Author Archive

The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 600 – New Studs v. Established Duds

9/14/18

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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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – September 14th, 2018

The transcript is live, thanks for coming!

3:26

Paul Sporer: Hello everybody!! Sorry for the delay, but pod 600 needed my time and the band is back together with Justin and Jason joining me

3:26

Gloria Esteban Loaiza: Keeper time already??

3:26

Paul Sporer: Whattya mean? Like talking about them? Sure!

3:26

rpo: How do you value Aaron Hicks for next year? Top 100 guy?

3:27

Paul Sporer: Thereabouts, I *love* Aaron Hicks

3:28

MDN: What do you think about car mart for next year? Wondering what kind of price you think he should go for in drafts (5×5 roto) to decide on what kind of keeper cost is worth it for him. $10-20? >$20?!?

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 599 – The Rookie Hitters in 2019

9/13/18

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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Daily Starters – Thursday, September 13th

We’ve got a decent group to pick from despite an 8-game slate.

(I’ll be citing the FantasyPros roster rates)

Steven Matz – NYM v. MIA (27%)

Matz was having a good season with a 3.38 ERA through the first half, but opened the second half with four starts of a 13.17 ERA and probably fell off the radar for most, especially since he’s on a terrible team. He’s rallied back with four straight gems, posting a 2.25 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 24 IP with a 29% K-BB rate. He has faced the Giants twice during that run and they’re baseball’s worst team against lefties in the second half (.264 wOBA, 26% K rate), but he gets a Marlins team that has a .300 wOBA in that same time (21st).

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National League Lineup Analysis

Taking a look at the recent trends in the Senior Circuit lineups:

(Check out Jeff’s work on the AL here)

Braves

  • Johan Camargo has jumped into the #2 spot the last four games with Ozzie Albies and Ender Inciarte both being pushed down to the latter third (alternating between 6th and 7th) and Dansby Swanson holding down the 8-hole.
  • Ronald Acuna is locked into the leadoff spot and has been amazing from that position. Among the 45 hitters with at least 150 leadoff PA, his .464 wOBA is tops (worth noting that Mookie Betts isn’t far behind at .445 in 2.5x the PA). At this rate, he’s going to push into some 1st rounds next year.

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Daily Starters – Tuesday, September 11th

Obviously, there are flaws for any SPs who are readily available for streaming, but today’s batch seems to be particularly volatile. I’m always down for a pitcher who can deliver that gem of 7+ innings with a  bunch of strikeouts, but when the downside is a sub-5 inning nightmare, you have to carefully calculate if you can take on the risk.

(I’ll be citing the FantasyPros roster rates)

Tanner Roark – WAS at PHI (47%)

The Cards hit Roark for his worst start in the second half last time out, but even with the 5 IP/6 ER dud, he still has a 2.91 ERA in 55.7 IP since the break. Roark has two quality starts, a dud (4.3 IP/6 ER), and a rain-shortened outing that had started well (3 IP/0 ER) against the Phillies this year. The Phillies have been a middling offense against righties since the break, sitting 18th in wOBA at .317 with a 23% K rate.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 598 – 2018 Disappointments in 2019 Drafts

9/10/18

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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 2018 Disappointments in 2019 Drafts

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 597 – 2018 Breakouts in 2019

9/7/18

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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Audio is a little wonky perhaps due to a storm in my area. My internet was a little wobbly, too, so unfortunately it seemed to impact my audio as well. 

 Notable Transactions/Rumors/Articles

  • Shohei Ohtani needs TJ to pitch again; could hit all of ‘19 – 4:05

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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – September 7th, 2018

Transcript is live! Thanks to those who came out!

2:34

Paul Sporer: Welcome everybody! Working on the pod and lost track of time, so pardon me on the delayed start. Let’s talk some baseball!

2:37

Balker Wuehler: Hey Paul! Will there be a September SP Rankings released? Really looking forward to them. Thanks!

2:38

Paul Sporer: I’m debating. It’s sooooo schedule specific, though, that I think I gotta come up with something besides a standard ranking

2:39

Paul Sporer: Should play regularly and I think he’s halfway decent. AL only mostly, but can see some deep league streaming capability

2:39

Mike: What do you think about Mikie Mahtook down the stretch?

2:39

Paul Sporer: Cool to answer the question before posting it. Sweet life.

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Daily Starters – Thursday, September 6th

Last September, Jeff and I spent last September highlighting daily starters you could consider picking up for your playoffs and roto stretch run. We’ll be doing the same again this year starting with tomorrow’s super-lite 4-game slate.

(I’ll be citing the FantasyPros roster rates)

Luis Castillo – CIN v. SD (49%)

Castillo entered July with a 5.85 ERA, but has since put together a 10-start run of 3.23 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 55.7 IP with a 26% K rate and 4% BB rate. Two 5 ER duds during the run push the ERA a bit, but he bounced back strong from each one. The Arizona one was kinda weird, too, because he bookended four perfect innings with the five runs in an inning and two-thirds.

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