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Tag: Toronto Blue Jays

Fernando Tatis Jr. Is A Budding Superstar

Preseason Buzz
Coming into the 2019 season, there was a ton of hype surrounding a certain third-baseman, who was the twenty-year-old son of a Hall-of-Famer, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was expected to come up and immediately tear the cover off the baseball. But the adjustment period has been slower than expected, as Vlad Jr. has taken some time to get used to major league pitching, slashing .248 AVG/.328 OBP/.416 SLG with 8 HR in 241 plate appearances. There was also hype around another twenty-year-old son of a former MLB player, but he was not expected to immediately produce, and there was talk that we might not even see him this season. Instead, Fernando Tatis Jr. has exceeded expectations with the look of a future superstar.

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MLB DraftKings Around the Horn July 4th, 2019

Happy Independence Day! What better way to spend your holiday than watching baseball and playing daily fantasy. Summer is just getting started and the mid-summer classic is just around the corner. By now we have a pretty good handle on who we can count on for production so let’s keep grinding out solid lineups. Put on the spikes kids, we’re going Around the Horn!

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Locks, Stacks, and Barrels: MLB DFS for July 3, 2019

The baseball season is a grind. It’s every single day. We will approach DFS the same way and be winners at the end of the season even if we have our hot streaks and slumps. Every day there are safe bets that flop and values that hit big, but we need to stick with our strategy in evaluating and playing. Let’s take a look at what we have today.

Read More
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What Happened to Aaron Sanchez?

Blockbuster Trades in 2012

Back in 2012, the Toronto Blue Jays had a trio of prized pitching prospects: Noah Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, and Aaron Sanchez. Alex Anthopoulos, the general manager at the time, wanted to make a splash in the 2012 offseason, so he dealt Nicolino to the Marlins in a blockbuster deal involving a whopping 12 players, including Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Yunel Escobar, and Anthony DeSclafani. Anthopoulos went on to trade Syndergaard along with catcher Travis D’Arnaud to the New York Mets for R.A. Dickey. Nicolino has been unable to stay in the majors and Syndergaard has become a top-flight starter who has struggled with injuries. The important aspect to consider with these two trades is that the Jays thought of Aaron Sanchez as the jewel of their farm system. They chose to use Syndergaard and Nicolino as trade currency and kept Sanchez as the future ace of their rotation. It’s clear that they viewed him as the best of the bunch.

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MLB DFS: Core Plays and Stacks for June 24, 2019

A small slate of games on deck for tonight with one potential rain out. The New York Yankees are huge favorites at home. Meanwhile, the wind should be blowing heavily straight out to center at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Let’s take a look at some core plays and stacks for tonight that can help us maneuver around the madness we call DFS.

Read More

Stream Machine 6/24-6/30

Below are the three best streamers that I see for next week. I do love Zac Gallen but with the uncertainty of him staying in the lineup I sadly could not pick him. I also released an article this week displaying all the MLB team’s offenses, their underlying number and who is truly the worst. This is a great tool as you always want to stream against weak lineups. That can be seen here: How To Effectively Stream Pitchers

Read More

MLB DFS: Locks, Stacks, and Barrels for June 12, 2019

Normally, any slate that features Justin Verlander, it’s almost a certainty you are playing him at one of your starting pitcher spots and moving on from there. Tonight, however, is a little bit trickier than that. Verlander draws a tough matchup on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers hit for power and Verlander can give some up. You will definitely want some exposure to Verlander to some capacity in tournaments, but maybe it’s best we look elsewhere in cash games. With that said, let’s dive in and take a look at today’s Locks, Stacks, and Barrels.

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Closer Carousel: How will the trade deadline impact closers?

Chasing saves is one of the most aggressive pursuits in fantasy baseball. With more teams opting to use their closers in high-leverage situations as opposed to traditional, ninth-inning usage, a common strategy has been to avoid paying for saves. This has made it important to attack the waiver wire or overbid opponents for newly-appointed closers. But what about closers thriving for rebuilding teams, at risk to be moved at the trade deadline for a package of prospects? Fantasy owners must decide whether their closers might become setup relievers when traded to a new team with a deeper bullpen, or if they will receive more save opportunities closing for a contender. Let’s examine the closers that are likely to be moved and assess the benefits for their fantasy value, categorizing each of them as “upgrade” or “downgrade.”

Read More

Deep Dive: Justin Smoak

Justin Smoak broke out a bit in 2017, hitting .270 with 38 home runs and 90 RBI. His wRC+ was a solid 133, and he looked like a guy that could be a dependable, if not exciting, option at first base for fantasy in 2018. However, he slowed a bit in 2018 instead, hitting only .242 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI. His wRC+ fell to 121, still okay but not what you wanted from a back end first baseman or corner infielder. So what happened to Smoak? Is he doomed to be just another mediocre first base option, or is there more in that bat?

Read More

Fernando Tatis Jr. Is A Budding Superstar

Preseason Buzz
Coming into the 2019 season, there was a ton of hype surrounding a certain third-baseman, who was the twenty-year-old son of a Hall-of-Famer, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was expected to come up and immediately tear the cover off the baseball. But the adjustment period has been slower than expected, as Vlad Jr. has taken some time to get used to major league pitching, slashing .248 AVG/.328 OBP/.416 SLG with 8 HR in 241 plate appearances. There was also hype around another twenty-year-old son of a former MLB player, but he was not expected to immediately produce, and there was talk that we might not even see him this season. Instead, Fernando Tatis Jr. has exceeded expectations with the look of a future superstar.

Read More

MLB DraftKings Around the Horn July 4th, 2019

Happy Independence Day! What better way to spend your holiday than watching baseball and playing daily fantasy. Summer is just getting started and the mid-summer classic is just around the corner. By now we have a pretty good handle on who we can count on for production so let’s keep grinding out solid lineups. Put on the spikes kids, we’re going Around the Horn!

Read More

Locks, Stacks, and Barrels: MLB DFS for July 3, 2019

The baseball season is a grind. It’s every single day. We will approach DFS the same way and be winners at the end of the season even if we have our hot streaks and slumps. Every day there are safe bets that flop and values that hit big, but we need to stick with our strategy in evaluating and playing. Let’s take a look at what we have today.

Read More

What Happened to Aaron Sanchez?

Blockbuster Trades in 2012

Back in 2012, the Toronto Blue Jays had a trio of prized pitching prospects: Noah Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, and Aaron Sanchez. Alex Anthopoulos, the general manager at the time, wanted to make a splash in the 2012 offseason, so he dealt Nicolino to the Marlins in a blockbuster deal involving a whopping 12 players, including Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Yunel Escobar, and Anthony DeSclafani. Anthopoulos went on to trade Syndergaard along with catcher Travis D’Arnaud to the New York Mets for R.A. Dickey. Nicolino has been unable to stay in the majors and Syndergaard has become a top-flight starter who has struggled with injuries. The important aspect to consider with these two trades is that the Jays thought of Aaron Sanchez as the jewel of their farm system. They chose to use Syndergaard and Nicolino as trade currency and kept Sanchez as the future ace of their rotation. It’s clear that they viewed him as the best of the bunch.

Read More

MLB DFS: Core Plays and Stacks for June 24, 2019

A small slate of games on deck for tonight with one potential rain out. The New York Yankees are huge favorites at home. Meanwhile, the wind should be blowing heavily straight out to center at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Let’s take a look at some core plays and stacks for tonight that can help us maneuver around the madness we call DFS.

Read More

Stream Machine 6/24-6/30

Below are the three best streamers that I see for next week. I do love Zac Gallen but with the uncertainty of him staying in the lineup I sadly could not pick him. I also released an article this week displaying all the MLB team’s offenses, their underlying number and who is truly the worst. This is a great tool as you always want to stream against weak lineups. That can be seen here: How To Effectively Stream Pitchers

Read More

MLB DFS: Locks, Stacks, and Barrels for June 12, 2019

Normally, any slate that features Justin Verlander, it’s almost a certainty you are playing him at one of your starting pitcher spots and moving on from there. Tonight, however, is a little bit trickier than that. Verlander draws a tough matchup on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers hit for power and Verlander can give some up. You will definitely want some exposure to Verlander to some capacity in tournaments, but maybe it’s best we look elsewhere in cash games. With that said, let’s dive in and take a look at today’s Locks, Stacks, and Barrels.

Read More

Closer Carousel: How will the trade deadline impact closers?

Chasing saves is one of the most aggressive pursuits in fantasy baseball. With more teams opting to use their closers in high-leverage situations as opposed to traditional, ninth-inning usage, a common strategy has been to avoid paying for saves. This has made it important to attack the waiver wire or overbid opponents for newly-appointed closers. But what about closers thriving for rebuilding teams, at risk to be moved at the trade deadline for a package of prospects? Fantasy owners must decide whether their closers might become setup relievers when traded to a new team with a deeper bullpen, or if they will receive more save opportunities closing for a contender. Let’s examine the closers that are likely to be moved and assess the benefits for their fantasy value, categorizing each of them as “upgrade” or “downgrade.”

Read More

Deep Dive: Justin Smoak

Justin Smoak broke out a bit in 2017, hitting .270 with 38 home runs and 90 RBI. His wRC+ was a solid 133, and he looked like a guy that could be a dependable, if not exciting, option at first base for fantasy in 2018. However, he slowed a bit in 2018 instead, hitting only .242 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI. His wRC+ fell to 121, still okay but not what you wanted from a back end first baseman or corner infielder. So what happened to Smoak? Is he doomed to be just another mediocre first base option, or is there more in that bat?

Read More