Author Archive

The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 652 – Harper to Philly ft. Ellen Adair

3/3/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

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Notable transactions

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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – March 1st, 2019

Transcript for Friday’s chat is live!
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2019 Shortstop Rankings

Shortstop is the deepest I can ever remember it and the deepest position on the diamond. There are 3 first rounders, 9 Top-50s, and 13 Top-100s at the position according to the NFBC ADP. You will almost certainly want your middle infielder from this pool, too.

Garrett Hampson has incredible SB upside. Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien are solid power-speed combos. Paul DeJong and Eduardo Escobar are tied for the 6th-most HRs at the position over the last two years with 44. Amed Rosario capped off 2018 brilliantly. Asdrubal Cabrera is a boringly solid power option and Ketel Marte has some burgeoning pop (and some latent speed). Plus several others who have intriguing upside.

I POSTED THE WRONG LIST INITIALLY. I MADE SEVERAL UPDATES THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE INCLUDED AND I POSTED THE OLD LIST INSTEAD. THE NEW ONE IS UP AS OF 5:40 PM CENTRAL ON MARCH 1ST!

Podcast on SS: Link

  • What’s your strategy at SS in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
  • What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
  • Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 651 – Prospect Chatter with Matt Thompson

2/28/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 20, the best baseball strategy game ever made – PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms for the March 22nd release! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER20!

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NOTABLE NEWS

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2019 Third Base Rankings

Third base is in a very healthy state checking in as the second deepest position on the diamond heading into the season (or at least the infield… judging IF v. OF is difficult given the need to roster 3-5 OF depending on league type). There’s even upside for many. Is Rafael Devers ready for a breakout season? Can Jake Lamb’s shoulder stay together and push him back to the 30 HR level? Will Maikel Franco have another Spring Training HR explosion and trick me into drafting him again? Will Kyle Seager rebound? Is Ian Happ capable of trimming his K% to foster a breakout?

Podcasts on 3B: Pt. 1; Pt. 2

  • What’s your strategy at 3B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
  • What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
  • Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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2019 Second Base Rankings

Outside of catcher, I think second base is the thinnest position on the diamond. It runs a good 10 deep of guys I’m happy to roster, but quickly becomes a sea of “ifs” right after that. Gleyber Torres can be great IF he avoids a sophomore slump. Yoan Moncada might as well be named “Yoif Moncadif” as we wait for his skills to fully translate. It’d be great if Dee Gordon can get back to his previous levels. And so on with Rougned Odor, Ketel Marte, Nick Senzel, Jonathan Schoop, etc…

Podcasts on 2B: Pt. 1; Pt. 2

  • What’s your strategy at 2B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
  • What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
  • Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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2019 First Base Rankings

First base enters 2019 at an interesting crossroads. It’s a bit thin at the top in terms of bankable, premium talent, but there’s also a path to it re-taking its perch as one of the deepest positions in the game. It will add the likes of Rhys Hoskins, Daniel Murphy, and Jake Lamb early into the season (the former pair being top 10ers right off the bat once they qualify). Here’s a piece I did with more thoughts on those 1B-to-be. There’s a group of pivotal guys like Max Muncy, Matt Olson, and Jesus Aguilar who could really flip the position at the top while guys like Ryan O’HearnJake Bauers, and Luke Voit are on-the-rise bats who intrigue me.

Podcasts on 1B: Pt. 1; Pt. 2

  • What’s your strategy at 1B in shallower mixed leagues (10-12 teams)?
  • What about 15-team NFBC-type leagues?
  • Who’s your favorite gamble outside of my top 20?

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 650 – OF Pt. 1: Trusting Your RotoGut (ft. Vlad Sedler)

2/26/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 20, the best baseball strategy game ever made – PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms for the March 22nd release! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER20!

Follow us on Twitter

GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

Note: there’s some choppiness in the audio that I didn’t notice until editing. Not entirely sure what went wrong there, but it shouldn’t impact listenability of the ep.

NOTABLE NEWS

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Finding This Year’s _____: Hitter Edition

After a nice response to the pitcher iteration, I’ve decided to put together a hitter version. OK, that’s total BS. I was always going to do a hitter one even if y’all had hated the pitcher one. If you missed the first piece last week, here’s what we’re doing: I’ve got seven hitter scenarios from last year that I’m going to overlay on this year’s ADP data to identify some potential gems. For some of the deeper categories, I added a few extra considerations.

I’m using the NFBC ADP (linked above) and set to 2/1/19 and Draft Championships.

Christian Yelich: Star-to-MVP Transformation (35+ ADP)

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 649 – Fireside Chat: SPs to Watch in Spring Training

2/22/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

Follow us on Twitter

GET THE SLEEPER & THE BUST T-SHIRT FROM ROTOWEAR!

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