Monday wasn’t just Labor Day, it was an exciting time for fantasy leaguers and baseball fans alike. It was roster expansion day! Yesterday, Eno discussed a whole bunch of names that were recalled, but concluded that none of them were very intriguing for this year given playing time concerns. However, two players called up before Monday are of interest.
Episode 162
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is now live!
Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix discuss significant September call-ups, including Maikel Franco, Andrew Heaney, Dalton Pompey and Cory Spangenberg, as well as SP-eligible pitchers who are likely to be used as RPs down the stretch; the San Francisco Giants’ rearranged bullpen and, in particular, Sergio Romo; preferences for possible saves among those who might be available in fantasy baseball leagues; and a request, from awhile back, in which a listener asked for an explanation on injury benchmarks for pitchers, specifically in terms of pitch usage and percentages versus quantities.
As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them on our next episode. Read the rest of this entry »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
There are a few exciting names up today. You’ve got your Maikel Franco in Philly, your Joc Pederson in Los Angeles and your Daniel Norris in Toronto. They’ve been called up to the bigs! But, due to innings limits on young arms, and roster crunches on teams now as much as 50% larger, it’s fair to ask. Will any of these youngsters play regularly?
The San Francisco Giants’ backstop is who his fantasy baseball players thought he is when they drafted him, it turns out. It wasn’t always as apparent as it’s been in the past month and a half or so: He’s batted .342/.391/.565, with eight home runs, in 174 plate appearances since the All-Star break. That is why he was (presumably, at every host) the leader among crouchers in average draft position this past March. He’s the only catcher to remain in the first tier all season. At no point did we waver. Right, folks?
My favorite hip-hop act, De La Soul, is supposed to be dropping a new LP by the end of this year. I don’t get excited for many things pop culture, but for this, I am a little. Your definition of pop culture probably doesn’t even include the trio also known as the Plugs, at least not since like high school or something, so just take it easy on me, please. Read the rest of this entry »
Labor Day is officially behind us, and that means the fantasy season is beginning to wind down. This week, we’ll take a look at two Mets — one a defensive standout who’s been contributing with the bat lately, the other a newcomer to The Show — who could offer assistance to owners in NL-only leagues.
Read the rest of this entry »
Note: All stats are as of August 31, 2014; Labor Day stats are not included. Although, considering the Braves were collectively no-hit by the Phillies, there wouldn’t be much to change, anyways.
Let’s back up a few months: In March, Freddie Freeman was a borderline third round pick, according to ESPN’s draft data. He was coming off a fantastic season, in which he set career highs in batting average, on base percentage, and RBI, while tying his career high in home runs by swatting 23 home runs. Freeman’s power ceiling was in question: How many home runs is a reasonable expectation? Can he possibly get near 30? His contact ability wasn’t, though. The latter has been fine; the former, not as much. But maybe that’s alright.
In Freeman’s first 114 plate appearances – taken from March 31 through April 30 – he hit six home runs, posting a .416 wOBA. In the 492 plate appearances since May 1st he’s left the yard only 11 times, posting a .370 wOBA. Make no mistake about it, Freeman has still been good. But his power – which was already in question compared to his peers – has taken a step back. So, the question is: What should we do regarding Freeman next year? Read the rest of this entry »
In an effort to spruce up their offense, the Athletics acquired Adam Dunn on Sunday. He should slot in as the team’s regular designated hitter against right-handers and hit in the clean-up spot in his Oakland debut. We have just a month left of the season so small sample size shenanigans tack precedence, but let’s take a gander how Dunn is affected by the change in home park.
Episode 161
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is now live!
Jason Collette and Nicholas Minnix play a little “Guess who leads the league in. …” before they discuss, among other items, Adam Dunn to the Oakland Athletics; Andy Wilkins; Dilson Herrera; Felix Doubront; Justin Masterson (or, more appropriately, his potential replacements); Kevin Quackenbush; Jonathan Broxton; Miguel Cabrera; by request, Mike Minor and Adam Eaton; and, of course, some two-turn pitchers.
As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them on our next episode. Read the rest of this entry »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
I am planning on publishing this piece on a weekly basis. I’ll be looking at a few interesting players. I try to work out for 30-45 minutes a day, so I will just watch a different player each time and give my thoughts on their game at the end of the week. This will not be a complete breakdown of the player, just what I saw. Also, I will probably be looking at average to below-average players to see if anything sticks out with them.
Why I watched: I noticed him while looking for pitcher with big curveballs. Looking at little deeper and found this:
Month:K%-BB%,GB%
May:4%,42%
Jun:9%,49%
Jul:12%,46%
Aug:10%,55%
Joc Pederson has had one heck of a 2014. The center fielder has blown away the already-high expectations placed before him this year, leading all of Triple-A in home runs, on-base percentage, on-base plus slugging, walks and runs scored. To be fair, his spot atop the list in some of those categories is partially thanks to the simple fact that he’s been in Triple-A all season — and playing half his games in the bandbox at Albuquerque — but it’s still pretty astounding stuff.
All told, Pederson owns a .304/.434/.590 slash, with 33 homers and 30 steals, making him the first player with a 30/30 season in the Pacific Coast League since Frank Demaree accomplished the feat way back in 1934. He is also the first player this author knows of who has given away his car as a ballpark promotion.
