7:32	Jeff Zimmerman:

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In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• Gio Urshela (.756 OPS, 0 HR, 1 SB) has started in all but one game and has played six games at shortstop.

• Brandon Drury (.556 OPS) may only be starting against lefties. Read the rest of this entry »

This offseason, I struggled with how much fantasy-based content is too much content. I’ve created plenty of material including a 300-page book on my process and several articles per week here a FanGraphs. In addition to writing about fantasy baseball and playing in a few free leagues, I started dipping my toe into high stakes. The entries started out small but I’ve rolled my winnings back in and it was a sizable amount this spring.

With five figures on the line, I felt the pull of providing the best content available and being competitive in these leagues. This offseason, I had several takes. Some I made public while others, I sort of kept to myself. Here are three examples.

1. One of my guys this year was José Suarez (shares). I didn’t go into the offseason being high on him but liked some of his mid-season changes.

A complete transformation. [Suarez’s second half 18% K%-BB% is in line with Wood and his comps (Urias and Alcantara). He is a breakout in hidden plain sight. I would take Wood ahead of him (longer track record), but Suarez would be an easy second choice.

… I ended my campaign for him right then and tried to roster him in every league. While others noticed the article, I didn’t go out of my way to make him one of my guys. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• José Suarez’s spot in the rotation isn’t in question … just yet.

Nevin deflected a question about his level of concern about Suarez, but it’s likely too early for Suarez’s spot in the rotation to be in question, especially because he’s out of Minor League options. But if his struggles continue, he could be sent to the bullpen. In that scenario, Canning could be the club’s fifth starter, and Davidson would serve as the sixth starter and occasional long reliever.

He’s not getting the swings-and-misses from last year (12% SwStr% to 10%) because he is filling up the strike zone (53% Zone% to 56%). Read the rest of this entry »

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even a larger entry fee ($2.5K to $15K). They get originally named “High Stakes Leagues” and this year there are nine of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers are going to try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in four or more of these leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

7:31	Jeff Zimmerman:

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The pitch clock is one of the various rule changes implemented this season. Some pitchers were going to be affected more than others, but it was tough to know who exactly before the season started. Some names are starting to come to light with Carlos Carrasco blaming the lack of time between pitches for his velocity drop.

Carlos Carrasco could not record an out in the fifth inning of his season debut. His final line:

4+ IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 96 pitches.

Carrasco's average four-seam fastball velocity was 91.1 mph, the lowest of any outing in his career. pic.twitter.com/yEmDTDr6a2

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 3, 2023

With most starters having one start under their belts, I decided to see who gained or lost velocity each time through the batting order compared to last season. Read the rest of this entry »

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters.
Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• Jake Lamb (.561 OPS) is playing first base against righties.

• Gio Urshela has started in five of six with two games at shortstop.

Astros

• David Hensley (Util-only) has started five of seven with three games at second so far. Mauricio Dubón is getting the other starts at second base.

• Two outfield spots are still are being split between Chas McCormick (1.016 OPS), Corey Julks (.668 OPS), and Jake Meyers (.473 OPS).

Athletics

• Seth Brown didn’t get platooned against the two lefties.

• Ryan Noda has started three straight at first base. He might be on the strong side of a platoon with Brent Rooker.

• Jace Peterson might be on the strong side of a platoon with Nick Allen on the weak side.

Blue Jays

• There looks to be some platoons forming with Brandon Belt and Cavan Biggio only facing righties.

• Kevin Kiermaier (5 starts in seven games), Whit Merrifield (5), and Santiago Espinal (2) don’t seem to have full-time roles.

Guardians

• Gabriel Arias has started in three of the last four games, all against a lefty starter.

Mariners

• Kolten Wong (vs RHP) and Sam Haggerty (vs LHP) seem to be in a second base platoon.

• Jarred Kelenic sat against both lefty starters.

Orioles

• Adam Frazier (1.127 OPS) has started in five of the last six games.

• Ramón Urías has only started in three of six games.

Rangers

• Josh Smith (.875 OPS), Brad Miller (.857 OPS), and Ezequiel Duran (.333 OPS) are splitting time between two lineup spots.

Rays

• A mess as normal.

• Isaac Paredes (vs LHP) and Taylor Walls (vs RHP) appear to be in a third base platoon.

Red Sox

• They’ve only faced one lefty and Rob Refsnyder played instead of Triston Casas.

Royals

• It’s Rays-like with a new lineups everyday, but with worse hitters.

Tigers

• Matt Vierling (1 HR, 1 SB, .885 OPS) is leading off against lefties and has sat only once.

• Nick Maton (vs RHP) and Jonathan Schoop (vs LHP) seem to be in a third base platoon.

• Ryan Kreidler (6 K in 13 PA) has started three straight games.

Twins

• Michael A. Taylor has starter every game as the centerfielder while batting ninth.

• Trevor Larnach has started every game.

White Sox

• With Eloy Jiménez out, it’s not obvious who will take his place with the candidates being Jake Burger, Romy Gonzalez, and Gavin Sheets.

Yankees

• One and a half (Stanton) outfield spots is being shared by Franchy Cordero (.556 OPS), Oswaldo Cabrera (.646 OPS), and Aaron Hicks (.125 OPS).

National League

Braves

• Travis d’Arnaud (.806 OPS) has started every game (four as DH).

• Eddie Rosario has only started against righties while Kevin Pillar and Marcell Ozuna have started against lefties.

Brewers

• Luke Voit, Owen Miller, and Mike Brosseau (leading off) have only started against lefties. Garrett Mitchell and Brice Turang have sat against both lefties they faced.

• Joey Wiemer (1.009 OPS) had started five straight.

Cardinals

• With Lars Nootbaar out, Alec Burleson (.938) has started in five of the last six games. He sat against the one lefty.

• Brendan Donovan sat against the one lefty with Tommy Edman then hitting leadoff.

Cubs

• Eric Hosmer (.706 OPS) has started in four of the five games.

Diamondbacks

• Josh Rojas (vs RHP) and Evan Longoria (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

• Alek Thomas (vs RHP) and Kyle Lewis (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

Dodgers

• Mookie Betts has three games so far at second base.

• Some nagging injuries (i.e. Vargas and Rojas) has mixed things up that last few days.

Giants

• They haven’t faced any lefty starters so the potential platoons aren’t obvious.

• Catcher-qualified Blake Sabol (.722 OPS) has started every game.

• Wilmer Flores has only started in two games so far.

Marlins

• Jon Berti has has started three straight at short with Joey Wendle on the IL.

• Bryan De La Cruz and Jesús Sánchez are splitting one outfield spot. It doesn’t seem to be a handedness platoon.

Mets

• Tommy Pham (vs LHP) and Daniel Vogelbach (vs RHP) seem to be in a platoon.

• Luis Guillorme (vs RHP) and Eduardo Escobar (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

Nationals

• Keep an eye on Alex Call, he might be on the short side of a platoon (Note: He is in Friday’s lineup versus a righty).

Padres

• David Dahl (.556 OPS), Rougned Odor (.422), and José Azocar (.844) are splitting time with one outfield spot.

• Nelson Cruz has only started twice, both times against a lefty.

Phillies

• Looks like Jake Cave (vs RHP) and Edmundo Sosa (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

Pirates

• Several guys are playing enough to be relevant (Suwinski, Smith-Njigba, Joe, Choi) but Ji Hwan Bae (1 HR, 2 SB, .708 OPS) has started five of six with three games at second base.

Reds

• Kevin Newman (.600 OPS) and Jose Barrero (.250 OPS) are sharing time at short. I’m not sure it’s a platoon.

Rockies

• Since joining the team, Jurickson Profar has leadoff every game.