At a time when call-ups – those who arrived prior to September as well as the gaggle of them that joined major league rosters this month – pique the interest of many fantasy baseball owners, a player who reclaims playing time can be overlooked.

Not all call-ups will be exciting options just because they’re new to roto or head-to-head managers anyway. Some are players whom folks have seen fail a time or three. Those players are unlikely to capture imaginations, although an automatic dismissal is often hasty.

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Episode 165

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

Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix on, among other topics: Brad Miller; Sonny Gray; Matt Barnes; Drew Storen and Washington Nationals saves; Joe Nathan and Detroit Tigers saves; LaTroy Hawkins and Adam Ottavino; and, by request, Danny Duffy.

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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Congratulations to fantasy baseball players who drafted Yan Gomes in 2014. He’s batted .285/.321/.472, with 17 home runs, in 452 plate appearances. He’s been a top-five catcher-eligible commodity in standard mixed leagues. That’s not bad for the 12^th one of those drafted, on average, across the most well-known places to play, according to FantasyPros. The owners who landed him at Yahoo! or ESPN, where he was several spots lower on that list, if he was even drafted, feel a little extra special. Unless they play in 1-C leagues.

I’m not one of those people. I didn’t avoid him, but I didn’t target him, either, and aiming for Gomes appears to have been a smart move. Because of that, I kind of want to know what I was missing, and why.

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Episode 164

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

Jason Collette and Nicholas Minnix talk, among other topics, Aaron Hicks; Domonic Brown; Rafael Montero; Nick Tropeano; the Washington Nationals’ new source(s) of saves; Edward Mujica and Koji Uehara; by request, Derek Holland, Joey Gallo and Joc Pederson; and, of course, a couple of picks for two-turn pitchers.

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

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Episode 163

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

Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix talk, among other topics that include a very interesting tangent or two, Homer Bailey, in light of just announced surgery news; the benching of Colby Rasmus; Joc Pederson’s consecutive starts; Juan Lagares and the directive to run more often; Miguel Gonzalez and the pop-up skill; and Casey Janssen’s possible phase-out at closer.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them on our next episode. Read the rest of this entry »

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If you’re going to stream at any position or for any category, a lot of preparation can go into the dissection of matchups. Fantasy baseball players, in general, may be putting too much stock in matchups for starting pitchers, as Brett Talley may have discovered. If such toil for what is surely the most commonly streamed position might be futile, then it seems rational to question whether it’s even worth the time to do so for something like steals.

But Brett admits that he intuitively questions his results, so we’re going to give it a shot. The return on investment for this kind of homework might be pretty low, regardless. Given the type of data I put together last week to serve as a potential resource for this sort of thing, what goes into a recommendation is pretty simple. As I basically wrote then, the greater challenge for the batter is to reach base, not to pilfer one should he have the opportunity.

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Searching for options that make sense for the stretch run? Streaming not the ideal method to achieve results in your fantasy baseball league? Need more fiber in your diet?

Who’s a good pickup at this time of year can change in an instant. It’s always tempting to ride a hot hand. But which hot hands are set up to keep it up?

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Episode 162

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

Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix discuss significant September call-ups, including Maikel Franco, Andrew Heaney, Dalton Pompey and Cory Spangenberg, as well as SP-eligible pitchers who are likely to be used as RPs down the stretch; the San Francisco Giants’ rearranged bullpen and, in particular, Sergio Romo; preferences for possible saves among those who might be available in fantasy baseball leagues; and a request, from awhile back, in which a listener asked for an explanation on injury benchmarks for pitchers, specifically in terms of pitch usage and percentages versus quantities.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them on our next episode. Read the rest of this entry »

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The San Francisco Giants’ backstop is who his fantasy baseball players thought he is when they drafted him, it turns out. It wasn’t always as apparent as it’s been in the past month and a half or so: He’s batted .342/.391/.565, with eight home runs, in 174 plate appearances since the All-Star break. That is why he was (presumably, at every host) the leader among crouchers in average draft position this past March. He’s the only catcher to remain in the first tier all season. At no point did we waver. Right, folks?

My favorite hip-hop act, De La Soul, is supposed to be dropping a new LP by the end of this year. I don’t get excited for many things pop culture, but for this, I am a little. Your definition of pop culture probably doesn’t even include the trio also known as the Plugs, at least not since like high school or something, so just take it easy on me, please. Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 161

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

Jason Collette and Nicholas Minnix play a little “Guess who leads the league in. …” before they discuss, among other items, Adam Dunn to the Oakland Athletics; Andy Wilkins; Dilson Herrera; Felix Doubront; Justin Masterson (or, more appropriately, his potential replacements); Kevin Quackenbush; Jonathan Broxton; Miguel Cabrera; by request, Mike Minor and Adam Eaton; and, of course, some two-turn pitchers.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them on our next episode. Read the rest of this entry »

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