Author Archive

Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – Friday the 13th, 2018

Check out the transcript below!

3:02

Paul Sporer: Helllooooo everybody! Let’s talk some baseball this Friday the 13th!

3:06

Sporer Spice: You throwing Hamels out there tonight?

3:07

Paul Sporer: Sure, let’s do it

3:07

Knuckle Churve: Hey Paulie, baby! Looking more grim by each report that Pedroia will  return this year. Who do you think the Saux pursue to fill 2B?

3:08

Paul Sporer: Not sure if they hit the trade market, might just ride out Nunez

3:08

Sleeper Star: Pick One, rest of the season: Nathan Eovaldi – or – Shane Bieber? (Weekly, Head-to-Head: Strikeouts, Wins, ERA/WHIP)

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 573 – “Call Your Shot” Ep. 4

7/11/18

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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Call Your Shot Ep. 4

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Biggest Pitching Movers Since March

I released my July rankings last week, my fourth update of the year. Today, I want to look at the biggest movers since the very first run of rankings back in March when we ran the consensus lists. We’ll look at three groups of pitchers: those in the top 50 who didn’t even make March list and then the biggest risers and fallers for those who did make that original 162.

Let’s get started!

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2018 Innings Limits Report

As we push toward the All-Star break, it’s time to look at young arms and how their innings are tracking. I used last year’s total plus 25% for a rough estimate of what teams might be looking to use as their bar for a guy who they want to limit. Now just they because they might have enough innings “available” based on this calculation doesn’t mean the team won’t still look to limit them if they have health concerns. I think it’s fair to say that if they have about 85 innings or so left in the tank, then overwork won’t be a driving force behind limiting a pitcher in the second half.

  • 85+ IP left isn’t a major concern
  • 65-84 IP left are guys to watch
  • <=64 IP left are probably in danger as they were probably injured in ‘17

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The Hit List – July 8th

A quick at some available bats at each position for the upcoming week. Check out Nick’s piece on available pitchers, too. I’m using the FantasyPros roster rates of 50% or lower as the threshold and including a 25% or lower option at each position, too.

With a handful of doubleheaders this week, there are several teams with 8 games: BAL, MIL, NYM, NYY, PHI, and PIT.

CATCHER

Tucker Barnhart | CIN, 30%, 6 games (all vR) – The switch-hitting Barnhart is better against lefties (.949 OPS) than righties (.645), but pickings are slim for catcher! He does have solid 17% K and 9% BB rates against righties and a .260 BABIP holding him back. If you’re just going for playing time, he’s got the third-most plate appearances at the position.

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 572 – ZombieCast Fireside Chat

7/8/18

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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Fantasy Zombies

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Paul Sporer Baseball Chat – July 6th, 2018

This week’s transcript is below!

2:28

Paul Sporer: Hello everybody! Check out the new SP ranks – https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/july-starting-pitcher-rankings/ — and feel free to ask any questions about them (or anything else!)

2:29

Jack: Pick one RoS in a league that punishes HRs significantly: Godley or Samardzija.

2:29

Paul Sporer: I’ll go Godley because he’s actually shown a modicum of HR suppression recently (last yr)

2:29

Bruce: How are you feeling about car mart?? He had a stretch where he dropped 21 walks

2:31

Paul Sporer: Yes, that was right off the DL (and he mentioned trying to dial it down to protect himself shortly after returning), so I’m not as concerned as I might be if it was out of nowhere. He’s been better the last two times out and I think he’s feeling better.

2:31

Good Steve: What are you expecting from DeJong the rest of the way? Is he a top 10 SS option ROS?

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 571 – Yoenis Cespedes Can Participate in Crafts Again

7/5/18

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!

Follow us on Twitter

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

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The Tough Ranks in the Top 50

I recently updated my Starting Pitcher ranks for July and as always, there was some difficult arms to place. Here are some thoughts on the tougher ranks:

#19 Patrick Corbin – After a velo spike to start the seasons (), Corbin has been sitting 89-91 over the last two months which was jarring to see as a velo dip can portend trouble, but he’s posted a 3.50 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in that time with ERA indicators that like him even more (2.82 FIP). He has a 21% K-BB rate during these 12 starts and appears to be just fine with the lowered velo. Since he’s more two-seam/sinker, the lower velo might actually be an aid in terms of movement. I eventually left him in his top-20 spot because he hasn’t done anything to be removed.

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July Starting Pitcher Rankings

I can’t believe it’s already July. Pitching rotations across the league have experienced that unavoidable attrition that comes with the season, but that has created opportunities for some newcomers to shine. I think some of the toughest analysis in fantasy baseball is assessing those newcomers on the fly. We know it’s going to be a short sample prone to volatility, but are they this year’s version of 2017 Luis Castillo (3.12 ERA, 18% K-BB in 89 IP) or Sean Newcomb (1.48 ERA in first 4 starts; 5.23 in the 15 after that start). Interesting how the paths of those two guys diverged in 2018, by the way.

I think there are a lot of fun names to discuss as things really open up as early as 25 or so. I’ve got 124 guys ranked for July and then the injured guys on their own.

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