All Managerial Vacancies Have Been Filled...Thanks

One of the best Dynasty Leagues has filled its open vacancies. Thanks to the many who showed interest in taking over a team. I appreciate your enthusiasm and continued support of this site.

4TH Year Dynasty League Has Openings For Next Year

A great Dynasty League will be losing a couple of Managers for next year. Its a 6X6 H2H Daily League that includes OPS and Holds. A 25 man roster witha 15 man farm team. If you are interested in a team and want to know players involved please email me here.

Mike Trout Catch

With so many searches for Trout's remarkable catch, I posted some of the best...enjoy.

Help From The DL

 

Looking for some extra help down the stretch?  You may want to look at a couple players coming off the DL this weekend. Both Mike Napoli (78% owned) and Eric Young Jr. (12% owned) are available to many managers.

Napoli provides power and has both C and 1B eligibility. Ranger’s manager Ron Washington has already stated Napoli will be behind the plate. He will be splitting time with Soto but should get a few DH duties too. His quadriceps injury seems to be healed completely.

Young was one of the hottest hitter in all of baseball before his muscle strain. In his 174 ABs he had a slash line of .318/.379/.451 with 36 Runs and 14 SB. He has both 2B and OF eligibility and will be atop of the Rockies order when he returns.

I have been able to pick up both players in a few leagues and will stash them just so my competition does not get their services. Napoli will be helpful in one of my leagues when Mauer is not playing and Young will be used to fill in for players with off days or if I need some Runs and SB down the stretch.

Welcome Back Simba

 

If you remember back on July 8^th, the last game before the All-Star break, Braves slick fielding SS Andrelton Simmons broke a bone in his throwing hand sliding into second base. Well, he is now rehabbing for the Braves Double A team and is expected to get called back up on Monday.

In his last games he has hit 4 for 13 with 2 HR 4Runs and a SB. During his play before the injury, Simmons surpassed all expectations offensively. They Braves knew he could filed but his bat completely surprised them. He hit .296 with 11 XBH that included 3 HR. He had a .788 OBP and went 8 for 16 in late inning close games.  His .788 OPS ranks him 2^nd for all SS with over 115 ABs this season.

So if you have recently lost out on picking up Machado or Profar or had a MI go down (Altuve) you should consider adding Simmons. His defense also helps improve and already good Atlanta rotation with his defense so consider all SP for the Braves to have increased in value downs the stretch. With the Braves playing the Mets and Marlins numerous times these last 3 weeks look for Atlanta to win many more than they lose.

The Astros and Blue Jays Are That Bad

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are under your league max in innings pitched and want to stream SP the over the last 4 weeks of the season, here is some advice for you. To gain the most possible Wins and pick up some Ks you need to stream any SP that will face the Astros and Blue Jays down the stretch. Both teams have a team ERA hovering around 4.85 since August 1^st; the worst in both leagues.  If you are in AL or NL only leagues this is a great late season strategy.

The Blue Jays are now without Joey Bats, Brett Lawrie and Rasmus has fallen off the planet. Rasmus has only 17 hits in his last 26 games with 33Ks. Not to mention Encarnacion is hitting at .250 since the beginning of August. For the Astros they are running out an average Triple A team on a nightly basis. One stat I put up earlier in the week was that Cinci had more wins in Houston than Houston had wins in Houston since the All-Star break. That’s pathetic. So take advantage of their anemic offenses and their horrendous pitching to garner yourself some needed wins.

Nearly every other day you should be able to pick up a SP from the wire who will be facing either the Jays or the Stros down the stretch. Run ANYONE out there with confidence a look for a win and some added Ks. Even if your guy gives up a few runs it will not hurt your ERA or WHIP this late in the season, but the extra Wins are so valuable. If you saved your innings pitched take advantage of the situation and pick up a good 6-8 extra Wins for your squad. I know I will.

My Take On Points Leagues

As we all know Fantasy baseball has been around for a few decades now. It has evolved over time and different categories, formats and scoring systems have emerged. While the original concept has stayed the same to determine a champion the way to achieve that has taken on new methods.

One of the more popular offshoots to a scoring system is “points based leagues”. This was my first foray into such a league. Before the draft I read as much as possible about Points Leagues and was excited to try my knowledge against others.

I drafted late in the snake draft and ended up with Votto as my first pick and saw the commish of the league take Kershaw with his first pick. He had around the 3^rd overall and I was 11^th. That should have been a tip there. Anyway, I drafted what I thought was a good balanced line-up for a H2H weekly points based league. What I came to realize in about week 4 was teams that had the most 2 start pitchers for the week seemed to be winning every week. I attributed this to the QS category which gave 10 points.

After about week 6 someone posted in the notes wondering if everyone was still engaged in the league. I made some comments about a SP heavy league and that no one had a real sense of player value so no one wanted to make trades. It may have just been a feeling out for other managers like me who were new to points based leagues or they were just bored with the format.

I stayed active all year and currently rank 5^th in points but will not make the playoffs due to losing so manyH2H matches by single digit. I am literally 300-400 points ahead of 2 teams that will make the playoffs. That is about an 8.5% increases in points for the year. That would be like having 92 points in a Rotisserie league but having a team with 83 points take the title. Discouraging to say the least.

So my take on Points Leagues is a little jaded. Maybe if it was a daily league over weekly lineups it may have been more exciting. Just knowing you out played so many others but was denied a playoff berth or that is was way to much of a SP dominated league left me soured. Most teams didn’t even carry a closer which is hard to believe in Fantasy formats too. Will I play another Points League? Not sure at this time.

The Best Month of Fantasy Baseball

 

By Corey R. Cunningham

Fall is right around the corner and so is football, however, what does this have to do with fantasy baseball you ask? Playoffs! That is right, it is playoff time, and we all recall the good ole’ famous playoff rant years ago by Jim Mora.

Playoffs are just another day away in some leagues and about a week away in most others, so that means it is time to get down to business and add/drop as you need to as quickly as possible. In most leagues, rosters are frozen unless injuries dictate other wise and so is streamlining SP.

Get your ducks in a row, and get your “A” game in order, and be prepared for the best month of baseball to begin for you fantasy gurus out there like me. I know if you are in a money league, this is where the action gets really heated and the intensity level rises like none other.

In most if not all leagues, Sunday is the last day before the new week begins, double check and triple check your league settings for Monday, and be prepared for the upcoming weeks. Double check SP on the FA wire for pitching matchups and remember do not streamline SP if your not suppose to, most call this cheating, yet some think it is a risk it itself.

Good luck to all members in the playoffs!

One Last Chance To Pick Up A Closer

 

With Kenley Jansen going down again with a heart ailment the Closer situation is a bit muddled for the Dodgers. At this time there is no time table for Jansen’s return. What Mattingly has said is the Closer job will be between former Closer Brandon League and set up man Ronald Belisario.

Over the past few days Belisario has picked up 1 save and League pitched the ninth in a non save situation. Last night both pitched in an extra inning game.

For the season, League has the most Saves and has been a Closer in the past, so he has the experience. Belisario has the much better peripherals. Belisario has a 2.65 ERA and a 1.03 compared to League’s 4.91 ERA and a 1.454 WHIP. Belisario has the 8.1K/9 ratio while League has a 6.6K/9 on the season.

If you are in desperate need to move up in Saves in your league or are heading into your H2H playoffs next week I would grab Belisario first base solely on his other counting stats. I have in one league. If Belisario has already been scooped up League is worth a roster spot until a clear cut Closer emerges. Currently Belisario is owned in 15% of leagues while Brandon League is owned in 45%.  This may be your last chance to pick up a closer before the season ends so act quickly.