5/7/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

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

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NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS, INJURIES, RUMORS

• David Price to IL (3:45)
• Matt Olson back Tuesday? (6:15)
• Shohei Ohtani back Tuesday! (11:58)

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Where has Derek Dietrich been all my life?

DIETRICH TO THE RESCUE! pic.twitter.com/eYSqUGxFcD

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) May 6, 2019

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This is why all the Yankees keep getting hurt:

Bronx pigeons dont mess around when it comes to their Pinstripe pride….wont even let opposing players stretch pregame!#BronxBomber #Athlete pic.twitter.com/bCJKLowyfo

— Kyle Gibson (@kgib44) May 6, 2019

New York pigeons don’t mess around.

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5/5/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 19, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER19!

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• @justinmasonfwfb – Host/Producer
• @RotoGut – Guest

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NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS, INJURIES, RUMORS

• Corey Kluber to the IL with a broken arm (4:34)
• Miguel Andujar returns (8:09)

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Angels

● There is some recent movement going on. Tommy La Stella has led off the last two games. Brian Goodwin is batting third. Kole Calhoun is batting sixth. Justin Bour is batting eighth. And finally, Luis Rengifo is batting 9th.

● David Fletcher is the big loser but he may play against a lefty starter. The Angels haven’t faced one since the lineup change.

● Justin Bour’s playtime maybe coming to an end with his poor performance (.174/.283/.314) and Shohei Ohtani returning from the IL in a couple of weeks.

Astros

● One of the few consistent lineups. The team continues to have one rotating spot for regulars to DH or take a break. When no one needs a breather, Tyler White is the DH.

Athletics

● It’s in flux, but I’m not sure if it’s a change or just random stuff.

● It seems like Jurickson Profar is headed to the bench. He’s only played in one of the last four games.

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Pardon my delay on “The 10” this week, but we’ve got a good one today! I recently released my May SP rankings and today I’ll highlight 10 of the biggest movers and explain their move in more detail.

5 UP

Jerad Eickhoff, PHI | 56 spots to 51

When I released my previous SP rankings on April 18th, Eickhoff didn’t have a rotation spot just yet. He had a fantastic 4-inning relief appearance two days earlier and joined the rotation three days later with a start in Coors Field. He held his own with a 6 IP/4 ER outing that did see him allow 11 base runners (7 H, 4 BB), but also net eight strikeouts. He followed it up with seven shutout innings against Miami. Obviously beating up the Marlins isn’t exactly a huge feat, but those innings count in all formats!

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I’ve been struggling this fantasy season when it comes to providing my best possible content. The root cause is that I’ve put more of my own skin in the game by joining a couple of NFBC leagues. Other owners deal with the same issue. For example, I had the following Twitter conversation this past weekend.

In a 15-team league, how much are you both bidding on Karter Kieboom?

😉

— Jeff Zimmerman (@jeffwzimmerman) April 28, 2019

In all fairness, it’s a legit question coming into the weekend’s FAAB period. Carter Kieboom just got promoted and bids were going to be high for him. What got my request denied was that both Al (in Tout Wars) and Matt (NFBC Main Event) are in 15-team leagues with me. If someone else would have asked the question, would they have given an honest answer? Maybe. Would I take their honest answer and use it against them? Maybe.

I never thought others would steal my suggestion to use against me in my leagues until last season. In The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational, I had a strong feeling two owners checked out my Tout Wars bids which ran FAAB on Sunday at noon. There was plenty of time for the owners to analyze my bids before the evening bids ran. Every week the same two owners beat me out on each of my sleeper picks. It got a little annoying.

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5/2/19

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 20, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER20!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer
• @JoePisapia17 – Guest

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FIXING BASEBALL

ON FIELD CHANGES

• The Shift
• DH for all
• Hitters in Batter’s Box
• Automated Strikezone
• Replay
• Bat Flips & Beanballs
• The Ball

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We are a month into the season and the pitching landscape is a mess. The top tier has been shaken to its core with several studs struggling their way through the month while streaming feels damn near impossible with they way the ball is flying out of parks. Of course, there have been bright spots and I do my best to highlight those while also being careful not overreact too much.

I look at my in-season rankings in 4-6 week blocks so the potential innings limits facing some of the younger arms rated highly aren’t really that important right now. Given that so much is going to change in the next month let alone the next five, I don’t see the point in pretending that these updates are viable for the rest of the season.

Pay attention to the tier! If I didn’t rank someone as high as you thought I should, but they are still a must or usually start, then it’s probably not worth freaking out too much. Those tiers mean they are in the rotation pretty much all the time. I’m open to debating slotting, too, but worrying about a 4-spot difference between two guys in the same tier is probably a waste of time.

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