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Fantrax/CDM Fantasy Sports

Cheap Sleeper of the Day: Edwin Diaz


Pitching for a division-contending Seattle team in a pitchers' ballpark, Diaz has the potential to become an elite Top-5 closer as quickly as this year. As a 22-year old rookie last year, Diaz converted 18 of his first 19 save opps when moved into the closer role mid-way thru the season....with a solid K:BB ratio of 88:15 in 51 innings for an insane K-9 rate of 15.3. He could approach 100 Ks & 40 saves in his first full season as the Seattle closer....and those are elite closer numbers at a cheap price.
 
Cheap Sleeper of the Day: Jose Peraza


Another 22-year old up-and-comer who is priced dirt cheap because it wasn't certain until this weekend that he would have a clear every day spot in the lineup, in spite of the fact that he had an explosive debut during the last half of 2016 with 24 steals and a .324 BA in only 241 ABs. He is listed at 2B for Fantrax leagues, even though he can also play SS & OF. It has been much-anticipated that the Reds would move either Phillips, Cozart or Hamilton to make a spot for Peraza in the lineup. This weekend it happened as the Reds sent Brandon Phillips to Atlanta.

It is anticipated that Peraza will bat 2nd in the Reds' lineup....behind Hamilton and in front of Votto & Duvall. In that situation, he could well have a 100+ runs, 40+ steals, .300+ BA year. So unless a person wants to pay Astro Bucks (pun intended) for Altuve or big bucks for an aging Robinson Cano, taking Peraza for close to nothing as one of your three 2nd basemen could free up tons of money to upgrade in other places. He should be a solid 3-category producer in 5x5 roto leagues...though possibly slightly better suited for Fantrax' roto leagues than points leagues, due to BA being less important in points league scoring.
 
Cheap Sleeper of the Day: Lance McCullers


Assuming he is over the elbow problems that cut his 2016 season short, McCullers...not Keuchel...is the true ace of the Houston pitching staff. The 23-year old has made only 36 career starts, but in those 206 innings he has 235 Ks....a sparkling 10.2 K/9 rate.....and a 3.22 ERA. Very few pitchers have K/9 rates like that two years into their career.

If he is healthy, McCullers...who will be pitching behind one of the best lineups in MLB...should produce numbers far better than his price tag, which has been drastically reduced due to his injury risk situation.

ETA:

https://www.fantrax.com/news/mlb/fantasy-columns/smqt6jyhizjssei9

Lance McCullers, HOU (SP)

I enjoy rowdy picks, get used to it. My next pick is a young stud who also was injured last season, twice in this case, and thus we only got to bask in his awesomeness for 14 starts. But in those 14 starts, McCullers showed us that he has the potential to be one of the elite strikeout pitchers in the game. He posted the fourth highest K/9 among starters with at least 80 IP (11.78), and joined Strasburg as one of only six starting pitchers with a K% over 30.0. He doesn't possess a deep arsenal of pitches, but instead sticks to a four seam fastball, knuckle curve, and changeup. But those three pitches are plenty good enough, and its that knuckle curve that will carry McCullers to 300 strikeouts.

This knuckle curve is devastating, and luckily for fantasy owners, McCullers throws it more than any other pitcher in the league. At 85.1 MPH, it is the fastest curveball in baseball, and as you see in the clip above, waits until the very last second to drop. Just straight up filthy. According to Pitchf/x the pitch earned a .140 BAA, a 45.7 K%, and an almost identical SwStr% as Strasburg's changeup. McCullers curve is so good that it actually beat out Corey Kluber and the late, great Jose Fernandez for the highest value curveball in baseball.

McCullers was really heating up prior to the elbow sprain, but is working on new mechanics this off-season to avoid any elbow problems this year. Heres to hoping the adjustments keep the man healthy so he surprises everyone (but me) and reaches 300 strikeouts in 2017.

Ben: This one is a stretch, but this choice makes sense if you look at his gaudy K/9 numbers. In his second season with Houston, McCullers upped his strikeouts per nine from 9.24 to 11.78 thanks to a dominating curveball that is a thing of beauty to watch. What is going to keep him from reaching 300 strikeouts is his control; on top of those strikeouts, he averaged 5.0 BB/9 last season, which kept his overall innings down due to the number of pitches he was throwing. At the tender age of 23 there is still plenty McCullers needs to learn before he joins the elite strikeout pitchers in the league. 
 
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Cheap Sleeper of the Day: Kelvin Herrera


There is a reason why Kansas City let Wade Davis go, and that reason is Kelvin Herrera. Priced cheap and on a contending team in a pitchers' ballpark, the 27-year old Herrera has a 5-year career resume of a 2.63 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, a .223 BAA and a 9+ K/9 ratio.
 
bobknightfan said:
Put together a 41-man roster to use as a starting place.

Lucroy, Jonathan C - TEX - White guy :thumbsup:
Sánchez, Gary C - NYY - IMMIGRANT
Goldschmidt, Paul 1B - ARI - White guy :thumbsup:
Morales, Kendrys 1B - TOR - REFUGEE
Odor, Rougned 2B - TEX - IMMIGRANT
Travis, Devon 2B - TOR - "one of the good ones"
Arenado, Nolan 3B - COL - White guy :thumbsup:
Sano, Miguel 3B - MIN - IMMIGRANT
Correa, Carlos SS - HOU - sneaky american
Turner, Trea SS - WAS - White guy :thumbsup:
Betts, Mookie OF - BOS - "one of the good ones"
Buxton, Byron OF - MIN - "one of the good ones"
Harper, Bryce OF - WAS - White guy :thumbsup:
Mazara, Nomar OF - TEX - IMMIGRANT
Renfroe, Hunter (R) OF - SD - White guy :thumbsup:
Springer, George OF - HOU - "one of the good ones"
Duvall, Adam OF - CIN - White guy :thumbsup:
Franco, Maikel 3B - PHI - IMMIGRANT
Duffy, Danny SP - KC - White guy :thumbsup:
Kluber, Corey SP - CLE - White guy :thumbsup:
Martínez, Carlos SP - STL - IMMIGRANT
McCullers, Lance SP - HOU - White guy :thumbsup:
Syndergaard, Noah SP - NYM - White guy :thumbsup:
Verlander, Justin SP - DET - White guy :thumbsup:
Díaz, Edwin RP - SEA - sneaky american
Giles, Ken RP - HOU - White guy :thumbsup:
Neris, Héctor RP - PHI - IMMIGRANT
Treinen, Blake RP - WAS - White guy :thumbsup:
Rizzo, Anthony 1B - CHC - White guy :thumbsup:
Votto, Joey 1B - CIN - the good kind of immigrant
Schoop, Jonathan 2B - BAL - IMMIGRANT
Bryant, Kris 3B - CHC - White guy :thumbsup:
Lindor, Francisco SS - CLE - sneaky american
Schwarber, Kyle OF - CHC - White guy :thumbsup:
Trout, Mike OF - LAA - White guy :thumbsup:
Carrasco, Carlos SP - CLE - IMMIGRANT
Gausman, Kevin SP - BAL - White guy :thumbsup:
Hendricks, Kyle SP - CHC - white AF :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Maeda, Kenta SP - LAD - IMMIGRANT
Salazar, Danny SP - CLE - IMMIGRANT
Herrera, Kelvin RP - KC - IMMIGRANT
Click to expand...

a melting pot
 
I agree with him---Herrera is gonna blow up for the Royals.

Not sure how Travis Wood will play in there, but assume he's a mid-level arm guy.
 
Deacsfan27 said:
I agree with him---Herrera is gonna blow up for the Royals.

Not sure how Travis Wood will play in there, but assume he's a mid-level arm guy.
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Herrera is awesome, but from 2012-2016 he is 5th in appearances, and 1st in IP among relievers. He hasn't had TJ yet either.

The usage and a questionable "sleeper" label just have me questioning the value.

And, he's an IMMIGRANT!
 
MHBDemon said:
Yo where my shitty sleeper picks at?
Click to expand...

I added some of them in my latest roster change:

Alex Bregman
Eric Thames
Neftali Feliz (more for price & flexibility as a 5th closer than for more than average performance)
Jerad Eickhoff
Kevin Gausman
Drew Smyly

And by the way, when I call someone a sleeper it is in a fantasy context of how I think he will produce relative to his assigned salary cap price. If I think a player is going to produce at a much higher level than a player at his price would be expected to produce, that makes him a sleeper for fantasy purposes. Think of it as a "fantasy sleeper" if you prefer. Take Herrera, for example. Until he filled in for an injured Davis last year he had never closed. 14 RPs are priced higher than Herrera this year. I think Herrera will outperform many of those 14 guys. That gives him "sleeper value" for fantasy purposes. That's even more the case for Shawn Kelley, if he gets the Nats' closer job. 30 RPs are priced higher than Kelley this year....and anyone closing for Scherzer, Strasburg, Gonzalez & Roark is going to outperform most of those 30 guys in fantasy points. Salary cap is completely different from draft leagues...as you know because you tried it already...so players must be evaluated differently for the two competetions (as well as for a points league vs a roto league).

If Shawn Kelley gets the Nationals' closer job he will also be a definite sleeper. If he doesn't get the job, of course, I will replace him before the opening day deadline on April 2nd.
 
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Here are some sleepers I have my eye on:

Yu Darvish
Oscar Hernandez
Ubaldo Jimenez
Robert Andino
Evan Longoria

Roberto Perez
Alcides Escobar
Clayton Kershaw
Ian Kennedy
Salvador Perez
Tom Gorzelanny
 
bobknightfan said:
Do you prefer points-scoring or roto-scoring?
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chrischristicameltoemooseknucke2015-500x567.jpg
 
I'm going to get a rookie team just so there will be no regrets later. Here is a couple cheap players I found this mourning.


Taillon, Jameson - PIT SP,P 710k
Healy, Ryon - OAK 3B,UT 670

I think Taillon could be really good this year. Healy has a lot of power and was impressive when he came up last year. he is in a platoon situation right now. however, he can play both 1st and 3rd and of course there is the dh at Oakland.
 
aceeight said:
I'm going to get a rookie team just so there will be no regrets later. Here is a couple cheap players I found this mourning.


Taillon, Jameson - PIT SP,P 710k
Healy, Ryon - OAK 3B,UT 670

I think Taillon could be really good this year. Healy has a lot of power and was impressive when he came up last year. he is in a platoon situation right now. however, he can play both 1st and 3rd and of course there is the dh at Oakland.
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Sure you don't want to try the bronze instead? I'd love to see what you think of the points league game, and since you are downplaying this year it would seem like a good time to try it out. It's hard to talk strategy with two different scoring systems.

Also, what do you think about Detroit's Daniel Norris as a really cheap SP? He seems to be in a pretty good spot as the #4 guy in that rotation.

I made a few more changes. Went from Darvish back to Carlos Martinez and from Votto back to Rizzo at first base. Everything I've read....everything....says to take Rizzo over Votto. I finally relented. Have 4 Cubs on my roster now....and 0 White Sox. Of course there is a reason for that. The Cubs have the best team in baseball now and the White Sox totally suck.
 
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bobknightfan said:
Sure you don't want to try the bronze instead? I'd love to see what you think of the points league game, and since you are downplaying this year it would seem like a good time to try it out. It's hard to talk strategy with two different scoring systems.

Also, what do you think about Detroit's Daniel Norris as a really cheap SP? He seems to be in a pretty good spot as the #4 guy in that rotation.

I made a few more changes. Went from Darvish back to Carlos Martinez and from Votto back to Rizzo at first base. Everything I've read....everything....says to take Rizzo over Votto. I finally relented. Have 4 Cubs on my roster now....and 0 White Sox. Of course there is a reason for that. The Cubs have the best team in baseball now and the White Sox totally suck.
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It would be the time to try something new. I haven't made a purchase yet.

If you want a white sox player Tim Anderson will lead off and could easily steal 30 bags. He is 1310k in your game.

I will have to look up Norris. I have just started looking at stats this mourning. The rest of the weekend I plan to seed my lawn. That includes mowing, dethatching, aerating, seeding, and rolling. Hope I can do that in just 2 days! lol
 
aceeight said:
It would be the time to try something new. I haven't made a purchase yet.

If you want a white sox player Tim Anderson will lead off and could easily steal 30 bags. He is 1310k in your game.

I will have to look up Norris. I have just started looking at stats this mourning. The rest of the weekend I plan to seed my lawn. That includes mowing, dethatching, aerating, seeding, and rolling. Hope I can do that in just 2 days! lol
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That's one big difference in the points game....steals. In roto, stolen bases has its own category which accounts for 20% of the total hitting score. In points, steals are just one of many ways to earn 2 points. The bottom line is that you don't need to have any players, necessarily, where steals is the main thing they bring to the table. They are nice to have because they earn points, but in roto you must have some top steals guys or you get killed in an entire category. As I said in an earlier post, a double counts two points just like a steal. A guy getting 40 doubles is just as important as a guy getting 40 steals.

I've really come to like the points scoring system better than the roto system...but it does require re-evaluating some players. ERA, WHIP & BA are no longer important. OBP (which includes walks) & Slugging Percentage (Extra Base Hits) become the important factor for hitters, and workhorses who can pile up innings & strikeouts (and hopefully wins) are what is important in pitchers.

Another thing I have decided is that carrying a 5th closer is worth more than carrying an extra hitter...especially since you have 41 players on the points roster compared to 40 on the roto roster, so you aren't really even giving up a hitter. And since you are only allowed a maximum of 11 SPs you are going to have plenty of hitters on the bench anyway. Getting back to the 5th closer, though.... you can use a 5th closer in much the same way you try to max starters for the SPs. One of your closers may have 7 games in a week where another only has 5 games. That gives you more potential saves for the week....and each save is 10 points, just like each win. Also, it gives you injury protection for your closers. Right now, my roster has 11 SPs, 5 closers, 3 catchers, 4 first basemen, 3 second basemen, 3 third basemen, 3 shortstops & 9 outfielders....for a total of 41 players.

(Good luck with your lawn. I don't even like to think about that stuff. We are thinking about moving into a townhome. Only two of us here now (for the only time in the last 40 years) and we have way too much house & lawn to keep up! By the way, my buddies at the fire dept finally talked me into into playing golf a couple of weeks ago...for the first time in more than 20 years. I was absolutely awful. Think I shot around 110. No 7 hdcp for me anymore! The last time I played I didn't wear glasses, didn't have lower back problems and was about 20 pounds lighter. I think the next time I play I will try it without the glasses. They are bifocals and I don't really need them to see off that much. I had never worn them playing golf and never really adjusted to that. At least I got some exercise. Wore my fit-bit and it said that I walked 4.2 miles. Got to see a lot of the course with the way I was hitting the ball. LOL.)
 
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