Episode 233

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

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris discuss the injury news around Devin Mesoraco, Yasmani Grandal, Yan Gomes, Jonathan Lucroy, Travis d’Arnaud, Matt Wieters, Avisail Garcia, Michael Morse, Shane Victorino, James Loney, Devon Travis, Steven Souza, Johnny Cueto, Danny Duffy, and Wily Peralta. They dive into the performances of Charlie Morton, Phil Hughes, Drew Hutchison, and Prince Fielder. They end with bullpen discussions about Oakland, Texas, and Arizona.

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With the catchers already released, we’re in the midst of our first in-season rankings update which will run through next week. The remarkably stacked first base position remains so almost two months into the season with many of the expected studs doing their part while some mid-round assets have emerged to keep the position deep and strong even as a few would-be studs have sputtered and failed to deliver up to expectations just yet.

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Jake Marisnick was a third-round pick for the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2009 Draft. After honing a do-everything centerfield profile for two seasons in the low minors, he began popping up on industry Top 100 Prospect lists reaching as high as 28 in 2012 with a low of 79 prior to 2014. In mid-November of 2012, he was a key piece in the mega-deal between Toronto and Miami after a two-level season that saw him rip through High-A before the rich talent of Double-A stymied him en route to a .622 OPS in 55 games.

He repeated Double-A in 2013 with his new club and enjoyed much better results (.860 OPS in 67 games). Results which were enough to earn him a call to the bigs in late-July, but he couldn’t get it going with the Marlins. His strikeout and walk skills were identical to Double-A, but he languished with a .478 OPS in 118 PA thanks in part to a .232 BABIP. Marisnick would find himself being dealt again in 2014, this time in a smaller, but still substantial deal. The Astros acquired him with some minor leagues (including #6 overall pick from ’13 Colin Moran) for Jarred Cosart, Enrique Hernandez, and a minor leaguer.

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Episode 232

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

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris discuss the Jacoby Ellsbury, Drew Pomeranz, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Drew Smyly injury news before diving into the performances of Tim Lincecum, Rubby de la Rosa, Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Gregory Polanco, Justin Upton, Kendrys Morales, and George Springer.

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We’re not quite a quarter of the way into the season – which isn’t the quarter pole, by the way, that comes around 122 games though that won’t stop anyone – but it is a perfect time to update the consensus rankings here at Rotographs. First off, we’re about to have Memorial Day weekend and what better way to spend the extra time off than by retooling your fantasy team? To do that, you’ll need to know how we value players going forward so you don’t get ripped off at the trading table. Secondly, even though we’re only about 39 games through the season (some teams are as high as 41 played while three others are down at 36), a lot has changed.

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Episode 231

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

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris discuss the injury news with Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez, Wil Myers, Corey Dickerson, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jaime Garcia, and Ike Davis. They touch upon Lance McCullers Jr.’s debut, Cole Hamels’ resurgence, Anthony DeSclafani’s May, and Yasmany Tomas’ phony batting average. In transaction news, they talk about the Welington Castillo trade and Kenny Vargas’ demotion before finishing with bullpen talk.

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I’m a big fan of patience in fantasy baseball. I think it’s essential to success. Obviously, there are times when aggressive action is needed so you can get the year’s J.D. Martinez or Michael Brantley (hard to remember that the top 30 pick from this year was an afterthought heading into ’14), but by and large I will lean toward the side of patience throughout April and into early May. I’m not averse to an April trade, but they are few and far between for me as I’m often willing to give my drafted players at least a month before any major moves, especially with the top half of the draft.

However, as we approach the two-month mark, we actually start to get a feel for our fantasy teams. Strengths and weaknesses are becoming more evident and with that, trades become a bigger part of the equation. With that in mind, I have some dos & don’ts that will improve your trading experience this season and going forward. I’ve been refining these for years and they’ve served me well thus far.

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Episode 230

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

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Jason Collette discuss the injury news with Corey Dickerson, Jorge de la Rosa, Justin Morneau, Chris Tillman, and Mat Latos. Next they discuss Bryce Harper, Brandon Belt, Josh Harrison, Clay Buchholz, Anthony DeSclafani, Carlos Rodon, Noah Syndergaard, Michael Pineda, Maikel Franco, Mike Wright, Addison Reed, and the TB closer situation.

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Episode 229

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

In this episode, Paul Sporer talks to himself for a little while! He covers the injury news involving Jean Segura, Wil Myers, Jake McGee, Kenley Jansen, Kelly Johnson, Jon Jay, and Justin Masterson. He talks about guys playing well who he believes in like Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder, and Edwin Encarnacion. He spends what feels like an hour talking himself into Todd Frazier as the best candidate for the 2016 Election a top 10 fantasy player the rest of the way before moving onto pitchers Corey Kluber, Jose Quintana, and finally Sonny Gray.

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We’ve talked in the past about how important playing time is and obviously it is ideal to roster as many starting players as possible. But sometimes a player is worthy of a starting role and simply has a roadblock or two in his way. Maybe he is a young player with a veteran in front of him. Maybe he is new on the scene so there may still be a question of sustainability. Maybe his team is just deep and can’t get all the good players in all the time. Or maybe his team is just too dumb to play the better player.

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