Fantasy Ball
No dirty thoughts, this is a fantasy baseball page. I’ve been fascinated with fantasy baseball ever since I started playing. Unfortunately, I only started last year. While that may not sound like much of a resume, I’m currently involved in 7 leagues (H2H, Yahoo, 4 regular, 3 midseason). Out of those 7 leagues (10 team, 12 team X2, 14 team), I’m first in 4 of them (the other 3 just started this week).
To be rather blunt, I know my stuff and I’ve been very successful. The reason I have created this page is to offer advice to readers and Yankee fans who need information about players, advice on trades, who to play and who to sit (or who to start), and so on and so forth. So, I encourage you (whoever you may be), to leave a comment/question about your team if you need some help and I’ll be sure to invest some time into answering your question (you’ll get a detailed answer).
The only thing I ask of you is to leave the following information:
- What’s your roster?
- What are the categories?
- Waiver information (if applicable)
- Your position in the league (standings)
- The position of the person you’re trying to trade with (if necessary)
- Any other information that you feel is helpful
I guarantee you that I’ll answer your question within a day or two (probably a day). I look forward to helping you guys out, so if you need any help, please feel free to stop by and ask (on this page only). Also, I’ve only dealt with Yahoo/H2H leagues (I’m doing 1 MLB league, but I think the MLB site is terrible). You can ask me about other leagues and other types of fantasy venues (baseball only) if you’d like (rotisserie), but, again, I just don’t have a lot of experience with those. Thanks!
Ask questions here.
ok, so here’s my team. i’m currently barely hanging on to 6th place out of 12 teams, and am getting desperate to claw back into a more respectable position. we play in yahoo! head to head, and have ALOT of categories, here they are:
R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SB, BB, K, AVG, OBP,
IP, W, SHO, SV, H, ER, BB, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB
with all these categories, it’s alil hard to pick out a truly productive player. there’re a few names on the FA list, like konerko, sheff, taveras, ethier, and pitchers like greinke, buerle, jered weaver, and burnett. not sure how i can show u a list of players, maybe u can make me some suggestions on what types of players to pick up. i just traded for harang, hoping for lightning in the bottle. my team is as below, got 2DL spots, and 5 total players on the DL. lemme kno what you think. Thanks.
Jorge Posada
Aubrey Huff
Alexei Ramírez
Ryan Braun
Derek Jeter
Curtis Granderson
Brad Hawpe
Magglio Ordóñez
Derrek Lee
Jacoby Ellsbury
Johnny Damon
Jim Thome
Troy Tulowitzki
Cody Ross
Brandon Morrow
Huston Street
Dámaso Marte
Andy Pettitte
Wandy Rodríguez
Joba Chamberlain
Roy Halladay
Chad Billingsley
Aaron Harang
MY RESPONSE:
First, I like your Harang trade. Harang was recently placed on the DL with a strained forearm (I believe), but I’ve traded for him (pre-injury) in every league. He’s a solid pitcher with great peripherals (usually), although he has struggled this year (could be brought on by that injury). He’ll give you strikeouts and shouldn’t hurt you much in your other pitching categories (wins maybe hard to find). Your pitching staff looks great so I doubt that has been your biggest problem. Joba, Halladay, Billingsley, a healthy Harang, should be your main starters. They put up your best numbers. I like Andy Pettitte but I would only start him if you’ve got a good matchup. The same can be said for Wandy Rodriguez (start him when he pitches at home, but not the road). I usually pitch my best starters every chance I get, and then sit my secondary starters (especially if you have an innings minimum of 7 innings). To get a good lead over your competition, start your best guys (Halladay and Billingsley and Joba) in hopes that they’ll give you WHIP, ERA, K/BB, ER, H, BB. You may not win IP, W, or K, but having one effective start can help you in this league (as long as your stud pitches the innings minimum for your league) and lock up a few categories while punting others. Pitching less, not more, will help you in this league. Also, I would pick up Greinke or Weaver (he’s going to have a strong 2nd half) if Harang doesn’t pan out. Your closers are fine for now, but if you have an available P slot, I’d drop Pettitte outright and pick up another closer if there’s one available (Jon Rauch?).
Now, your offense is pretty solid as well, however, you’ve been hit with some bad performances and injuries (Hawpe, Damon, Posada, Ordonez, etc.). A team featuring the following lineup is a good team:
C – POSADA
1B – LEE
2B – RAMIREZ
3B – BRAUN
SS – JETER
OF – HAWPE
OF – GRANDERSON
OF – ORDONEZ
UTIL – HUFF
If Jeter starts hitting more, if Magglio stays healthy, and if Posada can start hitting, this will be a better than 6th place team (even though 6th place still helps you get into the playoffs). One person I would watch closely is Brad Hawpe. He cannot hit lefties to save his life, although he’s been doing a better job with that this year. If he’s facing a tough lefty (and has bad numbers against him), I’d sit him and plug in Damon or Ellsbury (I’m not sure what your roster positions are). If I were you, I’d drop Troy Tulowitzki and pick up another offensive player (or that closer I told you about, earlier) too. Again, you have a strong batch of players, however, injuries and under performances have hurt you. Finally, keep an eye on Jorge Posada and his playing time/shoulder problems. I recently traded Posada and picked up Ryan Doumit in order to better my team, and I was also worried about Posada’s lack of everyday playing time with his shoulder problem.
Hope I’ve been a help, sometimes, you just have to ride out the bad times and the injuries. I think your team will be fine, just be smart with how much you let your pitchers pitch and be weary of who’s hot right now (Cody Ross is a good one), so that you can play the hot guys while some others are injured.
Hi, man. Yeah, it’s a 12 team rotisserie midseason league, i’m currently in 1st place. Well, the stat categories are the normal ones for Yahoo! Public Leagues. (You know them, right?) You’ll be surprised at my roster for a 1st place team. Anyway, main FAs are Willy Taveras, Gary the Sherriff, Paul Konerko, Joey Votto, Edwin Encarnacion, Emil Brown and Placido Polanco. A guy just placed Glaus on waivers a few days ago. Not sure if i should pick him up to replace my 3B. Pitchers are John Danks (placed a claim for him, not for another day though), Jon Rauch, Matt Thornton, Damaso Marte, Scott Linebrink, JP Howell, Randy Johnson and Oliver Perez. Give me a few tips on who of the guys mentioned above that i should keep an eye on, thx.
Heres my roster:
Kurt Suzuki
Lance Berkman
Chase Utley
Mark DeRosa
Michael Young
Rick Ankiel
BJ Upton
Corey Hart
Justin Morneau
Jim Thome
Howie Kendrick
CC Sabathia
AJ Burnett
George Sherill
Takashi Saito
Huston Street
Zack Grienke
Ricky Nolasco
Javier Vazquez
Ted Lilly
John Maine
DL-Troy Percival
I just pulled off a blockbuster deal to acquire Huston Street, AJ Burnett, and Justin Morneau from the 3rd place team for my Nick Markakis, Brandon Morrow, Mark Reynolds and the DL’ed Erik Bedard. D;you think its a wrong move for me, or a right move? Anyway, ive been proposed a deal by the 6th place team, Prince Fielder and Ervin Santana for John Maine, Jim Thome and AJ Burnett. Should I accept his offer? Thanks, because my pts are 87.5 heading into the All star break and the 2nd place team is 84.5, just barely behind me, and its a tough hold because he has Ian Kinsler, Milton Bradley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels. Maybe i should try to pry his main players, but he ain;’t takin no nothing from me, lol. I reckon i could hold, if ankiel performs again.
MY RESPONSE:
You have a great team. The Markakis trade was a tough one, simply because Markakis is an elite OF and Morneau sort of stumbled in the second half of last year so hopefully, that won’t be the case this time around. I don’t think it was a great trade, necessarily, but if Burnett is traded to the NL (and stays healthy) it could be a nice move. Losing Markakis and an injured Bedard are still tough losses, however. If you needed another closer (which you do now, because of Saito’s injury), I would have suggested picking up Rauch since he’s available instead of trading for Street (you should probably pick him up now). Either way, it wasn’t a great trade but it’s not too bad and you’ll manage.
I definitely think you should bite on the Maine-Fielder trade. Giving up Maine, Burnett, and Thome for Fielder and Santana is a smart trade. Fielder is having somewhat of a disappointing first half, but you know he’s capable of hitting 25 homers in the second half (or even more). The upside there is phenomenal and you’d rather have Fielder over Thome, even if Thome is hot right now. Also, Santana has been a better pitcher than Maine so you’d be receiving a strong SP on a winning team. Maine regressed tremendously in the second half of last year after looking like a stud in the first half. I’d sell high on him, right now. Santana’s finally reaching his potential and the sky really is the limit for that kid. If you do the trade, you wouldn’t have to worry about Thome’s injuries or Maine/Burnett’s inconsistencies. You’re basically receiving a great player, in return, and a solid pitcher in Santana.
Good luck!
appreciate the advice. thanks.
Thx man! I’m now 5.5 pts ahead of my league (pulled the trigger on the fielder deal)
Sup Chris. By the way, awesome blog you got running here. Need some trade advice, cuz the trade deadline is comin’ up in Yahoo leagues, and I dont wanna lose my position. My league is a public H2H league, with the standard categories. I’m currently in second place after I crushed another team 9-1 the week before. No biggies in the free agent pool, and no player on waivers are in the obvious-name department. Anyway, heres my roster:
C- Ryan Doumit
1B- Adrian Gonzalez
2B- Ian Kinsler
3B- Aramis Ramirez
SS- Hanley Ramirez
OF- Jermaine Dye
OF- Jason Bay
OF- Carlos Quentin
Util- Carlos Lee
Bn- JD Drew
Bn- Conor Jackson
SP- Edinson Volquez
SP- Tim Lincecum
RP- Brandon Morrow
RP- Brian Fuentes
P- CJ Wilson
P- Joel Hanrahan
P- John Maine
Bn- Javier Vazquez
Bn- Shaun Marcum
Bn- Gil Meche
Well thats my roster. I need serious saves help, the reason I beat the other team last week in saves is because he only has one closer, Kerry Wood, who is on the DL. With Morrow having only a few more weeks of closing time and Hanrahan not yet proven in the ninth inning, I seriously need to acquire a top-notch closer like K-Rod or Mariano. I’ve been offering Conor Jackson and JD Drew around the league for closers, but I’ve been rejected every time. Sad. You reckon I could hold with my current ninth-inning men?
I want to try and get rid of Quentin, Drew or Jackson for a closer, or better yet, a starter. Ive been targeting Justin Duchscherer and Danny Haren, offering different packages, but the owners of those pitchers won;t budge. I mean, he even declined Carlos Lee + Jackson for Duch and JJ Hardy? Jeez. However, I did get an offer from this guy requiring that I send Drew, Marcum and Jackson on their way for Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander. Not sure Verlander is an ace once more, so i need some advice. Verlander ain’t Haren or Duch, but he sure could help, since Lincecum, Volquez and Marcum are all struggling.
Also, for your benefit, heres the roster of the guy who owns Duchscherer (hes also the 1st place team, and has some nice arms in his staff)
C- McCann
1B- Morneau
2B- Theriot
3B- Wright
SS- Tejeda
OF- Braun
OF- McLouth
OF- Beltran
Util- Longoria
Bn- Peralta
Bn- Kubel
DL- Damon (I wonder why he hasnt taken Damon off?)
SP- Lohse
SP- Harden
RP- Rivera
RP- Kuo
P-Soria
P- Torres
P- Buchholz
Bn- Galaraga
Bn- Duchscherer
Bn- Cliff Lee
He also has Lee, Rivera and Soria, as you can see. Im interested in them too, especially Rivera and Soria. Please give me some trade senarios regarding his team and mine, thanks!
Heres the link to my public league: (You can access public leagues via links)
http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/308784
Btw, my team is Yankees Faithful.
Hey TariK. Thanks for the kind words.
Anyway, I love your fantasy team. It’s a strong up and down and, to be honest, the first place team must have grabbed the lead early on and kept it, or you had to have had a bad week at some point, because you should be beyond them. He must be winning the WHIP and ERA categories because he doesn’t have much for wins, K’s, or even saves (only 3 closers). Here’s what I would do if I were you.
I’d accept the the Drew, Jackson, Marcum for Fielder and Verlander trade. I mean, you’re basically trading Drew (sell high) and Jackson (two of your bench players, and Drew hasn’t been hitting much of anything lately) and Marcum (who is an injury risk and after his latest starts, you have to be somewhat worried) for an elite player and an elite starter. Verlander has been great since his first month of mediocrity (he had a rough start the other day but he’s still be great) and Fielder has struggled a bit but has always come on in the second half. That deal will still provide you with some flexibility if Carlos Quentin craps out (Lee to OF, Fielder to UTIL) and you’ll be able to mix and match who starts for the time being.
Next, in terms of your pitching, you still have a decent staff. Volquez is regressing a bit, but he’ll still provide K’s and hopefully he’ll figure things out some more. If you think you could pawn him off for another solid starter, I’d give it a shot, but he should be good enough for now. Trading Marcum for Verlander would certainly help you in this department. Marcum was great in the first half, but who knows what you’ll get from a guy who was experiencing a serious arm problem. Lincecum and Verlander would be a nice boost for you as your 2 starters. Vasquez has been a let down for sure. I’ve had him in all of my leagues and he’s a solid pitcher but he’s having a tough year. Gil Meche has been pretty solid these past few weeks so he’s not a bad addition. If you’re having trouble with pitching, you should try streaming. Maybe drop Gil Meche and pick up another starter every other day or so (look for good matchups). This could hurt you in ERA and WHIP, but it’ll get you WINS and K’s (2 guaranteed cats if you stream a lot).
In the saves department, I’d say leave it as is. Puttz will return to his role soon but Morrow is doing an adequate job for now. I’m assuming you didn’t pick up Fernando Rodney recently? He could still be available. You’d still have Wilson, Hanrahan and Fuentes (who reportedly isn’t being traded which ups his value) as your closers and that’s enough to keep you competing with everyone else. If you want to try something, you could trade for Fielder and Verlander and then trade Fielder for Papelbon or K-Rod, but then your bench would be shot. If you’re looking for speculative saves, Masa Kobayashi was named the interim closer for the Indians, but he’s reached an innings limit. In Japan he’s never pitched as much as he has now and Eric Wedge, the manager, said he’d take it easy on him. You could pick up Rafael Perez since he’ll likely get a few save opportunities with Masa being limited. You could do it once Morrow is out of his role.
Other than that, I’d say stay the way you are. Saves are saves and you have 3 guys (and Morrow for now) to get you a few. It’ll keep you competitive in that category, even if you don’t win it all the time. I’d pull the trigger on that Fielder Verlander deal though. People are overvaluing JD Drew and Marcum (2 injury risks and Drew had one phenomenal month) and Jackson is solid but you have better players than him in your starting lineup. I think the guy in first is going to have a tough few weeks because Duchscherer is regressing, Galaraga could implode at any moment (so can Lohse), but he’s played it smart slotting in SP,RP compatible guys to log innings. He’s probably leading with ERA and WHIP, but I still think that you can get him. If he has one bad week with those pitchers, he’s done.
UPDATE – Hey man, I actually just looked at your league info. You’ve been blowing everyone away with saves actually. So I wouldn’t try anything too drastic. Just as I had suspected, J-Bird is winning with WHIP and ERA but not much else. That won’t last every week and his hitting is fairly good (Braun, Morneau and Tejada are hot right now). The Fielder-Verlander deal could help you in the wins category, which you’ve been average in. Plus, he’ll help you in every other category (he’ll be an upgrade in comparison to Marcum, at this point). Good luck with your league man. You’re only 1 GB and I think you’ll take the lead very soon.
UDPATE – Jason Insringhausen has been moved back to the closer role for St. Louis. So, if you need another closer and he’s on the wire, I’d give him a try.
Hey Chris, thanks for your great advice. Btw, you said you specialize in H2H leagues, so can you leave me a link to one of your Best teams? I want to see your style, lineup and learn from it, hopefully. Unlike a grad student like you, I’m only entering my fresh year at college. Thanks Chris, hopefully ill become a better fantasy player from learning from one of your teams :)
^Congrats as you head into college. I just graduated last year, so even Grad School, a year later, is pretty weird. I’m in all private leagues, but here’s the only public one. My team is Scott Boras.
http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/290661
Good luck!
Thanks Chris! Yeah, I’m pretty nervous about goin to college. Anyway, I look forward to that, and thanks for showing me your AWESOME butt kicking team.
Oh yeah, piece of advice: Don’t ever play in rotisserie leagues. It’s hard to keep the Innings Pitched pace, If I continue my pace, I’ll finish about 150 innings over the limit. Man, that’s hard to bite. I also agree that the MLB fantasy game is extremely horrible, as you can’t trade in public leagues. Even so, I’m first in my division =)
Are you going to sign up for Yahoo! Fantasy NBA in September? If you are I want to be in your league, although I probably wont be very active due to work.
Hey TariK, thanks for the advice. I’ve heard about that IPP problem before. I only do fantasy baseball because I spend so much time on it and if I did any other sport, I’d probably have no life, ha. But, I definitely think you should join my league next year. It should be fun.
Right. Well, my Yankees Faithful team is 1st place (overtook J-Bird). And, my MLB.com fantasy team won its league. That was seriously AWESOME. Btw, I’m going to UCLA with some of my buds. The freshmen year sucks, some of my senior year friends say.
Freshmen year is tough in terms of getting used to the academic life, but the social stuff is almost too much fun (at least that’s how it was for me). Hey, if you’re headed to UCLA, you can always check in on Gerrit Cole, our soon to be ex-first-round pick. Befriend him while you can!
Yeah man! I’ll try and keep an eye on Cole. Hopefully me and my fellow buds (who are Yankee fans) can persuade him to read your blog and change his mind. Cole will make the university team, though. (more than likely)
He’s got a scholarship (for the baseball team), so you’ll definitely be able to follow him. I’m telling you, befriend him before he makes his millions!
VICTORY..
7 leagues.
7 teams in the playoffs.
5 teams in the final playoff.
4 teams won the final playoff (i lost the 5th on 1 K).
For me, it was:
11 teams. (5 in H2H)
3 out of the 5 in playoffs
2 of the 3 won H2H championships, 3rd one lost 5-4 in semis
6 rotisserie teams.
4 of the 6 in top 3s of their respective leagues.
2 in first place.
So to sum it up: 4 1st place trophies, 1 2nd place, 1 3rd place
We’re battling next year, ha.
I really liked your blog with the Justin Morneau item. I think Morneau could be a hall-of-famer.
I try to follow as much MLB news as I can from Caracas, Venzuela.
Uh, hey, nice blog man. Well, Ive heard that you’re quite skilled at fantasy, so I’m hoping that’ll you’ll give me some advice.
Roster (14-team league, H2H)
C-AJ Pierzynski
1B-Garett Atkins
2B-Orlando Hudson
3B-David Wright
SS-Michael Young
2B/SS-Khalil Greene
1B/3B-Aramis Ramirez
OF-Carlos Lee
OF-Alfonso Soriano
OF-Nelson Cruz
BN-Pat Burrell
P-AJ Burnett
P-Dan Haren
P-Roy Oswalt
P-BJ Ryan
P-Mike Gonzalez
P-Carlos Zambrano
P-Brandon Lyon
P-Francisco Cordero
BN-Aaron Harang
I think it’s a pretty decent team, especially since it’s a 14-team league. Do you have any advice to give me? Thanks in advance =) I want to improve my catcher, SS, 2B, closers, and preferbly upgrade my 1B as well. I’m matched against the weakest team in the league (his best batter is Ryan Zimmerman, ace is Ubaldo Jiminez) but my stars are underperforming (Carlos Lee). I want to strengthen my team as much as possible as the season just started.
Nice team there. I’m in a few 20-team leagues, so I know the difficulties of playing in a deep league. Also, I too am worried about Carlos Lee. His spring numbers were terrible and I’m wondering if he is still feeling the affects of last year’s injury to his hand. Anyway, I digress…
I would definitely try to upgrade at 2B with Hudson. I think Greene could have a good year away from Petco, but Hudson doesn’t offer much. What are the IP limits in your league? If possible, I would shop one of Burnett, Oswalt and Zambrano for a better bat there. Or, I would try and move Cruz for a 2B like Robinson Cano now, before Cano heats up. Cruz will likely be similar to Pat Burrell except without the speed which you are, in fact, lacking. Eh, I’d probably try to move one of the pitchers for Brandon Phillips (power and speed).
Also, Brandon Lyon may not get many saves. Right now, he’s actually the second option for the 9th inning. Jim Leyland said just recently that Rodney will get the first opportunity to close. If he nails it, then Lyon is a lost cause.
Also, in regard to 1B, I think Atkins is acceptable for now. He’s been on the decline seemingly ever year, but in a deep league, he can work.
all right. Thanks. Anyway, I’m looking to deal Zambrano now, preferbly for a second baseman, since Alfonso Soriano is just sluggin’ like crazy now
hey chris, got a question for ya. my league is a H2H with alot of scoring categories, 22 in total. What do you think about punting saves? I’ve been thinkin about this strategy for a while, but just couldnt pull the trigger to try it out. i didnt spend any high or even mid draft picks on a closer, so i have lindstrom, hanrahan, and corpas on my roster.
After lindstrom’s 7 ER implosion last night, i have a tremendous urge to just drop them all in anger and i’m desperately trying to control myself. it seems that i’m absorbing hits to ERA, WHIP, K/BB just to be average in one category. i want to replace my volatile closers with rock solid middle relievers like bruney (well, before he got hurt) and nunez who would contribute to multiple categories, help me get those couple of innings to meet the IP requirement, and maybe even vulturing a win or two every once in a while. sacrificing saves seems like a small price to pay for more stability.
i’m really not sure if i can take a borowski-like years from my current closers. so do u see any flaws in my reasoning? i have pretty good starters: haren, lowe, gallardo, and greinke. my pitching line for last nite was ruined even though my starters both went the distance, only givin up 2 combined ER. should i dump my shaky closers?
(i’m actually the inaugural poster on here. in case u were wonderin, i was able to sneak into the playoffs last year with an amazing last sunday of the regular season, and ended up taking 3rd)
^ah! jd, i didn’t realize you posted. let me know if you still need help.
hey chris, i think i’m set for now. i’m crushing my league right now, leading it by 18 games. after some initial hesitation, i finally did dump all my relievers, although i did pick up my boy phil franchise a few weeks ago. i just couldnt resist.