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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After a couple of weeks dominated by the trade deadline and subsequent moves, it’s back to normal this week with a decent number of hitters and starters and a few relievers.

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 »

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.)

Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.
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Most platforms have a feature where you can click something by the player’s name to put them on a virtual watchlist. It is smart to use this feature before the season starts because once it starts you be sorting by stats and you could miss out on someone you really want about to get a new role because you sorted by PA and he just didn’t show very high.

• Previous Watchlists

The Watchlist returns after a couple weeks off!

SHALLOW LEAGUES (mixed leagues – 10 or fewer teams)

LaMonte Wade Jr | OF/1B, SFG

How is he rostered in just 15% of ESPN leagues?? Since becoming a regular with the Giants (May 28th), he is 36th in wRC+ with a 134 mark with 15 HR (t-7th most), 38 RBI, 33 R, and 3 SB in 213 PA. He is consistently leading off for a strong Giants lineup, has dual-eligibility, and should be on many rosters than he is currently. The return of Brandon Belt hasn’t impacted his playing time as he has shifted back into the outfield and become the primary RF.

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For the second week in a row, I had to voice my amazement that JT Brubaker was cut in the NFBC Main Event. While Brubaker’s results have not been great (4.95 ERA), there are several signs that point to him being closer to a 4.00 ERA pitcher. The stat that sticks out is his 1.9 HR/9. The home runs have him with a 4.98 FIP while his xFIP is a full run lower at 3.98. I wanted to see if I should blindly assume that his home run rate will drop. With the expected drop, will his FIP and ERA regress downward to his xFIP? Also, are there any measurable traits that make a pitcher more home run prone? I ended up with a “maybe” and a solid “no”.

Brubaker isn’t the only pitcher who fits this mold. Bailey Ober has a 2.2 HR/9. His 4.99 ERA is almost identical to his 5.18 while his xFIP is down at 4.12. Another is Yusei Kikuchi (1.6 HR/9, 4.37 FIP, 3.47 xFIP). Adbert Alzolay (2.0 HR/9, 5.03 FIP, 3.89 xFIP). The season is over halfway over and fantasy managers are losing patience. 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.

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 »

This is brutal:

Angel Hernandez’s side gig is working out well https://t.co/XwMBcpbkGm

— Justin Mason (@JustinMasonFWFB) August 12, 2021

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The Self-Evaluation Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Nicklaus Gaut

Field of Dreams

Strategy Section

Self-Evaluation

• For teams in contention
  • Looking at categories to make gains
• For teams not in contention
  • Evaluating what went wrong
  • Following player hot streaks in August/September
  • Trying different strategies

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

• Most innings pitched in 2021

Starting Pitchers who could be limited

• Chris Bassitt
• Julio Urias
• Casey Mize
• Alek Manoah
• Trevor Rogers
  • FIP vs. xFIP

Final Month Fades

• Hitters to Fade
  • Is Nelson Cruz a Hall of Famer?
  • Francisco Lindor vs. Jose Iglesias vs. Amed Rosario
• Pitchers to Fade

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“Knocking Down The Door” is a weekly column highlighting minor leaguers who are making a case for a major league promotion. Listed below are the names of this week’s picks and the player’s team, age, level(s), prospect ranking, and last 2-3 weeks of statistics.

The analysis can be viewed in the embedded video of the previous day’s episode of The RosterResource Show, a weekly live stream focused on all things related to rosters, transactions, and RosterResource content at FanGraphs.

Knocking Down The Archive

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There are a number of players who have seen a change in playing time post-trade deadline. Abraham Toro moved into a near everyday role upon Alex Bregman’s injury and was consistently hitting towards the bottom of the order. But, since being traded to Seattle, Toro has found himself hitting in the 5 spot, keeping his everyday role intact, only at second base rather than third. It is likely that Toro would have found himself back on the bench, or worse, as Bregman nears a return from injury. Since moving to Seattle, Toro still does not have the most crystal clear path towards an everyday role, but it’s getting clearer. The Mariners Depth Chart shows a lot of interchangeable pieces and it’s not clear whether or not Toro will continue to fill the 2B spot if his bat begins to go quiet. Regardless, Toro has made an impact with his new club, has begun appearing on many analysts’ waiver wire feeds, and has hit from the leadoff spot in his two most recent appearances. Let’s take a dive down the rabbit hole and see what Toro’s game is all about. 

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