Archive for Greg Holland

For my first Bullpen Report, I wanted to provide additional value so I blasted “Enter Sandman” and sprinted toward my office to write this.

Below the report of yesterday’s games, you will find rankings for 5×5 (W,ERA,WHIP,K,SV) and 6×6 (+Holds) leagues based on Zach Sander’s FVARz approach. For reference, I used 108 active Pitchers = 9 P x 12 teams and 25 IP as a qualifier. Why 25? I didn’t want to leave Ken Giles off the list.

But there’s more. In addition to their fantasy value, I’ve z-scored outcomes on the plate appearance level to depict pitcher skill (K%-BB%, Ct%, GB/FB, F-Str%, and IFFB% weighed by their correlations to ERA) and luck (BABIP, HR/FB and LOB% weighed by their correlations to ERA) thus far this season. To back up the top 20 relievers ranked by my “Skill” Score, I also furnished grids on their pitch outcomes, which depicts how well their individual pitches induce whiffs and grounders vs. flies.

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Having the flu is a nightmare. The sweats, the all-night restlessness, the purging of all sorts of disgustingness from the body, it’s awful. Some like to huddle up under the covers all day for comfort. Some like to sip on some warm chicken soup. You know what makes me feel better? That’s right — the Kansas City Royals bullpen. Last season’s darlings in powder blue collectively posted a 7.3 WAR (second in the majors), a 9.57 K/9 (first), and a collective 2.55 ERA (second) over 461.2 innings. It was a thing of beauty, and best of all, they’re all returning again this season. Read the rest of this entry »

While my array of fantasy baseball teams benefited from the likes of MVP candidates such as Chris Davis, Mike Trout, Jose Fernandez and Paul Goldschmidt, I am going to buck the trend and hand over the MVP honors to Kansas City Royals closer Greg Holland. The debate over the value of a closer is a recurring hot-button issue and, obviously, I sit on the side of the fence that preaches their importance. But even those who like to dismiss the position can’t deny how tremendous a value Holland was to those who owned him this year. Read the rest of this entry »

Obviously, if you talk to any legitimate stat junkie, they’d be able to tell you in a heartbeat, but ask any casual baseball fan which team bullpen was the most valuable to their team last year, and very few….probably none….would be able to tell you it was the Royals. With an overall WAR of 7.3 and such solid numbers like a 77.8-percent strand rate, an 8.5-percent HR/FB, a 3.17 ERA and a 8.58 K/9, the Royals pen was one of the team’s strongest assets. And this year probably won’t be much different as most of the components that made it so successful last year are back for more here in 2013. Read the rest of this entry »

And six weeks later, a team was born…

That’s right. After just six short weeks and hundreds of emails, we finally finished the RotoGraphs Ridiculously Early Mock Draft — Slow Draft Style. The process was definitely cumbersome, to say the least, but we all made it through relatively unscathed. Our fearless leader and draft overseer, Eno Sarris, published the results five rounds at a time (the links to all can be found in this post) and now it’s time to reveal our teams. Well, I don’t know if everyone is going to do it, but here’s mine: Read the rest of this entry »

• Steve Cishek of the Miami Marlins’ nailed down his fifth save of the season tonight in a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Cishek faced the minimum three batters — and although he surrendered a leadoff walk to Michael Bourn — needed just 12 pitches to get out of the inning. Tonight’s save was the fourth consecutive conversion since July 6th for the 6-6 right-hander who now owns a 1.86 ERA (3.97 xFIP) and a 2.1 K/BB. For those chasing saves, consider Cishek who is available in 69 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Heath Bell, who hasn’t entered a game in a save situation since July 8th, appeared in the eighth inning of tonight’s game and earned his fourth hold of the year.
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In the real world, “in the hole” means I’m standing at the top step of the dugout, helmet on, bat in hand, waiting to get into the on-deck circle. In the fantasy world, it means I’ve screwed the pooch. Let’s face it. There’s nothing worse than starting the fantasy season with a bunch of your guys on the DL. Not only do you have to replace players you drafted and hoped would bring you much joy throughout the season, but you also have to fight off an entire league of eager beavers for said replacements.

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Today’s Roto Riteup talks primarily about closers. Closers, closers, closers.

–  Grant Balfour has been named the A’s closer, beating out Brian Fuentes. Balfour’s home run rate last season was certainly worrisome, but another season with an ERA below 3.00 and a WHIP below 1.15 is extremely attainable. Balfour is in the last guaranteed year of his contract, so a mid-season trade isn’t out of the question, even though the A’s hold a club option for 2013.

–  With Joakim Soria having big-time elbow problems, Greg Holland should be on everyone’s draft board. While Jonathan Broxton is the experienced closer, Holland is a more effective pitcher and less likely to break down in the process. Projecting where Holland should be drafted is tough, but if he is the full-time closer, there’s a chance he could actually end up in the top-ten at his position thanks to his massive strikeout rate. Mike Podhorzer has more on the subject.

–  Dr. James Andrews alert! Orioles’ starter Zach Britton is going to see the noted baseball mortician after inflammation returned to his throwing shoulder as of late. Britton was the subject of fantasy debate last year over whether or not he was a relevant roto option, but this should help squash any remaining ideas that he should be owned in anything but dynasty leagues. If your keeper deadline already passed, you should be kicking yourself in the face for being so silly.

A Pitcher For Today/Tomorrow
During the season, you’ll be finding recommendations for starters you could stream for the day after the notes, but this being spring training, I’m going to assume you aren’t playing some strange high-stakes spring fantasy game.

If you have anything in particular you’d like to see in this year’s Roto Riteup, please say so in the comments. Feedback is appreciated.