Did you happen to catch this week’s Tout Table Discussion? If you’re now asking what the Tout Table Discussion is, allow me to explain – Tout Wars is one of the premier fantasy baseball industry leagues. Actually it’s a few leagues – AL-only, NL-only, 12-team Mixed League, 15-team Mixed League, Draft & Hold and Head-to-Head. The cross-section of leagues hopefully provides an array of advice for fantasy baseball players, no matter what style they play. It’s a strong mix of both old school and new school players and it’s been great to be a part of the experience, whether I’m drafting, playing or even broadcasting.
But I digress. Let’s get back to the original question – did you happen to catch this week’s Tout Table Discussion which is where each of us are fed a general question, usually regarding in-season strategy. This week, we were asked about what we look for when we take stock of our teams during Memorial Day Weekend, usually a checkpoint for the season. While my answer was somewhat glib, it was a good description of my mindset this season, given the rash of injuries we’ve all endured. Still, though, it is an important time to examine your rosters and place in the standings more thoroughly to see who needs to go and which categories are most needed when picking replacement players.
Only you are going to be able to determine what you need to do in order to improve your place in the standings. You can ask a fantasy baseball pundit an add/drop question on Twitter, and while they can tell you whether they like the player you are adding more than the one you are dropping, but they can’t tell you whether it’s truly the right move for your team. If you’re disappointed in Dominic Smith and you want to replace him, sure Randall Grichuk should be an improvement to him, but is that what your team really needs? How movable are you in the home run and RBI categories? Given what we expect their season-long totals are expected to be, is that going to move the needle for you to gain points in those categories? If not, then why are you making that move? Maybe seeking out a player like Raimel Tapia or Tommy Pham – someone who steals bases – can be of more value to you in the long-run.
Piling up counting stats is fine. Adding at-bats to your team will bring you a better overall team in the end, but targeting specifics while you’re doing that is how you climb the ranks. In The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI), my team ranks in the top three of home runs, RBI, runs scored and batting average, so my focus is improving stolen bases. I can add all the power hitters in the world, but if they’re not stealing bases, I’m just spinning my wheels.
In the SiriusXM Host league, I rank high up in stolen bases, but the categories in which I can potentially gain the most points are home run, RBI and runs scored. It doesn’t look like I can lose much ground in batting average, so my focus should be on adding at-bats to improve my power-hitting without too much worry about what the player’s batting average is. I’m not saying go out and feast on Ian Happ ’s .207 average, but Avisaíl García becomes a much more attractive option even with a .244 average.
It’s important to know exactly where you stand in each category as that will help you with your waiver claims each week. All too often, people do things like chase saves and blow a bunch of FAAB or waiver priority on a potential closer, but don’t take into account the fact that they will need 10-plus saves to gain one point in the category while they are in danger of losing three points in strikeouts by adding a reliever in lieu of a starter. Maybe some improvements in WHIP and ERA can offset the loss in strikeouts, but will it be enough to make the move worthwhile or are you, again, just spinning your wheels?
Obviously, we’re here at Fantasy Alarm to help guide you through all of this, so when it comes time to ask the question of “should I drop Player A for Player B?” or “who wins this trade?” be sure you have the answers to the questions regarding how these moves will specifically help your team.
Quick Cuts:
Chasing saves in the Rays bullpen can be an aggravating task as they have three right-handers and one southpaw all being mixed in by manager Kevin Cash. But you may want to grab J.P. Feyereisen if he’s available as Cash is favoring him right now while he’s hot. After a rough patch in mid-May, the 28-year old has allowed just one run in his last five appearances while notching three saves and one win with six strikeouts over six innings.
My frustration with Patrick Corbin continues and I blame my nephew who was once an aspiring fantasy analyst (his mother pushed him away from it and now he’s doing something in the financial industry….sigh). He once wrote a fantastic breakdown of Corbin’s abilities before the aging southpaw had his surgeries and after a run during early May this year, I started to believe in him again. I kept hearing my nephew’s voice talking him up. Welp, three outings and 11 earned runs later, I’m ready to boot him off the roster again. You can’t allow eight runs in 10.2 innings to Baltimore and Milwaukee and expect to be trusted.
All good things must come to an end, right? Say goodbye to Evan Longoria . What a fantastic way to open the season for the 35-year-old, right? He’s batting .274 with nine homers and 29 RBI and looks like he’s found the Fountain of Youth, playing like the Longo of old. I just don’t see it lasting and this current side injury which is now sending him for an MRI could be the beginning of the end. The numbers have been in decline for a few years now, so expecting him to maintain this level of production is unrealistic.