JOUR 355 Fantasy Sports Blog

  Top Fantasy Baseball Beneficiaries of the Trade Deadline  Drew Epstein 8/3/22 Devin Williams, RP-Brewers:  Devin Williams is one of the elite relief pitchers in baseball. His numbers jump off the page and he’s got one of the best Baseball Savant pages you'll find. With the trade sending Josh Hader to San Diego, he finally has the missing piece to be a perfect fantasy baseball reliever; The closer role. Assuming Williams is indeed slotted into the 9th inning rather than Taylor Rogers, plug him in as an elite fantasy closer day in and day out on a team who will give plenty of save chances.  Current 2022 Stats: 2-0, 1.59 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 66/19 K/BB Ratio, 6 Saves.  Felix Bautista, RP-Orioles: Bautista is in a similar position to Williams in that his closer was also dealt when Jorge Lopez was sent to the Twins. He isn't guaranteed to receive the closer role himself, but he has also been phenomenal this year and is worth a look in fantasy in case he does find himse...

  Kumar Rocker Ready for Another Draft Drew Epstein 7/5/22 ValleyCats Pitcher Kumar Rocker prepares for his final Frontier League start.  On Friday, right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker made what would be his last Frontier League start with the Tri-City Valleycats in preparation for the 2022 MLB Draft. Rocker, as you may know, was selected by the New York Mets in the 2021 draft out of Vanderbilt with the 10th overall pick, but failed to sign with the team due to health concerns the Mets had without being given his medicals. This season, Rocker made five starts with the Valleycats, giving scouts a chance to watch him a year following his original draft selection.  Rocker helped prove his worth in the Frontier League in twenty innings, giving up only three earned runs on eleven hits, two of which were home runs. He struck out thirty-two while only walking four. Granted twenty innings is a tiny sample size, but these numbers are outstanding without question. Rocker's last sta...

Why Christian Watson is a Fantasy Football Sleeper in 2022  Drew Epstein 6/14/22 While nobody will be Davante Adams for the Packers in 2022, somebody will need to receive his targets. With the greatness of Aaron Rodgers, somebody is bound to receive the opportunity of a lifetime with the departure of Adams in Green Bay. My pick to benefit the most? Second-round rookie Christian Watson out of North Dakota State. The 23-year-old 34th overall pick arrives on scene with a chance to factor into the Packers’ offense right away with the potential to be an elite standout. Even with the two-headed monster of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon in the backfield , and losing arguably the best receiver in football, the Packers will throw the ball often as long as Rodgers is behind center. Many people are looking at Allen Lazard to step into the role of the top target, or perhaps the newly signed Sammy Watkins, but I've shifted my attention to Watson. The book on Watson is that he's got an ideal...

  Why Christopher Morel Is a Fantasy Baseball Sleeper 6/3/22  Drew Epstein  You couldn't ask for much of a better start to any big league career than the one Christopher Morel has had. The Cubs 22-year-old utility man has introduced himself in a big way, and he is instantly becoming somebody fantasy owners should be familiar with before it's too late. All Morel has done is hit safely in thirteen out of his first fourteen games, including six stolen bases, which is especially huge in roto leagues for owners who may have a shortage in that category. He is slashing .262/.364/.446 through seventy-seven plate appearances. This solid line shows he's finding ways to get on base and he's holding his own in the slugging department as well, though that may not be as sustainable. There's a lot to like with all this, but I've yet to mention he could create elite position versatility having played nine games in center field, seven at second base, three at third, and one at s...

  Rutschman Gets the Call Drew Epstein 5/22/22 Rutschman takes in the scene moments before his MLB debut on 5/22/22. Adley Rutschman’s day began in his AAA manager’s office. It ended with a big league triple in Baltimore. Early this morning, the Orioles promoted the top overall prospect, and 24-year-old switch hitting catcher. A video surfaced shortly after of Adley being notified of the decision, met by several joyous teammates to celebrate with him. The meeting with his manager began with an explanation of his playing time lately and ended with the good news. It was simply one of those moments that captures the beauty of this sport. Rutschman promptly got to Baltimore and began getting ready for his big league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight. Another video shows him taking it all in before his first warm up pitches prior to his official debut. He soaked in this once in a lifetime opportunity, and every baseball player’s lifelong dream came true. If this wasn't a good eno...

  Underperforming Fantasy Baseball Players and My Concern Levels For Them Drew Epstein 5/2/22 Zack Wheeler- Phillies SP: Wheeler was an ace last year. He was second in the NL Cy Young voting. This year? Not so much so far. He was great in his last start but before that, he was terrible in his first three starts. Wheeler’s stat line currently sits at 1-3, 5.79 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 18 Ks. There is plenty of room for optimism, however, despite the rough start for the Phillies right-hander. The first thing worth pointing out is his most recent start on Thursday in which he went six scoreless innings while striking out seven, though he did walk four. He only gave up one hit. That is reason to think maybe Wheeler will start to round into form. The metrics also suggest that Wheeler is limiting barrels and hard contact. The issue so far seems to be his command, along with the low strikeout rate he has so far. As with every pitcher, you have to wonder if his slow start was a result of the sh...

  Overperforming Fantasy Baseball Players and the Confidence I Have In Them  Drew Epstein 5/2/22 Ty France- Mariners 1B: Ty France is a good player and he was expected to be a valuable fantasy baseball piece. With that said, find me someone who saw this type of production coming. France has been a hit and RBI machine for the Mariners through the first month of the season. The current stat line on France is .333/5 HR/21 RBI, with an OPS of .950. Looking at his advanced metrics, this seems to be legit. He is hitting the ball hard and his expected batting average and on base percentage are elite, he's not just getting flukey hits. Another thing to love about France is he doesn't strike out much. He's showing all the signs of a great player to have on your fantasy team.  Confidence Level: High Kyle Wright- Braves SP: I discussed Kyle Wright after a couple of starts and he’s continued to roll. He's gone at least 6 innings in 3 of his 4 starts, a rarity with the short spring,...

  Drew Epstein’s Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Points league Rankings 5/1/21 Shohei Ohtani- Angels SP/DH (Preseason Rank: 1) Ohtani has not been great on either side of the ball so far, but his ability to do both still has him safe at the top. He has not been bad by any means, but not what he was doing last year to this point. 2022 Stats: .228/4 HR/12 RBI  2022 Stats (Pitching): 2-2, 4.19 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 30 Ks Jose Ramirez- Guardians 3B (Preseason Rank: 6) Ramirez is off to a scorching start for the Guardians and can be counted on day in and day out to be one of the best hitters, if not the best, in the league. He leads MLB with an absurd 28 RBIs to begin the season.  2022 Stats: .341/7HR/28 RBI Mike Trout- Angels OF (Preseason Rank: 13) I talked about how all Trout needed to do to be at the top of the list is stay healthy. He's done that so far and has been every bit of the Mike Trout we are used to. Do not expect any different as long as he's on the field.  2022 Stats: ....

  5 Widely Available Players Who Are Off to a Great Start  Drew Epstein 4/11/22 Jeff McNeil- Mets 2B/OF (Owned in 53.7% of ESPN leagues) Technically Jeff McNeil can’t be considered widely available with an owned percentage above 50, but he's worth mentioning here. McNeil is a career .300 hitter and he's just two years removed from an all-star season in 2019 with a slash line of .318/.384/.531. After that, there was the 60 game Covid year and a down year in 2021. So far, McNeil is looking more like himself even if it is just a weekend sample size. With some guys, you can just see that they look more like themselves, and McNeil looked that way to me this weekend. So far this early season, McNeil is 7/16 with 1 HR and 3 RBIs. If this production continues and signs of vintage Jeff McNeil continue to show, he could be a steal, especially with the positional versatility he provides.  Jurickson Profar- Padres 1B, 2B OF (Owned in 9.6% of ESPN leagues) Jurickson Profar is another ...