Episode 40 -Pushover Southpaw

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

In this episode, Dylan Higgins, Matthew Dewoskin, and Steve Adams discuss the return of Steve Adams, Dylan’s permanent love for Brian Dozier facing lefties, Dylan pitting the resident Twins and White Sox fans against each other, streaming against Stephen “The Anti-Nick Martinez” Strasburg, Matt defending some Brewers infielders, Matt and Dylan struggling to pronounce some names, Petco Park in 2015, Steve getting weird with a FOS pick, Dylan being responsible for Matt Adams’ injury, and Steve interviewing top draft picks.

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We always read a lot about prospects and rookies but the coverage tends to fall off the map after the conclusion of a player’s freshman season. This ongoing series will chronicle the successes and failures of the sophomore class to help determine whose rookie season was a harbinger of even better things to come, and whose was blanketed in smoke and mirrors.

Previous:
The Sophomore Report 1
The Sophomore Report 2
The Sophomore Report 3

Roenis Elias, RHP, Mariners: Despite a surprisingly-good freshman season, Elias was unable to crack the Mariners’ opening day roster and opened the year in the minors. Injuries presented an opportunity to the 26-year-old hurler at the end of April and he hasn’t looked back. When you adjust for his 91% strand rate, Elias has been basically the same (surprising) pitcher that he was in 2015. Consistent lefties with the ability to miss bats and churn out innings are hard to come by and he should hold on to his rotation spot even when (if) all the Mariners hurlers are healthy and productive.

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I hope everyone else enjoyed yesterday’s spelling bee as much as I did.

On today’s agenda:
1. Consider Adam LaRoche
2. Jose Iglesias’s improved plate discipline
3. Streaming Pitching Options
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• It’s not earth-shattering news that fantasy owners have been somewhat concerned about Cody Allen thus far. The 26-year-old’s 6.16 ERA isn’t helping anyone’s bottom line. While the ERA might hurt, the righty’s 3.41 SIERA thus far in 2015 isn’t awful, however, it’s still a full run higher than his breakout 2014. While his strikeout rate remains north of 30%, he is walking batters at a Carlos Marmol-esque 14% this year. Fanning the flames of bullpen unrest, Allen has been used in non-save situations his last few outings, most recently pitching the eighth with the team down 4-3 a couple nights ago against the Rangers. While it might seem that something is afoot, the team has not publicly acknowledged any change and there is little-to-no-scuttlebutt from beat writers. It is probably worth noting that the Indians haven’t had a save opportunity since last Saturday. It went to Allen and he successfully converted it.

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Episode 234

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris discuss the injury news around Matt Adams and Scott Kazmir before finishing w/the brief injury scare around Wei-Yin Chen that turned out to be nothing… so far. They dive into the performances of Josh Donaldson, Alex Rodriguez, Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, Mark Trumbo, Noah Syndergaard, and Anibal Sanchez. They end with some talk about call-ups Buck Farmer and Eduardo Rodriguez, both debuting tonight, Farmer’s 2015 debut and Rodriguez’s MLB debut.

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Despite my deep interest (obsession) with baseball, the end of the season always seems to bring a moment or two where I look at the final line of a player and think, really? When it’s just the end of May and players have a handful of home runs or a steals or RBI, you name it, it’s not always obvious that they’re actually producing at a fairly solid clip. Two players whose names aren’t new to anyone kind of fit this description right now — and are widely available in most standard formats: Chase Headley and Trevor Plouffe.

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We’re making our way around the diamond with our updated rankings and today we reach the keystone.

• Catchers
• First Basemen

If you feel we missed someone, please let us know in the comments.

The names we missed that are mentioned in the comments will be added by Friday, 5/29. 

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It is fashionable to ridicule a fantasy owner for panicking in April. It’s early, they say. Something about small sample size, they say.

Yet here I am in late May — which is pretty much June to the common antiestablishmentarian — watching y’all sit stoically with your coveted, probably somewhat expensive shares of Matt Kemp (96% owned in Yahoo! leagues) and Carlos Gonzalez (94%) as they flounder in the batter’s box. That was condescending, yes, but I know I benefit from the luxury of not facing such painful decisions (nor enduring the mighty struggles of once-established sluggers).

I recently discussed CarGo and Kemp here and here, respectively. Unless you can get a decent return on name value from someone who thinks he’s buying low, it may be time to cut bait. I’m here to remind you: it’s OK to let go, to start anew. It’s just hard sometimes, I know. I’m here to help you transition.

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Episode 39 – You Don’t Want To Be There When It Breaks

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

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Brad Johnson discuss a doubleheader being skipped in DFS, more input on Mike Wright, a very appealing Tigers stack, James Paxton’s resurgence, failing to make sense of Nick Martinez, getting over Pedro Alvarez, and a look at Delino DeShields Jr.

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When the Dodgers signed Brett Anderson to a one-year, $10 million dollar deal this offseason there was a tinge excitement because a well thought of arm was headed to a well thought of organization and maybe we hoped Andrew Friedman and Co. could somehow keep Anderson healthy. He was also getting away from Coors Field. For what it’s worth, his groundball-heavy approach found some success with the Rockies, but obviously from the fantasy perspective, he is far more interesting in Los Angeles.

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