9/7/18

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
• @justinmasonfwfb – Producer/Co-Host
• @jasoncollette – Co-Host
• @pitcherlist – Co-Host

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Audio is a little wonky perhaps due to a storm in my area. My internet was a little wobbly, too, so unfortunately it seemed to impact my audio as well. 

 Notable Transactions/Rumors/Articles

• Shohei Ohtani needs TJ to pitch again; could hit all of ‘19 – 4:05

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Transcript is live! Thanks to those who came out!

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I’m telling you, you need a cordwainer tomorrow. Find him with Streaming Wars.

AGENDA

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

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Thursday’s slate was short on games — just four of them — but it was not totally devoid of closer developments. Two of the contests went to extra innings, and in the case of the Braves-Diamondbacks game, closer failure played a role in the game going beyond regulation. The Braves rolled into the bottom of the ninth inning with a 6-4 lead, but Brian Snitker did not have A.J. Minter to close out the game, since he had thrown 36 pitches in Wednesday’s loss to the Red Sox. Instead, Snitker turned to Jesse Biddle, who entered with a streak of nine straight appearances without an earned run, covering 8.1 innings.
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There are some intriguing athletes sprinkled throughout the lowest levels of the minors but this system has fallen on hard times and lacks depth.

Click here for the pre-season Top 10

1. Miguel Amaya | C | A —> Amaya, 19, was a monster in the first half of the year before tiring during the latter portion of his first full season (.865 vs .634 OPS). An encouraging sign: He maintained his walk rate while trimming his strikeout rate in the second half despite the diminished offence. In his prime, he should get on base at an above-average rate and produce solid pop. He has work to do on his receiving and game calling but he’s shown potential with throwing out base runners.

2. Adbert Alzolay | RHP | AAA —> It was basically a lost year for Alzolay, who started just eight games before getting hurt. He’s an undersized righty but he can hit the mid-90s and shows flashes of a plus curveball. His makeup is universally lauded so expect him to squeeze out every ounce of potential with a ceiling of a No. 3-4 rage if he gains consistency with the secondary stuff. My biggest concern aside from injury is his fly-ball tendencies.

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I left my heart with San-FRANCISCO

.@Lindor12BC has 6 multi-HR games out of the leadoff spot in 2018.

That’s the most in @MLB history. pic.twitter.com/5WaZxBsgnF

— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) September 7, 2018

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For a pitcher who has been ignored by the vast majority of fantasy owners this season, we’ve given Felix Pena quite a bit of attention here at RotoGraphs. Back in July, both Jeff Zimmerman and Paul Sporer noted Pena’s somewhat limited sleeper appeal. More recently, Jeff pointed out Pena’s declining fastball velocity and strikeout rate in his analysis of most-dropped players.
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I’m highlighting pitchers owned in 20% or few leagues at FanTrax.com

Daniel Norris (15%) vs Cardinals

Where did the 25-year-old’s lefty’s 11.4 K/9 come from? And the 4.6 BB/9? He is pulling a Robbie Ray (12.0 K/9, 4.8 BB/9) with an 89-mph average fastball.

After rooting around on his player pages, he’s basically a two-pitch pitcher, fastball and slider. Both pitches produce an above average amount of swings-and-misses and flyballs. The flyballs have led to a high number of home runs (1.8 HR/9) hence the inflated 5.49 ERA.

Most of the damage was done before going on the DL (groin surgery). In his one start since returning, he struck out seven Yankees and walked only one batter in 4.1 innings. In the start, his fastball was up to 91 mph.

For owners digging for strikeouts, they should be all in with Norris. The walks still worry me some and owners who need to control their rate stats may want to stay way to see another start. He may be a sneaky recommendation as the season winds down.
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A lonely star twinkles in the heavens, hoping to be captured by a sensitive lover – perhaps via a $2 FAAB bid. Streaming Wars features just one pitcher and the usual array of bats.

AGENDA

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

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The top 12 of the last 30 day starting pitcher strikeout rate leaders is littered with the usual names. But of course as with any metric over an arbitrary time frame, there are a few surprising ones. Let’s discuss the four, who all happen to be 25 and under.

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