When You’re Here (In Pain And Fear), You’re Familia

March 30, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 467 Comments

Jeurys Familia was given a 15-game suspension for domestic abuse charges filed against him this offseason. One could say Jeurys was given a 15-day DL trip to Familia, but the DL in this case is Dangerous Love. If there was anyone predestined for Family Court, it would be him. Familia was helped by his family’s testimony to Our Commissioner Manfred. They asked Familia be allowed to go on all Mets’ road trips. The Mets can sure pick closers. Let’s see: Familia; K-Rod attacked his father-in-law and Jenrry Mejia was permanently banned from MLB. The Mets don’t use a belt with their closer pants. They prefer suspenders! This is all an eerie reminder of past Mets violence when Justin Turner tried to help Ike Davis during one of his prolonged slumps. Any hoo! Familia will miss about six to eight saves and I’ve moved him down in my top 500 and moved up Addison Reed, his replacement. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in spring training for fantasy baseball:

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Ambulance Chasers: Don’t Get Tweaked

February 27, 2017 | Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 11 Comments

by: Kerry Klug

Let the overreaction to Spring Training numbers begin! Gregory Polanco went 3-for-3 with 2 stolen bases in his debut — 115 SB prediction for Polanco! Jason Castro went 2-for-2 with a HR in his first game — 60 HR for Castro! Shelby Miller allowed 2 runs, 3 hits over 2 innings — that is actually pretty on-brand for Shelby Miller. Do not trust Shelby Miller! Health is really what you’re looking for in Spring Training and these guys are failing that test so far…

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Cotton Pickin’ A Fine Time To Harvest A Win

September 8, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 255 Comments

by: Grey

Maybe it was the food poisoning I had yesterday, but I had a dream Toomgis, the AM/PM mascot, and I were driving around talking about September baseball. It feels like half the teams are either resting regulars for the playoffs, or the other teams that are out of it are resting regulars to give rookies a chance. Those are the matchups you need to capitalize on with starting pitchers. By the way, Toomgis is so obvious a creation of stoned creatives. It’s a collection of stoner food and Toomgis stands for ‘Too Much Good Stuff.’ Um, okay, but there’s an I in there. Stoner creative, “Eye-shmeye, we just need to move on before I eat our prototype.” One more Toomgis point, how is this not Colorado’s national bird? Any hoo! So, with this matchups point hidden amongst my fracking in on Toomgis, we have Jharel Cotton capitalizing. In his first major league start, 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 3 Ks. Jharel Cotton makes me think of Faye Dunaway in a heavy Southern accent saying, “I shall avert my eyes.” Cotton showed good control in the minors, and solid Ks, but in redraft leagues, you’re more worried about matchups this time of year. For 2017, Cotton idolized Pedro Martinez and I can see why. He’s five-eleven soaking wet (but I’m not sure people get taller when wet). He also relies on the speed of the fastball and the break of the change. A change that might carry him to glory, as soon as next year. In keepers, I’d be very interested. For this year, go with Toomgis’ advice on matchups. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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This Is 40-Man Rosters

September 1, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 342 Comments

by: Grey

As we always do about this time! *beat drops, Grey does the worm, Grey’s iPhone alarm goes off, time to put more money in the meter* Damn, how long was I worming for? September 1st hits and teams expand their rosters to the Four-Oh. Now pour some extra bullpen guys out for all the dead moments between pitcher changes. So, what does this mean for all of us, fantasy baseballers (<–my mom’s term!)? It means call-ups and rookie nookie is aplenty. Aplenty, I tell ya! By the by, for big boned people, rather than an X-Large t-shirt, they should call them aplen-Tees. Yeah, I just made the English language better. High-five yourself for even knowing to read me. *Grey worms, alarm goes off* Damn, I need to get more coins. At this point in the year, you need guys that are getting everyday playing time, so I’m pumped up the jam on rookie nookie, but if a guy isn’t playing every day, he’s as good as dirt in redraft leagues, and I don’t have a Soil category, do you? It’s a most exciting time to be alive and be fantasy balling, but don’t lose sight of the real goal here: to get quality at-bats from guys that are playing, not to pick up a guy that will be great in 2017. (Unless you’re in a keeper league; then, by all means, knock yourself out! Not literally! Ouch.) Which bring us to Yoan Mocada. Red Sox manager, John Farrell, says Moncada’s promotion is eminent. They have a bobblehead giveaway planned, a kid’s jersey giveaway, a ‘Yoan yawn coverer’ which is really just a foam hand, a–*intern whispers in my ear* Seems I was misusing ‘promotion.’ I already gave you my Yoan Moncada fantasy. He’ll be up on Friday. He should be owned everywhere and will play 3rd base. No Gas Face there. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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SAGNOF Report: Like A Boss

June 27, 2016 | Steals | 5 Comments

by: Smokey

In the world of fantasy, when players hit the rewind button and show flashes of brilliance from days gone by, the buy-in factor is sometimes slower than most waiver acquisitions. Well, enter B.J., Melvin, or Bossman Jr. Upton. Whichever name you want to use for him, he is quickly becoming a must own player and is pushing to be the SAGNOF waiver wire pick-up of the year. Currently, I think Eduardo Nunez is in that spot, wait, did I just say that and mean it? When all is said and done though, I think Melvin is the most likely to sustain his value and is on a 23HR/35SB pace. Had we known that in preseason, it would have put him in 2nd round draft range. But alas, he wasn’t, and is still only owned in 43% of all ESPN leagues. His on-pace numbers are basically production wise to what we got from Charlie Blackmon last year. Blackmon, was of course, a top-30 player entering the season. The only problem holding Upton back is that he has been bad for a few years, in his favor though, is that he has been bad for a few years. What I mean by that is that I don’t think he has much value to anyone but the Padres. He will play every day for an offense that is near the bottom in all categories, and doesn’t appear to be a sell candidate for them at the deadline. So add away my friends, and happy SAGNOF’n this week. Here are some updates to the pitchers that are easiest to steal against and some waiver wire type blurbs for steal/save streaming…

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I’ve Got the Need for A.J. Reed

June 25, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 55 Comments

by: Dan Pants

The Houston Astros top first base prospect, future MLB All-Star slash hall of famer and savior of my fantasy team, A.J. Reed, has finally been called up after several weeks of waiting. The 23-year old phenom was currently slashing a very modest .266/.345/.509 with 11 homers and 36 RBI in 59 games with AAA Fresno. Certainly nothing to sneeze at, but it’s the fact that A.J. has hit safely in his past 8 games batting .372 with 14 hits, 3 homers, 3 doubles and 7 RBI in that stretch that makes me say, “aww yissss, thatswhatimtalkinabout!” You need more? What if I told you that A.J. Reed was one of the best hitters in the minors last year hitting .340/.432/.612 with 34 homers and 127 RBI between AA and AAA (135 games). Oh boy, now that is some POWER! All caps! Yessir, A.J.’s got a molly whopping home run stick and then some. Primed to hit the ding dongs! The one caveat, which is a French word for bad stuffs, is that A.J. has struggled mightily against lefties batting just .222 against them. This appears to be Houston’s primary reason for delaying his call-up, and as a result I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reed sit versus lefties in the early going. Regardlesss, irregahdless, irrecaveats, let’s recap: A.J. Reed is finally here, he should get the majority of the playing time at first base, he has immense power upside and you should add him everywhere he’s available. He’s going to save my fantasy team and trust me I wouldn’t have quoted Top Gun if I wasn’t completely serious. This kid’s gonna be a star! Ha-cha-cha!

Here’s what else happened Friday night in fantasy baseball:

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DraftKings: DFS Superstar

June 4, 2016 | DraftKings | 1 Comment

by: Gern Blanston

So you want to be a DFS superstar… A tune that will be sung by Rich Hill owners today. Now you have to be careful pitching at the ripe old age of 36. Rich Hill pulled his groin and had to miss his last start. He’s back today and facing the Houston Astros. Minute Maid Park may be a juicy match up for homers, but that’s not something Rich Hill gives up easily. Since the start of 2013, Ol’ Rich has only given up 7 homers and hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs in a single game. Surprisingly, he has been better away from the pitching friendly confines of O.co Coliseum. He has been limiting hitters to a .511 OPS and owns a sub 1.00 WHIP. The Astros are slightly below average with 98 wRC+ vs LHP, but strike out at an absurd rate of 26.1% (3rd worst in the MLB). Rich Hill has one of the best spin rates in the league on his curveball, which plays well with his fastball that helps him generate above average swings and misses. He has the most curveballs thrown with a RPM greater than 2500, by nearly double that of the next closest pitcher. His curveball is only allowing a .252 SLG and his fastball a .227. Meanwhile, the Astros are only managing a .170 batting average and a .267 slugging against curveballs, both 4th worst in the league. Put Rich Hill in your lineup to become a DFS superstar… and live large… Here are the rest of my DFS picks for Saturday June 4.

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NotUrias B.I.G. Gets His Shot On West Coast

May 27, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 391 Comments

by: Grey

I missed out on Julio Urias in all of my leagues. Shame because I was just looking at his stats the other day — 9.8 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 1.10 ERA and I was like, “Those can’t be real,” and he winked at me. An interminable wink. And I was like, “Are you winking that those stats are real or are you winking at me that they’re not?” He didn’t answer, he just kept winking. So, I tried to pull a fast one on him and was like, “Wink once if I should wait to pick you up, wink twice if I should pick you up now or wink three times if you’re going to be called up to be a middle reliever.” And he winked once. Again. Then, like I do at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, I climbed onto his head and blew into his eye to see if he was alive. He wasn’t. I mean, he is, but this was just a picture of him. Don’t be like me, don’t worry about the wink test with Urias and just grab him in all leagues. He could be a number one starter for the time he’s in the rotation. That’s the catch, however. (Or is it pitch?) He’s filling in for Alex Wood, who has triceps tightness. Wood could be out the rest of the season (not saying he is) and Urias would still not stay in the rotation. The Dodgers have said they will limit Urias’s innings. He could only pitch 60 more innings this year, which is about ten starts. My guess is he’ll pitch a few starts in the rotation, then move to the bullpen and pitch an inning or three a week. Sound about right to you, Urias? Wink once for yes…. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Shelling Duvall

May 17, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 696 Comments

by: Grey

A Duvall hasn’t looked this good since Popeye starring Robin Williams. You thought I was going Robert Duvall and I steered it into Crazytown with Shelley Duvall. By the way, don’t look at current pictures of Shelley Duvall. She’s a Shelley of her former self. I have a theory. She had to do everything just so for Kubrick in The Shining, to the point where she couldn’t even think for herself, then she started working with Robert Altman, who was like, “Do whatever you like, improv,” and going from one extreme to the other drove her crazy. I’d put money on it that this is the biggest update on Shelley Duvall you will ever get on a fantasy baseball website. Any hoo! Adam Duvall (1-for-4, and his 7th homer, hitting .284) has been crushing the ball for the last two weeks. Now seven homers in 33 games. Fluky, right? Not so fast, Cousin Sweatpants. Duvall hit 26 homers in only 100 games in Triple-A and 27 homers in 91 Double-A games. He was always a power guy, just never really had a chance to play. He’s now getting that chance and proving he can continue to hit homers. Will he hit anything besides homers? That’s yet to be seen, but I’d grab him in all leagues where I needed power. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Triplorenzo Bombas

May 11, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 755 Comments

by: Grey

*walks into a Moroccan marketplace* I got me some Marra-CASH to spend! Hoo-ah! Wow, I sound a little like Al Pacino in my own head. Okay, I’m going to go over to that table that is filled with players to buy low. “Hello…*reads name tag* Djibooti, I see you’re selling slow-starting hitters for a deal.” “Good deal! Good deal!” “Well, I’ll be the judge of that.” *picks up Justin Upton* “This smells like skunk.” “No skunk! Good deal!” *goes through crates filled with albums that have a player’s face on them, lifts Lorenzo Cain* “How much?” “Djibooti need to check MLB Statcast.” Djibooti looks at his iPad, looks up and snatches Cain out of my hands. “No longer for sale!” “Damn, Djibooti, don’t put your emotions in a tagine and get them all heated.” So, Lorenzo Cain obviously was struggling mightily going into yesterday’s game, and, now, not so much — 3-for-5, 5 RBIs with 3 HRs (3, 4, 5). This is why I rarely sell low on struggling top 50 hitters. There was a reason they were drafted there in the first place. Now the buy low is going to be much more difficult too. “Djibooti, how much for David Price?” “You take for free! He’s yours!” Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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HR Called Five Times As Old Guys Harass Young

May 10, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 724 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, Chris Young went 2 2/3 IP, 5 ER as he allowed five solo home runs, which tied a franchise record, and was only the 7th starting pitcher to give up five home runs in less than three innings. He was then followed by Dillion Gee. Too bad Gee wasn’t followed by Aaron Laffey, then the box score would’ve read Chris Young, Gee, Laffey, which, as everyone knows, is an Asian giraffe, which is where these pitchers should be pitching: Asia. I didn’t know the Mets had an exchange program going with the Royals. Oh, and the Mets’ AARP affiliate was on the Yanks too with Carlos Beltran (2-for-4) hitting two homers. Member the days when the Mets got the Yanks’ also-rans — Willie Randolph, Orlando Hernandez, Rick Cerone? Now the Yanks are taking sloppy seconds. The Yankees are Ben Affleck and the Mets are Joey Lauren Adams and the Yanks are listening to the Mets in the bar in Chasing Amy. Watch out for the gear shift, Yankees! Also, in this game, Brian McCann (1-for-4) mick-can-can with his 4th homer, Brett Gardner (1-for-4) said, “Same,” and hit his 4th and Aaron Hicks (1-for-3, 2 RBIs) blasted his 2nd. With Ellsbury out for a few, I grabbed Hicks in one league, and this is now his 2nd homer in the past four games. As for Christall Young, he’ll likely be replaced in the rotation by Gee. Though, I vote for Gee with Laffey on his shoulders for the Asian giraffe. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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2016 Team Previews: Atlanta Braves

February 26, 2016 | Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 6 Comments

by: M@

Welcome to the 2016 Razzball Team Previews! You’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. And I mean everything, folks. We’ve got line-ups, charts, Slurpees, lube, a guide for beginner electricians, and even a cactus! Well, that’s a lie. That’s what Jay had last year sitting in front of him. This year? Um…a little less lube? Take that as you will. But hey, we’ve got teams to preview and questions to ask, so let’s hop to it. We a very special guest for this post…Brad Rowland, to provide his take on what the team has in store this season. Now enough rambling, let’s see what 2016 holds for the Atlanta Braves!

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