It’s not wise to put too much stock in spring training performances. Having said that, there are games being played and stats being generated. Some guys are coming back from injuries, others are tinkering with mechanics and many are fighting for roster spots or playing time. With that in mind, a few players were of interest to me when combing over spring training stats. Read the rest of this entry »
During the past three weeks, I’ve been reviewing the 12 rookie hitters and 12 rookie pitchers that could make signifiant waves in Major League Baseball — and help your fantasy squad — in 2017. Last week, I took a look at the first six pitchers and today I’ll be reviewing the final six. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2 for the freshman hitters.
Potential Impact Rookie Pitchers for 2017 (part 2 of 2):
Anthony Banda, LHP, Diamondbacks: Arizona will likely trot out a starting rotation made up entirely of pitchers drafted, signed and developed by other organizations. Banda is another import — and was also a lesser known prospect until recently. A former Brewers draft pick, the southpaw has seen his velocity spike in the past year and he now sits far more consistently in the mid-90s. Add in a plus curveball and decent changeup and you have a pretty interesting arm. Banda has the stuff to dominate hitters and develop into a strikeout pitcher. He’s also shown his durability by compiling more than 150 innings in each of the past two seasons and could be set for 175+ innings in 2017. Banda, 23, will likely split the year between triple-A and the Majors but he’ll need an injury — or for another pitcher to stumble — before he gets his first shot at The Show.
Today’s post was supposed to be about the weird keeper position I find myself in my home league. That will have to wait until tomorrow because three owners failed to select their keepers. One of them has yet to pay. I’m grumpy about it, but I decided to put off being really grumpy until tomorrow. I’ve extended the deadline one day.
Some people legitimately enjoy running leagues. I am not one of those people. I commissioned at least one league every year since I was 12, mostly on Yahoo. My so-called home league – which features only three of the original owners including a guy who left and came back – is the only one I run now. I’ve been trying to offload it for years. Every year, my patience for cat herding dwindles.
Welcome to this third installment of Deep League Draft Targets, an exploration of each position’s middle and late tier players. Where mediocrity abounds, value is found. Where one man’s trash is another man’s backup left-handed platoon option.
In previous editions, we covered first base, touching on Fangraphs-favorites, Tommy Joseph and Justin Bour. The week before, Tyler Flowers, Mike Zunino, and Andrew Susac, called for our attention behind the dish. Today, we move onto second base, a position that in past seasons drew the ire of many a fantasy owner but that the roto community has lately characterized as “groin-grabbingly deep.” But is it really?
This time of year, it’s not only about identifying likely draft-day targets, it’s also about identifying players who represent poor values and are better to bypass selecting. A top-100 pick is too rich for my blood for a sophomore catcher with some scary underlying numbers and other check marks in the cons column. Power is the calling card of another sophomore, and he calls a great ballpark home for accentuating that skill. Furthermore, he might be more than a one-dimensional slugger. Read the rest of this entry »
The section below before I reveal my team is going to be similar to previous LABR recaps since little has changed and there’s no sense in rewording things.
It’s mid-Feburary, so you know what that means…another super eeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrlllllllyyyyyyy LABR Mixed draft has been completed! Tout Wars auctions don’t take place for another month, my local league’s auction is in the same boat, and opening day is still six weeks away! The early timing of LABR Mixed presents some interesting challenges in that there are many position battles yet to have even begun and poor Pedro Alvarez still finds himself teamless. So on one hand, it requires us to perform serious research and really know the depth charts, but on the other, we’re all just speculating, crossing our fingers, and hoping for the best.
Here at RotoGraphs, we mostly write about traditional fantasy leagues. It’s in the name of the site – ‘Roto’ Graphs. Somehow, the term roto has come to stand in for not only a popular scoring method, but all typical fantasy formats. I’ve had the etymology explained to me, and it doesn’t make a damned lick of sense.
We also spend a fair amount of time discussing ottoneu. Surprise! It’s our own personal contribution to the fantasy baseball panoply. At it’s best, ottoneu is more than a keeper league but not as onerous as a true dynasty format. We like it, and we tell you about it. During the season, we’ll also cover Daily Fantasy (aka DFS). Brandon Warne’s known to spill a word or three about scoresheet baseball.
Today, let’s talk about sim leagues.
I was at a bit of a loss as to who or what to write about for today’s piece when I sat down to work yesterday. Per the usual, I headed to the leaderboards in search of inspiration. I opted to look at the PITCHf/x velocity data for the first half and second half for starting pitchers who threw a minimum of 40 innings in each half. The usual suspects sat atop the leaderboard, but one big mover from the first half to the second half was Wily Peralta.
In the first half, Peralta ranked tied for 21st in four-seam fastball velocity (94.0 mph) and tied for 16th in two-seam fastball velocity (94.2 mph). Peralta’s a hard thrower, so his ranks weren’t a surprise. What did surprise me were sizable gains in velocity in the second half. Down the stretch, Milwaukee’s righty rose to sixth in average four-seam fastball velocity adding more than a tick averaging 95.2 mph and ranking second in two-seam fastball velocity (95.5 mph). Positive results followed the uptick in cheddar for the 27-year-old. Read the rest of this entry »
In our last edition of Deep League Draft targets, we took a closer look at three catchers who, perhaps overlooked in standard leagues, represent attractive draft day targets in deeper ones. Today, we move onto first base.
I have been playing in dynasty and keeper leagues as long as I have been playing fantasy baseball. There is something satisfying about being able to attempt to build long term contending teams and scour the wire for future talent. I also find that they stay the most active from the beginning to end of a season and in the off season. For a fantasy junkie like me, that is a fix I often need. However, there is a dark side to leagues like this…
*Cues the gloomy music* Read the rest of this entry »