15 Team, NFBC Draft Champions Recap: I Don’t Like This Team

March 24, 2020 | Our Leagues | 149 Comments

You ever draft, like, twelve teams and have eleven teams that are all very similar and one team that is nothing like the other teams? This, here, is that other team. In theory, this team could be my one good team and the other eleven could be garbage, but I sure hope that’s not the case. I started this draft like every other league this offseason — by taking Pete Alonso in the 2nd round. At that point, this team veered into a different direction to never return. For those not in the know, it’s a weekly, 15-team, 5×5, two-catcher league that lasts for 50 rounds and there’s no waivers. NFBC has decided to cut off new slow draft leagues like this one, so I don’t think we’re doing another one this year. Sorry, I wanted to do one more league too. I will now put on The Knack and change the words in my head to My Corona. Anyway, here’s my NFBC draft recap:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The BBC (Baltimore Baseball Club) Delays Release Of Hit Show, Mountcastle

March 23, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 120 Comments

by: Grey

The BBC announced during the shutdown that when the season returns they will keep airing reruns of Fawlty Davis, delaying Mountcastle for the foreseeable future. The BBC’s head of programming Peter Angelos, noted spendthrift and lover of reality shows, said, “We should air a full season of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here starring Richie Martin trying to unsuccessfully cross the River Ruiz.” Filling their lineup: Hanser & Renato, a BBC surprise hit, will be returning, and generating some underground enthusiasm is Austin “Martin” Hays, a David Tennant-led vehicle, where he’s a mechanic by day and detective by night, and Dwight Smith Jr. & Jose Iglesias starring in AB Unfab, where they just get gross at-bats. Okay, seriously, what on the earth that is in total lockdown is going on with the Orioles? They announced Ryan Mountcastle was optioned to the minors. THERE’S NOT EVEN ANY MINORS?! There’s no freakin’ baseball, Orioles, you giant nimrods! How can they be so dense? Trey Mancini, which I still pronounce like fettuccini, but hoping he gets healthy, needs some time, I’d imagine. Doesn’t cancer lead to chemo which leads to a lower immune system? That makes me think Mancini won’t be back this year, and I removed him from my top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball, while also moving down Mountcastle. Now all we have to look forward to is the new season of Luther starting Idris Alberto. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this week for 2020 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 3rd Basemen for 2020 Fantasy Baseball

January 21, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 131 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”508691″ player=”10951″ title=”RZBL 2020 Draft Kit 3rdBase 010720″]

After going over the top 20 shortstops for 2020 fantasy baseball, I needed a cigarette. A good after-sex cigarette, not a waiting-to-go-into-court-to-hear-if-you-have-to-spend-18-months-in-jail cigarette. Subtle, but important differences. We also hit up the top 20 catchers for 2020 fantasy baseball, the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball and the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball. In no way was that clickbait. Okay, onto the hot corner. Here’s Steamer’s 2020 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2020 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. All projections listed are mine and I mention where I see tiers starting and stopping. Good times, dyn-o-mite! Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 1st Basemen for 2020 Fantasy Baseball

January 16, 2020 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 161 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”508695″ player=”10951″ title=”RZBL 2020 DraftKit 1stBase 010620″]

This is gonna be a weird one. Just when you think the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball are stacked chef’s kiss finding a vacation home on House Hunters International, they take a left turn and become ugly like the Property Brothers. Well, mostly the one who always wears plaid. Any hoo! This post goes on for about 1.8 million words, so let’s dive in. Here’s Steamer’s 2020 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2020 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 2020 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

All Jays Want For Christmas Is Ryu

December 26, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 46 Comments

by: Grey

Hyun-Jin Ryu signed with the Jays. That’s…interesting. *scrambling to see Ryu’s interleague ERA vs. AL teams* 3.84 ERA in 86 2/3 IP with a 8.8 K/9 and this is still too small a sample. Plus, as I always say, you can’t just say a guy’s away stats are what he’d now do when he’s calling a place home. Also, what is going on with Ryu’s early draft price? Maybe it’s still early for ADP and I shouldn’t assign any real truth to where guys are going, but like Hugh Jackman’s marriage to his grandmother, it’s very real how late Ryu’s been going so far this year. I get it, I get it, I GET IT! He’s not a 1-something ERA pitcher, so y’all are compensating for that, but like me with my Happy Socks in my pants, you’re overcompensating. He didn’t just have a Cy Young-type year last year. He had a 1.97 ERA in 2018, too. In six seasons, his career ERA is 2.98. Okay, fine, ERA is stupid. He has a 1.01 WHIP two years in a row. WHIP’s stupid too? Fine, but these are two of the categories you’re hoping to get from your starters. Wins are just stupid stupid. Nothing can be figured from those. So, that leaves us with Ks. He has a 8 K/9 and a 1.2 BB/9, so, you got it, you’ve figured out a reason to not absolutely love Ryu. He’s merely a 2.75/1.01/150 guy. Shucks, what a shame. For penance, I will dye my skin whiter and cat-o-nine-tails my back like a villain in a Dan Brown book. Even if you think the AL could be less kind for Ryu, how much worse will he be from a 2.75/1.01 ratio guy? Fifty points on ERA? Sixty? Five points on WHIP? Ten? He suddenly won’t have one of the best walk rates in baseball? I’m going to be conservative with his projections and they still look great. For 2020, I’ll give Ryu projections of 13-6/3.32/1.09/153 in 167 IP. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this offseason for 2020 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Position Eligibility for 2020 Fantasy Baseball

December 24, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 78 Comments

by: Grey

On Dancer! On Prancer! On–Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. Welcome, reader! Grab some egg nog and brandy it up to the fire. You look festive. I love that Rudolph tongue ring. That’s the great thing about Christmas, no matter what your interpretation is, it’s all about commercialism. That’s unless you light the Munenori Kawasaki. The 2020 fantasy baseball rankings are not far away. Right now, January Grey is throwing darts at a board to figure out where to rank Shohei Ohtani, the hitter vs. Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher. Maybe I should use two dart boards. Hmm…In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2020 fantasy baseball season. I did this list of multi-position eligible players because I figured it would help for your 2020 fantasy baseball drafts. I’m a giver, snitches! Happy Holidays! I only listed players that have multiple position eligibility of five games or more started outside of their primary position. Not four games at a position, not three, definitely not two. Five games started. If they played eight games somewhere but only started one, they are not listed. 5, the Road Runner of numbers. So this should cover Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, et al (not the Israeli airline). Players with multiple position eligibility are listed once alphabetically under their primary position. Games played are in parenthesis. One big take away is Jonathan Villar started in, like, 200 games. That can’t be right. Oh, I know, they’re listed if they had 5 or more games started, but I noted games played in parenthesis, so Villar must’ve switched positions three times per game or played two positions at once because the Orioles only had seven fielders plus a pitcher. Don’t know, don’t care. Players are listed by Games Started, and Games Played are noted. It’s not confusing at all! This is the only time a year I do anything alphabetically, so I might’ve confused some letters. Is G or H first? Who knows, and, better yet, who cares! Wow, someone’s got the Grinchies, must be the spiked egg nog talking. Anyway, here’s all the players with multiple position eligibility for the 2020 fantasy baseball season and the positions they are eligible at:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Robbie Looks So Sexy He Should Be Called X-Ray

May 9, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 712 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”411377″ player=”10951″ title=”Fantasy Baseball 2019 Mailbag Week 7″]

Doe, a deer, a female deer that sounds like Chaz Roe. Ray, a drop of eleven Rays! Me, a name I call myself while looking in the mirror to check on my hair–Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. I was just singing a little song I call, “Julie Andrews is One Hot Cougar.” Yesterday, Robbie Ray did the impossible. No, not strike out 11 Rays hitters. I mean, yes, he did that. But that’s not what I found impossible. I find it impossible to like him, and yesterday he made me smile a little. Sure, this ‘impossible task’ is a bit subjective, but get out of your own head, it’s all subjective! Life’s subjective! Wow, I just became an angry philosopher. Call me Socrankies. Robbie Ray’s line yesterday 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners (3 BBs), 11 Ks is almost exactly him to a T. He is a 4.7 BB/9 guy and that was his BB/9 yesterday in under six innings. He can’t go deep because of the walks, and his Ks are gorge, but also limit his IP. I don’t hate him as much as it might seem. I don’t own him, but I can understand the allure. I “allurve” Ks. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

One Man’s Trash: Are We Healy Done With Ryon?

April 23, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 56 Comments

by: Son

When acquiring players via FAAB, the mental mind f’ing is both exhilirating and annoying at the same time. Is that bid enough? I really want this player, but everyone is talking and writing about him, so the price will be high. I should probably go up a few dollars. Hmmm, maybe that’s not enough. 10? 20? Let’s see who else is likely to bid on him. Yeah, probably have to go up 50. But what if that’s too much? I could maybe get him for cheaper. Yeah, I’ll take it back down. Click. Click. Looks at bid. Click click down. I don’t want to end on a whole number though. Click. Click. I always end on 3 or 7. Click. Click. Oh, F it. Click Click Clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick up. YOLO! This happens for in-demand players who are hot or have massive potential. Ryon Healy, on the other hand, is not hot and doesn’t have game-winning potential. In fact, he’s been dropped in 10.2% of ESPN leagues, to bring his ownership down to 52.2%. He’s been so bad that ESPN doesn’t even bother fixing the discrepancy in batting average on his player page and team starting lineup page. “Don’t sweat it, Tim. No need to fix. Who is going to be searching for Ryon Healy anyways?” Healy was smoking hot to start the season, as he hit two home runs in Japan and opened on a six-game hitting streak. Once the calendar flipped to April, outside of two games, it’s been a barren wasteland. Are we Healy done with Ryon?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot, Cody With Another Shot

April 19, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 510 Comments

by: Grey

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”404395″ player=”10951″ title=”Fantasy Baseball 2019 Mailbag Week 4″]

Due to the light schedule, let’s drill down on Cody Bellinger (2-for-4 and his 10th homer, hitting .432). If man love bothers you, perhaps you should shield your eyes. This could become naughty, and, yes, I need to remove my pants to write the rest of this. Cody is 2 1/2 home runs from being halfway to last year’s homer total. How does one hit a 1/2 of a home run? You hit it out of the park, then pimp with a bat flip so long you get tackled rounding 2nd. Right now, Bellinger’s HR/FB% is absurd. He’s not even hitting that many fly balls. It’s just everything he touches goes bim-bam-zoom to the moon. Can that continue, you ask with your doe eyes and soft lips. You drafted Goodrum on too many teams, because you sound drunk. Of course, it won’t continue. His launch angle last year, when he hit 25 homers, was 16 degrees. This year it’s 13. He is hitting the ball damn hard, though. He’s third in the majors with 96 MPH average exit velocity. I’d be shocked if he hits less than 35 homers, but I also don’t think he’s going to hit more than his career high of 39 homers, if his fly ball rate holds. His strikeout rate has absolutely cratered, in a good way, but, of course, when a guy is hitting well, he’s not striking out. He will go cold, turkey, and cold turkey on power at some point. It’s early, yadda-blabbity-bloo, so don’t panic sell. He’s now a legit top 15 bat vs. the top 40 one we thought he might be in the preseason. Now, I will put back on my linen Tommy Bahama pants and continue. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: Put Down Your Coors

April 8, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel |

by: wander34

When playing DFS and the slate has a game at Coors Field, DFS players on Fanduel have a decision to make. Do they be contrarian and fade the thin Colorado air, or do they chase the chalk up the Rocky Mountains? If there was a time to pass on loading up on a Coors’ game, it might be today.

Both pitchers scheduled to pitch in this one have been fairly successful in Colorado. The Braves’ Julio Teheran has pitched in Coors’ Field four times and has yet to allow a home run. In fact, he has held the Rockies to just a .313 OBP, .348 SLG and a .661 OPS in these four appearances.

And for the home team, Kyle Freeland has been very successful in Colorado. He had a 2.40 home ERA in 2018, while limiting opposing teams to a .226/.298/.393 slash line in those games.

When building cash lineups you may want to pluck a few Braves and Rockies. But for GPPs, fading Monday’s game could give you an edge on the competition.

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?

You Must Know Joe Musgrove is a Must Own

April 6, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 51 Comments

by: Dan Pants

After volunteering to have his first start of the season skipped last week (what a stand up guy!), Joe Musgrove opened his season with a seven inning gem, cruising through the Cinncinati Red Legs line up allowing just three hits and a walk and striking out eight for his first win of the year. Joe has always been a master with his control (just a 5% walk-rate in 2018 and he threw 18 first pitch strikes Friday night) but it’s them tasty strikeouts that make me go crazier than a shadow person in a Jordan Peele movie. The replicants have risen, and they’re here to steal all our best waiver wire acquisitions right before we’re about to click add. That’s why you have to grab Joe Musgrove while he’s still available in about 40% of fantasy leagues. Shadow Lupita Nyong’o would tell you Musgrove put up some of his best numbers down the stretch last year (August and September), when he started mixing in his off speed pitches more his strikeout rate increased as a result. She’s saying if he carries that mindset into this season he’s got all the tools to break out in a big way in 2019 and if Friday’s night performance was any indication (induced 17 swinging strikes) we’re about to see Pittsburgh’s prize from the Gerrit Cole trade finally pay off. Buy Joe Everything Musgrove!

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

Please, blog, may I have some more?

FanDuel: If This Is Wrong I Don’t Want To Be (W)right

April 6, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, Fanduel, Fantasy Baseball DFS |

by: MattTruss

We’ll be focusing mostly on the Main slate today, which is a 7:05 PM ET lock, but I’ll be sure to sprinkle in an afternoon play here and there for those of you who like that sort of thing. Both slates feature a tidy six games. The Main slate also features everyone’s favorite, Coors field! When trying to squeeze in those Coors bats with their inflated prices, we’ll need to find some cheap pitching and the occasional cheap hitter. A cheap pitcher I’ll be targeting tonight is Kyle Wright ($6,100). Wright had a fantastic spring and won the starting gig over preseason favorite for the spot, Touki Toussaint. That’s nothing to shake a stick at but Wright stumbled out of the gate. I’ll chalk that “meh” first start up to nerves and starting your first career game in the hostile city of Philadelphia. Five walks in four innings is pretty rough but that’s more walks than he had his entire spring training. Tonight we’re out of the band box in Philly and into home field advantage against a much weaker opponent in the Marlins. I mean, just look at that lineup…bleh. I like Wright and hope I’m not wrong tonight!

Please, blog, may I have some more?