Some believe that July 26 is All or Nothing day. Really it is just a flimsy pretense in which to post some excellent early 2000’s boy band music.
On today’s agenda:
1. Brandon Morrow out for the season
2. A delay in Omar Infante’s return
3. Domonic Brown to the 7-day disabled list
4. An encouraging rehab start for Trevor Cahill
Read the rest of this entry »
-In today’s episode of “Anything Can Happen At Coors Field,” the visiting Marlins held a five run advantage over the hometown Rockies heading into the last half of the ninth until Kevin Slowey was asked to take the hill. Slowey surrendered a couple of runs on three hits without logging an out before being pulled in favor of Miami’s closer, Steve Cishek, with men on first and second. Cishek allowed one of the inherited runners to score on a single off the bat of Nolan Arenado, but he got out of the jam to earn his 20th save of the season. Cishek is now 20-of-22 on the season with a 3.02 ERA (2.95 FIP) and a 1.05 WHIP.
Read the rest of this entry »
Episode 42
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We discuss the suddenly injury ravaged Braves rotation, as well as one of the hottest hitters in July.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter and tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.
Intro by DJ Sinton (no, contrary to popular belief, I do not moonlight as a rap star)
Approximately 41 min of joyous analysis.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
You remember Kris Medlen, don’t you? He of the 10-1 record last season with the ridiculous 1.57 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, world-beater Kris Medlen? You kind of have to squint, don’t you?
2013 hasn’t been nearly as kind (dare I say fortuitous) thus far. Medlen is still in the arena of respectability with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP, but his strikeout rate has fallen six percent to a ho-hum 17.1%, his walks are up, and in general, he’s been far easier to hit this year. What’s more, his last five starts have been just disastrous. Over his last 27.2 innings pitched, Medlen has posted a 6.51 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, with a strikeout rate of just 14.7%. His recent misfortune has resulted in whispers of moving back to the bullpen if/when Brandon Beachy returns from the disabled list (although this little conundrum might have been just solved by Eric Young). How has his star fallen so rapidly?
Even the best fantasy teams deal with injuries at some point during the season. Identifying solid second half contributors can help smart owners whether the storm as fatigue takes its toll on key contributors. Alex Wood has seen his stock soar after a strong season in the minors, and has impressed in limited major-league action. Wily Peralta broke in with a solid rookie performance, but it’s taken some time for him to adjust during his sophomore season. Both could provide value over the second half.
The landscape of many team’s bullpens are likely to change in the forthcoming weeks as MLB’s trade deadline approaches. With that in mind, those in leagues that do not use a waiver or FAAB system should be camping out by the computer or glued to their fancy hands-free device ready to pounce on the next man in.
However, we’re not there just yet. So, here’s a look at a few lesser-owned middle relievers who’ve been providing owners in holds leagues some joy over the past two weeks.
Read the rest of this entry »
Whether we like to admit it or not, exposure can play a key role in the perception of baseball prospects. Baseball’s player universe is so wide, and there’s so much going on during the season, that it’s impossible to get a good firsthand read on every notable minor leaguer out there–invariably, we have to turn to outside sources (like this very website!) to fill in the gaps and lend some measure of authority. The more sources unite at a given point in their praise or condemnation for a particular prospect, the more likely we are to take that praise or condemnation as gospel.
One surefire way for a prospect to get some helium in this fashion is to be traded, especially if the trade involves a somewhat protracted negotiation period where the prospect’s name comes up again–you know, when we hear “This is the guy System A would hate to lose and System B has to have” and so on. This sort of publicity can’t help but have an effect on the general notability of a prospect–suddenly, an A-ball guy with good numbers goes from somebody discussed on a few MiLB-centric websites and discussion threads to a topic on Baseball Tonight. For those who don’t keep extensive track of the minor leagues, suddenly the player is on their radar.
With the non-waiver trade deadline just one week away, fantasy owners should be preparing themselves for the potential upheaval caused by the abundant player movement we are likely to see. While trades have been known to pop up from nowhere, usually, through the vast media coverage of buyers and sellers, we can see where most of the action is going to come from and which players are most likely to find themselves with a change of address. The catchers, for example, are known to be a rather uninspiring group for both trade possibilities and fantasy ramifications at this time. Still, there just might be a few names who could be on the move that would change things up for fantasy rosters and cause a bit of an impact. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s quite a bit of chaos in the Murphy household at the moment, so I didn’t have time to dive into more stadium-specific wind effects, but look for Wrigley Field data on Saturday.
As for today’s slate, we’ve got an uncharacteristically large player pool to choose from, with 28 teams playing. Usually Thursday’s are heavy on the off days – instead, today’s schedule has six afternoon games. That’s great for viewing but it’s not ideal for daily leagues as you’ll be forced to either set a line-up early or play with a thinner player pool in an evening-only format.
Instead of an environment or league-wide stat focus in today’s preamble, I just want a few extra words on a particular value play among today’s early games.
Read the rest of this entry »
Back in early April, Jack Moore published an in-depth look at Garrett Richards when the Angels pitcher replaced the injured Jered Weaver in their rotation. Soon after given that opportunity, Richards pitched himself right back into the bullpen. And now he once again finds himself a member of the Angels starting staff, this time as a result of Joe Blanton being Joe Blanton. You know, the one whose ERA never seems to match up with his peripherals. The Angels have lost all hope of that ever happening, so Richards is getting another shot. Should you give him one as well?
