Episode 14
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs contributor J.P. Breen. We discuss a headline-making call-up, a struggling first-rounder and pitchers galore..

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.

Approximately 39 min of joyous analysis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 13
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We continue our discussion of the updated consensus rankings, this time with the middle infielders and third base.

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.

Approximately 42 min of joyous analysis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Let’s take another dive into the free agent pool,
With the hopes of finding a hitter with more than one tool,
So you don’t end up looking like a fool.

You may find more of Pod’s Poems on the forthcoming PoemGraphs, where we calculate RARP (rhymes above replacement poet) and discuss the ridiculousness of haikus (really, a poem that doesn’t rhyme? that’s NOT a poem).

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I discussed the leaders in average home run plus fly ball distance, some of which were surprises and validated the player’s early power surge. Instead of simply looking at the laggards today, which include such obvious names as Juan Pierre and Skip Schumaker, I’m just going to cherry pick some of the surprising names toward the bottom of the ranking list.

Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 12
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We discuss the updated consensus rankings at catcher and shortstop and answered our first Twitter question.

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.

Approximately 44 min of joyous analysis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Earlier this year, I finally derived an official equation that highlighted the value batted ball distance has and its strong correlation with home runs. While we still don’t have a lot of vital information, such as how quickly batted ball distance stabilizes, it is probably still worth taking a peek at the leader board. It might very well explain some of the early home run spikes. Whether or not the hitter will continue hitting balls that far on average is unknown, but it will at least validate what has already happened.

Read the rest of this entry »

Since I develop my own player forecasts, I am always looking for better ways to use the advanced metrics to project the more basic ones. You may remember the quest Chad Young and I engaged in earlier this year to predict HR/FB ratio using batted ball distance. That didn’t go as far as I had hoped, but it did highlight the value of the batted ball distance data. When I started doing the research for my Contact% articles last week, I figured there might be a combination of plate discipline metrics, including Contact%, that does a good job of estimating a hitter’s strikeout percentage. I was right. Of course, this is nothing earth shattering, as Jeff Zimmerman reminded me that he looked at that very same concept late last season, which clearly had already escaped my brain. Since I had the data and regressions done, I decided to do a version 2.0 of formulating a hitter’s expected K%.

Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 11
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs contributor Ben Duronio. We discuss a plethora of pitchers coming off strong outings, along with a look at the concept of buying high.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.

Approximately 39 min of joyous analysis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 10
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We discuss a pitcher who recently recorded his first win since 2010, along with a bunch of deep league names.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.

Approximately 35 min of joyous analysis.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Today is southpaw day apparently, as a trio of lefties get newsed and noted, two of which are named Scott. Is there another left-handed Scott pitcher I should have included instead of Hector Santiago?

Read the rest of this entry »