Episode 160

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

Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix discuss, among other items, along with an interesting tangent or two, Zach Walters; Kyle Ryan; Adam Wainwright; Yadier Molina; Shane Greene; Drew Smyly; the Chicago White Sox’s bullpen; Brandon Finnegan; Masahiro Tanaka; and, by request, possible changes in playing time in the final month for players like Hanley Ramirez.

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 »

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• Heads up, the DL list is basically going to become a moot point in a few days when the rosters expand. Teams have no incentive to put a player on the DL unless it is to the 60-day DL to make room on their 40-man roster. I am going to have an unofficial DL list in the MASH Reports until the season’s end so people can know which players will or won’t be available.

Also, read up on players coming off the DL in September. Many will return without being 100%. John Mayberry is one such example. The Phils pretty much say he is still hurt and they don’t know where he will fit into their outfield.

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A few days ago I released a way too early set of hitter projection values. Today, it is the pitchers’ turn. Truthfully, I wasn’t 100% sure I would release them. It requires a person using them to use their brain somewhat. I decided to go ahead and release and hope most people read a few lines of the article to understand how the spreadsheet is set up.

Notes on the data (PLEASE READ)

• I averaged the rest of season Steamer and/or ZIPS projections. Sometimes only one or the other was available so only one was used at times. The rest of season the projections are a good attempt at getting the player’s talent level right now. The values are close to the 2015 projection with the exception of the September numbers.

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In a comment on the post of a recent ep of “The Sleeper and the Bust,” quinceleather asked if there’s a way to play matchups for stolen bases for players like Rajai Davis and Ben Revere. Presumably, this would be for the purpose of increasing the efficiency of a roster spot by maximizing the rates of thievery of that brand of one-category contributor in games, series or weeks in which he has advantageous matchups and then using a different type of player (power hitter, an all-around player, a fringe regular) in place of them at other times.

I don’t think I’d take that approach for a full season. But for a particular period, especially at this point, when there are only about four and a half weeks remaining in the regular season, it could certainly, conceivably be helpful. You want to make up ground in steals, and you can afford to use this kind of method to do it. Someone else is more qualified than me to study whether it would prove to be advantageous for an entire campaign. Read the rest of this entry »

Right or wrong, significantly greater weight is given to how a player finishes a season than how he began it. If a hitter endures a second half swoon, he’ll be considered a prime bust candidate the following year, regardless of what he did during the first several months. The same goes for pitchers. Let’s discuss a trio of those second half starting pitcher busts in the American League.

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There comes a time in a season when you’re willing to give run to some players whom you wouldn’t, ordinarily. This is probably that time. You take a stab at help in a category in which a couple of them might make a world of difference. You pick up a player who has had a negative fantasy impact since he made his debut. Either of those kinds of plays isn’t your first choice, but it doesn’t make it a bad choice. You’re just open to ideas and possibilities, and you’ll take a win however you can get it. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a big sophomore season for Anthony Rendon. After a passable, but somewhat underwhelming, rookie year, Rendon has emerged as one of the Washington Nationals best players. By WAR, Rendon has been the Nats best position players this season. But if you’re skeptical of defensive numbers, he’s rated as the third best hitter on the team this season, behind Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche. Rendon’s improvement shouldn’t come as a major surprise. Yes, Rendon’s improvement has been large, but he was a top draft pick and came with a strong pedigree. With the season entering its final month, it’s time to wonder whether there’s more room for improvement in Rendon’s bat.

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The White Sox finally saw enough of second basemen Gordon Beckham and traded him away last Thursday. That opened up a gaping hole at the position, which is the theme of this week’s wire.

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Episode 159

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

Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix discuss, among other items, the exciting arrival of Kiley McDaniel to FanGraphs; Jorge Soler; David Wright; Gregory Polanco; Oscar Taveras; Eric O’Flaherty as Sean Doolittle’s replacement; the what-ifs of a Chad Qualls trade to the Detroit Tigers; Koji Uehara; Derek Holland; and, by request, some thoughts on evaluations of “power outages” of players like Yasiel Puig, along with how to play matchups for stolen bases.

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 »

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The Tigers claimed Chad Qualls on revocable waivers, and so there might be a new closing job open soon. Condolences to people with deep league teams, like my AL-LABR squad, who are looking at losing their only closer. It might not yet happen — the Astros own Qualls for $3.5 million next year, and that’s very reasonable, even for a below-average closer. At some point, this team needs to think about keeping their assets.

But for now, let’s assume Qualls goes. Who would close behind him?

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