The march towards inning caps and strikeout titles continues with today’s lowly owned pitchers (<10% in Yahoo! leagues)

Gabriel Ynoa (0% owned) vs. Rays (Matt Andriese)

I spent way too much time analyzing Ynoa (I’ve decided to do a Quick Look on him and Leiter tomorrow). He’s shown some major-league talent and may just be one pitch from being a top-50 starting pitcher.

The 24-year-old throws a 4-seamer, sinker,  and a slider. He throws his slider (35%) more than either fastball (28% for each) to help his strikeout numbers. This season, he has allowed an above average rate of flyballs (32% GB%) but maintained a respectable 1.1 HR/9. His 7.6 K/9 is reasonable, especially paired up with a 1.9 BB/9. Both values are in line with his recent minor-league performance. Signs point to a potential sleeper but I have my doubts about a pitcher’s upside with only one breaking pitch.

I would gladly start him this game against Tampa who leads the majors in striking out. My only reservation is if he gives up too many home runs in Camden Yards and runs up his ERA.

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Recently I created a new dynasty baseball league customized around the basic game of Ottoneu.  The more you play Ottoneu the more you come to appreciate how deep the player pool really is, and the longer I play fantasy baseball the more interested I become in the minor league development process.  While there is still plenty of luck involved, the satisfaction of “discovering” the next Rhys Hoskins before everyone else is a feeling that keeps me coming back to the game over and over.

In addition to the standard economics of Ottoneu where each league consists of twelve owners and 480 rostered players (minors and majors), our league will roster an additional 180 minor leaguers (15 extra per team) in an attempt to “develop” successful franchises for years to come.  Since the regular MLB season is wrapping up soon and many fantasy owners are starting to look towards 2018, I thought it might be helpful to review our prospect draft over the next several posts to give you some insight into the valuation of these minor league lottery tickets.  If nothing else, this draft should help you “discover” a few names to keep an eye on going forward.  If you have specific questions about players or the thought process of why they were selected, fire away in the comments section, as I’ve asked each owner in the league to be on standby to provide feedback as we review the rounds.  

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My primary laptop fan is dying. And that, my friends, is the worst kind of fan. Until a new one arrives, I have to turn off my computer every 20 minutes or so. Oh joy.

AGENDA

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

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I wrote up 10 bats for the stretch run just five days ago and there is admittedly some overlap here as I go position-by-position and highlight another group of hitters you may want to add, but it’s minimal (only one is completely re-recommended, the others are essentially reminders in case they’re still available). Given that we are so short-term focused at this point, I thought even five days was enough to mention them again as they continue to standout atop the leaderboards of the last month or so.

CATCHER

Christian Vazquez, Boston Red Sox

.392/.431/.598, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 20 R, 3 SB in 109 PA over Last 30 Days (all samples will be over L30 days unless otherwise stated)

Vazquez is smacking both righties and lefties during this run, but the power comes against righties (.214 ISO). He’s hitting so well that the Sox put him at DH in a recent game to keep his bat in while getting Sandy Leon a start. Vazquez has five multi-hit games in his last seven starts (spans eight games, but one was a PH appearance).

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With just over a week to go before the end of the season, it’s past time to use the schedule to help identify smart pickups. The Rockies end the season with a six game homestand, welcoming the Marlins and Dodgers for three game sets. The two hitters highlighted here stand to benefit from the friendly environment.

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I’m continuing Jeff’s series of looking at widely available starters who might be worth a stream in the final days of the season. I think Jeff was using a 10% or lower threshold, but I bumped it to 20% for one guy because I think he’ll still be out there in a ton of leagues and worth a scoop. These are ranked in order of how much I like them, but I’ll have a concise ranking at the bottom that shows the drop offs in confidence:

Tyler Chatwood, COL (18%) at SF (Moore)

Chatwood on the road has been one of the more bankable streamers for the last two seasons. Last year, he posted a nice 1.69 ERA in 80 IP away from Coors, in spite of a meager 1.7 K/BB ratio. He’s up to 3.41 in 71.3 IP this year while actually lowering his K/BB down to 1.5. He has a career 1.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 3.0 K/BB ratio at AT&T Park over 43 IP, including just 1 ER in 22 IP there since the start of last year.

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Here’s today’s chat transcript. We covered a entire slew of interesting topics. That’s right, a slew.

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Mailboxes drip like lampposts in the twisted birth canal of the Coliseum. Rim-job fairy teapots mask the temper tantrum, oh say can you see ’em.

AGENDA

1. Damned, Two Ways
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. TDG Invitational Returns!

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There are now less than two weeks left of the regular season! If you have been hesitant to sit your high priced bat that contributes in categories you don’t need in order to play the free agent pickup, don’t be. It’s totally okay to bench Khris Davis if you’re set in homers and RBI in order to try gaining a point or two in steals. Here are some lesser owned names who could chip in a couple of steals the rest of the way, which might be enough to gain you a point or two in the category.

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Our series on low ownership starters continues with those pitchers owned in less than 10% of Yahoo! leagues who are expected to throw Tuesday.

Travis Wood (1% at Yahoo) vs Diamondbacks (Zack Godley)

I put the minimum strikeout rate needed for streaming consideration at 6.5 K/9. Wood just meets the benchmark but that’s it for his positive traits. His BB/9 is a 4.2. He has a 6.80 ERA. His ERA estimators are near 5.50. He’s facing Zack Godley and Diamondbacks, so the Win chances are slim. Probably look elsewhere.

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