All posts under "Preseason Prep" - Page 12

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Pre- February 16, 2016

    Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Storylines: GP Are You With Me? Gregory Polanco is poised for a breakout season, and as the 96th player off the board on AVG in the NFBC so far, we see significant value here. His 2015 .256/.320/.381...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - February 15, 2016

    A Change in Approach For Kole Calhoun Going into the 2015 season, Kole Calhoun was a fantasy darling, shooting up the fantasy draft boards. While he had a fine season, we saw an interesting shift in the type of hitter...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - February 13, 2016

    Is Price Worth the Price for Boston? One of this off season's biggest moves was David Price signing a 7-year $217 million contract with the Red Sox. It's hard to believe this guy is now playing for his fifth team...

  • Entertainment
    The Dying Days of the 5-Man Rotation? by Kyle Elfrink

    In a world of change, baseball's five-man pitching rotation has been a given. In fact, for those under 40, it has been that way, well, forever. For decades, we've had a few assumptions when it comes to a pitching staff....

  • Entertainment
    2016 Shortstop Projection Sabermetric Notes

    Sabermetric analysis is and has been the foundation of our Fantasy Baseball player projections since 1999. This analysis along with our founding concept of position scarcity, has helped us achieve superior consistency in projections accuracy. All of which can...

  • Entertainment
    AL Player Analysis - May 17, 2015

    Mike Wright Wright made his MLB debut on Sunday against the Angels and had an impressive debut to say the least. Wright went 7.1 innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts, no walks, and only four hits allowed. He got...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - April 2nd

    Back to Their Old Ways? Edwin Jackson (SP-CHC) - Not to be a bully but Edwin Jackson is a fantasy disaster. As a Cub fan, I cringe every time Jackson takes the mound. Much to surprise, he has actually been...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - April 1, 2015

    With opening night rapidly approaching, the pictures with positional battles and injury concerns are slowly but surely growing more lucid. Devon Travis (2B-TOR): The Blue Jays officially named Devon Travis as their starting 2B on Tuesday. And the crowd goes...

  • Entertainment
    And, Now ... Predictions! By Kyle Elfrink

    It would be patently unfair for me to post all these columns over the previous two months without providing the lifeblood of preseason anticipation ... Predictions! I'll right that wrong today. With the 2015 season less than a week away,...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 31st

    Justin Verlander (SP-DET). Verlander is questionable both to make his next spring start and to be ready for his first start of the regular season after being lifted from his most recent start with soreness in his triceps. While this...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 29th

    Chicago Cubs Jorge Soler - Lets talk about Soler power. No, not solar power, but (Jorge) Soler's power. Overshadowed by teammate and mega prospect, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler has quietly put together an impressive Spring Training. Through 15 games, the...

  • Entertainment
    From Spring Bump, to Summer Jump?, (Part 2) By Kyle Elfrink

    (Note: This is a continuation from Part 1, which was published on 3-27-15) NL Outfielders Eric Young, Jr., Atlanta Young, Jr., is back on radars after appearing to win the early-season centerfield spot in Atlanta. His defense is spotty, his...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 28th, 2015

    Twins Brian Dozier's Power/speed Combo Brian Dozier has been on the fantasy map for a couple seasons now, with an 18/14 HR/SB season in 2013 followed up with a 23/21 pairing in 2014. Now headed into 2015, Dozier is a...

  • Entertainment
    Pre-Season Report- March 27, 2015

    New York Yankees Replacing Mariano- Not necessarily a one man job I know it's a year late on the "Replacing Rivera" storyline, but after almost two decades of being the most stable fantasy closer in baseball, the Yankees closer situation...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep-March 26, 2015

    Cincinnati Reds Has Johnny Cueto established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball? Johnny Cueto was brilliant in 2014. Cueto went 20-9 and posted a 2.25 ERA over 243.2 IP. Cueto had been labeled as a health risk...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep- March 25, 2015

    Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues... Down the homestretch With less than two weeks to go until Opening Day, some positional battles are becoming clearer. For the Rangers the main unsettled spots are left field, left handed reliever, and...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep 3-24-15

    As we drive deeper into the Spring Training season, we will be looking at a few players from each of a trio of teams, the Padres, Cardinals and the Blue Jays. These 3 teams have the ability to be very...

  • Entertainment
    The LACK of Pitching by Kyle Elfrink

    There are a pair of things that we can all agree on as we arrive on the doorstep of 2015 ... 1. Mike Trout is the unquestioned number-1 overall pick and, 2. There's a ton of pitching to be found...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 23, 2015

    Bruce Rondon (RP-DET). Rondon's name is one to keep in mind as a possible closer-in-waiting. Despite missing the 2014 season due to TJ surgery, Rondon has hit 100 MPH with his fastball during spring training and posted solid numbers in...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 22, 2015

    Archie Bradley and As The Diamonbacks' Rotation Turns A day after general manager Dave Stewart declared that Bradley wasn't "Major League Ready," the former top pitching prospect tossed 4 solid innings, allowing 2 unearned runs on 5 hits while striking...

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    Preseason Prep - March 21st, 2015

    Minnesota Twins Twins' top power threat: Oswaldo Arcia The 23-year old Twins' outfielder has yet to go deep in Spring Training this season, but he has a pair of doubles, and is hitting for a good average (.364). Granted, Arcia...

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    Preseason Prep - March 20th, 2015

    Rene Rivera - I feel like I left a bit unsaid a few weeks ago regarding Rivera, whose 318 ABs last season were his highest total since 2007. Rivera was pushed to the majors (and into a backup role) right...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 19th

    Rising Stars: Mookie Betts (BOS-CF) - Let's start things off with one of the hottest batters in spring training, Mookie Betts. In 29 at bats Betts already has 13 hits, seven of which have gone for extra bases. If the...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 18th

    San Diego Padres: Kevin Quackenbush (RP - SD) - Going into the 2014 season as a relatively unknown commodity, Kevin Quackenbush proved his worth down the stretch and is now in the conversation to be the primary set-up man for...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep March 17th

    Andrelton Simmons - Simmons turned in a huge day at the plate Saturday launching his first homer of the spring while going 3-for-3 on the day. Simmons was terrible last year (worse than the player formerly known as BJ Upton...

  • Entertainment
    ADP: The Head-to-Head Decisions by Kyle Elfrink

    Anyone who has even been in the same zip code of a fantasy baseball draft has heard of the 'Closer's Run.' It's the moment when someone decides to breach the dam, take that first closer of the draft, and, thus,...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 16th, 2015

    Ian Desmond is definitely a position where you can get a leg up on your competition these days, because if you include Hanley Ramirez, there are still only 4 guys that clearly should be off the board in the first...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep-March 14, 2015

    Cincinnati Reds What to expect from Joey Votto in 2015? Joey Votto had an injury plagued 2014 season. His quad injury never seemed to heal up and forced him to the DL. Votto only played in 62 games, but is...

  • Entertainment
    Mentioning the Unmentioned by Kyle Elfrink

    How many times a week do you think, "If I could just hit the rewind button and do it again."? Dozens? Fantasy baseball players LIVE the "If I Coulda' Game." It could be a misstep that you made on a...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 12th, 2015

    Minnesota Twins Phil Hughes' breakout: More to come or regression? A year after going 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA, Phil Hughes had a record-setting 2014 in which he won 16 games, posted a 3.52 ERA, threw over 200 innings with...

  • Entertainment
    Players to watch this spring

    We all know that Spring Training stats don't matter, and it's pretty much true. Springs stats have very little correlation with what happens during the upcoming season, whether it's because of small sample size, minor league competition, or players working...

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    EAV$, INF$, and LABR by Kyle Elfrink

    Baseball offers a linguistic world of abbreviations, acronyms, and short-hand. Seriously, each spring most of us wake up to our first rounds of draft prep only to spend a good half-day scavenging through all the new tools of analysis that...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep March 10th

    Atlanta Braves Jace Peterson, Pulling away from the pack? - Okay, maybe it's too early to say he's pulling ahead in the Braves' second base competition but Peterson is off to an excellent start to spring training. He's hitting a...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep- March 9, 2015

    Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues... It's déjà vu all over again The Rangers lost approximately 9 million games to injury right now. The big news this weekend is that they have started picking up right where they left...

  • Entertainment
    Evaluating the Sabermetrics Behind Relievers

    During the year, I write "A Closer Look" for our in-season analysis subscribers. It's a weekly column that takes Fantistics' advanced statistical perspective and applies it specifically to the closing position. I'm a firm believer that relievers can be an...

  • Entertainment
    Preseason Prep - March 8th, 2015

    St Louis Cardinals Trevor Rosenthal (CL) - Closer Controversy? Trevor Rosenthal saved an impressive 46 games in 2014 but his lack of control resulted in 6 blown saves. After posting a 2.39 BB/9 rate in 2013 he ballooned to 5.37...