Author Archive: Mike Podhorzer

As we continue into the second half of the season, it’s time to check back into the batted ball distance leaderboard. As usual, I am identifying potential HR/FB rate improvers by comparing a hitter’s mark to his distance. However, distance alone doesn’t tell the complete story, so this isn’t a perfect analysis. I found that batted ball angle and the standard deviation of fly balls were also quite important. But since this data isn’t publicly available yet, we have to do the best with what we have. So without further ado, here are your power surgers.

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The second “half” is almost underway, as we still have nearly two and a half months of more baseball to look forward to. It might be hard to believe, but if you’re still within 20 points of a money spot, you probably still have a shot. Here are four American League starting pitchers who should improve their ERAs during the second half and therefore might good acquisition targets.

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Boy, it’s tough to do a deep league wire after returning from a week and a half vacation having looked at a total of zero box scores while being away! During my quick research for players to recommend, I was surprised at how much I missed. Unplugging does have its negatives.

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Last year, I polled you wonderful readers asking which group of pitchers you expected to perform better during the post-All Star Break period. The two groups were composed of the pitchers whose ERAs were most disparate from their respective SIERA marks. While a one year sample wasn’t going to prove anything, I was curious what you all thought and what would actually happen. Do I put too much faith in SIERA? If the SIERA beaters from the first half still significantly outperformed the underperformers, then perhaps I either have to rethink the way I evaluate pitchers or those specific pitchers were doing something not being captured by the metric.

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We’re back at it again, checking in on the American League starting pitchers.

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It’s time for another day of deep league wire fun. If you’re in dire need of a catcher or some speed, you have stumbled upon the right place.

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After perusing the most added list in CBS leagues yesterday, it’s time to jump to the other side and look at who you’re jettisoning from your roster. I typically find that fantasy owners are overreacting to a hitter’s slump or a poor start or two from a pitcher. However, this week it’s rather boring, with guys that did deserve to see a decline in ownership.

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I’m back with the third edition of roster trending, checking out some of the players who have experienced the biggest ownership spikes in CBS leagues over the last week. These lists are always interesting and offer an insightful glimpse into the mind of the average fantasy owner. So let’s take a gander at who is being added in leagues and determine whether fantasy owners have the right idea.

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They rank back-to-back in SIERA in the American League over the last 30 days, ranking 13th and 14th, back-to-back in full-season ground ball rate at third and fourth, could afford to throw more strikes and also make batters swing and miss more frequently. Jarred Cosart and Kyle Gibson have quite a bit in common, at least in terms of their results. But of course, they take a different path to actually getting to those results.

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More injuries opening up opportunities! Pair these two studs and you have the potential to receive a serious power and speed boost. Or not. But maybe.

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