The 2014 season was my first here at RotoGraphs, and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. As for today, this column is helping distract me from the fact that Jeff Beliveau’s seventh-inning meltdown yesterday cost me a considerable sum in a deep roto league, coughing up my razor-thin leads in both ERA and WHIP, sending my team tumbling down two spots on the final day of the season. Fantasy sports are a fickle mistress.
Episode 171
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!
Jason Collette and Nicholas Minnix wrap up the regular season by talking:
Jordan Zimmermann’s no-hitter; Ryan Braun’s upcoming thumb procedure and 2015 value; and AL and NL fantasy MVPs by position.
As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them in our next episode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Why I watched: The 29-year-old is having a great year after posting a career ERA of 5.00 before this season.
Game(s) Watched: 9/20/14 vs. the Padres
Game Thoughts
• Overall, he is a strike throwing, kitchen sink pitcher. With four pitches he throws over 10%, he keeps hitters off guard.
• His four-seam, rising fastball is worthless. It is between 87-91 mph. It is straight with no movement. A few times I wondered if he threw a 2-seamer, but the Pitchf/x data doesn’t show one. It generates a ton of flyballs in which a few turn into home runs.
This is it, folks. Your last chance to skim the wire, trying to scrape up every last win you can, or rack up enough last-minute strikeouts to gain a roto point. With one exception, all the following pitchers are available in more than 95 percent of Yahoo leagues and, depending on which stats you’re chasing, can help give your team that eleventh-hour boost to championship glory. (If you’re hunting wins, target the Saturday guys, because Sunday is far dicier in that department.)
Saturday 9/27:
Rafael Montero vs HOU
Montero, a preseason top-five prospect in the Mets system known for his excellent command, has actually had some pretty serious command issues ever since arriving in the majors, as his hideous 4.85 BB/9 will attest. On the bright side, he’s still been piling up strikeouts at a solid rate (8.31 K/9).
I’ve stolen from the movie before. I’ll do so again…
Guarantee? If you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your fantasy teams’ sake, for your daughter’s sake, ya might wanna think about listening to quality content from me.
If you don’t know where this reference is from, then well…just ring your call button, and Tommy will come back there and hit you over the head with a tack hammer.
I actually will play guarantee fairy here, specifically for deep leagues since there are no uber-exciting names that jump out in my below grid. So here goes…
So long as they pitch to a qualifying level of innings without getting hurt or losing velocity (not ballsy enough to leave out these contingencies), I GUARANTEE these starters won’t be any worse next year (although in the grid below I highlighted in different strengths of green/red both starters and relievers):
Episode 170
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!
Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix on, among other topics:
Mark Buehrle’s impressive run of 14 straight 200-inning seasons; Justin Verlander; the Tampa Bay Rays’ bullpen for 2015; a request about certain keep-10 keepers for a listener’s squad in his 12-team mixed league; and, in efforts to squeeze value from the season’s final few days, streamers who interest us, beginning on Friday.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The Texas Rangers could have begun to plan for 2015 before the 2014 campaign was even two months old, given the widely documented rash of injuries that they incurred. Of course, openings always means opportunities, and the organization displayed a willingness to be surprised this year in an effort to discover pieces that might help them next year and beyond.
I’m usually more interested in checking out the starting pitchers who get those opportunities. Eno Sarris touched on the exciting Lisalverto Bonilla a few days ago. Nick Martinez received a down-and-dirty evaluation from Jeff Zimmerman last month. I’ve been wanting to take a look at a couple of other arms that Texas rolled out this year. I’m now off one and more on the other than when I started.
Hopefully you’ve wrapped up your league title and are running away in the pitching categories with no shot at losing any points. Not the case? That’s okay, I’ve got more streamers for you. As a reminder, I only considered pitchers owned in less than 50% of CBS leagues.
Admittedly we’ll be looking at arbitrary endpoints, specifically first half vs second half splits. I’m generally not one to split up a season like this, however with Josh Reddick, looking at his pre and post-All Star break numbers are worth it.
In total, Reddick has posted a decent albeit not great year. He’s sporting a .254/.310/.430 line, equating to a 111 wRC+. Two separate stints on the disabled list — both due to knee issues — have limited him to 375 plate appearances. Only 11 home runs and sub 50 RBIs and runs isn’t something you’d like to see from a corner outfielder, but there is good reason to hope for him. Read the rest of this entry »
To stream pitchers is to play with fire, but at this time of year, you may find yourself in a situation in which you have to do it. You may be burned, but you could torch your competition, too.
Some streaming options stand out more than others. I didn’t necessarily pick the best of the best. Instead, I offered some of these barely owned if owned at all prospect types who possess some serious talent and therefore nice upside for those in very deep leagues who are hoping to be a little lucky.
Good luck to fantasy baseball players in these final few days – particularly the ones who read FanGraphs.
