When the game reached the seventh inning and Kenley Jansen remained in the dugout, it became apparent the Dodgers were going to keep him out of a potential save situation in Texas. Jansen’s allowed runs in each of his four appearances since returning from the disabled list without a rehab outing resulting in seven earned runs, two losses and a blown save. Less than optimal in the midst of a pennant chase. Kenta Maeda recorded his first save of the year, and second in his career during the regular season, allowing a hit, an earned run and two walks with a strikeout. He’s made six appearances as a reliever this year with a 2.69 ERA, 10 strikeouts against two walks and a matching 1.42 WHIP and FIP. While it’s apparent Maeda will back up Jansen going forward, the team will use their veteran closer this weekend in the role in a key match-up versus Arizona:

Kenley Jansen will be ready to close tomorrow against Arizona, Dave Roberts said.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 30, 2018

In other Dodgers news, the team placed a waiver claim on Ryan Madson in an attempt to bolster the bullpen before September. The teams have until Friday afternoon to consummate a deal. Stay tuned to world of evolving bullpens. Read the rest of this entry »

Each week I look at the collection of starting pitchers owned in under 30% of leagues (consensus Yahoo/ESPN ownership from Fantasy pros) with a few extra sub 10% discount options at the end, pointing out the options to consider if you need an extra arm or two at the end of your staff.

Let’s highlight my ten favorite starting pitcher options that may be available on your waiver wires, roughly ordered from top to bottom:

Under 30% Owned

Joe Musgrove (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Yes, Musgrove hasn’t been great recently, with two of his last starts accruing 7 ER total. That’s still not enough to turn away his 3.56 ERA production on the season, while his sub 5% walk rate has helped return a 1.20 WHIP. I don’t see a pitcher that should fall to a 4.00 ERA here and with seven QS in his last nine starts, he’s a must add for those in Quality Start leagues down the stretch.

Read the rest of this entry »

While going through my Tout Wars league’s transactions, I noticed Robbie Ray was released. While I felt Ray’s price was too high for me during draft season, my gut assumed he should still be rostered. My head said to dive in and find the reason for cutting a seemingly valuable resource. Today, I’ll examine how the actual and perceived values differ and how these moves can help make future decisions.

To start with, here is a quick dive into how Ray has done this season and spoiler alert… it’s not pretty. Even though his 11.7 K/9 is the 5th highest (min 80 IP), his 5.0 BB/9  is also the 5th highest. The walks, along with his 4.73 ERA, are tough to absorb. Additionally, his ERA is about a run higher than his xFIP and SIERA. The 26-year-old lefty has always been hittable with a career .316 BABIP and 1.2 HR/9.

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Looking over the last 30 days, I toured the diamond for a standout at every position who could be available and continue to produce over the final month of the season.

C: Omar Narvaez, CWS | 148 wRC+, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 12 R, 0 SB in 73 PA

The 26-year old backstop was supposed to be a backup, but then Welington Castillo was suspended 80 games for PEDs. Narvaez has made the most of his opportunity with a 127 wRC+ for the season. He’s more than just the last month of time, too, as he’s hitting .349/.433/.544 in 172 PA since June 1st after a paltry .169/.273/.234 line through May. Castillo’s suspension is done, but now he’s on the DL with shoulder inflammation. Narvaez is a solid C2 even when Castillo returns.

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When the Nationals and Phillies got together for a Tuesday night game, you figured you were getting some bullpen drama. But for the Red Sox and Marlins? Who needs closers when you have the majors’ highest-scoring team facing off against the 29th-highest scoring team?

Well, it turns out, the Red Sox and Marlins do.
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I could explain my joke, but I already did it on twitter. Anyway, German Marquez is perhaps the tastiest of several decent waiver targets tomorrow.

AGENDA

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

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In just a couple of days, rosters will expand, new faces will be recalled, and you’ll have a slew of choices for your deep league teams. But until that time, you’re still stuck with the same group of mehs. Here are two recommendations.

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Could you Imagine if there were Bat Cats? That would be a disaster and a really dirty batters box.

Don’t tease the Bat Dog! ? pic.twitter.com/Y96jc3oBw8

— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 28, 2018

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8/28/18

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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I think this is about the time of every year that I start to realize just how long the season is and I recall the landscape in May/June and see how different it is now. I wanted to highlight a group of pitchers who have righted the ship on their season and become fantasy assets once again after being cast off.

I didn’t include David Price despite a big ERA difference (4.42 1H, 1.09 2H) because I don’t think it ever got to a point where you could realistically cut him. All of these guys were hitting waiver wires in just most mixed formats, but are now being relied on down the stretch. Some of the guys profiled actually started to turn it around before the second half, but I wanted to include them because the bulk of their emergence has come since the break.

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