Peter Alonso

Whack Daniels

2019 Spring Training Positional Battles: The NL East

February 14, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, 2019 Fantasy Baseball Team Previews | 13 Comments

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NL West | NL Central | NL East | AL West | AL Central | AL East

I don’t pay much attention to Spring Training Statistics.  You never know who the statistics are coming against.  Baseball-Reference did, however, have an amazing tool last year that attempted to quantify the quality of opposing pitchers or batters faced during spring training games on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being MLB talent and 1-3 being high A to low A level.  This tool is great, but it averages all the Plate Appearances or batters faced.  You would still need a deeper dive to see if your stud prospect smacked a donger off of Chris Sale or off of your kid’s future pony league baseball coach.  So what should we watch for in March when we’re starved for the crack of the bat?  Ignore “best shape of their life” stories and Spring Training statistical leaderboards.  Pay attention to injuries and lineup construction and position battles!  Also pay attention to where Bryce Harper and Manny Machado sign… Note that those two signings can instantly eliminate some of the position battles detailed herein.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mike

Fun With 2019 Prospect Rankings

February 10, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 29 Comments

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Time flies when you’re having fun. Well, at least I’m having fun. I can’t speak for you kind reader. We’ve only two more divisions to cover for minor league rankings and spring training is just around the corner. I can smell the pine tar! While lurking on Reddit last week, I stumbled upon a great tool created by a user named BoBtheMule. I reached out to him about it and it turns out he’s a Razzball reader. Basically, he compiled all the prospect rankings from free sites on one sheet. You can check it out here. It’s very well done. Anyhoo, I thought it would be fun to see where I’m higher or lower than some of the other big sites (six others to be exact, including Razzball’s own Ralph from ProspectsLive). Anyhoo part two, I’ve been out of the game for a time, and while I don’t peep other rankings when creating my own, I do think it’s interesting to go back and look at how my rankings compare to others in the industry. As Kierkegaard pointed out, “Life can only be understood backwards.” Let’s take a look!

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B_Don

Fantasy Baseball Podcast – Luke (Voit), I Am Your Fantasy Follower

February 2, 2019 | All Podcasts, Ditka | 14 Comments

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Following a midseason trade, Luke Voit put together an incredible 2018 second half. In doing so, he earned himself Yankee fans’ fleeting adoration, a sleeper post from Fantasy Master Lothario and most importantly, the spotlight profile on the Ditka, Sausage 2019 first baseman preview show. It just goes to show you, dreams really do come true. Determination, hard work, and a healthy obsession with sausage are always rewarded.

After the comprehensive look into Voit’s past and future, B_Don and Donkey move their gazes towards two of the young shiny options at the position: Peter Alonso and Jake Bauers. Find all this and more inside this week’s edition of the one and only Fantasy Sausage Pod. The guys’ 2019 first baseman rankings can also be viewed below.

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Grey

Top 20 1st Basemen for 2019 Fantasy Baseball

January 17, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 163 Comments

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I have to keep this short, because after the jump is going to be the longest post you’ve ever seen in your life.  How do I know all the posts you’ve seen to compare this one to?  Because I’m sitting behind you.  *waves*  Hey!  Also, the top 20 1st basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball are the saddest crop of 60-something 1st basemen I’ve ever seen.  I’m shook, Baby Boo!  So, I’ve given you the top 10 for 2019 fantasy baseball, top 20 for 2019 fantasy baseball and top 20 catchers for 2019 fantasy baseball.  Here’s Steamer’s 2019 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2019 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers.  All projections included here are mine, and where I see tiers starting and stopping are included.  Let’s do this!  Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for 2019 fantasy baseball:

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Mike

Top 25 Prospects for 2019 Fantasy Baseball

January 13, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 65 Comments

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Rankings season is upon us. Rejoice and be glad! Just like when your dad lets you open one present on Christmas Eve before Santa comes the next morning, I’m dropping the first of three Top 100 prospect rankings on January Grey Rankings Eve. January Grey Rankings Day should be a gosh dern national holiday. This Top 25 will be followed by a Top 50 on Wednesday and finally the rest of the Top 100 next Sunday. For detailed info on any of these prospects, go to the 2019 Minor League Preview Index. There, you’ll find links to all thirty team pages, their top ten prospects, and my (vague and misinformed) thoughts on each of them. Later this offseason, I’ll release a special list just for redraft leagues once some playing time etc. situations come into sharper focus. Enough chatter. Here’s the Top 25 fantasy baseball prospects for 2019…

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Ralph Lifshitz

Prospect Podcast: Yusei Kikuchi Signs and Names To Look for in 2019 Dynasty Leagues

January 5, 2019 | All Podcasts, Prospect Podcast | 35 Comments

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It’s been a long two weeks. Gifts were purchased, wrapped, and un-wrapped. Traveling was done, and merry times were had by all. Unfortunately the by product of this joyous season is my co-host Lance Brozdowski is in high demand. As my better half traveled back to Chicago, I did what any philandering husband would do. I called my man Eddy Almaguer and we recorded a podcast behind Lance’s back. It’s all good though, Eddy’s part of the PL Team, and just so happens to be our in house Yusei Kikuchi expert. So of course we dig into our expectations for the Japanese lefty in 2019, the best place to draft him in mixed league redraft, and where we might pluck him in a Dynasty First Year Player Draft. After that we talk some ETAs for 2019 (Alonso, Tatis, etc.), before diving into ten players squarely on our radar going into 2019 dynasty drafts. It’s the Razzball Prospect Podcast powered by ProspectsLive.com. 

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B_Don

Fantasy Baseball Podcast – Ralph Lifshitz

December 29, 2018 | All Podcasts, Ditka | 18 Comments

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Jesus’s teachings are highlighted on this week’s Ditka Pod. Razzball’s own Prospect Jesus that is. Us and Ralph Lifshitz discuss a bunch of prospects who could have significant fantasy impacts for 2019 fantasy baseball.

First, Jesus shares his prophecies regarding when some of the top prospects in the game will arrive to the big show, including Vlad Jr, Eloy Jimenez, Fernando Tatis Jr, Forrest Whitley, Keston Huira and many others. Then Ralph settles some debates on which prospects are most worth gambling on at their current early draft season ADPs before rattling off some deeper prospects with legitimate 2019 fantasy potential. When Jesus talks, we listen!  Kanye voice, “Jesus talks.”

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Mike

Offseason Prospect Notes: Non-Tenderized

December 2, 2018 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 8 Comments

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Baseball is beautiful and the thing I love the most about it is its minor league system. If you suck, there are a bunch of young, hungry players chomping at the bit to come up and take your job. But ETAs are difficult to pinpoint, and some players get straight up prosblocked. Some teams stir things up before spring training is even on our minds by simply saying sayonara to players at the non-tender deadline. So let’s discuss some of the major prospects that “won” on Friday thanks to a guy in front of him on the depth chart packing their bags. One small disclaimer…the offseason is still young, and a player could get signed or traded for, creating a situation where we’re right back to square one. Also, most of these players have been discussed by Grey (the guy who keeps his mustache beyond November) for their 2019 redraft value, so I’ve included links to his takes.

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Kerry Klug

Who is This Year’s Jesus Aguilar?

November 29, 2018 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 14 Comments

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First base was pretty disappointing last year. Only three first basemen finished with more than 90 runs, only four hit over 35 home runs and only 5 had over 90 RBI. Owners with quick triggers probably finished high in their fantasy leagues if they grabbed Jesus Aguilar. So what am I looking for in “This Year’s Jesus Aguilar?” I’m talking about a first baseman who had a solid minor league resume before an unexpected breakout in the big leagues yet still wasn’t on a lot of fantasy teams to start the season.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mike

Offseason Prospect Notes: Peace Out Arizona Scout

November 18, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 12 Comments

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The Arizona Fall League is a lot like my romantic relationships – short-lived, dry, and rarely televised. Yesterday’s championship game marked the end of the 2018 AFL season. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we paid attention to football instead. It’s Thanksgiving, which means it’s basically Christmas, which means it’s basically spring. Time flies when your public water supply is spiked. January Grey will be here before you know it with projections for all the good boys/five girls and pop-up ads for all the bad ones. Small sample sizes aside, the AFL is basically a showcase for top prospects, so the ones who stood out warrant our attention. They’re the creme de la creme fraiche. So let’s take one last look back at the AFL leaders before we put these desert specs on ice and fly south to the Caribbean.

Please, blog, may I have some more?