Hey everyone! I’m Viz and for those who don’t know me, I’m the head of the hockey side of things at Razzball. Like last year, I’m going to have a post every weekend recapping the baseball posts from the previous week along with a preview of the week ahead. As far as the biggest thing that stands out to me from the first week of baseball, Nomar Mazara leads the list. The former top prospect has multiple hits in each of his first four games of the season, including two home runs. Grey gave us his Mazara sleeper article in the preseason and I have a feeling that this was the last time you’ll be able to draft Mazara outside of the top 50 overall for a very long time. Sure, the steals won’t be there, but everything else has a chance to be elite. Let’s take a look at everything that’s been posted on Razzball since the beginning of the season:
Grey and Dan Pants brought us their usual set of Daily Notes. A pitcher duel in Boston and the hot batting of the Dodgers are among the big stories.
Mike Honcho previewed the first week by highlighting the best Streamers.
M@’s Two-Start Starters ranked every pitcher with multiple starts in week one. For those who are in leagues who set their lineups weekly, this post is a must going forward.
We have a massive crew of people posting DFS articles on a daily basis finding the best matchups and value around the league. You can find all of those posts here.
Lance highlighted the best pitching matchups of Week One along with what players to watch to see if there are any lingering injury concerns.
JB updated his Top 100 Pitcher Rankings. Where are you now Joe Ross!? Down to 56th and debating whether or not to hold him in the Razzball Writers League…
JB also joined Grey for their first podcast of the young season. Too bad we didn’t get to hear Grey gush about Rougned Odor‘s opener but I’m sure we’ll hear about it this coming Tuesdsay.
JB stayed busy recapping Week 1 and keeper thoughts for the REL.
Lord Tehol Beddict provides us lucky readers with “The Draft Chronicles of Beddict.”
Matt Truss recaps RCL Drafts and provides some insight into how RCLers drafted this year. It’s a nice look into how things changed depending on when the draft was as well.
Son brings back his Bear or Bull post looking at the Padres and Reds starting pitchers after discussing the beautiful cinematic classic that is Bloodsport.
Malamoney, the Points League expert in these parts, recaps the Expert Points League draft he took part in.
Kerry Klug wrote an Ambulance Chasers article breaking down players who were injured and whether or not they should be stashed. Additionally, she provides her ten favorite DL stashes and I just want to second her thoughts on Carter Capps.
Laura Holt brings us some Deep League analysis for those who play in AL/NL Only leagues or super deep mixed leagues.
Prospect guru Ralph Lipshitz wrote a 2017 MLB Draft Prospect Update.
Malamoney’s Batting Contest is up for Week 2. You can find all of the rules in the previous link.
Smokey’s Closer Report looks at the dreadful fantasy situation that is the A’s Closer by Committee before ranking all 30 current closers.
Grey’s Buy/Sell posts focuses on Tyler Saladino, who has provided some nice value in the early going from the White Sox leadoff spot.
The newest Prospect Podcast with Halph looks at top prospects along with the top teams to watch throughout the minors.
M@’s Week Two post for Two-Start Starters focuses on the guy whose underlying stats don’t seem to match his ERA every season, Michael Pineda.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Streamonator loves Jeff Samardzija this week. The Shark is ranked as the #3 overall pitcher for Week Two with his two starts coming at home against Arizona and Colorado. My first thought is I’m skeptical about this aggressive ranking but I’ve come to the point where I no longer question the power of the Streamonator.
There aren’t many surprises near the top of the Hittertron rankings this week. The biggest one to me is that Andrew McCutchen is the 5th overall hitter with a series at home against the Reds and then at the Cubs. Starling Marte is the #2 hitter so it could be a good time for some Pirates stacks in DFS.
Speaking of DFS, on top of the daily posts that you can find through the earlier link, the DFSBot, Stackonator and Lineup Optimizer are all available to assist you with your lineup construction. With DFS back up in New York, I’m able to play again and these tools are of great assistance.
That’s all for now guys. If you have any questions or comments, post them below and I’ll answer as soon as possible. I’ll be back next Saturday recapping everything from Week 2. Also, for those of you that enjoy hockey, the Razzball Bracket Challenge for the Stanley Cup Playoffs is up. You can join that group here. Take care!
You can find Viz on the hockey side of things at Razzball here.
