Because of last week’s July 4th holiday, these rankings are a bit late. So I apologize to all of you who have been spending this last week questioning how you could continue on with your life without this update.
As long as you don’t own the player heading to the disable list, injuries could be a good thing. They open up opportunities for others and provide the chance for increased playing time. That is the theme of today’s deep league waiver wire. Even better, both these men have dual eligibility at both first base and outfield. Jackpot!
Episode 35
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We discuss a pair of hot first basemen and the long-awaited return of an exciting young arm in Seattle.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter and tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.
Intro by DJ Sinton (no, contrary to popular belief, I do not moonlight as a rap star)
Approximately 38 min of joyous analysis.
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Yesterday, I took a look at the hitters whose BABIP marks most exceed their xBABIP marks. Aside from a looming batting average decline, a lower rate of hits on balls in play could take a bite out of a hitter’s RBI and run totals, which all combined could really take a toll on his rest of season fantasy value. Today I check in on the opposite side of the coin, those hitters whose BABIP marks are most below their xBABIP marks. These could potentially be your group of buy low candidates.
At the end of April, I used Jeff Zimmerman’s updated xBABIP spreadsheet to determine which players’ BABIPs exceeded their xBABIPs by the greatest amount. Of the five players listed in the initial look, all of them did indeed experience a decline in BABIP, nearly all being a significant falloff. Of course, four of the five were sporting .400+ BABIP marks, so of course even without a formula, you would assume regression was coming. We now sit a bit further along than the exact mid-season mark, so BABIPs are much more reasonable at this point. These are the 10 hitters whose BABIP marks exceed their xBABIP marks by the greatest degree.
Episode 34
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs contributor Zach Sanders. We discuss projection systems and a pair of soon-to-be DL returnees in the Big Apple.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter and tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.
Intro by DJ Sinton (no, contrary to popular belief, I do not moonlight as a rap star)
Approximately 40 min of joyous analysis.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Excitement! Intrigue! Royalty! It’s a an all Royals edition of the deep league waiver wire which I am positive is the best thing you learned all day. A bad offense creates opportunities and has opened up playing time for two interesting names.
Episode 33
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We discuss a trade, some surprising average batted ball distances and a pair of DL returnees.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter and tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.
Intro by DJ Sinton (no, contrary to popular belief, I do not moonlight as a rap star)
Approximately 38 min of joyous analysis.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
In Mid-May, I cherry picked some of the surprising batted ball distance leaders and laggards. I focused mainly on the top and bottom range of distances while ignoring the middle. Now, I’m going to look throughout the leaderboard and identify players who have averaged a distance that validates their season or seems out of whack.
Expected ERA metrics like SIERA, FIP and xFIP are one of the best sabermetric developments we have benefited from in recent years. No longer do we have to eye the various luck rates and attempt to make mental calculations as to how lucky or unlucky a pitcher has been. Expected ERA metrics do the work for you and spit out a number on the same scale as ERA so you could quickly identify those pitchers benefiting from good fortune and those who have not.
