In an MLB.com article from earlier this month, Adam Berry investigates the secrets of the Rays’ pitching staff. First, read the article because it contains so many great pieces of information. I wish MLB.com did more pieces like this one.

And the guts of the article comes down to this quote:

The Rays don’t employ a one-size-fits-all philosophy, Snyder said, besides imploring pitchers to throw strikes and get to a two-strike count as quickly as possible. Beyond that, their approach is player-centered: They recognize what each pitcher does best, which they can typically tell by identifying what each does most consistently, and revolve everything around that.

Two-strike counts are important? In previous work, I’ve noticed pitchers who are behind in the count generate weaker contact along with those who have a diversified pitch mix. It’s time to dive into the effects of two strikes counts and determine if they can help pitchers limit hard contact.
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It’s the second FAAB period for the NFBC Main event and the week was a little calmer, but not much. It seems like managers might be a little too impatient on some guys. We are not even two weeks into a 26-week season.

For this weekly feature, I use the NFBC Main Event because of the number of identical leagues. Additionally, the managers stay engaged longer on the whole since each spent $1700 per team. I tried to find that sweet spot between the obvious and bizarre drops and will focus on players dropped in eight to eleven leagues. Previously the number was six to nine, but I adjusted with the Main Event adding four leagues since I did the report. The right answer might be seven to ten.
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7:34	Jeff Zimmerman:

7:35	Jeff Zimmerman:

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Besides Tyler Naquin, no widely available players are generating the buzz for 10% or higher bids. There could be some players who slipped through the cracks last week like Nate Lowe who could go for high in a single league. Overall, it’s a week to save a little money and make some calculated adds.

In the following article, I’m going to at least cover the players in demand using CBS’s (40% or less initial ownership) 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 preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters. Read the rest of this entry »

Going off the lineups isn’t ideal with so few games, but a few useful pieces of information can be found.

American League

Angels

• The expected first base mess exists with Albert Pujols starting three games at first (one at DH) and Jared Walsh the other four. Walsh did start one game in right field.

• David Fletcher has led off every game.

Astros

• Yordan Alvarez (.333/.364/.667) has moved up from batting sixth to fourth. Kyle Tucker (.200/.212/.533) has moved down.

• Yuli Gurriel (.287/.326/.469) hit second with Michael Brantley out.
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American League

Athletics

• A.J. Puk will only work out of the bullpen.

Puk, 25, will work out of the bullpen, providing aid to an exhausted relief corps that worked 16 2/3 innings over the last four days against Houston. The situation was so dire that the A’s even had to call upon rookie outfielder Ka’ai Tom to pitch the ninth inning on Sunday.

I am just not sure if Puk will end up being fantasy relevant this season.

Indians

• Andrés Giménez is expected to be the full-time shortstop …

“Giménez, he’ll be right back in there,” Francona said. “I just want to keep Amed in the lineup today. We’ll be doing some mixing and matching. Amed’s gonna move back and forth a little bit. He’s not just a platoon player, for sure. We’ll make sure we keep everybody to a point where they can be productive.”

… while Amed Rosorio is easing into his outfield role.

If the team is expecting to play Giménez regularly, that means Rosario’s time in center field could be coming soon.

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It’s the first full FAAB period for the NFBC Main event and it’s time to see who owners have soured on. Two trends I saw were managers dumping a ton of injured or demoted players. Also, bullpen arms were dropped for as situations clear up.

For this analysis, I use the NFBC Main Event because of the number of identical leagues. Additionally, the managers stay engaged longer on the whole since each spent $1700 per team. I tried to find that sweet spot between obvious and bizarre and will focus on players dropped in six to nine leagues.
Read the rest of this entry »

7:32	Jeff Zimmerman:

7:32	Jeff Zimmerman:

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There are many different available player types available this week from prospects to closers to decent two-start pitchers to old boring vets. It’ll be interesting to see how the market focuses its resources to balance needs and wants.  Some teams need to add a couple of closers while others are dealing with hitters who are day-to-day. Others might have several Nats on their team and could be losing one or more to the IL. It’s going to be exhausting but diligent FAAB prep this weekend.

In the following article, I’m going to at least cover the players in demand using CBS’s (40% or less initial ownership) 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 by my preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters.

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1. Injuries

Keep track of these banged-up guys over the next couple of days to see if replacements will need to be rostered.

#MLB injuries from opening day:
Rosenthal (OAK) – shoulder
Donaldson (MIN) – hamstring
Senzel (CIN) – shoulder
Dozier (KC) – thumb
Barnes (LAD) – hand
S Sanchez (MIA) – shoulder

— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) April 2, 2021

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