Today brings another round of bullish reports. If you’re looking for cheap and readily available outfield help, today is your lucky day.

Brandon Moss
Over the past 14 days, Brandon Moss is 11-for-35 — with five of those hits going for home runs. He also drove in 10 and scored seven runs over that time frame. Following last season’s breakout performance was going to be a difficult task, though he came out swinging in April, May saw him struggle. Many owners on the fence about Moss ditched him during his May slump, and given his .153/.262/.333 line in 84 plate appearances, we shouldn’t be quick to judge those that were quick to drop him. Of course months — and seasons, for that matter — are all arbitrary end points and we can’t get too caught up in them.
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When Eric Young joins the Mets in Atlanta on Wednesday, a lot more is going to change than just his address and uniform. His playing time, the Mets leadoff situation and, of course, his fantasy ownership percentages are all due for an increase thanks to the trade that sent minor league pitcher Collin McHugh west to Colorado in exchange for the speedy outfielder. Perhaps because he is not a marquee name and all Mets eyes were glued to Zack Wheeler’s debut, the deal fell somewhat under the radar, so if you’re in need of a quick burst of speed and he’s available in your league, then a waiver claim is definitely recommended. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s more than one way to skin a cat is a saying that exists. Why the heck that’s a saying, or how it came to be one, is beyond me, but it’s worth keeping in mind when it comes to daily fantasy leagues.

Case in point: when I first started playing DraftStreet, I wanted the glory and the big gains. Entering the “standard” format pools where only the top few performances are paid out, I was getting a little frustrated that finishing, say, 10th out of 100 people wasn’t upping my bankroll. After all, being consistently near the top is probably more impressive than occasionally being the top performer.

So I lowered my cash out expectations and switched primarily to the “double-up” pay-out format, whereby the top 50% of players get paid out double their entry fee. The gains are much smaller, but in the long run it’s probably a better strategy for me since I’m confident I can continue to beat half the field.
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Homer Bailey is pitching like an ace. In his seventh professional season, everything has come together for the one-time fifth-best prospect in baseball. It’s been a long rise to the top for Bailey, who didn’t have a sub-4.00 ERA until his sixth professional season. While his 2012 performance was a major step forward, Bailey has managed to get even better in 2013. Through 90 innings this season, Bailey has nearly matched his season-high in WAR. His 2.68 FIP rates 11th among qualified starters. Bailey may have taken a while to reach meet his lofty expectations, but the wait is well worth it given his current performance.

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Welcome to the fastball velocity edition of the deep league waiver wire. While fastball velocity obviously isn’t everything, it does highly correlate with strikeout rate and a spike in velocity often leads to a surge in strikeout rate. These two pitchers embody this theme perfectly.

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The present author is taking a break from cleaning and packing up his apartment to present to you perhaps the greatest Roto Riteup of all time.

On today’s agenda:
1. Giancarlo’s on fire
2. Lonnie Chisenhall gets recalled
3. Nick Franklin vs Dustin Ackley
4. Mark Teixeira to DL, Carlos Ruiz off it
5. Chris Coghlan won’t need back surgery

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A slightly abbreviated report this evening:

• Chris Perez pitched for the AA Akron Aeros today on a rehab assignment and the results weren’t pretty. As far as rehab assignments go, having no set backs on your recovery is all that really matters, but Chris Perez allowed 5 runs on 5 hits, 3 HRs, 1 double and hit a batter just for show as well. On the bright side, he did get two strikeouts!  In all seriousness, I wouldn’t put too much weight on this rehab performance as the important part is that he’s recovering from injury and should return to Cleveland soon, but those waiting to cut ties with Vinnie Pestano might want to hold a tad longer. Additionally, jokes made about how Perez is showing he’s in mid-season form are pretty good.

• Speaking of Pestano, Perez’ replacement recorded his second save of the season tonight against the Royals. Pestano threw a scoreless ninth but it wasn’t smooth sailing as he allowed four batters to reach base in the inning. Pestano has not been that sharp this year (5.31 FIP) but Francona will keep handing him the ball in the ninth with Perez on the shelf, who as of this writing is still scheduled to return to the Indians on Friday.

• Bobby Parnell recorded a four-out save today against the Braves today in the first game of the double header for his 10th of the year. Parnell’s name hasn’t been involved in many trade rumors but it was announced that the Mets will not be shopping Parnell at the deadline. Parnell would be more attractive pitching for another team in 2013 but he’s been solid with a 2.09 FIP this year.

• Andrew Bailey was awarded his third win of the season tonight but it was at the expense of his third blown save. Bailey, who has mostly been good this season when he’s pitched is in a little bit of a funk at the moment with five earned runs allowed and two blown saves in his last three appearances. Since returning from the DL, Bailey has seen his velocity decline which makes you wonder if Bailey could still be hurting or if he will be pitching with slightly less velocity from here on out. Any way you slice it, although Bailey remains closer in Boston, Junichi Tazawa gets a little more attractive in fantasy leagues.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]

Episode 27
Today’s episode of The Sleeper and the Bust stars yours truly and features RotoGraphs editor Eno Sarris. We discuss the debut of another top pitching prospect and an oldie starting pitcher, but still goodie?

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @mikepodhorzer or @enosarris on Twitter and tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.

Intro by DJ Sinton (no, contrary to popular belief, I do not moonlight as a rap star)

Approximately 43 min of joyous analysis.

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Mike Leake has an ERA under three and his batting average on balls in play is over .300. Is he a pickup?

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Nick Swisher has been pretty much perpetually underrated in fantasy formats for the past number of years. He has been dual eligible at 1B and OF and has been a strong contributor in OBP leagues, which are the only types of leagues I personally play in. He has pretty consistently hit for mid 20’s power with equal RBI and R contributions that start at the low 80’s and reach to the mid 90’s.
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