Posted By:Bretsky on July 23, 2014

Wayne Bretsky and Mark Kaplan weigh in on the latest happenings around baseball, talking about Troy Tulowitzki’s injured hip (yes, it is attached to his body), Jimmy Rollins’ recent surge (homer alert!), and Cliff Lee’s disappointing return to action. The boys marvel at San Diego dealing Chase Headley to the Yankees and comment on some streaking hitters to help your fantasy team. Finally, the guys dip into the mailbag to analyze some trades from the listeners.

Hit up the guys on Twitter @BretskyBall and @DaTrueGuru to join in on the action!

»Listen

»Download on iTunes

Box Score Baseball Podcast – Sell Low with San Diego

News and Notes

• Troy Tulowitzki to the disabled list
• Darwin Barney DFA’d to keep Arismendy Alcantara around
• Chase Headley to the Yankees
• Trade Rumblings: David Price, Alex Rios, Steve Cishek, Joaquin Benoit

The Good, the Bad and the Upside

• Good: Jimmy Rollins,
• Bad: Cliff Lee
• Upside: Josh Rutledge

Buy/Sell/Hold

• Chris Coghlan
• Kolten Wong
• Jason Kipnis
• Chris Johnson
• Austin Jackson

Waiver Wire

• Yusmiero Petit
• Trevor Bauer
• Danny Salazar
• Jose Quintana
• Jacod deGrom
• Odrsamer Despaigne
• Marcus Stroman

Mailbag!

The Box Score Baseball Podcast theme is written and performed by William “Wild Bill” Hitchcock

Posted By:Bretsky on July 18, 2014

It’s time to re-up the rankings heading into the second half. This week, we’re taking a trip around the diamond and ranking each position for rest of season fantasy value. As always 5×5 rotisserie scoring is assumed.

2014 Rest of Season Shortstop Rankings

Posted By:Bretsky on July 18, 2014

It’s time to re-up the rankings heading into the second half. This week, we’re taking a trip around the diamond and ranking each position for rest of season fantasy value. As always 5×5 rotisserie scoring is assumed.

2014 Rest of Season Third Base Rankings

Posted By:Bretsky on July 17, 2014

Wayne Bretsky and Mark Kaplan take some time during the All-Star break to look back at what we’ve learned and prepare for the stretch run. The guys provide their thoughts on a couple of the season’s first half breakouts and busts while also pondering the current trade value of Clayton Kershaw. the boys also take a dip into the mail bag to answer some questions from the listeners.

Hit up the guys on Twitter @BretskyBall and @DaTrueGuru to join in on the action!

»Listen

»Download on iTunes

Box Score Baseball Podcast – Give Me a Break

News and Notes

• Catcher update: Carlos Ruiz, Evan Gattis, A.J. Pierzinski
• Joey Votto out “weeks” not “months”
• Jean Segura’s uncertain status
• Bronson Arroyo undergoes Tommy John  surgery

The Good, the Bad and the Upside – All-Star Edition

• Good: Miguel Cabrera
• Bad: Giancarlo Stanton
• Upside: Arismendy Alcantara

First Half Wrap

• Breakouts we are buying: Michael Brantley, Todd Frazier
• Breakouts we are selling: Dee Gordon
• Busts we are buying: Alex Rios, Chris Davis, Jason Kipnis
• Busts we are selling: Bryce Harper, Jean Segura

Mailbag!

The Box Score Baseball Podcast theme is written and performed by William “Wild Bill” Hitchcock

Posted By:Bretsky on June 26, 2014

Wayne Bretsky and Mark Kaplan discuss all the latest happening around the MLB. Bretsky gives Mark his due after a head-to-head beatdown. Carlos Santana heats up, Tim Lincecum suts it down and J.D. Martinez continues to hit. The boys play a quick game of Buy/Sell/Hold and also open up the mailbag to help out some listeners.

Hit up the guys on Twitter @BretskyBall and @DaTrueGuru to join in on the action!

»Listen

»Download on iTunes

Box Score Baseball Podcast – Sizzling Santana

News and Notes

• Joe Smith regains the closer role in Anaheim
• Derek Dietrich returns to the bigs
• Clay Buccholz is activated
• J.J. Hardy finally goes deep

The Good, the Bad and the Upside

• Good: Carlos Santana turns up the heat
• Bad: The Padres can’t handle Timmy
• Upside: J.D. Martinez

The Fixer

• Trading for today

Waiver Wire

• Jake Arrieta
• Alex Wood
• Drew Smyly

Buy/Sell/Hold

• Josh Donaldson
• Shin-Soo Choo
• Alex Rios
• Matt Adams
• Gregory Polanco
• Kyle Seager

Mailbag!

The Box Score Baseball Podcast theme is written and performed by William “Wild Bill” Hitchcock

Posted By:Bretsky on June 20, 2014

Wayne Bretsky and Mark Kaplan return after a two week layoff to chat baseball. The boys discuss their current matchup in the Box Score Baseball League of Champions and looking at the latest news and notes around the league. Bretsky and Mark provide all the reasoning you need to snag some non-closing relief pitchers to boost you roto sqaud, provide a couple of names to pluck off the wire and hit the mailbag to answer questions from the listeners.

Hit up the guys on Twitter @BretskyBall and @DaTrueGuru to join in on the action!

»Listen

»Download on iTunes

Box Score Baseball Podcast – CarGone

News and Notes

• Adam Wainwright to return, Michael Wacha skipped, Carlos Martinez gets another start
• Clay Buccholz tosses a strong rehab outing
• The Kansas City Royals are on fire

The Good, the Bad and the Upside

• Good: Clayton Kershaw dominates
• Bad: Max Scherzer gets blasted
• Upside: Anthony Rendon

The Fixer – You Gotta Relieve

• The case to use relievers
• Top names available on the wire
• Selling Dustin Pedroia

Waiver Wire

• Rougned Odor
• Josh Rutledge
• Stephen Drew
• Tommy La Stella

Mailbag!

The Box Score Baseball Podcast theme is written and performed by William “Wild Bill” Hitchcock

Posted By:Bretsky on June 6, 2014

For much of the 2014 season, the Colorado Rockies have been a force to be reckoned with, ranking tops in the National League in runs per game, home runs extra base hits and just about every other offensive category you will find. Still the team took a big blow when placing oft-injured stud, Carlos Gonzalez on the disabled list with a finger injury. His timetable is unknown, but not all is lost for fantasy owners as a number of outfield bats have emerged on the wire in recent weeks.

With our top spot this week, you need look no further than the Rockies outfield to find 22%-owned Corey Dickerson. Batting .340/.389/.639 appearing in 40 games this season, Dickerson is bringing some serious thump to the Colorado lineup, piling up 14 extra-base in less than 100 at-bats with 18 runs scored, 17 RBI and three steals.

Dickerson was never a major threat on the basepaths, topping out at 16 stolen bases im 127 minor league games in 2012, but he did show enough pop to matter. He belted 32 home runs in 2011 at and another 22 in 2012, posting back to back minor league season with 60+ extra-base hits.

During his first stint in the big leagues, Dickerson struggled to perform against left-handed pitching and down the road a platoon with lefty-mashed Drew Stubbs is certainly in play, but Dickerson has reached base in five of his 12 pate appearances against southpaws this season and could earn a longer look. Dickerson is a must-add in all league with the potential to be difference maker in that lineup and park. He’s already been one of the most added players this week, but over 75% of you out their still have a shot to invest.

Each week we’ll provide a position-by-position roundup of the top talent on the wire. To qualify, players must have an ownership rate below 50% in standard 12-team Yahoo leagues. For our deeper formats, we’ll also throw out names with under 15% ownership. Check out last week’s list to find a number of other options who may still be out there on the waiver wire.

Working The Waiver Wire

Catcher

Wilson Ramos (46%): Don’t look now, but Ramos is finally capturing so of his stretch-run magic from last season, batting .313 over the past couple of weeks.

First Base

Adam Lind (40%): Piping hot, Lind has posted six multi-hit efforts in his last 10 games, batting .389 with eight runs in that time.

Chris Carter (20%): Now that Astros lineup doesn’t look so bad anymore does it? Carter is bringing the pop and if you can see past the strikeouts, there’s 30-homer upside here.

Kendrys Morales (21%): Following Thursday’s amateur draft, Morales should ink a deal rather swiftly. He posted a tasty .275/.329/.357 slash while averaging 26 home runs and 86 RBI per 162 games over the past two seasons.

Yonder Alonso (5%): Digging a bit deeper, give Alonso a look. The average is always steady and he’s showing some more punch this season, coming off a May in which he knocked six doubles and four home runs in 86 at-bats.

Middle Infield

Kolten Wong (25%): Continues to get on base and run, Wong is a useful piece.

Jonathan Villar (37%): He’s gotta be benched right now, but the juice is enticing enough to stash.

Gordon Beckham (11%): Yeah, that Gordon Beckham… hey, he’s hitting!

Jace Peterson (0%): He’s got major speed upside and could very well haev a starting gig if Jedd Gyorko is forced to the DL with his plantar fasciitis.

Third Base

Casey McGehee (26%): Though McGehee can’t hit the ball over the fence, he certainly seems to be able to put it in play and drive in runs.

David Freese (18%): Batting .277 over the past couple of weeks, you could certainly do worse.

Outfield

Josh Willingham (29%): Always an underrated bat, Willingham has gone 11-for-32 with four long balls since returning from the DL and is an even better play in OBP leagues.

Michael Saunders (12%): Blessed with a great power/speed combo, Suanders is streaking right now, batting .324 in his last 10 with a couple of home runs, six runs scored and 10 RBI.

Starters

Bartolo Colon (29%): The fat-man is rolling with a 1.96 ERA and 1.04 WHIP i his last 18.2 innings pitched.

Drew Hutchison (31%): Coming off an impressive start against the Tigers, Hutch is showing nice resilience after a coupe of poor outings and we know the strikeout upside is there.

Eddie Butler (13%): Avoid Bultler in his MLB debut on Friday, but there’s plenty of talent here to stash him on your bench and see what happens.

Closer Carnage

It will be a constant race to the wire to go mining for saves, here’s how we see it.

Go get ’em: Chad Qualls (35%), Hector Rondon (48%), Ronald Bellisario (19%)

Keep an eye on: Rex Borthers (26%), Jeurys Familia (10%), Adam Ottaviano (10%), Joba Chamberlain (15%)

Posted By:Bretsky on June 6, 2014

Wayne Bretsky and Mark Kaplan take a look at the action around the fantasy baseball world. Mark selfishly rejoices in Carlos Gonzalez’ unfortunate trip to the DL while Bretsky makes a case to buy low. The boys discuss some of the top rookies on their way up to the bigs, outfield bats to pluck off the wire and answer some questions from the mailbag.

Hit up the guys on Twitter @BretskyBall and @DaTrueGuru to join in on the action!

»Listen

»Download on iTunes

Box Score Baseball Podcast – CarGone

News and Notes

• Kendrys Morals expected to sign
• Mike Trout (back) returns to the lineup
• Joey Votto taking BP, fielding grounders
• Andrew Cashner to return Saturday
• Derek Dietrich sent down

The Good, the Bad and the Upside

• Good: Slow starters Alex Gordon and Kyle Seager
• Bad: Carlos Gonzalez’ finger
• Upside: Corey Dickerson

Cranking Up the Hype Machine

• Jon Singleton
• George Springer
• Oscar Taveras
• Gregory Polanco

Second Base Rest of Season Rankings

• Who’s on top
• Is Dee Gordon a top-5 guy
• Selling Dustin Pedroia

Waiver Wire

• Juan Francisco
• Adam Lind
• Josh Willingham
• Kolten Wong
• Michael Saunders
• David Murphy

Mailbag!

The Box Score Baseball Podcast theme is written and performed by William “Wild Bill” Hitchcock

Posted By:Bretsky on June 4, 2014

We’re two full months into the season and quite a bit has changed. This week, we’re taking a trip around the diamond and ranking each position for rest of season fantasy value. As always 5×5 rotisserie scoring is assumed.

The second base position has held up rather well depth-wise, but a few of the top-tier options have certainly been underwhelming. Jason Kipnis spent some time on the DL and was off to a rather slow start prior to the injury. While it seems ludicrous to say someone who is batting .333 through 54 games disappointing, but the expected decline in the power cats have Robinson Cano sitting outside the top-5 at the moment in terms of year to date value. Dee Gordon and Brian Dozier have, of course, ascended into the top tier while Chase Utley and Ian Kinsler show they still have a bit left in the tank, so plenty of quality options remain.

Rising

Dee Gordon: Currently a top-10 overall player, Gordon is making the most of his increased opportunities on base. The biggest reason we’re buying? Even as he’s ht just .188 over the past 3 weeks, Gordon has swiped 13 bags including five multi-steal efforts.

Chase Utley: With his knee issues keeping quiet in the background, Utley has returned to a serious run-producer, driving in 27 runs and scoring 31 times in 52 games.

Ian Kinsler: Change of scenery is playing well with Kinsler and his 120-run pace while hitting ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez with 15-home-run/20 -steal  potential is making owners smile.

Brian Dozier: Do you really care if Dozier hits .240… while scoring 110 runs, driving in 80 RBI, blasting 25 homer and swiping 20 bags? Because I do not.

Falling

Bradon Phillips: We knew that his RBI pace from 2013 was a bit inflated, but a dip in walk rate (3.5% in 2014 down from 5.9% last year) and an increase in strikeouts (20.7 K% up from 14.7 K%) has exacerbated his decline. Phillips has offered a mediocre .269/.293/.397 slash so far this season with just 19 runs scored and 22 RBI. His days as a top-10 option have come to an end.

Ben Zobrist: Zobrist continues to be a solid OBP play, but the speed has dried up over the past couple of seasons. He’s batted just .247/.332/.345 around an injury this year in what has been a poor Rays’ lineup.

Dustin Pedroia: Pedroia has kept up a decent batting average, so his decline has been a soft ones for fantasy owners clinging to his previous production. Injury or not, his power is down and Pedroia is slugging just .392 over the past calendar year. You can still get elite return on his name value, it’s time to cash out.

2014 Rest of Season Second Base Rankings

Posted By:Bretsky on May 30, 2014

Widely regarded as a sleeper power bat coming into the 2014 season, Khris Davis rubbed many owners the wrong way with his pitiful start to the season. He scuffled his way through April, striking out a a phenomenal pace and drawing just a singe walk. Flip the calendar to May and we’ve seen a completely different player, reminding us all of the play who flashed a strong power bat in a 56 game sample last season.

As a rookie, Davis clubbed 11 home runs in those 56 games, providing a .316 ISO slugging that would have ranked second in the league (oddly enough behind only Chris Davis). He added 10 doubles, giving him 21 XBHs in just 153 trips to the plate.

As we approach the end of May, Davis has redeemed himself for owners who remained patient, but as he continues to turn his season around, the slugging outfielder remains available in 53% of standard yahoo leagues. Since May 13, Davis has provided a sizzling 353/.421/.765 with 5 HR, 6 2B and, perhaps most impressively, six walks compared to just 10 strikeouts in that time and if he can continue to exercise just a tiny bit of patience at the dish, he’ll be an excellent source of power moving forward.

Each week we’ll provide a position-by-position roundup of the top talent on the wire. To qualify, players must have an ownership rate below 50% in standard 12-team Yahoo leagues. For our deeper formats, we’ll also throw out names with under 15% ownership. Check out last week’s list to find a number of other options who may still be out there on the waiver wire.

Working The Waiver Wire

Catcher

First Base

Adam Lind (33%): Piping hot, Lind has posted six multi-hit efforts in his last 10 games, batting .389 with eight runs in that time.

Adam Dunn (34%): Though Dunn is hitting below the mendoza line over the last few weeks, he’s still got 30-homer pop in that bat. If you can afford to roster him and only start vs. righties, he’s a nice piece.

Garrett Jones (21%): Similar to Dunn, Garrett Jones doesn’t hit a lick versus lefties, but can provide some punch on a part time basis.

Chris Carter (20%): If you can swallow the strikeouts, the power is nice in a Pedro Alvarez type of way

Tommy Medica (4%): The 26-year-old batted .296/.370/.593 over 297 minor league at-bats in 2013 and despite struggling for much of the season at Triple-A, Medica has hit the ground running in his latest shot in the bigs. He’s hit in four straight games since being called up and racked up three hits and a home run in each of his past two contests.

Middle Infield

Kolten Wong (18%): Wong is now 16-for-48 since getting called up with 4 steals and a very nice 4:6 walk-to-strikeout ratio. If you need some speed, grab that Wong.

Jonathan Villar (43%): After batting just .097 over the past two weeks, Villar’s ownership rate has dipped below our 50% threshold here. The fact is, you weren’t rostering Villar for his batting average anyway and he’s still got 5 home runs and 11 steals over that time, quietly putting him on pace for a 17/37 season.

Derek Dietrich (4%): A relative unknown to the masses, Dietrich continue to show solid pop and improved on-base ability while taking over the heavy side of the Marlins’ second base platoon.

Stephen Drew (8%): Drew finally agreed to join the Red Sox last week and after a short tune up in the minors he should step right into the lineup on a regular basis. He batter .253/.333/.443 over 124 games last year with an impressive .284/.377/.498 versus right handed pitching.

Gordon Beckham (13%): As painful as it is to recommend adding Beckham, he’s batting .347 over the past two weeks and you gotta ride that streak!

Third Base

Chase Headley (44%): We can’t possibly expect Headley to provide anything like his phenomenal second half in 2012. Still, he’s a .253 career hitter and provides some depth at a thin position.

Casey McGehee (26%): There’s not much power in McGehee’s bat but he’s getting it done in other ways as the Marlins’ cleanup hitter. Credit an improved walk rate for his bounce-back campaign and buy the .299 average with 32 RBI in 52 games that he’s put together so far.

David Freese (19%): In nine games since returning from the disabled list, Freese is 9-for-38 with six runs driven in.

Outfield

Khris Davis (47%): Since May 13: .353/.421/.765 with 5 HR, 6 2B and hey, six walks against just 10 Ks in that time.

A.J. Pollock (46%): Bumped up to the top of the D-Backs lineup, Pollock continues to show solid on-base skills with a little bit of speed. His improved power stroke is a some icing on the cake.

Oscar Taveras (29%) and Gregory Polanco (33%): As we sti just about two weeks away from the super-two deadline, Taveras and Polanco are the next big names to likely be called up. Now is the time to scoop these guys up if they’re sitting around on the wire.

Ozwaldo Arcia (5%): Arcia is rocking a four-game hitting streak since returning from the DL with a couple of multi-hit efforts and a home run.

Josh Willingham (7%): Like Arcia, Willingham just return from a wrist injury and has immediately shown some pop, going 2-for-3 with a home run Thursday evening.

Starters

Trevor Bauer (32% owned): The strikeouts will keep us interested regardless of opponent.

Drew Hutchison (32%) Despite poor outing this past week, Hutchison holds a 3.51 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 56.1 inning pitched since April 12.

Jorge De La Rosa (30%): Jorge continues to work a solid ground ball rate (55.6%) and decent strikeout to put together a solid start to the season.

Tyler Skaggs (21%): Rackes up three quality starts in his last four outings while striking out 23 batters and walking four over 28 IP.

Closer Carnage

It will be a constant race to the wire to go mining for saves, here’s how we see it.

Go get ’em: Hector Rondon (49%), Jenry Mejia (43%), Chad Qualls (29%), Zach Birtton (51%), Ronald Belisario (19%)

Keep an eye on: Rex Borthers (26%)Jeurys Familia (10%), Adam Ottaviano (10%), Daniel Webb (5%)