Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Ray highlights some of the top fantasy performers from Sunday's roto action including thoughts on Chris Davis, Bret Oberholtzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Justin Upton and others.
[h=4]Fake Teams Fantasy Podcast, Episode 30: Solely Ours[/h]Zack and Andrew discuss the latest news in fantasy baseball including their thoughts on Taijuan Walker, Danny Duffy, the Marlon Byrd trade along with a few prospects: Carlos Tocci and J.P. Crawford. They also tell their stories about a few ball games they made recently.
You can listen to the podcast in three ways:
MP3
ITunes
Non-ITunes feed
[h=4]Fake Teams English Premier Fantasy League[/h]Have you ever played fantasy EPL before? Well, we have taken the dive into offering English Premier League fantasy soccer coverage here at Fake Teams, and Brian Stultz has set up an EPL fantasy league over at Premier League. If you have interest in joining the Fake Teams EPL fantasy league, here is the league info to get you signed up:
League name: Fake Teams
Code: 572171-575691
Chris Davis: Can he get to 60 HRs?
In one of my appearances on the Fake Teams podcast, we discussed Orioles slugger Chris Davis, and the possibility of him reaching 60 home runs. Well, through September 1st, he has 47 home runs, and without much fanfare, he hit nine home runs in August. He will really need to have a big September, in the middle of a wild card race, to reach 60 home runs. How big of a September? Well, his biggest home run month this season was back in June when he hit 12 home runs. I am not sure he will get to 60, but it would be pretty awesome if he could get to 50 by early September, like next weekend.
For more on Davis and the Orioles, check out Camden Chat, SB Nation's Orioles fan site.
Nathan Eovaldi shuts down the Braves
I have been beating the drum on Marlins starter Nathan Eovaldi since he returned from the DL. He has been on the Streamer Report for most every one of his start because he is barely owned in most leagues, and I am not sure why.
On Sunday, Eovaldi had one of his finest outing of the season, shutting out the Braves for 8 innings, giving up just 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 6 in the Marlins 7-0 win. In his 14 starts this season, he is now just 3-5 with a 3.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a mediocre 61-32 strikeout to walk rate in 84.2 innings. But over his last five starts, Eovaldi owns a 30-10 strikeout to walk rate in 38 innings of work, so his K-BB rate has jumped up to 3-1. He is a solid sleeper candidate for 2014 drafts.
For more on Eovaldi's gem and the Marlins, check out Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Marlins fan site.
Round'em Up
After his hot April where he hit 12 home runs, Braves outfielder Justin Upton has hit just 12 home runs over the last four months, including 8 home runs in August. I did not include him in my Top 25 hitters for 2014 piece, but I considered it. But not for long. I am starting to think he will never reach his potential as a 30 HR-100 RBI guy, since, right now, he is hitting .264-.357-.476 with 24 HRs and 64 RBI in 462 at bats. ESPN says he is on pace for 29 HRs and 76 RBI, and that is not a top 25 hitter on anyone's list. As you can tell, I am down on this guy for 2014.
Indians young starter Danny Salazar had his best outing of the season yesterday, against one of the best lineups in the game. Salazar shut out the Tigers for 6 innings on 6 hits, no walks and 5 strikeouts in the Indians 4-0 win. He didn't earn the decision, but is now 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a solid 37-9 strikeout to walk rate in 33 innings. He will be a sleeper to keep your eye on for 2014 drafts.
In my recent Top 25 hitters for 2014 article, one reader asked why Red Sox DH David Ortiz was not on the list, and I have to admit, I did consider him, and he will probably be ranked ahead of Jacoby Ellsbury in the next iteration of the Top 25 ( or whatever number...100 maybe) is published. Yesterday, Ortiz went 2-3 with a walk, double and 3 RBI in the Red Sox 7-6 win on Sunday. Ortiz has had a terrific year at the plate, hitting .315-.398-.559 with 24 HRs, 61 runs and 85 RBI in 114 games this season.
Prior to the 2012 season, White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez had averaged 16 home runs and 70ish RBI in his first four full seasons in the big leagues. In 2012, the home run total dropped to just 9, but his stolen base total jumped to a career best 20 bags. This season, he has already exceeded his career high in stolen bases with 29 after stealing two bases on Sunday, tying him with Angels outfielder Mike Trout. With his power down again this season, he is on pace to steal 35 bases.
Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer shut out the Mariners on Sunday, giving up just 4 hits, walking one and striking out 5 to win his 4th game of the season. Oberholtzer is now 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and a 30-7 strikeout to walk rate in 48.1 innings this season. He has now given up 3 runs or less in five of his six starts this season, and actually has not given up a run in three of those six starts. Some of the Astros starters will be big sleepers heading into 2014, and might be deserving of a closer look article later this week.
[h=4]More from Fake Teams:[/h]
- Streamer Report: Monday's Streamers
- Fantasy Baseball Questions Thread: Labor Day Weekend Edition
- Two-Start Pitchers: Week 22 (Sep. 2-8)
- September Callups: Which Players Can Potentially Help You Down The Stretch?
- Roto Roundup: Taijuan Walker, Billy Hamilton, Dustin Ackley and Others
- Deep League Thoughts: In which I try to hype Edinson Volquez
- EPL Week 3 - Midfielders and Forwards
More...
