Fantasy baseball 2017

Schebler seems like your best bet.

 

I'm already into keeper decision mode, having been eliminated in the first round of my league's playoffs. It also still gives me a rooting interest, hoping my guys produce and raise their value.

I am still trying to figure out what to make of Byron Buxton and Matt Olson.

Buxton was the top prospect in the game and he has had a great second half, but he also had a great finish in 2016 before sucking the first half of this season. I have veteran options such as A.J. Pollock and Starling Marte who I could keep instead.

Olson moved up when the Athletics traded Yonder Alonso and he has 18 home runs in only 50 games. He is only 23 and based on his minor-league numbers, the power seems to be legitimate. The concern is that he won't make enough contact long term. I'm going to have to weigh keeping him against Trey Mancini or Logan Morrison, who both also surpassed expectations. But how much faith do you put in Morrison's breakout at 30? Can Mancini take another step forward even though he wasn't a top prospect?

I know it's early, but that's what happens when your team makes an early exit.

 

I don't have much faith in Morrison as a keeper given his age. Mancini vs. Olson is an interesting question and I lean toward Olson.

Without looking at the numbers, it seems like Pollock and Marte miss an awful lot of games. Buxton's upside seems higher, but he's played plenty of fantasy players for fools (myself included).

 

I have Wacha pitching against the Cubs at 4:05 in my points league and we're just about tied. He's been good of late, but he's gotten slaughtered in two starts against the Cubs this season. Thinking of sitting him.

 

I guess it depends what else you have left. I can see the argument for sitting Wacha. I don't trust him. It's not like it was just this season. He struggled in 2016, too.

 

I am also leaning toward Olson. I don't trust either guy, but I think he has more upside than Mancini. Morrison is only 30, but it's tough to trust what he did this year and he isn't really finishing strong.

Pollock misses way too much time. Even when he is healthy, he sits one or two games per week. Marte has been fragile in the past and you have to wonder how he rebounds long term from the PED suspension. I am certainly aware of the risk Buxton presents, but neither Pollock nor Marte is trustworthy, either.

 

I agree with pretty much all of this.

 

I have three guys (Quintana v STL, Teheran v NYM and Woodruff v MIA) going tomorrow. He has Bumgarner v ARI tonight, and then Peters v MIL and Strasburg v LAD tomorrow. I figured that while he has better pitchers going, I at least have better matchups, so I decided to sit Wacha and see how things shake out with Bumgarner. If Arizona can light him up, I can pick and choose who to start tomorrow. If he keeps pace, I'll probably start all three.

Wacha ended up scoring -5 points, so at least that was a correct decision. Now I need to hope for some big starts tomorrow.

 

Me too, except that I would lean Mancini. Olsen is higher upside, but I kept being surprised that Mancini kept it going all year.

 

Mancini's .340 BABIP worries me. I'd be surprised if he can repeat his success if that number comes down. Olson, meanwhile, has an average exit velocity of 92mph and a launch angle of 17 degrees to go with his BABIP of .260. I think he's more likely to improve, while Mancini looks more like an aberration.

 

Won that points league matchup going away with Woodruff leading the way. Strasburg gave my opponent a big 24-point game, but it was too late by then after Peters dropped a -20 earlier in the day and I was staked to an 80-point lead entering the nightcap.

Next up is the league's top team in the semifinals. I have Kershaw pitching twice this week, so I'm hoping he can carry me into the finals.

Sadly, I lost in the semifinals of my Yahoo league. Saturday was a crazy day with the categories going back and forth, but yesterday, my guys didn't hit for shit and my pitching didn't do enough to flip a couple of categories back in my favor. Won the regular season title, but didn't even make the finals. Worse, I traded away guys like Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge, who would have all been late-round picks next year, in an effort to put together a superstar lineup that ultimately didn't pan out.

 

Kershaw gives up 4 ER and loses to the fucking Phillies. FML.