Archive for Uncategorized

The Top 10 list for the Sox is top heavy with some studs but the system lacks depth, overall. Still, I’m a big fan of both Jimenez and Cease.

Click here for the pre-season Top 10

1. Eloy Jimenez | OF | AAA —> In the past, the Sox system was populated by a large group of grip-and-rip hitters with extremely poor plate discipline. Jimenez, although aggressive at the plate, makes a lot of contact — especially for a monster with plus power. Just 21, he hits the ball really hard and generates a lot of line drives, which suggests to me that his higher BABIP might be a little more sustainable than most. He should be ready to settle into a big league role at the beginning of 2019 as a strong-armed right-fielder with the ability to slug 30+ homers.

2. Dylan Cease | RHP | AAA —> Part of the return for Jose Quintana last year, the Cubs probably already regret this deal and Cease hasn’t even reached the Majors. The young right-hander has gotten stronger as the year has progressed and improved even more with a promotion from double-A to triple-A. He, like Jimenez, is ready to contribute at the big league level. Overall, he’s used his two plus offerings — fastball and curve — to strike out 140 batters in 112.1 innings. There are some injury concerns with Cease, who has a decent pitcher’s frame, but isn’t the tallest guy, and had Tommy John surgery in his past. There is frontline starter potential here, especially if the third offering continues to improve.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Roto Riteup hopes you stay hungry….

Me at every restaurant that gives you unlimited salsa … pic.twitter.com/nfsw4Bgkkt

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) August 11, 2018

Read the rest of this entry »

The Roto Riteup loves to take advantage of lesser competition.

Jayson Werth will show up to your rec league & crush dingers.

(?: @ScottSAllen)https://t.co/b0eh2JQ83Z pic.twitter.com/JQFuQBb8QN

— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 9, 2018

Read the rest of this entry »

The Diamondbacks have a solid system with some interesting players within the top 10-15 prospects in the system. But overall, the organization lacks depth.

Click here for the pre-season Top 10

1. Jon Duplantier | RHP | AA —> There is no denying Duplantier’s potential but the checkered medical sheet is worrisome, and the big right-hander (who attended Rice University, which has a reputation for misusing pitchers) has missed a significant chunk of 2018 due to injury. When he’s right, Duplantier shows three above-average offerings, has a great pitcher’s frame and induces a ton of ground-ball outs. There is No. 2/3 starter potential here if he can stay on the field long enough to polish his skills.

2. Daulton Varsho | C | A+ —> I’ve been a huge fan of Daulton since the D-Backs nabbed him with the 68th overall selection in the 2017 draft. He doesn’t have the strongest arm for a catcher but he makes it work and should be able to stick behind the plate (He’s caught 34% of base stealers so far this year). At the plate, Varsho shows the ability to hit for both average and power — and displays his athleticism on the base paths with above-average base running (15 for 18 in steals). He could be ready for The Show in late 2019 or early 2020.

Read the rest of this entry »

Each week I look at the collection of starting pitchers owned in under 30% of leagues (consensus Yahoo/ESPN ownership from Fantasy pros) with a few extra sub 10% discount options at the end, pointing out the options to consider if you need an extra arm or two at the end of your staff.

Let’s highlight my ten favorite starting pitcher options that may be available on your waiver wires, roughly ordered from top to bottom:

Under 30% Owned

Nathan Eovaldi (Boston Red Sox) – Eovaldi’s 8 ER outing against the Twins is sure to explain his lowered usage rate, though if you look past it, you’ll see his other four starts in his last five games returning just 3 ER while collecting 31 strikeouts. A move to Boston will boost the win total while preventing Eovaldi from regularly facing one of the best offenses around. This is an add that you can roll with through the rest of the season.

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Athletics and Mets made their deal for Jeurys Familia official on Saturday, sending the former Mets closer to the Athletics for a pair of minor leaguers. Gregory Jewett covered Familia’s results recently, and what his role should be moving forward in yesterday’s report, but he should slot right behind Blake Treinen in the back-end of the Athletics bullpen. I’ve updated the sheet to reflect this, as well as slot Robert Gsellman in as the Mets closer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Remember kids, eat your Wheaties…..

Matt Carpenter tied the record for most extra-base hits after going 5-5 with three HRs and two 2B ?(via @Cardinals)pic.twitter.com/GxBDUNmLdY

— Bleacher Report MLB (@BR_MLB) July 20, 2018

Read the rest of this entry »

The All-Star game has come and gone, but the festivities are ongoing here at RotoGraphs. It’s time to rank the first half’s “All-Sell-High Team.” These are players who had big first halves, but who aren’t necessarily the best bets to repeat that performance in the second half. Without further ado, let’s get right to the list: Read the rest of this entry »

Shohei Ohtani’s arrival in Major League baseball caused chaos for fantasy league service providers. With his ability to both hit and pitch, every service and individual league needed to determine how to handle his stats and position eligibility. Unfortunately, not every site or league adopted the same rules, which means that some league may find themselves in stick situations they did not foresee. Such a situation just arose in one of my leagues that I would like to share with you in exchange for your insightful feedback and suggestions.

Read the rest of this entry »