Episode 188

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live! It’s tough to let go, so this one runs a little long.

In this episode, Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix talk about, among other players in the news, Glen Perkins, Devin Mesoraco, Michael Bourn, Mike Napoli, Travis Snider, and Anthony Ranaudo.

Requested topics discussed: Marcus Semien, Brock Holt, and Mike Fiers; keeper question about Cueto/Harvey/Betts/Dickerson, Wright/Alcantara/Pederson/Benoit, and Altuve/Braun/Han-Ram/Scherzer; and general questions about depth by position for a 15-team league, replacement level with bench players included, and the portions of your budget to allocate to hitting and pitching.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them in our next episode.

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Steamer and I are good friends. It’s true – even though I don’t know Steamer’s gender, Steamer isn’t upset. We don’t always agree – often, we disagree – but that’s part of what keeps the fire alive.

Yesterday, I wrote about a couple of players whom I like more than the crowd does and, because of injuries, a lot or a little more than Steamer does. Brett Talley has blogged this month about some sleepers and busts derived from values calculated based on Steamer projections, and one of those entries is on sleeper position players, kind of an All-Sleeper Team.

To build on those things a little, and to focus on the good times Steamer and I have had, I cherry-picked from my spreadsheet of values some other position players whom Steamer projections suggest are sleepers or undervalued compared to early ADPs. I’d like them like quite a bit at their prices and would highlight them as probable targets.

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Steamer isn’t entirely to blame. I doubt he hurt them on purpose. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. He’s smart. He knows a lot about buckets of baseball players and learns more about them every year. I apologize, in fact, because I shouldn’t assume that Steamer is male. Based on Steamer’s intelligence and propensity to learn, it’s likelier to be a dudette.

Steamer projections are good and can save you a ton of time. What they can’t be is perfect, or even close to it. That’s good, because if they or other projections systems could be, then fantasy baseball leagues would probably be very boring. As a result, though, especially if you use Steamer projections for your rankings, you have to figure out which players about whom Steamer isn’t closer to 100% informed.

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Episode 187

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

In this episode, Jason Collette and Nicholas Minnix talk about, among other players in the news, Sean Doolittle, Jered Weaver, Josh Hamilton, Prince Fielder, Dustin Pedroia, Taijuan Walker, Javier Baez, Jose Fernandez, Adam Wainwright, Cliff Lee, and Joey Votto.

Requested topics discussed: a keeper quandary involving several players, including Trevor Rosenthal, Jimmy Rollins, and Trevor Plouffe; Logan Morrison’s Steamer projection, particularly its forecast of 20 HR; and Jason’s boyfriend, Homer Bailey and the pitcher’s pre-injury trajectory and outlook.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them in our next episode.

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The Chicago Cubs acquired another major league asset this past weekend, this time via trade, albeit at the price of one of those as well as a possible other. Nevertheless, Dexter Fowler isn’t quite the same kind of asset as Luis Valbuena or Dan Straily, because Fowler plays center field and has generally in his career been cast as a leadoff man, something that his new club sort of lacked. Although Joe Maddon has reportedly taken a liking to Arismendy Alcantara, the up-and-coming Cubbies, understandably, weren’t ready to depend on the 23-year-old to produce as a one-position regular on offense in such an important year.

My reaction to the news included a little raised interest in Fowler in fantasy baseball leagues, I think. Moves like this usually don’t have a drastic effect on a player’s quote-unquote value, though. I’m a little puzzled as to whether my feeling was justified.

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Episode 186

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

In this episode, Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix talk about, among other players in the news, Max Scherzer, Yovani Gallardo, Dan Straily, Jimmy Nelson, Colby Rasmus, Nori Aoki, and the Evan Gattis–Chris Carter–Jon Singleton troika.

Requested topics discussed: Keeper questions, comprised of Teheran/Harvey/Richards, Longoria/Arenado, a lengthy NL-only list, and, presumably, Fiers/Hahn; a debate on Dickerson/Marte/Springer; 2015 interest in Drew Smyly and Hank Conger; and a question about the Achilles’ heel of projections, as well as how we look for players we think will beat them.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them in our next episode.

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The Brewers opened a hole in their rotation once they traded Yovani Gallardo to the Rangers, obviously. Some pundits guessed that Milwaukee had made the move in order to clear the way to sign free agent James Shields or trade for rumored chip Jordan Zimmermann. GM Doug Melvin put such beliefs to rest shortly after the swap by stating that the spot is Jimmy Nelson’s, however. Akin moves are more his style, really, and it’s about time for the right-hander, who’ll be 26 in June.

Nelson’s spike in projected playing time should drive up interest from fantasy baseball players, naturally. How much more interest is justifiable? That’s not a question with a simple answer.

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Episode 185

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live! Happy New Year! Sigh. Apologies in advance if you notice some slight imperfections in the audio. We’ll improve as we go along. And we’re thrilled to have a solution to our problem as well as to get a podcast to you.

In this episode, Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix talk about, among other players in the news, Ben Zobrist, Mike Foltynewicz, Tyler Clippard, Miguel Cabrera, Joc Pederson, and Yoan Lopez. Requested topics discussed: projection systems and how to use them for a draft, CC Sabathia, Aaron Sanchez, and Carlos Sanchez versus Micah Johnson.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them in our next episode.

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I didn’t participate in the first RotoGraphs mock draft of 2015. (Check out the full results at Couch Managers.) But I will share my thoughts on it here and there, like now. Other writers did Round 1 and Round 2, and then I posted Round 3. Guess what comes next.

You’re half correct. Unless you’d already deduced the answer from the title. Either way, you’re probably eager to consume what’s coming – at least the tables. I’ll try to give you something else to chew on, though.

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I’m not participating in the first RotoGraphs mock draft of 2015 (which, as you can see, is almost over). Thus, it’s easier for me to critique (read: take jabs at Mike Podhorzer), because, without a team to criticize, I don’t have to worry about retribution. Yeah, that’s right, I’m an impartial observer, and the Pod Squad is in the crosshairs.

Round 3 is on the docket. In case you missed them: other writers’ looks at Round 1 and Round 2.

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