Alright fake baseball folks, this is the late-inning pinch-hit version of the Bullpen Report.

Adam Ottavino landed on the 15-day disabled list three days ago with what the Colorado Rockies referred to as “triceps inflammation.” But on Tuesday, results of an MRI conducted on Ottavino’s pitching arm indicated that the inflammation actually appeared to be closer to his lower arm in the vicinity of his elbow. Ugh. There will be no further speculation or diagnosis by the team until they return from their road trip and the right-hander gets a chance to meet with team doctors on Monday, but Ottavino admitted that “he was worried.”
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We haven’t finished April yet and injuries are already taking their toll on a lot of teams. I’m talking “real” teams in this instance, but that of course trickles down to our fantasy clubs so we’re also left looking for replacements for the likes of Adam Wainwright, Brandon McCarthy, and now Masahiro Tanaka (although this will be focused on NL arms, so you’ll have to be in a mixer to use one of these as a replacement for Tanaka).

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Get hyped for another round of AL OF rankings! As usual, these reflect what I believe the hitters will accomplish the rest of the season, not necessarily what they have done thus far. For funsies I’ll be separating the tiers by my favorite films of 2014. Our own Brett Talley thought last year was weak in films, and I strongly disagree.

I really liked a lot of what I saw, but of course I didn’t see everything and some genres aren’t for me. With apologies to The Hobbit and The Hunger Games for me failing to see them, lets dive right in. (Note: I really liked all of the films listed here.)

Whiplash
Mike Trout
Jose Bautista

I really don’t mean to be boring here. I just loved Whiplash and Trout continues and should continue to do Trout things. Bautista jumps up a level because his surrounding cast is incredibly strong. His counting stats could look bonkers at the end of the season, though I am keeping an eye on the uptick in his K%.
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In the FanGraphs Experts ottoneu League, I nearly traded Julio Teheran this off-season. I shopped him hard, targeting OF help. But holding him on a cheap contract was just too attractive – he’s 24 years old and coming off two straight excellent fantasy seasons.

But 2015 is not off to a good start. I was smart enough to bench him on Tuesday night, but after allowing 7 R (3 ER) over 5.1, his numbers on the year are not pretty. 27 IP, only 22 K, 12 BB, 6 HR. His 4.67 ERA is bad; his 6.07 FIP is worse. So what gives?

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If you follow the Bullpen Report here, you might have noticed a new name pop up as the “second” guy in the Pittsburgh bullpen (meaning the guy behind both the closer and the guy most likely to usurp the closer). Benajmin Pasinkoff bestowed that honor on one Arquimedes Caminero in last night’s Bullpen Report, displacing Jared Hughes as the man behind the man (Tony Watson) behind the closer (Mark Melancon).

Given that I know nothing of this Arquimedes fellow other than the fact that his parents might have been trying to name him after the Greek mathemetician (I like to think Archimedes would have liked sabermetrics), I gave his player page a gander. One portion of his player page stood out in particular. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s cut straight to the chase. Take a look at the statistical snapshots below:

Obviously, Player 1 is benefiting from a higher batting average on balls in play while Player 2 is getting burned a bit by his. Still, take away their triple-slash lines (but leave the isolated power) and you have two players with almost identical numbers, down to the six steals on eight attempts and the meager isolated powers (ISOs). Where they differ a bit is in plate discipline: Player 1 has a much healthier walk rate than Player 2 and a couple fewer strikeouts. So while Player 1 is benefiting from the a higher BABIP, he can also reasonably be expected to post a marginally higher batting average and noticeably higher on-base percentage. Most importantly, the two hitters are eligible at the same position and are, thus, substitutable.

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Episode 18 – My Heart Says Tom Koehler

The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin are joined by Jason Collette to discuss the sibling podcasts, identifying Michael Lorenzen, Mike Zunino’s struggles, “The Mike Aviles Special,” Dan Uggla terrorizing his former employer, “Mr. Quality Start,” and Matt’s theory about the White Sox facing new pitchers.

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There is no stronger or more unpleasant current in the emotional maelstrom that is Fantasy Baseball than Dumper’s Desolation. This is the feeling you get when you are forced to give up on a player and jettison him, whereupon one of your opponents rescues him, and he (the player, but also the opponent) prospers. As an example, if one is needed: It’s Memorial Day, 2014. You paid good money for Jedd Gyorko at the start of the season ($14, if you happened to buy him in the Tout Wars mixed auction). He’s rewarded you by hitting about .170, and it’s not a subtly-potent .170. You’ve long since banished him to your reserve roster, and replaced him with a second baseman who’s not hurting you as badly but also not helping you—Gordon Beckham, let’s say. As far as you know, there’s nothing wrong with Gyorko physically; he’s just performing poorly. Now someone else on your roster is coming off the DL, and you need to free a spot. So you bitterly but confidently mutter “good riddance” and put Gyorko on waivers. Someone else grabs him and stashes him. A week or two later, Gyorko goes on the DL. He’s got severe plantar fasciitis, which is news to you and everyone else besides Gyorko and his podiatrist. A month or so after that, Gyorko, much refreshed, returns, and you watch helplessly as he posts a .260/.347/.398 slash line for the last two months.

An experience to be shunned at all costs, right? Yet in most leagues, dumping is a way of life; in fact, the better and more sophisticated the owner, the likelier (s)he is to have a roster that forces a difficult choice. And in Fantasyland as in the rest of the universe, Newton’s Third Law applies, and you’re going to have to control the equal and opposite reaction when it’s time to upgrade. Read the rest of this entry »

Agenda

1. Team Strikeouts
2. Daily DFS – Jimenez and Martinez
3. GB / FB Splits
4. Tomorrow’s Targets – Chavez, Norris, House, Valencia, Marisnick
5. Factor Grid

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As usual, injuries create opportunity for others. That’s the theme yet again in this week’s edition of the deep league waiver wire.

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