Archive for Rotoprofessor

19 Aug 2017

10 Important Stories From 08/18/17 Box Scores: Are We Buying Arrieta, Streaking Hitters & More

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

The rebound of Dallas Keuchel continued (7.0 shutout innings), though the most impressive part of his start against Oakland was his 17 groundballs compared to 1 fly ball.  Another day, another home run for the red hot Gary Sanchez (1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R).  Manny Machado had a monster day, including a game winning grand slam, going 3-5 with 3 HR, 7 RBI and 3 R.  What else happened on the field that we need to know about?  Let’s take a look:

 

1) Has Jake Arrieta truly turned the corner…
Taking on the Blue Jays he allowed 1 ER on 6 H and 2 BB, striking out 6, over 6.1 IP to earn the W.  He’s now allowed 2 ER or fewer in seven straight starts and 3 ER or fewer in nine straight (which has led to his ERA falling from 4.67 on June 27 to a solid 3.63 mark).  Even over this stretch he’s struggled to generate many swings and misses outside the strike zone (13.6% in August entering the day, 21.4% in July), and he’s benefited from a lot of luck since the All-Star Break (.214 BABIP, 80.3% strand rate).  Those marks make you think that his strong string of starts could quickly come to a close, and while he does have value the rest of the season don’t ignore the warning signs. Read more

| 2 comments
18 Aug 2017

Searching For Saves: Identifying Three Unheralded Relievers Worth Watching

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

We’ve seen some relatively unknown relievers thrust into prominent roles this season, whether it’s Alex Claudio or Trevor Hildenberger or a host of other names.  Who could be the next waiver wire treasure that no one is paying attention to?  Let’s use Rotoprofessor’s RRQ scores (I lowered the requirement to 10.0 IP to capture a few more options, making 327 pitchers eligible) to try and find out.  For those who don’t remember the scoring system:

Score
Skill Level
76+Elite
51-75Above Average
26-50Solid (though worth monitoring)
0-25Questionable makeup
<0High Risk For Struggles

 

Kevin Shackelford – Cincinnati Reds
RRQ Score – 66.60

Shackelford has thrown 13.1 IP in the Majors, so it’s obvious why he hasn’t garnered much attention as of yet.  However over his brief time in the Majors he’s put the full skill set we look for on display: Read more

| No comments
18 Aug 2017

Bullpen Notes: August 17, 2017: Who’s Up In STL, Belisle Still Closing & More

Are you following @Rotoprofessor on Twitter? If not you should be, as we Tweet out all the important bullpen notes every morning from the previous day’s games. Who is in jeopardy of losing their job? Who is worth the speculative add? Here are this morning tweets (Please note we won’t be posting these on the website every day, so make sure you follow @Rotoprofessor to ensure you don’t miss a thing):

Read more

| No comments
17 Aug 2017

The Ditch List: Identifying Three Players That It’s Time To Cut Ties With

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

When is enough really enough?  When is the right time to cut bait on a struggling player, despite having previously seen significant potential?  There’s no universal answer, so let’s take a look at a few of the players who are disappointing and try to determine if cutting bait would be a prudent decision:

 

Yonder Alonso – Seattle Mariners
This would’ve been unthinkable a few weeks ago, but he’s been downright awful since the trade to Seattle hitting .192 with 0 HR in his first 7 games.  It’s obviously a small sample size, but his cold spell dates back to the All-Star Break (.218 with 2 HR over 28 games).

No one should’ve expected him to be able to maintain his early season success, as his 21.7% HR/FB was well out of character and his fly ball rate has plummeted (48.7% to 32.3%).  Considering his career 34.1% mark can we really expect it return?  He’s simply “regressed” back to the player he once was, and now is part of a platoon. Read more

| 12 comments
17 Aug 2017

Bullpen Notes: August 16, 2017: Change Looming In Seattle & St. Louis, Next Up For NYY & More

Are you following @Rotoprofessor on Twitter? If not you should be, as we Tweet out all the important bullpen notes every morning from the previous day’s games. Who is in jeopardy of losing their job? Who is worth the speculative add? Here are this morning tweets (Please note we won’t be posting these on the website every day, so make sure you follow @Rotoprofessor to ensure you don’t miss a thing):

Read more

| 4 comments
16 Aug 2017

Will Byron Buxton or Zack Godley Help To Carry You To A Fantasy Title?

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Does a strong stretch mean that a player has finally emerged or is it nothing more than a flash in the pan and a regression is on the horizon?  At this time of year it’s easy to look for any possible glimmer of hope, so let’s try to answer the question on if we are a believer or if the player is nothing more than a deceiver:

 

Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins – Outfielder
We’ve long waited for Byron Buxton to figure things out at the Major League level, but he’s consistently struggled to the tune of a .225 career average.  However things have finally started to take a turn, albeit in a miniscule sample size, as he’s hitting .326 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R and 4 SB over 43 AB in the second half (.216 in the first half).  The biggest difference is a drop in his strikeout rate (30.7% to 23.1%), but can he maintain it over the rest of the season?

He’s reduced his overall SwStr% to 9.7% and his O-Swing% to 30.5%, both of which would back up the improvement.  Also in a bit of a surprise, his Whiff% has been worst against hard pitches since the break: Read more

| No comments
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »