just don’t know. That said, he basically layed the foundation for a religion that has existed for thousands of years. Whether you’re religious or not, the fact that millions celebrate his birthday and know his name is testament enough. For those who cannot relate, it’s akin to someone getting millions of likes and retweets two thousand years after their death. Yeah, it’s like that so pay some respect. One of the most important events in the life of Jesus was his death and subsequent resurrection. Matt Carpenter died from a baseball perspective three years ago, but he has risen in 2022 and is doing something that could be greater than the advent of Christianity! Hyperbole alert! Fine, maybe not on that scale but it’s been historic. Normally, I break down a player in this piece to decipher if one should buy or sell. While that information will be illuminated, this will be more of an homage to what Carpenter has built so far.
Please, blog, may I have some more?We’ve made it to the All-Star break, and like the previous Top 20 shortstops list, today’s top 20 second basemen list looks very different than the preseason’s top 20 due to injuries and ineffectiveness. Players with long-term injuries like Ozzie Albies and Brandon Lowe have been omitted (although Lowe was just activated Saturday). This list […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?As soon as you’re finished with this post, I want you to close your laptop, step outside and look at a bird in flight. Pick up a flower, breathe in its fragrance, sneeze from your allergies, wave to a neighbor and close your robe because you’re not just waving with your hand. How does that feel? Exhilarating? Then your dedication sucks! It should be a total bore. You should be more interested in whether or not I’m going to have a top 100 for the 2nd half of fantasy baseball tomorrow than what your significant other has been doing for the last three and a half months. Luckily, I will have a top 100 tomorrow, and your significant other can keep being your fantasy team. Okay, enough hubbub on the tomfoolery! Chris Sale broke his pinkie yesterday. Well, Aaron Hicks broke it, technically. If not for bad luck, Chris Sale would have no luck. I was minding my own business yesterday, watching the Yankees/Red Sox game when I heard the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life, a pubic hair commercial, then the 2nd thing worst thing was Sale’s pinkie going creeee-ack. Not sure how long this knocks him out, or how long I will be thinking about that pubic hair commercial, but they might be similar timeframes — the rest of the season. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?