Baseball Viral

I've been focusing a lot on hitters so far with my 2018 fantasy baseball sleepers (clickbait).  This is not by design.  Hanging in my kitchen, an Elvis clock that keeps time by swiveling its hips and a poster of a cat making sushi, so I can call that room my "kitsch-en," that's by design.  We need to find cheap pitchers who will return a better ROI just as much as cheap hitters.  By the way, ROI is the douchiest thing I've ever written on Razzball, and I tried to make "Potatoes to chips" a thing for five years.  Though, potatoes to chips, I kinda want to own Michael Wacha in every league.  You can look at his 12-9 record with a 4.13 ERA and balk, but Steve Carlton had a shizzton of balks, so is this a bad thing?  Not to answer, but to ruminate while sipping a pamplemousse La Croix.  This isn't even about the Cardinals making explosive players out of duds, i.e., making dynamite out of nitric acid and a manifesto.  There's one word females ar...

Thomas Jefferson once said "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom". This is a lesson the 2017 Detroit Tigers took to heart. They knew their window was honestly closing, and sold off aging stars, and spare parts for something Detroit has lacked for a long time, organizational depth. Over the past two drafts and the 2017 trade deadline (both of them), the Tigers added seven of the top ten players on the list below. They've focused heavily on adding arms with front of the rotation upsides, and have succeeded for the most part, plucking a handful of exciting pitching talents. The positional side of things is a little thinner, but there's a small collection of bats with some serious fantasy allure. With the top pick in the upcoming 2018 MLB draft there's a good chance the Tigers add a couple of impact players before this time next year. The future is bright in the Motor City, with a majority of their top talents years away, this could be a system on the ri...

Not too long ago the words "Chicago Cubs Prospects" meant something. It was a system deep with talented positional players with premium fantasy upsides. In recent years those talented positional payers have debuted on the big stage, succeeded (for the most part), and broke an 108 year old curse. So to say things are good in Wrigleyville is an understatement. So while the farm is not what it was two years ago, it's been essential in reinforcing both of the Cubs recent playoff runs. This leaves Lance and myself to pick up the pieces of what remains. It's a system lacking standout talent, but one that's deep with mid-rotation starters, fringe positional players, and middle relief types. We go through the high points in Jose Albertos, Adbert Alzolay, and Aramis Ademan. Then cover some of the recent draftees, and scour the system for upside. Not the most exciting collection of talent we'll cover, but there's a few names to watch for. Finally, please make sure t...

Over in the Paul DeJong sleeper , I went over different types of sleepers.  There was the the sleeper who-- Actually, just go there and read the categories I laid out like your mother lays out your clothes.  Are you back?  Good.  Okay, Ben Gamel doesn't fit into any of those categories.  He's in the category of "Who the eff is Ben Gamel?"  Just on the Mariners alone, I could say Ryon Healy is a sleeper, and some people might agree.  Mitch Haniger has been a sleeper for about three years.  Maybe some would even consider Mike Zunino a sleeper.  Ben Gamel though?  He's not going to be drafted even in deep mixed leagues.  He's a sleeper who fantasy baseball 'perts won't even talk about, but if you mention him they'll be like, "Oh, yeah, he's a good sleeper."  So, why not talk about him?  "Because no one is going to talk about him."  That's right, most fantasy baseball 'perts judge their sleepers on how much they are not...

Last year, Manuel Margot hit 16 homers and stole 21 bags, while hitting .263.  *you checking Manuel Margot player page, you furrowing your brow*  A 23-year-old with 16 homers and 21 steals while not killing you in average and being drafted after 200 overall?  Huh?  *you tentatively raising your hand*  You, "Um, Grey."  Not right now, I'm making a point.  Is he being artificially deflated by the association with the Padres? Knowing the Padres, he'll be traded to the Cubs for Andrew Cashner.  *you holding your elbow as your arm gets tired from being raised*  "Grey, can I just say one thing?"  What, you?  Smugly, "He only hit 13 homers and stole 17 bases."  That's right, in only 126 games, I was prorating his numbers over the course of the season, so eat a D, Smug You.   This was also his rookie year.  What, no player has ever gotten better after their rookie year?  Maybe not Cody Bellinger or Aaron Judge or B...

Honestly, I wanted to take this whole week off. That was kind of my plan, but five minutes into getting my ass whipped by my 7 year old in video games, I decided to throw in the towel and retire to my study, determined to find Jesus. What I discovered instead was a 98 MPH fastball, a coaster from Dr. James Andrews waiting room, a video of Mike Rizzo writing his name and a smug photo of Billy Beane on a treadmill. What kind of Christmas caper did I find myself involved with? Is this the plot line to Ocean's 16? A film I’m pitching to Grey about me and a bunch of unsigned international prospects storming Dan Duquette’s office, and demanding he sign them all... Why was the couch in my study talking to me? And what exactly was in my Aunt’s “medicated” candied bacon? I had to get to the bottom of this. But first, let’s talk about why Oakland Athletics lefthanded Pitching Prospect Jesus Luzardo has me ready to scorn my life of sin a debauchery for a higher purpose. from Fantasy Basebal...