Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox (5/29/19)

May 29, 2019

Ellis Canady reviews last night's MLB box scores (5/28) and provides fun opinions on a variety of topics to help fantasy baseball owners with their lineups.

Welcome to the Wednesday, May 29th edition of Daily Slivers of the Fantasy Soapbox.

Discussing baseball is as fun as the game itself. It has a way of bringing people together to share different opinions about the sport we all love. A similar action can be done with fantasy baseball where we not only discuss topics but also look to improve our teams as well as the teams of our fellow fantasy baseball enthusiasts. Everyone has their own perspectives which are not to be cast off as frivolous. They should be used as a method of expanding our own knowledge.

In this article, I review the previous day's boxscores and provide my opinion on a variety of topics. Some will be random, some will be fun, and some will be stat-driven. It's a soapbox so I may rant from time to time as well. So without any further delay, below are my thoughts on May 29th. Enjoy them. You can even respond with your own thoughts on Twitter @EllisCan2.

Daily Musings

• Double-D (Derek Dietrich) with triple the enjoyment. He does it again, in dramatic fashion. Stop & Stare, Double-D. You deserve it w/three homers and six RBI in one game. I’ve put my money where my mouth was; fortunate enough to get him in TGFBI. Just like that, he’s raised his AVG to career-level .254. He’s a must-start when starting at home as well as playing the Pirates.
• I'm also dealing w/internal strife as my cheap @$$ bid too low on Ryan Yarbrough. He’s pitching well now and primed for consistent wins, as a starter or follower. He should be owned more than four percent of leagues.
• Cody Bellinger cannot stop hitting homers (20). Leads most offensive categories. Beg your competitor to bench him if you don’t own him.
• Nicholas Castellanos still unable to take advantage of Camden, even w/the next guy pitching.
• Dylan Bundy (seven IP, eight K, three ER) looked like he was in the same league as Matthew Boyd TUE (six IP, eight K).
• Mike Yastrzemski finally in the bigs?! The legend continues. Well, in name only, I guess. 0-for-4. Don’t buy.
• Pivetta’s return didn’t go completely as expected, ended w/W; Paul Goldschmidt(11th HR) & Marcel Ozuna (15th HR) welcomed him like like a long lost friend.
• Cesar Hernandez proves to be more than a remora riding on the coattails of the potent Phillies lineup. Hernandez has six homers, .303AVG, eight percent walk and 14% strikeout rates. 65% owned isn't bad.
• Wainwright continues rejuvenation sprint w/10K in six IP, four ER. Don’t snicker. Not bad for a young man of his age.
• Eric Lauer (five IP, four K, one ER) kept Yankees in check. Do not become smitten and think he can do this routinely. Not a lot of fantasy value here.
• Josh Bell w/one hit. He hasn’t hit a bomb in two days. Someone check the pulse. Enter Wednesday’s game vs. Desclafani (clock reset).
• Eduardo Escobar continues to surprise (13th HR, 42RBI). Edging towards third straight 20HR season w/career-best .290AVG w/ 8%BB, 19%K rates. Regular guys help teams more than sexy prospects.
• In case you’re curious, there’s a reason I haven’t said anything about Addison Russell. I’d rather root for underappreciated David Bote (two bombs) w/eighth-farthest tater (469ft).
• Wow, Austin Riley w/sixth HR. Wow, .365AVG. Wow, two walks in 55 plate appearances? Wow, 35% strikeout rate?! It isn’t all glorious. Don’t be blinded by the light.
• Rays you’re smart to move Austin Meadows to a more productive spot in the lineup (third) because he homered again (12). He’s a beast with a 1.124OPS.
• Stop, no one move. Jose Ramirez is hitting .286 w/two SB over the last week. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Slide into your competitors DMs and give him solid value. Buy low.
• Gary Sanchez continues to lap the catcher field w/ 17th bomb. Is he worth the 50 ADP?
• Elias Diaz (2-for-4, 2RBI) proves there is light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunate for a Francisco Cervelli concussion. Diaz is a must add.
• Chris Iannetta (fouth HR) heating up, but he is sharing time due to a rough start. The improved bat might get more playing time despite inferior defense.
• Shane Greene gets 17th save. 1.17ERA. Not ready to give up closer role yet…until he’s traded, of course.
• After 16 games w/o a homer, Michael Conforto has hit four in last eight games, including a grand slam on Tuesday. Delicious.
• Remember when Ross Stripling was a breakout. Everyone was frustrated he didn’t get a starting job this year. Well, he’s made 14 appearances and allowed at least one run in eight of them. He should still be on a short list when a starter goes down.
• Guess who has the longest HR in majors? He homered Tuesday (seven); he’s an annual bounce-back candidate for most people. Nomar Mazara w/482ft shot. Damn, that’s far.
• Respect Your Elders Award winner: Omar Narvaez (2-for-3 w/R). He allowed a SB to Shin-Soo Choo and Hunter Pence. Well done young man.
• Mallex Smith tries to provide more confidence (3-for-5 w/2RBI). I guess no one needs steals these days.
• Since his first HR on May 12th, Matt Olson doesn’t like to go more than three days w/o a tater. Added sixth in only 80AB. You'll need some backup for his .238AVG.
• Let me paint you a picture. Imagine the Olympics. I (who did run track among other sports) am in the final leg of the 4x100meter relay. Usain Bolt has the third leg. My competition is close. Usain Bolt gives us a decent lead and then hands the baton off to me take it home. For some reason, my legs don’t work as they used to. The competition closes. I pump faster. I may eke out a win out from time to time but more often than not, I will pull a hamstring/crash and burn. It would have been better if Usain Bolt just finishes the race himself. Now you understand the BoSox bullpen situation. Matt Barnes can easily finish things off but he hands the baton off to Ryan Brasier.  Implosion (three ER, 0.0IP).
• FAAB collection for the week: Mitch Keller, DJ Stewart (3-for-4, SB), Zach Plesac (controlled BoSox, only seven percent swinging strike rate; gets ChiSox next to boost value); Will Smith (2-for-4 w/Austin Barnes goes on IL. Will share w/Russell Martin, then gone. Don’t drop value for him).
• Enjoy the Wednesday games!

More Fantasy Baseball Analysis