Last week, I discussed the five starting pitchers whose fastball velocity had experienced the greatest surge over the previous two weeks. So today, I’ll check in on the decliners. Since velocity trends upward as the season rolls on, a significant decline in velocity at this time is concerning and could signal a serious issue.
This is the time of year where you need things to go just right with your Fantasy squads but you know most times that simply won’t happen. At this late stage in the season, I’m sure you are well aware of the categories where you have a chance to gain points, but with trading deadlines over in most leagues, proper use of the waiver wire might be the only thing standing between you and a dirt nap for your squad. Since I’m in the same situation, I took time to look at some players who have value and are owned in less than 35% of CBS Sports Leagues. I currently own three of them so I’m drinking the Kool-Aid as well.
In just a couple of weeks, deep league waiver wires across the land will be overflowing with options as rosters expand. But you don’t have to wait until September as a pair of minor leaguers will be making their debut and are expected to get near regular at-bats for the time being!
We’re just about ready to close the book on another season, and as we’re well into the throes of the 2015 stretch run, we need every bit of fantasy ammunition, each spare part we can scrounge from the waiver wire dumpster.
As a reminder, the players recommended in this space are best suited for mono formats, and the ownership percentages are by way of CBS.
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Yesterday, I discussed four lightly owned hitters who could contribute positive value in stolen bases over the rest of the season in deep leagues. I inadvertently included all American Leaguers. Oops, my bad. Not again! So today, I’ll highlight six hitters who could be respectable sources of power for the deep league owner in need, half of which are National Leaguers!
With just about a month and a half left in the season to go, it’s not automatically about choosing the most valuable offensive contributor for your active lineup. More important is where you sit in the various categories and which you could gain and lose the most points. For those in need of some speed, these four young men are almost certainly available in your league. All are owned in 10% or less in CBS leagues, though are probably better options in deeper leagues, rather than shallow mixers.
Episode 264
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!
In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris talk Hisashi Iwakuma, Miguel Sano, Aaron Hicks, Greg Bird, Curtis Granderson, Stephen Vogt, Todd Frazier, Salvador Perez, Hanley Ramirez, and Jon Lester.
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As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions.
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Approximately 50 minutes of joyous analysis.
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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.
—Chris Bassitt’s Differential–
Chris Bassitt is the type of player that I tend to miss on in fantasy. He has never been a heralded prospect. Our own Kiley McDaniel did not rank him in the White Sox’s top prospect list in 2014, and he finished just 16th on his new team Oakland’s list prior to this season. In the upper minors, he has eclipsed a strikeout per inning, but his 29.2 innings in the majors in 2014 featured a meager 6.4 strikeouts per nine and unsettling 3.9 walks per nine. Even with a lack of established options behind Sonny Gray that promised a chance at some point in 2015, I overlooked Bassitt in favor of prospects I considered to have higher upsides like Luis Severino, Jon Gray, and Eduardo Rodriguez.
We know that average fastball velocity rises as the season progresses. And of course, velocity is highly correlated with strikeout rate. Sometimes velocity increases as a result of improved/changed mechanics, while other times pitchers might suddenly feel healthier than they had earlier in the season. Players are always dealing with aches and pains, the majority of which we never hear about. Since velocity stabilizes quickly, we should take surges very seriously. They could portend or confirm better performance. So here are your American League starting pitchers who have enjoyed at least a two mile per hour jump in velocity since April over the last two weeks.
After KC’s World Series appearance in 2014, it is natural that there would be high expectations for the team and the Manager in 2015. In a move that confounded pundits, experts, and fans, Manager Ned Yost decided to open the season with Third Basemen Mike Moustakas batting 2nd in the lineup.
Yost has not been known as a Manager who favors making decisions based on recent statistics. In this new era of baseball, this places him firmly in the “Old School” camp. It has been reported that Yost has given his perspective on the value of sabermetrics during a number of interviews on the KC Royals Web Site. I am simply paraphrasing what others have reported including Grant Brisbee in SB Nation on 9/15/14, ” There is no possible way that recorded information about how players have performed recently can help me do my job better.” OK. We get it.
