With the season winding down, I wanted to find something that would be useful for those still contending in their leagues. I decided to do something that isn’t particularly new, but we don’t have it here at the site: a starting pitcher chart for the day’s slate of games. I’ll include their performance over the last five starts, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and then my start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues.

Let me know what y’all think about this. Obviously these are general recommendations and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto. I did today’s slate for this one and it’s a little late (though no games have started), but I will aim to have these out for the following day either night before or early the day-of. I’m still marinating on ideas for the weekend as I won’t be able to commit to separate Saturday & Sunday ones due to time.

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American League

Guardians (maybe)

• Bradley Zimmer has been working on his swing.

Van Burkleo noted that Zimmer’s hand placement has been instrumental during his recent surge, as well as getting “his lower half engaged and started on time.” It all works in concert, Zimmer said, to improve his contact point so he can make solid, timely contact.

“I have long arms,” Zimmer said, “so it’s a blessing and a curse. The theme, motto of the year for me is just ‘short to the ball.’ You work on that stuff in the cage and it translates eventually.”

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Baseball is happening! I decided for the entire season to run a weekly article on pitchers who have been “heating up.” I will dive into what it could mean for the pitcher and what you should do with them. This should be a captivating concept because it will be pitchers of all levels, anywhere from aces to pitchers you would have never drafted. That’s what it’s all about, catching players as they improve and acting on it before anyone else can realize. Welcome to “Throwing Heat!”

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I would have thought I would lose more weight with how long I have been running this victory lap:

https://t.co/jvmguPjo2Z pic.twitter.com/pVqhq5FvPh

— Justin Mason (@JustinMasonFWFB) September 5, 2021

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Last week, I got several requests for more hitters but there are no more on the up. It got even worse this week when rosters expanded. Major league teams are using more platoons and resting guys so the average hitter’s production is down.

Additionally, lots of starters were added to the rotation, but most aren’t even average. Also, many rotations have expanded to six or even seven men. While they provide new options, make sure they provide more fantasy value than the players being dropped.

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (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 »

NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

The 2021 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News 
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)
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9/3/21

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

PATREON

• Join our Patreon

INJURIES/TRANSACTION NEWS

• Triston McKenzie returns (3:50)
• James Karinchak demoted (9:20)
  • Emmanuel Clase outlook
• Wander Franco’s on-base streak at 33 (14:48)

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NEW FEATURE ALERT! We have added an upgraded version of RosterResource’s Closer Depth Chart to FanGraphs. Read more about it here.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save).
Read the rest of this entry »

The Closer Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Greg Jewett

Strategy Section

Closers

• How to form a closer hierarchy
  • Pre-season
  • Mid-season
  • Closer by committee
• Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week
• What is the optimal closer strategy for drafts?
  • Bank an elite closer?
  • Is drafting two top closers a viable strategy?
• Using FAAB resources on closers
  • How much is too much?
• Non-elite closers that may experience a saves surge in September
• What to observe in September to assist us in prep for the 2022 season
• Kenley Jansen
• Organizational & manegerial philosophy

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Someone played soccer growing up:

Here's a play you don't see every day 🤷 pic.twitter.com/OAErhOqBsA

— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2021

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