Shuffle Up: Wil Myers finally gets the call; two Cargos rule the world

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The outfield is the fun place to do some roto shopping, with something for every budget and discerning eye. And from a sheer volume perspective, it's the most important offensive position to negotiate. Let's dig into this expansive area.

What we're doing is ranking the players for expected 5x5 roto value the rest of the season. What's happened to this point is merely an audition. Don't worry about the prices in a vacuum; what really matters is how the commodities relate to one another on this list. Players at the same cost are considered even.

I reserve the right to tweak this list in the first 24 hours of debut, and I'll add comments shortly. Your intelligent and respectful disagreement is most welcome, but be

Shuffle Up: Manny Machado, ahead of schedule

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Here are your Shuffle Up corners for the month of May. Dig into them, think about them, disagree with them. I'll be back with commentary later tonight.

Normal rules apply, of course. We're trying to project 5x5 value to come; what's happened to this point is an audition, not a mandate. Players at the same price are considered even. Don't worry about the prices in a vacuum - what matters is how the players relate to one another. Your intelligent and respectful disagreement is always welcome.

Please remember the golden rule of shuffling: a player doesn't gain (or lose) 15-20 percent of value simply because he's on your roster.

Courtesy injury ranks are at the bottom. I won't debate those (I'm generally not as

Shuffle Up: Carlos Gomez, the real deal

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

When it comes to fake baseball, the outfield is where the fun is. The first couple of rounds will always include some of these stat-grabbing giants, and yet the waiver wire in an average mixer consistently offers something for the discerning shopper. Add it all up and there's a lot to digest.

The prices you see in this piece are roughly how I rank the roto-eligible outfielders going forward. What we've seen to this point is merely an audition; if you want a list of the top players to this point, there are plenty of places you can access that.

Don't obsess over the prices in a vacuum: what really matters is how the players relate to one another. Assume a 5x5 scoring format, as always, and players at the same price

Shuffle Up: Carlos Gomez, the read deal

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

When it comes to fake baseball, the outfield is where the fun is. The first couple of rounds will always include some of these stat-grabbing giants, and yet the waiver wire in an average mixer consistently offers something for the discerning shopper. Add it all up and there's a lot to digest.

The prices you see in this piece are roughly how I rank the roto-eligible outfielders going forward. What we've seen to this point is merely an audition; if you want a list of the top players to this point, there are plenty of places you can access that.

Don't obsess over the prices in a vacuum: what really matters is how the players relate to one another. Assume a 5x5 scoring format, as always, and players at the same price

Over/Under: Is Giancarlo Stanton a fried fish?

Source: Roto Arcade by Brad Evans

Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on 10 intriguing over/unders this week.

Inadequately protected Giancarlo Stanton, who is still looking for his first homer and RBI on the year, combined HRs and RBI over the rest of the season 124.5

Andy – UNDER. Don't get me wrong: I think he can still be great, and he makes for a nice buy-low. But if you assume 35 homers rest-of-season, then he'll need to find 90 RBIs somehow. That's the trick. Plus he'll need to stay healthy.

Scott – UNDER. He's already hurt, I hate the lineup, I hate the negative

Over/Under: Is Gincarlo Stanton a fried fish?

Source: Roto Arcade by Brad Evans

Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on 10 intriguing over/unders this week.

Inadequately protected Gincarlo Stanton, who is still looking for his first homer and RBI on the year, combined HRs and RBI over the rest of the season 124.5

Andy – UNDER. Don't get me wrong: I think he can still be great, and he makes for a nice buy-low. But if you assume 35 homers rest-of-season, then he'll need to find 90 RBIs somehow. That's the trick. Plus he'll need to stay healthy.

Scott – UNDER. He's already hurt, I hate the lineup, I hate the negative

Shuffle Up: Michael Cuddyer gets his groove back

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Today's ranking assignment takes us down on the corner, the first basemen and the third basemen. Settle in, settlers.

What you'll see below are prices for most of the Yahoo-eligible cornermen going forward. There are a few rules here: if you're in the minors or on the DL, you don't make this list. Too variable in worth, league to league. If you're catcher-eligible, you don't make the list – everyone's probably going to use you at catcher anyway. Don't obsess over the actual dollar amounts – what matters is how the players relate to one another. When players are at the same number, they're considered even.

The games to this point are merely an audition. We're trying to figure out who's worth the

Closing Time: Dan Haren throws batting practice

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Let's say this for Dan Haren, he faced the music. He sat in front of his locker, handled the questions, gave thoughtful answers. He said he felt good on the mound in his season debut.

Imagine how the Reds must have felt.

Cincinnati clocked four homers off Haren (six in all) in a 15-0 beat down Friday evening. Haren's always been gopher-prone, even in his salad days, but I don't see how anyone can be particularly optimistic about him right now. Haren's injury-plagued 2012 season came out to a 4.33 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 176.2 messy innings, and he was hit hard during

Shuffle Up: Choose your sophomore, Mike Trout vs. Bryce Harper

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The outfield is the fun place to go shopping in fantasy baseball. Power, sure, you'll find it here. Plenty of guys run. A few players do everything. And the two most exciting young position players in the game happen to reside here, too. Everyone likes picking out their outfield.

The goal today is to rank all the mixed-league worthy outfielders going forward in 5x5 fantasy value, 2013 only. Don't read too much into the dollar values in a vacuum - they're merely used as a tool to compare players. And when commodities share the same price, they're considered even. (Players on the DL and minor-league prospects are not eligible for ranking.)

I reserve the right to tweak this list as the day goes along,

Fantasy Baseball 2013: The Hate List

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

OK, so maybe "hate" isn't exactly the right word here. I'm fairly sure that no member of the Yahoo! fantasy staff actively hates anyone on the list below (except maybe Evans, with Hosmer. Something's up there). In fact, you might actually be able to field a middle-of-the-pack public league fantasy team from the names below. We're not discussing terrible players here.

But the draft-day price tags? Yup, those we hate. Here's a roster full of guys we're not buying...

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league

What’s In My Wallet, 2013: Up Goes Todd Frazier

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The first thing to know about this exercise is that it's mostly out of context. I'm in a bunch of leagues every year (too many, really, but it's a labor of love) and they come from all angles. Mixed leagues. Mono leagues. Keeper leagues (well, one). Redraft leagues. Drafts and auctions, with the player-penetration level constantly changing.

At this time of year I like to look back (though I'm not done drafting) and see what players I've landed more than once. Repeated ownership generally means I like a player, at least more than my opponents do - but it's obviously a lot more complicated than that. And sometimes I find myself missing on players I actually do like a lot because of circumstances I can't really control (I only have

Can 2012 Top National League Rookies Build On Their Success?

Source: Fantasy Baseball Dugout by BeeZee

If you are getting ready for fantasy baseball season, here are some tips about last year’s top fantasy baseball rookies in the National League.

Bryce Harper was the big National League rookie name going into the 2012 season and he ended up winning NL Rookie of the Year, but the four other players who finished in the top five could also have bright fantasy futures. 

Bryce Harper, Outfielder, Washington Nationals

Harper scored 98 runs with 18 steals while hitting 22 homers and batting .270. The only other players to reach all those numbers were Ryan Braun, Mike Trout and Andrew McCutcheon. And Harper did it as a

Fantasy Baseball 2013: Third Base primer

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

It seems highly doubtful that you'll be able to screw up this position, no matter how poorly you draft. Go ahead and try. Can't be done. Third base is uncommonly deep in 2013 — so deep, in fact, that the players we've slotted ninth and tenth in our preseason ranks, Chase Headley and Aramis Ramirez, both finished among the overall top-25 last season.

This position is so stacked that no one in the fantasy community even seems to care that we've lost Alex Rodriguez indefinitely — possibly for the entire season. We've buried A-Rod in the desert with Troy Glaus, Hank Blalock and Andy Marte. Thanks for the

ADP Analysis of the Mock Draft Army's First Draft -- Part 2

Source: RotoSynthesis

For those of you just joining our program, allow me to re-direct you to the article from Wednesday where we introduced you to the Mock Draft Army, a rotating group of fantasy baseball writers looking to provide you with legitimate mock drafts to help you in your draft prep. The Army had its first draft last Tuesday, a 28-round, standard 5x5 mixed league draft consisting of seven writers and five readers and we started to bring you some ADP analysis as a way to understand some of the rising and falling trends we’ve been witnessing over the last several weeks.

In that piece, we covered most of the first half of the draft – two four-round blocks to be exact. We compared those draft numbers with the ADP

Questions at Third Base

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Often times in fantasy baseball we focus too much on the top of drafts. Who should I take in the first round? At what point of the draft do I take my first pitcher? Those questions are the type I receive on a daily basis. While those questions must be asked, the fact of the matter is that most drafts aren’t won in the first five rounds. In my humble opinion, the way you win a draft is to be smart with trades, to work the waiver-wire aggressively, and to pay very close attention as

Underrated Players in OPS Leagues

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

As suggested by you (yes, you!), I’m long overdue in covering a batch of “good” OPS values, as Better Than Ezra would say. To be Frank Francisco with you, I’m going to hit you with a chair, if by chair I mean knowledge. I’m not going to restate some players I’ve recently fawned over, like David Ortiz, Josh Willingham, Corey Hart, Ike Davis,

Starting Nine: Giancarlo Stanton, beaned but unbroken

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

Giancarlo Stanton, unrivaled star of a dreadful Marlins roster, was hit in the helmet on Wednesday by a Jose Fernandez fastball, but there's no obvious reason for anyone to panic — Fernandez included. This from the AP...

Giancarlo Stanton spotted downcast teammate Jose Fernandez in the Miami Marlins' clubhouse Thursday and flashed him a grin.

''Relax,'' Stanton said. ''Relax.''

[...]

X-rays were negative, there was no sign of a concussion, and Stanton said his vision returned to normal after a few hours.

2013 Rankings: Third Basemen

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

The hot corner is a bit top heavy, but sprinkled in the middle are some hitters that are flawed but bring a carrying fantasy stat to the table. There are also some young players that have breakout potential beyond the upper tier. 

Rank First Name Last

2013 Rankings: First Basemen

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

Next up in the positional rankings is first base. The position offers a lot of offensive talent, young and old. Players will be drafted out of this player pool to fill more than first base, they'll also fill corner infield spots and utility positions as well. 

Rank First Name Last Name Organization 1 Albert Pujols Angels 2 Joey Votto Reds 3 Prince Fielder Tigers 4 Edwin Encarnacion Blue

Todd Frazier: Time to Shine

Source: Fake Teams by Paul Rice

All the Rookie of the Year hype before the 2012 season centered around once-in-a-generation phenom Bryce Harper, but Harper almost had the hardware stolen from under his nose by a much less heralded rookie from Cincinnati. The Reds' Todd Frazier popped up on the major league scene last year as a sort of jack-of-all-trades player and became one of fantasy baseball's most pleasant surprises, hitting 19 home runs and slugging .498. Frazier rated as a decent prospect who was blocked by a strong Reds infield, but once injuries mounted and

Pressing Questions: The Cincinnati Reds

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

Cincinnati has claimed the N.L. Central flag in two of the past three seasons, winning 97 games last year, and this team has to be considered the favorite to take the division title in 2013. Last year's pitching staff was outstanding, ranking fourth in MLB in team ERA (3.34), third in WHIP (1.23) and fourth in quality starts (98) — crazy numbers when you consider the fact that Great American Ball Park is among the most hitter-friendly (and power-friendly) environments in baseball.

The Reds have added Shin-Soo Choo to the lineup this season, presumably in the lead-off spot, giving the team a table-setter with respectable speed, pop, and on-base skills (.381 career OBP). Choo will be followed in the batting order by

Todd Frazier, 2013 Fantasy Sleeper

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

I’m all about finding me a late-round flyer for the corner infidel slot.  Last year, it should’ve been Edwin Encarnacion.  This year watch it be Alberto Callaspo (no effin’ way).  What do Luis Cruz, Josh Donaldson, Jeff Keppinger, an Eric Chavez/Chris Johnson platoon, Chris Nelson, a Luis Valbuena/Ian Stewart/Josh Vitters blahtoon, Matt Dominguez and the aforementioned Callaspo have in common?

The post Todd Frazier, 2013 Fantasy Sleeper appeared first on Fantasy Baseball Blog at Razzball.com.

Todd Frazier: "Penciled In" As Starting Third Baseman Next Season

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Todd Frazier: Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that Frazier will be "penciled in as our third baseman next year," MLB.com reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Todd Frazier:

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Todd Frazier: Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that Frazier will be "penciled in as our third baseman next year," MLB.com reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Todd Frazier (3B/1B-CIN)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Dusty sticks with same lineup. Reds manager Dusty Baker has used the same lineup for all three postseason games. He'd like to get Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey a start. But he hasn't gotten that far yet. Source: http://news.cincinnati.com

One HR, Two HR, Reddick, Bluedick

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

The .245 AVG is going to look ugly next March but 31 HRs and 80+ R/RBI has been nirvana for anyone (like Rudy) who plucked Josh Reddick off free agency in shallow leagues this year.  The power is real and, unlike the last A’s power hitter (Jack Cust), he is an above average fielder.   So the A’s now have 2/3 of a phallic OF foundation with Reddick and Yoenis.  Where is Lance Johnson Jr or Dick Pole Jr when you need them?  For 2013, I imagine the only flavor missing from his Chick-o-Stick is average, i.e., it may never be anything to write home about.  But if you’re writing home about Reddick’s average, you need new material.  Here’s hoping he doesn’t become Ryan Ludwick Part II.  Ryan Ludwick, “I

OPS Fantasy Leagues: Surprisingly High Sluggers

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

This week I was curious to look at what I call surprisingly high sluggers. No, I’m not talking about Geovany Soto. These are players who have at least a .500 slugging this year and fewer than 20 home runs. In order to try to limit some of the outliers, I only looked at players who had at least 300 plate appearances this year. They are listed from highest to lowest slugging.

Joey Votto – Too bad he had to miss a month and a half due to injuries. He was well on his way an extremely productive season, since he posted the highest OPS of his career in 2012. Earlier in the year I talked about how his walk rate was improving and he’s managed to maintain that improvement for the entire year. Just look at his walk

Opening Time: Pickups with flex appeal

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

When it comes to fantasy baseball, September truly is the silly season. The rosters expand, non-contenders get experimental, and rotoheads have to make quicker-than-usual adjustments. There's nothing new to this theme; we talk about it every year and I'm sure I offered similar words earlier this month. Learn it, know it, live it.

Look at some of the names currently sitting in the most-dropped column. Mark Teixeira is out 10-14 days? Get out the shears. Mark Trumbo sinks into a month-long slump? Thanks for the memories, you're punted. Todd Frazier gets thrown into Dusty Baker limbo? We'll find fresher options, thanks. Carlos Gomez suffers a right quad contusion?