Ryan Mountcastle

Please see our player page for Ryan Mountcastle 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.

RyanStarce

FanDuel: Bauer’s Dirty Balls

April 13, 2021 | DFS, Fanduel | Leave a comment

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Apparently, the league is looking into a number of balls from Trevor Bauer’s last start to see if a foreign substance was used by the Dodgers’ hurler. Are Bauer’s suspicious balls going to be an issue going forward? I think we’ll have to wait and find out. Does DirtyBallsGate (™) have any negative connotations heading into tonight’s matchup with the Rockies? It should not. FIRE. HIM. UP. For all we know, any number of pitchers have had baseballs taken from their outing and looked into. It would make sense that we’re only hearing about Bauer’s balls because of his status as the highest-paid and most tantalizing player in the game. Anyhow…

Welcome to the 2nd installment of FanDuel Tuesday DFS here on Razzball. We have a wide-open 12 game slate to sift through and find some stacks and/or value bats that fit together nicely with whichever pitcher we decide to land on.

There’s a ton of talent on the pitching side tonight, though they aren’t all in ideal situations. As much as I love Shane Bieber ($11,200), his price and matchup make it hard to justify over other options (though if you think I’m crazy, by all means, have at it). The White Sox aren’t a world-beating lineup, but they’re better than the Royals and Tigers and should be the first test of the season for Bieber. On the other side of this match-up, you have a much lower-priced Lucas Giolito ($9,800) who seems to have a better matchup on paper. However, in that ballpark, with the wind blowing out, we might be better off pivoting to what I believe are the 3 top options on tonight’s slate. Let’s get down to business.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!
Welcome to the 2nd installment of FanDuel Tuesday DFS here on Razzball. We have a wide open 12 game slate to sift through and find some stacks and/or value bats that fit together nicely with whichever pitcher we decide to land on.

There’s a ton of talent on the pitching side tonight, though they aren’t all in ideal situations. As much as I love Shane Bieber ($11,200), his price and matchup make it hard to justify over other options. The White Sox aren’t a world beating lineup, but they’re better than the Royals and Tigers and should be the first test of the season for Bieber. On the other side of this match up, you have a much lower priced Lucas Giolito ($9,800) who seems to have a better matchup  on paper. However, in that ballpark, with the wind blowing out, we might be better off pivoting to what I believe are the 3 top options on tonight’s slate. Let’s get down to business.

New to FanDuel? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well, be sure to read our content and subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. Just remember to sign up through us before jumping into the fray. It’s how we know you care!

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

White Sox DH Garage Sponsored By Mercedes-Baines

April 9, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 278 Comments

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I’m still not convinced Yermin Mercedes isn’t a LARP. Or a Transformer. His name really is Yermin Mercedes? Just out here with a name that sounds like a German saying German Mercedes? And he doesn’t wear a Mercedes emblem around his neck like Flavor Flav? Is this real life or a simulation? The White Sox lost Eloy and just randomly found a guy who can do exactly the same? Right, right, okay, so the story I heard about one fantasy baseballer hearing the news of Eloy’s injury while on the Mercedes-Benz factory tour and crying onto a C-Class, and that transforming into Yermin, was a lie? I don’t hear lies, I hear truths! So, Yermin Mercedes went 2-for-4 and hit another home run (2nd) yesterday, and has basically done what we would’ve hoped for from Andrew Vaughn in our wildest dreams. But can it continue? Ah, excellent leading question! Yes, Yermin can hit .550. No! Of course not! He does have a solid hit tool (can hit .280) and good power (20-ish homers). The moment he slumps and Vaughn hits (it’ll happen — hopefully for my teams) Yermin will be on the outside, while Vaughn moves in. There is a chance Mercedes could hit 25 homers/.280, which is essentially Trey Mancini-type projections, so he’s worth rostering for now. tl;dr: Mercedes goes vroom, vroom, make room. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Richardo

Top 25 First Basemen Rest of Season – Opening Week Edition

April 7, 2021 | Top 25 First Basemen | 8 Comments

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Nothing makes my heart happier than baseball….sorry kids and wife and family and dogs. Actually, I think I’m in big trouble for that statement. One year ago, my kids had their first T-Ball practice before the world shut down. Flash forward to this week when T-Ball started back up and, hi, my name is Coach Richardo. There’s so much joy in teaching kids the basics. Fielding a grounder, throwing to first base, the proper launch angle to be a home run masher! Speaking of home run mashing, I need to update my top 25 first basemen for the rest of the season. When the original top 25 came out, C.J. Cron was just a NRI, Luke Voit was healthy, and the Nationals didn’t have an outbreak. Let’s take a look at the updated list and then we’ll talk a little bit about the movers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Dan Pants

John Means Biznizz Makes Sox Look Like Shiznizz

April 3, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 32 Comments

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Aaaand we’re back. Aaand John Means is an Ace now. Wait–rewind. Means stifled the Boston bats and spoiled their home opener Friday afternoon, allowing just a single base runner (one hit) in seven innings of work and striking out five to notch his first win of the season. I know exactly what you’re thinking outdated Fry meme–not sure if Red Sox are this bad or John Means is this good. Well, as bad as the Sawx looked, Means probably pitched one of his best games in ever. He commanded the zone with 65 of his 95 pitches thrown for strikes, and generated 14 swings-and-misses, eight with changeup alone, which can be an especially nasty pitch when he’s got it working, paired with his 4-seamer. After an awful start to 2020, Means finished strong in September with a 1.52 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 30 strikeouts in 23.2 IP averaging around 94 mph on his fastball, up about 2 mph from 2019. Grey told you to BUY, gushing about his xBA and saying “if he can keep those gains, velocity increases, and stop handing out more gopher balls than a veterinarian with weird party favors, John Means could be a top 25 starter while costing nowhere near that price.” And that’s me quoting Grey! Look, I understand the hesitation owning Orioles pitchers, and Means HR/9 doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. In fact, when I drafted Means on draft day I got a audible “HA!” for the pick. But we’ll see who’s laughing in September. Sure things aren’t getting any easier for the homer-prone lefty as he travels to New York next week to take on the Yankees, but Means is owned in less than 50% of leagues and has got some major breakout potential. I think he’s worth a flier at that price wherever he’s available. Means means business! That’s two “means”, and that means something?  Who else is confused? Where else you going to get an Ace after draft day. Now your chance! I means it!

Here’s what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

RazzSlam Recap: I Don’t Know What I’m Doing And Neither Does Anyone Else

March 30, 2021 | Our Leagues | 337 Comments

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I’m a big fan of the everyman. I consider myself the everyman. I’m every man’s everyman. A pioneer of normcore. Track pants and a blinking light on my car’s dashboard that either means my seatbelt isn’t on or I need oil. That is me. What better way to elevate the Everyman Culture, than to take part in a tourney where no one is smarter than anyone else. Enter the RazzSlam, a Best Ball tourney.  Every everyman likely knows what a Best Ball league is, but, if you don’t, it’s when you draft a team and the computer manages it for you by choosing who are your best players, and you get those stats. It’s basically one fantasy league removed from the robots taking over and killing us all. Well, the last laugh is on you robots, there’s a virus beating you to the punch! Kinda love that Razzball is putting on a tourney (hosted by NFBC — thank you!) that no one really has any clue how to strategize against. A true everyman experience. Oh, I’m sure there’s a few people who think they know the best strategy for, uh, Best Ball, and a few of them might be right, but there’s an under 1% chance they know why they’re right, and it isn’t just luck. In some ways, Best Ball leagues are a lot like Best Ball strategies. Throw a ton of them out there and a few good ones will rise to the top through sheer force of players’ performances and nothing you’re actually doing. That’s the fun. Anyway, here’s my RazzSlam, a 42-round, Best Ball 12 team draft recap:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Steve Paulo

The Continuation of RazzSlam of Two Thousand Twenty-One, a personal journal, the sequel

March 12, 2021 | RazzSlam | 6 Comments

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MY INITIAL FIVE SELECTIONS HAVING BEEN MADE, I decided to stop a moment and look around. I had come into this effort so headstrong, and so assured, that I did not consider for a moment what my opposition might be up to. I had assumed that my zigging and their zagging would leave me feeling accomplished.

Quite the contrary.

I had been correct in my assumption that The Acefecta would be unique as far as strategies go, and yet, gnawing at my mind like the ceaseless banshee shriek of nails dragged across a blackboard was one fact: I was not the only manager who found himself with three pitchers after five rounds.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Richardo

Top 25 First Basemen for 2021 Fantasy Baseball

March 8, 2021 | Rest of Season Rankings, Top 25 First Basemen | 6 Comments

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We’re officially in the middle of one of my favorite seasons. Oh god no, not winter – “best shape of their career” season. Pretty soon we’ll be getting reports of Vlad Guerrero, Jr.’s monster physique (pics or it didn’t happen) and how Rowdy Tellez no longer looks like Samwell Tarly from GOT. Speaking of first basemen, hi my name is Richardo and I’ll be handling the rest of season rankings for first base this year. Every other week, we’ll drop a new top 25 for ROS and talk about the movers. But in order to talk about the movers, we have to first establish the top 25 to start the year. Let’s check out our initial list.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

AL-Only, 12 Team Draft Recap or: How Did I Draft A Mixed League Offense In An AL-Only League — Plus, Our NFBC Signups!

February 18, 2021 | Our Leagues | 99 Comments

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I’m having this weird feeling. It’s not gas; I know what that feels like. It’s not anger that my neighbor planted a tree that smells like semen on my property line. It’s…I think…happiness? I love this team. I never love my AL-Only teams. Sometimes, I’m okay with them. Sometimes, I’m unhappy with them but pretend to be okay with them, like a sad clown with a painted-on smile. But love an AL-Only team? No one good is even in the AL. What’s going on with me? Something’s comin’ over, mmm mmm. Something’s comin’ over, mmm mmm. Something’s comin’ over me. My baby’s got a secret — he loves his AL-Only team, which I sing while wearing a bridal gown as I roll around on an empty stage. I also cut out each player’s name I drafted and throw them at my face like wedding rice. Is this metaphor still going, you ask yourself. Yes, it is! Can’t I be happy? So, I drafted against Scott White at CBS, a bunch of Razzball guys and a few ‘perts from other sites. This league is deep so hold onto ye olde hat. (If you want a shallower league, play against me and hundreds of your closest buddies in the Razzball Commenter Leagues. Or closet buddies, if you’re reading fast and/or experimenting.) Anyway, here’s my 12-team AL-Only team and some thoughts:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Laura Holt

Rolling In The Deep: An Early Look at First Base

February 16, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Rolling In The Deep | 14 Comments

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Over here in the deep-league cubicle of Razzball, we’ve looked at late-round starting pitchers and outfielders, and now it’s time to move on to a group of gentlemen I like to call first basemen.  We’ll look at guys who, according to current NFBC ADP, are ranked outside the top 15 first basemen drafted and outside the top 150 overall.  What I’m going to begin with, though, is a quick public service announcement to anyone in an AL-only league:  in case you hadn’t noticed (and I hadn’t, until I wrote this post), there is as ridiculously steep a drop off from the top few guys to the next group as I ever remember seeing.  Based on NFBC ADP, your top 5 AL first basemen are D.J. LeMahieu, Jose Abreu, Vlad Guerrero, Luke Voit and Matt Olson (whose current ADP is #90).  Looking at the 1B list after that, you get a slew of national leaguers, and do not hit another AL name other than the first two on this list (both of whom also qualify at OF, for what it’s worth) until Miguel Sano at #191.  Yes, I said Miguel Sano at #191.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Hobbs

12 Team, H2H Points Dynasty Startup Mock Recap: Call Me Dave

February 11, 2021 | 2021 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 11 Comments

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For a two-time World Series Champion with over 40 years of experience in MLB front offices, Dave Dombrowski gets a bad rap. The consensus on the baseball operations veteran seems to be that his only formula for success is to either ink big contracts or swap top prospects for elite talent that comes accompanied with hefty salaries. However, Dombrowski’s maneuvers have largely come as a result of the hands he has been dealt and the relative competitiveness of his various organizations at the time of his hire. He turned the 1997 Florida Marlins, a 1993 expansion team, into a World Series Champion. He built one of the greatest starting rotations in modern history in Detroit. He came to Boston in 2015 with a mandate to take the Red Sox to the top and did just that in 2018. Is he perfect? Far from it. Can he win a championship? Clearly. You should desire the same.

I say this to explain why I frequently refer to my strategy in dynasty leagues as Dombrowski-esque. It is not simply because of Dave’s suave, shiny gray hair to which I look forward to sporting myself in my mid-50s. In these formats, managers are drafting using such polarizing strategies that the key is to seek out excess value by pitting your opposition’s own intelligence (or so it may seem) against them. Seek opportunity where it presents itself, and if that means honing in on proven talent to win now, then do so. There will always be newer, shinier (but not as shiny as Dave’s hair) prospects to target in these leagues down the line. That’s why today I will be reviewing my selections in the 12 team, H2H points dynasty startup mock that fellow Razzballer Dylan Vaughan Skorish and I partook in this past week. Although I will reveal all of my selections, my focus in this piece will be to review my strategy and discuss the prospects I targeted in this mock draft.

Please, blog, may I have some more?