I’ve Got Buy J.D. Davis Eyes

July 23, 2021 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 268 Comments

(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH OR $13/MONTH WITH AN EXTRA WEEKLY PODCAST.)

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J.D. Martinez was first to the Just Dong nickname, even though recently Jeff Bezos tried to co-op it himself:

Well, put aside your Dongs, Just and Jeff! There’s a new Just Dong in the picture. It’s J.D. Davis aka Jonathan Davis Davis aka Jefferson Davis Davis aka Just Dong Davis. Was surprised to see him only rostered in 35% of ESPN leagues, so ding-ding Just Dong, you’re eligible for the Buy column! Back in 2019, Jonathan Davis Davis had his star mitzvah, which had us all scratching our heads, “Did the Astros really lose a trade to the…Mets?” Appizzarently, they did. The only thing stopping J.D. Davis from taking that next step was. Dot dot dot. His health. But he’s good now, and he has himself a rocket ship to the rotating planet of Third Outfielder With Rising Fantasy Value. It’s an outlying planet, but it’s worth making space on your team. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Rays Infielders are Adames a Dozen

May 22, 2021 | Daily Notes | 41 Comments

by: Dan Pants

The Tampa Bay Rays got the baseball world buzzing Friday afternoon when they shipped former top prospect Willy Adames to the Milwaukee Brewers along with RHP Trevor Richards for a couple middle relievers I’ve never heard of, Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen. I’m partly lying for the laughs, I am aware of Feyereisen, he’s been solid (3.26 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 20/11 K/BB), and if there’s one thing we all know Kevin Cash needs, it’s more weapons out of the bullpen. But I’ve already spent WAY too much time covering these relievers, and I can assure you they are not the reason this trade sent beisbol twitter into a frenzy. The trade of Adames (.197/.254/.371, 5 HR, 15 RBI) opens up a spot for a new starting shortstop in St. P and the Rays have a bit of a premium at the position including two highly-touted mega-uber super-prospects, Vidal Brujan and Wander Franco, the latter being the consensus top prospect in all of baseball. Grey told you to BUY Vidal this weekend, and that advice was pre-trade, mind you! Clearly, Grey is a witch, but it remains to be seen if it’s of the sexy “Scarlet” variety. Vidal Brujan has 40-steal speed which, *Pro Tip* can help your fantasy team, but Wander is the name the Tampa fans (all 300 of them) are clamoring for. Enter the guy she told you not to worry about, Taylor Walls, who despite our deepest desires, is in fact the infielder that the Rays chose to call up this weekend to replace Adames. *Audible Sigh* No need to sigh so loudly just yet, frand, Walls has got his balls to it and he was slashing .327/.468/.490 with two homers, 10 RBI and two steals before the call up. Manager Cash suggested Walls will see plenty of time at shortstop along with Joey Wendle and could be worth a look for that speed alone, at least until one of the younger, sexier prospects arrives. Taylor had 10 homers and 28 steals between A/AA in 2019–and that is not nothing! Regardless, here’s hoping Brandon Lowe (2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 HR (9), 3 RBI) is next on the trading block. The Rays are so stacked at middle infielder maybe I’m delusional if I think I’m seeing Wander before August. But perhaps an injury? That would do it! What light through Wander a hamate bone breaks? If only they had the Mets training staff. Let’s make it happen!

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

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

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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?

Buy Bull Thumping In The Desert

April 5, 2019 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 436 Comments

by: Grey

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Today we have a very special Game of Thrones edition with your host, Ball-less Greyjoy. Or, I guess since it’s a Buy, as in pick up off waivers, it’s a Game of Thrones addition. To prep for the Game of Thrones finale, I pushed a kid out a window. As I get into bed with Cougs, I yell, “The one-eyed raven is here and winter is coming!” This show better not end as a Bob Newhart dream or in a snow globe of an autistic boy. As Daenerys would say, “I just flew to King’s Landing and boy are my armies tired.” I wonder if Daenerys used to be Daenery but added the S on the end like Kendrys. Speaking of which, Kendrys Targaryen has no position flexibility, and is just rigid, due to the 75 years he’s been guarding a freakin’ wall. Why does he guard the wall? Because of the dreaded White Walkers. The Night King, head White Walker, is Christian Walker. Since Kendrys Targaryen unleashed his dragon and it ate a Lamb (then burped fire), Christian Walker could see more time on the other side of the dugout wall. He’s shown good pop (who doesn’t sleep with mom who is his sister) and I’m adding him in all leagues. He hit 30+ homers in Triple-A, during his last full season there. Hopefully, George RR Martin doesn’t stop doing his bend the knee burpees at a Westeros Fitness and kill him off. Spoiler Alert! Game of Thrones ends with Fonzie jumping over a dragon. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Contenders Shop At Pretenders Like A Back-To-School Sale

September 3, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 246 Comments

by: Grey

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Real baseball is weird. Real sportswriters are even weirder. From Sportsnet.ca, “Donaldson trade marks abrupt split from Blue Jays after promising start.” Abrupt? Maybe I’m just heartless, but why would the Blue Jays be salty about getting rid of Josh Donaldson? If he would’ve stayed with the club, he could’ve opted into a $18 million contract and been back next year in Toronto insanely overpaid and blocking Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Then, from Sportsnet.ca, “But trading the star third baseman and cash to the Cleveland Indians, who visit Toronto next week, of all places? Even the New York Yankees would have been a more palatable destination.” I’m sorry, what? Why are the Indians worse than the Yankees? Because Edwin is there? Because the Jays’ GM used to be in Cleveland? Is this just bad writing? Or is real baseball just odd. I seriously have no idea. Elsewhere, other sportswriters were talking about what a great move this was. No wonder people come here and get floored when I say something about a guy like Josh Donaldson being overrated. They’re being lied to everywhere else. This was not a great move by the Indians. Donaldson can’t stay healthy and has no place to play. Maybe he can give them a solid at-bat off the bench, but Curtis Granderson might’ve been able to do that too. Don’t worry, will get to him and all the other September roster news. As they say at gang initiation, after the jump. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I’m Likin’ This, I’m LiKendrys A Lot

August 27, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 298 Comments

by: Grey

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Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr. sit in the airport, waiting for their flight out to Toronto, trying to make small talk, “How has post-Hall of Fame life been?” “Good, good, how has post, uh, mustache life been?” “Fine, yeah, fine.” Finally, a Cooperstown employee approaches, “Where do you want Dale Long’s sarcophagus?” “Are you not staying with it?” “I was just told to deliver it. Now, if Kendrys Morales breaks the home run record, you press this button on the side of the sarcophagus.” Ken and Don look at each other and decide to try the button. Dale’s sarcophagus opens and what resembles a crypt keeper says, “Wow, I can’t believe he broke our record. That’s outta sight!” And Dale’s mummified eyes spin like a slot machine. This is reenactment of what Mattingly and Griffey are going through as they join Kendrys for the chase of their home runs in eight straight games record. Yesterday, Morales homered in his 7th straight game, going 1-for-3, 2 RBIs, and that was his 21st homer. I actually just picked up Kendrys Morales in my RCL league, after I picked up my jaw from surprise that he was still available. He’s so smooth right now, they call him Kendrys Alba. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Rolling In The Deep, Week 6.5: Injuries & Arrests & Demotions, Oh My!

May 10, 2018 | Uncategorized | 10 Comments

by: Laura Holt

Is it still “the beginning” of baseball season? I’m thinking no. We’re now a little more than 20% of the way into the year – still an extremely small sample size, but enough that we can see patterns starting to emerge, and it’s getting easier to evaluate fantasy teams’ strengths and weaknesses. If your team is going to have an overabundance of power or strikeouts, or will have trouble contending due to a complete lack of speed or saves, you’ve probably figured it out by now. While you don’t want to panic over poor starts by players that are still likely to turn things around and help you, there’s no reason not to be pro-active if you know your team is lacking in a certain area. Of course, this is easier said than done in a deep league, where there are few serviceable players sitting on the waiver wire, and trade partners may be hard to find since every team probably feels stretched thin and owners may not feel like they have a true surplus in any category. All the more reason to be extra vigilant about free agents, potential trade scenarios, setting your lineup properly, and anything else that can give you an edge based on the rules and parameters of your league… you don’t want tuning out for a few days in May to cost you valuable points that could make a big difference in September. For now, we do our usual: look at a handful of players that could be relevant to those livin’ the deep league life.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Ambulance Chasers, Week 7: Even Molina Can’t Frame This One

May 9, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 17 Comments

by: Kerry Klug

Bad news for the St. Louis Cardinals: Predictions are that Yadier Molina will miss a month of playing time. Good news for the St. Louis Men’s Choir: They just got themselves a new soprano! Stash or Trash: Molina is a professional hitter — he’ll come back and should be the same old Yadier. A little bit wiser, a little bit lighter and a little bit more likely to wear a cup. Stash. Fill In: I’ve grabbed James McCann in a few leagues after Chris Iannetta proved HE WAS WHO I THOUGHT HE WAS. We’ve all been hoping McCann would be our breakout catcher and maybe we’re seeing a bit of that right now. Since April 13th he’s been the hottest hitting catcher hitting .338 with an .871 OPS. You can obviously do worse at a position where only 6 players have above a 2.00 on ESPN’s Player Rater.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Yadier, Tommy Pham, And Grown Men’s Groins

May 8, 2018 | All Podcasts, Razzball Podcast | 32 Comments

by: Geoff

Guess what? All the top stories are about GROINS!!! But in all cereal-ness, we don’t get soggy in milk, and we take you through the plague of injuries throughout MLB. We discuss the DL stints of Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, Jacob deGrom, Miguel Cabrera, and Jake Lamb. The rest of the show is dedicated to a celebration of diversity. No, that’s not right, it’s actually just Grey and I talking Jake Faria’s renaissance, Domingoat German’s Sunday start, Walker Buehler’s long term value, and our thoughts on Mike Soroka’s first two MLB starts. There is even more Jelly in these donuts, Frank. So stay tuned! Finally, please make sure to support our sponsor by heading over to RotoWear.com and entering promo code “SAGNOF” for 20% off the highest quality t-shirts in the fantasy sports game. It’s the latest edition of the Razzball Fantasy Baseball Podcast:

BTW: Get your Prospect Jesus and Grey Albright Tout Wars Champ shirts here!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 3rd Basemen for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 23, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 192 Comments

by: Grey

The top 20 3rd basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball ends the infield rankings for 2018. I say, Amed to that! Rosario, specifically. With the end of the infield rankings, we can get a bigger picture, uh, picture on depth of each position. I call this segment of the program, The Fantastically Flexible File on Marwin Gonzalez. Or The Marvelous Mr. Marwin, if Jeff Bezos is reading. Since Marwin’s got more eligibility than a guy who lives in his mom’s basement and has a cat named Kylo, let’s look at where he is in each ranking. For the top 20 1st baseman for 2018 fantasy baseball, he was ranked 30th, for the top 20 2nd basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball, he was ranked 22nd, for the top 20 shortstops for 2018 fantasy baseball, he was ranked 20th, and here he’s 24th. Clearly, the infield positions from deepest to shallowest are: 1B, 3B, 2B, and SS. Marwin, you illuminating mother! Any hoo! My projections are noted for every player and all positions are at the 2018 fantasy baseball rankings. By the hoo, Rudy has all his 2018 rankings up on the Preseason Player Rater. Anyway, here’s the top 20 3rd basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 Shortstops for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 22, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 232 Comments

by: Grey

So far we’ve (I’ve) gone over the top 10 for 2018 fantasy baseball, top 20 for 2018 fantasy baseball, top 20 catchers for 2018 fantasy baseball, top 20 1st basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball and the top 20 2nd basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball. Sure, I could’ve just said here’s the 2018 fantasy baseball rankings, but if you’re gonna clickbait, you gotta go full bait. Last year, I was drooling about the top 20 shortstops; this year, well, I like a few of them. Lowercase yay! How’d it go from a deep position to shallow in one year, especially a year after a huge offensive outburst? I have some theories, but they all involve the Illuminati, so I can’t talk about them. With each player is my projections and where I see tiers starting and stopping. Anyway, here’s the top 20 shortstops for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Top 20 2nd Basemen for 2018 Fantasy Baseball

January 19, 2018 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 187 Comments

by: Grey

Before we get into the top 20 2nd basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball, let’s go bobbing for clickbait. Here’s my top 10 for 2018 fantasy baseball, top 20 for 2018 fantasy baseball, top 20 catchers for 2018 fantasy baseball and the top 20 1st basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball. So, without further hubbub on the tomfoolery, the top 20 2nd basemen were shallow like how Altuve likes his pool water as recently as three years ago, then bounced back two years ago, then were drowning in a puddle last year. So, what about this year? Thanks for the expository segue! As always, my projections are included and I mention where I see tiers starting and stopping. Anyway, here’s the top 20 2nd basemen for 2018 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?