Episode 168

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is now live! For real. No issues this time.

Jason Collette and Nicholas Minnix on, among other topics:

How to approach the unpredictability of the final week of the regular season; Billy Butler; Masahiro Tanaka; Robbie Erlin and Vance Worley as possible streamers; Jeremy Hellickson; Glen Perkins; starting pitchers and position players who probably won’t help you this week; and, of course, the two-turn pitchers of interest.

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Trevor May

Why I watched: Highly touted prospect up in the majors.

Game(s) Watched: 9/14/14 vs White Sox

Game Thoughts

• Hawk was announcing. I hope I did not lose too many brain cells.

• May’s fastball was from 90-95 mph, straight with little downward movement. Looking at the values, it is at +10.1 vertical movement. Using some of my recent work, his GB% should be near 35% (actual 37.6%). He should get a good number of infield fly balls, but his home runs may be a problem at times.

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With just about a week left in the season, the ratios are pretty much solidified and there’s much less concern over one of those three inning, seven run debacles ruining your stats. It is likely, however, that an extra win and/or five strikeouts could gain you a point. So deep leaguers in need of some counting stats without as much regard for their ratios should consider these weekend probables.

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I said that it wouldn’t happen again. I was wrong. I’m terribly sorry. Terribly, terribly sorry.

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” will not go live in this post. Eno Sarris and I talked about streamers for the weekend as well as potential keepers you might decide to drop for streamers or to meet other types of needs in the season’s final week and a half. Unfortunately, I had an issue with the recording. This post will give you the gist of the content we covered in what would have been Episode 168.

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• I am putting about 90% of my effort into the unofficial DL (list below). Remember to click the date for the most up-to-date article on the injury. Next Monday’s list will probably be the last one on this season and then I will wrap up this season and look towards next season. If you have any questions on a specific player, hit me up on twitter (@jeffwzimmerman).

• Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled to start Sunday for the Yankees. Ignore him at this point. We have no way to determine how he will perform after having his UCL partially torn.

• I will state this a thousand times, stay away from hitters with back issues. The issue never seems to go away. Angel Pagan is again missing time for his back.

• Matt Shoemaker could be done for the regular season. What I see happening is he throws once before the postseason to see how he feels. I would not expect much more from him.

• John Lackey and Michael Wacha will throw for the Cardinals this weekend after missing time with injuries. I don’t trust Wacha because the start seems like it will be a testing to see if he can pitch in the postseason.

• Danny Duffy is expected to pitch Monday after missing a couple starts. I don’t like how his recovery has hit some bumps. I would stay away.
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I covered matchups a couple of weeks ago and last week for a few players who run often and aren’t full-timers but aren’t purely pinch runners. For fantasy baseball players who could use help that would in fact make a difference in their standings in the related category in short time we have left, these possibilities are of interest. The return on this kind of investment is probably not great, as mentioned, but the forecasts can be pretty simple. Again, the greater challenge for a batter is to reach base, not to steal one.

First, there might be some players in your league’s free-agent pool who are more appealing than the streaming plays, however. (Ownership percentages are in parentheses.)

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The day after the Orioles and Nationals clinched playoff berths, Baltimore, at least, fielded a respectable lineup. Jimmy Paredes and Christian Walker look a little out of place in their order, but they are mostly the result of losing Manny Machado and Chris Davis.

The Nationals? Not so much. Their lineup on Tuesday was barely recognizable, unless you watch a fair bit of International League baseball:

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An innings limit and suspension are the events that resulted in opportunities for the two men discussed below. Hopefully, you’re in a position where a good start and a potential extra homer or two actually contribute to your money spot finish.

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Episode 167

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is now live!

Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix on, among other topics:

Derek Holland; the New York Mets’ 2015 rotation; Alex Colome; sources of saves for the rest of the season, including with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies; Nick Franklin; the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2015 if they sign Melky Cabrera to a qualifying offer; and, by request, Starling Marte’s 2015 outlook and value.

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This should go without saying, but fantasy owners have to be careful with starting pitchers who previously spent time in the bullpen. As we all know, good relievers aren’t all cut out for the starting rotation. The ability to go hard for short bursts allows relievers to cover up deficiencies that prevent them from being starters, with the lack of a third, or even second, pitch being a prime example. But sometimes it is easy to forget that a pitcher spent time in the bullpen when looking at his player page at the end of the season. Read the rest of this entry »