It would be very easy for me to be a fan of Tyler Skaggs. He’s more than a sparkling 2.88 ERA or 25% strikeout rate, he’s someone who boosted his groundball clip comfortably over 50%, buffed his swinging-strike rate 2.5 points to 10.7%b and not even DIPS metrics such as his 3.34 FIP or 3.58 SIERA suggest a mask hiding an ugly truth. It shouts a popular sentiment in the fantasy world:

Tyler Skaggs has figured it out.

I’m here today to tell you that this is a myth.

Those numbers, they’re all great. Simple, elegant descriptions of a player to help us quickly grasp their performance. But you know me. With these articles, I like to answer how a pitcher is getting their results, showcasing their recipe for success. Thing is, even though Skaggs has “figured it out,” I’m not exactly sure what he has figured out.

So let’s explore the popular solutions. Detailing the myths and legends, seeking the true catalyst that has turned Skaggs from his poor 4.55 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 21% K rate from last season to this year’s bliss.

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San Diego’s record may preclude fantasy owners from realizing how strong the bullpen remains to be. Brad Hand notched his 13th save working 1.1 innings giving up his first hit to a left-handed hitter all year (a double to Corey Dickerson) with two strikeouts. This marks his 15th scoreless outing over his last 17 and lowered his ERA to 2.31 on the season. Kirby Yates recorded his seventh hold allowing a walk with two strikeouts. He’s only given up one earned run in his last 17 appearances comprising 15 innings of work, limiting hitters to a .140 batting average against with 20 strikeouts so far, but 11 in his last 5.2 innings.

Also underappreciated, Blake Treinen closed out his ninth save in a 1.1 inning outing with three strikeouts in Toronto. In May, he’s accounted for a win and converted all six save chances in eight games. During these 9.2 innings, Treinen’s yielded seven hits, one earned run and three walks with 11 strikeouts. He’s nine for 11 in save opportunities this year with five of them requiring him to record more than three outs along with having to pitch more than one inning in nine of his 16 outings this year.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Roto Riteup is heading into the weekend like…..

.@OBJ_3 can CRUSH. ? pic.twitter.com/Z9grFq7X5y

— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2018

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5/18/18

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, 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 SLEEPER19!

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• @sporer – Host
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GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

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After getting some internal and external feedback, I’m going to be posting a league-wide lineup evaluation every Friday (or possibly Saturday). The goal is to help owners find targets for the weekend waiver wire and help keep my weekend free. I will focus on just lineups and stay away from position changes. Also, if nothing is written about a team, nothing has changed in the past week.

Angels

Zack Cozart has replaced Ian Kinsler at the top of the lineup and moves down a few spots when Shohei Ohtani hits.

Astros

Alex Bregman is back at the second spot after hitting .282/.404/.564 over the past 14 days.

Evan Gattis is starting to hit better (.276/.300/.621) over the past two weeks. It might be good time to buy low.

Athletics Read the rest of this entry »

Check the chat transcript below!

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A few days back, I noticed Domingo German’s fastball velocities and spin rates were unique. Since starting, his sinker (or two-seamer) was faster and had more spin than his four-seam fastball. This setup rarely ever occurs. Pitchers try to get as much velocity and spin as possible on their four-seamer with the intention of generating swings-and-misses up in the strike zone. A sinker usually has less of both to help create sink and the resulting groundballs. Throwing a higher spin sinker than a four-seamer historically is not helpful.

Normally, the other Jeff examines one-offs, but I was dumbfounded when I saw German has this feature. Here the two pitches in action.

Sinker

Four-seamer

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After seeking a second opinion on a course of action for his damaged UCL, Keynan Middleton has opted to undergo Tommy John surgery.  He came off the 10-day disabled list on May 10 after a minimum stay for right elbow inflammation, and he made just three appearances before exiting early in his most recent appearance on Sunday.

As has been the case for much of this season, the Angels’ closer situation is murky at best. Jim Johnson appeared to be emerging as the closer during Middleton’s initial absence, but he no longer looks like a candidate. His two most recent appearances have come with the Angels in a deficit, including Thursday’s seventh-inning outing against the Rays. Johnson entered with the Angels down only by a run, but he coughed up four runs (three earned) in just one-third of an inning.
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Today’s Grind is in rapid fire mode.

AGENDA

1. TDG Invitational
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…

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Revenge is a plate best served cold…..

C.J. Cron clobbers a homer to left off Tyler Skaggs, giving the Rays a 1-0 lead in the top of the 6th inning #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/mvhYJVqRvY

— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB2) May 18, 2018

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