Jarrod Dyson & Carlos Pena: Deep League Wire
June 25, 2014
More injuries opening up opportunities! Pair these two studs and you have the potential to receive a serious power and speed boost. Or not. But maybe.
Archive for Roto
RotoGraphs Audio: The Sleeper and the Bust 06/24/2014
Episode 133
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is now live! Eno Sarris and Nicholas Minnix discuss Ronald Belisario; the Cubs’ closer situation; Matt Cain; pitching peripherals and pitch type info; Carlos Martinez; Odrisamer Despaigne; Todd Frazier; the Braves’ lineup; Travis d’Arnaud and, briefly, catchers in general; and a few other digressions, either in detail or in brief.
As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment with fantasy questions so that we may answer them on our next episode.
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Tempering Expectations On A Trio Of Shortstops
Back on June 3 when I posted shortstop tier rankings for June, I had no idea we would be gifted staff consensus rankings shortly thereafter.
As is always the case, there are varying levels of disagreement between the ranks (although when “tiering,”the rankings are far looser). Today, I wanted to quickly hit on a few names I seem to disagree with the group on, based not only on a difference in ranking but also, in one case, commenter feedback. As a reminder, this is with a rest-of-season focus only.
Troy Tulowitzki
Everyone else thinks he’s the number one shortstop. I happen to think he’s the king of baseball. Agree to disagree.
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What’s Wilin Rosario’s Deal? A Perspective
Is Wilin Rosario the high-upside player he seemed to be a couple of years ago (and appeared to remain coming into this season)? Is he just on the wrong side of some bad platoon splits these days (and perhaps screwed for eternity)?
A reader asked questions like these in a comment on a recent podcast, and we discussed them in a subsequent pod. I think the reader did well to get at the heart of the matter. (I added the “screwed for eternity” part.)
The player has a lot potential value because he has a lot of power, even if it’s not reflected in his home run total. The batting average (.245) this season has been disappointing, naturally. Brett Talley’s survey of “The Best Fantasy Hitters of the Past Calendar Year” doesn’t do enough to console 2014 Rosario owners, especially those in redrafters or those who’ve experienced only these last nearly three months.
Which Starters Have the Most Above-Average Pitches
by Eno Sarris
June 24, 2014
Yeah but does he have a change-up? That’s a great question for Odrisamer Despaigne, for example. Dude threw an 87 mph slider and a slow 67 mph curve after his excellent 92 mph sinker, which sounds good until you realize his command should be exposed in the future (too many arm slots, too many minor league walks) and when you see that the curve and slider got two whiffs combined (42 thrown!) and the change was inconsistent and ranged from 75-88 mph (!) even if it got two whiffs (12 thrown). Strange to see a rookie throw more breakers than fastballs (24), too.
So which pitchers have the full monty? Which pitchers have the most above-average pitches? Now, thanks to Jeff Zimmerman, we can quantify that. Using the pitch type benchmarks I have for swinging strikes here, and ground balls here, we can decide if a pitch is above-average in those two ways. Using Excel, we can then sort for the most number of pitches that meet our benchmarks.
Joe Panik & Yohan Pino: Deep League Waiver Wire
Here’s a variation on the old DLWW tune: neither guest star this week owes his opportunity to another player’s injury. Rather, each of these two contestants are getting shots because their predecessors were terrible enough to persuade management to shake things up — even if neither player arrives at the majors with terribly high expectations.
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Pod’s Picks June Update: Third Base
June 24, 2014
And on we go with my updated Pod’s Picks, comparing my rank versus the other three RotoGraphers. We’re now up to the third basemen, of which the consensus rankings published two weeks ago can be found here. I’ll generally only consider those third basemen that I ranked within the top 20 for the bullish category and those the rest of the crew ranked in the top 20 for the bearish category.
MASH Report (6/23/14)
• Michael Wacha is headed to the DL with a “stress reaction in his right shoulder”. You haven’t heard of the injury before? Other people haven’t either.
There is also no timetable for Garcia’s return, though he’ll begin a rehab program immediately. Yet it is Wacha’s injury that comes with more questions since it is not commonly found in Major League pitchers. The injury does not require surgery, and the MRI did not reveal a fracture in the bone. But having Wacha continue to pitch could have led to one.
….
D-backs pitcher Brandon McCarthy is one possible comparison for the Cardinals to use in determining how to move forward this injury. McCarthy has had recurring stress reactions in his pitching shoulder, and those have cost him several starts over several seasons.
So what we know right now he is “shut down for at least a few weeks”. OK, at least 3-4 weeks with no pitching. Another month to get back up to speed. I think we are looking at a late August return with no setbacks. In 2011, McCarthy missed 81 days with his stress fracture and various 30 day stints around it. Josh McKinney missed 89 days last season with the same injury. Depending on how things shake out, Wacha may done for the season.
What’s Wrong With Jason Kipnis?
by Eno Sarris
June 23, 2014
Even after losing some time to injury, Jason Kipnis has managed 200+ plate appearances this year, and his fantasy line has not matched his work in the past so far. It’s a little too far into the season to just poo-poo it away with mentions of small sample size. But, jump into the numbers, and it looks like issues of sample and perspective are hiding the fact that he’s probably still a top-half second baseman in any league.
Stick A Fork In Ben Zobrist
When I compiled this month’s second base tier rankings, one concern I had was whether I ranked Ben Zobrist too low. I placed him at the bottom of the third tier, 14th overall — was this an overreaction to a slow start? After all, Zobrist was the No. 6 fantasy second baseman in 2012.
Last year, he slipped to No. 11, but in placing him 14th in this month’s rankings, I was essentially admitting that the 33-year-old Zobrist is on the decline, and that I don’t see his 2013 as an aberration. The further we get into 2014, the more confident I am that I wasn’t selling Zobrist short.
