Marcell Ozuna

Marcell Ozuna’s breakout 2014 season offered the promise of another young slugging outfielder to pair with the prodigious bat of Giancarlo Stanton. Ozuna smacked 23 HRs in 612 PAs and the power that he had shown in the early Minors, where he eclipsed 20 HRs on 3 occasions, seemed to have returned. Best of all, as Mike Podhorzer pointed out in his 1/15/2015 article in RotoGraphs about 2014 Batted Ball Distance Surgers, Ozuna was prominently highlighted based upon a gain in batted ball distance of almost 34 feet from 255.51 feet in 2013 to 289.03 feet in 2014. Everything seemed be in place for another strong season for the 24 year old slugger. Except it didn’t happen. In fact, Ozuna was sent down to the Minors for 33 games. His 2015 season has produced a .249/.296/368 slash line with only 8 HRs in 423 PAs. His ISO dropped to an anemic .119 down from last seasons .186 mark.

Read the rest of this entry »

The title of the article is an allusion to Schott’s Miscellany, which you should definitely check out if you never have and feel compelled to know that a group of larks is called an exaltation or that a member of the 32nd degree of Freemasonry is known as a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.

—Matt Harvey and High-Stress Pitches–

Like most of the baseball world, I’m fascinated by Matt Harvey and the question of whether it is worth it for him to exceed his surgeon-prescribed innings limit because of the Mets’ place in the standings this year. To start, let me stress that I have absolutely no medical training. As a layman, I find it interesting that we rely on innings pitched as the barometer of stress for a pitcher. I expect the reason we do that is because innings pitched is the most accessible measurement of how much pitching a pitcher did. Innings pitched no doubt correlates well with total pitches thrown, so there is little lost by relying on the easier stat to find. Still, would pitches thrown even be the best way to capture the stress a pitcher faced?

Read the rest of this entry »

Sort our leaderboards by second half ERA in descending order in the American League and Jeff Samardzija sits atop the list with the highest mark. And it’s not even close. His 7.43 ERA might have been less of a surprise if it came from another former White Sox starter Hector Noesi, but the guy affectionately known as “Shark” has been bitten by the bad pitching bug. It’s not even like he has pitched well, but has suffered from some poor fortune like teammate Chris Sale (5.00 ERA in 2nd half vs 2.57 SIERA), as his 4.76 SIERA is fifth worst in the second half. Of course, he wasn’t exactly Samardzija like in the first half either, but a 4.02 ERA compiled while pitching in a hitter’s haven of a ball park and with a terrible defensive unit behind him isn’t so bad.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re only a couple of weeks away from season’s end, so hopefully your team is in such amazing shape that it doesn’t require a dive into the free agent pool.

Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 277

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

IF YOU DOWNLOADED BEFORE 5:40 CENTRAL TIME ON 9/15, PLEASE RE-DOWNLOAD THE NEW, FULL VERSION.

THE PREVIOUS VERSION CUTS OFF AT 5-6 MINUTES. 

In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris discuss some possible options for late-season streaming to acquire HRs, SBs, and Ks. Names include Mark Canha, Khris Davis, Jonathan Schoop, Carl Crawford, Jean Segura, Raisel Iglesias, and Taylor Jungmann plus many more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

How do you mark the beginning of autumn? You have your choice: Labor Day has come and gone, football season is upon us and the Jewish calendar has already ushered in a new year. And the air is already starting to feel a bit chillier here in the northeast.

But we know the real indicator: it’s fantasy playoff time. Forget the sleepers, the stashers, the upside plays, the aching bodies recuperating on the injured reserve; all we care about now is who is available in deep leagues who can help the cause. Good thing we have two candidates available in a plethora of formats who fit that job description.

As usual, the players listed in this space are typically better suited for mono leagues, and the ownership percentages are by way of CBS.
Read the rest of this entry »

…and it is delightful. Coming up with a topic to write about with only a couple of weeks left in the season is tough. So in the search for an idea, I fall back on my typical activity — leaderboard sorting! Though I routinely shake my head at any analysis that includes monthly or half-season splits, the performance numbers over those time periods aren’t always meaningless. Just the vast majority of the time they are. And since the vast majority isn’t quite 100%, I decided to check on the ISO leaders in the second half of the season, hoping to find a surprising name near the top. Sure enough, I found him sitting at sixteen. His name is Rougned Odor and he smells wonderful.

Read the rest of this entry »

Flags fly forever, or so they say. And yet…not really. I mean, they kind of do, but how many Giants fans out there are like, “Eh, we had our run, good on the Dodgers!” Right.

So in fantasy, particularly keeper or dynasty leagues, you have to make a tough call when that title is in reach – how do you maximize your chances at that eternal flag without ensuring a collapse the next year? I am struggling with a situation right now that puts that balance to the test.

Read the rest of this entry »

I should have known. I was thrilled to have acquired Troy Tulowitzki upon his entrance into the American League at the trade deadline in AL Tout Wars. I crossed my fingers that he would remain healthy, and productive, for the several months on my squad. That wasn’t to be. Naturally, it was a freak injury that has now sidelined him, causing his many fantasy owners to groan and think to themselves “of course this happened to him”.

If you missed the news, Tulowitzki suffered a bruised back and a cracked left shoulder blade, with the best case scenario having him returning in two to three weeks. Since that means there’s a very real chance he’s done for the season, or makes it back for just a couple of games, it’s time to search for a replacement. My American League only options are pathetic. But yours might not be. So here are a couple of shortstop eligible hitters owned in fewer than 50% of leagues that could make up for at least some of the lost production.

Read the rest of this entry »

The title of the article is an allusion to Schott’s Miscellany, which you should definitely check out if you never have and feel compelled to know that a group of larks is called an exaltation or that a member of the 32nd degree of Freemasonry is known as a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.

—Nolan Arenado Is In Good Company–

For many, Nolan Arenado inherited the Denver spotlight when the Rockies traded their franchise icon at the deadline. But based on his performance, Arenado should have escaped Troy Tulowitzki’s shadow far sooner.

Part of Arenado’s anonymity no doubt stems from the Rockies’ lack of team success in recent seasons, but I also believe that fans are predisposed to expect stars to lead with their bats at Coors Field. Larry Walker added 13 home runs to his previous career high in his first season in Colorado. Todd Hilton hit 25 home runs for the team in his first full season in the majors with the team. Tulowitzki may have been the best defensive shortstop in baseball over the first few years of his career, but he also hit 24 homers in his first full season. Arenado was a stellar defender from day one, but he failed to reach 20 home runs in either of his first two seasons in Coors. Never mind that Arenado was 22 and 23 in those two seasons and that players tend to reach their defensive potential far sooner than their power potential; Arenado did not fit the mold of a star player in Colorado.

Read the rest of this entry »