Archive for July, 2014

The Daily Grind: 7-13-14 – Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

  1. Strikeout Friendly Teams
  2. Daily DFS
  3. Monday Picks
  4. Table

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Bullpen Report: July 12, 2014

Some quick notes from today’s bullpen action:

-The Reds ran Aroldis Chapman to the mound on each of the four previous days, leaving Jonathan Broxton to man the ninth-inning in a save situation with a one-run lead. Broxton surrendered a leadoff longball to All-World Andrew McCutchen, his second of the game, resulting in the right-hander’s fourth blown save on the season. He is now 6-of-10 in save chances and his ERA sits at 1.19, which is still far off from what his xFIP (4.30) suggests he should be posting. More rough outings could be on the horizon for the Reds’ set-up man. Broxton remains to be an emergency only reliever to own, with the exception of hold leagues, deep standard leagues and daily leagues when streaming.
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Daily Fantasy Strategy — July 12 — For Draftstreet

Wade Miley was atrocious to begin the season, posting a 4.79 FIP in April. He turned it around in May, posting a 3.66 FIP. Then, the wheels fell off again, as he pitched his way to a 4.77 FIP in June. So far, he’s been very good in two July starts, seeing his FIP slot in at 0.77. Let’s go back to June, though; perhaps the wheels didn’t actually fall off completely.

Miley’s poor April and June numbers have one main driver: home runs. He allowed seven in each month. Considering Miley’s never been a strikeout artist, his HR/FB rate has kind of always told the story. In 2012, he didn’t allow many. He did in 2013 (along with more walks), and his numbers suffered. This year, he’s allowed homers at an even higher rate, and his numbers have fallen further, but something else has changed: his strikeout rate has shot up.

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Roto Riteup — Presented By DraftKings: July 12, 2014

Twenty-three years ago today the film “Point Break” was released. In my humble opinion the trailer does not do the film justice. It is a masterpiece of 90’s cinema.

On today’s agenda:
1. Thoughts on Jed Lowrie
2. Kevin Gausman to start tomorrow
3. A pair of NL outfielders return
4. The daily five

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The Daily Grind: 7-12-14 – Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

  1. Leveraging Psychology
  2. Daily DFS
  3. Sunday Picks
  4. Table

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The Power of a Compliment

You’re in first place, but you just lost Masahiro Tanaka. He was the only pitcher standing holding your staff above water. It’s time to make a trade.

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Fantasy Baseball Existentialism: Ben Revere and Speed

Like the San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays, my fantasy baseball team is endlessly waiting for Buster Posey and Evan Longoria to be Buster Posey and Evan Longoria again. We’re past the half-way point in the season, so perhaps we’ll all have to wait until next year, at which point I’ll fire myself as the general manager of my fantasy baseball team.

I can’t separate fantasy baseball from, like, who I would want on a real baseball team I was in charge of, and I don’t really care about speed. However, in fantasy baseball, things like stolen bases matter. I have nothing against the stolen base or speed in general (full disclosure: I’m fast), but I just wouldn’t really want a guy like Ben Revere playing center field for my favorite team. He’s fast, but he doesn’t walk, hit for power, or get on base at an above-average clip. It’s fun to try to get a time on a fast guy down the line or on a stolen base attempt on your stop watch. One of the joys of watching the Giants over the past few seasons has been the speed of Angel Pagan when he’s in the lineup, which is becoming increasingly less of a common occurrence these days. Unlike Revere, Pagan has some slug to his game in addition to plus-plus speed.

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The Art Of Being Almost Ready, Vol. IV – Kris Bryant Edition

If you look at his numbers, Kris Bryant looks ready for the majors. He hit 22 homers in just 68 games in Double-A before earning a promotion to Triple-A, where he hasn’t slowed down a bit, smashing eight more homers in 22 games. Between the two levels, he now owns an absurd .348/.443/.700 slash, with 30 home runs and 11 steals…in just 90 games.

If you simply look at him on a baseball field, Kris Bryant looks ready for the majors. At 6’5″, 215 pounds, the 22-year-old stands out from his peers on the diamond. He’s faster than it seems like he should be. He’s remarkably agile. Everything he does looks smooth. He’s one of those guys who would probably excel at any sport. He makes it all look easy.

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The Daily Grind: 7-11-14 – Presented by FanDuel

Agenda

  1. The Fringe Five as Fantasy Resource
  2. Daily DFS
  3. Saturday Picks
  4. Table

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Daily Fantasy Strategy — July 11 — For Draftstreet

And, I’m back. After a small vacation, in which I recharged my batteries, hiked, and didn’t play any fantasy, it’s back to normal life. Thankfully, Blake and Brett held the fort down for me, otherwise I guess it wouldn’t have completely been a “vacation.”

While I didn’t play any fantasy, I did manage to get to the ballpark in Denver for one game. Jair Jurrjens pitched in it. Predictably, he was hit very hard. Considering I live in Atlanta, it was nice to see an old friend. Not much has changed for him. Breaking: The Earth keeps spinning and 88 mph over the middle keeps leaving the yard :(.

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