Agenda

1. Reviewing Yesterday
2. Daily DFS
3. Tilts of Tomorrow
4. Table

Read the rest of this entry »

Josh Beckett has burned me a few times this year. Or better put, Josh Beckett has burned me by pitching well against stacks I have chosen against him. Much of the attention pitchers have received this year have been due to injuries (Jose Fernandez) or breakouts (Masahiro Tanaka). Beckett’s resurgence hasn’t garnered much attention, if any.

Beckett’s besting his career strikeout pace of 22.2%, and walking a few more batters than he has during his career – 7.3% career BB%. His peripherals aren’t far off from his 2011 campaign, in which he was worth roughly four wins. He’s also generating his highest ground ball rate since 2009. Unfortunately, that’s where good news stops. His hr/fb rate is higher than his career average. His babip allowed is .064 below his career average. And finally, his LOB% is a marvelous 84.6%.   From 2011 until 2013 Beckett struggled out of the stretch. He allowed a.340 wOBA with men on base. In 2014, however, he’s allowed a .201 wOBA in such situations; a number undoubtedly aided by a .132 babip –  .292 is league average in those instances, so far.

Beckett might have made legitimate improvements. His velocity is still intact. So are his above league average homer issues, though. Beckett’s pitched pretty well this season, but it probably won’t last, at least in this magnitude. It’d be pretty cool if he kept it going a little while longer, though.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, May, that time of the year in which the baseball season is no longer new, or young, but rather, established enough where players are beginning to lose their jobs and the injuries are starting to pile up, clearing the way for younger talent to make their mark on the fantasy radar. That’s where we find our two contestants this week, one of whom has benefited from playing time thanks to an early-season flameout, and the other suddenly pertinent in fantasy due to his newfound opportunity.
Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I shared which starting pitchers have suffered from the most rotten luck so far this season by comparing their ERAs to their SIERA marks. Naturally, today it’s time to look at the opposite side of the coin — those whose ERAs are not supporting by their underlying peripherals and have significantly higher SIERA marks. Let’s take a gander.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today is “Be a Millionaire Day.” Hey, it could happen, after all, I’ve got a dream.

On today’s agenda:
1. Alex Cobb to potentially return Thursday
2. The usefulness of Yan Gomes
3. Kole Calhoun’s looming return
4. CC Sabathia out until July
5. The Daily Five

Read the rest of this entry »

• Aroldis Chapman blew his first save of the year tonight against the Nationals. It’s tough to glean anything from Aroldis over just five innings pitched but he’s averaging 100 mph on his fastball and has nine strikeouts against three walks. Also, for what it’s worth Chapman didn’t blow tonight’s save in spectacular fashion, he gave a lead-off double that ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly. I wouldn’t be concerned about tonight’s blip, Chapman looks like himself after his unfortunate comebacker in spring training and should be a top three closer from here on out this season.

Read the rest of this entry »

• It is looking like Matt Wieters may not play again in 2014. Additionally the earliest he could be back is in July.

After Wieters fully rests from the injection, the Orioles expect to get a more definitive idea about what’s going on with the elbow. Showalter has said he would like to know by July 1 whether Wieters can return behind the plate this season.

For owners in shallow leagues and short benches, I could see him as droppable right now.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the most part, there’s some truth to the fact that you have to get em up to get em out: The average ISO for the twenty guys hitting the most ground balls per fly ball this year is .090 — far below the league’s .145 average. That isn’t to say that it’s as easy as “Hit More Fly Balls = Hit More Homers.” There’s probably an ideal batted ball mix for each hitter.

But, if you have an established hitter that is suddenly hitting a lot more ground balls, and their power is down, it seems reasonable to worry about that power. After all, the guys putting the most balls in play have reached the threshold for stability, and these batted ball stats are more reliable with every day.

Read the rest of this entry »

Following an abysmal 2013 campaign that saw him slash .209/.306/.357, Rickie Weeks entered the 2014 season as Scooter Gennett’s very expensive backup. Last season didn’t exactly come out of nowhere either, as it marked the third consecutive campaign in which Weeks’ weighted on-base average declined.

Weeks has started just 11 games this year, but five of those starts have come in the last nine days. Before anyone goes taking that as evidence that Weeks may be working his way back into the regular starting lineup, I’ll note that four of those five games were against left-handed starters. Still, it’s the largest chunk of playing time he’s gotten all year, and he is absolutely crushing the ball.

Read the rest of this entry »

Agenda

1. Roster Analysis
2. Daily DFS
3. Tomorrow’s Tilts
4. Table

Read the rest of this entry »