Archive for June, 2017

Rick Porcello: What’s Gone Wrong?

No one expected Rick Porcello to repeat his 2016 Cy Young season besides maybe his mom. And she probably had some doubts. Before the season started, I thought he was getting punished too much especially after some second half changes. So far, I have been wrong with Porcello maintaining his 2016 production with a 3-9 record and a 5.05 ERA. Here’s what has gone wrong.

Less Help

Last season, quite a bit of Porcello’s fantasy value came from his 22 Wins. While 22 Wins was out of the question this season, owners expected more than three. Porcellos has giving up an extra run per game and the Red Sox offense has dropped off.

Last season, they average scoring 5.4 R/G and this season that number has dropped to 4.7 R/G. With the league scoring up, the Red Sox have gone the other direction. Read the rest of this entry »


Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – June 23rd, 2017

Chat transcript is below!

2:27

Paul Sporer: Good afternoon!! Let’s talk some baseball. Gotta keep it to a tight hour so I can release my SP ranking update.

2:27

Trader Danny: Is my Pollock for his Strasburg defensible?  12 team mix keeper, roughly equal salaries (low 20s), I’m stocked with OF and crushing it in SB but short on SP, most of the other aces are on other contenders.  This makes sense, right?

2:27

Paul Sporer: Definitely. Get any ace-level arm you can at a fair cost in this environment

2:27

Tiger Love: Castellanos or Avila ROS (position eligibility not important)? 12-team H2H 5×5 OPS league. Thanks.

2:27

Paul Sporer: Castellanos, but it’s v close

2:28

Casey: Which sides wins this trade–Paxton for Bradley Jr/Tanaka? Thanks.

Read the rest of this entry »


Are the Dodgers playing DL games?

On the last MASH report, I discussed Alex Wood’s S/C joint sprain, and many of the commenters claimed it was #FAKENEWS.

Read the rest of this entry »


Players I’m Buying In Ottoneu: June 2017

As I did last year, today I’ll be taking a look at some players I would be targeting in ottoneu (specifically FGPts, but the advice works for all formats) as both a title contender and a rebuilding team. There are plenty more targets than just the ones I’m naming here, but this group is a good start.

Read the rest of this entry »


Waiver Help – Finnegan, Chisenhall and Gamel

Last week I suggested nabbing and stashing one of Cincinnati’s starting pitchers who’s nearing a return, and this week I do the same with a different arm of theirs. A pair of outfielders owned in under 25% of leagues across the industry also stand out as worthy of the attention of gamers. Read the rest of this entry »


The Daily Grind: Unhittable Home Runs

Its the Steam summer sale. I find myself enticed a bunch of cheap Final Fantasy titles along with the South Park RPG. Oh, where are we?

AGENDA

  1. Wut
  2. Weather Reports
  3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
  4. Hitters to Use
  5. SaberSim Says…
  6. TDG Invitational Returns!

Read the rest of this entry »


Field of Streams: Episode 274 – Having To Wear It For The Spreadsheet

Episode 274 – Having To Wear It For The Spreadsheet

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

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin discuss the Jesse Hahn vs. David Paulino duel, the weak stolen base race, Dylan getting good at Matt’s guessing game, the return of Ubaldo Jimenez, keeping each other honest in the concert, what is left of Homer Bailey, the resurgence of James Shields, Dinelson lamet being a DFS option but not a spreadsheet option, Mark Zagunis’ viability and future, Denard Span’s salt and pepper facial hair, the legend of J.D. Drew, and Matt’s takes on the NBA draft.

Read the rest of this entry »


Underthrown Pitches And The Pitchers Who Underthrow Them: Vol. 3 Sliders and Changeups

Welcome back to the third and penultimate installment of Underthrown Pitches and the Pitchers Who Underthrow Them. Over the last several weeks, we’ve identified high performing four-seamers, sinkers, cutters, and curves and the pitchers who should consider throwing them more often. We’ve defined “high performing” based on a Pitch Score that factors an offering’s proclivity towards inducing whiffs, ground balls, and pop-ups. We’ve also defined the degree that a pitch is “underthrown” using a simple measure of pitch score to frequency.

For a more detailed recap of the results and methodology to-date, check out the previous installments linked below.

Vol 1: Four-seamers and Sinkers

Vol 2: Cutters and Curves  Read the rest of this entry »


The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 472 – “Would You Rather?” Extravaganza

6/22/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

Follow us on Twitter

Leading Off: Question of the Day

Read the rest of this entry »


Phantom Cold Streaks

In my last two articles on streaky hitters, I came up with a method to identify when hitters entered and exited hot and cold streaks. However, to really make a difference for fantasy players, streaks must both be identifiable and persistent. There’s no point in benching a hitter in a cold streak if that streak is just as likely to be over with as not when you realize it is happening. And so, for this article, I decided to look at hitter performances in the days following the recognition of streaks.

Read the rest of this entry »